{Recipe} Cannellini Bean, Couscous & Spinach Soup

 This is my take on Julie's amazing Kale, Bean & Mushroom Soup.  I use my blog as a recipe index and wanted to have my version for easy reference.

I made it the other night and it was a hit again!

Ingredients:

(serves 6-8)

1 cup diced carrots

1/2 cup diced onions

2 TBS butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more or less to taste)

2 cans cannellini beans & their liquid

5 oz Israeli pearled couscous

4 cups veggie broth

4 cups water

1 tsp oregano

8-12 oz baby spinach, roughly chopped (can sub chopped kale)

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (for topping)

To make:

• Melt butter in large soup pot, add carrots and onions and cook until onions are translucent
• Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes, cook a few minutes being careful not to burn the garlic
• Add cannellini beans and their liquid, couscous, vegetable broth, water and oregano to the pot, stir to combine
• Bring to a boil and then simmer on low for 30 minutes until couscous is cooked
• Add baby spinach. Cover pot and let the spinach wilt for a few minutes, stirring to combine it all
• Add salt and pepper to taste

Serve with grated mozzarella cheese on top.  Enjoy!!

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{Soup Series} Old Fashioned No-Chicken Noodle Soup

I had a craving for some old fashioned chicken noodle soup and created my own version.  It really hit the spot! 

Ingredients:

(4-6 servings)

1/2 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 large carrots, chopped

4 stalks celery, diced

1/2 cup frozen corn

2 Don't Be A Chicken Breast Filets (or chicken sub)

1-2 cups raw spinach (optional)

6 cups no-chicken broth (or veggie broth)

8-12 ounces wide egg noodles

1 tsp Italian seasoning

1-2 bay leaves

1 tsp onion powder

salt & pepper

To make:

• Heat large stock pot on medium and add water (or oil) to warm up.
• Add diced onion and garlic, sauté until onion is translucent
• Add carrots, celery and corn, stir to combine and cook for 5-10 minutes
• Add "chicken" and sauté with other ingredients
• Add broth and seasonings and bring to a boil
• Add noodles and turn heat down to simmer. Place lid on pot
• Cook 10 -15 minutes until noodles are cooked
• Add spinach (if using) and return lid to pot to wilt the spinach
• Check for seasonings and adjust if needed
• Enjoy!

I hope you like this as much as we did!

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{Soup Series} Creamy Dairy-Free Broccoli Soup

I had a craving for cream of broccoli soup but put my own spin on it to make it dairy free and full of veggies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup raw cashews

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

6 cups water, divided. 

1 medium onion, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

3 stalks of celery, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

7 cups broccoli florets,chopped

2 TBS lemon juice

1-2 tsp salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup nutritional yeast (optional)

To make:

• Soak cashews in a bowl of hot water for 30 minutes.
• Add oil to a large pot or Dutch oven on medium heat.  Once hot, add onion and sauté for about 3 minutes.  Add celery and carrots and sauté for another 5 minutes.
• Add 5 cups of water, salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes.
• Drain cashews and add to high speed blender with 1 cup of water.  Blend until very smooth. Add to soup.
• Puree soup usin gand immersion blender.  I leave it a little chunky.  Season with some lemon juice and adjust for salt & pepper.  Add nutritional yeast and stir to combine. Serve & enjoy!

Dig into some dairy free creamy goodness!

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{Soup Series} Creamy "Chk-n" Gnocchi Soup-Dairy Free

 I'm back with another soup recipe. This one was so good, we had it on Christmas. It's easy to make but feels special and decadent at the same time.  It's also super creamy without any dairy.

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked in boiling water for a few hours

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 medium red onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup riced cauliflower

1-2 cups raw spinach (or kale)

3 small carrots, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

1 (18oz) package of potato gnocchi

2 meatless chicken breasts (I use Don't be a Chicken brand)

Spices: onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and crushed red pepper flakes(optional)

To make:

Serves 4-6

• Start by soaking your cashews in boiling water for a few hours or overnight.
• Sauté onions, garlic, carrots, cauliflower & celery in a large stock pot with some water or olive oil until onions are translucent
• Microwave the "chicken" patties until defrosted and cut into bite size pieces, add to the stock pot and cook through 
• Add spices to taste. I usually add 1/2-1 tsp of each onion, garlic, Italian seasoning to start. Season with salt & pepper. 
• Add vegetable broth and bring to a low boil
• Add gnocchi and cook for about 5 minutes, then reduce heat to simmer
• Drain soaked cashews and blend with 1 cup of water until smooth
• Add the blended cashews to the pot and stir on low heat
• Add spinach (or kale) and cook until wilted
• Check for seasonings and serve.  Add some crushed red pepper flakes for a little kick!

