Roasted Garlic Potato Soup

This was an awesome, quick and healthy soup! I've made it twice in the past week. lol

Ingredients

6 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
salt to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2. Place potatoes in a shallow roasting pan and drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper; stir to coat. Bake for 25 minutes, or until potatoes are browned. Reserve 1 cup of roasted potatoes.
3. In a 3 quart saucepan heat remaining oil; saute onions for 5 minutes. Add potatoes and garlic and stir in broth and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
4. Spoon half of broth mixture into a blender; blend until nearly smooth. Repeat with remaining mixture; return all to pot. Stir in milk and season with salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with reserved roasted potatoes.

Result: This is WONDERFUL! My changes? I made 5 cups of chicken broth (of course i used no-chicken chicken broth), 1 cup of heavy cream instead of milk and I added 1 teaspoon Cayenne pepper for a little zing. I did not blend, I just mashed in the pan a little bit. I also didn't reserve any potatoes; I just put them all in!! Husband loved it, kids loved it...next time I think I'll make a double batch :)

Homemade Black Bean Veggie Burgers

Made these last night for dinner. They were AWESOME! My kids wanted to know if there were left overs they liked them so much!! :)

Ingredients

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs

Directions

1. If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C), and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
3. In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
4. In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
5. Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
6. If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.

Easy Vegetarian Red Bean Lasagna

As usual, I found this recipe and modified it a bit. I will list it as I found it and explain my changes below.


Ingredients

* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 small onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1 (15 ounce) can red beans, drained
* 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 1 teaspoon dried basil
* 1 teaspoon dried oregano
* salt and pepper to taste
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 cups cold milk
* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
* 4 no-boil lasagna noodles
* 4 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, and cook the onion until tender. Mix in garlic, and cook until heated through. Mix in red beans, tomatoes, and red bell pepper. Season with basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat, and gradually mix in flour until smooth. Slowly stir in the milk. Mix in Parmesan cheese, and continue to cook and stir until slightly thickened.
4. Spread 1/2 the red bean mixture in a 9x9 inch casserole dish, and top with 2 lasagna noodles. Layer with remaining bean mixture and remaining noodles. Cover with the sauce, and top with Gruyere cheese.
5. Bake 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned.

Result:
Everyone LOVED this! I was worried that it wouldn't be very flavorful or that it wouldn't be cheesy enough...but it was excellent!!

Ok, here are the changes I made. I didn't have red beans so I used a can or Ranchero Beans. I didn't rinse them, just poured off the excess liquid and dumped them in the pan. Same thing with tomatoes. I LOVE Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic; I use them in everything. I just poured off the excess liquid and dumped them in the pan. I used green pepper...it's all I had. Used 3 cloves of fresh garlic (we love garlic). I used regular ole lasagna noodles (didn't know no-boil noodles even existed). I didn't have any Gruyere cheese so I just used Mozzarella :) What will I do differently next time? I'll add a 2nd can of beans :) Delish!

DIP!

I found this recipe a while ago for some Mexican dish which called for using flour tortillas on the bottom of a casserole dish and topping it with black beans, tomatoes and corn. I can't find the recipe now, and I've since modified it to my liking and it's now become a staple item in our house! I didn't like it with the flour tortillas on the bottom - it made it too mushy. So I changed it and here we call it DIP! I serve it with Scoops (tortilla chips) and everyone LOVES IT! It's quick (10 minutes, tops!), it's cheap and it's healthy. What more can you ask for!!

Ingredients:

* 2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
* 2 cans corn, rinsed and drained
* 2 cans Fire Roasted Tomatoes (I get the HEB brand that have the garlic in it)
* 1 tablespoon Cumin
* sometimes I add an onion....depending if I have time to chop one up really. lol
* Mexican blend cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

1. Rinse black beans and dump in casserole dish
2. Rinse corn and dump in casserole dish
3. Dump in Tomatoes
4. Add Cumin and mix
5. This can be baked in the oven at 350degrees for 30 minutes (or until bubbly) or it can be warmed in the microwave (this is the way I usually do it). I give it about 6-7 minutes in the microwave and viola! Lunch (or dinner) is ready!
6. Serve with tortilla chips and sprinkle cheese over the top and serve!

