Easy Vegetable and Bean Soup

Let’s start our New Year right; veggies and bean.  Easy and delicious.   Healthful.  A recipe so good and tasty I made it several times throughout the fall.  Since a batch makes so many servings, it makes a for a simple week of lunches.  I love the different textures from the veggies and beans; the lentils make the soup seem almost creamy.

Can we talk about how weird 2015 seems?  I type it lot for work, but it seems like this mysterious time of the future.  It’s hard coming to terms with this new year, I’m losing track of years and how much time has passed?  Is this what it feels like to get older?  My mom has been talking about her and my dad’s trip to NC for their “30th” wedding anniversary this spring.  Here’s the issue, I’m already 30 and they’ll be celebrating 35 years.  Oh the confusion and fun!  Maybe eating loads and load so bean and veggie soup will improve memory!

One Year Ago – Apple Cider Doughnuts

Print the Recipe!

Easy Vegetable and Bean Soup

Pale Yellow Original

Yield – 4-5 lunch servings

 

2/3 cup dried lentils, I used red & green

2/3 cup dried beans, I used black & pinto

1 dried bay leaf

1 tablespoon olive oil

5 ounces chopped white onion, I used frozen

5 ounces chopped red & green pepper, I used frozen

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/2 cup chopped celery

1 quart (4 cups) low-sodium vegetable stock

2 generous pinches of salt

plenty of freshly cracked pepper

1. The night before add the lentils and beans to a 1-quart mason jar with the bay leaf.  Add water to fill and let the beans soak overnight.
2. Add the olive oil to a medium soup pot with a lid to let heat.  Saute the onions and peppers until soft.  Stir in the carrots and celery.
3. Drain and rinse the legumes and add to the pot with the bay leaf.  Stir in the vegetable stock and season generously.  Lentils need a lot of salt.
4. Cover and cook for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, letting the soup simmer on low.  Check the doneness of the beans, they should squish in your fingers when cooked through.
5. Let cool and portion for this week’s lunches!

*Alternatively, add the drained beans, veggies, stock, and seasoning to a crock pot and cook on high for 5 hours.  Check the beans for doneness.  Even easier!