Low fat, Full flavor Broccoli Mushroom Soup

This soup is great way to incorporate all the items we willing receiving this week and leftovers from last week! I am not a fan of cream soups so this recipe was created inan effort to get a creamy texture without the heaviness of a cream and its fat.I also had leftover mashed potatoes at the time and they became the creamyelement in the soup. Broccoli andmushrooms are a great combo and sautéing the mushrooms in Marsala or Sherry cookingwine and some evo before incorporating them into the soup, in the end gives thesoup a rich full bodied flavor. Anotheradded richness is the roasted garlic. When I get a sleeve of garlic, I roast half the heads so I always havesome on hand in the frig. It is soft andcreamy, like butter and the flavor is incredible! Kick it up with some truffle oil when bakingand it’s really awesome. Another addedgarnish that I am going to use this time is some oven roasted potato chips tonestle in the bowl when serving to resurface the creamy potato base of thesoup. This is one of my husband’s favsbecause he really enjoys creamy soups and this is one that he doesn’t miss thecream!

Low fat, Full Flavor Creamy Broccoli Mushroom Soup
8-10 servings
3lb organic broccoli heads
4 cloves roasted garlic
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
2T Extra virgin olive oil
Splash of white balsamic vinegar
2 T of basil pesto (prepared or homemade)
1 heaping cups of mashed potatoes
32 oz. container + 1 cup of organic chicken broth

1 cup thinly sliced portabella or cremini mushrooms
Marsala or Sherry cooking wine
2T Extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
fat-free half and half or 2% milk (optional)

1. Lightly steam the broccoliheads to retain bright green color, roughly chop. Reserve 1 cup of the broccoli for finishing.

2. Heat 2T of oil inyour soup pot. Add the onions and celeryand sauté until soft. Add the splash ofbalsamic vinegar while tossing over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until the garlicbreaks down into the onion and celery mix. Add the broccoli (reserve 1 cup) and potatoes; stir to combine over lowheat. Add the broth slowly, gently foldingeverything together. Let the soup simmeron low heat for about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2T of evo in medium sauté pan over medium high heat. Add the mushrooms, cook until they start torelease their liquid and add at least a ¼ cup of cooking wine to pan. Keep sautéing on the higher heat, until thewine is absorbed into the mushrooms. Sautéthe mushrooms until they are almost golden and somewhat caramelized. You could add a 1/2T of butter while sautéingthis if you feel you need it.
4. When all the soup ingredients arebroken down, turn off heat and use a hand blender to puree it. If you feel the soup is too thick at thispoint, add a little water or you could add fat free half & half, 2% milk, etc.to thin it out to your liking. Stir inthe reserved chopped broccoli and the mushrooms. Give the soup about two quick hits with theblender if you want to incorporate them a little more. You could also serve them on the side to beplaced in individual servings, as well as a cheddar cheese or oven baked potatochips.