(I'll take a picture next time I make this)

Broiled Tilapia Parmesan

This Christmas was our first as vegetarians. I was having a REALLY hard time coming up with a "main dish" for our Christmas dinner. I searched high and low and stumbled upon this recipe. Now, I am NOT an avid fish eater - actually, this was MY first time EVER preparing a fish dish! It was very good and even my guests loved it :)

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon celery salt
• 2 pounds tilapia fillets

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Grease a broiling pan or line pan with aluminum foil.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the Parmesan cheese, butter, mayonnaise and lemon juice. Season with dried basil, pepper, onion powder and celery salt. Mix well and set aside.
3. Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil a few inches from the heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Flip the fillets over and broil for a couple more minutes. Remove the fillets from the oven and cover them with the Parmesan cheese mixture on the top side. Broil for 2 more minutes or until the topping is browned and fish flakes easily with a fork. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Butternut Squash Soup...with a twist!

I tried a new recipe for Butternut Squash Soup but modified it based on another favorite recipe of ours. I will post the recipe as it is listed on AllRecipes.com with my modifications listed below. It was OUTSTANDING by the way!!

Ingredients

* 6 tablespoons chopped onion
* 4 tablespoons margarine
* 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
* 3 cups water
* 4 cubes chicken bouillon
* 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
* 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
* 2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese


Directions

1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Outcome: This was a totally awesome soup with the following modifications:

* used 1 whole yellow onion

* used only 2 tablespoons of butter

* cut the squash in half. Removed seeds and stringy stuff. Baked face down in the oven on 400 for 45 minutes. I didn't measure the amount of squash that I had but it originally weighed about 3lbs.

* Increased the water to 4 cups

* Used non-chicken chicken broth (can get from Whole Foods or Sprouts).

* Didn't have any marjoram - didn't miss it

* Upped the amount of Cayenne pepper to about 2 teaspoons (I didn't measure it...just dumped it in, lol).

* added a bit of garlic powder (again, I didn't measure it)

* added about 1 teaspoon of Curry Powder (didn't measure this either)

* used only 1 package of low-fat cream cheese

* added 6-8 oz of heavy cream (per recommendations on the reviews)

* Oh and I also added a diced pear when I added the squash to the water. Since the squash was already soft, I waited for the pear to soften (about 20 minutes) before blending. I hate transferring soups to a blender and all that mess so I just used my electric beater and it worked just fine. It was probably chunkier than if I had pureed it in the blender but it was certainly delicious!! EVERYONE loved it!!

Happy New Year!

It's been a long time since I've updated this blog and it's about time for me to do so.

January 7, 2010 I decided enough was enough! I NEED to loose 20+lbs. I joined a group of local ladies for The Biggest Loser Challenge! The winner gets $200 bucks and with that money, I am booking a cruise for my hubby and I to go on for our 16 year wedding anniversary :) My short term goal is to loose 20lbs by our anniversary (May 21) and to loose a total of 27lbs by the end of June. I WILL DO THIS! Once I make up my mind to do something, you'd better WATCH OUT!! lol

I LOVE trying new recipes. We are STILL vegetarians (pat myself on the back) and I will be on the lookout for low-fat, healthy new recipes to try. I will be posting some of my favorites here, so check back often!

Happy New Year!!!

Baked Sweet Potatoes and Apples

BAKED SWEET POTATOES AND APPLES
Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Though sweet potatoes have never been as favored in the North as in the South, this simple dish hails from old New England. A cheering winter recipe, and a great side dish for Thanksgiving, it is characteristically sweetened with maple syrup.

• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 2 tablespoons nonhydrogenated margarine, melted
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 large apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• Cinnamon
• Ground cloves
• 1/2 cup apple juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Bake or microwave the sweet potatoes until done but still firm. When cool enough to handle, cut them into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Oil a deep, 1 1/2 quart baking casserole. Arrange half of the sweet potato slices on the bottom. Drizzle with half of the margarine, then half of the maple syrup. Top with the apple slices. Sprinkle lightly with the cinnamon and cloves.

