Gluten Free Black Bean and Lentil Soup

Is it still cold where you live?

Here too.

I just had to whip up a pot of 

Black Bean and Lentil Soup.

Yes, it sounds healthy and looks healthy because it is.

Leave off the sour cream and you have a thick, filling vegan dinner.  The black beans and lentils are good sources of protein and fiber-rich carbs.  The body will absorb these nutrients slowly, keeping energy and hunger levels on an even keel, meaning you will eat less and have not experience the spike in energy followed by that unwanted drop.  

Besides all the health benefits, it's really tasty.  

I got both my husband and 3 year old to eat and then ask for seconds.

Yep, it's that good.

Gluten Free Black Bean and Lentil Soup

1/2 large onion

1/2 T. olive oil

2 minced garlic cloves

1/2 t. chili powder

1/2 t. cumin

1/4 t. paprika

2 cups vegetable broth or water

1 T. ketchup 

1/2 cup uncooked lentils

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 t. salt

2 T. lime juice

1/4 t. pepper

Sour cream

Avocado

Cilantro

Chop the onion and saute in olive oil in a soup pot on medium heat until soft.  Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, paprika, saute 1 min.

Add 2 cups of broth or water and ketchup, bring to a boil.  

Add lentils; cook until tender, about 25 minutes.  

Partially mash 1 cup of black beans.  Add to soup as well as the other whole beans.

Add salt, lime juice, and pepper.

Cook 5 minutes.

Garnish with sour cream, avocado, and cilantro.

Serve with GF bread, crackers, or tortillas.

Gluten Free Texas Chili

Brrr....it's cold outside!

Must be time for 

Chili!

This is seriously the best chili.

In fact it's award-winning!

(Not by me.  Remember Shunae?  Yep, she's the one who shared with us the Little Cherry Cheesecakes...

Well, Shunae gave me the recipe, and she was the one who won the big award for Best Tasting Chili at our church chili-cookoff.  And that's sayin' somethin', if you know what I mean.)

The original recipe calls for 1 cube, yes an entire cube of butter.  I have "lightened" it and I think that it still tastes great.  So if you are feeling like living on the edge (yes, the edge of a heart attack) go ahead throw that whole cube in.  

So I hope you enjoy this spicy, chunky chili as much as we do.  It's a winter staple at our house.

Gluten Free Texas Chili

1 lb hamburger

1 medium onion, diced

1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 16oz can chili beans (read ingredients to be sure it's GF, I found the Bush's brand to be great!)

1 green pepper, diced

2 16 oz cans diced tomatoes 

1 beef bullion cube

3 T. butter

1 T. cumin

1 T. chili powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. black pepper

Cook hamburger in a soup pot until no longer pink.  Drain off excess grease.  Place hamburger back in pot.

Combine all the other ingredients in the pot.  Cook over low heat for 1-2 hours stirring occasionally to keep from scorching.

Gluten Free White Chicken Chili

Ahhh, the Halloween Hangover.

From sugar that is...

I know I'm experiencing one. 

And the only thing you can do about it is, of course, eat more Fun Size candy bars.

I swear they'll be the death of me.

How was your Halloween?

Mine was great.  

Great with a capital g.

We had some friends over for dinner and trick or treating.

My three year old was in Halloween Heaven, if there is such a place.

I was in heaven too.

I made my mom's delicious White Chicken Chili.

It's a favorite around here and I'm sure that it'll become one of yours too.

In fact there was no time to take a pic, it was gone too soon.

Now, the key to this delicious chili is the toppings.  The cheese, chips and salsa make the chili the best!  Trust me on this one, you don't want to try it with out all the good stuff on top.

Make it, enjoy it, and eat this along with a few Fun Size Snickers, it'll take the edge off your sugar high.

Gluten Free White Chicken Chili

2 1/2 cups water

1 t. cumin

2 chicken breasts

Bring water and cumin to a boil.  Add in chicken breasts.  Cover and simmer until chicken is done, about 20-25 minutes.

When chicken is done, save the broth and cut chicken into small chunks.

Add to the broth:

1 clove garlic, minced

2 (15 oz) cans Northern White Beans, undrained

2 cans white corn, drained 

(I usually only have frozen corn on hand so I put in about 1 1/2 cups)

2 (4oz) cans diced chilies

1 t. cumin

3 T. lime juice

Return diced chicken to pan with broth and other ingredients.  Simmer until warm.  Top with tortilla chips, salsa verde, and shredded Monterey Jack cheese.

Gluten Free Black and White Bean Chili

I know that mostly everywhere now (unless you live above the Arctic Circle) it might be past chili season, but you know there are the "June Gloom" days that just beg to have a big bowl of chili for dinner.

What's perfect to go with your Gluten free chili?

Gluten Free Cornbread.

Try it out, you'll love it.

Back to the chili.  

It's a thicker chili with mild heat.

And it's pretty healthy as well, 200 calories per cup, with 15 g of protein.

You can't beat that.

Enjoy!

Gluten Free Black and White Bean Chili

1 t. canola oil

1/2- 1 cup onion, diced (depends on how much onion you want)

2 cups chicken broth

6 oz tomato paste

4 ounce canned chopped green chilies

1 t. cumin

16 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

16 oz can navy or white beans, drained and rinsed

In a large soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tomato paste, chilies, cumin, and beans.  Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Also try:

Gluten Free Southwestern Soup

Red Pepper Soup

Aren't they lovely?

(I'm talking about my cookie sheet, haha, just kidding)

Red peppers, so beautiful and so delicious.

