Today I am making a Quick Mushroom Barley Soup.
This soup can be ready in a 1/2 hour if you start the barley cooking in the stock first. Cook the bacon, onion and mushrooms in a frying pan then add them into the stock. You can use regular bacon or no bacon at all. I like the smoky flavour and to make it both lower in fat and edible by all of my family I use chicken bacon. To reduce up your preparation time buy sliced mushrooms. One thing to splurge on is Parmesan cheese. Don't buy it ground, buy a chunk. If you can't afford Parmigiano Reggiano then buy Grana Padano. The rind is hardened cheese so when you grate the cheese save the rinds. Adding the Parmesan rind gives great flavour to the soup. I put the rinds into a zip lock and keep them in the freezer. Whole Foods sells Parmesan rinds in their cheese department!
I like to make my own burgers. I find the trick to making burgers that don't fall apart when cooking it to make them ahead and leave them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. For beef burgers I keep it simple, onion soup mix and barbeque sauce mixed in with the meat. In the summer they go on the grill in the winter they go on the indoor grill or Panini Press. The Panini Press cooks them on both sides at the same time. They cook quickly and do not require flipping!
I never use bottled salad dressing. You get less oil and less sodium when you make your own dressing - you have the control. Salads are a great dish to be creative with. You can use different lettuces or greens, fruits (dried or fresh), an assortment of vegetables, nuts, seeds, cheeses, really any combination that looks good to you or if you are like me - what you have on hand. The big bag of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped is on sale this week so, Romaine will be the base of our salad tonight and I am adding blood oranges that were on sale
The dressings can also be creative or can be very simple and fast. Tonight I am going simple and fast.
This soup can be ready in a 1/2 hour if you start the barley cooking in the stock first. Cook the bacon, onion and mushrooms in a frying pan then add them into the stock. You can use regular bacon or no bacon at all. I like the smoky flavour and to make it both lower in fat and edible by all of my family I use chicken bacon. To reduce up your preparation time buy sliced mushrooms. One thing to splurge on is Parmesan cheese. Don't buy it ground, buy a chunk. If you can't afford Parmigiano Reggiano then buy Grana Padano. The rind is hardened cheese so when you grate the cheese save the rinds. Adding the Parmesan rind gives great flavour to the soup. I put the rinds into a zip lock and keep them in the freezer. Whole Foods sells Parmesan rinds in their cheese department!
I like to make my own burgers. I find the trick to making burgers that don't fall apart when cooking it to make them ahead and leave them in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours. For beef burgers I keep it simple, onion soup mix and barbeque sauce mixed in with the meat. In the summer they go on the grill in the winter they go on the indoor grill or Panini Press. The Panini Press cooks them on both sides at the same time. They cook quickly and do not require flipping!
I never use bottled salad dressing. You get less oil and less sodium when you make your own dressing - you have the control. Salads are a great dish to be creative with. You can use different lettuces or greens, fruits (dried or fresh), an assortment of vegetables, nuts, seeds, cheeses, really any combination that looks good to you or if you are like me - what you have on hand. The big bag of romaine lettuce, washed and chopped is on sale this week so, Romaine will be the base of our salad tonight and I am adding blood oranges that were on sale
The dressings can also be creative or can be very simple and fast. Tonight I am going simple and fast.
Ingredients
7 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup pearl barley
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 slices turkey or chicken bacon chopped- optional
1 1/4 pounds white mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 chunk Parmesan Rind or shaved Parmesan
Instructions
In a large pot. On high add chicken or vegetable stock and barley and Parmesan rind. Heat a frying pan on medium add oil and when hot add chopped turkey or chicken bacon and heat through. Add
mushrooms, onion, garlic, and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook,
stirring occasionally, until vegetables have softened, 6 to 8 minutes.
Romaine Lettuce Salad
Salad
4 cups Romaine Lettuce (washed and torn into bite size pieces)
1 Blood Orange, peeled and sectioned
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds
1/3 cup sliced red onion
Dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
1 tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Put salad ingredients in a bowl, add dressing ingredients and toss.
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