Clean Out the Fridge Soup

I love making soup! :)

Soup is easy, and forgiving. It can be served hot, warm, or even cold. I can eat it for dinner, for lunch the next day, or freeze it and serve it a week or two later for a quick dinner when I don't have time to make something.

This Clean Out the Fridge Soup is one of my favorites - I just saute some onions and garlic, add some broth, some spices, and whatever else I have on hand. It's different all the time, but the method is the same, and that makes it great (and easy) for me to serve something filling and healthy!

Clean Out the Fridge Soup

1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
Dried spices (I always use approx. 1/2 tsp of thyme and then I will add in some bay leaves (only 1 or 2), and then maybe another 1/2 - 1 teaspoon (total) of oregano, parsley, basil, or rosemary - sometimes, I just add in italian seasoning so that I get it all in one!)
diced veggies (whatever is on hand; for this soup, I used yellow squash and one zucchini, but this method will work with mushrooms, leeks, beets, potatoes, and can be adapted to fit just about any other veggie you have on hand)
1 can of diced tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth (homemade or store bought)
1 can of beans, drained and rinsed
2 - 3 cups of fresh spinach or 1 cup of (defrosted) frozen spinach)
3/4 cup of frozen peas (or edamame, broccoli, or corn)
fresh ground pepper and salt, to taste

In a stockpot or 4 qt pan, saute diced onion in olive oil on medium heat until translucent, approximately 8 - 10 minutes. Add in garlic and cook, stirring, for approximately 30 seconds. Drop in spices and stir to combine. Add in diced veggies and stir for another few minutes (coating with spices). Add in tomatoes, stir to combine. Add broth, bring to a boil and then simmer for approximately 10 - 15 minutes (you can simmer this for up to 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have). Turn heat back up to medium and add beans, let the mix get warm again (approximately 3 - 5 minutes), and then add in spinach and peas. Let the soup cook for about 5 - 10 minutes. Add black pepper and taste. Add salt to taste.

I usually serve this with garlic bread and a small salad on the side.

What's one of your favorite go to dishes?

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More later! :)

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Carrot and Red Pepper Soup

I feel rejuvenated! I just caught up with Desperate Housewives on my smart phone! hahahaha! Quiet time for me and I don't need to steal the living room TV! Mr. No-No loves it and so do I. :)

For those of you that know me, you know I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE my soups. This one is quick and easy and ssssooooo good for you. Bonus: it's vegan (so it's much healthier than most soups of this style) and it's creamy (so it satisfies that desire to have a thick, rich soup).

I grabbed this recipe from All You Magazine and I am pleased to say, I didn't modify it at all. Kudos to All You for having vegan recipes in their mag!

All You's Carrot and Red Pepper Cream Soup

1 onion, diced

1 bunch of carrots, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cups vegetarian broth

2 (jarred) roasted red peppers, diced

2 cups of soymilk (or other plant based milk)

2 tsp. (each) balsamic vinegar and lemon juice

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. salt

Saute diced onion and sliced carrots in a pan with 1/8 cup of water (over medium heat) for approx. 5 minutes; Add broth and bring to a boil; Cover and simmer until carrots are fork-tender (approx. 10 - 15 minutes);

Remove from heat; Add bell peppers;

Mix in blender (covered with a towel, do in two batches) or use an immersion blender; Continue blending and add in soymilk; Place pan back over low heat and add remaining ingredients; Heat until warm (approx. 5 minutes).

I served this with toast triangles. It was creamy and delicious! It's also good the next day (I know because I had it for lunch) - make a big batch and have "planned leftovers".

What are your favorite kinds of soup?

Do you have a quick soup that is your standby? Or do you have a soup that you especially make so that you can have your planned leftovers?

Thanks to everyone for commenting on my previous recipe, Microwave-able Beets. Seems like a lot more people than I realized do not like beets, do not buy beets, and do not cook with beets - including: Karen from Mommy's Moments and Crystal from Crystal Jigsaw. However, I was honestly surprised by how few people admitting to LIKING beets - including: Boobies from Boobies, Babies, & A Blog.. and Jan from Jewelry4Change.

I know, the color puts some people off...

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Good Cooking - Pasta & Soup

Our CSA "basket" last week was filled with leeks (those are STILL in season??) and bok choy (!) and zucchini. We also got a big thing of Swiss chard and some herbs, MORE limes and some persimmons as well as a few other things. You should see the eggplant that we got - huge and beautiful. I used the eggplant to make this Thai basil saute recipe that I got from vegetariantimes.com, but it wasn't a hit :( I thought it was good, but apparently, no one else liked it much. Since we had so much left over, I froze the leftovers and am thinking about Thai-influenced sub sandwiches (with carrot and cabbage slaw, green onions, peanut sauce, and peanuts) for a night when I don't have time to cook.
Sunday night, I used the Vegetarian Meat & Potatoes cookbook to make gnocchi and a new basic marinara spaghetti sauce - the sauce was a hit and everyone liked the gnocchi - Miss M and I both had them for lunch the next day because the 1/2 recipe still made sooooooo many. Next time I make them, I think I will try the sweet potato version (didn't have sweet potatoes this time around) and make extras to freeze.
Last night, I made the Clean Out the Fridge Soup from vegetariantimes.com. It came out surprisingly good - I was impressed. And...I got to use up most of the zucchini, all of the Swiss chard and a good portion of green onions. I actually had so many vegetables going into the pot that I forgot to add celery (which I only bought to make soup) and some carrots!! But, it was good anyways.

And...about Miss M :)
We went to see cousin C. over the weekend. The girls played soooo good together - I loved it. They were both excited to see each other and had a lot of fun playing all day. When we were getting in the car to leave our house on Saturday morning, Miss M asked me if we were going to grandma susu's house. I told her that we were and she asked me - not cousin cayenna's house?. I told her that once we picked up grandma that we would be going out to see cousin C. She told me (in her halting, measured way - it's like she thinks it, says part of it, thinks some more and then tries to get it all out) that cousin C. was her cousin and her friend.
so - so - so - so beautiful!

More later! :)