Kidney Chickpea Vegetable Soup

I’m stuck inside today because of winter storm Petra, with snow expected to be 8 inches before it turns to ice. So, I crafted this hearty vegetable soup full of vitamins and minerals for dinner. I paired it with my incredible vegan gluten-free grilled cheese sandwich, but it would go great with crusty french bread too. You can actually use whatever vegetables or beans you have in the cabinet so feel free to improvise.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

2 tablespoons OLIVE OIL
1 yellow ONION, diced
4 cloves GARLIC, minced
4 large CARROTS, peeled and sliced
4 CELERY stalks, diced
2 cups little RED POTATOES, scrubbed and cubed
4 cups VEGETABLE BROTH
4 cups WATER
1 15 ounce can of DICED TOMATOES
1 15 ounce can of KERNAL CORN
1 15 ounce can of GREEN BEANS
1 15 ounce can KIDNEY BEANS, drained and rinsed
1 BAY LEAF
1 teaspoon dried THYME
1/2 teaspoon dried ROSEMARY
1 15 ounce can CHICKPEAS, drained and rinsed
SALT and PEPPER to taste

Directions

GATHER and PREPARE all ingredients
HEAT oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat
ADD onion and garlic and SAUTE for 5 minutes
ADD celery, carrots, potatoes and SAUTE for another 5 minutes stirring frequently
ADD thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper to taste
ADD broth, water, kidney beans, corn, green beans, and bay leaf and bring to a BOIL
When boiling, REDUCE heat, COVER, and SIMMER for 20 minutes
STIR in chickpeas and ADD more salt and pepper to taste and cook an additional 15 minutes
SERVE warm
STORE in the refrigerator in an airtight container for a week or freeze for up to 4 months

Gather ingredients
Slice, dice, and chop
Saute onion & garlic
Soften veggies
Add broth & water
Simmer
Enjoy with a nice gluten-free vegan grilled cheese sandwich

Instant Pot Great Northern Bean Chicken Soup

The Polar Vortex has brought unprecedented cold weather. They say it hasn’t been this cold in a generation. Cold Weather = Hot Soup. I quickly sauteed some chicken and pressure cooked it with Great Northern White beans, onion, garlic, carrots, green and red peppers, and spices to make this dairy-free and gluten-free tummy warmer in less than an hour. Stay warm.

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes (plus preheating and cooling of Instant Pot)

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1-1/2 tablespoons OLIVE OIL
3 skinless boneless CHICKEN BREAST (2 lbs)
2 YELLOW ONIONS, diced
1 tablespoon (3 cloves) GARLIC, minced
6 cups reduced-sodium CHICKEN BROTH
4 large CARROTS, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 GREEN BELL PEPPER, diced
1/2 RED BELL PEPPER, diced
1 30-ounze can GREAT NORTHERN WHITE BEANS, drained & rinsed
2 BAY LEAF
1 teaspoon dried ROSEMARY
1/2 teaspoon dried THYME
1/4 teaspoon SMOKED PAPRIKA
1 teaspoon SALT
1/2 teaspoon ground BLACK PEPPER
Optional Toppings: Gluten-Free TORTILLA CHIPS

Directions

PREPARE CHICKEN
- Turn Instant Pot on to SAUTE normal setting
- When pot display says ‘HOT,’ ADD the oil and SWIRL it around to coat the bottom of the pot
- ADD chicken breasts and SAUTE the chicken, about 3 minutes each side, until browned (6 minutes total)
- REMOVE chicken from pot and set aside
PREPARE SOUP
- With Instant Pot still on SAUTE normal setting, ADD the onions and cook for 3 minutes, until translucent
- ADD the garlic and SAUTE another 30 seconds, stir frequently
- ADD carrots, green pepper, red pepper, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper and mix well
- STIR in the broth and SCRAPE pot to mix well
- STIR in beans and mix well
- RETURN the chicken to the pot and submerge in broth mixture
COOK SOUP
- CLOSE the pot lid tightly
- SET pressure release valve to ‘SEALING’
- SET manual pressure cook button to high pressure for 10 minutes
- The Instant Pot will reach desired pressure within 10-15 minutes and then it will begin to count down the set amount of time
- When the timer finishes counting down the 10 minutes, PRESS ‘CANCEL,’ and carefully MOVE the release value to ‘VENTING.’ Allow a natural pressure release for 5 to 10 minutes, and then you can quick pressure release the rest. Use tremendous caution when working with steam and when venting your Instant Pot.
- REMOVE the lid once the pot pressure is released and using tongs REMOVE chicken from the pot and place in a bowl
- SHRED chicken by holding each piece with a fork or the tongs and pulling it apart with another fork. Chicken should be well cooked and shred easily.
- RETURN shredded chicken to the pot and STIR
- SEASON soup with additional salt and pepper to taste
SERVE in bowls topped with gluten-free tortilla chips
STORE in the refrigerator for 2-3 days in an airtight container

Gather ingredients
Dice onion & mince garlic
Drain & rinse beans
Prepare all veggies
Prepare chicken
Set Instant Pot
Add oil when HOT
Saute chicken
Remove & set aside
Saute onion & garlic
Add veggies
Add spices
Add broth
Add beans
Return chicken to soup and pressure cook for 10 minutes
Remove chicken carefully
Shred chicken with a fork and tongs
Shred completely
Add chicken back into soup
Serve with gluten-free tortilla chips

Inspired by Instant Pot Chicken and White Bean Soup by 365daysofcrockpot.com

Butternut Squash Soup – Vegan & Gluten-free

Apples make this soup sweet while cayenne pepper and smoked paprika give it zest. This soup is simple to make in one pot, naturally gluten-free, and by using coconut milk, it’s vegan too. I was going to use fresh butternut squash, but I waited too long and it went bad, so I grabbed a few bags of frozen chopped butternut squash from the freezer and, voila, an easy and delicious winter delight was born.

