Vegetable Quinoa Soup

David wasn’t feeling the best earlier this week so I thought what better than soup for dinner? Over the past year I have explored many recipes with quinoa-that is pronounced ki-nwa for those of you who aren’t familiar. Quinoa is actually not a grain although often thought to be, it is actually a seed. So for those of you have jumped on the gluten-free train, quinoa is great to use as a grain substitute in most cases. I will have to share some of my quinoa explorations in posts to come! Enough about the seed that tastes like a grain-back to the soup! So honestly this is a recipe that I created based on what vegetables I had in my refrigerator. We often get groceries for 2 weeks at a time, so by the second week it’s time to use up the produce before it goes bad. Feel free to swap out or swap in vegetables at a your fridge’s pleasure.

Vegetable Quinoa Soup

2 zucchinis (small)

1 onion

1 C green beans

1 C baby carrots

1 C mushrooms

2 sweet peppers

1 can butter beans

1 can diced tomatoes

49 oz chicken broth (I used low sodium)

1 C dry quinoa

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1/4 C fresh basil

2 bay leaves

2 T thyme

2 T EVOO

Dice and slice all your veggies. Get a large pan on medium heat with the EVOO going and add all your veggies you want to saute. I didn’t add any of the canned veggies or the green beans since the soup broth will cook them enough. Salt and pepper the veggies and saute for 5 minutes. Place the broth in a large stock pot on medium heat. In the meantime add 2 C of water to a pot and bring to a boil, then add the quinoa, mix, cover, and put the heat on low.

Place the broth in a large stock pan on medium. After the broth is warmed (5 minutes) add the vegetables (sauteed and unsauteed), garlic, bay leaves, thyme, fresh bail, salt, and pepper to the stock pot.

I let my veggies cook in the broth for about 30 minutes. Add the cooked quinoa to the soup right before you want to eat.

I served the soup up with a artisan roll and topped it off with a little parmesan. I was actually surprised how filling this soup was (of course I had 2 bowls). It was also great for lunch the next day and I think I cured David’s sniffles in the process!

181 calories per serving