Repeat the layers, then pour the apple juice over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, covered, then for another 10 minutes, uncovered. Serve at once or cover and keep warm until needed.

Result: This was very good and reminded me on Thanksgiving dinner.  Think I'll wait till the fall to prepare this one again.

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Cream of Asparagus Soup

Serves: 6

• 2 pounds asparagus
• 1 1/2 tablespoons light margarine or canola oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 large potato, finely diced
• 3 cups water or vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• Dash of nutmeg
• 1/2 to 1 cup plain rice milk or other non-dairy milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut about 1 inch off the bottoms of the asparagus stalks and discard. Scrape any tough skin with a vegetable peeler. Cut the stalks into approximately 1-inch pieces, setting aside the tips.

Heat the margarine or oil in a large soup pot. Add the onion and sauté until it is golden. Add the asparagus pieces, garlic, potato, water or stock, dill, basil and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently until the asparagus and potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat.

With a slotted spoon, transfer the solid ingredients to the container of a food processor or blender. Process in batches until smoothly pureed, then stir back into the liquid in the soup pot. Add enough rice milk or other non-dairy milk to achieve the desired consistency.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and return to low heat. Steam the reserved asparagus tips until tender-crisp. Stir them into the soup and simmer over very low heat for another 5 minutes. You can serve this at once, or let it stand for an hour or so to flavor, then heat through as needed.

Still haven't tried this one yet...but going to very, very soon!!

Tortilla Casserole

TORTILLA CASSEROLE
Serves: 6

Here's my favorite in-a-hurry casserole to make when craving southwestern flavors. It involves throwing together a lot of convenient ingredients like canned beans and tomatoes, and frozen corn, but it's unbelievably good when you need an emergency dinner. In the 12 to 15 minutes that this is in the oven, steam a big batch of broccoli and make a simple salad of mixed baby greens, carrots, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

• One 16-ounce can pinto, pink, or black beans, drained and rinsed
• One 16--ounce can crushed tomatoes
• One 4-ounce can chopped mild green chilies
• 2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 2 scallions, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 8 corn tortillas
• 1 1/2 cups grated nondairy Monterey Jack, cheddar, or jalapeno cheese
• Salsa for topping

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix thoroughly.

Lightly oil a wide, 2-quart casserole dish and layer as follows: 4 tortillas, overlapping one another; half of the bean mixture; half of the cheese. Repeat the layers.

Bake the casserole for 12 to 15 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly. Let stand for a minute or two, then cut into squares to serve. Pass around salsa to top each serving.

Result: This is very very good! Although, we've decided that we don't like it with the tortillas in it. Instead, we just scoop and eat on some Blue Tortilla chips. YUMM!!

Vegetable Sautee and Couscous

I made this for dinner 2 nights ago and it was really good!

Vegetable Sautee and Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 medium red or white onion, cubed
  
• 1 large green pepper, cubed
  
• 2 msall zichinni squash, cubed
  
• 2-3 gloves garlic, minced
  
• 1/2 cup loosely packed fresh cilanto leaves, chopped
  
• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatos
  
• 1-2 tablespoon olive oil
  
• Fresh ground black pepper, to taste
  
• 5.8 oz. package Near East brand flavored couscous, such as Raosted Garlic and Olive Oil or Parmesan
  

Directions:

Prepare couscous according to package instructions, set aside. Cut the onion, green papper and squash into even size pieces, about 1/2 inch. Pul olive oil into a large sautee pan and heat to medium temperature. Add vegetables in the following order, cooking a few minutes after each addition: onion, gralic, green pepper and squash. When these are crisp tender, add fresh ground black pepper, a dash of salt, the cilantro and undrained tomatos, heat until just warmed through. Stir in prepared couscous, remove to a serving dish, and add a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish.