Soup's On!

I love the fall.  It is the perfect excuse to spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking.  In the last couple of weeks, I've made two soups that I was sure P wouldn't like, but after I pureed them, he really enjoyed them.  I couldn't be happier with this outcome since they were both very healthy and super tasty!

Curried Lentil Soup
Original recipe found here

Ingredients:

4 center-cut bacon slices  (I forgot the bacon when we had leftovers later in the week, still good but the bacon was a nice touch)
1 1/2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 onion)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
2 chopped carrots
2 chopped celery stalks
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 (14.5-ounce) cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, undrained  (I used frozen dices from my garden last year, they were great!)

Directions:
Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan; crumble. Add onion and garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 3 minutes. Transfer onion mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in broth and everything else. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours.

Cream of Cauliflower Soup
Original recipe found here

Ingredients:
2 Tb Butter
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 carrots, sliced
3.5 C chicken broth
1 head cauliflower, chopped
1 C milk
3/4 tp salt
1/2 tp pepper
1/8 tp nutmeg

Directions:
In large pot, melt butter.  Cook onion and garlic about five minutes, until onion is translucent. Then add potatoes and carrots, cook five more minutes.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Add cauliflower and reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 minutes.
Blend all ingredients together in batches in the blender, or with an immersion blender.  Add milk, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  

Cream of Cauliflower soup, with smokehouse black pepper, so good!