Kjötsúpa - Icelandic Lamb Soup/Stew

So as a college student / working woman with limited time and budget, I tend to look out for recipes that I can make in large quantities and then eat for the rest of the week for lunch and dinner. Painfully boring? Yes, but I got used to that idea when I had my internship last year in Venezuela and I ate the same meals more or less for three months straight. Breakfast: yogurt, Special K, and papaya. Lunch: lentil soup and carrot sticks. Dinner: lentil soup and rice. I occasionally changed it up with a vegetarian chili. Needless to say, I have not bothered to make lentil soup since then.

Anyways, when I'm looking for a good recipe for a meal that's supposed to last me all week, in addition to it being relatively easy to make in mass quantities I look for one that has a decent amount of nutrients and fiber.

REVIEW

I found this basic recipe for an Icelandic lamb stew that is apparently a staple in Iceland. It is actually quite similar to Scottish and Irish lamb stews. This recipe might actually be even more simple than its neighbors'. I might try those at a later date. They involve using bacon and Guinness beer.

I just finished making a pot of this for lunch and I've already eaten three bowls of it today. A very tasty simple dish. My brother hated it. He said it was too bland for him. Those that consider themselves meat and potato people will enjoy this. I mean... if you can appreciate simple things like shepherd's pie and the like... which I do.

Rather than tell you the amount the recipe exactly called for... I'll tell you what I used in what quantities since the recipe even said there is no exact science to this.

RECIPE

Cook time ~ 1 hour
Servings ~ a hellauv a lot of soup It says 4-6. I'd say more like 6-8 servings. I'm kind of tiny, so more like 10 servings for me.

Ingredients
*6 cups of water
*1/2 a medium onion (diced)
*2 carrots (diced)
*1 rutabaga (diced) - sub turnip if you'd like.
*1 leek (diced)
*1 pound of lamb (I got 1/2 lb. of "lamb stew" (ready chopped and fattier) and 1/2 lb. of "lamb kabob" (ready chopped and leaner)
*1/2 a head of green cabbage (chopped like slaw) (it called for white cabbage)
*1 small head of cauliflower (cut into bite size florets)
*2 potatoes (diced into small cubes)
*.5-1 cup white/brown rice (I made mine separately in a rice cooker. but you can add it after you add the water to the browned lamb) (apparently you can try using rolled oats too to make it really hearty. I didn't feel like trying that this time around)
*vege/beef stock in the form of bouillon cube (or replace a cup of water or two with stock)

Directions

Brown the lamb in a little bit of olive oil. Sprinkled a bit of salt and pepper on top. Add the leeks and onions. Add water. I also added a bit of concentrated vege stock. You can use a bouillon cube if you'd like. Added another two tsp. of salt and some fresh cracked pepper. Brought to boil and then lowered to a simmer (medium heat). If you want to cook in the rice, add rice soon after you add the water. Basically you want to give the rice a half hour to cook with the soup. Add the rest of the veges. Brought back up to boil and then brought down to a simmer. Left it on for 20-30 minutes.