Chilled Cucumber Soup

Make this soup tonight. You can thank me later.

Chilled cucumber soup, to me, is the ultimate summer recipe. It's refreshing and it's simple - you don't even have to turn on your stove or oven. Just your blender!

I cannot take 100% of the credit for this soup or the pictures. My lovely friend and neighbor, Beth, and I had a grocery store adventure on Friday, and this was 1 of 3 fantastic results (the rest are coming soon). She takes some awesome pictures!

Action shot!

Don't let the long list of ingredients throw you - you literally dump everything in a bowl and then blend it.

Here's what you need (adapted from Emeril)...

3 cucumbers
1 yellow bell pepper
2 green onions, chopped
1 jalapeño, minced*
1/2 tbsp fresh chopped mint
1/2 tbsp fresh chopped dill
1 tbsp fresh chopped chives
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp of "Essence"*
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of cayenne
1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt
1 cup of reduced fat sour cream
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp white vinegar

*Leave out the jalapeño if you don't like spicy. Use a more spicy pepper if you DO like spicy!

*Essence recipe:

1 tbsp each of paprika, salt and garlic powder
1/2 tbsp each of black pepper, dry thyme, oregano, cayenne, and onion powder

Mix together well. Save the extra in a ziplock bag - great for seasoning!

Here's what you do...

1. Peel and seed your cucumbers. The best way to do this is by cutting them in half and using a spoon. Then, depending on how strong your blender is, chop into little pieces.

2. After chopping all your ingredients, you literally dump everything into a bowl and stir it.

3. Pour, in batches, into your blender, and blend until smooth. I think we ended up doing about 3 batches.

4. Refrigerate (try to do so for at least 2 hours) until ready to serve.
5. Enjoy!

I LOVED this soup. Low calorie, easy and delicious - it's the perfect combination.

Have a wonderful start to your week!