leftover lentil soup

I had planned on making dan's lentil soup tonight but then time passed, it's freezing outside and I was hungry - so here is my soup that is essentially "whatever I had in the pantry!"

Ingredients:

• 1 tbslp olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 small stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• salt and pepper
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 c vegetable broth
• 14 oz can "bean, lentil and barely soup"
• 1/2 c cooked quinoa
• 1 c water
• 12 oz frozen sweet potato cubes

Instructions:

1. Make a mirepoix with the first 4 ingredients and add the salt, pepper and cumin.
2. Add the broth, soup and quinoa. Cover and let cook on medium for about 10 minutes.
3. Add water and sweet potato cubes and let cook another 10 minutes.

cinnamon, chickpeas, squash and turnips

cinnamon, chickpeas, squash and turnips

I saw someone cooking with cinnamon and butternut squash on TV so I decided to get some vegetables together tonight. I suppose one could always create a tasty meal by combining vegetables, but I did enjoy this combination. Anything on this list could be left out if you don't have it on hand, really.

Ingredients:

• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 small turnip, peeled and diced
• 14 oz can chickpeas, drained
• 1 bag frozen cubed butternut squash
• 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 6 tblsp sunflower seeds
• 3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 cinnamon stick
• salt and pepper
• up to 1 cup vegetable broth
• quinoa (or rice or couscous would work as well)
• 1/2 c parsley, chopped

Instructions:

1. Create a mirepoix with the celery, carrots and onion using some broth instead of oil. Add some salt and pepper and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until the onions are tender.
2. Add the turnip and sunflower seeds. Cook another 8 minutes until the turnip starts to become tender. Add some broth if it starts to stick.
3. Add the squash, tomatoes and spices. The dish will create more liquid, so reduce heat to low and cook down until the liquid is just on the bottom of the pan (about 15 minutes). Use this time to cook the quinoa according to package instructions.
4. Serve vegetable medley over the quinoa and top with a hefty portion of parsley.

Nutritional Information: Calories 352; Total Fat 10g; Sat Fat 1g; Chol 0g; Sodium 386mg; Potassium 606mg; Carbs 56g; Fiber 11g; Protein 12g. (Estimated via SparkRecipes with this recipe making 6 servings.)