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Loaded No Potato Soup

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Cleaning-Up-Pinterest-Graphic_revLoaded No Potato Soup with garnish SO Yummy and Healthy

This week we are cleaning up Pinterest! We all see certain recipes repinned over and over again. Full disclosure here, there are times when Jessica and I see the things our friends are pinning and cringe. Ugh, while I’m sure they taste great, there are so many completely unhealthy recipes floating around Pinterest. We are taking some of those top recipes and creating a clean and healthy alternative. I know I know, sometimes it’s hard to resist repinning the beautifully photographed and yummy looking recipes for the “best cookies” in the world. And, of course, we should all makes that recipe, once. But, for everyday meals we should stick to the healthier side of Pinterest. So, with that in mind, we are taking the week to “Clean Up Pinterest.

I’m getting started with this recipe I found on a Huffington Post article –  Pinterest’s 15 Most Popular Pins of All Time. This beauty was number 4. Here is a link to the pin http://www.pinterest.com/pin/200480620881860689/ You’ll see it’s been pinned more than 58,000 times! It’s a recipe for Loaded Potato Soup from a restaurant at Disneyland. I’m sure it is supremely delicious. But, as our regular readers know, we have worked hard to eliminate white potatoes from our diet. Potato soup is something I miss dearly. I make our whipped cauliflower a lot which does help fulfill my potato craving, but oh how I miss the soup.

The best thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to peel potatoes! You start by sauteing the veggies along with a slice of uncured turkey bacon, then boil the cauliflower. Add them all together, then mix in some coconut milk and chicken or vegetable broth. Blend it all together and you have a creamy loaded no potato soup that could fool just about anyone!

Here is a side by side comparison of the nutritional facts for each recipe*:

 My Clean Kitchen: Loaded No Potato Soup  Pinterest: Loaded Potato Soup
Calories: 174 Calories: 733
Total Fat: 11 g Total Fat: 40 g
Cholesterol: 1 mg Cholesterol: 132 g
Sodium: 153 mg Sodium: 582 g
Total Carbohydrates: 17 g Total Carbohydrates: 78 g
Dietary Fiber: 6 g Dietary Fiber: 7g
Sugar: 7 g Sugar: 5 g
Protein:6 g Protein: 20 g

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Loaded No Potato Soup

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serving Size: 6

Ingredients

2 heads cauliflower, stems removed and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 slice uncured turkey bacon (optional)

2 tbls coconut oil (separated)

1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed from stalk

1 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth

1 cup coconut creamer or milk

Sea salt, to taste

Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Optional Garnish

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

3-4 sliced uncured turkey bacon, cooked and chopped

1/4 cup chives, chopped

Crispy Shallots (1/4 shallot, sliced thin & 1 tbls coconut oil)

Instructions

  1. Place bacon slice into large stock pot and crisp. Break apart and return to pot.(If not using the bacon, add the coconut oil now) Add onion, celery, and carrots to stockpot with bacon. Add 1 tbls of coconut. Saute until tender. Set aside in a bowl.
  2. Carefully add enough water to cover the two chopped heads of cauliflower to the stockpot. Add the cauliflower and garlic, bring to a boil. Cook about 12-14 minutes or until cauliflower if fork tender.
  3. Drain the cauliflower and return cauliflower and vegetable mixture to the stockpot or a food processor. If using the stockpot, use the immersion blender to smooth soup into until creamy, adding the coconut cream, broth, salt and pepper gradually until well combined. If using food processor, add coconut cream and broth slowly as well as salt and pepper until soup is creamy.
  4. Serve hot with desired garnish.
    5. For Crispy Shallot
  5. Put coconut oil in a small saute pan over medium high heat.
  6. Add shallots and allow to sizzle and crisp for about 30 seconds -1 minute.
  7. Remove before they burn and garnish soup.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/loaded-no-potato-soup/


No Potato Soup without cheese SO GOOD

 

*Disclaimer: Nutritional information estimated using nutritiondata.com. The totals are based on the recipe serving size and may not be accurate. Data is subject to the availability of specific foods in their database. Not all ingredients are always available and suitable substitution may be made. Nutrition data is provided for reference only.

