I recently posed the question. What meals do you make when trying to save money. I got a lot of pasta and protein answers, but surprisingly very few beans or legume based recipes. When I need to go into frugal mode this first thing I do is either cut meat from our diet or only use meat we already have. For those times when you need an extremely frugal meal to make up for a tad bit of overspending, lentil or really any bean soup is a great answer
You can serve this with some bread, which I always have in the freezer. To reheat rolls I wrap them in foil and stick them in the toaster at about 400 for 10-20 minutes. Hard rolls will take longer than soft rolls.
If you keep a bag of lentils on hand you could probably whip up this dinner at any point, chances are you have a few veggies lying around and some stock. Toss it all in a pot and you have a quick and surprisingly hearty dinner.
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onion
- ¼ cup chopped carrot
- ¼ cup chopped celery
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cloves garlic, smashed
- ½ lb lentils, rinse and picked
- ½ cup canned diced tomatoes
- 4 cups chicken stock
- ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1/8 teaspoon paprka
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- Salt to taste
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery and salt and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and cook and additional minute
- Add lentils, tomatoes, broth, cumin, paprika, ginger, and pepper and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover and cook 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender.
- Use an immersion blender to puree to desired consistency. I like it about half pureed. Or you can blend half the soup in a blender. Stir to combine. Salt as needed.
Adapted from Amy’s Bites
It amazes me how few people will make bean soup!
It is definitely one of my go to meals. Especially if I have a ham bone in the freezer
Like the spice mix so I’ve pinned your recipe and with the cold weather finally hitting FL will probably be making it soon
http://pinterest.com/pin/208432288976288522/
Have a glorious day
BTW @inthekitchenKP sent me your way ~ I like to let others know how I found them
Thanks, Bren we did get a few cool days in Florida this week. Perfect for soup!