Mushroom & Beef Soup

Happy Friday everybody! 

It's been a crazy busy week, but I've got today and tomorrow off so I'm going to be catching up on some cleaning and some homework for school.

We've been going through a MAJOR heat wave here and I almost can't believe that I made this, but it was so good - I had to post it.  It's so easy and is done in less than 30 minutes!  If you want to wait until winter to make it, then I don't blame you, but if you're like me, and like soup ANY time - this is the real deal!

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup portobello mushrooms, sliced
1 & 1/2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, minced - plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons fresh mint, minced
salt and pepper, to taste
croutons, optional - for garnish

In a medium stockpot under medium high heat, saute the garlic in the olive oil.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender and most of liquid is evaporated.

Add stock, parsley, and mint.  Simmer for about 15-20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with croutons and chopped parsley.

I served this with a grilled cheese sandwich - it's a perfect soup for dipping!  I think I loved this soup so much because it reminded me a lot of French Onion soup without all the onion and cheese.  It's definitely a keeper!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Steamed Mussels

Well, if you voted for my muffins yesterday on Foodie Fights, then I greatly THANK YOU! Because I ended up coming out victorious! Booyah. And yes, I said "Booyah!" And if you think you're up for the challenge, I highly recommend signing up for a future battle! It's completely fun, and definitely lets your inner creative self come out!

On a side note, I was reading the other day that Seattle is banning Styrofoam in restaurants and grocery stores starting July 1st. This is a pretty green effort on Seattle's part. And as a response to this, apparently, some compostable meat trays have been developed made out of corn. What I found most shocking about all of this... developing these trays will prevent 6,000 tons of plastic and plastic-tainted waste from being sent to landfills. SIX THOUSAND TONS! Excuse my french, but that's a shit-ton of waste being saved there. Why have these things not been developed and mass-produced country-wide? Seriously... the mid-west and east coast need to get on this band wagon!

Anyway, my love of seafood continues with this easy and quick mussels recipe...


Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's May 2010 issue - 'Mussels Steamed in Beer w/ Creme Fraiche, Herbs, & Parmesan Croutons'

1 cup croutons (you can make your own or just buy the packaged stuff)
small handful fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 tablespoon tarragon
3/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
3 tablespoons butter
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon dried thyme
2 lbs. mussels, cleaned
1 large tomato, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 bottle Belgian beer
salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, combine the parsley, chives, and tarragon. Whisk in sour cream and both mustards. Stir until blended.

In a large dutch oven, melt the butter under high heat. Add garlic and thyme and stir for about 1 minute. Add mussels, tomatoes, and green onions. Slowly pour in the beer and add in sour cream mixture. Season with salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and steam for about 8-10 minutes, or until mussels open. (Discard any mussels that have not opened after 10 minutes, they're no good)

Serve mussels in a deep bowl and top with croutons. (As you can see, I went a little crouton crazy, but I like my croutons!) Dig on in, and just to warn you, it's going to be messy, but you'll enjoy the flavor too much to care!

This was really great. The broth was flavorful and not too heavy. The mussels were juicy and the added crunch of croutons was a nice bonus. Enjoy!