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Quinoa Vegetable Soup

Soup season is here!

This is a new recipe my daughter and I have been tweaking. Vegan, DELICIOUS, and high in protein, thank you quinoa. And the best part is it’s sooo EASY! Pretty much perfect. Enjoy!

Quinoa Vegetable Soup

QUINOA VEGETABLE SOUP

* 1 onion chopped

* 6-8 celery ribs chopped

* 3-4 large carrots chopped

*2-3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (or 1/4 cup broth if you’re avoiding oil)

* 15 ounce can stewed or diced tomatoes

* 15 ounce can tomato sauce or use more broth, if you want a thinner soup

* 1 quart vegetable broth

* 1 cup dry quinoa, rinsed well

1. Sauté onions, celery, and carrots in the olive oil for 5 minutes.

2. Add diced or stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and vegetable broth. Stir.

3. Add quinoa and bring soup to a low boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

4. Drizzle each serving with with a little extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a little garlic salt.

(If you’re feeling daring try a sprinkle of cayenne pepper.)

ENJOY!

Up Close Quinoa Vegetable Soup

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Chipotle Tamale Pie

For a vegan version top it with a thick layer of chopped avocado or make it vegetarian and top it with grated cheese.

Either way it’s delicious!

GREASE a 9×13 casserole dish.

PREHEAT oven to 425*.

CRUST

Mix together the following ingredients in a medium sauce pan:

  • 2 1/4 cups corn meal
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups almond (or your unsweetened milk of choice
  • 1 teaspoon salt

STIR over medium-high until mixture is thickened, about 6 minutes.

FOLD IN

  • 4 ounces canned diced green chiles

SET ASIDE 2 cups of the cornmeal mixture, cover.

SPREAD remaining cornmeal mixture into baking dish and up sides.

BAKE for 10 minutes.

While the crust is baking prepare the filling.

FILLING

SAUTÉ

  • 1/2 Tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

ADD

  • 3 cups cooked Pinto beans
  • 2 cups tomato sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon Chipotle chili powder
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 1/3 cup of sliced olives
  • 1 teaspoon salt

Stir until warm through.

Spoon filling into baked cornmeal crust. Spread remaining cornmeal mixture over filling.

BAKE 20 minutes.

VEGAN OPTION:

After baking garnish with 1 cup chopped avocado and 2 tablespoons sliced olives. Serve.

OR

VEGETARIAN OPTION:

After baking, sprinkle with cheese, bake 5-10 minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with 2 tablespoons sliced olives. Serve.

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A Pesto For All Seasons

INGREDIENTS:

· 2 ½ cups packed basil or parsley
· 3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
· 1 teaspoon sea salt
· ¼ cup soaked almonds
· ¾ cup olive oil
· Pepper to taste
· ½ c nutritional yeast flakes or non-dairy Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a blender or food processor, combine the basil or parsley, and garlic.

Add the salt, soaked almonds, and olive oil. Blend to a creamy butter consistency.

Add more oil, if necessary, and pepper to taste.

Finally, add the nutritional yeast flakes. Blend.

Drizzle over steamed pumpkin in the fall, sweet potatoes in the winter, new potatoes and salads in the summer. Makes a great topping for steamed veggies, (onion, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, sugar snap peas and much more) any time of the year.

 

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Lentil Stoup

I can’t call it stew and I can’t call it soup. . .so “stoup” it is. You have to say “Stoup” like you are being mysterious, it tastes better that way.

This is SToupER easy!  It’s comforting and just an all around yummy stew/soup for colder weather.

(The following makes a very stewy dinner, if you want it more soupy add another 1-2 cups of water or broth.)

  •  1 cup lentils (sort them first – you don’t want to eat any rocks)
  •  3 cups water or broth – even better
  •  1 onion chopped
  •  2 stalks celery chopped
  •  1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings or basil

Put everything in your favorite soup pot. Stir.
Bring to a boil, then simmer 45 minutes or so.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Drizzle with Olive Oil to serve. We like this with garlic bread and a big salad.

Works beautifully in a slow cooker 6-8 hours on low – you will need to add  an extra 1-2 cups of water to keep the right consistancy.

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Muffins are a big hit at our house! I have tweaked and tweaked this recipe to get it just right.  I just mix these up right in my blender, works great!
I hope you enjoy these. All of my kids will eat these and that is sayin’ something!
 INGREDIENTS:
  • 2 T. flax seeds or 2 eggs
  • 1 ¾  cups or one 15 oz. can of pumpkin
  • ¼ cup milk (whatever kind you like, I use soy or almond, sometimes coconut)
  • ¼ cup plus 2 Tbs agave nectar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 ¼ cups flour (I grind soft white wheat and use that flour)
  • 1 cup Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Chips (If I’m going to use chocolate, I want the good stuff!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F.
2. Prepare muffin pans or silicone baking cups by spraying a little oil in the bottom of each cup and then sprinkling a bit of flour on the oil.
(If you use paper cups with these, a good part of your muffin will stick to the paper, my kids got tired of eating the paper, so we started using the oil and flour method.)
Blender
3. (If you are using eggs, then skip this step.) Put the whole flax seeds in the blender and pulse a few times to grind up the flax seeds, then add ¼ cup water.  Pulse a few more times, you want to mix up the water and ground flax, then let it sit while you gather and/or prepare your other ingredients. (See more on using flax seeds as an egg substitute on this post.)
4. Add all other ingredients (but not the chocolate chips) to blender jar in order listed.  Blend. Scrape the sides and blend again. Add chocolate chips and pulse a few times until they’re mixed in. Don’t over mix.  Fill the muffin cups 1/3 to ½ full.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Add 5 minutes or so if you double the recipe*.
*If I double the recipe, which I almost always do, I mix the wet ingredients in the blender then add them to the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then mix them together by hand.
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“Chick’n” Noodle Soup

This is  my vegan version of the classic, comforting, chicken noodle soup, and it is delicious!

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 2 carrots peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 large onion chopped
  • 3 celery ribs chopped
  • 2 cups of cooked chickpeas
  • 1 teaspoon crushed basil
  • 1 teaspoon crushed oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 clove garlic crushed
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 3.5 ounces whole wheat egg noodles

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a 4 quart crock pot for 4-6 hours on high.

Add whole wheat egg noodles for the last 30 minutes.

Remove bay leaf before serving.

Serves 4.

NOTES:
We served this soup with Caesar Salad and warm rolls. It was delicious and reminded me of having dinner at my grandma’s house.