Fall Minestrone

I'm still on a soup kick, this was dinner on Sunday night. You probably have most of these ingredients at home and remember how healthy kale is for you!!! Leftovers are dinner tonight. Fix some cornbread or your favorite dipping bread to go with this. Yummy!

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 2 1/2 cups (3/4-inch) cubed peeled baking potato
• 1 can cut green beans 
• 1/2 cup diced carrot
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 cups chopped kale
• 1/2 cup uncooked orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1 (16-ounce) can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
• Garnish: a few shakes of vegan parm cheese

forgot to include the orzo in the pic

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 2 1/2 minutes or until tender. Add broth and the next 7 ingredients (broth through salt); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 3 minutes. Add kale, orzo, and beans; cook 5 minutes or until orzo is done and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with cheese.

Vegan Food

This weekend I tried several dishes that I printed from other vegan sites. I've given full credit from the blog I found the recipe and took my own pics (although some aren't that great.) It was a great weekend of cooking.

1) Friday night I made Spicy Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Chicken, Green Onions, and Cilantro from KalynsKitchen.com

My substitutions: cubed seitan instead of cooked chicken and Spicy Chili & Garlic Sauce instead of the Thai Chili Garlic Paste. This was delicious!!!

2) Saturday dinner was the Vegan Pea Soup - Homestyle from the Healthy Happy Life blog. I forgot to take a pic but this was so warm and delicous.

My Substitutions: I didn't soak the peas, just rinsed them and started cooking. I used baby bellas instead of shiitakes. I let this soup simmer for hours checking to make sure it didn't need more liquid and to stir the bottom well.

3)  This morning I wanted to make a breakfast burrito and I had this recipe for Field Roast Sausage and Vegetable Hash laying on the bar. This recipe is from Epicurean Vegan.

Sorry for the blurry photo

 My substitutions: Smoked Apple and Sage instead of Italian Sausages and 1 yellow crooked-necked squash instead of zucchini.

Italian Sausage & Veggies Pasta

I was looking for a pasta dish to use you some veggies and came across this from CookingClub.com -- I decided to make it vegan and see how it turned out. The flavor is awesome and it makes a lot of sauce. Store your pasta separate from the sauce so the pasta doesn't soak up all the liquid. You could also add a can of  fire roasted tomatoes to this for more tomato flavor.

1 package Field Roast Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 ribs celery, diced
1 yellow summer squash, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 zucchini, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 carrot, shredded (1/2 cup)
1 (26-oz.) jar marinara pasta sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Smart Balance
1 teaspoon Italian Seasonings
1 box rotini (corkscrew pasta)

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Crumble sausage into skillet and cook about 6 minutes until  brown, stirring occasionally. Remove sausage.

Add oil to skillet; heat over medium heat until hot. Cook onion and garlic 4 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently.

Add celery; cook 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in yellow squash, zucchini and carrot.

Return sausage to skillet; stir in marinara sauce, vinegar, Smart Balance and Italian Seasonings. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to low; simmer, covered, 30 to 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

 Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Serve sauce over pasta with Italian bread and your favorite vino.