Not only do I love grocery shopping, but I also love putting the grocery items away. I like to take a mental inventory of what we have available and know where each item is placed until it’s ready to be used. This helps me remember what needs to be eaten and what recipes I’ve planned for the week.
It also ensures that when the time comes to cook the recipe we’ll still have the ingredients available.
My husband knows what foods we have by opening the fridge or pantry door and noticing whatever is within line-of-sight. Translation: if he can’t see it in less than 3 seconds, it doesn’t exist.
So whenever I have an item purchased specifically for a recipe later in the week, I will strategically place it behind something.
There are two specific items I do this with repeatedly: chips and cheese. We go through a large quantity of both. So when I come home with a bag of chips that I want to remain more than 24 hours, I place them behind the cans of beans and know they will be safe. The cheese usually goes directly behind the bag of apples and I know it will not be touched.
So when I received a box of six different bags of chips courtesy of Way Better Snacks to review I knew my husband would be thrilled to have “extra” chips to snack on. I did, however, want to make sure at least one bag was served for a meal.
When the weather recently dropped into the 50′s last week, I knew a bowl of this Black Bean & Barley Soup would be the perfect use. With roasted pumpkin seeds and shredded cheese on top, the chips were the perfect way to scoop-up so many different flavors into one bite!
Black Bean and Barley Soup with Roasted Pumpkin Seeds
Keywords: soup/stew entree vegetarian beans cheese Southwest
Ingredients
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- Paprika, to taste
- Chili powder, to taste
- Dash of cayenne
- Cumin, to taste
- Oregano, to taste
- Salt and pepper
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup barley
- 1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 tbs. fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2-3 scallions, chopped
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup lightly salted roasted pumpkin seeds
Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook 3 minutes. Add garlic and carrot and cook 1-2 minutes. Stir in paprika, chili powder, cayenne, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and add barley. Simmer for about 30 minutes, until barley is tender. Stir in black beans and cilantro, and cook until beans are warmed through.
2. Serve in bowl and top with scallions, cheese and roasted pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!
We served this soup with the Simply Unbeatable Blues chips. The other flavors I received from Way Better Snacks were: Sweet Potato, Black Bean, Sweet Chili, No Salt, and Multi Grain. Their chips are sprouted, which I learned can enhance the bio-availability of nutrients and aid in digestion.
All of their chips are vegan, gluten-free, certified kosher, all-natural and high in omega 3′s and whole grains. I LOVE that they are proud of their ingredients and transparent enough to even highlight them on the back of the bag (info shown if for the Sweet Potato Chips)!…
My husband and I really enjoyed every flavor of these! They always tasted incredibly fresh and full of flavor, and the different seeds and grains were visible throughout each chip. They are definitely a new favorite snack that I would highly recommend!
Using Random.org the winner of Love Grown Foods is Anne Leth!
~Do you tend to forget about foods if they are not easily visible?
