As you, my loyal readers, requested

    To those of you who are new to my blog, I always have a poll question for you to answer. My latest poll was a question about which recipe I should supply next. Well the time frame for the poll is over and the results ended in a tie. So you readers win. You will get two recipes this week.

     I thought it ironic that both recipes have the same primary ingredient, mushrooms. I love mushrooms. I love the way that mushrooms provide a meaty flavor and hardiness to any recipe that they are in. I guess my loyal readers are mushroom lovers just like me.


MUSHROOM SOUP (6 servings)
Ingredients:
8 oz Fresh Mushrooms
2 tbsp onions, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp non-salted butter
2-3 tbsp flour, separated
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup light cream or evaporated milk
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg


Steps:
Cut mushrooms into slices
Melt butter in large frying pan
Add in onions, garlic, and mushrooms, cook until onions are soft.
Blend in 2 tbsp flour and stir.
Add chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened, stirring frequently
In a bowl add cream and stir in additional tbsp flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg
Add cream mixture to soup
Heat to thicken while stirring frequently


MANICOTTI WITH MUSHROOMS (6 Servings)
Ingredients:
½ oz dried porcini mushrooms
6 large manicotti (dried)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, finely sliced
4 oz roasted red peppers, chopped
¾ cup low-fat ricotta cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp coarse black pepper
1 ½ cups tomato sauce (your favorite jarred, can or freshly made)
¼ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese


Steps:
In a small bowl, cover dried mushrooms with hot water, set aside to soak for 30 minutes
After mushrooms have soaked, drain and chop coarsely
Meanwhile, prepare manicotti according to package directions, drain and cool
Lightly spray 8x8-inch baking pan with olive oil, set aside
Over medium heat, heat a nonstick pan and add olive oil
Add mushrooms (except porcini), garlic and onions, cook mixture about 8 minutes
Add porcini mushrooms and continue cooking for 1 to 2 minutes
Add roasted peppers and cook for 2 minutes.
Turn off heat, and stir in the ricotta.
Add salt and pepper to taste
Transfer mushroom mixture to a large re-sealable plastic bag.
Pipe the filling into cooled manicotti shells through a hole cut in the corner of the bag.
Place the manicotti shells in prepared baking dish.
Top with tomato sauce and then sprinkle Parmesan over top.
Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Serve immediately


    I hope that you will try these recipes and will leave comments about them on this blog. I am looking forward to see how you like them.