Showing posts with label soup. Show all posts

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!  December flew by and was full of shopping, decorating, eating, and celebrating (as it should be).

My mom in front of her tree - 1956.  My niece in front of my mom's tree - 2012.

But ....after a few too many days of cheese, crackers, cookies, and chocolate, I decided to make this soup to help me get back on track.  It comes from a vegetarian cookbook my friend sent me as part of an awesome fall care package.  I chose to try this recipe first because it's low fat, full of fiber, and very filling.  It makes 6 generous servings, each one being 6 weight watchers points plus.  I made a few changes based on what I had in the house (canned beans in stead of dry, previously caramelized and frozen onions instead of raw) but stuck to all of the original ingredients.

What you will need:

2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed (3 cups)
1 medium onion, cooked (1 cup)
2 cups water
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut in 1/2 inch pieces (between 1 and 2 cups)
3 large sweet potatoes (about 4 cups)

SAUCE
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil
1 can diced or crushed tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne


Put 2 cups of water in a soup pot and bring to a boil.  Add cooked onion, carrots, and sweet potatoes, and reduce heat to low.  Cover and let cook for 45 minutes.

After 45 minutes, add beans and let cook for an additional 15 minutes.  If you like more of a stew consistency, drain excess water from pot.  I did this twice while making this soup because I like a thicker consistency.

Start to make sauce while soup is cooking.  Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  When hot, add tomatoes, garlic, oregano, cumin, salt, and cayenne.  Reduce heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes.  When your 15 minutes on the soup is up, stir tomato mixture into it and let it cook for another 15 minutes for the flavors to blend.


Curried Coconut Lentil Soup

I've been looking for some fall recipes and found one that I thought sounded perfect for this dreary, rainy day. It WAS perfect.  Curried Coconut Lentil Soup.  I must admit I have never [knowingly] eaten lentils, cooked with coconut milk, or curry powder.  I know, kind of weird, but I'm still pretty new to cooking.  These flavors, along with all of the others in this soup, were amazing together.  I only made one addition to this recipe and followed the original cooking directions. I  would highly recommend making this!

                                  

What you will need:

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup coconut milk (I used Trader Joe's unsweetened from the shelf)
3 cups water
1 cup red lentils, rinsed (I used Trader Joe's split red lentils)
1/4 yellow onion, chopped
1 can garbanzo beans, drained
1 cup fresh or frozen peas (I used frozen)


First, saute the garlic and olive oil over low heat in a medium to large pot for 2-3 minutes.  Then, add tomato paste, curry powder, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, and salt, and saute for another few minutes.  Stir constantly.


Next, add water, coconut milk, garbanzo beans, onion, lentils, and peas.  Bring to a gentle boil and cook for 15-20 minutes uncovered.  Stir occasionally.  Remove from heat and enjoy!



This made 4.5 cups worth of soup for me.  With it being 4 servings (a little over a cup in each), each serving has about 310 calories, 17 grams of protein, 45 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fat, and 12 grams of fiber. 7 WW points plus - not too bad!



Thank you, Molly Alice Nests, for this recipe!  Be sure to check out her blog for the original recipe and much prettier pictures.