Delicious Mushroom and Carrot Soup

1 onion finely chopped
8 cups chicken broth
2 Tsp fresh basil chopped
1 Tsp fresh cilantro chopped
2 cups of mushrooms, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp olive oil
2 carrots, sliced

Place the chicken broth in a large pan. Add the bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, and season with salt and pepper (exclude the salt if the broth has salt). Stir and cook the mushrooms until brown. Add to the broth mix.

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onions and carrots until soft. Add the basil and cilantro, stir until well mixed. Add all to the broth mix.

This recipe is a soup that can be served with a beef or lamb dish, it can be served over beef or lamb. For lunch this soup can be served alone or with a sandwich to round out the meal.

Mushrooms come in many varieties. Use your favorite mushroom with this dish or use a combination of mushrooms for an even more robustly flavorful soup. The nutritional value in mushrooms is what makes them special. Mushrooms provide several nutrients including riboflavin, niacin and selenium. They do not contain cholesterol, fat, or sodium. Mushrooms provide nutrients typical of meat and some grains.

Mushrooms can be fried, baked, grilled, boiled, served alone, served stuffed with meat or fish, as a soup here, as a topping over meat---especially steak. The list goes on and on. Mushrooms are both delicious and a diverse food, surely to delight the most discriminating palate.
Lois Center-Shabazz is the founder of the personal finance website, Msfinancialsavvy.com and the author of the award-winning book, Let's Get Financial Savvy!