Easy 10-Minute Meal: Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup

I kid you guys not: Tonight, I made a healthy, delicious one-pan dinner that involved only two ingredients (OK, fine, two ingredients plus olive oil, but who doesn’t have olive oil already on hand?) and took 10 minutes. No exaggeration: I walked into the house after Jack’s hip-hop class and errands at 5:15 p.m., and dinner was on the table by 5:30 p.m. Boom. (By the way, sorry in advance for the terrible lighting on the photos. When I know I’ll be taking photos for the blog, I usually cook stuff mid-day to take advantage of natural light, then heat it up later for dinner, but today, there was no time!)

So what is this magical dinner, you ask? Creamy tomato soup with lentils!

A couple of days ago, my friend Cheryl’s mother-in-law mentioned that she had tried a sample at Trader Joe’s. She said that they had simply taken a package of their steamed lentils (sold in a package in the refrigerated section), sauteed the lentils for a few minutes in olive oil, added a carton of their organic creamy tomato soup, and simmered everything for a few more minutes. Serve with some bread and salad, and there’s your meal. Cheryl’s MIL said it was so delicious that after sampling it, she immediately bought the lentils and soup, and in fact would be going back to get more of both soon. I decided to try it tonight because I was short on time, and because lentils is one of those things that I’ve always wanted to eat more of. I’ve only ever had them at restaurants, but I know lentils are so very healthy.

The soup was a hit with Johnny and the boys, and it is very hearty. It’s so easy that I feel ridiculous even writing up the “recipe,” but here goes:

Creamy Tomato-Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 package of steamed lentils from the refrigerated section of Trader Joe’s
• 1 32-oz carton of Trader Joe’s organic creamy tomato soup (or substitute any other brand of tomato soup you prefer; just make sure you dilute it if it’s the concentrated kind)

Instructions

Microwave the lentils according to package instructions (put them on a plate and microwave for 2-3 minutes) to soften them. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the lentils and sautee for 2-3 minutes.

Then, pour in the tomato soup.

Stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat to low and simmer for one or two minutes more. Ladle the soup into bowls, top with some shaved parmesan if desired, and serve!