We love filling, hearty soups in the winter, and while mushroom barley soup is a favorite, we like to switch it up. Barley can be very heavy. We also have some family members with Celiac who visit, so we always love to have gluten free alternatives to our favorites. And frankly, I am trying (but rarely succeeding) to eat better.

So a non-compromise low carb, gluten free better-than-the-original recipe is a score!

Mushroom cauliflower soup is just that. It’s still filling and hearty but less heavy. And the cauliflower adds a fabulous flavor to the savory soup.

This recipe was made in the crock pot, since we often make it Friday afternoon for Shabbat lunch. However, you can make it on the stove top too if you prefer. It’s a versatile soup, without an exact formula that needs to be followed.

To make it more special for Shabbat, I like to add stew meat to the mix. It’s so good that the leftovers usually get eaten first thing. However, you definitely can leave out beef for a vegan alternative. And you can sub for chicken breast chunks if you’re just going for something leaner.

To make mushroom cauliflower soup, I like to use riced cauliflower. It’s just the easiest option and it distributes well. I just dump a bag in… You can also use frozen florets, or a fresh head of cauliflower.

Like I said, it’s versatile!

Finally, I just stick to regular cheap sliced white mushrooms. If you’re a real foodie (I’m not) you can go fancy and stuff but hey, I’m all about the easy, and it still comes out fab!

I often make Shabbat in an hour of prep time or less so this recipe is full of those kinds of shortcuts to enable that.

Mushroom Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large onions
• 4 cubes crushed garlic (or 4 cloves)
• 16 oz mushrooms – you can get fancy but I just add sliced white
• About 1 lb fatty stew beef
• 12 oz riced cauliflower (or 1 head, or bag frozen)
• 1.5 t salt
• Generous Trader Joe’s umami seasoning and onion salt (about 1 T each)
• Water or broth to cover

Note: I use seasoning mixes. If you don’t have these, you can simply replace with soup mixes, use broth, add similar quantities of onion powder and garlic powder, or whichever seasonings you prefer.

Process

1. Drizzle olive oil down the sides and on the bottom of the crock pot. Or, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of a pot.

2. Sautée onions until translucent.

3. Add garlic and sautée till fragrant.

4. Add mushrooms. Before cooking down the Crock-Pot is about half full. Let them soften and add the beef and other ingredients. Cook on high for 6 hours or low overnight.

I hope you enjoyed this mushroom cauliflower soup recipe! What are your favorite Shabbat lunch ideas? Comment below!

Easy Mushroom Cauliflower Soup Recipe

Print

Ingredients

• 2 large onions
• 4 cubes crushed garlic (or 4 cloves)
• 16 oz mushrooms - you can get fancy but I just add sliced white
• About 1 lb fatty stew beef
• 12 oz riced cauliflower (or 1 head, or bag frozen)
• 1.5 t salt
• Generous Trader Joe's umami seasoning
• And onion salt (about 1 T each)
• Water or broth to cover

Instructions

1. Drizzle olive oil down the sides and on the bottom of the crock pot. Or, add a tablespoon of olive oil to the bottom of a pot.

2. Sautée onions until translucent.

3. Add garlic and sautée till fragrant.

4. Add mushrooms. Before cooking down the Crock-Pot is about half full. Let them soften and add the beef and other ingredients. Cook on high for 6 hours or low overnight.

Notes

Note: I use seasoning mixes. If you don't have these, you can simply replace with soup mixes, use broth, add similar quantities of onion powder and garlic powder, or whichever seasonings you prefer.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

The post Mushroom Cauliflower Soup Recipe appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

While this Crock Pot mushroom barley soup recipe was created specifically to be made on erev Shabbat for Shabbat lunch, it’s a delicious, flavorful soup for any winter day! It’s such a comforting, filling soup that’s a childhood favorite of mine, although I’ve added my own spin.

Want a gluten free option for Shabbat lunch? Try crock pot meat and potatoes with this gluten free cholent recipe!

