Vegetarian Polka Dot Stew (Soup)

I made this tonight and it's delicious!

Found the recipe while I was pinning on Pinterest (very addicting) and had to make it.

Perfect for a cold evening and it's hearty enough to warm you up from head to toe!

The line up.

Two piece of advice for you!

1. Always read the directions PRIOR to cooking.

2. Prep everything in the ingredients for a quick & swift operation.

Israeli couscous

(YUMMY)

INGREDIENTS

- 2 cups water (I actually used more - about 2 to 3 more cups to make it soupy)

- 1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous

- 2 medium carrots, sliced

- 1 plum tomato, chopped (or you can buy the soup that has plum tomatoes already in)

- ½ cup chopped onion

- 2 garlic cloves, minced

- 2 cans (19 oz each) ready to serve tomato soup (I used Progressive Hearty Tomato soup)

-1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

- 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & squeezed dry

- 1 teaspoon dried basil

- ½ teaspoon salt (I added more as I tasted & simmer)

- ½ teaspoon dried oregano

- ½ teaspoon dried marjoram

- ¼ teaspoon coarse black pepper (or regular black pepper)

Shredded Parmesan cheese, croutons or crusty crunchy bread 

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan, bring water to a boil. 

Stir in the couscous, carrots, tomato, onion and garlic.

Bring to a boil. 

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or under tender and water is absorbed.

*I would keep an eye on this process after 5 min.

The liquid in mine absorbed rather quickly and was done under 10 min.

 Stir in the remaining ingredients; heat through. 

*I added a few dashes of Cheyenne pepper as it felt like it needed a kick.

You can omit the Cheyenne pepper if you don't like spicy things.

*I also noticed 2 cups wasn't enough liquid for this stew.

Even though it's supposed to be thick it seemed to really absorb the water making it too thick.

Add water as you stir and keep an eye while mixing.

Since I wanted more of a soup style I added at least 2-3 more cups of water.

This recipe is so easy & quick.
I don't usually like beans but the black beans were perfect in this stew / soup.
The only time consuming thing is the prep process.
Once that's done all you do is throw things in and let it do it's simmer magic.

I hope you enjoy this on a cold night in.