Now that Fall is here, we've been eating tons of soup. It's the best way for me to sneak veggies in for my family! Joslynne went through a period where she would only eat fruit, but soup won her over and she loves it! ;)
To avoid cooking every day, I usually make a few things that will last all week for lunches and snacks on Monday. Then, 2 nights a week I cook a large batch of something that can be frozen like soup. We eat half, then freeze the rest. We take out one frozen meal on another night, and have 2 crockpot meals. This creamy carrot and spinach soup is perfect for chilly days and even my spinach loathing husband will eat it!
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1- 10 oz bag of fresh baby spinach
1- 1 1/2 cups of chopped carrots
2 crushed or minced garlic cloves
4 tablespoons of butter
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup of flour
3 1/2 cups of milk
1/3 cup of sour cream
1 teaspoon of salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
1. Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add in spinach and garlic. Stir continuously until spinach is cooked, about 3 minutes.
2. Remove cooked spinach and set aside in a bowl.
3. Melt butter in the sauce pan. Add in chopped onions and cook until translucent.
4. Stir in carrots to allow to start cooking. Add a drizzle of olive oil if needed.
5. Lower heat to medium low and add flour. Stir constantly until mixture is golden.
6. Add milk, salt and pepper. Raise heat to medium and stir and allow to cook about 3-4 minutes.
7. Stir in sour cream and spinach back in. Allow soup to heat through and check carrots to make sure they are cooked.
8. Turn off heat and allow soup to cool. Use an immersion blender in the pan to puree vegetables. A blender could be used as well, but may need to be done in 2 batches. If using a blender, make sure soup has cooled to a safe temperature.
Serve with shredded cheese and/or more sour cream. I made the "Cheese Biscuits" from the Pioneer Woman Dinner cookbook with this soup. Any drop biscuit would be a great addition!
This recipe was adapted from Pioneer Woman spinach soup.