Cream of Mushroom Soup

With Thanksgiving just around the corner, many recipes call for canned cream of mushroom soup. 

I recommend, making it yourself instead. 

It doesn’t take that long and the flavor – wow.  You won’t want to go back to the can. 

This has been our go-to recipe for years, and although I’ve shared it here before, I thought new readers, especially, might be interested in this recipe. 

Cream of Mushroom Soup – Finding Joy in My Kitchen

Ingredients

• 4 oz mushrooms (fresh & sliced, or sliced from a can)
• 1 T minced onion
• 1/2 C chicken broth
• 1/2 C milk
• ~2 T corn starch
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Begin by preparing your mushrooms.  Wash, slice and place in a small saucepan, heating until liquids are evaporated.  If you are using canned mushrooms, skip that step and just drain the mushrooms and add them to a small saucepan. 

Meanwhile, mix together 1/2 C chicken broth with 1 1/2 T corn starch.  Stir well until corn starch is dissolved.  Add in milk and minced onions and mix well. 

Slowly, while stirring constantly, add the cornstarch mixture to your small saucepan.  Reduce heat to medium and stir constantly until the mixture begins to bubble (you may need to increase the heat a little bit) and thicken*.  Stir for 1-2 minutes and then remove from the heat.  Season with salt and pepper.

*Note: If your soup does not thicken to your liking, take the remaining 1/2 T corn starch and mix it with 1 T cold water.  Stir well, and slowly drizzle it into the soup mixture while it’s still on the burner.  Once again, stir constantly during this process, just like you would thickening gravy. Continue until the desired thickness is reached.

 

Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, or use right away. 

Enjoy!

Recipe makes roughly 8 oz. 

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Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup (homemade noodles)

This whole week we’re focusing on chicken recipes – we started yesterday with a whole chicken.  After the chicken, toss the carcass and some celery, carrots, onion and seasoning into the crockpot and make broth overnight.  See directions here.

Using your overnight broth (directions here), skim the fat by either chilling the broth for a little while, or using a fat separator. 

Return the broth to the crockpot and get ready for a delicious soup! 

Allow the soup to simmer all day in the crockpot and then prepare some homemade noodles (see below) 30 minutes before serving.  Boil them up and add them to your soup for some good, old fashioned chicken noodle soup. 

Serve with a side salad and bread and you have chicken recipe #2. 

Crockpot Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 3 C sliced carrots
• 1 C sliced celery
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 8 C chicken broth
• 1 C brown rice, uncooked
• 1/2 C soaked lentils 
• 1/2 C barley (quick cook)
• 1-1/2 C shredded cooked chicken (leftover from your chicken)
• Poultry seasoning, McCormick’s Grill Mates (chicken seasoning), to taste
• 1/2 C flour
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

Begin by taking the meat that you deboned from the chicken after your dinner and after you made broth.  You’ll want to use the little shreds of chicken (from wings, neck, legs, etc) for the soup and save the bigger breast pieces for your later meals. 

Place the chicken pieces and broth into the crockpot.  Add in sliced carrots and celery.  Season liberally with salt, pepper, poultry seasoning, and our personal favorite McCormick’s Chicken seasoning.

Add in 2 handfuls of brown rice, 1/2 C soaked lentils, and cover, cooking on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4.   One hour before serving, add 1/2 C quick cook barley.  Turn to high and cook until barley is done. 

Meanwhile, prepare the pasta.  To do so, mix the flour with with salt and pepper.

Mix in the lightly scrambled egg. 

In the end you’ll have a semi-crumbly mixture.

Roll the dough out until it is about 1/4 inch thick.  Using a pizza cutter, slice through the noodle dough making 1/4-inch thick noodle pieces. Slice them short, until they are about 2 inches in length. 

Toss them into a pot of salted boiling water and let them boil for 2-3 minutes. Drain. 

Add to your soup and serve.   

Mmm!

Join us tomorrow for a yummy crockpot casserole! 

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Sausage Soup with Spinach & Wild Rice

This recipe comes from my mom – who recently had it laying out when I stopped by for a visit.  I copied it down and decided with winter still clearly here, that it would make a hearty dinner. 

We love wild rice, but were not sure how it would combine with the Italian style of this soup – but, it was great. 

A nice change from our normal array of soups. 

Sausage Soup with Spinach & Wild Rice – from Mom

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 C water
• 1/2 C uncooked wild rice
• 1 lb. turkey Italian sausage (we used links)
• 1 tsp. olive oil
• 1 T onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3 C water
• 3 T tomato paste
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 3 cans chicken broth
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 3 C spinach, torn
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 3 T parmesan cheese

Directions

Cook wild rice in 1 1/2 C water according to package directions. 

Brown sausage, drain.  Quarter (if using links) and set aside.

Meanwhile, sauté onion and garlic.  Add sausage and 3 C water.  Add in seasoning, tomato paste chicken broth and diced tomatoes. 

Boil, then reduce to the soup to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 

Stir in wild rice, spinach and season with salt and pepper. 

Top with cheese. 

Enjoy!

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Crockpot White Chicken Chili {SRC}

Last week it was frigid here.  Two days last week temperatures never even broke 0.  That called for a dinner that warmed you up from the core. 

What better way to warm up than with a chili! 

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned to Amy, who blogs at the Fearless Homemaker. 

