Happy Monday Everyone! As a final goodbye to Winter, I bring you a final soup post (until Fall, that is). I have so many good soup recipes, but I’m super excited to start bringing you some Spring dishes and Summer salads! Here in the Midwest, we are experiencing Mother Nature’s Bi-Polarness. By that I mean we are getting one day of twenty degree weather with snow and the next day in the mid-fifties. Makes dressing for my runs very challenging. Hopefully, by the time this posts we will be in full-Spring weather. No. More. Snow. Or Ice. Or Freezing Cold. Enjoy this soup!
This was super simple to make! I used cannellini beans, dry, so I had to do the usual soak-and-simmer. I started this process on Friday, knowing I was making this soup on Sunday. I also went grocery shopping on Friday night for my weekend needs for this recipe and the one I made on Saturday. Let me tell you, that was the perfect time to grocery shop! The store was near-empty. Those that were there were intent on getting their goods and getting out. I didn’t have to deal with any stupid people. No lines. No one blocking the aisles. No one leaving their carts in the middle of the parking lot. Friday night may be my new grocery night.
So, what do we need for this soup? Obviously, beans. The recipe called for Kale, but I opted for Spinach instead. Sometimes I find kale to be a bit rough. The spinach wilted nicely and blended well into this soup. We also need a leek, Italian Seasoning, garlic, yellow squash and zucchini, lemon juice, and sea salt. Because I am a huge fan of celery and carrots in soups, I added those as well!
I meal-prepped on Saturday with my wonderful Father-In-Law supervising! He was over waiting for the insurance adjustor to come assess the damage from a tree falling on our house. Shoutout to Bard for being such a great help!! You are the best!!! For this recipe, meal prep meant simmering the beans, chopping the carrots, leek, and celery. Mincing the garlic. Chopping the squashes. By the time Sunday rolled around, all I had to do was put these things together in a pot and let them cook!
Further on that. I added the leeks, celery, and carrots to the pot with some water. Let them soften up a bit. I then added the beans, garlic, and the vegetable stock. Then the squashes went in. I let this simmer on low for a bit, adding the spinach at the end. Lastly, I added the Italian Seasoning, some juice from a fresh lemon, and a dash of salt.
Even Mr. FBBQ opted to sample some of this soup! Bean night for both of us!
