Lentil Soup

This is a recipe from the Green Smoothie Girls 26 day detox...so yummy. I was surprised how good it was. I accidentally forgot the vinegar and it was great without it.

½ lb. green or red lentils
½ C wild rice, rinsed well
3 large onions, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 tsp. salt-free herbal seasoning, or more to taste
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. cumin
1 qt. vegetable broth (no-sodium, if you buy canned)
1 small can tomato sauce
2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Cover lentils and rice with boiling water and let sit for 15 min., then drain. In a large stock
pot, sauté the onions and garlic with the coconut oil and seasonings until the vegetables
are tender. Add the carrots and celery and sauté another 5–10 min. Add the vegetable
broth, tomato sauce, and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Add
vinegar and serve.

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

Adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Slow Cooker Tomato Basil Soup

YIELD: SERVES 6-8

Note: You can use regular diced tomatoes if you don't have or can't find petite diced, but if you have the option, go for the petite diced. The smaller size of the tomatoes meshes better with the finely diced vegetables.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 (14-ounce each) cans petite diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup finely diced celery
• 1 cup finely diced carrots
• 1 cup finely diced onions
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon dried basil
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1- 1 1/2 cups cashews or peanuts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Croutons for serving (homemade version here)

DIRECTIONS

1. In a 5-quart slow cooker, combine the tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, broth, and bay leaf. Cover and cook on low for 5-7 hours until the vegetables are tender. **Don't be afraid to add more veggies than this calls for
2. Remove Bay leaves. 
3. Ladle in about 3-4 cups of soup into a high powered blender. If you want the soup chunky, ladle in mostly liquid. If you or your kids have problems with lots of veggies, I'd recommend ladling in lots of the veggies.
4. Add about a cup of nuts and blend until smooth. Once blended well, place the soup back in the slow cooker and stir. If you think it needs to be thicker repeat the process, but only add 1/2 cup of nuts. 
5. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with homemade croutons.

Basic egg noodle recipe

Ingredients:
1 egg
1 T water
Enough flour so mixture doesn't stick to bowl.

On a well floured surface, roll them out as thin or thick as you want. I recommend you roll them out as thin as you can, they will puff up when they cook.

Cut with a pizza cutter to the size you want.

Place in boiling soup. They cook in a matter of minutes.

Wild Rice Soup

*adapted from Our Best Bites

1 T butter

1 onion, chopped

4 cloved garlic, minced or pressed

1 cup chopped carrots (about 2 medium)

2 cups roughly chopped portabella or baby bella mushrooms

2 stalks celery, chopped

1/2 t poultry seasoning

1 (12-ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

10 cups chicken broth

1 cup wild rice (or brown rice)

1/2 t salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

1 cup cashews or peanuts for thickening.

Melt butter in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, carrots, muchsrooms, celery, and poultry seasoning and saute until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts and chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Add rice and reduce heat, cover and simmer 50-60 minutes or until rice is tender. When rice is tender, remove from heat and add salt and pepper.

When soup has about 10 mins left, scoop out about 2 cups of liquid from stockpot and put in high powered blender. Add about 1/2 cup of nuts and puree. Pour puree into stockpot and mix. If the soup is too runny for your taste, repeat until desired thickness has been reached.

Tortilla Soup

Super quick and easy dinner. No cooking required!!!

2 roma tomatoes or 1 beef steak tomato, quartered

1/2 half lg.carrot

1 inch slice red pepper

1/4-1/2 avocado

2 T. onion- a good chunk

2 sprigs cilantro...but I add more than that. We love cilantro!

1 t. taco seasoning or any other seasoning you prefer

3/4 t. salt

3/4 t. garlic powder. I use fresh.

2 cups HOT water

Blend in blender until creamy and then you can add a black beans and corn if desired. I do put a sprinkle of pepper jack cheese on it and it's sooo good. 

I eat mine with the "Because Food Should Taste Good" chips I buy in a big bag at Costco. What do you guys think of those? Have you tired them?