Vegetarian Carrot Soup

Welcome to the weekend! You just have to love a four day work/school week! What are you up to this weekend? I honestly have pretty much no plans…and I am excited about it :)

As Fall is creeping closer, I am CRAVING soup. I have seen various takes on cream of carrot soup in so many magazines lately, I decided to try my hand at my own version.

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
• 16 oz carrots & parsnips, chopped (the parsnip flavor comes out pretty strong, so I suggest starting with only a little parsnip if you’re unsure about the flavor or use all carrots)
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 28 oz vegetable broth
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 cup skim or low fat milk
• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice
• Toppings: jalapenos, Greek yogurt, cheese, etc!

Directions:

• Heat olive oil or butter in a soup pan.
• Add chopped carrots, parsnips & onion, cook until vegetables are tender.

  

• Add broth, chili powder & red pepper, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add milk, cover, and simmer for ~15 minutes (stir on occasion).
• Remove from heat and blend using an emulsion blender (alternatively you could use a regular blender, but be careful with the heat!!).
• Add cooked rice, place in bowls & top

We tried the soup both totally pureed and partially. We preferred it partially pureed with some chunks of carrots and parsnips remaining:

I want to try making a vegan version with cashew cream!

What is your favorite kind of soup?? I love cream of asparagus as well as black bean and vegetarian chili.