Chorizo & Sweet Potato Soup! ($.39 per serving)

I love a good soup. It's a wonderful meal stretcher as a side or a cheap meal in of itself. Today I made one of my favorites and it's a favorite for a few different reasons. First, the recipes makes a HUGE 12 cup pot of soup for only around $4.00! Secondly, there is no dairy in it so it freezes and thaws beautifully. Thirdly, it is spicy and sweet so it warms you from the inside on a cold day. Fourth, there is only 109 calories per 1 cup serving (as long as you make it using the lower fat alternative!).Very satisfying all around!

So now how to make this yummy-licious soup...
I'm a little lazy so I love to use my food processor every chance I can get! Since this soup is eventually pureed smooth there is no reason to tediously chop each element. As a matter of fact, the smaller the pieces the faster it cooks and the sooner you are out of the kitchen slurping up this warm hearty meal!

Start by chopping/grating 2 medium carrots, 2 celery stalk, 2 garlic cloves, 1 whole onion and 28 oz (by weight) of peeled sweet potatoes. I use a soy chorizo instead of pork. I find that the flavor is remarkably similar and the fat content and calorie count is significantly less when you use the soy. Brown and heat through a 10 oz package of Cacique Soy Chorizo...

Once the chorizo is browned and heated through, remove it from the pot and add 2 tbsp of coconut oil (or olive oil). Then toss in all the veggies. Add in a good shake of salt and 1-2 tsp of curry powder (more or less depending on the level of spice you want, when in doubt start low). Cook the veggies in the oil for about 10 minutes until they are nice and soft.

Add the chorizo back in!

Dump in 8 cups of chicken broth. I like to just use 8 cups of hot water mixed with 8 cubes of chicken bouillon rather than buy the canned broth. You can also use your homemade broth if you make it ahead! Bring the soup to a boil and cook until all the veggies (especially the sweet potatoes!) are super soft. If you chopped everything tiny or pulverized it in a food processor like I did then it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes on a boil!

Once everything is cooked well through, grab your immersion blender and puree the soup until smooth. If you do not have a hand blender then you can simply move it into a blender then return it to the pot!
Serve as a side or serve with some bread as a main dish on a cool night!
ENJOY!

Ingredients:

8 cups of tap water with 8 chicken bouillon cubes (approx. $.25)
28 oz sweet potatoes by weight (approx. $1.79)
2 celery stalks (approx. $.20)
2 medium carrots (approx. $.20)
1 medium onion (approx. $.40)
2 garlic cloves (approx. $.10)
2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil (approx. $.40)
10 oz package Cacique Soy Chorizo ($1.39)
1 or 2 tsp curry powder (pennies)
dashes of salt (pennies)

Makes 12 one cup servings for around $4.79!
Per serving: 109 calories, 13g carb, 4g fat, 5g protein, 541g sodium, 5g sugar.

*TIP: If you have leftovers that won't get eaten right away... freeze it! I love to freeze 2 cup portions in a quart size ziploc freezer bag. I lay them flat in the freezer until they are frozen. When you are ready to thaw, place the flattened soup in the sink with some warm water to thaw in minutes! Then reheat in a microwave safe bowl until heated through.