Wild Mushroom and Thyme Soup

Wild Mushroom and Thyme Soup, sounds delicious right? Well here's the scoop peeps - it's just about the nastiest, most un-appetizing thing I've ever made (or even seen, for that matter) but it does taste good. It tastes really good. IF you can get past how awful it looks it is definitely worth it flavor-wise. I might suggest not blending it up as much, it looked way better before I blended it - once blended it looks like mushroom soup, only replace the word mushroom with a word that rhymes with 'goop' but starts with a p - I'd use another word if I could think of one that rhymes with diarrhea other than maybe gonorrhea, so I'm going with "goop" if ya get my drift...

...and I can't believe I just wrote both diarrhea and gonorrhea in a post about soup. Sorry. I know I just lost everyone and no one is now going to continue reading this post and actually make the soup. My bad. However; for you die hards that still have an appetite, here's the recipe:

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1/3 cup minced shallots
1 1/2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms (such as stemmed shiitake, oyster and crimini), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups (approx) canned low-salt chicken broth
1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 2 inch chunks
1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms, brushed clean of any grit
5 tablespoons Madeira

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add shallots, saute 1 minute. Add fresh mushrooms, saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Add thyme and garlic, saute until mushrooms are golden, about 8 minutes. Stir in 6 cups broth, potatoes and porcini. Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes.

looks good before blending it!

but after blending - yuck. 

Working in batches, puree soup in blender. Return soup to pot. Mix in Madeira and enough chicken broth to thin soup to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Refrigerate.)

Bring soup to simmer before serving. Makes 12 servings.

*notes: I followed this recipe other than substituting white wine for the Madeira, and I didn't peel the potatoes.  I think substituting vegetable broth would be fine if you want to make this vegetarian.

For the record, I know I didn't do a good job selling this one, but it does taste really good - I wouldn't share an ugly dish that didn't at least taste good!

PS: backstory if you're still reading - I found this recipe in a brochure selling cabinets that I found when cleaning out some old files. Don't ask why I decided to make a recipe from a cabinet brochure instead of one I found online that has a million reviews. Possibly a life lesson right there.

9.7.18: tomato tart

9.7.17: first aid certification

9.7.16: brownie, oreo, reese's ice cream cake

Spinach Maria Soup

Today is my mom's birthday and I was thinking about some recipes and ideas she's given me that I could post in honor of her - there's quite a few of them but this soup popped into my brain and now I want to make it for lunch, so I'm sharing this one :) I don't have a photo (since I'm posting this before I make it!) but it looks like cream of spinach soup ... I'll leave you this adorable bunny and spinach photo instead:

I actually can't remember if mom gave me this recipe, or if she raved about the soup so much that I went and found the recipe somewhere (if I did I have no idea where so can't give credit).  Either way she gets the credit for telling me about it, and I've made it quite a few times since and we really like it. Perfect chilly fall day soup.

SPINACH MARIA SOUP

1/2 stick butter

1/2 small onion, chopped

3 T. flour (mixed with a little water)

3 cups chicken broth 

4 oz. cream cheese, cut into small pieces

1/3 cup plain greek yogurt

milk, as needed for consistency

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 can artichoke bottoms, chopped into small bite-sized pieces

• Melt the butter, add onion and sauté until the onions are wilted and softened.
• In a small bowl combine 3 T. flour with a little water to make a thin roux, add to the butter and onions in the pan and stir to combine. Cook and stir for a couple minutes, then add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. 
• Reduce temperature and add cream cheese, 1/3 cup plain greek yogurt, and enough milk to reach the consistency you want.
• Add chopped spinach and chopped artichokes: continue cooking over low heat, stirring occasionally, until everything is heated thru and creamy smooth. 

10.18.2017: pineapple upside down bundt cake

10.18.2016: pumpkin owl

10.18.2015: spinach artichoke spaghetti squash

White Chicken Chili

We had so much good food at the ukulele hoedown last week - Al made his West African Peanut Soup (click here for that post - I know it sounds weird but ya gotta believe me this soup is killer), beef stew, and my sloppy joe recipe (click here for that post); I made sweet and tangy meatballs (will share later); Cathy's neighbor, Jane, made this white chicken chili that has white beans and light cream cheese in it to thicken and make it so creamy  - mmmmm, delish! I like it so much I asked for the recipe and if I could share - my neighbor Midge makes a good one but I lost her recipe, I have to put this one on the blog right away so I won't lose it too! This is so good I took leftovers home and had it for breakfast the next morning (I love leftovers for breakfast, doesn't matter what it is!).

Ingredients

• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts , diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 small yellow onion , diced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic , finely minced
• 2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chilies
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
• 1 (8 oz) pkg Neufchatel cheese, cut into 12 slices (aka light cream cheese)
• 1 1/4 cup fresh corn (frozen works too)
• 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
• chopped fresh cilantro , for serving
• shredded Monterrey Jack cheese , for serving
• tortilla chips , for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a 6 quart enameled dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once oil is hot add chicken and diced onion and saute until chicken is no longer pink, about 6 minutes.
2. Add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer. Add chicken broth, green chilies, cumin, paprika, oregano, coriander, cayenne pepper and season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring mixture just to a boil then reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Add Neufchatel cheese and stir until nearly melted (it will break down in little bits and will appear to look like separated cheese but it will eventually melt).
4. Stir in corn, and 1 can of Cannellini beans, then process 3/4 of the remaining beans along with 1/4 cup broth from the soup in a food processor until pureed, add bean mixture to soup along with remaining 1/4 can of beans (you can skip the pureeing step and just add the beans directly to soup, the soup just won't be quite as creamy). 
5. Simmer about 15 minutes longer. Mix in fresh lime juice and serve with Monterrey Jack cheese, chopped cilantro and tortilla chips for dipping if desired.
6. Recipe Source: Cooking Classy
   
