Wanna Get Mushy?

So, what are your New Year's resolutions?

Have you started on them?

Besties, share, I think we'd all love to hear them!

Last year, I vowed to lose the baby weight, which was a good idea since my baby gets her associates degree this year.

This year, I'm cooking healthier and eating less meat.

 So how about a nice vegetarian dinner that's fresh, hearty, and crowd pleaser?

Soup is a perfect choice when accompanied by a good dipper,

and this one is a fat free!

Make out that shopping list:

2 pounds of fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 tablespoons of minced garlic

1 envelope onion soup mix

1 box of vegetable stock

4 ribs of celery, sliced

3 tablespoons of canola oil

2 tablespoons of steak seasoning

2 cups of dried barley

1 cup of dry white wine, such as chardonnay

8 oz fat free sour cream

 In a heavy bottomed stock pot, warm the canola oil over medium high heat.

Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute.

Dump in the onions and celery and saute until the onions are translucent.

Add the steak seasoning, and cook for two more minutes.

Pour in the wine and deglaze the pot.

Deglazing is using a liquid to scrape the brown bits off of the bottom of the pot,

which helps to build a richer sauce.

This is wine.

This is raspberry iced tea in a wine glass.

*Sighs*

 And these are mushrooms.

Two different kinds, actually, button and baby portobellas.

 Wash the mushrooms.

I do not care what any fancy ass cookbook says.

 I am not slicing dirt and whatever else into my family's food on purpose.

 Slice those babies nice and chunky.

 Add them to the pot and saute for two minutes.

 Pour in the stock and turn it down to low.

Let it bubble merrily for about five minutes, stirring if you think about it.

 Add the barley and mix it in.

 Fog up the camera lens with an attempted close up.

 They plump up in about 15 minutes.

 Take a small bowl and SCHWUMP in your fat free sour cream.

Relax, your husband will never know you've used the crap without fat.

Ladel in about 1 cup of broth from the pot to gently bring the temperature

of the sour cream up.

This little trick will keep it from breaking and looking like tapioca in your soup.

 Stir until smooth, the slowly add it to the soup.

 Let this simmer, crank the oven to 375, and let's make some dippers.

 I'm feeding 6, so I used 16 slices of whole wheat bread.

Spray one side of each slice with butter flavored cooking spray.

Each sandwich is stuffed with thinly sliced tomato and

an assortment of cheeses, such as pepper jack and brie, left over from the holidays.

Toast on a lined baking sheet for 10 minutes, flip, and toast another 10.

Slice diagonally and platter them up.

 And the soup's perfect now too.

Bring out some fruit salad, and you have a really great dinner.

You can totally mess up your diet with dessert, trust me.

(Savannah HAD to go and make oatmeal M&M cookies.)