Pasta Fagioli

* 2 lbs veggie burger crumbles
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 carrots, chopped
* 4 stalks celery, chopped
* 2 (28 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
* 1 (16 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
* 1 (16 oz) can white kidney beans, drained
* 30 oz veggie beef stock
* 3 teaspoons oregano
* 2 teaspoons pepper
* 5 teaspoons parsley
* 2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce (optional)
* 1 (20 oz) jar spaghetti sauce
* 8 ounces pasta

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 7 1/4 hrs

1. Brown beef in a skillet.
2. Drain fat from beef and add to crock pot with everything except pasta.
3. Cook on low 7-8 hours or high 4-5 hours.
4. During last 30 min on high or 1 hour on low, add pasta.

Black Bean Soup

* 1 onion, finely chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
* 1/4 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
* 2 small chicken bouillon cubes
* 1 -1 1/2 cup boiling water
* 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, undrained
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 1/2 lemon, juice of
* 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Prep Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

1. In a pot, combine the first six ingredients; simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Add half a can of beans, salt and cumin; cook for 5 minutes.
3. Puree soup (I use an immersion blender which makes it easy to do it right in the pot).
4. Add the rest of the beans to the soup.
5. Combine the cornstarch with 1 1/2 tablespoons of water.
6. Add the lemon and the cornstarch to the soup; cook until thickened.

Greek Style Orzo Soup

Ingredients

* 6 ounces burger crumbles
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 large onion, finely chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary, or oregano
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, (optional)
* 1 14-ounce can whole tomatoes, undrained
* 2 tablespoons chopped, pitted black olives
* Salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* 12 ounces orzo
* 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese


Preparation

1. Put a large pot of salted water on to boil.
2. Cook 'beef' in a small skillet over medium heat, stirring, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large deep skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, cinnamon, rosemary (or oregano) and crushed red pepper, if using; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Add beef.
4. Puree tomatoes and their juices in a food processor until smooth. Add to the meat mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in olives. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Meanwhile, cook orzo until just tender, about 8 minutes or according to package directions. Drain and toss with the sauce. Serve garnished with feta.

Gnocchi with Tomatoes & Watercress

Ingredients

* 2 ounces veggie bacon, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 large tomatoes, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon sugar
* 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 pound gnocchi
* 4 ounces watercress,tough stems removed,coarsely chopped (6 cups packed)
* 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese


Preparation

1. Put a large pan of water on to boil.
2. Cook pancetta in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, sugar and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, until the tomatoes are almost completely broken down, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and salt. Remove from the heat.
3. Cook gnocchi in the boiling water until they float, 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Place watercress in a colander and drain the gnocchi over the watercress, wilting it slightly. Add the gnocchi and watercress to the sauce in the pan; toss to combine. Serve immediately, with Parmesan.

Peasant Stew

Peasant Stew

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
6 chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds), skinned ---I'm using 6 vegetarian MSF Chicken Grillers added just at the last step of the recipe.
1 cup chopped onion
1 (14.5-ounce) can Mexican-style stewed tomatoes with jalapeño peppers and spices, undrained
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, undrained
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions:
Combine cumin, salt, and pepper; sprinkle over chicken.

Place chicken in an electric slow cooker; stir in onion, tomatoes, and chiles. Cover with lid; cook on high-heat setting for 3 hours. Stir in beans. Cover; cook on high-heat setting 1 hour. If you're using my vegetarian version, you'll need only the 1 hour.

Place 1 chicken thigh in each of 6 soup bowls; ladle 1 1/4 cups stew into each bowl. Top each serving with 2 teaspoons cilantro and 2 teaspoons sour cream.

Black Bean Soup

Black Bean Soup

* 3 TBS olive oil
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1 TBS ground cumin
* 2-3 cloves garlic
* 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans black beans
* 2 cups chicken broth or 2 cups vegetable broth
* salt and pepper
* 1 small red onion, chopped fine
* 1/4 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped or finely chopped (whatever you prefer)

Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

1. Saute onion in olive oil.
2. When onion becomes translucent, add cumin.
3. Cook 30 seconds, then add garlic and cook for another 30 to 60 seconds.
4. Add 1 can black beans and 2 cups vegetable broth.
5. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
6. Turn off heat.
7. Using a hand blender, blend the ingredients in the pot, or transfer to a blender.
8. Add the second can of beans to the pot along with blended ingredients and bring to a simmer.
9. Serve soup with bowls of red onion and cilantro for garnish.
10. I add a bit of cilantro to the pot, too.
11. Can be doubled or frozen.

