Roasted Bell Pepper Soup

This one’s a cinch if you buy the jarred roasted red bell peppers, however, I realized at some point I seem to always have some leftover bell peppers that need to be used so I started roasting them myself for the soup. The flavor is slightly different than the jarred ones but that’s okay. The original recipe (which came from Cooking Light when it still existed) used ricotta although that became harder to come by so I started to use cottage cheese which we keep in ample supply in the fridge.

2 1/2 cups unsalted chicken stock

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup half and half

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

3 roasted red bell peppers (or one 16-oz jar of the same)

1 garlic clove or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of garlic powder

1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

chopped fresh chives and/or parsley

Combine first 6 ingredients in a blender (The Ninja or like blender works great for this); process until smooth. Pour mixture into a large saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Stir in lemon juice and salt. Serves 4. Top with chives/parsley, as desired. Even better the second day!