Creamy Mushroom Soup

Creamy Mushroom Soup

2 tbsp. olive oil
16 oz. cremini mushrooms (sliced)
1/2 cup onions (chopped)
1 tsp. thyme
2 cups chicken broth
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
12 oz. heavy cream

In a pot over medium heat, heat the olive oil. Add in the mushrooms and onions and saute until tender; stirring about 3-4 minutes. Add in the thyme and combine well with the mushrooms and onions. Add in the broth and bring mixture to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes. In batches, transfer the mixture in the pot to a blender and puree on high until mixture is almost smooth; set aside. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat and add in the flour, salt and pepper and whisk together until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add in the milk and bring mixture to a boil constantly stirring to prevent clumps. Add the mushroom mixture back to the pot and stir to blend; simmer to heat through about 2-4 minutes. Serve.

*Johnna's tip: Reading a recipe all the way through before starting to cook is a great start to a good meal. Sometimes you may not understand how something is going to come together until you can map out in your brain the end point. This recipe, for example, asks that you set aside the mushroom mixture in another pot/bowl/whatever, so that you can prepare in the original pot the creamy base for the soup. If you didn't read the whole recipe through you may have kept the mushroom mixture in the pot and added the butter to that same pot which would have quickly ruined the entire recipe...Just a word of advice from the good folks of JKGF;-)

*Johnna's tip: We added chives and a little cilantro (about 1 tsp. of each) on top of our soup...try it, it's good!

Picture source: http://www.sheknows.com/articles/807388.htm