Two soups to warm us all up

First off I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving meal and that you were stuffed and miserable afterwards and enjoyed your nap.

The colder weather last week made me want something hot and filling and I think this mushroom soup would be just the thing. And it’s easy too and only uses one pot.

One-Pot Mushroom Soup

1/4 cup butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp garlic, minced

1 1/2 pounds white mushrooms or brown mushrooms, sliced

2 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped

1/4 cup all-purpose flour 3-1/2 cups vegetable stock

3-1/2 cups vegetable stock (or chicken stock) 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 tsp salt (or to taste)

1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or to taste)

1 cup heavy cream (or half and half)

Melt butter in a large pot or 4 quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat and melt until it starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Add onion and garlic and cook until soft and tender, about 3-4 minutes.

Add mushrooms and thyme. Stir well to cook evenly until tender, about 8-10 minutes.

Stir in flour and mix well until evenly combined and thickened, about 1 minute. Pour in stock and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well and bring the mixture to a simmer. Let it simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally.

Stir in heavy cream and continue to simmer until thickened to desired consistency, about 5 minutes. Optionally, transfer half of the soup into a food processor or blender. Return the blended soup back into the pot.

Serve as is or with a side of toasted ciabatta bread, croutons, or crusty bread on the side

—kwc—

If you have leftover mashed potatoes from Thanksgiving languishing in the refrigerator, here is a good way to use them up. I’d probably add some green onions at the end and fry some bacon at the beginning and use the drippings for the onions.

M ashed P otato Soup

2 tbsp butter

½ small onion, diced

1 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups vegetable or chicken stock

1 tsp Italian seasoning

3 cups leftover mashed potatoes

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated

Salt and pepper (to taste)

Cheddar cheese, shredded

In a large stockpot melt butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble, about 1 minute. Add onion and sauté until soft and tender and starting to brown, about 3-4 minutes.

Add flour and mix well until evenly combined with the onion mixture and continue to cook for another minute. Pour in stock and Italian seasoning and mix well. Bring the mixture to a simmer, about 3-4 minutes,

Add in mashed potatoes and Parmesan cheese. Mixing until all the potatoes have broken up and the cheese has melted. Season with salt and pepper. Let the soup simmer over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until thickened to a desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Ladle into bowls and top with shredded cheese.