Rosemary Mushroom Comfort Soup

S. was sick this weekend, so I made him some of his favorite mushroom comfort soup.  It's basically this recipe, with a few substitutions because I never have thyme or parsley at home, and I like onions. 

Excuse the photography!  This was just a quick snap at the end, but if you garnish it with some parsley or thyme, it really will be a beauty!

 

Ingredients

2 tbs butter

2 tbs olive oil

3/4 small red onion chopped

3 tbs chopped garlic (3 large cloves)

The larger size container of fresh mushrooms (can use any, I used white button)

2-3 bay leaves

1 tsp fresh or dried rosemary

2 tsp Worchestershire sauce

1 cup vegetable broth

1 tbs flour dissolved in 1 tbs water

1/2 tsp cinnamon

salt to taste

black pepper to taste

1/2 cup 2% milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

 

 

Method

1. Heat oil, butter, garlic, and onion in large pot.

2. Add mushrooms, Worchestershire sauce, bay leaves, and rosemary.  Cook until moisture from mushrooms is gone (about 5 minutes, stirring frequently).

3. Add vegetable broth and stir till mixture boils.  Then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

4. Add diluted flour and stir until mixture thickens.  Add salt and pepper to taste, plus cinnamon.

5. Add milk and heavy cream.  Stir and simmer for a few minutes.  Turn heat off.

6. Serve hot with my favorite, toasted rosemary olive oil bread.

 

Enjoy and hope you feel better!

 





Croissants, Pot Pie, and Soup! Pizza too.

This weekend, S. and I realized we had definitely fallen off when it comes to cooking.  Therefore, we spent our Saturday night proving it to ourselves that we still had it.  Of course, we didn't really think about the fact that we would eat it ALL, resulting in us falling off another wagon (trying to lose a little weight).  OOPS.  But honestly, it was totally worth it and not all that unhealthy - minus the first item on the menu...

Nutella Croissants. 

Whoever said dessert had to be last didn't make good enough dessert.  Just buy a can of crescent rolls, dollop nutella on each triangle, roll it up, and bake!  So easy, so good.

 

Might as well keep going backwards in the meal.  Here was our main dish:

Veggie Pot Pie 

S. added some curry powder that makes me think even my mom will eat this!  We used Gardein's chicken strips, though, and I have to say I prefer the Morningstar ones.  Gardein's are bland and didn't seem to soak up flavor as well as the Morningstar chicken strips.

 

And on to the appetizer...

Mushroom Soup!  I followed this recipe from pinterest, but I substituted rosemary for thyme (didn't have any thyme; who ever has the thyme to do anything?! - so corny, I know) and skipped the parsley.  I used all white button mushrooms, since those are the cheapest, but I can imagine this being delicious with a medley of mushrooms.  I forgot to garnish with some sliced mushrooms, but it was still awesome.  This was definitely S.'s favorite.

 

And here's a gem from another night: Portabella, Red Pepper, and Goat Cheese Pizza

I was most excited about the pizza dough.  I got the idea from pinterest (where else?).  Buy a bag of frozen dinner rolls (I bought a pack of 36 for $4.50).  Twelve rolls, thawed, and rolled together make a pizza plenty large enough to feed two hungry people, with a slice or two leftover.  That's $1.50 per crust, which is a lot cheaper than your pre-made crusts and a lot tastier!  Also - the red peppers roast nicely while the pizza is baking, and the goat cheese adds a savory touch that is out of this world.  Give it a go!

 

Tip:  if you have trouble getting the dough to stay spread apart as your roll it into a pizza shape, put plastic wrap (I used a plastic bag because that's all I had - don't judge) over the dough and wait 15 minutes.  Something about bonds and chemicals and science and stuff - but that definitely solves the problem!

What have you been cooking lately?