Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Creamy Wild Rice, Chicken & Mushroom Soup (Instant Pot recipe!)

This creamy soup with wild rice, chicken, and mushrooms is comfy, cozy, homeyness in a bowl. 

One of my favorite dishes from childhood was wild rice with a cream of chicken and mushroom. It was my dad's signature, and was super satisfying. This soup is the "grown up" version of that dish: it's made using whole, raw ingredients (no soup mix here!), which I think gives it even more flavor than the version I grew up with. And while most wild rice soups ask you to make a roux with flour, this recipes skips that step all together. I don't think you'll miss the roux... made in a slow cooker (I use the slow cooker setting on my Instant Pot (affiliate link!)), the rice in this soup gives it an extra creamy texture, and the addition of half-and-half at the end makes it stick-to-your-bones good. 

Soup season is something I look forward to because soup is just the right sort of creative playground for trying different flavors. Specifically, creamy flavors. Yes, I have been on a bit of creamy soup kick: first this homestyle sausage & potato soup, and now this. Adding a little bit of cream to soups makes them infinitely more cozy... try coconut milk, like in this Lemongrass Chicken Soup, or cheese, like this artichoke provolone soup, or even puréed cauliflower, like this cauliflower & parsnip soup. And of course, make this wild rice concoction. This soup, I think, is one you need to make before the end of the month. Your Instant Pot is begging you. 

Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Creamy Wild Rice, Chicken & Mushroom Soup

Published February 6, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 6   |    Total Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced 
• 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme 
• 2 bay leaves 
• 1 pound chicken thighs OR breasts - boneless, skinless 
• 1 cup wild rice, uncooked
• 1/2 c white wine
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced - (crimini, baby bella, and white mushrooms all work well)
• 1 cup half-and-half 
• To serve: 1/4 cup minced parlsey

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in the bottom of your Instant Pot (affiliate link!) on the Sauté setting. Add diced onions, celery, carrots and garlic.
2. Sauté until the onion is transparent, and then add the salt, black pepper, thyme, bay leaves, chicken, rice, white wine, and 4 cups of broth to the pot. Turn pot to “Slow Cooker” setting and cook on high for 8 hours with the vent in the sealed position.
3. After 8 hours, release any steam and open the pot. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove chicken from soup and set in a large bowl. Use two forks to shred chicken. Then, return chicken to pot and stir.
4. Cook the mushrooms: heat remaining 1 teaspoon coconut oil in a skillet until it glistens. Then, sauté the mushrooms until they are softened through and seared on both sides. Add cooked mushrooms to soup, along with 2 remaining cups of broth and 1 cup of half-and-half. Stir.
5. Serve hot in bowls, topped with minced parsley.

Banana Passion Fruit Lassi

One fine and humid day in Ecuador, we toured a biodynamic farm that rotated its crops (of which there were too many to count). The land owner showed us how he planted specific vines together to avoid weeds, how he tapped rubbed trees for their sticky sap, and how he mulched passion fruit vines. We picked as many passion fruit as we wanted. We cracked them open right then and there, and drank their juice. And then, as if that wasn’t enough, we watched an entire tree of bananas get harvested.

This Banana and Passion Fruit Lassi is a cold, creamy and refreshing reminder of that day in the tropics.

Finding passion fruit here can be tough (just like my story about sushi fish from earlier this week) but I was determined to try. So I went on a witch hunt for passion fruit, checking all the local stores until… There they were! 🙌 Magenta and looking fresher than ever. Did my subconscious realize that passion fruits were on sale this week? Or was this just dumb luck? I grabbed several--more than I would need- and triumphantly made my way to the check out line. (Tip: if you have a Sprouts near by, they often carry tropical fruits like passion fruit).

NOW, if you can’t find actual passion fruits, you can still have a sip of the tropics. Look for passion fruit juice in the juice aisle!

Finding ripe passion fruit is the crux — once you’ve past that speed bump, you just dump everything in the blender and hit go.

That first sip? 😍🤤💓 Oh what a treat! It is both hydrating and satisfying, and boasts a tang from the passion fruit that couldn't otherwise be recreated. Sit back, close your eyes and imagine you’re in the rainforest (hammock is a bonus!). 🌴

Banana Passion Fruit Lassi

Published September 7, 2017 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 2   |    Total Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt (non-dairy yogurt would work at well)
• 1 cup chopped banana (frozen makes for a nice cool drink but is not required)
• Juice of 3-4 passion fruits, or 1/4 cup passion fruit juice
• A dash of cardamom 
• 4-5 ice cubes 
• Optional: 1 scoop whey isolate for protein

Directions:

1. If using whole passion fruits: slice fruit in half, and scoop seedy flesh into a strainer. Use the back of a spoon to push the juices through the strainer and into a blender jar. Once you’ve gotten all of the juice, discard the seeds and peel.
2. Add banana, yogurt, a dash of cardamom, ice cubes, and whey protein if using, to the blender. Turn blender to “Smoothie” setting or puree on high until the drink is smooth and no chunks remain.
3. Pour into two serving glasses and drink while it’s still cold.

Eggnog Panna Cotta with Cranberry Sauce

My dad would buy eggnog as soon as it was available on the stores. Giddily, we'd drink a half a glass for dessert. Tis the season! This is what December is for! Sugar and spice and a whole lot of cream. 

I still love the stuff, but not just any old eggnog. You know the "grown up" versions? Or as some may argue, the "real" version? The ones with bourbon? *Cringe*

I guess I still have some growing up to do before I'm ready for grown up eggnog. To me, the acid of the alcohol and the tinge of bourbon ruins a perfectly good glass of creaminess. Maybe I just haven't had the right glass of eggnog yet. 

Either way, I'm making the most out of this eggnog season with a dessert I've been dreaming up since--I'll admit it- the middle of summer. While it wouldn't've been that unusual for me to just get to work on an eggnog panna cotta recipe right then and there, I showed a little bit of self restraint and put it on my to do list instead. And my calendar, just for good measure. (My calendar pretty much rules my life: I go where it tells me and do what it has planned. With out it I'm a disaster).

In any case, this calendar thing is working for me, and five months later I finally got to work on an eggnog panna cotta. This recipe is the perfect light dessert that will use up any extra eggnog you may have from last week. It's simplicity and sparkle makes me think of New Years Eve, too. 

Eggnog Panna Cotta with Cranberry Sauce

Primal, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free    |   Caitlin Sherwood    |   

Eggnog is turned into a panna cotta and topped with bright cranberry sauce.

Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 active minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup milk of choice
• 1 3/4 cups eggnog of choice (homemade or store-bought)
• 1 tablespoon Great Lakes Gelatin
• Nutmeg, freshly grated
• 1 cup cranberries
• 2 tablespoons honey (or 1/4 cup if you like your cranberry sauce sweeter)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup orange juice

Directions:

1. Put milk in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatin over top, and heat over low heat. Do not boil— just barely a simmer. Stir constantly until gelatin is dissolved, and stir in eggnog. Stir until combined, then remove from heat. Pour liquid into 4 ramekins, and cover with saran wrap. Place in fridge to set for a whole day.
2. Make the cranberry sauce for serving: heat cranberries, honey, orange juice, and cinnamon in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Stir until honey dissolves and cranberries begin to break apart. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
3. For serving: Grate fresh nutmeg over each eggnog panna cotta, and top with a spoonful of cranberry sauce. Serve.