Getting Wild! With Rice, That is

Happy Wednesday! I planned on writing this Monday, butttt got sick and totally had to pause and finish later...as in two days later. Oops. I'm a little behind, how was your weekend? Did you ice skate and watch football and freeze every time you stepped outside this weekend?? I know I did! And by ice skate, I mean slide around on the ice in my boots because my size skates were not to be found :)Thankfully, there aren't rules on official ice skating gear at my parent's pond, so no harm done! ;) Hopefully your week is going well and you are healthy and happy!

So, what's on the agenda for today's dinner?? Well, I've been freezing since Monday (well, always really), so soup it is! I got some wild rice from wayyyy northern Minnesota (hooray for having the hook-up with fam way up there!), so wild rice soup it is! I'm sure I could have found a recipe, but I've got lots of veggies and such in my fridge, so I decided to whip one up on my own. Feel free to add or substitute veggies as you wish! No wild rice?? Barley would be a great sub-in, or even quinoa if you'd like. Just don't forget to rinse the quinoa first!

Wild Rice Soup

Serves 4

8 ounces ground beef/turkey or chicken (I only used ground beef because I hadn't had it for quite a while!)
4 stalks celery, diced into small pieces
6-8 ounces of fresh mushrooms (a container is 8 ounces), sliced into small pieces
1/3 bag of baby carrots (or around 3-4 large carrots), sliced
2 cups wild rice
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp basil
2 1/2 cups water

If using ground beef/turkey: Brown in a pan before tossing in the crockpot. Chop up your celery, mushrooms and carrots and toss those in the crockpot. Add in your seasonings, then your rice and water. Mix it all up and cook on low 6-8 or high 4-6 hours!

If using chicken: Toss raw chicken breasts in with the rest of the ingredients, and cook on low 6-8 hours or high 4-6 hours. Take out chicken to shred when done, then toss back in before serving!

Serve with some yummy crusty bread, and warm yourself right up! I hope you like it :)

One more thing for you today, have you seen this new nail polish from Essie?? It is amazing!! I drooled over it for awhile when I saw it at Walgreens, but finally moved on when I began to get weird looks ;) Also, get excited, because next time I'm sharing a healthified beet cake recipe! That's right, healthy and cake and beets all in the same sentence ;) Wish me luck!

Have a wonderful Wednesday :)

--KQ