Healthy, Hearty, and Kinda Creamy Mushroom Soup

I recently discovered Skinnytaste.com's soup recipes. I had some dental work done and was only able to eat very soft foods for a loooooong time. Once I got tired of scrambled eggs and mashed potatoes, I decided I was going on a mission for actual tasty soft food recipes. 

 I have now tried quite a few of the Skinnytaste soup recipes. This mushroom soup and the Curried Squash soup (to be posted shortly) have been my favorites.

This soup clocks in with a meager 65 cals/ serving (1 1/4 cup). I ended up reducing some of it down even further and using it as a nice low-cal gravy for my fluffy mashed potatoes (use a food mill/ricer!!)

3 tbsp flour (white or wheat)

4 cups water

4 tsp Better than Bouillon Chicken dissolved in 1 cup water

5 oz shiitake mushrooms (the meatiness of these mushrooms makes the splurge worth it)

8 oz baby bellas

1 celery stalk, cut in half

Chop up your mushrooms- do not throw away your shiitake stems! Gather them in a little bundle and toss them in with the rest of the 'shrooms:

 

They add a valuable earthy flavor to the broth- you will remove them at the end when the soup is done cooking.

 Blend the flour and water in a blender until completely mixed. I  used a whole wheat flour with no problems. Pour the mixture into a soup pot over medium heat. Add the broth, mushrooms, and celery, and a fair amount of salt (based on your personal preferences).  Cook until the veggies are soft- about 20 mins.

Place the celery stalk and two ladles of soup in the blender. Blend until smooth and add back into  the soup as a thickener, add S&P to taste. If you want it a bit thicker, you can add cornstarch mixed with cold water while the soup is still hot. You can also continue to cook it over low-medium heat, uncovered for an additional 20-30 minutes. When I reduced it down to a gravy-like consistency, I only used about 1 1/2 cups that I had added a bit of cornstarch to. This recipe doesn't make a giant pot, maybe enough for 4-5 servings.

I somehow managed to not take a pic of the finished product- do not expect a white, creamy mushroom soup. This is more of a meaty, slightly creamy broth soup- but it is richer and thicker, so you will still get the satisfaction of the full texture and flavor.