Slow Cooker Braised Beef and Mushroom Soup

Awhile back I was approached by Dorot's, a food and spice company that specializes in frozen herbs and seasonings, to see if I would be interested in making a recipe with and reviewing their line of Pop and Cook frozen herbs and seasonings. I usually freeze the herbs we have planted in the garden at the end of the summer (this year we decided to dry them), and the tons of garlic we plant every year, but I decided to try them out.

Disclaimer: Dorot's provided me with free products for this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

They sent me garlic, red chili peppers, ginger, basil, and cilantro. They come packaged in plastic containers that make it easy to pop the frozen herb or seasoning right out, 1 teaspoon worth at a time, and just seemed perfect for soups to me!

Like I said before, I have been freezing my own herbs for years, but I don't freeze them in any measured amount, and I freeze my garlic cloves whole, so I still have to take out what I need and chop them up before adding them to a recipe. The pre-measured cubes are convenient if you don't have a lot of time to prep dinner.

You can get these nifty cubes at most Walmart's for $1.98. Be sure to check out their Facebook page too!

Slow Cooker Braised Beef and Mushroom Soup

1.25 pounds beef eye round steak, cut into thin strips

2 cups chopped shiitake mushrooms

32 ounce carton beef stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce

⅛ cup thinly sliced scallions

1 cube ( 1 tsp) Pop & Cook mild chopped chili

2 cubes ( 2 tsp) Pop & Cook crushed ginger

2 cubes ( 2 tsp) Pop & Cook crushed garlic

cooked noodles or jasmine rice, to serve

Directions:

Slice the beef into thin, short strips, and place in slow cooker along with the chopped mushrooms. Add the beef stock, soy sauce, sliced scallions, and cubes of chopped chili, crushed garlic, and crushed ginger. Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours, stirring after 1 hour in order to equally distribute the flavors.

My husband wanted noodles with his soup, but I thought jasmine rice would be better with it, so I did both on the side and then just added the noodles and rice to the bowls of soup.