I’ve been having more bad days than good this last week so my freezer is nearly depleted of pre-cooked balanced meals I can microwave easily. I threw together this soup today and made more than enough for me to freeze. I used the vegetables we had on hand: broccoli, mushrooms and sweet potatoes, but added carrots to the recipe because it would be much better with them. I made my own curry spice blend but a commercially prepared one would certainly work. I know not everyone keeps all the spices needed to make curry in their cupboard but between Nikki and myself we have enough spices to make dishes from every nation. Hmm, we’ll have to try that sometime. LOL!

6 cups chicken stock
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 small sweet potatoes, peeled & diced
1 head broccoli, divided into florets
2 large carrots, sliced
1 Tbl olive oil
1 1/2 cups wild rice blend
1/2 inch ginger, minced
3 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1 tsp lemon zest
salt & pepper to taste

In bottom of large stockpot, add oil and onions. Cook on medium until onions are translucent. Add chicken to the bottom of the pot and cook until the chicken is brown on both sides. Add garlic, chicken stock and rice. Simmer on medium, stirring often. In small pan, add coriander and fennel seeds. Cook on medium, stirring constantly until coriander seeds pop. Pour seeds into a mortar and smash with pestle. Once powdered, add cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Add spice mixture to the soup along with ginger and turmeric. Stir well. Once chicken is cooked remove from pot and dice. Keep it aside until rice is nearly done and return the diced chicken to the pot. At that point, add vegetables and lemon zest to the soup. Continue to simmer until rice and vegetables are cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.