Broccoli Cheese Soup and Still on the Veg Wagon!

Yay! I'm still on the veggie wagon and I feel fantastic! I've been drinking my green juice and getting my Pilates in this week, too. I found this yummy soup recipe in Zsu Dever's cookbook:

The recipe uses 2 Tbsp of her Savory Broth Mix for flavoring. This seasoning has nutritional yeast and about thirteen different herbs and spices. It's nice to have on hand in the pantry instead of dragging out every spice in the cupboard! 

This soup is so creamy, 'cheesy' and delicious. I would have liked my broccoli a little more cooked but it was still tasty. The leftover soup really thickened up in the fridge. It would be good spooned over some baked potatoes. 

~ Broccoli Cheese Soup ~ 

Lentil and Black Bean Soup

My fridge stocked with lots of veggies, fruit and grains! It was looking pretty bad for a few months there. Oh, how easy it is to slip back into the old ways and bad habits of eating. I'm back on track now! I wish I could eat all the yummy veg foods out there but I'm allergic to quite a few things; sesame seeds (tahini), brown rice, barley, tempeh, miso (any fermented foods), bananas, melons, yeast-ugh! it just goes on and on! At least soy (unfermented) doesn't bother me. Still lots to choose from though. 

I found this delicious soup recipe here at avegangoddess.com . Lots of veggies, lentils, black beans and greens. I also added some optional corn to the soup and instead of kale I used spinach. This makes a huge pot; I should have used my largest stockpot! It made enough for three freezer containers of leftovers. 

~ Lentil and Black Bean Soup ~

One Post for February!

I thought I better blow the cobwebs off my blog so I could get one post in for this month! The past five months have been a wild ride with sinus surgery, the bipolar rollercoaster, thyroid issues, and falling off the veggie wagon. After having extensive bloodwork I can see the proof of what a plant-based lifestyle does for my health. My cholesterol and triglycerides were ridiculously high. Some of the anxiety and OCD was from my thyroid being way too high. I've been working with my naturopathic doctor to get that straightened out and I climbed back up on the veg wagon to start anew.

I found this soup recipe in Vegan Food Gifts. I wanted to try it out before I made it as gifts. 

~ Hearty Pasta Soup with Chik'n Mix ~

It has tri-color pasta, seasonings (along with 1/2 cup vegetable broth powder), lentils, and soy curls. 

I'm glad I tried this myself first because the directions say to just throw everything into the pot and cook for 10 to 12 minutes until the pasta and lentils are tender. Well, the pasta was tender way before the lentils softened so I had to let it simmer until the lentils were no longer hard. By then, I ended up with mushy pasta. The soup did taste really good so if I make this again I think I will cook the lentils first before adding them into the pot! 

Chickpea Veggie Soup

Another great recipe from OATrageous Oatmeals.

This is definitely a pantry-friendly easy to make soup along with some carrots, sweet potato and kale. I like the addition of steel-cut oats to give the soup some texture and thickness. I've never added oats to a soup before. I used to use barley quite a bit but found out it really bothered my stomach. So now I can use steel-cut oats! 

~ Chickpea Veggie Soup ~

This recipe made 8 servings so we enjoyed it the first night and then I froze the rest for a quick supper later. 

The Ultimate Corn Chowder Experience

Day 2 of catching up on my posts! I managed to get to the gym yesterday for Pilates after 2 and a half months of doing nothing and finally got my hair cut and highlighted after 3 months. I usually get my hair cut every 6 weeks; it was the longest it's been in a long time. I'm starting to slowly feel like my old self again. 

This soup recipe comes from Betty Goes Vegan and I think they are a little ambitious in the naming of the recipe. I wouldn't say that this is the "ultimate" in corn chowder experiences. heehee It does have the 'ultimate' use of ingredients: potatoes, creamed corn, corn, peas, green beans, chickpeas, hash browns, plus about a dozen assorted seasonings and spices! I do have to say that it was rather good and the hubby liked it. 

~ The Ultimate Corn Chowder Experience ~ 

Look at the state of my Betty Goes Vegan cookbook! I'm so irritated; the whole section of colored photos started slowly falling apart. I've been using clear strapping tape to hold each page in. Ugh! Now more and more pages are falling out. I bought a 1 1/2 " three ring binder and I'm just about ready to rip the cookbook apart and use my 3 hole punch to put it in the binder. Has anyone else's done this?!

White Bean & Collard Soup and Cornbread

I had a bunch of collard greens I needed to use and I'm always looking for new ways to cook them. I love collard greens! I found this soup recipe in Cookin' Crunk. She also suggested serving the Jalapeno-Corn Buttermilk Cornbread with it. 

I used my cast-iron skillet to bake the cornbread. It has chopped pickled jalapenos and corn in the batter. You make a "buttermilk" with soymilk and cider vinegar.  

 ~ Jalapeno-Corn Buttermilk Cornbread ~

Nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. 

