Cooking for one can be tricky.  Most people I know who live by themselves end up snacking for dinner simply because the idea of making a recipe that serves four is either too expensive, time-consuming, or they worry about having leftovers.

I’m not afraid to have a week’s worth of a certain dish around or spend hours making something, but more than often I like to whip things together for dinner 3 out of 5 weeknights, usually fitting the breakfast taco or wedge salad bill. But then you can find recipes like this which gives us singular cooks all hope.

I’ve had this recipe sitting around a bit because not only was it sold as a 15-minute soup, it was designated a “Cooking for One” recipe in Everyday Food, which naturally caught my eye. Throw in the fact I’ve eaten conference food, Lunchables, and far too much Diet Coke in the past few days… well, let’s just say I was craving something vegetable-packed, healthy, and satisfying.

One last thing – I’m in the running at Bon Appetit’s Blog Envy Bake Off for my chocolate pumpkin cheesecake squares and would send thousands of hugs and kisses out if you could take a few seconds to go vote for me and all the other fantastic blogs and recipes listed. It’s a really fun contest with so many great entries, I’m just excited to see my blog amongst them. You do have to register to vote, but trust me – it’s worth it!

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Quick Lentil Soup for One

Based on the recipe by Martha Stewart.

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ small yellow (not sweet) onion, chopped
• ¼ cup thinly sliced carrots, from about 1½ small carrots
• 1 medium celery stalk, split lengthwise, then sliced thin
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 sprig fresh thyme, leaves removed and stem discarded
• Kosher salt and ground pepper
• 14.5 ounces (1 can) broth (chicken, beef, or veggie all work great here) or about 1½ cups homemade if you have it.
• ¾ cup cooked or prepared lentils (I used canned, which you need to drain and rinse before using)
• 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery, thyme, and garlic; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Add broth; bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes.
3. Add lentils and cook until soup thickens slightly, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.

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