Cabbage Stew

Cabbage and Bread Stew

Serves: 6

* 3 to 4 cups cubed (about 1 inch) Italian or sourdough bread
* 2 TBS olive oil
* 2 large onions, quartered and thinly sliced
* 3 to 4 cloves garlic
* 5 cups water
* 2 large carrots, peeled and diced
* 2 large or 3 medium potatoes, diced
* 4 cups coarsely shredded green cabbage
* 1 medium green or red bell pepper, diced
* 1 16oz can salt-free diced or stewed tomatoes, undrained
* 1/4 cup dry red wine -- I'm using heavy veggie beef stock
* 1 teaspoon paprika
* 1/2 teaspoon cumin
* 3 TBS lemon juice-- I'm skipping this bc DH doesn't care for sweet n sour
* 3 TBS natural granulated sugar-- skipping this too - no sweet n sour for DH
* Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden and crisp, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and garlic and sauté over medium heat until golden, about 10 minutes.

Add the water, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, bell peppers, tomatoes, wine/broth, paprika, and cumin. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the lemon juice and sugar. There should be a subtle sweet-sour balance. If you’d like it to be more pronounced, add more lemon juice and/or sugar to your liking.

Season with salt and pepper, then simmer over very low heat for 10 minutes longer. If time allows, let the stew stand off the heat for an hour or two, then heat through before serving.

When ready to serve, divide the bread cubes among the serving bowls and ladle the stew over them. The bread will absorb much of the liquid and add a tasty, textural element to the stew. Remember, if you don't use a good crusty loaf, you're gonna get nothing but a flavorful soggy stoup :)

Avgolemono Soup

When I was younger, I worked in a Greek restaurant for about 5 years. I remember watching Papui make it, every Sunday. The past few days my throat has been raw from coughing... this felt like heaven in a bowl.



Servings: 10

* 2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 6 egg yolks, beaten
* 2 quarts chicken stock -- I used vegetarian chickit stock
* 1/2 cup long grain rice -- I used orzo.
* 1/4 cup butter
* chopped parsley
* 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (or more to taste)
* 1 lemon, rind of, grated
* salt and pepper

**Note** You can vary this to taste, of course. I usually add a bit more cornstarch for thickening, diced vegetarian chicken, double the orzo or rice, about 1/2 c finely chopped onion, and about a handful of chopped celery.

**Note** Keep in mind, with the omission of the rice, this would be a great sauce for chicken linguini. Or atop asparagus. Or fresh snapped green beans. Or potatoes! Actually this reminds me to post the Greek potato recipe, too. Ahhh.... so much to eat, so little time :)



Stir the milk and cornstarch together and beat in the egg yolks. Set aside. Bring the stock to boil in a 4 quart soup pot and add the rice. Cook, covered, until the rice is puffy and tender, about 25 min. Remove the soup from heat, add milk and egg mixture, stirring carefully. Continue to cook for a moment until all thickens. Remove from the heat again and add the butter, chopped parsley, lemon juice, and finely grated lemon peel.

Enchilada Soup

* 1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
* 1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
* 1 15 ounce can corn, drained
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1 10 ounce can enchilada sauce
* 1 10.75 ounce can cream of chicken soup - I'm using COM, next time will try homemade chickit gravy.
* 1 cup milk
* 4 (4 ounce) chicken breasts --I used 4 MSF Chicken Grillers
* 1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese
* 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
* avocado, (optional) sour cream, and tortilla chips for topping

* I also added a couple handfuls of diced baked potatoes and 1 small can of green chiles


In a crockpot, combine drained beans, drained tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce, soup, and milk. Give it a quick stir. Add chicken breasts. Make sure to push them down so they are submerged in the liquid. Cover and cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours. Before serving take out chicken patties, shred them, and return them to the soup. (Actually they're soft enough to cut up while still in the pot) Stir in shredded cheeses. Top with avocado, sour cream, or crushed tortilla chips if desired.

Baked Potato Soup

Ingredients

2 cups chicken broth
3 med. potatoes - peeled, cubed
2 green onions - trimmed, sliced
1/2 rib celery - minced
1/4 med. carrot - grated
2 tsp. distilled white vinegar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups milk mixed with 2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2-6 strips cooked veggie bacon - crumbled


Instructions

-Bring first 7 ingredients to boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
-Cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
-Whisk milk/flour mixture into saucepan; stir in cheese and bacon.
-Simmer, uncovered, 5-8 minutes, or until thick, stirring constantly.


Add ins:

Make it Reuben soup by adding some vegetarian corned beef and a bit of sauerkraut into your bowl. Swiss cheese, green onion and some red pepper flakes on top complete the meal. DELICIOUS.