 

 

Slow Cooker Chicken and Red Lentil Soup

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Chicken and Red Lentil Soup bite so simple so yum!

Do you watch Saturday Night Live? I love it. I’ve had an obsession since high school. I will admit, I no longer stay up that late, but I do religiously catch it the next day on Hulu or DVR. The point of the SNL reference is this; do you remember the segment on The Weekend Update with Seth and Amy called “Really?” Well, I gave Mother Nature a big “REALLY?” this morning when I woke up and looked out the window. Seriously, I’m so incredibly over this fricking snow. I’m not sure how much longer I can take it. I also can’t handle another school snow day.

Since, it’s freezing out, and there is snow (grrr) on the ground, I decided to make a warm, stick to your ribs, kind of soup. I realize that the cold weather will eventually fade, and my soup making days will be over until next year. I may as well do it while I can. I knew I wanted to make a lentil soup because earlier in the winter I experimented a little with them and finally perfected a chicken lentil soup. I usually get the green lentils, but this time my daughter was at the store (it was probably a snow day!) and in an effort to get her away from the cookies, I distracted her by asking her to help me decide on what kind of lentils to get. She chose the red. So, there I was, with red lentils, wondering how they’d hold up in the slow cooker. Well, I’m please to say, they did spectacular. Now, I will say, they no longer resemble lentils. But, they gave this soup an excellent flavor and thickness that just warms you right up. I also made it with chicken thighs, where I usually use chicken breasts, so I’m sure that helped too. Sometimes, the secret to clean eating, and not going broke, is getting what’s on sale, which was the case with the chicken thighs.

This is another super simple slow cooker recipe. I hope you’ll give it a try. It’s very tasty and all you have to do is throw everything in and wait. Enjoy!

  • Ingredients

  • Veg, Lentils and Chicken in Slow Cooker

  • Ready to serve!

  • Enjoy - Chicken and Red Lentil Soup

 Local Ingredient: Basil and thyme from my window sill herb garden. 

 

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Slow Cooker Chicken and Red Lentil Soup

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 6 hours

Total Time: 6 hours, 10 minutes

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

1 lb skinless boneless chicken thighs

1 onion, diced

1 cup baby carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 cup red lentils

32 oz chicken broth, low sodium

3 fresh basil leaves, minced

1 sprig of fresh thyme, leaves and stem separated, stem discarded

Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Place all the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  2. Top with the herbs and lentils.
  3. Place the chicken on top of the vegetable and lentils.
  4. Season with salt and pepper.
  5. Pour in chicken broth.
  6. Set slow cooker to low for 5-6 hours.
  7. About 15 minutes before the timer goes off, remove chicken, shred with two forks. Put shredded chicken back into the slow cooker for last few minutes of cooking.
  8. Serve hot. Garnish with dried thyme, fresh basil or fresh cracked pepper.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/slow-cooker-chicken-and-red-lentil-soup/



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Chicken and Red Lentil Soup YUMMY

Chicken and Red Lentil Soup Close up

Stuffed Pepper Soup

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Stuffed Pepper Soup So Yum!

This recipe is one I made up after having a similar soup at a friend house last year. I was never really a green pepper fan. I mean, I ate them because I should, they have so much vitamin C. But this soup completely made me a pepper convert! I’ve made it a couple of different ways, with tomatoes, without tomatoes, with herbs, and without. This recipe I’m sharing with you today is the one that received the highest accolades at our house. My husband recently had a touch of the flu, and this really helped warm him up and make him feel better. You know how men are when they are sick, and he was really impressed with how much better this made him feel. If you are having one of those days where you just can’t get warm, make this. I promise, it’ll do the trick. We currently have more than 20 inches of snow on the ground, so it is the perfect meal for us at the moment.

