Cream of Mushroom Soup

For some reason I went nuts last week and bought three 8-ounce packages of Baby Bella mushrooms. This is why I'm often banned from the grocery store--to me, it's like Disneyland and I tend to overdo it. Anyhow, I needed to use my shrooms and came up with this recipe, simplified from a few online. It's a one-pot soup, which is nice, and it's so, so creamy and delicious.

Ingredients
1 medium yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 TBS butter
2 TBS flour
2 sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from stem
8 oz package of Baby Bella Mushrooms (by all means, substitute better shrooms if you have them, but the Baby Bellas worked just fine)
1 C White wine
1 package Pacific Organic Mushroom Broth (1 Quart)
Parmesan rind (optional)
1 C Cream
1/4 C milk
2 more TBS flour
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. Coarsely chop onion and mince garlic. Clean mushrooms by rubbing with a lightly damp paper towel. Cut off bad spots and remove stems. Coarsely chop the stems, and thinly slice the tops.

2. Set mushrooms aside. Add onion and garlic to your soup pot with about half of the butter and cook 5 minutes, or until onion is starting to get tender.

3. Strip the thyme leaves from their stem. Add thyme and mushrooms and cook until they begin to release their juices, about 3-4 mins. Do not salt yet, as it dries out the shrooms.

4. Add the rest of the butter in the middle of the pan with the mushrooms and onions on the side. As it melts, make a quick roux with the 2 TBS flour, then mix in with the mushrooms and onions. Cook for another 2 minutes or so.

5. Measure 1 C of white wine (cheap stuff from the liquor store is way better AND less expensive than "cooking" wine). Add to pot, cooking for 1 minute.

6. Add Parmesan rind and 1 quart of mushroom broth, heat through. The high-quality broth here makes up for the fact that I didn't have wild mushrooms on hand. The rind deepens the flavors and adds that extra je ne sais quoi.

7. Mix the 1/4 C of milk and the remaining 2 TBS butter to make a thickener. Yeah, you could have used more butter and made it part of the roux in the beginning, but I thought I'd save you a few hundred calories.

8. Add the thickener and the 1 C cream and bring the mix just barely to a boil before lowering the heat and letting it thicken for a few minutes.

9. Remove Parmesan rind. Season generously with salt and fresh ground pepper and serve.

TIPS:

* Parmesan rind. It is the best secret ingredient a girl could ask for. I always buy huge bricks of Parmesano Reggiano from Costco and cut them into big chunks for easier use. I cut off the rind in big chunks and save it in a separate bag to add to soups and sauces that are simmered for a long time. It goes in just about everything and makes you feel cool that you are using the entire cheese. Parm without a rind is packaged lies.

Sausage Mushroom Crustless Quiche

Hello food-loving friends! It's been a while, but don't worry, I have not forgotten you. I first want to give a shout-out to the recipe posted by Vinestreet for the spicy honey glazed chicken-- I tried it this week and thought it was amazing. And now, without further ado, it is my pleasure to introduce you to:

Sausage Mushroom Crustless Quiche

1/2 medium onion, diced (1/2 cup)
6-oz mushrooms, sliced (1 cup)
approx 1 - 1 1/2 cups diced sausage, cooked (I used a normal 12 oz. package of low-fat sausage)
2 large eggs
2 large egg whites
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
1 1/3 cups milk (low fat is fine)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400F.
Lightly grease a 10-inch quiche/tart pan (or a 9-inch pie plate).
In a medium frying pan, cook onion and mushrooms with a bit of vegetable oil (or cooking spray) over medium-high heat until onions are translucent and tender, and mushrooms are browned. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk in milk, then stir in mushroom mixture and diced, cooked sausages.
Pour quiche base into prepared pan. Top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 25 minutes (30-35 minutes in a pie plate), or until center is set and the outside edge is golden brown.
Let set for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

Serves 4.
salt and pepper, to taste

This was so yummy! You can use any combo of meat and vegetables, but the sausage mushroom combo is a winner. I love love love that it is crustless-- way less fat, but it forms its own crust when it bakes, so it's still stable enough to be cut and served. Be warned: I sprayed the pan w/cooking spray, but that wasn't enough because it still stuck to the pie pan a little. Also, Mark seasoned the sausage with some ginger, crushed red pepper, etc. It really made it tasty. 

Enjoy!