I like to add beef chunks since we eat it as the main dish, however you can omit to keep it vegan. With meat, it turns into a robust full meal. You can also add a small amount of carrot chunks if you want more vegetable, however we enjoy it without. It’s one of my favorite Shabbat lunch ideas for cold winter days.

This crock pot mushroom barley soup recipe calls for cooking your soup overnight. This is because I prep it on Friday morning or afternoon for Shabbat (Saturday) lunch. The barley gets very soft but does not fall apart and the flavor is very deep. However, you can also simply cook it on the stove top, in a regular pot, until the beef and barley is fully cooked. Or, put it up in the morning for dinner.

I like to sauté my onions and mushrooms first, however you can skip that step.

And while I never bother to sear my meat, you can if you prefer it that way. I found that it stays very moist in soup.

This recipe makes a 4.5 quart crock pot that can easily serve six, depending on portion size. When my husband and I are eating it as a meal, we use about a third, considering generous portion sizes.

If you’re filling a larger crock pot, increase yoru quantities proportionately. I did not provide a cup measurement for the water, so you it goes by pot size. And finally, since this is a very non-scientific recipe, feel free to replace some of my water for broth for added flavor!

Crock pot mushroom barley soup is a very forgiving recipe:

You can put less barley, leave out the barley, replace it with brown rice or cauliflower for a gluten free version.

You can put more or less mushrooms, depending how you like it. I use basic sliced white mushrooms to keep it basic and cheap, but you can switch up your varieties.

And while I kept the seasoning to those that are very common, I’ve also played around with my favorite Trader Joe’s seasoning mixes including:

• Mushroom umami – deepens the flavor
• Onion salt – I use this like some would use soup mixes, in large quantities
• Chili lime – to add a unique twist

Or just stick to lots of onion and garlic powder, salt, pepper, and paprika.

Ingredients needed to make Mushroom Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker:

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 16 oz. sliced mushrooms
• About a lb of cubed stew beef
• 1/2 cup barley (this is a moderate amount – if you like it very starchy, you can add 3/4 cup or more)
• Water to fill or broth

Seasoning:

• 1 T salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T paprika

Equipment:

• 4.5 Qt. slow cooker – You don’t need anything fancy! I got this classic manual one at Target and have used it for a couple of years with a timer going off at intervals when I keep it on overnight.
• Wooden spatula or mixing spoon
• Optional: frying pan

How to make crock pot mushroom barley soup

1. First, chop your onion.

2. Let a little bit of olive oil heat at the bottom of the crock pot on high, and sauté your onions. Note: if you want to make this a one-dish recipe, start this earlier and sauté in the crock pot. To expedite it a little, pop the insert into the oven (double check your slow cooker’s oven safeness). To expedite it more, sauté it in a frying pan first, or skip sautéing- it’ll soften plenty.

3. Rinse your mushrooms well and add them to the crock pot once your onions have softened somewhat. I like to allow the mushrooms to sauté as well, just to keep the flavor alive.

4. Add your beef and mix well.

5. Add your seasoning.

6. Add the barley. Mix everything together.

7. Cover the ingredients with water up to an inch from the top. You can use broth too if you’d like (I just season it well instead).

8. Cover and cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low overnight. You can also start it on high for 2-3 hours just so that it starts cooking quicker and then switch it to low. As I mentioned, it’s a forgiving recipe…

Your crock pot mushroom barley soup is ready to eat and enjoy. What will you be making yours for? Comment below! Printable version at the end of this post.

Yield: 6-8

Mushroom Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes

This easy mushroom barley soup is an incredibly forgiving recipe and easy to get right. With optional beef added, it's the perfect main dish for a freezing winter Shabbat lunch, or a hearty one-pot dinner.

Print

Ingredients

• 2 T olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 16 oz. sliced mushrooms
• 1 lb of cubed stew beef
• 1/2 cup barley (this is a moderate amount – if you like it very starchy, you can add 3/4 cup or more)
• Water to fill or broth

Seasoning:

Toggle ingredient group

• 1 T salt
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1 T onion powder
• 1 T garlic powder
• 1 T paprika

Equipment

Toggle ingredient group

• 4.5 Qt. slow cooker
• Wooden spatula or mixing spoon
• Optional: frying pan

Instructions

1. Sauté your onion (optional). When translucent, add your mushroom and allow it to sauté a little as well. Skip if you want this to go quicker. You can sauté in the slow cooker on high, in the slow cooker insert in the oven, or in a frying pan on the stove top.
2. Add your beef, barley, and seasoning and mix.
3. Cover with water or broth up to one inch from the top.
4. Cook on high for four hours or low overnight.

