Roasted Red Pepper Soup

I want to share with you a new soup recipe I tried. It's perfect to keep in the freezer for those relaxed Saturdays or Sundays when you need a light lunch. It cooks pretty quick too! 

Here's what you need! 

1 cup chopped onion

4 cloves of garlic (I didn't have any so I used 1/2 tsp garlic powder)

1 TB olive oil

42 ounces of chicken broth (or veggie broth)

1, 12 ounce jar of roasted, red sweet peppers

1, chopped and peeled potato

1tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/4 cup of Light Sour Cream

1 TB snipped fresh chives or green onion

 First, drain your peppers and cut them into strips. 

Next, cook onion and garlic in the oil for about 4 min to get the onions soft. 

Now I'm going to take a minute to talk about chicken broth. Use organic. Swanson low sodium chicken broth contains 570 mg of sodium per cup. 365 Organic broth from Whole Foods contains 140 mg. So you do the math.... organic broth is clearly a lot better for you.

OK... that's settled. So after the onion and garlic have cooked down, add the broth, peppers, potato, oregano, and thyme. (When you add your dry herbs, rub them in your hand before you add them. This "wakes them up".) Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 min. 

After 15 min are up you could either blend in small bathes in the blender or food processor OR use a handy dandy immersion blender. Remove from stove and blend the soup until it's at your desired consistency. (Note: If you use an immersion blender in a dutch over it WILL leave sliver marks all over your pan... to remove them simply sprinkle Bar Keepers Friend on it and rub with a wet paper towel until it's all off... then wash your pot really really well)

Ahh.... pretty soup! It's looks like tomato soup... and so it was sort of interesting eating it because I was expecting it to taste like tomato soup. It doesn't though! It tastes like red peppers! Taste it... add some salt to your desire. 

Serve with sour cream and chives. You can also sprinkle in a little cheese. I ate mine with tortilla chips, but I think half of a grilled cheese sandwich or a hunk of french bread would be fabulous. Don't leave out the sour cream what ever you do! The soup really needs the creamy bite that the sour cream adds. 

For 1 cup of soup and 1 TB of light sour cream it's 3 WW plus points.

Here's the recipe in quick view:

Roasted Red Pepper Soup 

Better Homes and Gardens: Anyone Can Cook

1 cup chopped onion 

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 TB olive oil

3, 14 ounce cans veggie broth or chicken broth

1, 12 ounce jar roasted red sweet peppers, drained and sliced

1 cup chopped peeled potato

1 TB fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried 

1tsp fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried

1/4 cup low fat sour cream

1 TB fresh snipped chives or green onion

1. Cook and stir onion and garlic in the hot oil for 3-4 min. Stir in broth, roasted red peppers, potato, oregano, and thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 min. 

2. Let soup cool slightly. Transfer mixture, one-third at a time, to a blender or food processor. Cover and blend or process until nearly smooth. Return all of the soup to the pot. Heat through. Or use an immersion blender. 

3. To serve, ladle soup into bowls, topping each with sour cream and chives. 

Makes 5-6 cups of soup.