Sunday Soup #58: Slow Cooker Lentil Soup

Here you go, your second post of the week... It's rainin' soup up in here! LOL When I polled Facebook earlier in the week, people suggested New England clam chowder and lentil soup... I made the chowder on Sunday (https://soupersleuth.blogspot.com/2018/04/sunday-soup-57-contest-winning-new.html), and then the lentil last night...

This lentil soup turned out to be kind of special, actually... When I am eating to lose (or maintain) weight, I usually follow Weight Watchers (WW), which is what originally drew me to this recipe (because it claimed to by only 5 WW Smart Points per 1.5 cup serving, which is pretty good). But, WW recently revamped their point system, making many high-protein/low-fat food (like skinless chicken breasts, non-fat refried beans, and... wait for it... LENTILS) into zero point foods. With that change, under my current WW plan, this recipe is only 1 point per serving! For those of you who have never done WW, here's what you need to know: this soup is pretty dang healthy! But, how did it taste?

This recipe came from: http://pointsrecipes.com/slow-cooker-lentil-soup-5-smartpoints/

Variations from Recipe as Written: I used regular uncured bacon (rather than Canadian bacon) and, because of time constraints (hey, a guy's gotta work!), I put the diced bacon in the slow cooker with all of the other ingredients, rather than waiting until the 6.5-hour mark as the recipe suggested.

General Thoughts: This soup was really inexpensive and very easy to prepare. I chopped celery, carrots (I even used baby carrots so I didn't have to peel them), and an onion. Add a little dice on the bacon, and *boom* it was prepped; a grand total of about 10 minutes. Then, it was just turning on the Crock Pot and going to do something else for seven+ hours.

My apologies, but the website didn't actually have any pictures I could post for you, so you'll have to make due with my amateur pics.

*Pics 1 & 2 - Pictures from when I made it

I was prepared for this one to not be that good... For me, "healthy" WW recipes, especially soups, often lack flavor. Yeah, they're low in points, but usually not something I'd look forward to eating. So, imagine my surprise when, as it was cooking, it actually smelled good! The house filled up with the smells of bacon and thyme... those smells that promise a tasty, hearty meal.

I took the recipe's advice and used an immersion blender to purée a cup of the soup, then poured it back into the pot to thicken the mix, which made it a bit creamy and seem even more substantial.

Between the salt from the bacon, and the little bit of added salt, pepper, and thyme, it was actually  decently spiced. In general the soup was savory, filling, and at least as good as many lentil soups I've tried at restaurants. It was certainly much better than any canned lentil soup I've ever tried.

In short, this was a very solid selection that, when coupled with its ease of preparation and relatively healthy nature, is a big winner in my book.

Potential Improvements? Next time, I would double (at least) the bacon it calls for. Being that the only WW points in this one came from the bacon, even if I tripled it (which would be super yummy!), it would still only be 3 points per hearty serving! Come to think of it, using a good ham instead of bacon (ooo, and leaving the ham bone in while it cooks!) might also be quite tasty.

Polling the Fam: I liked it, obviously... The good flavor and the low, low WW points means I'll definitely make it again. Hunter said he thought it was good, even though he thought the texture was a little weird (he's never had lentils before). He was glad he didn't need to add a bunch of hot sauce or anything to it, and he said he'd definitely eat it again. Fox just was a bit more circumspect and simply said he didn't think it was his type of soup.

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)

Sunday Soup #57: "Contest-Winning" New England Clam Chowder

Being an adult is so inconvenient... One minute you're humming along, happy as a clam, making soup every Sunday and living the dream, and the next there's holidays and birthday parties and vacations, all conspiring to keep you from making yummy dishes in the kitchen.

For my first post back from my hiatus, people on Facebook suggested a New England Clam Chowder and some sort of lentil soup. So, today, New England Clam Chowder (the first one I've ever made!), and then later this week, a lentil soup. That's right... I'm giving you a two-fer this week!

I stumbled across this recipe a bit ago and was eager to find out if "Contest-Winning" was just hyperbole or if this recipe would really be craveable... Let's try it, shall we?

This recipe came from: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/contest-winning-new-england-clam-chowder?keycode=ZPIN0114SOD

*Pic 1 - https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/contest-winning-new-england-clam-chowder?keycode=ZPIN0114SOD

Variations from Recipe as Written: The recipe called for 3 small potatoes (peeled and cubed), but I used four small unpeeled red potatoes (more on this later). I also used 2 cloves of garlic because... GARLIC!

General Thoughts: As I mentioned, I have never made a clam chowder before. It always seemed like a tough thing to get right... What if I scorched the cream? What if I make it too thick? What if it tasted too clammy? What if it was too bland (or, I made it too spicy)? Well, I am pleased to report, I had none of those problems with this recipe! But, I am getting ahead of myself... First, the prep: it wasn't bad. A bit of chopping on the onion, celery, and potatoes, and that was it. Easy peasy... And most of the ingredients were very "normal," so it was pretty inexpensive to make.

*Pics 2 & 3 - Pictures from when I made it

I was most happy with the consistency of the soup. It was not overly thick, but not too thin either... Goldilocks would have found it to be JUST right! And, while the soup was delightfully dense with ingredients, each bite was well-balanced.

The taste was also very solid. Although there were not a lot of spices in recipe (just a 1/4 tsp each of thyme and white pepper), it was not unbearably bland, as I feared it might be. I like very strong flavors (as you may know, if you regularly read these posts), so after my first bowl, I sprinkled my second with some Old Bay seasoning, black pepper, and a dash of Tabasco, which made it even better, but I would have been happy to keep eating it "as-is" if those enhancers weren't available. And, it had the perfect amount of clam taste... Just enough so I knew I was eating a clam chowder, but not enough to attract the cats from three houses over.

The only thing for which I didn't care was my own fault, really... Instead of using peeled russet potatoes, I used unpeeled red potatoes, which imparted the dish a slightly earthy taste, of which I wasn't a huge fan. 

Potential Improvements? Next time, I'd definitely use peeled potatoes, and probably add a bit of cracked pepper into the pot before serving, but that's it!

Polling the Fam: I am very pleased with how this one turned out, and I will definitely make it again... It was inexpensive, easy to prepare, and very tasty. Hunter added WAY too much Tabasco sauce into his first bowl, but once he could actually feel his tongue again, he really liked it, said it was very good, and went back for thirds. Fox (my historically picky offspring)... LIKED IT! He actually liked it... He went back for seconds. That's how I know this soup was the real deal!

Verdict: Liked it. (4 stars)