Fridge Cleanout Lentil Soup

Submitted by: Vicky

Prep Time: 20 mins active, 1 hr passive   Serves: 8   PerPerson: $0.66

Dietary: vegetarian, vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free

Description: This is a great way to make use of a stockpile of slowly wilting vegetables. Just add lentils! It tastes amazing, is filling, and is insanely cheap.

Ingredients

$0.20  1 1/2 Onion, chopped
$0.25  5 cloves garlic, food processed or chopped
$0.60  6 medium carrots, chopped
$0.60  6 medium celery stalks, chopped
$0.40  1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
$2.00  1 pound/small bag lentils (brown, yellow, red, whatevs)
$0.20  1 vegetable bouillon cube (or chicken if you're into that)
$0.00  8 cups water
$0.65  1 potato, cubed
$0.05  salt
$0.05  pepper
$0.05  red pepper flakes
$0.20  2 tbsp oil or butter
$0.10  fresh cilantro for garnish                               
$5.35  Total ($0.66 per serving)
Directions

This one is pretty simple. These are the ingredients we had on hand, but pretty much any vegetable can go into this. Don't worry about chopping everything evenly, as it will be cooked down and blended in the end. Its classic must-go soup!

1. Soak the lentils, even if it says this is unnecessary on the label. It usually is a good idea to let them soak in cold water for at least an hour, just to clean them. If the label says to soak overnight, follow those directions.
2. Heat the oil or butter in a large pot. Like, the largest pot you have. There is going to be a lot of soup.
3. Throw in the onions, celery, and carrots and saute until the onions are clear. In fancy cooking terms, this is called a mirepoix (meer - pwah) and can serve as the basis for almost any soup.
   
4. Add the garlic and any other vegetables, but not the potato, and saute for about 5 minutes.
   
5. Add the 8 cups of water, bouillon cube, and lentils. Bring to a boil
6. Add the potato, and salt and pepper to taste
   
7. Reduce heat until the soup is simmering. Cover and cook for 40 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Throw in red pepper flakes if desired.
   
8. When lenils are mushy, use a hand blender (or transfer in batches to a counter top blender) and blend until smooth.
   
9. Top with fresh cilantro and serve

Notes:
You could top with sour cream as well, which is awesome, or add a bit of heavy whipping cream while blending, if, unlike Carie, you are not deathly allergic to dairy