Mexican Squash Soup

This is yummy! I made it a few years ago and we all liked and I forgot I had the recipe. We made it tonight and loved it, the kids even ate it.

Spiced Mexican Squash Soup

1 ½ T Olive Oil
2C chopped Onion
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp Oregano
1 Butternut Squash (peel and dice into ½ inch cubes)
3 C Water
1 tsp Salt
¼-1/2 tsp. Cumin
1 ½ tsp chili Powder
2 C fresh Tomatoes (diced) or 1 can
2C Red or Green Peppes (chopped)
2 C Corn Kernels
1 can black Beans (15 oz- drained and rinsed)

Saute Onion/Garlic with Oregano
Add in Squash with the water and remaining spices. Simmer 5-10 min, add tomatoes and peppers and simmer 10 more minute.
Stir in corn and black beans and simmer few more minutes until corn is tender.

Serve with Tortilla chips and avocado dices
(optional: serve with sour cream and shredded cheese)

Vegetable Fritters

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini

1 Large Carrot

1 Walla-walla onion along with 2 inches of the stem

Chard (I used 2 stems, you could use more)
4 cloves Garlic

1/4 c bread crumbs

2 eggs (If you don't use eggs, this would work great with 2 T ground flax seed soaked in 1/4 c water)

Basil

Thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Grate Zucchini and Carrot, place in Medium mixing bowl

2. Roll Chard into a bundle with Herbs and chop roughly, Add to bowl

3. Dice onion add to bowl. *

4. Mince Garlic and add to bowl. *

5. Add bread crumbs and eggs to the bowl along with salt and pepper. Mix.

*If your family has issues with onion blend the onions, garlic and even the herbs together in the blender.

Red Onions would make this even prettier, but it wouldn't taste quite as sweet.

Take 1/4 cup at a time and fry in a lightly oiled frying pan (Non-stick really works best). Let cook 3-5 minutes then flip and cook through.

Serve- These would be great with a little tahini warmed and drizzled over the top, some Aioli, or just plain.

This would be great with a little tahini warmed and drizzled over the top, some Aioli, or just plain.

Cabbage Rolls!

Not as complicated as they look and so Yummy! My husband just kept eating them and eating them and eating them... (I used couscous instead of Bulgar, brown rice would probably be good as well)

Bulgar Stuffed Cabbage

½ cup cooked bulgar or Couscous

1 head cabbage (remove tough outer leaves)

2 tsp olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

4 oz sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 zucchini (sliced)

½ tsp basil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp thyme

¼ tsp pepper

1 egg white

2 tsps lemon juice

1 can 8oz tomato sauce

Serve with Rye bread and Green Salad

Prep 25 minutes, cooking 1 hour

Serves 4 Adults

1. Cook couscous or bulgar and set aside
2. Place cabbage in boiling water for about two minutes, then remove four leaves, repeat until you have 12 leaves
3. Heat oil in skillet over moderate heat and sauté onion, red pepper, and mushrooms, sauté 5 min
4. Stir in zucchini and cook for a few more minutes, until tender
5. Remove from heat add to couscous, stir in lemon juice and egg white
6. Stuff each cabbage leave like a burrito with the filling
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place rolls in baking dish, then spread tomato paste along top.
8. Cover with aluminum foil and cook 25 min, remove foil and cook 10 more minutes

P.S. The leftover cabbage was really good in stir-fry the next day.

Taco Bar

This is how we make Tacos- take whatever vegetables you have, slice, them dice them, out them in bowls and Enjoy!

Cheese-less Tacos
2 cups Rice
2 cups cooked beans (refried, black, Kidney)
1 yellow Onio, diced finely
1 cup Corn
Spices; Taco Seasoning, Cumin, Salt
Corn Tortillas
Vegetables

Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove, add in 3 Tb lime juice, 1 Tb honey and some chopped fresh cilantro.
While rice is cooking prepare your beans. First saute your onion in a little olive oil, can add in garlic too. Add your beans, corn, about 1/4 cup water and spices to taste. Heat through.
Tacos fixing can include:

grated Carrot

grated zucchini
diced tomatoes
diced avocado
diced bell peppers
chopped red cabbage (optional)
greens (optional)

Whole Wheat Pasta

I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where my mom made homemade noodles on a fairly regular basis. My little brother liked to come home from school and make them for his afterschool meal. They are really easy, once you get the hang of it. I love them because I can make them whole wheat and add yummy things like spinach to them.

