It's cold, it's drizzly, and aside from our outing to the pediatrician, I've been marooned at home with a sick child. I knew I had turkey tucked away in the freezer. That was by design for exactly this sort of day. A quick scan of the fridge/freezer turned up: some red pepper slices (crunchy for about one more day), a bowl of quinoa (that everyone is tired of) and last week's spinach dip (that's held up remarkably well, but the novelty of spinach dip has worn off). Since I don't want to waste perfectly good food, it's time for a batch of {drum roll}...
Use-What-Is-In-The-Fridge Soup
a.k.a. Spinach-Lentil-Quinoa Soup with Shredded Turkey*
(amount made will depend upon what your putting in)
In a large pot, I combined:
onion, chopped
bell pepper, chopped
olive oil (optional: to saute the onions/pepper)
bag of frozen spinach
dried lentils
shredded turkey (I had in the freezer, optional)*
leftover spinach dip
leftover cooked quinoa
Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cubes + water
salt & pepper, to taste (optional)
*to make this soup a super easy vegetarian masterpiece, just leave the turkey out!
Let it simmer and do its' thing until the lentils are cooked. Ironically, this soup made largely from leftovers will freeze well for up to 3 months in an airtight container, if you find yourself with leftovers!
This is not the prettiest photo, but you'll see that I literally just popped the remainder of the spinach dip into the soup.
I noticed that in your recipes you use Rapunzel vegetable bouillon cubes. Amazon has got a few varieties. I wonder if you have preference for any (could you link it here pls). Plus, why this brand? anything special about them?
ReplyDeleteI usually use Trader Joe's organic vegetable broth but certainly an alternative is good when I am out of broth.
Hi Noel, yes, I have kind of transitioned from the big boxes of broth to these bouillon cubes. They take up much less space. They're full of flavor (when I don't have my own stock on hand, which is usually the case...) But really, what I love about them is that I can make as little as 2 cups of broth, and not end up wasting the rest of the container I opened! That was happening way to often!
DeleteI was introduced to this brand by a friend who loves to cook. I usually buy up several (like 20!) boxes when it goes on sale at our local Whole Foods. Our store (Darien, CT) had it on sale earlier this month, so it might be worth checking your local store too, in case it was a month long promotion?
The two I stock in my pantry are:
Vegan Vegetable Bouillon No Salt Added-- which allows you way more control over the salt in your dishes: (http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzel-Vegetable-Bouillon-2-4-Ounce-Packages/dp/B001E5DZJS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1327419200&sr=8-2)
Vegan Vegetable Bouillon with Sea Salt and Herbs-- this one has a LOT of salt, just know that when you're cooking with it!! (http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzel-Vegetable-Bouillon-3-1-Ounce-Packages/dp/B001E5DZJ8/ref=pd_bxgy_gro_text_b)