Creamy Mushroom Soup

Comfort food – whether it’s the grilled cheese and tomato soup your Mama fixed you when you were under the weather or your Granny’s chicken and dumplings, it makes us feel better or takes us back to a time in our childhood. We all have that one, usually-not-so-healthy meal that just makes us feel “Ahhhh”.

My wife calls this recipe comfort food. When she is stressed or doesn’t feel well, she wants my Mushroom Soup. The last week was a little hard on her so I surprised her on Friday with her feel-better meal. Scored some major points there!

I just use plain old white mushrooms. You could get fancy and use wild mushrooms but I honestly don’t think you could improve much on the basic recipe. Mushrooms are usually sold in 8 oz. packs so use 3 packs.

For this recipe, a cast iron Dutch oven works best because even heat distribution is very critical. If you don’t have one, use a heavy soup pot – this is not a recipe for your pretty aluminum cookware. Monitor heat closely at all times and do not allow the soup to reach a hard boil. When you boil cream-based dishes, the milk proteins will separate from the water – that’s called curdling. It will ruin the smoothness that makes this soup so good.

You will get a workout with this recipe! Any time cream and flour are used together in a recipe you must whisk continuously to avoid scorching and to blend smoothly so don’t put this soup on and go watch the end of American Idol. Stay close by and pay attention.

[recipe title=”Creamy Mushroom Soup” servings=”6-7″ time=”1 hour” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

1 1⁄2 pounds fresh white mushrooms
chopped
1 medium sweet onion finely chopped
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
6 Tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken stock or broth
1⁄4 cup plus 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1⁄4 cup Half & Half
1 teaspoon table salt
1⁄2 to 1 teaspoon black pepper

Directions
In a Dutch oven combine chicken broth, mushrooms, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Bring to a low simmer and cover, stirring occasionally. In a medium saucepan, melt butter and add onions. Cook until onions are very tender. Slowly add flour while whisking continuously. When flour is completely combined, add half & half and continue to whisk. When fully incorporated, pour into simmering mushroom mixture. Reduce heat slightly and allow to cook for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat, cover and allow to rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Cooking notes

A cast iron Dutch oven works best for this recipe because even heat distribution is very critical.
Monitor heat closely at all times. Do not allow to reach a hard boil.

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Pan-Fried Chicken Patties

I know the first thing you are going to say when you see this picture – “those look just like the salmon patties my mom used to make” and you wouldn’t be very far off! Of course, the main difference is they are made with canned chicken breast. Now don’t get me wrong, I love me some salmon patties but while salmon has an extraordinary flavor, it is rather strong and the cooking smell lingers.

Chicken is much milder in flavor and aroma and that opens so many avenues for exciting new seasonings and flavor. I tend to use Italian seasonings in a lot of my cooking but there is no reason you can’t try something different – change the flavor of the entire meal by simply switching a few ingredients. Cumin instead of basil, cilantro instead of oregano, black beans instead of steamed squash. You just went from Tuscany to Tucson. Heck, I bet they would be good with a little pineapple and a drizzle of soy sauce. This is a very versatile entrée and gentle on your budget.

So be creative with this and be sure to save your leftovers. These little jewels make a great sandwich the next day.

[recipe title=”Pan Fried Chicken Patties” servings=”4″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

1 (15oz) can well drained chicken
1 large egg
2 or 3 tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons olive oil divided
2 tablespoons butter
1⁄2 cup finely chopped sweet onions
1⁄2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1⁄4 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon table salt
1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1⁄2 cups garlic breadcrumbs

Directions

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and add onions, bell pepper and garlic. Cook on medium-high for 5 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and transfer to a medium mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil, egg, and mayonnaise. Stir well and add remaining ingredients, breadcrumbs last. Add half the breadcrumbs and mix well by hand. Slowly add remaining breadcrumbs and continue mixing by hand until patties formed will hold their shape. Heat butter in saucepan and fry patties on medium high. Flip patties after 5 minutes and cook another 5 minutes. Remove to a paper towel covered plate and allow to drain 5 minutes before serving.

Cooking Notes

The main thing is working in just the right amount of bread crumbs so the patties will hold together. You may need a little more salt & pepper.
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Penne Rigate

I love the smell of good Italian food cooking. Makes you want to take a big ol’ bite of the air! Putting on a big pot of marinara and smelling it cooking ALL day – well, it don’t get much better than that.

But if you don’t have all day to chop and simmer, you can start out with a good jarred sauce and end up with some pretty good aromas, not to mention a yummy supper. Here are a couple things to look for in a sauce:

Turn the jar up to make sure the sauce is thick. You can’t always depend on a label to make that judgement for you.
If the product has ingredients added, make sure the one you buy matches the end result you want. Fewer ingredients mean you have more leeway to customize the flavor.

I get good results from Bertolli Sauce. Of course, I end up adding this and that and sometimes simmering it a little so the flavors grab on to each other but for this recipe, I kept it simple.

Now, sausage – buy something good quality and that doesn’t mean it has to be expensive. Many stores have their own brand of sausage that is economical and of good quality. I personally like Publix’s brand of Italian sausage – good flavor and just enough fat to add the flavor to the dish.

You can come home at 5:00 and have this on the table by 5:30. Add a salad and a crusty loaf of bread and you’ve got supper…quick!

[recipe title=”Penne Rigate” servings=”6″ time=”30 minutes” difficulty=”easy”]

Ingredients

Olive Oil
1 lb quality Italian sausage
1 lb Penne Pasta
1 medium sweet onion coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper coarsely chopped
1 (8oz) container white mushrooms sliced in two
7 cloves of garlic chopped medium to fine
2 medium zucchini sliced ½ inch thick (may also use yellow squash)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Cheese for grating on top

Directions

Strip the casing off the sausage, tear into small pieces and place in a large deep sided skillet on medium heat. As the sausage begins to fry you should start to see some grease in the skillet, if not add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion and allow to cook until onion begins to brown just a little. Reduce heat slightly, add bell peppers and mushrooms (if it looks too dry to cook without burning or sticking, add 1 tablespoon olive oil).

Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Slightly reduce heat, add garlic and stir. Allow to cook about 5 minutes, stir in marinara, cover and lower to a simmer. This is about the time to cook pasta following label directions.

Add zucchini, stir and allow to simmer 8-10 minutes – NO LONGER. Drain pasta and place in a large serving bowl making a well in the center, add sauce and grate cheese on top before serving.

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