Topped my cornbread with some Earth Balance margarine and my favorite Bee Free Honee! I was so excited to see the honee in my local Sprouts. I don't have to order it online anymore. It has the consistency and taste of bee honey. It tastes better than using agave as a honey replacement.

~ White Bean and Collard Soup ~ 

This soup used dried Great Northern beans. I never cook with dried beans so this took a little preparation. I just put my beans on to soak in the morning and they were ready to cook in the afternoon. She didn't specify, but I waited to add the canned tomatoes and salt after the beans were cooked. I've read that the beans won't get done with the acid and salt in them. They turned out perfect. I like the addition of ginger, red pepper flakes and a little nutmeg for the seasonings. You cook the collard greens separately and then add them in to the cooked beans. Yum! I froze the leftover soup and cornbread for a quick supper later. 

Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole

This recipe from Cookin' Crunk reminded me of the cheese laden casseroles I used to make so I had to try it to see if it measured up. The only negative is some advance prep before you can eat! 

The day before I went ahead and cooked the brown rice and made the Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe. It makes 4 cups so I halved the recipe as the casserole only uses 1 cup of it. I still had some leftover soup so I froze it in 1 cup size. Hopefully, it will thaw alright and I can use it in another recipe. It will be really convenient to have on hand as I can never find vegan cream of mushroom soup at the store. 

For the cheese component you have to make the Basic Cheesy Sauce. Again, I halved the recipe since I only needed one cup. Very flavorful cheese sauce using nutritional yeast. 

 Saueeting the broccoli and onion. 

Finally, on to the casserole! Really easy to mix everything together now and put in a casserole dish. The mixture is topped with some breadcrumbs. The recipe called for whole wheat but I used some panko. 

After baking, the breadcrumbs get golden brown under the broiler. 

~ Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole ~

Yum! A very healthy, tasty substitute for my old-style broccoli cheese casserole. 

Lentil Soup with Greens & Tiny Pasta

Another great recipe from Wild About Greens.

This recipe doesn't use vegetable broth; just water. The oregano, basil and thyme along with some fire-roasted tomatoes and red wine gave it lots of flavor though. I used a bunch of chopped lacinato kale for the greens. This made a big pot so I froze the leftovers for a quick supper later. 

Lentil Soup with Greens & Tiny Pasta

I served the soup with some garlic bread made with sourdough bread, Earth Balance margarine, garlic powder and nutritional yeast sprinkled on top and broiled. 

Trying to Get Back to Normal (Whatever That Is)

I did manage to try some new recipes this last week. This month has just flown by it seems. Now I'm fighting another stupid sinus infection which leaves me not wanting to do anything. Onward and upward! I made this tasty soup from The McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. It makes a big pot of soup using frozen veggies and canned beans. I thought it needed some green so I added a big handful of chopped spinach and some fresh basil. I took this over to my mom and dad's for their supper while my mom is recovering. I served it with some garlic bread. 

Fast Minestrone

My brother and sister-in-law had a Memorial weekend BBQ swim party on Saturday. I brought my veggie dog, cookies and coleslaw. I made my favorite coleslaw from Give Them Something Better. Even my 9 year old nephew loved the coleslaw! I also made these yummy cookies from Meet the Shannons; here is the recipe. I usually like a chewy cookie but these were more of a dry, baked texture like I think of store-bought cookies. Loaded with dried cherries, chocolate chips and walnuts, they're yummy with a cup of hot tea.

Cherry, Walnut & Chocolate Chip Cookies

I made another soup/stew this week. This is from The China Study Cookbook. This one is packed with protein with chickpeas, lentils, bulgur and sweet potato. The cayenne and coriander give it a nice spicy kick.

Zesty Bulgur Stew

I bought too many fresh berries last week and they were going bad so I thought "hey, make a crisp!" I always look in La Dolce Vegan first because I've made just about every recipe out of there. I used the Raspberry Apple Crisp recipe and instead of just raspberries I used a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries. I doubled the recipe and made a big 9x13 pan. We were babysitting the grandsons and they ate a big bowl of it. Yummy! Delicious for breakfast, too.

Berry Apple Crisp

Spring Break and Life Happens

Wow~this is the longest I have gone without posting anything since I started my blog. But life happens. My mom had shoulder replacement surgery the end of April. She was home one day and then had a stroke. So it's been 3 1/2 weeks of hospitals, doctors and rehab facilities. She is home now and on the road to recovery. I am so thankful that myself and my two siblings live close by to take care of our sweet mama. Our meals have consisted of hospital cafeteria food; finding relatively healthy choices at fast food joints and not-so healthy choices!; and making quick meals using Gardein products and pasta dishes. I have just now felt like picking up a cookbook and trying some new recipes. I finally restocked my fridge, which was down to the condiments, with lots of veggies and fruit. I also had a birthday during all of this and my dear friend left me this lovely strawberry plant on my front porch. I didn't know what it was and had to ask her!

