Minestrone Soup

Minestrone Soup is one of my all-time favorites! I figured since the weather still feels like the arctic, more soup it is. I found the recipe here. The original recipe says to use a Crock-Pot, but I was too hungry to wait. 

You will need:

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

2 cups carrots, chopped

2 cups potatoes, chopped

1.5 cups celery, chopped

1 yellow onion, diced

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 bay leaves

6-8 cups vegetable stock (low sodium)

3 cups tomato juice

1 can (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz) cannellii beans, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups zucchini, diced
1 cup frozen corn

1 cup whole wheat pasta (I used elbow macaroni)

Directions:

Saute onions and garlic on medium-high heat for about 5 minutes, until onions become translucent. Then add in the carrots and celery for another couple minutes. After that, add in the potatoes and zucchini for another couple minutes. 

Once the vegetables have had some time to cook, add in the reminder of the ingredients except for the pasta. Cook on high heat for about 30-45 minutes, or until the carrots and potatoes have softened. Then add in the pasta and cook for another 10 minutes, making sure the pasta is done to your preferred state. 

Goes great with a small salad or fresh bread, or both. Enjoy!!

Italian Orzo Spinach Soup

Since it decided to snow and drop down to single digits about a week ago (I'm not bitter or anything), I decided it was time to start making some soups!

Here is one of my favorites that I found here. I just started using orzo, which is basically pasta, just in a different shape.

Here is what you will need:

1 sweet onion, peeled and diced
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
6 cups (next time I will use 8) vegetable stock
1 14 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups (about 8 ounces) whole wheat orzo
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
4 cups (or more) loosely-packed spinach
salt and black pepper

In a soup pot over medium-high heat, saute onion for 4 minutes, until soft in vegetable broth or a little bit of olive oil. Add carrots, celery, and garlic and saute for an additional 3 minutes. Add vegetable stock, tomatoes, orzo, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and stir to combine. Bring soup to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is al dente. *I had to stir the soup often because the orzo kept sticking to the bottom of the soup pot.*

Stir in the spinach and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bright green and wilted. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

*Next time I will add a couple tablespoons of lemon juice as well to give it some more flavor.

Enjoy!!

Mexican Wild Rice

I am in love with this rice! Every time I make Mexican food, I always include this as a side dish. I found the recipe here.

Here is what you will need:

1 cup uncooked wild rice (brown rice works as well)
2 1/4 cups water or vegetable broth
1 15 oz can diced onion and garlic tomatoes
1 small can diced chilies, drained
1/2 cup frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste
handful chopped cilantro

Place rice, water, tomatoes, chilies, and corn into rice cooker, in that order in layers. Do not stir (make sure rice is at the bottom with water). Set to cook. Once rice cooker is done cooking, open lid and using wooden spoon, carefully fluff up the rice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add in a handful of cilantro, stir, and serve.

Enjoy!!

Texas Three Bean Chili with Cashew Sour Cream Sauce and Cornbread

This is one of the best chili recipes out there! I found the recipe here.

Texas Three Bean Chili
Serves 3

You will need:

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chilies
1 cup tomatoes, diced (grape tomatoes are really good but any tomatoes will work)
1 onion diced
3 cloves (or more!) garlic minced
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon old bay seasoning (optional)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4-1/2 teaspoons cocoa powder
2 cups vegetable broth

*Add any vegetables you want- corn, zucchini, celery, etc. Just make sure to add more vegetable broth.

In a large pot, saute onion and garlic until translucent (you can cook in vegetable broth or a little bit of olive oil), about 5 min. Add all ingredients to pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. If needed, add more vegetable broth.

Toppings

I like to add scallions on top as well as cashew sour cream sauce found here.

1 cup raw cashews, soaked 2-3 hours
1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
pinch of salt

Soak and drain your cashews. In a food processor (I used my magic bullet), add all ingredients and blend until nice and creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides every now and then. Add more milk as needed to create desired consistency. Best refrigerated for at least an hour before serving, but will do fine if served right away. Sour cream will thicken upon being chilled.

Cornbread

Original recipe can be found here. I used an oil-free cornbread recipe from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook by Del Sroufe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 cup unsweetened plain almond milk
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup 100% maple syrup
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup oat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup corn kernels (from about 2 ears)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin liners or have ready a 12-cup silicone muffin pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the flaxseeds with the almond milk and set aside, to allow it to gel, for 5 minutes.

3. In a large mixing bowl, stir the applesauce and maple syrup together. Add the flaxseed-almond milk mixture. Sift in the cornmeal, oat flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir until well combined, but avoid overmixing. Fold in the corn kernels.

4. Spoon out equal portions of batter into the muffin cups. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Serve warm.
ENJOY!!