This soup is pretty simple to make. Just be ready to chop, because you’ll be chopping 4 bell peppers, an onion and a couple of garlic cloves. I used ground turkey breast in this version, but I’ve also used just regular ground turkey and it was very good. Also, my family loves barley soup, so I added some barley to mine. But, if you are Paleo or just don’t want it, the recipe has instructions for with and without the barley. We often make it without the barley and its just as yummy. But tonight, we were looking for something a little more filling, so I added it.

 Local Ingredient: Rosemary, Thyme, and Sage from my window sill herb garden. 

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Stuffed Pepper Soup

Ingredients

Olive Oil

4 bell peppers (any color), seeded and diced

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 lb ground turkey or ground turkey breast

2 rosemary stalks, leaves removed from stems and chopped

2 thyme stalks

3 sage leaves, chopped

50-64 oz low sodium chicken stock (64 oz if using optional barley)

1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper

Sea salt to taste

1/4 cup barley (optional, do not use if Paleo)

Instructions

  1. In a large stockpot over medium heat, add the olive oil.
  2. Add the onion and bell peppers. Cook over medium to medium high heat until onions are translucent.
  3. Add the garlic. Reduce to medium heat. Allow to cook for another 4-5 minutes.
  4. Add the ground turkey. Cook until turkey is cooked through and no longer pink.
  5. Add rosemary and sage. Remove thyme leaves from stem using thumb and forefinger. Crush between fingers then add to the pot as well. Stir.
  6. Add chicken stock. If not using barley, add only about 50 oz if adding barley add 64 oz.
  7. Add fresh cracked black pepper and sea salt to taste.
  8. Bring to a boil.
  9. If using, add barley.
  10. Cook for 25-30 minutes or until barley is cooked through and flavors have melded together.
  11. Serve hot with a pinch of fresh cracked black pepper on top if desired.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/stuffed-pepper-soup/


Stuffed Pepper Soup SO Good! Pin by My Clean Kitchen

 

 

Sunchoke Soup

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Sunchoke Soup!!!

Today I am going to tell you the story of Jessica and the Sunchokes.

Once upon a time Jessica ordered a Harvest Box from a company that delivers fresh local food. When the box arrived she was so excited…what wonderful goodies did it contain? It was just an ordinary looking box, but inside it lay all her hopes and desires for wonderful meals to come?

Would it have kale, garlic or sweet potatoes? Aromatic herbs to tickle her nose?

Would it have squash, lettuce, or beans? Would it be the wonderful bounty of her dreams?

When she opened the box her heart leapt with joy. There were so many wonderful foods for her to enjoy!

Then in her box she spotted something new. It was not a fruit nor vegetable she knew.

They were white and covered in bumps. In fact, they looked like little stumps.

The more she looked the more she wondered. The more about their origin she pondered.

Finally she began to search. And do some internet research.

And all at once the truth became clear. She said the name aloud for all to hear.

Her new food was in fact a Jerusalem Artichoke! More commonly known as the Sunchoke!!!

Sorry…thank you for indulging my inner geek. I have had the flu all week…I blame the fever. But seriously, if you have never seen a Sunchoke, its appearance may confuse you. It sort of looks like a large funky piece of ginger. Even more confusing, it is also known as a Jerusalem Artichoke….but it looks nothing like an artichoke and is not from Jerusalem….so there you go. Since I was unfamiliar with this particular vegetable I did a little research before I set out to cook. They have a taste and consistency that is similar to potatoes…SO I decided to make a soup. It was good! I added a little Spinach Pesto on the side for a garnish, which, when mixed in, gives the soup a wonderful something extra. If you are new to Sunchokes….this soup is an excellent introduction!

 Local Ingredients: Sunchokes (aka Jerusalem Artichokes) and Garlic (items in the Harvest Box I purchased from a local food company)

 

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Sunchoke Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 lb Jerusalem Artichokes

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 sweet onion

3 cloves garlic

1 sprig rosemary

5 cups chicken broth, preferably homemade

1/4 cup half and half, organic and locally sourced (optional)

Juice from 1 lemon

sea salt, to taste

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Peel and chop the Sunchokes.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot.
  3. Add the onions to the pot and saute until translucent.
  4. Add the garlic and rosemary and saute for 1 minute.
  5. Pour in the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.
  6. Add the sunchokes.
  7. Reduce heat and simmer for 25-35 minutes, until the Sunchokes are fork tender.
  8. Remove from heat and add the half and half (optional)
  9. Use either an immersion blender or food processor to blend the soup until smooth.
  10. Season with salt and pepper.
  11. Garnish with spinach pesto and serve.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/sunchoke-soup/

Sunchoke Soup with Pesto

 

 

 

Sunchoke Soup Yes!

