Clean Out the Fridge Soup

Each week, we end up with bits of vegetables here and there unused and leftover from the last shopping trip.   In preparation for the next grocery shop, I usually pull these out and turn them into a confetti salad or soup.   It's an easy way to be thrifty and healthy at the same time. 

This week's version used the following ingredients - portions of ingredients were determined by how much we had on hand, so your recipe will likely be very different:

• Onion, 1 medium
• Garlic, 3 roasted cloves
• Bell Peppers, 4 small
• Mushrooms, about 8
• 1 pound carrots
• 1/2 pound red cabbage
• Broccoli florets, about a cup
• Broccoli slaw, about a cup
• Greens
• Red lentils
• Nutritional yeast
• Seasonings (pepper, paprika, garlic powder, cayenne) to taste

First, I chopped the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and water sauteed.  While this was cooking, I put the carrots, cabbage, and broccoli into the food processor and pulsed into small pieces.  Then, I added these to the pan and cooked about 10 minutes.

 

 

Lastly, I added the roasted garlic (leftover from hummus making), the red lentils, and water and cooked about 20-30 minutes. 

 

 

 

When the lentils were finished, I seasoned it with nutritional yeast and seasonings and served. 

 

It's a very thick soup without a broth because the lentils thicken so much, but you could easily add a broth or water to it to thin it. 



The last of the pepper harvest that I picked after the freeze killed the plants:

Healthier Cheese Dip

An old family favorite treat was the simple cheese dip made with a package of Velvetta and 2 cans of Rotel tomatoes with green chiles.  Recently, my husband came home from the camp with leftovers of this dip, and I had an idea to try to make this one a little bit healthier to see if it would pass muster with our extended family for the next time we go to the camp.  I didn't expect the result to be so close to the original taste, but you could hardly tell by taste alone that it was different.  Color, on the other hand, was definitely different, and there was a very slight texture difference.  I made a very small batch, so I have increased the ingredients proportionally below for a full batch.   You'll note that the post title is HealthIER, not HealthY, cheese dip. 

Interestingly, the dip made with just the tofu and vegetables had a very good flavor before adding the cheese.   It will definitely be something I experiment with to get a healthier spread or dip when I have the time to do so.   Adding something like nutritional yeast and other flavorings and then the tomatoes and spicy peppers would most likely create a close approximation of the cheese dip. 


Ingredients:

2 large onion
2 large bell pepper
16 oz mushrooms
5 cloves garlic
16 oz tofu
8 oz velvetta
1 can Rotel  (or 1 can diced tomatoes or fresh equivalent plus 1 large chopped jalapeno)


Saute onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic until onions are translucent.  

Remove from heat and add to blender with raw tofu and blend until smooth (add a very small amount of water if needed to blend).

 

 Return to pan, season with pepper, paprika, garlic powder, and heat on medium low for about 5 minutes.

 

 

Add to microwave safe pan with cheese and Rotel (or tomatoes/jalapenos) and microwave until melted.  Stir together and serve.