I pin the deliciously fancy and complicated soup recipes with weird ingredients and high hopes for the future, but there they remain, in digital lockdown. Sometimes you just need something a little more simple, amen? Since I don’t do chicken fingers and fries from the frozen food aisle anymore, I was grateful to put this little concoction together one day.
Simple + nourishing + quick = perfection for those seasons or days where everything seems to be in chaotic disarray around you. Don’t we all just need a little break every now and then? A homemade – from scratch, nonetheless – soup that simmers on the stove, wafting a warm aroma over to your busy little nose is a beautiful and merciful thing.
I was recently in one of those nutty seasons (okay, who am I kidding – we’re knee-deep in Crazy Town days around here) and whipped up this soup for lunch one day.
I was craving a homemade turkey stew, but didn’t feel I had the time or energy that day to stand in the kitchen for an hour, chopping and dicing and so forth.
Then… it occurred to me: I have my homemade bone broth, frozen in the most convenient possible way, and could probably have soup ready in just a few minutes.
I’m actually recovering right now from a severe case of antibiotic-resistant strep throat, and I am certain that this “recipe” will be going on my menu plan for next week! Perfect timing.
I got out my broth and threw it in a pot with some water and turned on the burner. Throw in half a cup of lentils and half a cup of rice, get them to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Toss in some dried herbs. I used dried onion flakes, summer savory, and marjoram. And of course some good sea salt – homemade bone broth is very bland until you add enough salt. Add veggies of your choice – I tossed in some frozen veggie bean/carrot mix.
Wait until rice and lentils are cooked – maybe 10-12 minutes. The frozen veg will be cooked, the seasonings will have mixed and mingled, and the whole thing will fill your belly with warmth.
Boom. Done. Faster than ordering a pizza – can’t beat that! When I used my homemade broth and intentionally skipped the ingredients that required lots of prep – chopping and dicing and peeling and such – the whole process was ridiculously fast!
Even though this is like a total duh and you probably were all already cooking up your little 10-minute soups every day for lunch, I’m calling it a win.
Any little trick that fills my diet with better real food without taking forevvvvvver to make is worthy of a happy dance.
Have you ever made soup from scratch in 15 minutes or less?
Beth
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I make “leftover soup”. I freze small amounts of leftovers (veggies, rice, pasta, chunked meat etc) and when my leftover container is full, I add it all to some stock and voila, instant soup! It’s alway differnt, so it enever gets old!
I love soup. My kids will even eat it! (Yay!)
I’ve never tried adding lentils and I think it’s a brilliant idea. I keep homemade stock in my freezer for times when I want an easier soup. I like the idea of keeping some frozen veg on hand for an even quicker meal.
Glad to hear I gave you some new ideas!
I agree with you….soup doesn’t have to be difficult. I usually focus on 5 ingredients. And frozen veggies speed up the process. I would just add to make sure you rinse the lentils and the rice before you throw them in the pot.
Glad to hear from another fan of quick and easy soup!