Soup weather! It has been a bit chilly here lately. B-rrrrr. Ugg boot weather. Yesssssss!

Oh how I love a good hot soup when it’s cold outside. Now, I would never think of opening a can of cream of mushroom soup and eating it as is. I like cooking with canned soups. I have no problem with that. But I like to eat homemade soup. This is a good one. Nothing fancy….simple and easy to make.

This soup has such an intense mushroom flavor, which I love. It’s creamy and delicious. I would love to try it with some shitake mushrooms sometime. YUM! This soup is so good just plain, I ate some of it with egg noodles and some with rice. Over rice, it was just tooooooo good. But then again, anything with rice is good to me! Oh, and I also enjoyed dipping my buttered toast in the soup. M-m-m-mmmmm.

I hope you will try this. Experiment with different mushrooms! Enjoy.

Creamy Mushroom Soup

1 pound fresh mushrooms (I used baby Portobello), chopped
2  1/2 cups chicken stock (you could use vegetable stock)
1  garlic clove, minced very fine
1/2 cup minced onion
1  1/2 cup heavy cream
3  Tblsp flour (4 if you like a thicker soup)
salt and pepper to taste (I went heavy on the black pepper)
3  tblsp butter

In a large skillet, melt 3 tablespoons of butter. Saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic in the butter. Add the flour and mix until mushrooms appear coated. Pour in the stock and heat for about 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper.  Stir in the cream. Simmer until hot, for about 15 minutes. Do not boil. Eat.

Whenever I go to Hawaii, the first thing that I want to eat is the Kalua Pig/pork. I love it so much. Traditionally, a whole pig  is wrapped in banana leaves and cooked slowly in a pit that is dug in the ground. It’s so good and has such a smoky flavor. I love shredded pork and I just do my version, which is in the crock pot. Yep, it’s delicious and so moist.

I love this shredded pork. This is perfect for some lettuce wraps, which is really good. But I love it on top of some hot rice. It’s delicious, especially when you spoon some of the juices on top and the rice absorbs that juice. M-mmmmm.

This is an easy dish and you won’t be disappointed. I usually use a pork roast for this….like a pork shoulder or pork butt. Oh, and it should be a little on the fatty side. I have also used the boneless country short ribs. They are thick and a little fatty. Either works great, but using a roast will obviously take a little longer.

You’re going to love this. I just know it!!

Asian Shredded Pork 

4 pound Pork shoulder roast or country pork ribs
2 cloves of fresh garlic, halved
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 Tblsp liquid smoke (optional….it’s just as good without)
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use low sodium)
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup water

Place the pork in a crock pot. Throw in the garlic, ginger, liquid smoke and soy sauce. Add the water. Sprinkle in the black pepper. Cook on low for about 6 hours, or high for about 4-5 hours. Be sure to test it after about 3 hours to make sure its not already cooked. Using a fork, you should be able to shred it easily. Remember, if you are using the country pork ribs, the cooking time will be less.

Serve over some hot cooked rice. Oh, and a fried egg on the side is good too! YUM!!!