Can we talk about soup for a minute?  I love soup.  All kinds of soup.  Soup is delicious and it can also be very inexpensive.  In Southern California, the weather is still pretending it is summer (it is almost 9pm and still 78 degrees outside!)  and it is beginning to make me upset.  Fall officially began a month ago, it’s after Halloween, Christmas decorations are beginning to take over the stores…can’t a girl get a little love in the form of a cool evening?!  So while many of you are dreaming of (and getting) a white Christmas, I am going to dream about soup: lots and lots of lovely soups I am going to make the week it decides to finally be chilly here.

Here’s a recipe that I love and it feeds my family of 5 nice big portions with a bit of leftovers.  It is healthy (low fat with lots of fiber and protein), filling, and it costs less than $10.00 (that’s only 2 bucks a person – take that dollar menus)! It’s easy on the wallet and easy on your time – just about 30 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp Olive Oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cups vegetable broth (or two 14oz cans)
• 1 cup water
• 2 cans diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic and onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1tsp fresh if you have it on hand)
• 1 tsp ground turmeric (optional)
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (I know it might sound strange but trust me on this one)
• 1/4 black pepper
• 3 oz egg noodles, uncooked
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• One 15oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups cooked lentils, drained and rinsed

Directions

• Heat oil soup pot over medium heat.  Add onion, stirring until it begins to soften, about 2 min
• Add broth, water, tomatoes w/their juice, garlic, ginger, turmeric (if using), cinnamon and black pepper.  Turn heat to high and cover pot until it begins to boil
• Uncover pot and add egg noodles.  Cook, uncovered until noodles are tender, about 6 minutes
• Add chickpeas,lentils, and cilantro and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes

*Tip:  If you are cooking your own lentils, make the whole 1 pound bag and freeze the leftovers in 1 cup portions (up to one month)  to use in other recipes.

When she’s not feeding her family on a tight budget, Jennifer can be found rambling on about life in general on her blog, I Call Times!

photo source