Butternut Squash preparation: 1 hour if fresh or 20 minutes if frozen

Soup preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients

4 cloves GARLIC, minced
1 large ONION, roughly chopped
2 large APPLES, peeled, corded, and roughly chopped
1 medium BUTTERNUT SQUASH (3 lbs) or 40 ounces frozen
1 tablespoon EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (EVOO)
4 cups VEGETABLE BROTH
1 BAY LEAF
1 sprig SAGE
1/2 teaspoon KOSHER SALT
1/4 teaspoon ground BLACK PEPPER
1/8 teaspoon CAYENNE PEPPER
1 teaspoon NUTMEG
1 cup canned unsweetened COCONUT MILK (plus some for topping)
Sprinkle of SMOKED PAPRIKA

Directions

PREPARE butternut squash
- If FRESH:
  - PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees F
  - CUT squash in half lengthwise
  - SCOOP out seeds and discard
  - SPRAY flesh with cooking spray and a pinch of salt and pepper
  - PLACE flesh side down in a baking dish and add 1/2 cup of water
  - BAKE about 1 hour, until flesh is soft
  - COOL until you can handle and then SCOOP out the flesh
- If FROZEN:
  - PLACE frozen cubed squash in a microwave safe bowl and add 2 tablespoons of water per 10 ounces of cubes
  - MICROWAVE for 5 minutes per 10 ounces (time depending on the power of your microwave). You want the cubes to be soft not frozen.
HEAT the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat
ADD the onions and SAUTE for 5 minutes
ADD the garlic to the onions and SAUTE for another 2 or 3 minutes until the onions are translucent and the garlic is tender
ADD the apples, butternut squash, sage, nutmeg, bay leaf, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, and vegetable broth and STIR well
ADD the coconut milk and STIR until blended
Bring mixture to a BOIL and then turn off heat
REMOVE sprig of sage and bay leaf and discard
PUREE the soup directly in the pot using an immersion blender* to your desired smoothness.** Be very careful when working with hot liquid.
- *If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender. Transfer the soup in small batches to a countertop blender and puree each batch until smooth. Be careful when filling the blender and make sure to put the top on because hot liquid can really hurt you.
- **I leave some chunks of apple in my soup, just because I like it that way.
ADD additional seasoning to taste
SERVE warm TOPPED with extra coconut milk and a SPRINKLE of smoked paprika

Frozen butternut squash works great
Just rough chop your apples and onions
Saute the onions and garlic
Combine all ingredients
Use an immersion blender
Coconut milk makes it creamy
Add a little coconut milk and smoked paprika to finish

Butternut Squash Vegetable Soup

When it is cold outside there is nothing as comforting as a hot bowl of vegetable soup. Around here we just love soups of all kinds. I try to make soup on the weekends to carry us through a few chilly nights during the week. This hearty soup is full of seasonal goodness from kale and squash and packed with protein from chickpeas to make it a complete dinner. Try it alone or with a nice gluten-free/dairy-free grilled cheese sandwich.

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 35 – 45 minutes

Servings: 8 as a main course

Ingredients

4 tablespoons OLIVE OIL
2 large ONIONS, diced
6 CARROTS, diced
6 PARSNIPS, diced
4 stalks CELERY, diced (optional)
4 cloves GARLIC, minced
4 cups (1 whole) peeled BUTTERNUT SQUASH, in 1/2" cubes
4 cups KALE, coursely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground ALLSPICE
1/4 teaspoon Kosher SALT (more to taste)
1/4 teaspoon CAYENNE PEPPER (more or less to taste)
4 sprigs fresh THYME
8 cups low-salt VEGETABLE BROTH
1 15-ounce can no-salt DICED TOMATOES
1 15-ounce can CHICKPEAS

Directions

PEEL and CUT the butternut squash into 1/2″ cubes (follow Simplyrecipes’ direction on how to peel and cut the butternut squash safely)
DICE onion, carrots, parsnips
MINCE garlic
WASH the kale and REMOVE it from the stem by laying the leaf upside down on a cutting board and cutting a V shape along both sides of the rib thereby cutting it free from the leaf. CHOP the kale coarsely.
HEAT olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat
ADD onions and cook for about 5 minutes, until they begin to soften and turn translucent. STIR occasionally
ADD the garlic and cook for 1 more minute
ADD the butternut squash, carrots, parsnips, (celery if you want), allspice, salt, and cayenne pepper and stir until they begin to brown (about 10 minutes)
ADD the sprigs of thyme, broth, and tomatoes
Bring to a BOIL then reduce heat and SIMMER for 10 minutes (or until vegetables are tender)
ADD chickpeas and kale
SIMMER for another 10 minutes, until kale has wilted
REMOVE the sprigs of thyme before serving
STORE for 5 days in the refrigerator and 3 months in the freezer