Cream of Mushroom Soup

This recipe is from a soup making class that Darcy and I attended.  We enjoy doing interactive things like cooking classes on our date nights.  Some of the vegetables used in this recipe will not remain in the finished product of the soup.  I saved them and made a new soup with them the next day by adding vegetable stock, water, pearl barley, and half a jar of roasted garlic salsa.

Ingredients:

3 cups sliced shitake mushrooms
3 cups cremini mushroms
3 cups portobello mushrooms

1 tbsp olive oi
2 tbsp butter
1 carrot, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 spring minced fresh thyme

6 cups chicken stock

2 cups chopped leeks, white parts only
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup dry white wine

3 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup fresh minced flat parsley

Fresh ground pepper
Kosher salt

Method:

Clean mushrooms by wiping with a dry paper towel.  Do not wash them (mushrooms are like sponges and will absorb water).  Separate the stems, trim off any bad parts and coarsely chop the steams.  Slice the mushroom caps 1/4 inch thick.  Set aside.

Heat the olive oil and 1 tbsp butter in a large pot.  Add the chopped mushroom stems, onion, carrot, thyme, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp pepper.  Cook over medium-low heat for 10-15 minutes, until the vegetables are soft.

Add vegetable stock, bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.  Strain and reserve the liquid.  There should be about 4 1/2 cups of stock.

Heat the remaining 1/4 pound of butter and add the leeks.  Cook over low heat for about 15-20 minutes, until the leeks begin to brown.  Add the sliced mushroom caps and cook for 10 minutes until they are browned and tender.

Add flour and cook for 1 minute.  Add wine, scrape bottom of pot, and mushroom stock.  Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.  Add the whipping cream and parsley.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Heat through but do not boil.

ENJOY!

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars

I like to keep homemade, ready to grab foods like muffins in the freezer.  It takes 20 seconds or less to defrost them in the microwave if I need them right away.  If I won't be eating it for a couple of hours, I just throw it in my bag and it is usually defrosted by the time I'm ready to eat it.

Between myself, Darcy and Calista, I've been baking a lot of muffins lately to keep the supply up in the freezer.  I was in the mood to try something different other then muffins.  I came across the recipe for Morning Glory Breakfast Bars in The Costco Connection (magazine/catalogue we get in the mail from Costco) and they looked interesting so I gave them a whirl.

Time frame wise, I would compare this recipe to the same amount of time it takes to make a batch of carrot bran muffins.  The only time consuming thing was at the end when I individually wrapped each bar that was going to go into the freezer.  They don't need to be individually wrapped, although; I would suggest placing wax paper in between each bar so that they don't stick together while in the freezer.  I wrapped mine because I wanted them to be ready to throw into my purse on the way out the door.

They're very moist and not too sweet and loaded with lots of healthy ingredients.  I gave one to Calista for her afternoon snack and not one piece hit the floor.  That's a very good sign that they are kid friendly!

Morning Glory Breakfast Bars


Ingredients:

2 cups bran cereal
1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
1 cup milk
3/4 cup drained canned crushed pineapple
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek yogurt as that is what I have started buying)
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cup liquid honey

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.  Line a 13x9 metal baking pan with foil, leaving a 2 inch overhang at each end.  Lightly butter foil.

2. In a bowl, combine bran cereal, carrot, milk, pineapple and yogurt; let stand for 5 minutes.  In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.  Whisk egg and honey into mix mixture. Pour over dry ingredients and stir until just moistened.

3. Spread into prepared pan, smoothing top.  Bake for about 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Let cool completely in pan.  Using foil overhang as handles, gently remove from pan and cut into bars.  Makes 16 bars.

Enjoy!!

Turkey Lasagna

This evening for dinner, we made turkey lasagna!  We've really taken a liking to turkey over the last little while and almost always have ground turkey in the freezer.  It was our first time making turkey lasagna and I was pleased with the results.

I don't think I would classify this dish as healthy nor would I classify it as unhealthy.  It's certainly not something I would eat on a regular basis unless the copious amounts of cheese were scaled back.  The added vegetables help make the dish a little more well-balanced.  The flavor was certainly delicious and in some cases, that is all that matters!
Ingredients:


1 medium yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced (we love garlic around here)
1 pound ground turkey
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
Salt and pepper, to taste
3 cups tomato sauce (homemade or store bought)

1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
1 cup parmesan cheese
1/2 cup feta cheese (or goat cheese), crumbled
2 tbsp parsley

1/2 cup frozen spinach, defrosted and drained of liquid
1 can of mushrooms
1/4 cup sun-dried tomato, chopped

350 g shredded mozzarella

12 lasagna noodles
Cooking spray

Method:
Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions.

Spray large pan with oil and saute onion and garlic together.  Add seasonings.  Add turkey and cook until browned then add the tomato sauce.

In a medium sized bowl, combine egg with cheese and parsley and mix well.

In a small bowl, combine spinach, mushrooms and sun-dried tomato.

In a 9x13 sized baking dish, spread 1/3 of turkey mixture on the bottom.  Lay 4 lasagna noodles over top of mixture, overlapping if necessary.  Sprinkle with 1/2 of the spinach mixture followed by 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture.  Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over top, sparingly.  Repeat layers, finishing with turkey on top followed by mozzarella cheese.

Cover with tinfoil and place on baking sheet to collect any drippings.  Bake in preheated 400F oven for about 30 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before removing foil, slicing and serving.

Enjoy!!