Notes

• For food safety reasons, you may prefer to start it on high, so it cooks quicker.

• It's a forgiving recipe - don't worry too much about cook times, etc.

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Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

The post Crock Pot Mushroom Barley Soup appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

I like to make both dairy and meat meals on Shavuot, but I save the dairy meals for nighttime for a couple of reasons. Firstly, we don’t like heavy meals at night. We eat low carb, and not too much cheese and feel better than eating meat and potatoes. In addition, the men would prefer to drink coffee through the night, and real milk is always the better option.

This golden onion soup with a delectable pastry crust is the perfect way to start a meal. It whets the appetite, but doesn’t leave you feeling too full.

I like a pastry crust over a floating piece of cheese toast because it presents nicer. It’s also keeps the pastry and cheese separate from the soup so the pastry doesn’t get too soggy right away and the cheese doesn’t congeal or clump inside the hot soup.

If you’d prefer to keep the pastry separate so people can opt whether they want it or not, simply bake them without attaching them to the ramekins for the same amount of time on a (real, metal) baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

If you’ve made onion soup before, you already know that the most important step is caramelizing the onions. This is done low and slow, and it’s a process that cannot be rushed. The end result is so worth it. I recommend leaving the pot alone, just a quick stir every ten minutes. Set a timer so you don’t forget.

For a printable version of the Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust recipe, scroll to the end of this post.

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Supplies you’ll need to make Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

• baking sheet (not disposable!)
• oven safe ramekins
• stock pot

Ingredients for Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

1 TBSP butter

1 TBSP vegetable oil

6 large vidalia onions, sliced into half moons

1/4 tsp sugar

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup dry sherry or marsala

2 cups vegetarian chicken broth

4 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 TBSP kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

mini puff pastry squares, defrosted (You’ll only need as many as you are planning to prepare in individual ramekins.)

sliced Gouda cheese (the same amount as the pastry squares)

grated Parmesan cheese

1 tsp dried rosemary, divided

How to make Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust

1. In a large stock pot, heat butter and oil over medium hot.
2. When the butter is just melted, add sliced onions and sugar into pot. (Pot will be full, but the onions will shrink considerably once caramelized.)
3. Saute over medium to high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, than lower heat and cover. Check on the onions every 10 to 15 minutes and stir. This process will take a minimum of 45 minutes, but can last longer. You’ll know they’re ready when your house smells incredible, onions have reduced greatly in size and have a rich, dark hue.
4. Uncover pot and add sherry, just a little at a time to deglaze. Stir as you pour.
5. Add all remaining ingredients and stir well. Cover pot and cook over low to medium heat for 45 minutes.
6. Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare baking sheet with as many ramekins as you need.
7. Allow soup to cool slightly. Remove bay leaves and discard. Pour soup into ramekins, until 3/4 full. Do not overfill.
8. Using your hands, stretch each pastry square over the ramekin. Top with Parmesan cheese, than Gouda. Sprinkle dried rosemary on top.
9. Bake uncovered at 350 F for 25-30 minutes or until pastry crust is golden brown and cheese is melted and bubbly.
10. Serve immediately.

Do you love onion soup? What is your favorite meal to enjoy on Shavuot?

The post Classic Onion Soup with Cheesy Pastry Crust appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.

The ultimate in Jewish cooking – golden chicken soup. After years of aiming for that perfect taste, I finally achieved it in my newest obsession: the Instant Pot. Disclosure: this post contains affiliate links.

The Instant Pot has taken the world by storm. The newest in pressure cooking, the Instant Pot has so many features and uses, it will make an incredible addition to your kitchen if you don’t already have it.

