Tricky Picky Nicky Soup

If you have a picky eater who poo poos the nicest veggies in town, LISTEN UP! By using an immersion blender, I managed to disguise beans and carrots, 2 things that would normally be picked out of the bowl.

I am calling it Tricky Picky Nicky Soup.

Here are the ingredients:

2 (32 oz each)boxes of chicken or vegetable stock (or your own homemade version)
3-4 carrots chopped
3-4 stalks of celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
salt/pepper to taste
Combine all of the above ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer for approx 20 minutes on med/low heat.

Add 1 can of white cannellini beans which have been drained and rinsed and let it simmer another 15 minutes or so.

Next, take the immersion blender and puree the mixture right in the pot. This saves you from having to transfer the hot liquid to a food processor (total bummer and messy).

Blend the soup mixture until you can no longer see chunks of beans or carrots as Picky Nicky will find them, trust me!! (Or leave some chunks in there if you prefer.)

Add to this 1 cup of small dried pasta (star shaped work wonders for the little ones) and cook until the pasta is cooked. (You can always cook the pasta separately and add to the soup.)

If you are really adventurous, add some frozen chopped spinach at the end. Simmer another 2 minutes.

Serve this delectable soup with grated Parmesan cheese, freshly chopped parsley, crushed red pepper flakes, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and/or some crusty bread on top.

It's a delightful comforty peasant dish that 3 boys under the age of 9 all LOVED and each had a second bowl. The boy who never eats cooked carrots did not detect a thing. Thank you immersion blender. I will be using you more and more, now that I know about your magic powers!