Winter soup

MMMMMMMMm here's a new recipe, I know they come few and far between now that my staples had all been posted. I had a few veggies that I needed to use quickly so I decided to cook them all together in the pressure cooker.

1/4 of a banana squash
2 sweet potatoes
4 russet potatoes
1/2 onion
few cloves garlic
2 cups water
all in the pressure cooker, or however you do it

When they were soft I just put them all in the vitamix in 2 batches plus enough water to get it to the right consistency.

Served with salt and pepper and 1 tsp of pie type spices mixed in, then on top went homemade croutons, craisins, and slivered almonds. So super good and everyone loved it. Andrew even drank some in a cup (thinned down and extra fixins went on the side)

Lentil soup and dumplings

Here's a recipe from hillbilly housewife. Usually we like our lentil soup with homemade bread and butter but we've tried these dumplings and they're great. You can use the dumplings in any soup. I think they're great with veggie. Soup 1-1/4 cups dry lentils 8 cups water (2 quarts) 4 carrots, peeled and sliced 3 or 4 celery stalks, peeled and sliced 1 large onion, peeled and sliced 4 approved bouillon cubes or 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/4 teaspoon black pepper Dumplings 2 tablespoons approved vegetable oil or melted butter 1 egg or 3 tablespoons more whole milk (see note below) 1/2 cup whole milk 1-1/2 cups flour 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 teaspoon each salt & sugar Begin by making the soup. Rinse the lentils under running water. Then place them in a large pot and cover them with 2-quarts of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to simmer over medium heat for about 20 minutes. The lentils will be almost tender. Add the vegetables, bouillon, garlic and black pepper. Stir gently and allow the mixture to simmer for 20 minutes more. The vegetables and lentils will both be tender. Taste and add salt if you think it needs it. Now look over the amount of liquid in the pot. Add enough extra water so that all of the solids are well covered with liquid. They don't need to be swimming over their heads, but they should be wading up to their waists. Bring the mixture to a slow lazy simmer, not a boil. If the soup boils it will disintegrate the dumplings instead of cooking them up into fluffy, glimmering jewels. While the soup is simmering, prepare your dumplings. Get out a big bowl. In it combine the oil, egg and milk until they are well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Mix it up to a stiff batter, like for drop biscuits. Set it aside until you need it. When the soup is simmering slowly, it is time to drop in the dumplings. Take small rounded scoops of the dough with teaspoon and drop them into the simmering broth, on top of the vegetables. Keep dropping the dough blobs until you have scraped the bowl clean. Now put the lid, or a handy pizza pan over the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Do not peak. Let the dumplings simmer covered for the full 20 minutes. The thing about dumplings is that they cook partly from the boiling soup and partly from the steam. The steam is what makes them fluffy, and the simmering broth is what cooks them all the way through. If you peak while the dumplings are cooking then they will turn into lumpy, doughy rocks. When the time is up, serve the soup and dumplings as soon as possible. The soup will be thickened and the dumplings will be light and fluffy. Makes between 4 and 6 servings. NOTE: If you don't have any extra eggs, then leave out the egg and replace it with 3 tablespoons of milk. The dumplings will still be good. Here's another great bean, lentil and dry pea recipe you may want to try ... Chickpea Tacos. My family will just gobble those up.

lentil soup

One of my favorite comfort foods for winter is lentil soup. It's on our menu at least once a week in the winter.

2-3 cups lentils
3 potatoes
2 carrots
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
water or homemade or approved chicken stock, enough to cover previous ingredients plus a couple of inches

I just put all of this into a pot, cover with water or chicken stock, and cook for about an hour. Sometimes it goes in the crockpot till dinner, usually it's in the pot. Just make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom. Lentils absorb a lot of water.

Good additions are onions, garlic, spices, sour cream (added at the end), butter, tomatoes, or any other veggies you can think of.

Serve alone, with breadsticks, or with a salad.

Garbanzo Bean Winter Vegetable Stew

Garbanzo Bean Winter Vegetable Stew

I saw this recipe title somewhere. No idea where. Can't find it anywhere online. I bought a can of garbanzo beans, an acorn squash and a butternut squash. But no recipe to be found. So here's what I did...

Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans ($.99)
2 tsp extra virgin olive oil ($.10)
1 cup chicken broth (free from last night's chicken) (note from Danika, use approved broth in a combination to 4 cups or make your own chicken or veggie broth)
3 cups vegetable broth (free) See instructions here
1 small acorn squash ($.94)
1 small butternut squash ($1.07)
1 box frozen spinach ($.50)
1 tsp garlic powder ($.01)
Salt/Pepper
2 tsp honey ($.15)
2 tsp green curry paste ($.25)
1 cup rice, uncooked ($.20)

**Note: Rice + Garbanzo bean = complete protein

Directions
1. In large saucepan, add olive oil and garbanzo beans. Saute 2-3 minutes. Add chicken broth and vegetable broth.
2. Microwave butternut squash for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool. Microwave acorn squash for 3 minutes. Remove and let cool. Reason: Peeling and cutting are much easier after their skins have been softened. Once cool, peel skin off with peeler or knife. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Cut both squash into 1/2' square cubes. Add to broth.
3. Peel and cut carrots into circles. Add to soup.
4. Microwave spinach packet according to package instructions. Remove from plastic and add to soup.
5. Add spices, curry paste and honey to stew. Stir through. Cover and cook for at least 45 minutes on medium-low heat.
6. Cook 1 cup rice in 2 1/2 cups water. Bring water to boil. Add rice. Return to boil, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for 20 minutes. Fluff with fork.
7. Serve stew with side of rice or serve stew over rice. A healthy and colorful dish!

Cost $4.21

Pasta Fagioli Soup

http://www.5dollardinners.com/2009/01/pasta-fagioli-soup.html

Pasta Fagioli Soup

The house smelled WONDERFUL all day as this soup simmered in the crockpot! I used this recipe from Recipezaar, modifying it just slightly.

Suggested sides for soups...coming later in the week!

Ingredients
3/4 lb ground beef ($1.11)
5 cups water (I didn't use broth and it turned out FINE!)
1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes ($.23)
1 6 oz can tomato sauce ($.33)
1 cup dried red kidney beans ($.40)
2 carrots ($.30)
2 stalks celery ($.20)
1/2 onion ($.20)
2 tbsp italian seasoning (note, use approved or just use oregano and garlic plain)
2 tsp garlic powder
salt/pepper
8 oz pasta (use rice pasta to keep it GFCFSF) ($.99)
2 heads broccoli ($.75)

Directions
1. Brown and drain ground beef.
2. Chop onion, carrots and celery.
3. Add ground beef, onion, carrots, celery and water to crockpot. Add canned tomatoes and tomato sauce. Add dried beans (yes, this is OK!). Add italian seasoning, garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste. Set crockpot on low for 8 hours.
4. Add pasta about 1 hour before crockpot cooking finishes up.
5. Steam broccoli in steamer for 3-4 minutes.
6. Serve soup with side of steamed broccoli.

Cost $4.31

This recipe made a LOT...there will be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow!

Pumpkin Soup

http://everydayfoodstorage.blogspot.com/2008/11/fanatic-friday-pumpkin-soup.html

This recipe will work well for pumpkin soup if you use the thyme and sage instead of poultry seasoning and your own chicken broth made from a minimally processed chicken or FG approved chicken broth or bouillon.