A date, 100 Degrees, and Homemade Wild Rice Soup

On Friday night Andrew and I decided to go on a spontaneous date night.  We started the evening by eating out at a restaurant that neither of us had ever been to: Burger Jones.  It was fantastic!  The atmosphere of the restaurant was fun and the burgers were the best burgers we have ever eaten.  Andrew was already planning our next dine-out experience there after just one bite of his burger. Along with their excellent burgers their fries were delicious, and I got a yummy twix shake to compliment my burger and fries. I do not have one complaint about our experience. Check out Burger Jones here.

My meal I ate at Burger Jones

We finished the evening by attending the play Music Man put on by the Calvin Christian middle schoolers Andrew is a long-term sub for. It was fantastic! The students did an excellent job singing and acting. When the play was over we were greeted by all of Andrew's students. It was fun to meet them all and hear their stories about Andrew.

On Saturday, Andrew started running a 100 degree fever after working outside in the cold and rain for five hours that morning washing decks. That called for a pretty low-key rest of the weekend for us and chance for me to take care of my love. I'd been wanting to try this recipe for homemade wild rice soup, but hadn't had a chance. Well, the rainy weather and my sick husband gave my the perfect opportunity to make the soup. It's an easy recipe and the soup cooks in your slow cooker throughout the day. I thought it turned out pretty well. There are just a few adjustments I'll try next time around. 

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion chopped (1/2 cup)

2 medium stalks celery, diced (1 cup)

2 medium carrots, diced (1 cup)

1 cup diced smoked turkey or chicken (8 ounces)

1/2 cup uncooked wild rice

1 teaspoon dried tarragon leaves (I didn't use these, but I think I will next time)

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 1/2 cups chicken broth (I only used 3 1/2 cups, next time I will use 4 1/2)

1 can (12oz) evaporated fat-free milk

1/3 cup all-purpose flour (Next time I will start with 1/4 cup of flour and add more if it needs it)

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Directions:

In a skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Cook onion in oil about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Place onion, celery, carrots, turkey/chicken, wild rice, tarragon and pepper in a slow cooker. Pour the broth over the top of ingredients. Cover and cook on a low heat setting 6-8 hours or until wild rice and vegetables are tender. (I cooked mine for 5 1/2 hours on a high temp setting and it was well done. Next time I will cook on a high temp setting for 4 hours) Stir in peas the last 15 minutes of cooking. Mix the evaporated milk and flour; stir into soup. Cover and cook about 20 more minutes or until the soup thickens. (Next time I will add a few more spices to give it a little more flavor. Also, I used smoked turkey, but I might try it with some smoked chicken next time)

Hope your weekend was restful and relaxing!