Red Lentils & Red Wine Soup

I love lentils.  I could seriously eat them for every meal.  Problem is Mark is not too fond of them.  But I think I have solved the problem!  This was my first time using red lentils. These are much smaller than green lentils, and I found they weren’t as overpowering.  Because of their miniature size, they are not front-and-center.  The soup really looked more like a vegetable soup, which doesn’t really help me much since Mark does not really like soup either.  I was prepared for Mark’s picky self to refuse to eat dinner, but to my surprise he ate his entire bowl, and then asked for another!  He did note, however, that these would be even better with spicy portuguese sausage.  And I agree. Even though I don’t eat meat, I think the addition of sausage would be fantastic in this soup.

What makes this lentil soup special is the addition red wine, balsamic vinegar, and yams. The balsamic and yams give the soup a slight sweetness to it, while the red pepper flakes gives it heat (the spicy sausage would also serve this purpose). Best lentil soup I have made thus far.

Lentil Soup Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 4 celery stocks, diced
• 3-4 carrots, diced
• 1 sweet potato or yam, diced
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 package spinach, thawed
• 1 1/2 c. red lentils (or 1 c. green lentils)….red lentils are smaller than the green ones
• 4 c. water
• 3 c. chicken or veg. stock
• 1 c. red wine
• 1/2 c. balsamic vinegar
• Seasoning: salt, pepper, oregano, italian seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes
• Topping: plain yogurt (or sour cream), parmesan cheese
• (optional) spicy italian or portuguese sausage

Directions: Saute veggies for about 10 minutes in light olive oil.  Add lentils and crushed tomatoes.  Add liquid and spices. Cover and cook on med heat for about 1 hour. Serve with plain yogurt (or sour cream) and parmesan cheese.

Roasted Tomato, Basil, and Barley Soup

A healthy and hearty roasted tomato soup; the perfect start to fall. This is no ordinary tomato soup, however.  It is packed with sweet basil, roasted garlic, nutritious barley, smoked chipotles and creamy tangy greek yogurt.  Yes, it was delicious.

Ingredients:

• 4 big tomatoes, cut in wedges
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/2 onion
• Salt, pepper, and olive oil

Directions: place tomatoes, onion, and garlic on baking sheet and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with olive oil and bake at 400 degrees for about 20-35 minutes

• Handful of fresh basil
• 3-4 c. vegetable broth
• 1 tsp caned chipotle sauce
• 1 c. barley, cooked according to directions
• 3/4 c. thick greek yogurt or heavy cream or sour cream, plus more for garnish
• 1/4 c. parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Take roasted tomatoes out of oven and place in pot.  Add basil and blend together.
2. Add vegetable broth and chipotle sauce and cook on medium heat until hot.
3. Add cooked barley
4. Just before serving, add yogurt or cream and parmesan cheese to soup to make it creamy.  Garnish with more yogurt, basil, and cheese.

Eat Your Veggies! Broccoli & Cheese Soup

I had a very swollen tonsil a few days ago and was having trouble swallowing even water. By 3 O’clock I was growing extremely hungry and had to make something I could eat.  I made broccoli-veggie soup, but added A LOT of veggies to make it as nutritious as possible.  This soup is also perfect to trick your kids into eating a week’s worth of veggies. The trick? Add a hand-full of cheese to top it off, and kids will love it. Although I didn’t try this on a kid, I did try it on Mark (arguably the same thing). And even though he very much dislikes soups, he loved this soup with the help of my friend, Mr. Cheddar Cheese.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• Olive oil
• 1 small onion (1/2 med onion)
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 leek
• Salt + Pepper
• 1 small/med potato
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1-2 carrots
• 1 big head of broccoli
• About 10 asparagus
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 cup milk (whole, 1/2 & 1/2, heavy cream, or mixture)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
• 2 tsp chipotle sauce (optional)
• Cheddar cheese
• Sour cream

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil. Add onion and leek. (Only use white part of leek and wash inside thoroughly). Add garlic and the rest of the veggies, chopped small.
2. Season veggies with salt and pepper.
3. Add vegetable stock. Cover and cook over med heat until veggies are soft, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Blend veggies with either emersion blender or regular blender.
5. Add milk or cream, nutmeg and chipotle sauce.
6. Heat for another 5 minutes.
7. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, and ciabatta bread.

Orange “Chicken” + Hot & Sour Soup

This really did taste a bit like chicken! It was perfectly crunchy in the outside, soft in the inside, and the orange sauce was exceptional!

The long ingredient list might seem daunting, but I promise it’s not as hard as it looks. A word of caution: I didn’t really measure ingredients, so if something does not taste right try adding a bit more of this and that until you are satisfied with the taste.

Orange Sauce Ingredients:

• grated garlic and ginger (about 1 tps each)
• 1/2 c. water + 1/2 c. veg/chicken stock + 1/2 c. orange juice (plus orange zest, if available)
• lime zest + 1/2 fresh lime, squeezed
• 1 tb rice vinegar
• 2  1/2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 or 1 tbsp chili garlic sauce + 1/2 or 1 tb chili sauce (see pictures in last post
• 1/2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp corn starch + additional 1 tb of soy sauce & 1tb orange juice (wisk together and set aside)

Orange Sauce Directions:

Heat a bit of oil in skillet (sesame oil preferred, but can use any). Add grated garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Without letting garlic brown, add liquids and the rest of ingredients (excet corn starch mixture). Bring sauce to a boil. Add cornstarch mixture and wisk for a minute, then reduce heat to low and cook for a few minutes until thick. Remove from heat.

Tofu Ingredients:

• Extra firm tofu
• Corn starch
• egg (whisked)
• Panko bread crumbs (or regular is fine)

Note: using panko bread crumbs will give you a much crispier tofu. It is worth using!

Tofu Directions:

Heat oil in skillet. Cut tofu in bite size pieces. Create an assembly line with corn starch, egg and bread crumbs. Coat with corn starch, then with egg, and finally with bread crumbs. When you place breaded tofu do not have them touch eachother or the breading will fall apart.

When oil is hot, fry tofu until all sides are brown.  Tofu will fry very quick, so keep a close eye on them.

When ready to serve, combine tofu and orange sauce and top with green onions.

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HOT & SOUR SOUP

Ingredients:

• Grated garlic and ginger (1 tp each)
• 3 c. Veg or chicken stock
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 tbsp chili sauce
• Season: salt, pepper, and a bit of sugar
• Mushrooms (shitake or any other kind is fine)
• 1/2 can bamboo shoots (important!)
• a bit of tofu cut in small pieces (optional)
• whisked egg
• 1 tbsp cornstarch mixed with 2 tb water
• garnish: cilantro, green onion

Directions:

Combine liquids, garlic, ginger and chili sauce. Season. When hot, add mushrooms bamboo and tofu. When mushrooms are tender, add cornstarch mixture and stir for 1 minute. Take off heat and add wisked egg. Finish with cilantro and green onions.