SoupaDoupa or Healthy "Tomato" Soup

Me again, eek I'm on a roll trying to share my recipes with you..

This soup is a staple in our house because we all love it and its sooooooo easy to make. I don't even know where it came from, I've been making it for years and it just developed over time.

It's souper easy (sorrynotsorry) and can be bunged in the slow cooker or done in a big ole pan on the stove depending what else you got going on that day.

Today I made it on the stove while I was making breakfast but the last time I made it was when we had a play date so it was easier for me to bung in the slow cooker that morning, let it do its thing, hand blend it in there when cooked and then keep in the the slow cooker to keep warm.

As with most of my cooking I make a big ole batch so I have tons to freeze into individual portions to whip out of the freezer when needed.

This is sooooooo easy and so jam packed with healthful foods it makes me never want to eat a tin of tomato soup ever again. It really is that easy to make there is no excuse and the ingredients are most likely store cupboard staples so its really cheap to make.

The portions and any variants of the ingredients just depend what i can find in the fridge when I'm making it and if there is extra verge that needs to be used up that will end up in there too but what i am sharing with you is generally the basis of SoupaDoupa ( I am so corny I know).

I will share with you what I put in it today which make enough for about 5 -6 big bowls.

Ingredients
2 orange peppers(thats what i used today but often red, yellow too)
8 carrots ( 8 because thats what i had left in the fridge)
6 medium potatoes ( often add sweet potatoes in too but didn't have any today)
1 onion ( often make it without onion if i don't have any)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 stock cubes or homemade stock (whatever you happen to have) veg or chicken, or bouillion, seriously whatever you have
Water (I start with enough to cover the ingredients while it boils)

Method
Chop everything up, put in a pan, pour the water in
Leave it until al the ingredients have softened
Remove from the heat
Blend (with a hand blender or in a blender)
Add more water to desired consistency  (reheat if necessary)

Thats it, no really.

let me know what you think. let me know what variants you make, if you add anything else in.

Thank you for reading

Love Chele Tweet

Lentil Goodness "Shepherds Pie"

I was supposed to be making something completely different for dinner tonight but after being out most of the day I realised I had taken the chicken out of the freezer last night and left it on the side all night and all day instead of putting it in the fridge, no way was i changing it. Duh brain.

So this was a bit of an experiment based on numerous recipes I've seen and then dictated by what I had in the cupboards and wanting to keep it as healthy and nutritious as I could.

My measurements are usually approximate. It's just how I roll as I try to go by taste. Oh and it's why I would never be much good on The Great British Bake Off!

This made double and then some extra cooked lentils so heres what I did with them......

The extra half of shepherds pie mix went into a freezer bag and is marked "lentil shepherds pie mix (add potato topping)" . i'll use this for a quick easy meal on a crazy day. 

The big batch of leftover cooked lentils is in the freezer in a bag marked "cooked lentils to make 2 x shepherds pies". So next time I want to make it I will then again end up with 1x spare shepherds pie mix for the freezer if that makes sense. I'm always looking for ways to get more streamlined when cooking and this gives me quick n easy freezer stock! 

Oh and the reason I didn't just make a whole 2nd shepherds pie tonight is because I never like how the potato topping comes out of the freezer so I would rather just add that fresh. 

Ingredients (and approx measurements)
4.5 cups dry brown/green lentils (if you don't want any left for the freezer then approx half the amount. (Cook before adding or you could just use tinned though my preference is dry).
2 x tinned tomatoes (supermarket own brand is fine here i wouldn't be too concerned with higher quality ones unless i was making a tomato sauce for example where the tomato taste will really stand out)
Couple handfuls of spinach ( I use frozen as I don't like the fresh spinach you get here in Cyprus but fresh or frozen is fine)
Sweet potatoes ( I had 7 small ones here)

Potatoes ( I used two small ones - not necessary but I have a big bag to use up and i like the taste and texture together) 

Tablespoon of whatever oil you like for cooking ( I used olive oil here) 

Around 10/15 mushrooms - chopped

4 ribs celery - chopped
3 carrots - grated
Large onion - chopped
Tamari (Instead of Tamari you could use soy sauce or a bit of marmite and water or a beef stock cube and water)

Dried Mixed green herbs (Parsley dried or fresh would likely be yum too)
Cheese (optional) 

Directions

1. Boil lentils in water until cooked ( I like them slightly al dente and not mushy)

2. At the same time boil sweet potatoes till cooked, mash & leave aside 

3. Heat oil in a pan and add the celery, grated carrot, onion and mushroom and sauté. 

4. Add herbs

5. when your lentils are cooked, drain them and add to the pan

6. Mix all together

7. Add the Tamari (taste to see how you like it)

8. Add 2 tins tomato 

9. Add spinach 

10. Mix and at his point check taste, add more Tamari, seasoning etxc to your taste

11. Fill casseroe dish. Pop mashed potatoes on top

12. Grate some cheese on top if u like

13. Pop in the oven on 200 for 20 ish minutes ish (or when cheese is nice and golden)

14. Fill your face - its veg packed and good for you 

Please let me know if you make this and what you think. Did you change anything? Share your pics with me on Instagram (I'm there a lot!) 

Thanks for reading

Love Chele

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Stock Pot Beef Goulash

I have been making this for probably about 10 years, it's a warming comfort food winter dish vibe and always makes me feel full and cosy. It's real comfort food. We like to have it with some yummy crusty bread and butter

We try to make all our meals baby friendly as we generally give Gracie and Alfie bits of what we eat. They are not keen on this though as they are not fond of potato and I think the tomatoiness (that's a word right?) of the stew is a bit rich for them. You could give this to your baby either puréed or as is though I would recommend using a low salt stock or making your own.

Again, in the interest of time management and efficiency I always make a large batch of this so that I can freeze some for another nights dinner the following week or so. I probably make

enough for 4 grown men (oops!). I only put in the amount of potatoes I want for that nights dinner so say just enough for Andy and I as I find the potatoes don't freeze well. I will just boil or mash some more potatoes when we come to eat the batch I have frozen.

You could also make this on the hob or in a casserole dish in the oven.

I should mention as I have said before I'm not exactly a stickler for measurements and I have come to know roughly what I can chuck in and what I can't eek.

We are having it tonight and I can't wait!

Let me know if you try it and what you think.

So for a big ole batch you will need roughly:
(half if you just want to make for 2 hungry people and not freeze any)
- diced lean beef 800g
- 1 large red pepper
- an onion (sometimes I do it without onion, in these pics I used onion)
- Potatoes ( I generally work on maybe 4 small potatoes per person)
- tub of mushrooms (we like chestnut)
- 3-4 cloves of crushed garlic
- about 1tbsp of paprika
- 2 tins of chopped tomatoes
- your beef stock with approx a pint of water (best to add the water slowly and top up where need to rather than have it too watery
- cornflour for thickening

1. If I have time I will brown the beef first in a pan. Mostly I just chuck it in the stockpot.
2. Chuck in everything except the potatoes and cornflour
3. Leave in stockpot on high for approx 5 hours (or low for longer if you need to)
4. add the potatoes an hour or so before you intend to eat (so they don't go to mushy)
5. mix the cornflour in usual way with some cold water to form a paste and add until your goulash is at your desired thickness
6. Dunk in some crusty buttered bread and enjoy.....

Oh man I'm hungry now........

Love Chele
xx



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