Quinoa, Kale & White Bean Soup

It has been a rainy and chilly week here in Michigan, and nothing makes me happier in dreary weather than a piping hot bowl of soup.

I just love soup for so many reasons. It’s very easy to prepare, usually pretty inexpensive to make, feeds a crowd and it makes your house smell amazing. What’s not to love?

This soup was very inexpensive to make. I had everything in my pantry or fridge already except the kale. Chances are the same will be true for you too. I love it when a recipe doesn’t require me to buy a whole bunch of ingredients. The more simple, the better.

This is a vegetarian recipe, but if you are someone who MUST have meat (or have a hubby that does), boneless skinless chicken breasts would be a great addition. Dice the chicken breast and cook it in the pan at the same time as the vegetables.

For those of you who eat the Trim Healthy Mama way, this soup is an E (with or without the meat).

 

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To make this soup, start by heating the olive oil over medium heat in a large stockpot.

Add the carrot, celery, and onion and saute for about 8 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Put the garlic in the pan and saute for 1 minute more, stirring constantly.

Next, pour the water and vegetable stock into the pot and turn the heat up to high. Bring to a boil and add the quinoa, beans, and seasonings to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cover.

Set a timer for 10 minutes. When the timer goes off, put the kale in the pot, stir, and put the lid back on and set a timer for 15 minutes more.

Once the timer goes off check to see if the quinoa is cooked completely. If the quinoa is done, turn off the heat and stir in the red wine vinegar and taste. Adjust seasonings if needed.

It freezes and reheats wonderfully, so double the recipe and have an easy dinner waiting for you in the freezer!