Ingredients

2 c Whole Wheat flour (can be made with white flour as well If possible when using white flour use 1/3-1/2 of the volume of flour as semolina flour)

3 lg eggs (I use 3 T powdered eggs and 6 t water)

2 c fresh spinach (I add a few handfuls of baby spinach, the more you use the darker they are)

Extra flour and water to adjust consistency

Directions:
Food Processor (the easiest method)

Place four and spinach in bowl of food processor. Process until spinach is pulverized and mixed thoroughly with the flour.

   

Add eggs and process for about 1 minute. The mass should form one main ball, about the consistency of playdough. If it is just in little chunks add water 1-2 tsp at a time until it comes together. If it is too sticky, add flour 1 Tbsp at a time until it is manageable. 

If you don't have a food processor, blend the eggs and spinach up in a blender.  I don't know why but when I do it this way more the noodles loose more color (and I assume other goodies) when they are cooked, it doesn't happen when I pulverize the spinach with the flour.   Form the flour into a well and pour the egg and spinach mixture into the well. Mix the flour into the egg until a dough is formed Knead 5-10 minutes adding more flour or water if necessary.

Wrap in plastic wrap, or place in covered bowl and let sit 20 minutes. If using 100% whole wheat flour this is especially important to allow the flour to hydrate.

Then roll it out.  If you are especially strong, you can roll it out by hand.  I don't know anyone who can roll whole wheat thin enough by hand, but you can give it a try.  I run it through a pasta roller.  It is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets.  They are often found at thrift stores and garage sales, as well as most kitchen stores.   If you have a kitchenaid they make a roller attachement I have used, and I loved it.   You can also find motors for the regular machines but they can be pricey.  The motor (or Kitchenaid) makes it easy for one person to do by themselves.  Without the motor I would recommend 2 people. 1 to crank and 1 to feed the dough and catch it as it comes out.  For JR prom this was the "activity" we went to one young mans house and made pasta.  I think it upset he and his parents that I had actually done it before, but I was the only one out of a group of about 10 people.

Most pasta machines come with 2 attachements, one for making spaghetti and one for making fettucini noodles.  You can also just roll it onut in flat sheets for use in lasagna (no precooking necessary) or filled pastas.  I love to make ravioli's in bulk and freeze them for later meals.  

Once the pasta is rolled out you can add it to boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes, less if you roll it really thin.  

If you make more pasta than you can eat in one sitting, you can dry the leftover pasta.  I ALWAYS do this.  It only adds a few minutes of rolling out, but I will make enough for 4-5 meals all at once. I either hang it on wooden spoons or dowels to dry, and I recently started laying it out in my dehydrator to dry.  It only takes about 45 minutes in a dehydrator, and worked great.

You can also do variations adding fresh herbs or other vegetables.  The possibilities are endless.

Good Luck!

Creamy (or not) Vegetable Soup

This is one of our favorite soups, partly because it tastes so good and partly because it is so easy.
The recipe as is makes 4 servings, so I doubled it last time and then put a bag of soup in my freezer.

The Creamy Way (your veggies can be cubed pretty large)
1 Turnip, peeled and cubed
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, cut in chunks
1 celery stick, cut in pieces, leave the greens on
1 small onion, quartered
2 Tb tomato paste or 1 large tomato
2 tsp salt
5 Cups water
1 Tb vegetable bouillon
Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a pot, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until veggies are soft about 45 min. DO NOT drain. Blend in blender.

The Chunky Way (as the picture shows)
My husband much prefers chunky soup, so I cut my veggies smaller, then I cooked it the same. Instead of blenderizing all of the soup I only put about half in the blender, lightly pureed it then added it back in.

This was delicious with homemade rolls. My girls loved it!

Veggie Lasagana!

I have tried many a veggie lasagna recipes and this one is far superior!. The consistency was good and it tasted delicious, all of us had seconds, even Afton and Madelyn.

(Makes on 9x13) (I actually halved the original recipe, so you could easily double it and freeze one for later.)

1 Pkg. whole wheat lasagna noodles

Mock Ricotta Filling:
1 (10 oz) box Firm Tofu
1 Tb olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tb. Parmesan Cheese (I like buying the grateable kind, it has much better flavor and you can use less)
1 Tb. Parsley Flakes

Veggie Filling:
1 cloves garlic, crushed (I actually just sprinkled in powder)
2 Tb. olive oil
2-3 cups grated Zucchini
1 cup fresh or frozen Spinach (if you use frozen, thaw a little)
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

Cook only 1/3 of your noodles (so probably 4) for the top layer of lasagna, leave the rest uncooked. (Sounds weird but worked great). Layer ingredients in lasagna pan. First put about 1/4 cup of tomato paste on the bottom. Then place a layer of noodles (3), then veggie filling, then Ricotta filling and repeat.. Top with a layer of noodles (the ones that are already cooked), some tomato sauce sprinkled over with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and Parsley flakes. Bake covered at 375' for 50-60 minutes, uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
SUPER YUMMY!

