So What If I'm Too Cheap To Run The Heater Vegetable Soup

One of the things that I am known for is being super stingy about running the heater in the winter (and the air conditioner in the summer).  The only three exceptions are if company is coming over, if I am trying to make bread rise (yes, our house gets cold enough to prevent bread from rising), or if I can see my breath in the house.  With that in mind, I try my best to make other things perform double duty to help keep warm.  Things like waiting to do the laundry until the coldest part of the day, or baking more meals, or eating tasty soup :)

Soup is easy, quick, filling, and healthy (as long as it isn't loaded with sodium).  The soup I made for dinner last night was all of those things plus an added bonus of tasting amazing.

Ingredients:

1 T. Olive Oil

2 medium carrots (small dice)

2 stalks of celery (small dice)

1 medium yellow onion (small dice)

3 garlic cloves (minced)

1 t. dried thyme

salt and pepper to taste

2 15oz. cans of cannelli beans (rinsed and drained)

1 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes

4 c. low-sodium vegetable stock

1/4 c. fresh parsley (chopped)

grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions:

Heat olive oil a large pot on medium-high heat.  Add in the carrots, celery, and onions.  Cook until onions are translucent.  Add in the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper and cook until you can smell the garlic.  Add in the rest of the ingredients (beans, tomatoes, stock, parsley) and bring the soup to a boil then turn to low and simmer until vegetables are tender (20-25 mins). Serve the soup with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top.  Makes four servings at 300 calories each.

Other ingredients that would taste good:

Kale (added in with tomatoes)

Spinach (added in the last couple of minutes of simmering)

Garbanzo beans (in place of cannelli beans)

Zucchini (added in with garlic)

Potatoes (added in with carrots)

The best part is that it takes less than an hour to make :)

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