Fall Minestrone

The weather decided it would let us know that Old Man Winter was making an appearance in Florida. It was below freezing two nights last week and I knew we needed soup. I had an abundance of veggies in the frig and thought this would be a good way to use some of them up. I love a Minestrone Soup, summer, fall, winter - you name it. I actually had 1/2 of a zucchini and threw it in for good measure. I wish I'd had some mushrooms I am sure they would have been awesome in this dish.

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 cup (about 3) carrots, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups no-chicken chicken broth
• 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 can cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 zucchini, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (adjust depending on your canned goodsd)
• 1 sprig of rosemary, stem removed and leaves minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 cup small, dry pasta (I used small shells)
• 2 cups baby spinach, chopped (or other green of choice)
• 1/4 cup parsley, chopped

In a deep soup pan heat olive oil on medium high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots and cook until onions are slightly translucent – about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes.

Add broth, tomatoes, and all the seasonings. Bring soup just to boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Add pasta and spinach, cooking for another 10-12 minutes (or however long your pasta needs to cook based on package instructions).

Just before serving stir in fresh parsley.

Enjoy!!

Chorizo & Sweet Potato Enchiladas

Yeah, we still have sweet potatoes from the CSA and actually received more today. That's okay because these enchiladas are the BOMB! I don't know how I stumbled across this recipe over at Budget Bytes. I have Beth's permission to re post these with my vegan changes. As I've said before we love different types of ethic foods and Tex-Mex is right up there. I couldn't believe how fast these come together, especially if you put a lid on the skillet to help the sweet potatoes steam and cook faster. I've already made these twice and they are probably in our future for the weekend!!!

Usually when I serve any type of taco, enchilada, Tex-Mex casserole I shred some lettuce, get out the salsa and pickles jalapenos and make a side salad with those. If I have vegan sour cream I'll throw some of it on there too.

• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 medium sweet potato, cubed
• 1 medium poblano pepper, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 package Tofurky chorizo
• 1 package taco size tortillas
• 2 (15 oz.) cans enchilada sauce
• 1½ cups Daiya cheddar cheese shreds
• 1 small can sliced black olives, drained
• Garnishes: shredded lettuce, salsa, black olives, sliced scallions, sour cream, pickled jalapenos

   

Peel the sweet potato and cut into a half inch cubes. Remove the stem and seeds from the poblano and also dice into half inch pieces. Mince the garlic. In a large skillet, cook the sweet potato, poblano and garlic in vegetable oil, over medium heat until they begin to soften (about 10 minutes). 

Add the chorizo, break up the chorizo and cook until thoroughly browned (about 5 minutes).

Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Pour about 1/2 a can enchilada sauce into the bottom of the casserole dish (be sure the bottom is covered). Scoop about 1/2 cup of the chorizo sweet potato filling into each tortilla. 

Fold in the ends and then roll the tortilla up around the filling. Place the filled and rolled tortillas in the baking dish. They should fill the dish and fit tightly against each other to prevent unrolling.

Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the the rolled tortillas and top with shredded cheese. I also topped mine with sliced black olives. Bake in the oven until the edges begin to bubble (about 30 minutes). Serve hot.

 Garnish with the things you love and serve.

Enjoy!

Lentil & Veggies Stew

The weather finally turned a little cooler here in Florida and I have a shelf full of dried beans. The college I work at has been closed for the "Winter Holidays" and there were lots of Christmas things left to do. So I decided a pot of stew or soup would come in handy for a quick dinner. I based this recipe on the one I saw "1 Million Veggies" Lentil Stew.  This is one filling stew, I served it with a slice of cheese (Diaya) toast. Yum!

• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, minced
• olive oil 
• 1 large green bell peppers, diced
• 4 large carrots, sliced
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 2 (8-oz.) packages baby bella mushrooms, sliced 
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/3 cup dry lentils
• 1 1/2 cups no-chicken chicken stock
• 2 (15-oz.) cans petite-diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 (5-oz) bag baby spinach
• 1 1/2 tbsp grated lemon zest (important)

Heat a large soup pot, then add some olive oil (about 2 teaspoons) and onion. Sauté 5 minutes, until onions begin to brown. 

Add the garlic, peppers, carrots, and celery, and cook 5 more minutes. 

Then add everything else up to the cumin, and cook 15 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. 

Now add all but the spinach and lemon zest. Cover and cook on low until the lentils are soft and have absorbed most of the liquid– it takes about an hour on the stovetop. 

Add spinach and lemon at the very end, and cook 2-3 minutes until the spinach wilts.

Enjoy!