The Nourishing Gourmet

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$10 Main

Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup

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This creamy, dairy-free soup is frugal and comforting on a cold winter’s night. Cumin, garlic, ginger, and curry powder all help give this soup a robust flavor profile, while the balsamic vinegar provides just the right tang. 

Red lentils cook up in a hurry, making this a wonderful last-minute meal. I love lentils as they are full of essential nutrients, a frugal source of protein, and are delicious too! 

I add gelatin to the soup to add more protein, but that’s optional. This soup is easily made with broth or water, vegetarian or not. 

Serve with muffins, bread, or over brown rice, and a large salad for a complete meal. For those on THM, this makes a wonderful “E” Meal.

Tips

For easy blending, use an immersion blender.

For more protein and collagen, use the optional gelatin. This is a good brand.

I like to keep all of the ingredients for this soup on hand. They are easily made into a variety of dishes, and I can also make this soup for last-minute meals!

Other Soup Recipes 

Creamy Curry Red Lentil Soup

  • 1-2 tablespoons fat or oil of choice 
  • 3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 
  • 1 onion, peeled and chopped 
  • 3 celery, thinly sliced 
  • 3-6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced 
  • 2 cups red lentils, rinsed in a fine sieve (remove any small pebbles, if there are any)
  • 8 cups broth or water 
  • 1 heaping teaspoon cumin 
  • 1 heaping teaspoon dried ginger or one tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger 
  • 2 teaspoon curry powder 
  • ¼ cup of gelatin in 1 cup of cool water, optional
  • Around 1 – 2 tablespoons of salt 
  • 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

1. In a large pot, add the fat/oil (just enough to lightly cover the bottom of the pot) and turn on medium heat until the fat is just hot. Add the carrots, onion, and celery, and lightly sprinkle with salt. Stir here and there, and cook until the vegetables start to soften (about five minutes) and add the garlic and cook for one or two more minutes. 

2. Add the red lentils and broth/water, turn heat to high, and bring to a simmer. Turn down to keep at a gentle simmer. Remove with a large spoon any foam that may come to the surface of the soup. 

3. Add the spices. Simmer for around twenty minutes, or until the lentils are soft. 

4. Stir together the gelatin and the water, soften for a few minutes. Stir into the soup, along with salt (to taste, you will need more if you used water) and balsamic vinegar. 

5. For a creamier texture blend part or all of the soup. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use an immersion blender, which you can put right into your pot for easy blending. OR, carefully scoop out some of the soup, and blend in a blender (follow procedures for your specific blender for how to do this safely. For my blender, I vent it, and only fill halfway, and blend on low to start). For blending in a blender, you will need to do at least several batches. I blend about half of the soup. 

6. Check the flavor, and adjust with salt, vinegar, or pepper, and enjoy!

Instant Pot Ginger and Garlic Broth

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“Flavorful Ginger and Garlic Instant Pot Broth is so simple and easy to make! It also makes a wonderful full meal soup when poured over rice and shredded cooked chicken. Yum! Paleo, AIP, and grain free friendly soup! -- The Nourishing Gourmet

I love this gingery broth with hints of garlic. It’s perfect to sip on as a sipping broth (like this turmeric one!), but also makes a lovely simple soup. This easy broth is a cinch to make in the Instant Pot, and results in a flavorful broth full of good-for-you-ingredients. To dress it up, sometimes I add coconut milk or coconut cream, and squeeze fresh lime juice into my bowl or cup. Yum!

To make it into a main dish soup, you can serve over cooked rice and shredded cooked chicken. Top with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Yum!

I make this with a leftover chicken bones from when I roast a whole chicken, but I’ve also use 3- 5 pounds of chicken legs (another inexpensive option).

I love to add ginger and garlic into my food any time of the year, but they are especially soothing in this broth during the cold and flu season (and I love their immune building properties too!).

This is the Instant Pot that I own, Instant Pot 6 Quart, (if you are buying one and are making food for a family, I’d recommend going even bigger to this model, Instant Pot 8 Quart).

For those who don’t have an Instant Pot, yes, you can make this on the stove! I’d gently simmer it on the stove top for 6-12 hours to get close to the same richness as the Instant Pot recipe. I’m sure that you could make this in the slow cooker as well (I’d try low for 12 hours).

This recipe works great for those on a paleo or AIP diet too.

Flavorful Ginger and Garlic Instant Pot Broth is so simple and easy to make! It also makes a wonderful full meal soup when poured over rice and shredded cooked chicken. Yum! Paleo, AIP, and grain free friendly soup! -- The Nourishing Gourmet

Equipment and Ingredients:

Instant Pot Ginger and Garlic Broth

Variation: You can also add some fresh turmeric root (or 2 teaspoons powder).