If you have never used Tofu, give it a try. It takes on the flavor of whatever you are making so it works well in a lot of things. It is a healthier alternative to cheese in this recipe.

Cafe Rio- Healthified!

This recipe is for the Cafe Rio salad or Burrito, even though it looks like a lot of work it isn't too bad and you end up with a ton of leftovers- so it's worth trying.

Salad:
Warm whole grain tortillas (just buy these, it took me a lot of practice to make them well)
Sweet Lime Cilantro Rice
Black Beans
1 head romaine lettuce or salad greens, shredded

Toppings:
Diced Tomatoes
Guacamole
Tortilla Strips
Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

THE RECIPE

Sweet Lime Cilantro Rice
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tb. each of lime juice, Vegenaise and honey
1 Tb. Cilantro

Stir ingredients in rice cooker, press on. Or cook on stove for 45 minutes or until tender.

Black Beans
2 cups dry black beans
5 cups water
1/2 Tb salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 onion diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tb Cumin

Pre- soak black beans according to package, then rinse them, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 3-4 hours until tender.

Black Beans (QUICK)
2 cans black beans, drained
1 cup tomato salsa or stewed tomatoes
1 Tb Cumin

Warm and serve.

Guacamole (our favorite way)
1-2 ripe avocados, mashed
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 Tb. lemon juice or lime juice

Mix and enjoy.

Tortilla Strips
Slice corn tortillas in 1/3" strips and cut in half lengthwise. Spread thinly on cookie sheet and toast in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes. Serve (they keep well in Ziploc for a few weeks)

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
If you really like this dressing, make the whole batch and use it on other salads and in Shrimp Tacos.
1 cup ranch dressing (3 cups Vegenaise, 1 lemon squeezed, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tb parsley)
1 (12 ounce) can Tomatillos drained, then pureed (found with Mexican food, look like green tomatoes)
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne or hot pepper sauce

Measure ingredients into a large liquid measuring cup. Blend with hand blender and enjoy.
I use this dressing for a lot of things as well as the extra Ranch, so it's worth making the 3 cups of Ranch first.

Vegenaise- this is also referred to as healthy mayo, it looks and tastes a lot like mayo, but way healthier. It is found in the health food section in the cooler, by like the Tofu and soy cheeses and comes in a jar. The jars are great for storing the extra dressing in.

Easy, Healthy Family Meal #2- Pita Pockets

We loved this, even my picky two year old ate most of hers. To get her to eat one bit is a challenge so 4 bites means she loved it. My husband said this was the best Pita Bread he's ever had. I had to agree with him.
It took a few hours to make, rising and that, however you could put it in the bread maker. I am going to try that next time. You would put it on the dough setting and the ingredients in this order; water, sweetener, oil, salt, flour, yeast.
As quoted from the site I found the recipe on:
"Why make your own pita when it's readily available at supermarkets? One bite of these, fresh and warm from the oven, will tell you exactly why. The dough is simple to make, and because the dough rounds are thin, they bake in less than 5 minutes. But if you don't have time to make your own, store-bought pita can be warmed, wrapped in foil, in a preheated 350°F oven."

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 3 hr

Servings: Makes 8 (6-inch) pita loaves.

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/4 cups warm water (105–115°F)
3 cups whole wheat flour (can use a mixture of milled flax, bran)
3 Tb vital wheat Gluten
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Could add thyme, or sesame to dough
Cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheetStir together yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

While yeast mixture stands, stir together flours in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and cut into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer round to 1 of 2 baking sheets lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Make 7 more rounds in same manner, arranging them on baking sheets. Loosely cover pitas with 2 clean kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Set oven rack in lower third of oven and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 500°F.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. Cool pitas on a cooling rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Bake remaining 4 pitas in same manner. Serve warm.

FILLING: So Delicious!
2 1/2 cups, cubed, cooked chicken breast (about 1 lb)
1 c matchstick cut carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dill
1 8oz can crushed pineapple draine
8 romaine lettuce leaves

Cook chicken. Combine all ingredients, except lettuce. Fill a half Pita with mixture add lettuce and enjoy. So easy and we loved it.