There are different brands, but I am only familiar with the original Instant Pot (specifically the 6 quart Duo), so that is what this recipe will configure to.

I consider myself to be a good cook. (Don’t worry – it’s not all in my head! My family and friends think so too.) I don’t cook particularly fancy or gourmet (or healthy), though. I cook traditional, delicious food, and a lot of comfort food. The quintessential trait of a Jewish mother.

My personal miracle was that I learned how to cook even though I didn’t do a stitch in the kitchen growing up. And my husband actually liked my food when I first started, um, experimenting.

It frustrated me to no end, however, that I could not figure out chicken soup. Cholent? No problem. Six hour stuffed cabbage? Totally. Any and all other soups? I got this. But chicken soup was slowly becoming the bane of my existence. No matter what I did, I just couldn’t get it to taste like my mother’s. And everyone knows, Mama’s chicken soup is the be all and end all.

As I struggled each week to make a delicious, hearty chicken soup, I tried out hundreds of variations. I added a little of this, subtracted a little of that. I even tried making it in different pots. Some weeks were better than others, but I never had a moment of “aaaah” when that first spoonful hit the back of my throat.

When I bought the Instant Pot, my intentions were to streamline my supper process. I was hoping to make more one pot meals, and cook more in the mornings, so that my nights after a full day of work would be a little easier. I never intended to use it for Shabbos cooking. Yet one week, I was looking at it sitting on my counter, and thought, “If I cooked chicken soup in there, I bet it would come out amazing.”

My reasoning was that the pressure in the pot would help the chicken soup cook more evenly and increase the flavor throughout. I totally surprised myself- I was right! The chicken soup was absolutely amazing. It had a rich beautiful color, a heavenly smell, and a taste that blew my mind. It was everything I wanted for Friday night. I knew I had to recreate it! I have been making it every week since. I tweaked a few things, tried it with different variations, but ultimately came back to the original method for the best chicken soup, and my family and I absolutely love it. Add some matzah balls (kneidlach) and crunchy, yellow croutons (mandlen), and your soup course is ready.

Instant Pot Chicken Soup

Servings: 8-10 bowls

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1-3 hours

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 whole chicken, cleaned

1 bunch dill, washed and trimmed

2 bay leaves

6-7 cloves of garlic, peeled

1 tablespoon salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon minced onion

2 large carrots, peeled

1 leek, outer leaves discarded and cleaned

1 parsnip, peeled

1 zucchini, optional

How to make Instant Pot Chicken Soup:

1. Turn on the saute setting on your Instant Pot and pour oil into the bottom of the pot.

2. While the pot heats up, stuff the cleaned chicken cavity with dill, bay leaves, and garlic cloves. Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper, ginger and minced onion. Rub these spices into the chicken, and under skin.

3. Place the chicken into the pot. While the chicken is heating/sauteing, prepare the vegetables. Peel and slice the carrots into large chunks.

4. Discard the outer leaves of the leek and wash very well. Cut off the top part and the hairy base of the leek and discard.

5. Peel the parsnip, but leave it whole. If using the zucchini, peel it partially, alternating strips of peeled and unpeeled. Cut into 2 to 3 large chunks.

6. Place all vegetables around the chicken in the pot. Add water to cover plus a little more. This amount will vary depending on how big your chicken is and how many vegetables you have. Never fill your pot more than 3/4 full.

7. Turn the saute setting off. Put the cover on and lock into place. Turn on the soup setting, and adjust manually to 85 minutes (high pressure).

8. Allow the pot to come to pressure. This can take some time, depending on the volume of ingredients. When the timer is up, allow the soup to naturally release pressure until the pin in the cover drops down. Allow plenty of time for this.

9. Once your soup is ready, (it will require minimal skimming, if any), transfer the water and vegetables carefully to a pot that can sit on a blech or hot plate.

10. Remove the ingredients from the chicken cavity and discard. Carve up the chicken and discard the bones. Add the sliced chicken back to your soup pot. Serve hot.

What is your favorite chicken soup memory? Let us know in the comments!

The post Chicken Soup in the Instant Pot appeared first on Jewish Moms & Crafters.