Easy Pea Soup & Homemade Croutons

Although the name of this recipe is not so appealing, this Pea Soup & Homemade Croutons is extremely easy to make and so delicious! The soup is filled with fiber to fill you up and the croutons make it feel a little fancy without the fuss. It's still hot here in Philadelphia, and I made this soup right after I was DRENCHED in sweat from a humid run on Sunday morning, so I have really no clue what urged me to make soup, but I was flipping through a cookbook and came across a pea soup recipe and it just called to me. Of all things? Like usual, I didn't follow the recipe. I don't like following recipes, I just like creating them and hoping they come out great - it keeps it fun.

Here's what you'll need:

For the croutons: 

• 2 slices of cubed wheat bread
• Olive oil or olive oil spray
• Kosher salt & pepper

What to do:

• Preheat your oven (or toaster oven) to 300 degrees
• Lay out the cubed bread on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil/spray with olive oil spray
• Sprinkle salt and pepper
• Bake for 25 minutes

For the Soup: 

• 2 bags of frozen peas (told you I like to keep things simple.) I used 2 10 oz bags.
• 1 white or yellow onion
• 6-7 cloves of garlic (you can tone this down, I just REALLY love garlic.)
• 5 cups of low sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth if you are not a carnivore.)
• Salt, pepper, paprika to taste
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons butter

What to do: 

• Melt the butter in a big dutch oven pan
• Add the chopped onions and garlic (rough chop)
• Saute until the onions become slightly transparent
• Add in the broth
• Let it come to a boil
• Add in both bags of peas and lower heat to simmer, covered, for 10 minutes
• Season to taste
• Turn off the heat and let everything cool
• Once cooled a bit, add to a big blender or food processor to puree
• Lastly, add in the sour cream and blend

That's it! Told you it was easy. I can't wait until the weather cools down a bit so I can try out new soup and crockpot recipes.

I ventured out for a 3 mile run this morning and it was HUMID. The humidity really affects how I run. My legs feel like cement pillars and my lungs feel like they can't hold enough air. Does anyone else feel this way or do you like running in the humidity? I stopped to walk a bit. It's crazy to me how our bodies respond differently to different times and temperatures. I don't get how I can run a nice 8 miles one day and then 3 miles another day feels like crap. OY.

But I guess that's life, sometimes we win and sometimes we don't :)

Alright I need to go make breakfast and get myself together! I hope everyone has a great Tuesday.

XO - Rach

What's everyone got planned for the long weekend?