
Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup Recipe

Healthy Tips for Real Families
Here it is: A fantastic creamy tomato soup that is basically dairy free!
Here’s the recipe (for a huge batch, halve it for a normal size family)
2 large onions + about 4 cloves garlic, chopped, sauteed in olive oil + 1/2 stick butter till soft and sweet
add 1 large can crushed tomatoes + 1 can tomato paste plus water (dunno how much)
2 cans coconut milk
2 potatoes peeled & cubed
curry powder (amt?)
salt
molasses + some sugar (= brown sugar)
dash of vodka
juice of 2 lemons (added at the end with final seasoning)
Cook till potatoes are soft, then blend solids. Voila! A creamy, delicious tomato soup w/o dairy (other than the butter)
Serve with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top.
Of course, add salad and fresh homemade whole wheat bread, and you’ve got yourself a first class meal!
I’ve found that there are a few types of things in life that people naturally categorize themselves into those who do and those who don’t.
For example: baking. When I was a child, my baking was limited to following directions on a ready-made mix box. (By the way, did you know you can make your own mixes?) Anybody who baked “from scratch” was seemingly in a whole different league. So, I did bake, but only from a box.
Then I found out why it is so important to use whole wheat flour, and later still why it should be freshly milled. Not only did I begin to bake from scratch, but I became someone who did make bread.
Since our move, I have not made any bread until just a few days ago. We sold our grain mill, and with all the stress of everything, it just wasn’t something I prioritized. However, I’ve finally decided that enough is enough. Even if it isn’t freshly milled, it’s still better than the alternative.
Tonight we’ll have some Pasta e Fagioli (Pasta and Beans) soup with freshly made garlic herbed bread.
The soup is simple: take chopped carrot, celery, and onion and saute. Add some water, can of crushed tomato, bay leaf, thyme, oregano, and cooked white beans. If you’d like, add other veggies like: cubed eggplant, cut green beans, peas, sliced mushrooms. Simmer till yummy and serve over small pasta like macaroni.
And as for the bread, just make this baguette recipe and add some dried herbs into the dough. I usually add 1 tsp of garlic powder and 1 tsp of oregano or basil.
Other than eating a yummy bowl of chicken soup (especially with matzah-balls) once in a while, I used to think that there was no real reason I would spend my time making it. I mean, soup is for eating, right? Wrong.
I found out that chicken broth is for cooking with. From soups and stews to seasoned rice and sauces, chicken broth (or any good vegetable broth) is an absolute must-have for cooking. And although you can buy canned or boxed broth, it costs MUCH LESS to make it yourself. And it really is easy.
Oh, and you don’t need to use any MSG to make it delicious! I actually used to use chicken boullion in my chicken soup and didn’t know I could get it to be flavorful without it. I mean, our grandmothers must have been absolutely primitive to not have such a convenience item, right?
Freeze your broth in a muffin tin, then pop out the frozen servings for easy use.
Take:
If you are using the 2 whole chickens, take the meat off of one chicken after 1 hr, returning the bones to the pot. Simmer away. Save that chicken meat for another yummy meal.
After a couple of hours, strain and remove remaining meat. That meat will be tough but works fine for chicken salad, etc. Remove all solids, strain soup, cool, and freeze.
Enjoy!
This is one of our favorites. Lentils are about as nutritious and inexpensive as you can get, so those are two big pluses in my book. Make a double batch and stick half in the freezer for a ready made meal.
From The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee
6 cups water
1 1/2 cups lentils
1 red or yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
2 med potatoes, peeled or unpeeled, cubed
2 unpeeled carrots, cut into 1/3 inch rounds
1 large Spanish onion, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
SPICED OIL
2 tbsp olive oil or butter
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1. Combine the water, lentils, bellpepper, potatoes, carrots, onion, celery, soy sauce, pepper, and bay leaf in a large pot. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer for 45 mins.
2. Meanwhile, warm the oil in a small saucepan over low heat, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the ginger, turmeric and cumin. Stir and set aside.
3. When the stew is cooked, add the spiced oil. Season with salt and additional pepper, if needed. Remove the bay leaf. Serve hot.
I like to remove a little and puree it, then return it for a thickened stew.
This stew can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. I recommend doubling it and freezing half. Simple!
This is one of my favorite soups. It’s very rich, so I don’t make it very often. But the flavors of these ingredients combined are amazing. I first found the recipe here and it was an instant hit. I’ve made a few changes/substitutions, and as always, with soup, am not too specific with measurements. I’m attempting to measure so that I can write it down for you here.
1 large piece pumpkin (5 cups chopped)
2 large onions
3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cans coconut milk (of course, fresh would be the best)
8 Tbsp molasses or 1 cup black rum (I’ve tried both; I prefer the molasses)
1 stick butter (you could substitute oil, I’m sure. I haven’t tried.)
Zest and juice of 2 large lemons (limes would be better)
1 Tbsp (approx) of curry powder
Kosher salt and pepper
2 bay leaves
1/3-1/2 white wine
*brown sugar — you can substitute a little extra molasses and honey. About 1/2 c or to taste.
You will need 2 pots.
1.Pot 1: Boil pumpkin chunks with stock, rum/molasses, and water if needed to cover until very soft.
2. Pot 2: Saute sliced onions in butter or oil until soft. Add coconut milk, lemon juice & zest, curry, honey, bay leaves. Simmer about 1/2 hr.
4. Combine all and blend or puree
5. Taste and adjust seasonings and thickness (you can add more water or stock or wine or…)
Soup is a very forgiving dish. You can really play around with ingredients and amounts; feel free to experiment! I don’t have any white wine today and am making it without it. Never think you can’t make something unless you have all of the exact ingredients.
Serve it up with some freshly baked french bread, a salad, and enjoy!
I love making soup. It’s an easy to make, filling, and inexpensive meal. And the variations are endless. I usually don’t follow a recipe for soup, but just take the ideas of the ingredients and then run with it. This is an exception. I tried this recipe and loved it so much that I don’t want to change a thing. Except that I switched from white rice as originally called for to whole grain. And since there are also chickpeas in the soup, you get a complete protein.
Add a salad and/or some fresh homemade bread, and you’ve got yourself a fantastic meal. Remember “The Soup That Eats Like A Meal”? Well, this one does. Only without the MSG and bad food combining.
The recipe was adapted from The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee.
1 cup chopped onion
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 c chopped carrots
1/2 c chopped celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 c vegetable stock or stock of your choice ( use my easy chicken broth, stored in frozen 1/2 cups)
2 tsp salt (I find this to be a little too much; try 1 tsp)
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
1/3 c rice
1 16oz can chopped tomatoes
1 c cooked chickpeas
Garnish
lemon wedges
chopped fresh cilantro
grated parmesan cheese
It’s REALLY good. And very easy to make. And filling. And has unique flavors….Can you tell that I really like this soup?
Tell me what you think of it!