 

Sunchoke Soup with Pesto

Heirloom Yellow Eyed Peas – A “New” New Year’s Day Tradition

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Yellow Eyed Peas New Years Good Luck BeansThe last few years my family has started out the new year by eating black eyed peas. I found these beautiful yellow eyed peas at the farm market. The owner says they are in the same family but have a smoother taste and greater depth of flavor. They are considered an heirloom bean.  You may know that black eyed peas are often served on New Year’s Day because its thought they bring good luck. However, yellow eyed peas are thought to bring not just luck, but luck in the form of GOLD. So, I am going with it! ‘Cause I could really use some gold right about now!

If you can’t find yellow eyed peas this recipe would also be great with traditional black eyed peas.

I wanted to keep it simple. Because after the Holidays, cooking is the last thing we all want to do right?

I have made a couple of variations of these in the past few weeks to get the recipe just right. This last time, I added the ham bone from the holiday ham. It added a great dimension to the flavor, but is not necessary for the beans to taste yummy. So if you have it, add it. If not, no worries, it will still be great.

Enjoy these with a glass of bubbly! Happy New Year from My Clean Kitchen!

Local Ingredient: Yellow Eyed Peas from the Farm Market.

Yellow eye beans in farm market

  • Heirloom Yelloweye Beans

    From my local farmers market

  • Soaking

  • Aren't they pretty

  • Mmmm, Can't wait to eat them

  • Bring me some luck in the new year!

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Heirloom Yellow Eyed Peas

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 8 hours

Total Time: 8 hours, 15 minutes

Serving Size: 4-6

Heirloom Yellow Eyed Peas

Ingredients

2-2 1/2 cups Dried Yellow Eyed Beans (Black Eyed Peas would work as well)

Water

2 Bay Leaves

1 Medium Onion, diced

1 cup baby organic carrots, diced

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

1/4 teaspoon Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Ham Bone (Optional)

Instructions

  1. Start by soaking the beans overnight in a large bowl or pot. Simply place the beans in the bowl and add about 4-5 cups of water. The beans will double in size during soaking. Cover the beans and let them sit on the counter at room temperature. This can be done overnight or for at least 8 hours.
  2. Once the beans are ready, drain the water and rinse the beans in a colander or strainer.
  3. Add the beans to the slow cooker or stock pot. Add 5 cups of water.
  4. Add bay leaves, onion, carrots and garlic. If using the ham bone, also add that here.
  5. Cook on low heat for 7-8 hours.
  6. About an hour before the beans are done, add the salt and pepper and stir to combine.
  7. Garnish with diced onions or diced tomato, if desired.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/heirloom-yellow-eyed-peas-a-new-new-years-day-tradition/


yellow eyed peas maybe Yellow Eyed Peas with Champagne

 

Yellow Eyed Peas 450 600

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

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WOW…it has been a long couple of days. But I did it! I pulled Thanksgiving off!!! After a week of menu planning and 2 days of cooking, I can honestly say…I am exhausted lol. If i never have to look at a kitchen again it will be too soon. And yes, I am aware that I run a food blog and that will be potentially problematic…but I am sure I will change my mind tomorrow.

If you are anything like me, you hate wasting food. Especially leftovers. And yikes are there a lot of leftovers with Thanksgiving.

One of the hardest things I find to use up after Thanksgiving is the leftover meat. Whether it is turkey or ham (yes, I cooked both this year…now do you understand why I am sick of my kitchen?!?!) trying to figure out what to do with it always poses a challenge. Also, I know we all love Thanksgiving food…but after eating plain old Thanksgiving leftovers don’t we all get a little sick of it after a while? I feel ya.

