It's been chilly here, about 10° below normal for fall in our area so I have started early on soup making.  I still had half a red cabbage from the cole slaw.  Waste not etc.  I am trying to eat more vegetables and didn't want the cabbage to go to waste.  A USNEWS article says that American families toss out  25% of all the food and drinks they purchase.  NPR says we waste 33 millions of tons of food each year representing about $165 billion   See NPR Food Waste.  I am guilty too.  Cooking for one can create a lot waste if I'm not careful. 

But I wandered off a little here.  The soup was delicious and I froze half of it.  Until last week's maiden voyage into slaw, I have avoided all cabbages all my life and I'd never made coleslaw before.  I didn't realize how tasty cabbage could be.  I've been checking freezer recipes online, almost anything is freezable.  I already cook and freeze big batches of meat sauces and also kidney beans in 1 and 2 person portions.  I realize this isn't new but it's new to me.   Woo, woo.  Much easier. 

When I had family at home I used to cook up the next day's meal day after dinner and before the dishes.  The only flaw in that was when the hungry teen boys beat me home from work they sometimes devoured much of dinner.  I started fixing snacks the night before too, although it didn't always protect dinner.  Sigh, if it had been frozen they'd have had a much harder time gobbling down as pre-dinner snack.  Never too late to learn.  Still, as I recall, they used to eat frozen peas right out of the bag.  Here's my new favorite recipe.  I added a cup of chopped red peppers I had in the fridge.

Red Cabbage and Kidney Bean Soup
Number of Servings: 10

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 1/2 cup chopped carrots

3 garlic cloves, mashed

4 cups shredded red cabbage

1 28oz can whole tomatoes, squished

1/3 cup long grain brown rice

4 cups chicken broth

1 15 oz. can red beans, drained

1 Bay leaf

1/2 tsp crushed dried thyme

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Warm olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add chopped vegetables and garlic and saute 'til soft. Pour in tomatoes, chicken broth and rice and bring to a boil. Simmer about 20-30 min, until rice is cooked. Stir in red beans.

 

Number of Servings: 10 - 1 1/2 cups each

Calories: 148

Total Fat: 4.3 g

Cholesterol: 1.0 mg

Sodium: 931.7

Total Carbs: 20g

Dietary Fiber: 6.1g

Protein: 9.0g