If you haven’t visited Amy’s blog, make it your next stop.  She’s one amazing girl – self taught cook, yoga-lover, locavore, and, get this: she got married in a surprise wedding.  Read her story here to find out about said wedding.  Her recipes are mouth-watering and I had a really hard time picking my recipe for the challenge.  I debated between:

• Slow-Cooker Cacciatore
• Pasta with Lentil Bolognese (which, is on my menu this week!)
• Fresh Carrot Pasta
• Whole Wheat Applesauce Oat Muffins, and
• Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles

Yes, hard choices!!  Especially when her pictures are outstanding.  I was won over by the slow cooker white chicken chili photo and am so glad we gave this recipe a try.  My husband and I both loved it. 

Best part: it went together in 5 minutes. 

Thanks, Amy! 

Crockpot White Chicken Chili- From Amy @ The Fearless Homemaker

Ingredients

• 1 T minced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 C shredded cooked chicken
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 2 (14 oz) can Great Northern Beans, rinsed & drained
• 4 oz. green chilies (we used mild)
• 1-3 tsp. chili powder (use more or less to taste; we used 1)
• pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 C chicken stock
• 1/4 C shredded extra sharp cheddar/colby jack cheese

Directions

Place the can of diced tomatoes (un-drained) into your crockpot.  Add 1 T minced onion, 3 minced garlic cloves, 1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, and 2 cans of Great Northern Beans that have been rinsed and drained. 

Stir in 1-3 tsp. chili powder.  We like the flavor, but don’t like burning mouths, so we opted for 1 tsp. of chili powder and just a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. 

Add 1 C chicken stock and 1 C shredded cooked chicken. 

Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours. 

Twenty minutes before serving, add in 1/4 C cheese.  Stir. 

Serve warm garnished with additional cheese and parsley, if desired. 

Now, off to check out the other delicious SRC recipes!

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White Bean, Barley & Roasted Mushroom Soup

After a snowy afternoon, this was just the soup that we needed!

This soup will warm you to the core – and it’s quite filling too. 

White Bean, Barley & Mushroom Soup – Inspired by She Wears Many Hats & Alisa Cooks

Ingredients

• 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms
• 1 C quick cook barley
• 4 C chicken stock
• 2 C water
• 2 cans “white beans” {we used canellini beans}, rinsed & drained 
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. pepper
• sea salt, to taste
• parsley for garnish

Directions

Begin by quartering 16 oz. baby bella mushrooms.  Arrange them on a cookie sheet that has been lined with tinfoil.  Lightly spray them with olive oil and then roast at 425 for 10-15 minutes, flipping once. 

Meanwhile, place 1 C quick cook barley in the bottom of a large stockpot. 

Add in 1 diced sweet onion and 3 garlic cloves, minced.  Sauté until onions are translucent.

Add 4 C chicken broth and 1 1/2 C water.  Bring soup to a simmer, and cook, covered for 10 minutes; or until mushrooms are done. 

Add the roasted mushrooms to the soup stock. 

Place about 1 C beans + the remaining 1/2 C water into a blender and blend the beans.

Pour the bean puree into the soup. 

Then, add the remaining beans to the soup. 

Reduce soup to low and simmer for 5-6 minutes.  Add in the 1/2 tsp. dried thyme and season with salt and pepper during this time. 

Finally, stir in 1 T balsamic vinegar. 

Garnish with parsley and serve. 

Enjoy!

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Turkey & Sweet Potato Chowder with Wild Rice

A few weeks ago, one of my favorite food blogs posted a delicious recipe for Smoked Turkey Chowder with Mushrooms & Sweet Potatoes.  You all know my love for sweet potatoes, right? 

Recently, we gave this soup a try and LOVED it.  We used the same basic recipe, healthified it a bit {whole wheat flour, milk rather than cream, increased the number of veggies}, and added wild rice.  It’s a new favorite. 

Turkey & Sweet Potato Chowder with Wild Rice - Adapted from Brenda

Ingredients

• 1 stalk of celery, chopped
• 2 T minced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 medium red (or yellow) bell pepper, diced
• 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1/2 C wild rice, uncooked
• 1/2 C white whole wheat flour
• 4 C chicken broth
• 2 C water
• 1 tsp. parsley, dried
• 1/4 tsp. thyme, dried
• 7 oz. frozen sweet corn
• 1 medium/large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2” pieces
• 1 C half and half or whole milk
• 1 C diced or shredded turkey
• 2 T low-sodium soy sauce
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions

Begin by sautéing the celery, bell pepper, mushrooms and carrots in the bottom of a large stockpot.  Once veggies begin to cook and release their liquids, add in the minced garlic and onion.  Sauté over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes. 

Stir in 1/2 C white whole wheat flour and coat all the veggies. 

Slowly stir in 4 C chicken broth, adding them 1/2 C at a time, stirring after each addition.  Then, add in 2 C water.  Bring soup to a boil, stirring occasionally. 

Reduce heat to a slow boil/simmer, and add in the spices (1 tsp. parsley and 1/4 tsp. thyme), 1/2 C wild rice, 7 oz. frozen sweet corn and 1/2” pieces of sweet potato. Add in turkey.  

Cook at a simmer for 20-30 minutes, covered. 

Add in 1 C half and half or whole milk.  Stir in 2 T low-sodium soy sauce. 

Serve warm topped with crumbled cooked bacon with a side of crusty bread, or perhaps whole wheat crackers. 

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