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Rice Soup

Cheesy Chicken, Bacon and Rice Soup

* 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 medium onion, finely chopped
* 3 stalks of celery, finely chopped
* 3 large carrots, finely chopped
* 1 1/2 Cups zucchini, diced
* 2 Tablespoons fresh minced garlic
* 2 Cups cooked and shredded substitute chicken
* 2 Cups steamed white rice
* 4 Tablespoons butter
* 1/4 Cup all purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/4 teaspoon fresh cracked black pepper
* 1 3/4 Cups chicken broth
* 1 Cup shredded cheddar cheese
* 1 Cup bacon, cooked and crumbled plus 1/2 Cup to garnish bowls

Instructions

Heat oil into a soup pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Saute onion, celery, carrots and zucchini for 10 minutes or until softened. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute then add chicken and rice. Reduce heat to low.

Melt butter into a large saucepan over medium heat. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until thick and creamy, nearly to a boil. Stir in shredded cheddar until melted then pour into chicken and vegetable mixture. Add 1 Cup crumbled bacon, stir then season according to taste then simmer on low until ready to serve. Garnish each bowl with a few pinches of additional crumbled bacon.

8 servings

Mud Soup

Quick and easy and DD1's first ever concoction when she was about 5 yrs old :) Deliciously warm and inviting on a nippy fall afternoon.

Mud Soup

Ingredients

2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained
2 cups vegetarian chicken broth
1 cup "gourmet" style salsa


Directions
Heat all ingredients in large pot on stove until heated through.
Transfer to a blender or use an immersion blender to puree into a "creamy" black bean soup. Add cumin and garlic to taste. Or use less broth and turn it into a favorite dip for chips.
Garnish with fresh cilantro or other herbs.

Number of Servings: 6

Velvet Chicken Soup

Chicken Velvet Soup

Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:
1 1/2 sticks margarine
3 ribs celery, pureed
1 lg. onion, pureed
3/4 c. flour
6 c. water
2 oz. veggie chicken broth base(I'm using McKays)
1 c. Half and Half
1 lb veggie chicken, diced (I'm using the Worthington frozen chicken roll)
salt and white pepper to taste



Directions:
Cut up onion and celery and puree in food processor. Heat margarine to bubbling hot in a large, heavy saucepan. Add celery and onion mixture, reduce heat to medium and cook until thoroughly softened, but not browned. Add flour and stir together to form a smooth paste. Reduce heat to low and cook for 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Slowly add chicken base and water, whipping constantly to ensure smoothness. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook for 1 hour.
Add Half and Half and blend well. Add chicken, salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for 5 more minutes.

Gajar-Santre Ka Shorba

Gajar-Santre Ka Shorba (Carrots blended with orange juice)


Carrots blended with orange juice
Servings: 4

Ingredients:
500 g (1.1 lb) Carrots (gajar), cut into small cubes
4 cups (1 litre) 32 fl oz Orange (santra) juice
5 tsp (25 g) Butter
1 cup (120 g) 4 oz Onions, chopped
Salt to taste 1 tsp (2 g) White pepper (safed mirch) powder
2 1/2 tbsp (30 g) 1 oz Sugar
1/2 cup (100 ml) 3 1/2 fl oz Cream



Directions:
1. Melt the butter in a pan; add onions and saute till transparent. Add the carrots and saute for a minute. Add the remaining ingredients except cream and cook on low heat till the carrot is tender.

2. Remove from heat and then strain through a muslin cloth.

3. Reheat the strained soup and stir in the cream. Remove from heat, pour into individual soup bowls and serve hot.

Comfort Food

We stopped by the health food store the other day and brought home a box of Sam's Chicken. Before I dive in and try to mimic the recipe, does anyone else happen to have it already? I am all ears!

Also going thru a few trial and errors looking for the perfect risotto recipe. Which is your favorite risotto? And which ones have you tried?

And now, tortellini soup. Nice and simple.

Tortellini Soup

1 to 2 lbs. sausage patties - or chicken or terkettes or whatever
2 large boxes of broth (I like the Imagine brand No-chick broth)
1 14.5 oz can of tomatoes (I prefer the one with garlic and tomatoes, fire-roasted if you can get it)
1 can canellini (or northern beans), rinsed
2 packages of tortellini (any kind: 3 cheese, spinach ricotta etc...)
2 carrots, sliced
Fresh spinach (or escarole - or any green)
Seasoning to taste

In a separate pot, bring water to boil for tortellini (don't cook the pasta in the soup, it gets too mushy and "steals" too much of the broth). Meanwhile, cook sausage according to instructions then cut into bite size pieces. In a large pot, combine broth, tomatoes and carrots. Bring to a boil then lower heat to simmer. Add salt, pepper, oregano or any seasoning of your choice. (When using sausage, take it easy on any additional flavor - the broth, tomatoes and meat have heavy flavor). When the water in your other pot boils, add tortellini and cook according to package directions but shorten the cooking time by a minute or 2 to avoid mushiness when added to soup. Drain tortellini. Just before serving, add tortellini, beans and spinach to soup pot.

Serve with crusty bread, fresh apples and cheese :-)