   6 servings 355 cals per serving

Gazpacho

I'm not normally a lover of gazpacho - anyone else think it just tastes like runny salsa? It's been soooo hot here tho that the thought of making hot soup is out of the question - that's probably the reason that when I saw this gazpacho recipe from Anne Burrell (Food Network) I was willing to give it a try! That and the fact that this recipe has bread in the base, I've never heard of that (I don't know, is that standard in gazpacho? Just because I've never heard of it doesn't mean it isn't a normal thing).

I followed this recipe to a T other than using a red onion because that's what I had on hand (and it was too strong in the gazpacho, don't recommend using that kind) and an orange pepper because I don't like green bell peppers. Oh, and I substituted bloody mary mix for the tomato juice - and this soup turned out great! I will make this again many times this summer, especially if this flippin' heat continues...

Ingredients:

• 8 slices white bread, crusts removed, bread broken into big chunks
• 2 pounds tomatoes, seeded
• 1 english cucumber, peeled
• 1 large white onion
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds and pith removed
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• kosher salt
• high quality extra-virgin olive oil
• 2-3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup tomato juice, if needed

Directions:

1. Soak the bread in a medium bowl of water to soften, about 15 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and place in a large bowl.
2. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, 2/3 of the cucumber, 1/2 the onion, and 1/2 the pepper and add to the bread. Add the garlic, season with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix to combine and let sit for about 20-30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry and to let the salt pull some moisture out of the tomatoes.
3. Meanwhile, for the garnish, dice the remaining cucumber, onion and pepper into 1/4" dice and reserve. (NOTE: I did not make garnish...as you can tell from the picture hahah)
4. Working in batches, puree the tomato bread mixture in a blender with the vinegar. Blend in tomato juice to loosen the mixture if needed. Remove soup to a large bowl and stir in about 1/2 cup of high quality olive oil. (NOTE: I used less oil, didn't want to add that many calories!)
5. Taste for salt and add more if needed.
6. Chill. Serve cold garnished with the diced cucumber, pepper and onion. Drizzle with a little more olive oil if desired.

4 servings

Click here for the original recipe source

one year ago: 3 ingredient sangria
two years ago: Kyle's mushroom rice

Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup

Now that St. Patty's Day dinner is over, do you have lots of leftovers? Here is an easy, quick way to use them up - make soup!

I don't have a recipe, just wing it based on what your leftovers are...I start with putting a little oil in a big soup pot and sauteing some diced onion until translucent; if you don't have cooked potato and carrot leftovers but want them in the soup I'd dice up some raw and add with the onions until they are softened. Anything else you want to add that isn't pre-cooked (celery, garlic, whatever), add to the onion mixture at this point - when it's all softened add chicken broth (enough to make a pot of soup!), and then once it's hot add chopped up pre-cooked leftover potatoes, carrots, cabbage and corned beef. Let it simmer on the stove for a while so the flavors all meld together. That's it!

PS: don't add salt until you taste the finished product - the corned beef is so salty it might be enough. You can also add other seasonings if you want - thyme, bay leaves (remove when you're ready to eat the soup), parsley, and pepper would all taste good.

West African Peanut Soup

Cathy has been talking for so long about this great soup that Al makes, quite truthfully it did not sound good to me so I didn't bother following up and getting the recipe to try it...but then she started raving about it again the other day, and I was in the grocery store when she told me the ingredients, so I figured I'd finally make it. And she is right, this is SO good. Yes, it sounds weird. No, peanut butter and tomatoes do not sound like a good combination. Yes, it is delicious and very easy to make. Trust me people, ignore how it sounds and try it!

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup roasted and shelled peanuts
• 2 Tablespoons peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn
• 1 medium red or white onion, chopped
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tablespoon)
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken (about 2 thighs or breasts) cut into chunks
• pinch of cayenne
• salt and pepper to taste
• 6 cups stock or water
• 2 sweet potatoes or yams (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into thick slices
• 8 plum tomatoes, cored and halved (canned are fine, drain first)
• 1/2 pound collards or kale, washed and cut into wide ribbons
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth

Directions:

Chop peanuts, or crush them with the side of a knife, or pulse them in a food processor to chop roughly.

Put oil in a deep skillet or medium saucepan over medium heat; add onion, ginger, and garlic and cook stirring occasionally until onion is soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add chicken and cook for another 3-4 minutes until just coloring. Add 1/2 cup peanuts, cayenne, and salt and pepper.

Stir in the stock and sweet potatoes, bring to a boil then turn heat down to medium-low so the soup bubbles gently. Stir in tomatoes and kale/collards, cook stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked thru, approx. 10 minutes.

Stir in 1/4 cup peanut butter. Taste, adjust seasonings (you may want to stir in additional peanut butter at this point). Serve garnished with remaining peanuts.

4 servings
recipe courtesy of Mark Bittman/Cooking Channel