I'm getting tired of eating chicken soup all week, but it's been great because I can just cook the chicken on the bottom of the pot, successively add vegetables based on their cook time, and I dirty just the pot, the knife, and the cutting board.
Do y'all have any low-effort, low-cost soup suggestions for the week?
Chickpea Harissa Soup
In its most basic form, cook some onion + garlic in some olive oil, then add 2 cans of chickpeas (with the liquid!) into the pot + harissa paste to taste + broth/stock/bouillon + whatever vegetables you would additionally like. Finish with lemon juice if desired. I usually serve with egg (poached directly in the soup) + hearty bread but that’s not required ofc.
I like a mushroom and pearl barley soup, even though it takes a little bit of cooking time.
Fry an onion in oil, add sliced mushrooms + salt, fry until the mushrooms shrink a bit (plus more oil, if the pot goes to dry). Add garlic, pepper, thyme or other herbs, cook for another minute or so, then add broth (vegetable or meat, either works) and the pearl barley, about 50 grams per portion. Probably around a quarter cup? I measure mine with a Turkish tea glass, that looks about right in terms of size. Boil until the barley is tender - the one I have currently is coarsely milled instead of whole grains and will take around half an hour.
Curried lentil soup, where you fry up some onion, ginger, and garlic, add a generous amount of the curry seasoning of your choosing (Indian curry paste, thai curry paste, curry powder, etc), then add in some carrots, fry a little longer. Add maybe 3-4 cups of stock (if you're using a very salty stock and a saltier curry paste, thin a little with water, if you're using curry powder, taste at the end and add salt if needed) and a cup or so of red lentils (double it if you're planning on a big pot and lots of leftovers), cook on an enthusiastic simmer until the lentils are soft, maybe 15-20 minutes. Add some chopped green vegetables like kale, spinach, etc (I like the individually frozen cubes you can get, they're a great thing to keep in the freezer and chuck into stuff for added nutrition) in the last few minutes of cooking, if you've got them, and a generous spoonful or two of lemon or lime juice right before serving (I usually go for lemon if Indian curry seasonings, lime if Thai). It's a very forgiving base recipe and good for using up what you have. If you've got some yams or potatoes, that's good to add some small cubed ones in when you add the lentils and stock. If you don't have any green vegetables, it works well without. If you've got cabbage or bell peppers, add some in in the same stage when you're frying the carrots. If you want some extra protein, peanut butter is good in here as well and adds extra creaminess. If you've got some coconut milk that's a great thing to add, too. Tomatoes or tomato paste, can also be added if you like em, use a lil less citrus if you're doing that. For a slightly sweeter variant you can add some chopped apples. If you don't have lemon juice or lime juice, a dash of a nicely flavoured vinegar is good too, like apple cider or white wine vinegar.
Sausage, Goat Cheese, and Winter Squash soup. It's legit got five ingredients and is insanely good
cut 2 winter squash in half (any squash that isn't spaghetti squash, butternut, or summer squash will do) and put them in the oven for about an hour (or until the squash is soft) at 350. Fry up 1lb of breakfast sausage and a chopped white onion. Get a pot, put in 2 containers of chicken stock (64oz), the breakfast sausage/onions, and the scooped-out inside of the squash. Simmer lightly for 15min. Mash up any big chunks of the squash that are still left, then add goat cheese to taste.
Behold, the easiest turkey chili you will ever make.
In the bottom of your pot, break up a package of ground turkey, and season with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, and garlic powder. Keep it moving until you don’t see any pink left. Next add in a diced onion, and keep that moving until soft. Turn your heat way up, add in (all undrained, low sodium preferred) a can of black beans, two cans of red kidney beans, a can of pinto beans, a can of corn, and a can of tomatoes with green chilis. For seasoning, I use one packet of taco mix, and one packet of powdered ranch dressing, and maybe a bit of salt if it needs it. Add hot sauce if you want extra spice. Set it to a low boil for about 15-20 minutes, stir often, serve hot with cornbread or crescent rolls.
It keeps really well on its own, but I usually eat the leftovers mixed with ramen noodles.
