Two-Bean Vegetable Soup

This recipe was submitted by Katie M. She found it at Tasty Kitchen. Katie is a PKU Mom and thought this recipe was great because she took out a portion for her son, then added the beans to the rest. She says, "It was nice to not make something separate for him." So for any other PKU parents out there, this would be a great recipe to try!

Ingredients:

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 8 ounces, weight cremini or button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 whole medium onions, diced
• 4 whole medium carrots, thinly sliced
• 3 whole large stalks celery, diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon fresh minced rosemary leaves
• 1 Tablespoon fresh minced thyme leaves
• 2 whole bay leaves
• 16 ounces, weight can of diced tomatoes, with juices
• 5 cups hot water
• 2 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 2 whole soft vegetable-flavored bouillon cubes
• ½ teaspoons salt
• ⅛ teaspoons black pepper
• 16 ounces, weight can of dark red kidney beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained
• 16 ounces, weight can of cannellini beans (no salt added), rinsed and drained

Directions:

Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a lidded 5-quart pot; add the mushrooms and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the onion, carrot, and celery; cover the pot and cook until the onion is softened, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, rosemary, thyme, and bay leaves and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Stir in the tomatoes, water, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon cubes, salt, and pepper; turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down slightly, cover the pot, and cook until the veggies are tender, about 7 minutes. Add the beans and cook 2 minutes more.

*To make this soup vegan, use tamari or soy sauce instead of Worcestershire; if you do so, you may want to reduce the salt a bit.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I made it according to the directions but used a vegetable base instead of the boullion cubes. I don't know if that makes much of a difference but I think I will use a bit more next time, or let it simmer longer as it tasted a bit weak the first day but was better the second day.

Sweet Potato Minestrone

This recipe was submitted by Katie M. She found it at Allrecipes.com. She says she and her husband have been "LOVING" it and that it makes plenty for leftovers.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 3 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon Thyme
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 cans (28 ounces total) diced tomatoes
• 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 3 large carrots, diced
• 8 ounces green beans, cut
• 6 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
  

Directions:

Heat oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute onion, celery, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, with the juice, broth, sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans and garlic. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 30-40 minutes. Add pinto beans near the end.

Notes about this recipe:

I might try garbanzo beans, or some other white bean next time as I think the flavors might go well together.