So when using up my Thanksgiving leftovers, I try to put them in non-Thanksgiving dishes. It provides a little variety, which makes it more likely they will get eaten!

This year I opted to make turkey chili. For one reason, because it is easy. I just dumped a bunch of stuff in the slow cooker and went back to watching movies on the couch. Another reason I made chili is that I knew it would freeze well. Which is a bonus when you are trying to eat your way through an entire fridge of leftovers. Can you tell this stresses me out? I mean how am I going to eat ll this stuff?!?!

Okay, back to the chili.

It turned out to be exactly what I wanted. The leftover turkey worked perfectly. The chili powder and cayenne gave it just the right amount of heat without being overpowering. It was warm and satisfying and exactly what I wanted on this cold day. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Local Ingredient: Turkey (purchased a fresh turkey from a local turkey farm)

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Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Cook Time: 8 hours

Slow Cooker Turkey Chili

Ingredients

4 cups cooked turkey (shredded or ground)

1 onion, diced

30 oz kidney beans

15 oz pinto beans

28 oz crushed tomatoes

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 tablespoons chipotle chili powder

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt, to taste

black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. Stir.
  2. Cook on low for 8 hours.
  3. Garnish with green onions. Top with sour cream or cheese if desired.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/slow-cooker-turkey-chili/


Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

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So it’s Sunday and Sara is off on her cruise. A whole week in Bermuda….not gonna lie I am a little jealous. I am dog-sitting for her and her family while they are gone, which means….it’s just me and 4 dogs for a whole week! GULP!!! Don’t get me wrong I love dogs. I have one…his name is Bentley and he is a Beagle mix and is all hound. He barks at everything…and yes it is that unbelievably loud, nail grating, Beagle bark. But I love him anyway. Well the thing with these 4 dogs, is that they all have their little quirks that when you add them all together… it makes for an entertaining time. One is old and blind, one is scared of the house and won’t leave the bedroom (the is where the man with the beard lives, Sara’s dad, which is her arch nemesis!), one is scared of me and keeps hiding under things (so I keep having mini heart attacks thinking I lost her), and then there is my dog…who can’t figure out why the others don’t want to play! Poor guy, he is trying so hard. All I can say is that it is going to be an entertaining week.

But I digress. I am in Virginia this week (where Sara lives) and it is beautiful here. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains, right above the Shenandoah Valley. It is an amazing place to be in fall. All the leaves on the mountains are changing colors, and the scenery is breathtaking. On top of that the weather has been crisp and sunny. Really it’s perfect!

I don’t know about you, but to me this weather just calls for soup. And in an attempt to further immerse myself in the fall spirit, I decided to make a Roasted Butternut Squash Soup. It was delicious. I started out by roasting the butternut squash, which gave it an extra depth of flavor. In addition, I added a couple of pinches of cayenne pepper, giving it just a little kick and cutting the sweet. For my local ingredient I used fresh picked Fuji Apples, which we picked ourselves on a local farm.

The soup was amazing! Creamy, flavorful, with just the perfect amount of spice. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Local Ingredient: Fresh Fuji Apples (we picked them ourselves!)

  • Local Ingredient: Fuji Apples
  • We halved and roasted our large butternut squash.
  • After the squash was roasted, we sauteed our onions, carrots and celery in a large stock pot.
  • Once the vegetables were slightly translucent and tender we added the butternut squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne, salt and pepper.
  • We simmered the ingredients for 30 mins. Then we pureed the soup using an immersion blender.
  • The pureed soup.

