Fun Food Friday - Soup

Since a couple of you asked for the soup recipe, I’m sharing it here today. Somewhere recently I was reading some tips for cutting fat and calories and eating healthier in order to drop a few pounds, and among other things on that list it was suggested to make one meal a day home made soup – home made because you can control the fat and salt better than with store bought and add more veggies. Anyway, I like soup and thought it would be an easy thing to make up a big pot and then have it for lunch for a few days. I am also drinking a lot of water and cutting way down on sweets – substituting strawberries for dessert! By the way, we live close enough to Florida that the first of the season’s strawberries are available in the stores. We have been devouring them around here. And, after a week of this, the scale is finally starting to think about edging in the right direction – I lost a pound and a half!

This Pasta e Fagioli recipe I found in a cookbook put together by the women of the church we were members of when we lived in Florida:

Paste e Fagioli

1 lb. ground beef (I used ½ pound very lean beef, so there wasn’t much fat at all to drain off)
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, julienned
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz can Great Northern beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
12 oz V8 juice
1 Tbsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. basil
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. thyme
½ lb. ditali pasta

Brown ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; sauté for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes, both cans of beans, tomato sauce, V8 juice, vinegar, salt, and spices. Simmer about 50 minutes.

Cook pasta in 1 ½ to 2 quarts boiling water over high heat. Cook10 minutes just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain. Add to the pot of soup. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes and serve. This soup is also good with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Serves 8.


I made a lentil stew last week that lasted me pretty much the whole week (just me eating it for lunch) that I thought was really good. I actually like it better than the pasta e fagioli, so I’ll share it in this post, too! I pretty much like every version of lentil stew or casserole I’ve ever tried. Lentils are just good. I always think about Jacob and Esau when I eat them, too, because the stew Esau wanted so badly he was willing to sell his birthright for it was made with lentils. (Look it up in Genesis 25:34).

The lentil stew recipe comes from my Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book, a book so much used that I have to hold it together with a rubber band because it is just falling apart:

Lentil Stew

1 cup dry lentils
1 cup sliced leeks or chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. cooking oil
4 cups beef broth
1 7 ½ oz can tomatoes, cut up (I used 15 oz can diced tomatoes – I like mine with lots of tomato)
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp. dried thyme or oregano, crushed
¼ tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. cumin
1 bay leaf
½ cup chopped carrot
½ cup chopped celery
½ pound fully cooked smoked sausage links, sliced (I left these out and I did not miss them, it was delicious without them – cuts out all the fat of the sausage)

Rinse lentils, set aside. In a large saucepan cook leeks or onion and garlic in hot oil till tender but not brown. Stir in lentils, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, thyme or oregano, pepper, cumin, and bay leaf. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add carrot and celery. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes more or till lentils and vegetables are tender. Stir in sausage if desired, heat through. Discard bay leaf. If desired, garnish each serving with snipped parsley. Makes 4 main dish servings.

Maybe I could make "Fun Food Friday" a fun thing around here. Then again, I'm not sure I'll keep up with it. But it's a thought worth pondering....