Chik'n Wild Rice Soup

Growing up in Minnesota, I had my fair share of wild rice dishes. But nothing beats a hot bowl of thick and creamy Chicken Wild Rice Soup. It was very easy to "veggie-ize" this recipe using Quorn chick'n tenders (my favorite chicken alternative). The crunchy toasted almonds add a layer of flavor of texture essential to this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread 1 finely chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 pound fresh sliced mushrooms
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups "chicken" broth- made from "Better Than Bullion" Mock Chicken Base
2 cups cooked wild rice
2/3 package Quorn Chik'n Tenders
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds, lightly toasted
3 tablespoons cooking wine
2 cups skim milk

DIRECTIONS
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, celery and carrots and saute for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 2 more minutes. Then add the flour and stir well. Gradually pour in the broth, stirring constantly, until all has been added. Bring just to a boil, reduce heat to low and let simmer.
Next, add the rice, chik'n, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper, almonds and wine. Allow to heat through, then pour in the milk. Cover and let simmer without boiling for 1 hour.