Ham and White Bean Soup

Sorry its taken me so long to post something new! Night shifts are an interesting shift to get used to!

This is a perfect fall recipe. There have been more rainy days up here and on those days nothing sounds better to me than a big pot of soup simmering on the stove. This is a great recipe too because it makes plenty to freeze for later or for great leftovers the next day. I actually think its better the 2nd and 3rd day! For the Love of Cooking has great soup recipes. I'll be posting more soon!!

1-2 onions
1-2 T olive oil

Saute onions in olive oil.

Chopped carrots (However much you think)
Chopped celery
2 cloves garlic, minced

Add carrots into onions and cook down. Add in celery and garlic and cook until tender.

1 1/2-2 C cooked diced ham

Add in ham and cook for a few minutes.

Add 4 14 oz cans of white beans (I used rinsed cannellini beans).

Add 3 cups stock. You can use chicken stock but I found ham bouillon at the store and that gave it GREAT flavor!

Season with 1 bay leaf and salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for at least 1-2 hours. You can puree it down with a blender if you like your soup thicker but I like mine a little bit more chunky.

Serve with bread of your choice.

Homemade Mushroom Soup

Today definitely felt like fall. It was kind of nice for a change. Cool, rainy and a perfect day to make soup. Brian bought some mushrooms at the Bellingham Farmer's Market this weekend and so mushroom soup was on the list. I found a fantastically easy recipe that I will be making A LOT this winter!! I forgot to take pictures (SORRY!) but I'll post other recipes with pictures later this week!!

Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 lb. regular white mushrooms
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. butter
1 onion, chopped
1 t. dried thyme
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste
Chicken Stock-I think I used between 4 and 6 cups (I wasn't measuring!)
1 cup cream (the original recipe called for 2 but a little less than one was plenty!)
1 t cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. water

Coarsely chop mushrooms in food processor. Melt butter in soup pot, add onions and saute. Add mushrooms, thyme, and bay leaf and saute for another 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, cream and stock. Let simmer for 20 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water, and add to soup. Keep stirring and serve.

Let me know what you think! It was so good!!