And so pricey.

So save this recipe for when red peppers are on sale, a special occasion, or if you feel like you can splurge.

I did. For Valentine's Day we had this wonderful Red Pepper Soup.

To roast the peppers follow these directions from allrecipes.com. The most important step is letting them sit for 20 minutes in the sealed container to steam. The skins came right off, no problem.

Red Pepper Soup

1 cup chicken broth or 1/2 c. apple juice + 1 c. chicken broth (it should be white wine, but I didn't have any, the apple juice will add a sweeter flavor)

1/2 onion, finely chopped

3 roasted red peppers

1 cup celery, chopped

1/2 T. garlic, minced

1 plum tomato, chopped

2 T. tomato paste (not sauce, paste)

1 cup chicken broth

1 T. dried thyme

1/8 t. pepper

1/8 t. ground cumin

salt to taste

Heat chicken broth (or apple juice) in a large heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, red peppers, and celery. Cook and stir for 3 minutes. Stir in garlic. Cook for 2 more minutes, adding more chicken broth if necessary. (I didn't need to)

Add tomato, tomato paste, and broth; cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Puree soup in a food processor or blender in batches. Return to the pan, add seasonings and heat through.

Makes about 6 cups.

This soup also freezes really well.

Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup

Don't know what to do with the potato in-ards that we scooped out of the potato skins last week?

Make Baked Potato Soup.

It's creamy and delish.

Not very healthy, but it has all the goodness of life inside so I won't tell if you don't tell.

This soup is awesome with cornbread.

Baked Potato Soup

2 large baking potatoes (I add in more because I like lots of chunks of potato)

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

3 cups milk

1/2 t. salt

2 green onions

1/2 cup + 2 T. cheddar cheese, divided

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 t. pepper

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

Wash potatoes and prick several times with a fork. Bake at 400 for 1 hour or until done. Let cool. Cut potatoes lengthwise, scoop out pulp and set aside. Discard skins, (or make potato skins, haha).

Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat, add flour, stirring until smooth. Cook one minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and is bubbly.

Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, 1 T. green onion, 1/4 cup bacon, and 1/2 cup cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated and stir in sour cream.

Add extra milk, if necessary, for desired consistency.

Serve with remaining green onions, bacon and cheese.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana Soup

I was told this is the Olive Garden Zuppa Toscana soup recipe.

Authentic or not, wow, it was good!

Be sure to use mild sausage and if you don't want it too spicy, half the amount of crushed red pepper. This soup has some zing to it!

Also I halved the recipe, it makes a lot.

Excellent with bread sticks!

(I just make a pizza crust, bake it with a little drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan cheese and cut into thin strips.)

Buon appetito!

Olive Garden® Zuppa Toscana

Makes: 6-8 servings
INGREDIENTS

1 lb ground Italian sausage
1½ tsp crushed red peppers
1 large diced white onion
4 Tbsp bacon pieces
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
1 lb sliced Russet potatoes, or about 3 large potatoes
¼ of a bunch of kale

Sauté Italian sausage and crushed red pepper in a large pot. Drain excess fat, refrigerate while you prepare other ingredients.
In the same pan, sauté bacon, onions and garlic for approximately 15 mins. or until the onions are soft.
Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling.
Add potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour.
Add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated.
Stir in the sausage.
Add kale just before serving. Delicious!

Cream of Chicken Soup

So many recipes call for Cream of Chicken soup. Don't throw those out! This is easy to mix up and is the equivalent of 8-9 cans of soup!

Cream of Chicken Soup

1 cup dry milk powder

1 cup white rice flour

2 T. dried minced onions

1/2 t. pepper

1/2 t. salt

3 T. GF powdered chicken boillion (I like the brand Herb-ox)

Mix together and store on your shelf.

How to make a can of chicken soup:

In a small saucepan, blend 3-4 T. (depending on how thick you want your soup) of Cream of Chicken soup mix with 1 1/4 cups water. Cook over medium heat, stirring until the soup thickens.

It is now ready for any recipe.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

My favorite soup of all time!

It's easy, takes very few ingredients and the flavor and texture are too die for!

Serve with GF crackers or a GF grilled cheese sandwich.

Creamy Butternut Squash Soup

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 T. butter

3 cups cubed, peeled butternut squash (I use 3 cups frozen butternut squash)

1 medium potato, peeled and cubed

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 t. chicken bouillion granules (or vegetable bouillion for vegetarian)

1/4 t. salt

Dash of pepper

1/4 cup evaporated milk

In a small saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add squash and potato; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add the water, bouillion, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Cool slightly. In a blender, cover and process soup until smooth. Return to pan; stir in milk and heat through.

Southwestern Soup

This is a good spicy soup with a thick sauce, no wimpy broth here.

It's ready in 30 minutes or you can make it ahead of time and put in the crockpot to simmer all day.

Southwestern Soup

1 1/2 cups water

2 (8oz each) cans tomato sauce

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14.5 oz) chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup salsa (this will determine the spicy heat!)

1 t. dried minced onions

1 t. dried oregano

1 t. dried basil

Toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips

Combine the ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 15-20 minutes or until heated through.

Serve sprinkled with cheese and chips.

If you don't have any store bought chips on hand, it's easy to make tortilla chips.

Using corn tortillas, spray front and back with cooking spray. Sprinkle with lime juice and salt. Cut with a pizza cutter into wedges or slices. Bake on a cookie sheet for 7 minutes, turn over and bake for 5 more minutes or until lightly browned.