Three Bean and Lentil Soup

Well, here’s one of my own recipes from back when I was a vegetarian.  I cooked a lot of soups at school (especially using a slow cooker) as it was cheap, easy, healthy and provided me with enough to freeze in single servings to take with me to work or just heat up when I didn’t feel like cooking but the pocket book didn’t allow for ordering pizza.  Be forewarned, the 4 teaspoons of curry paste might be too much for some tastebuds to handle (also depends on the heat factor of the paste itself), so play it safe and you can always add more heat later.  This is great to let simmer on the stove – it will make your house smell very cozy!

 

Hey, once you’ve gathered your ingredients, this recipe takes 15 minutes – so go get your simmer on!

 

Spoon a big bowl, curl up on the couch with your honey and serve with a big crusty hunk of bread…. Yum!

 

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh minced gingerroot
4 teaspoons curry paste (if you don’t like heat, go for 1 or 2 for flavour and add depending on your heat tolerance)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh corriander
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 (28oz) can diced tomatoes
6 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
3/4 cup lentils
1 each – can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans and black beans – drained and rinsed
salt and pepper to taste

 

Tools:

Large pot (dutch oven)
Wooden spoon
Knife (for chopping onion, etc)
teaspoon (for measuring)
measuring cups
mincing tool (for garlic and gingerroot)

 

1. Heat oil in large pot (dutch oven) over medium heat;
2. Cook onions, garlic, ginger and curry paste, stirring often, for 5 minutes until onions soften;
3. Add chickpeas (garbanzo beans), kidney beans, black beans, lentils, vegetable stock, tomatoes and water;
4. Let cook 15 minutes or until cooked through;
5. Stir in corriander, lemon juice, salt and pepper;
6. Serve with crusty bread and ENJOY!

Chili Con Carne

Chili Con Carne is one of the dishes that my mom makes that I could eat any day of the year but its best in the winter.  I have memories of eating it out of a cup at Carnaval (a Canadian winter time festival) in a church basement as a kid.  My dad has made an especially tasty version that substitutes moose or deer meet for half of the beef as well.  This chili is just as good spicy hot as it is mild since the mixture of flavours add a great punch of flavour.  My only suggestion regarding spice level is that the milder the chili, the more salt will probably be required.

 

For crock pot directions, see below.

 

Ingredients:

 

2 pounds of ground beef

1 can kidney beans

1 large can crushed tomatoes

Roughly ½ cup of each: celery, sweet bell pepper and mushrooms, chopped

2 cups chopped onions

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2-4 tablespoons chili powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Red pepper flakes to taste

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

 

Tools:

 

Dutch oven or large pot

Knife to chop vegetables

Can opener

Crock pot (if desired)

 

 

Instructions:

 

1. Heat oil in dutch oven or large pot;

2. Add ground beef and onions and sauté until beef is browned and onions are transparent;

3. Add remaining ingredients, stir well and simmer on low at least 1½ hours.

 

To adapt the recipe to use a crock pot, follow step number one.  Once grease beef is browned and onions are transparent, pour all ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for at least 4 hours.

The leftovers are great reheated the next day and I especially like leftover chili over a taco salad.

This recipe freezes very well.  Freeze in small containers for lunches or freeze a large batch to stick in the crock pot for reheating.