Eat Cheaply: Lentil Soup

My lunch today.  Remember my "secret" to making any meal look fancy.

Bean dishes are known for being especially tasty, especially cheap, and healthy to boot! According to this site, lentils are high in fiber, iron, B vitamins, and protein. So eat up! 

Here's my very own cheap and easy recipe for lentil soup.

 

 

Ingredients:

2 cups dry lentils
Water
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Salt
Black pepper

Optional:

Ham or Steak bone (already cooked, meat removed from bone)
Red pepper flakes
Minced onions
Chopped chives
Fresh parsley for garnish

Prep:

1. Put 2 cups of lentils in a big bowl. I prefer a Tupperware bowl or Mason jar, but anything big enough that can hold liquid will do.
2. Rinse and strain.
3. Then cover with twice as much water. Loosely cover with a lid.
4.  Let sit overnight at room temperature. The lentils will soak up all the water and grow up to double their size. They may even possibly show signs of beginning to sprout. This is perfect!

Cooking:

1. Rinse the beans one more time.
2. Then pour them into a saucepan, and top with water, just above the beans, or more if you like your soup thin.
3. If you have a ham or steak bone, now is the time to add it.
4. Bring to a boil.
5. Add spices to taste (sorry, I never measure...trust your senses).
6. Boil for 20 minutes or until beans are soft.

Enjoy:

1. Remove bone and give it to your dog. He will love you.
2. Scoop soup into bowls and add garnish before serving.
3. Take a photo and post it on my blog. ;)

This is a great soup when you are stuck home sick (like I have been the past 2 days) or when the weather gets chilly.

I wrote this blog using the Blogger app while sitting in the doctors office. Do you have any go-to soup recipes for when you are sick?