~ a cute little strawberry! ~ 

Breakfast; well, since each one was only the size of my pinky I did have something else to eat! 

It's already getting some more strawberries. I hope I get a few more before the heat takes over. We skipped right over cool spring weather and headed right into the heat of summer. 

Blueberry Hemp Cinnamon Crunch Muffins

I made these yummy muffins last month and never posted about them. I even bought another bag of hemp seeds to make them again! Lots of luscious blueberries and not too sweet. Vegan Thyme has the recipe on her blog. 

Wheat Berry Minestrone

I used the last of my wheat berries to make this delicious soup. The wheat berries give it lots of chewy, meaty texture. The recipe is on Dr. Grandma's. 

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes 

from Betty Goes Vegan

My hubby brought me a box of freshly harvested red potatoes straight from the field still covered in dirt. This is a quick and easy recipe to use them. I think they could have roasted a little longer to get more brown but they were still tasty.

Chik'n Enchiladas

This last recipe I whipped up the other night using ingredients I had in my pantry and freezer. I cooked up three Gardein Chik'n Scallopini and chopped them into pieces. I rolled them into six corn tortillas with a little Daiya cheddar sprinkled on top. Topped everything with the Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce and covered that with more Daiya cheddar. Baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, added a salad and had dinner ready!  

 Really handy to have in the pantry. Read the ingredients on the different flavors; some of them are not vegan. 

Chik'n Enchiladas

I topped the enchiladas with some chopped cilantro and green onions. 

I'm ready to get back in the kitchen and try some new recipes!

Irish Bean Stew

I love the recipes in The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook. Well, they're "quick and easy" and they are low-fat and use no added oils. 

The ingredients for this "stew" are onion, caraway seeds, frozen hash browns, frozen mixed veggies, cabbage, canned white beans and veg. broth. So easy to have everything on hand. You don't even have to defrost the frozen hash browns and veggies. The potatoes help thicken up the stew. I used Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base and added an extra two cups of broth because it was way too thick. 

Seasoned with some freshly ground pepper and it is yummy! 

White Beans with Swiss Chard and Rice

I decided not to participate in the Vegcookbookclub this month so I'm working on making some of the recipes I've had on my list for awhile. And, once again, I'm cleaning out my pantry, fridge and freezer. I've got lots of grains, beans and legumes I need to use up. This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan's Daily Companion.

Sauteing chard and onions. 

The recipe calls for 5 cups of vegetable stock. I love to use this Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. It is a lighter, more "chickeny" flavor than the darker vegetable stocks. This is more convenient than using a carton of vegetable broth. Sometimes I don't use it all and then it just goes to waste. With this bouillon you just mix up the amount you need and store the jar in the refrigerator. I have been able to find the Vegetable flavor at my Sprouts store but for the No Chicken flavor I have to order it online. 

Swiss chard, onion, garlic, beans and rice. So easy and so delicious! The hubby gave this one a thumbs-up. 

Hearty Winter Potato Soup

Vegcookbookclub December 2013 ~ 

from How It All Vegan: 

I seem to be on a soup kick lately. So easy to throw everything into one pot and end up with a warm homey meal. I loved the potato soup my mom made when I was growing up. Of course it used dairy milk and was rich and creamy and you couldn't have it without chopped bacon in it. So I thought I would give this one a try and see if it would compare.

I've never made potato soup with red bell peppers. For the vegetable stock I used Better Than Bouillon's No Chicken Base. 

Love these little Bac'Uns. They don't have that yucky red coloring that others do. 

I just used my handheld blender to blend this up right in the soup pot. I left a few chunks of potato for some texture. I topped the soup with some Daiya cheddar shreds, chopped green onions, fresh ground black pepper and some Bac'Uns. The soup is yummy and comforting but still doesn't come close to Mom's potato soup! 

Minestrone with Kale

Vegcookbookclub December 2013 ~  

Color Me Vegan:   This soup recipe is in the "Rainbow" section of the cookbook; but I had to take a picture of this brilliant "green" parsley. I usually just use dried parsley in my recipes but for this I bought this lovely bunch of organic parsley. It keeps for a couple of weeks when I store it this way in the fridge. I trim off the ends of the bunch, stand it in a glass of water and cover it lightly with the plastic produce bag. I change the water once or twice and it stays nice and fresh.

Kale, cannellini beans, bay leaves and fresh parsley.

I used lacinato (dinosaur) kale for this. It's a little less bitter and blends more smoothly into the soup.    

I've made another version of minestrone from Betty Goes Vegan. Now I can say I prefer this one. It has less ingredients and even tastes better. The only seasoning in the recipe is garlic, parsley, bay leaves, salt and pepper. I added a teaspoon of my Italian seasoning and it was perfect.

This made a big pot of soup so I froze the leftovers for a quick future meal.