Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Wow, its been a week now since I am on vegetarian meal.  I have been making soups lately and of course with the weather in Central here so unpredictable, I think soup is the woman's best friend.  I cook constantly for my family and I have always wanted to try wild rice because my kids dont always enjoy the rice other than the usual jasmine.  I purchased some wild rice from the health food store and I am so happy that I did it finally.  They were so so good especially with a bread on the side.  I also added some Gardein Soy Chicken cubes in it (vegetarian)....yummm.

The soup is super simple to make and it took me like about 30 minutes to complete a healthy meal.

Ingredients

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c. carrots, chopped
1 medium shallot, chopped
1/4 cup cubed zuchini and squash, optional
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
salt + pepper to taste
1/3 c. white wine (optional)
1 tsp. dried thyme or oregano
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 c. instant or cooked wild rice ( I cooked my wild rice then used the water for the soup)
1/4 c. reduced-fat sour cream

Method

• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add mushrooms, celery, carrots, and shallot and cook, stirring often, until softened (5-7 minutes). Stir in flour, salt, and pepper and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add white wine and thyme; increase heat to medium-high and cook 2 minutes more.
• Add broth to Dutch oven and bring to a boil. If you're using instant rice, add it now and reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook until rice is tender, 5-7 minutes, then stir in sour cream and parsley. If you're using cooked rice, once soup has come to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and stir in rice, sour cream, and parsley.