Minnesota Wild Rice Veggie Soup
Thousand Lakes Food Company

We love this soup! What’s not to love when you are the one that gets to determine what the final result will be? I mean, open a can of soup and that is what you get: over and over and over. But open this 1-pound bag and you can have a mild soup, a spicy soup, a thin soup, a thick soup, or even a side dish of rice and vegetables! The other lovable quality is that this soup makes enough for a family gathering: a LARGE family gathering! Out of this one package, you will get 16 cups of soup. Do you have that many relatives?

Mercy, but there’s another thing we love. We love that all you have to do is measure out one part of soup mix and add eight parts water or stock, bring to a boil and then simmer for 45-50 minutes. How easy is that? Season it however you want and you have YOUR own style of soup with a super healthy base of Minnesota grown wild rice and dehydrated vegetables. Now don’t balk at the dehydrated part as when these are cooked they taste like you just chopped and sliced them and added them yourself: really fresh tasting, and not mushy, but with a tiny al dente bite left to them.

What can you season it with? The sky is the limit! If you want it herbal, add fresh herbs from your garden at the very last moment. Want it hot and spicy, chop up some chilies and throw in some Tabasco. Want it thick and rich? Mix up a roux, add some mushrooms and grated cheese, and curl up before the fire with it. How about making a stew with it by adding chicken or beef cubes, or hamburger? Toss in wine, add sauces to it…get creative….no matter how you fix it, it will still taste fantastic.

This soup base is spectacular! Literally half of the contents are premium grade Minnesota grown wild rice: you know, the kind of rice that is nutty and rich tasting, not sticky and bland. The dehydrated vegetables are onions, carrots, whole kernel sweet corn, celery, green beans, leeks, green bell peppers and red bell peppers. Don’t forget that this whole flavorful blend is made even richer with the addition of barley plus yellow and green peas.

I know that this is a soup, but take a look at those ingredients again. Wouldn’t that make a terrific base for a casserole? Add some of your family favorites of cheese, meats and spices and you could create a new family recipe.

This is bagged in a tough plastic pouch that is re-sealable and would make a great addition to a backpack for a camping trip. Even if it goes no further than your cupboard, you will reach for this as a soup, a stew, a casserole base, a side dish….and maybe as a stuffing for green peppers or even large mushroom caps. I mean, really, you are only limited by your imagination with what you can do with this amaZing soup.

We love its versatility and the fact that each and every time you can create something entirely different than the last time….and each time it will not only be easy, but healthy too! That’s Pure Zing!