Cheater Mushroom Soup

It's not the prettiest girl in school, but when cool weather blows around I'm grateful for Cream of Mushroom Soup nonetheless. Especially my cheater variety, which couples freshly sauteed mushrooms and onions in a homemade broth with a can of the Campbell's true and tried variety. This makes the process much quicker, since I don't have to wait around for hours waiting for the soup to slowly thicken after I add the cream. It seems being cold and hungry scares off my patience. Anyway, if you like the richness of creamy soup with chunky, earthy, fresh mushrooms, you'll enjoy this recipe (and the fact that it comes together in under 30 minutes).

Cheater Mushroom Soup
Makes 2 big servings

2 tsp olive oil
1 T butter, cut into small pieces
6 oz baby bella or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced thinly
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
6 fresh sage leaves, minced
1/4 cup white wine
1 dried bay leaf
4 cups water + salt-free vegetable bouillion (or low-salt vegetable broth)
1 can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
salt and pepper to taste

In a wide-bottomed pan with a lid, let the olive oil and butter melt together over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 2 minutes, until it starts to go translucent. Add the mushrooms, a large handful at a time, stirring to coat with the oil-butter mix. Once a batch starts to color, move it around the pan and add another handful until all the mushrooms are in the pan. Toss the sage leaves in and add the white wine, stirring to clear the bottom of the pan. When the wine evaporates, add the water and your vegetable bouillion (or vegetable broth) plus the bay leaf. Turn the heat up to high and let the soup boil until reduced by a third, about 15 minutes. Fish out your bay leaf. Lower the heat, stir in the Campbell's and season to taste. Let bubble together on the stove 5 minutes to heat through. Ladle into bowls and serve. Best eaten with a buttered baguette for dipping.