Home Sweet Home - Beef & Mushroom Soup

Pat mad it home very early this morning.  Quite a bit worse for wear and not feeling at all well.  So a lot of TLC is in order.  Not eating well for over a week and being dehydrated, I've opted for some very well de-greased soups and maybe some pudding for the sweet tooth I know he is bound to have.

Of course there is home made chicken soup and I decided to opt for a simple Beef-Mushroom and Vegetable Soup.  Luckily there was still home made beef stock in the freezer that I made a while back (thank you Julia Child).  So last night while watching the final episode of Top Chef All-Stars; congrats to Richard, I got the ingredients together and let it simmer for a while.  I just hope he is up to eating it later today.  For now sleep my sweet....you are home!

Beef-Mushroom Soup with Vegetables

1 lb very lean stew beef, cut into bite size pieces
1 small onion, minced
olive oil, to coat bottom of pan
1 stalk celery, chopped small
2-3 carrots, chopped small
3 quarts good quality beef stock
3-4 oz. Shiitake Mushrooms, stems removed and sliced
4 oz Crimini Mushrooms, sliced
4 oz White Button Mushrooms, sliced
1/2 cup peas (I use frozen)
additional vegetables as you like
1 Bay Leaf
pinch of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a heavy bottom pot or Dutch Oven bring oil to temp to brown your beef.  Add beef with a bit of salt and pepper and brown lightly.  Add minced onion and saute until translucent.  Add a bit of the stock to de-glaze pan.  Once you have gotten all the browned bits up add the remainder of your stock along with carrots and celery, bay leaf, thyme,salt and pepper.  Allow to cook until carrots are al dente.  If you are using other fresh vegetables allow them time to cook.   Add mushrooms and cook until just tender.  Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if necessary.  At this stage you can add rice, barley or noodles just prior to serving.

Review - "The Italian Slow Cooker" by Michele Scicolone

I've recently stopped buying cookbooks.  Let me re-phrase that, I'm being very selective about the books I buy and I have discovered the joy of the Kindle!  Granted, with the Kindle you don't get the pretty pictures, but once I've checked it out and drooled over it at the bookstore, I can pretty much live without the photos. I'm not going to go into all the reasons I love my new toy, but it is making life easier!

I have a couple of Ms. Scicolone's books including both Soprano's cookbooks and I like the way she writes.  Her recipes come out delicious, they are easy to follow and in the case of The Italian Slow Cooker simple to make.  Be forewarned though, a number of the recipes in this book do call for browning meat ahead in a skillet or sauteing items before putting them in the slow cooker.  The recipe I posted for the
Slow Cooker Chicken Stock is straight from her book.  There is also a recipe for Roman Oxtail Stew and a wonderful Beef in Barolo.  I haven't made them all, but the recipes I have tried have been delish!  So for those of you who like your slow cooker, I highly recommend you check it out whether in paperback or on Kindle.