Raven's Favorite Brown Vegetable Stew (Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly)

Raven's Favorite Brown Vegetable Stew (Vegan and Vegetarian Friendly)

  Good evening friends and fellow kitchen witches, and happy Monday! This week I'm making one of my favorite soups, and I thought I'd hop on and write up the recipe to share with you all because first of all it's a money saver, and if that weren't enough it's also bursting with flavor - so perfect for those rainy spring days where there is cloud cover and the chill in the air still carries the remnants of winter.  This is not something I invented myself, but rather came from my mum's card catalog of recipes called "My Great Recipes." This is a hearty and satisfying soup that is versatile enough to tweak to your specific desires/tastes.

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Minutes to Cook: 1 hour 20 minutes

Number of Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups brown lentils
4 medium potatoes, cubed
3 medium onions, chopped
1/2 lb. mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced or pressed
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups sliced carrots
1 cup chopped celery
1 1/2 cups peeled and  chopped tomatoes
1 quart water (I use vegetable broth here)
1 cup dry red wine
2 small bay leaves
3 tbsp soy sauce (I use reduced sodium)
1 tbsp Worchestershire sauce (Again, reduced sodium)
chopped parsley

The ingredients list is really quite loose. You can use water or veggie broth, you can change the appearance of the soup by changing how the veggies are cut. You can add sliced string beans or cut broccoli. This stew also keeps well in the fridge  and can be frozen and thawed to heat later for future use. 

Directions

1. Pick over, wash, and drain the lentils

2. Using a large soup pot or casserole, lightly brown potatoes, onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil. Add carrots and celery. Saute briefly. 

3. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer about 1 hour, partly covered, adding more water (or broth) if needed during cooking. Check for doneness. If necessary, continue simmering until done. Serve topped with a sprinkle of parsley (I usually skip this all together but do as you like!). 

This is great with most types of bread, cheese, and fruit to complete the meal. I often leave the bread out because the lentils themselves are enough carbohydrates for me in one sitting, but it really depends on what your goals are what you should include alongside this  dish. If you follow 21 day fix, the container count for this meal would be 2 yellow, 1 green, 2 tsp. Have you tried this dish or something similar? How did it turn out? Drop a comment below, and shine on!