Wok's For Dinner: Seafood Soup

When our local Harris Teeter first opened up this Summer, one of the first things that I purchased was a box of frozen mussels.  They were unshelled, fully cooked, and the right price.  The first time I had mussels was at a restaurant in Wilmington, NC, when hubs and I were celebrating our anniversary a few years ago.  The mussels were in a huge pot of steamed seafood.  I was quite a bit intimidated at trying them, but I did and found that I enjoyed the flavor.  I hadn't seen any at the grocery store until that first trip to H.T., so I thought that I'd give them a try at home.  I didn't have the foggiest clue how to make them, so the mussels sat in my freezer eve since I bought them.

But this week, I vowed to give them a try.  I scoured the Internet, looking for recipes and ideas.  There were lots of recipes, but none that "spoke" to me.  I decided to make a soup, using some of the ingredients that I found in a recipe for Cioppino on Allrecipes.com.

The verdict?  Hubs and I LOVED it!  I thought it was perfectly flavored and was really surprised at just how well it tasted.  As for the kids?  Well, not so much.  All three refused to take a single bite.  My oldest daughter said that it looked like there were eyeballs in her soup (referring to the mussels).  Note to self: next time just make popcorn shrimp for the kids! :)

Seafood Soup

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cans (14.5 oz ea) stewed tomatoes
2 cans (14.5 oz ea) chicken broth
1 can-ful of water
1 Tbsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 bay leaf
1 Tbsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
8 oz fully cooked, shells removed mussels
8 oz crabmeat (I used imitation, I admit it)

Directions:
Melt butter in 6-qt saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onions and saute' until translucent; stir occasionally.  Stir in tomatoes and chicken broth.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Stir in mussels and crabmet.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat gain to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes more.