Ingredients:

  • Bones leftover from one roasted chicken or 3-5 pounds of chicken legs or drumsticks
  • 2-3 inches of fresh ginger root, rinsed and thinly sliced
  • 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and the roots cut off, cut into quartered
  • Salt and pepper
  • Filtered Water
  • 1 cup of Coconut milk and fresh limes for serving, optional

Directions:

1.Place the chicken, sliced ginger, and garlic in instant pot insert. Add a scant tablespoon of unrefined salt and a couple large pinches of freshly ground pepper (leave pepper out if AIP).

2. Fill water to slightly under the fill line.

Edit:While most Instant Pot Recipes online fill the pot high for broth making, it’s recently come to my attention (through an article) that filling your Instant Pot to the Max fill line is NOT recommended. According to the manual,  “For all pressure cooking programs, do not fill the unit over 2/3 full. When cooking foods that expand during cooking such as grains, beans, and dried vegetables, do not fill the unit over 1/2 full. Overfilling may cause a risk of clogging the pressure release valve and developing excess pressure. Please see “Cooking Preparation”.” So I would only fill your pot 2/3s full of water for this recipe.

3. Press manual, and set time to 2 hours on high.

4. Let get to pressure and let it run through the pressure cycle.

5. Allow broth to naturally release pressure for 20-30 minutes.

5. Carefully release pressure. Carefully pour through a fine sieve into a heat safe bowl or pot, OR, my favorite, use a skimmer ladle to remove the bones and vegetables and place in compost. If you used fresh drumsticks, then you can also remove the meat from the bones once they are cool enough to handle, and use the meat in the broth or another recipe.

6. Adjust salt to taste.

7. To finish: Optional: Pour in about 1 cup of coconut cream or coconut milk and serve with quartered limes for squeezing into individual bowls.

Variation: Serve over cooked rice and shredded cooked chicken, and top with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Yum!

Printable Version:

Instant Pot Ginger and Garlic Broth
 
 
Instant Pot Ginger and Garlic Broth Bones leftover from one roasted chicken or 3-5 pounds of chicken legs or drumsticks 2-3 inches of fresh ginger root, rinsed and thinly sliced 3-5 garlic cloves, peeled 1 medium onion, peeled and the roots cut off, cut into quartered Salt and pepper Filtered Water 1 cup of Coconut milk and fresh limes for serving, optional
Instructions
  1. Place the chicken, sliced ginger, and garlic in instant pot insert. Add a scant tablespoon of unrefined salt and a couple large pinches of freshly ground pepper (leave pepper out if AIP).
  2. Add water until the pot is about ⅔'s full.
  3. Press manual, and set time to 2 hours on high.
  4. Let get to pressure and let it run through the pressure cycle.
  5. Allow broth to naturally release pressure for 20-30 minutes
  6. Release pressure. Carefully pour through a fine sieve into a heat safe bowl or pot, OR, my favorite, use a skimmer ladle to remove the bones and vegetables and place in compost. If you used fresh drumsticks, then you can also remove the meat from the bones once they are cool enough to handle, and use the meat in the broth or another recipe.
  7. Adjust salt to taste.
  8. To finish: Optional: Pour in about 1 cup of coconut cream or coconut milk and serve with quartered limes for squeezing into individual bowls.
  9. Variation: Serve over cooked rice and shredded cooked chicken, and top with chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Yum!

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Easy Dinner: Brats with Peppers and Onions (Toaster Oven Friendly)

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Easy meal:Brats with Peppers and Onions (that can be made in a toaster oven!). Flavored with basil and garlic. Yum!

This easy dinner recipe gives you juicy brats with lightly browned onions and peppers that are lovely served in a bun or over rice. The brats (or sausage and hot dogs of your choice) get lightly browned and stay juicy, while the peppers and onions add a lot of flavor, color, and nutrition to the dish. I especially like it served with sauerkraut on the side.

When the weather is hot I throw this into our toaster oven, so it doesn’t heat up our house, and uses little electricity too. It does give out some heat (although not half as much as a regular oven), so we also cook this in our laundry room to prevent our kitchen and living space from getting any warmer. (Just make sure you keep it away from kids as the toaster oven gets very hot).

A Word on Equipment:

We choose to buy an inexpensive toaster oven that doesn’t have nonstick in it. You can read about it here. We are still very happy with it! (Here is a direct Amazon link: Waring Pro Digital Convection Oven).

If you are making a rice bowl, you can also use an Instant Pot or clay rice cooker – this is also a great way to prevent your kitchen from getting too hot on a warm day.

Are Sausage/Hot Dogs Good for You?

Finally, there have been some studies linking eating hot dogs to higher rates of certain childhood cancers, as well as possible cancer causing effects on adults. (This article has a good overview of some of them.) While there could be other explanations for some of the results (that is, people who ate more processed meats also could be more likely to be eating an unbalanced diet), the statistics are still compelling. For that reason, we try to avoid or limit sausage and processed meats that contain nitrates and are heavily processed. The brats pictured above are from a local grocery store that grinds their own meat and stuffs their sausage themselves. It’s no different from eating ground meat, so I feel they are a good choice.

