Roasted Mushroom Soup

I seem to be on a soup binge lately and find myself making two or three new soups every week. Although we do have a number of favorite soup recipes, I am always thinking of new ones to try and so we do not often eat the same soup more than once a month. We do love soups though, and often enjoy a big bowl of soup for lunch, although soups like this delicious creamy mushroom soup are also great served as a first course for a special weekend meal or when entertaining.

This easy soup is full of mushroom flavor as the mushrooms are roasted first before the rest of the ingredients are assembled. I used a combination of mushrooms which are sold as a wild mushroom mix at my local specialty store, but you can use any combination of mushrooms that you prefer. I used fat free half and half along with half a potato to help create a creamy texture without added fat, and I kept the garnish on the soup simple, topping each bowl with some sautéed mushroom slices as well as some fresh thyme. Other garnish ideas to consider would be toasted slices of crusty bread topped with goat cheese, or crumbled crispy pancetta bits. Since I make a couple of different soups every week anyway, when I heard a couple of food bloggers were hosting a soup challenge this month, I knew I had to join in the fun. I decided to make this soup as my contribution in the SoupaPaooza fun, a soup challenge hosted by TidyMom & Dine and Dish blogs.

• This soup is made creamy without added cream by substituting fat free half and half as well as potato.
• Mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium – more than any other produce.  They are also a source of B vitamins, potassium and fiber.