 

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Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Prep Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours

Serving Size: 4

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 medium Fuji apples, peeled, cored and diced

½ large red onion, diced

1 celery stalk, chopped

4 cups chicken broth

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg

2 pinches cayenne pepper

Sea salt, to taste

Fresh ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Cut the butter squash in half length wise and clean out the seeds. Place on a baking sheet and drizzle with a little olive oil. Place in oven to roast for about 1 – 1 ½ hours until fork tender.
  2. Scrape out the inside of the butternut squash and set aside in a bowl.
  3. Heat drizzle of olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat.
  4. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots until soft.
  5. Add diced apples and sauté for 2-3 minutes or until they start to cook down and carrots begin to caramelize from the apple juices.
  6. Add chicken broth, butternut squash, cinnamon, nutmeg, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Stir until blended well. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes.
  7. Using an immersion blender, puree the mixture until creamy. Or pour the mixture into a food processor or table top blender and blend until smooth.
  8. Serve warm.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/roasted-butternut-squash-soup/


 

 

Black Bean Soup with Fresh Pumpkin

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I had so much fun with this soup. I have made traditional black bean soup a few times but with Autumn arriving with force this year I was in the mood to do something pumpkin. I live in a fairly small town but am usually impressed with the produce and food selection at our local grocery store. I do have a Whole Foods that isn’t too far away (about 30 miles) but it was rainy and foggy, and there was no way I was driving over the mountain. That being said – my store had everything I wanted except dried black beans! They had every other kind of bean…but black. So I had to go with canned. Which I wasn’t very happy about. I have been experimenting lately with dried beans and was excited to try black. Oh well, next time.

Anyhow, I reluctantly opened my black beans and rinsed them really well, to get all the extra grime off of them. So the soup…

I sauteed my veggies, onion, orange pepper (because that’s what I had – green or red would be great here too for color) and celery in a little olive oil. I let them get a little brown on them once they were soft to add some flavor. Then I added the pumpkin and homemade stock. I also added my spices, cider, apple cider vinegar, and a little salt and pepper. I let is come to a boil then turned it down to simmer for about an hour. Then I scooped about 2 ladles full of soup into my immersion blender cup. (If you don’t have an immersion blender, I highly recommend it. I use mine ALL THE TIME!) I repeated the ladle step once more so the soup is a good blend of the pureed bean mixture and whole veggies and beans. Its made a great combo. Don’t forget to remove the bay leaves before pureeing.

I really hope you enjoy this as much as we did. Even the 4 year old cleaned her bowl!

Enjoy!

Local Ingredient: Pumpkin (bought from a local farm stand). 

  • Veggies ready for the black bean soup

  • Saute Veggies Until Tender

  • Add all ingredients and simmer

  • Puree 3/4 of the soup and return to the pot

  • Simmer for a few to combine the flavors

  • Enjoy!

 

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Black bean Soup with Fresh Pumpkin

Cook Time: 2 hours

Serving Size: 4

Black bean Soup with Fresh Pumpkin

Ingredients

1 Cup pumpkin puree - homemade is best. If using canned, organic is best

3 Cups or 30 oz black beans

1 onion - diced½ - orange bell pepper - diced

2 celery stalks - chopped

1 tablespoon cumin

2 bay leaves

1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg - use a micro-plane to grate it directly into the soup (about 10-12 passed on the micro-plane)

3 oz fresh apple cider

1 cup chicken broth (homemade if possible to reduce sodium and additives.)

2 sprigs of rosemary - chopped - about 1 ½ tablespoons

1 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped. Fresh is best but dried will work here too.

Instructions

  1. Heat a little cooking oil in a stock or soup pot. Add onion, celery, and peppers.
  2. Saute until soft then allow them to get a little caramelization.
  3. Add the pumpkin puree, black beans, and chicken broth, stir to combine well.
  4. Add the cider and apple cider vinegar. Don't skip these, they add a lot to the soup.
  5. Add the fresh herbs then the other spices and stir to combine.
  6. Bring to a boil and then turn to low to simmer and cover.
  7. Allow to simmer at least an hour.
  8. Remove the bay leaves. Using an immersion blender or counter top blender ladle about 2/3 of the soup into another vessel and blend until relatively smooth but still have some veggies and beans throughout.
  9. Add blended mixture back to stock pot and stir.
  10. Garnish and serve hot.
http://www.mycleankitchen.com/black-bean-soup-with-fresh-pumpkin/

Please comment below and let us know what you think!