Feeding your family vitamin C containing fruits and vegetables (including lacto-fermented sauerkraut) could also help prevent toxic components of processed or grilled meats from affecting your health. I find it fascinating how previously unknown benefits to well-balanced diets are still being discovered! As always, we choose not to worry too much about every single discovery but buy the best quality we can afford and serve well-balanced meals. I was also amused to learn that marinades with herbs and garlic (like this recipe) help prevent carcinogens from forming when cooking meat at high heat. Sometimes what tastes best also is better for you!

Easy meal:Brats with Peppers and Onions (that can be made in a toaster oven!). Flavored with basil and garlic. Yum!

Brats with Peppers and Onions

PDF for Printing

Serves 5

  • 5 brats (or sausage/hot dog of choice)
  • 2 bell peppers (red and yellow are nice), seeded, stemmed, and thinly sliced
  • 1 onion (sweet or yellow), peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • Unrefined Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely minced or put through a garlic press
  • 2 tablespoons of fat (melted) or oil of your choice, heat safe.

1:Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400F.

2. Place all of the ingredients on a sheet pan, drizzle oil or melted fat over everything, and then toss to coat vegetables and meat evenly.

3: Place in oven or toaster oven and roast until the vegetables are soft and the sausage is completely cooked through (about 20 minutes – but it depends on the thickness of the sausage. A toaster oven will cook them faster). Ground meat products such as sausage should reach the temperature of 160F internally. I also like to see a little bit of browning on the sausage and vegetables.

4:Serve as desired, and enjoy!

 

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The Art of Simple Skillet Dinners

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Need dinner on the table fast? Make healthy and delicious meals using just a skillet! Read more about this method by reading this article at The Nourishing Gourmet.

Lack of time or energy for cooking can be the death knell for healthy eating. We’ve had a year like no other, and developing strategies for quick, healthy meals has been essential. (Read about my new series: The Low Energy Guide to Healthy Cooking)

Enter skillet dinners. Oh, how I love thee, skillet dinners.

7 Reasons I Love Skillet Meals

  • They are fast
  • They are frugal
  • They use up leftovers
  • They are easy to make
  • You don’t need a specific recipe to conquer them
  • They are healthy and vegetable-centered
  • You can use whatever you like to flavor them

This one-skillet dinner has been a true help. They are wildly adaptable to what you have in the fridge, and you can flavor them however you like. Ginger and garlic, dried herbs, fresh herbs, turmeric, curry powder, garam masala, green onions, regular onions, red onions, and more!

In my last post, I shared how we have been using pre-washed and cut vegetables on a consistent basis and how much time and how many dinners they have saved. Skillet dinners are one of the most common ways we use prepped vegetables.

Need dinner on the table fast? Make healthy and delicious meals using just a skillet! Read more about this method by reading this article at The Nourishing Gourmet.

Method:

Dinner can be as simple as this: Heating some oil in a large pan, and sautéing together a package or two of prepared vegetables with a pound of ground meat (any kind you like), or adding leftover shredded meat after the vegetables are cooked. Serve with roasted potatoes or sweet potatoes, or throw some leftover rice or quinoa into the pan as well, and dinner is served.

While the below options are meat-centric, I see no reason why you couldn’t use cooked beans or lentils instead. In fact, a lentil centered skillet dinner sounds fabulous.

What is essential to this dish is a very large skillet. I favor our largest cast iron pan. And when I say large, I mean large. I use a 12 inch cast iron pan which is adequate for our five member family, but I’d even like a bigger one eventually.

Some combinations we’ve liked:

  • Shredded cabbage with beef (add garlic and salt and pepper to flavor) served with rice or quinoa.
  • Vegetable Pork Skillet Dinner: Onions, Mushrooms, garlic, dried herbs, with pork and bacon.
  • Cauliflower Fried “Rice” with Chicken: Cauliflower “rice” with celery, green onions, ginger, garlic, grated carrots, and chicken.
  • Gingery Broccoli and Mushroom Stir Fry: Ground meat of choice, broccoli, mushrooms, ginger, and garlic.
  • Leftover Fried Rice: Onions, broccoli, and cauliflower mix, leftover shredded roast, leftover rice
  • Every day Skillet Dinner: Onions, Zucchini, mushrooms, meat of choice or eggs
  • Extra Greens Skillet: Onions, greens, meat of choice, seasoning of choice

Really, there are no limits to skillet dinners. One of my recent favorite combinations was one in which I used bits and pieces of leftover bags of vegetables which made a delicious and coherent dinner. Skillet dinners can be a great way to use leftovers and the odds and ends you have in your refrigerator!

Do you make similar dishes? I’d love to hear your favorite combination!

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