Cream Of Mushroom Soup

Cream of Mushroom Soup doesn't need to come out of a can, you can make this from scratch. I will say that cans of soup have their place. I use them in a few recipes. Homemade soup is always best. During the winter soup will keep you warm, and when you are ill, something helps you feel better like soup. Here is one of my favorite types of soup, mushroom soup.

This soup takes about 30 minutes to prepare. Sometimes I just want a bowl of soup, not a day long process. This soup tastes like it cooked all day long, but I assure you, you can make this one for dinner, and not spend all evening in the kitchen.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

• 10 button mushrooms
• 1/2 ounce dried mushrooms (any type - *optional*)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small potato - diced
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup heavy cream or milk

Instructions:
If you have dried mushrooms soak in heavy cream while you begin preparation on mushrooms. Ideally, these should soak until they are tender. Saute mushrooms and onions over medium head in a medium sized saucepan. Saute until onions are transparent and the mushrooms have begun to release some of their water. Add 2 cups of chicken stock and potato. Cover and simmer for about 18 minutes over a medium-low heat. Puree soup in either a blender or with a hand immersion blender until soup is well blended and is fairly smooth. Return soup stock to pot, add heavy cream and heat until the soup is hot all of the way through.

You can garnish the soup with a small dollop of sour cream. Chopped fresh chives or fresh dill goes well with this soup.