Enjoy!

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{Soup Series} TVP Lasagna Soup

 I was craving this soup and had some TVP in the pantry that I wanted to use up. Have you heard of TVP?

This is the kind I used. TVP stands for textured vegetable protein and it's a good substitute for ground beef.  It's shelf stable and when hydrated, becomes beef like in texture.  It takes on whatever seasonings you add to it so it's quite versatile.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) crumbles, hydrated with 1/2 cup of broth

1/2 cup diced green pepper

1/2 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can  (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup vegetarian sausage crumbles (I use Don't be a Piggy brand)

4 TBS nutritional yeast

4 cups vegetable broth

1/2 box Green Lentil Lasagna sheets (or noodles of choice)-broken up

1-2 tsp oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1-2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper 

salt & pepper to taste

2 cups raw baby spinach

Optional Toppings: Cheeses of choice, fresh basil & more crushed red pepper flakes

To make:

• Start by hydrating the TVP in broth.  Set aside
• Water sauté green pepper, onions and garlic in a large pot until onions are translucent. 
• Add the black beans, tomatoes, marinara sauce, sausage crumbles, tvp, nutritional yeast, broth and seasonings. Stir to combine.
• Bring to a low boil an add the lasagna noodles. Let the soup come back up to a low boil. Turn down heat, place lid on pot and allow the soup to simmer until the noodles are cooked (about 20-25 minutes)
• Add spinach when ready to serve. Let it wilt into the soup. Taste for seasoning.
• Serve with optional cheeses and some fresh basil on top.
• Enjoy this comforting bowl of goodness!

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{Soup Series} Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

As I said in my last post,  I've been on such a soup making kick lately. I want to remember the recipes that I've been making and I'm sharing them with you as well. We had this soup at Mr. Click's gig a few weeks ago and I asked the caterer for the recipe. She immediately texted me the recipe from her Pinterest board which was so kind of her. I tweaked it a little to increase the protein by adding a can of cannellini beans while pureeing the soup.  It takes the protein per serving from 4 to 12 grams without any noticeable difference in taste.

The hardest part of this recipe is cutting the butternut squash in half for roasting (I *hate* cutting butternut squash and usually buy the chunks but in this case, I'd use the whole squash.) I microwaved it for a few minutes to soften it up and that really helped.  This would make a great addition to your Thanksgiving menu or for any fall event.

Ingredients:

3 1/2 pounds of butternut squash (whole)

1 TBS olive oil (or avocado oil)

1 large yellow onion, cut in half

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/2 TBS maple syrup

1 tsp salt

1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed well

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground ginger

3-4 cups vegetable broth

Optional garnish: pepitas, fresh parsley, freshly ground black pepper

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF.  

2. Cut the butternut squash in half (microwave 2-3 minutes first to soften it up). The the end off first and then cut squash in half lengthwise. 

3. Scoop out the seeds.

4. Season the squash-rub oil all over the cut side of the squash and season with salt and pepper.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Roast for 60 minutes.

5. Roast the onion, after 30 minutes add the onion to the baking sheet, spreading some oil on the cut side and then placing them cut side down. Continue roasting for another 30 minutes (total time 60 minutes)

6. Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out into a high powered blender. Remove the outer layer of the onion and add it to the blender along with the garlic, beans, nutmeg, ginger, salt, maple syrup and broth (start with 3 cups and add more to achieve desired consistency-I used all 4 cups.)

7. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes until smooth and creamy. Taste the soup and add more salt and pepper if needed.

8. Serve immediately. I like mine topped with pepitas and more freshly ground black pepper.

I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving!

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{Recipe} Creamy Butternut Squash Soup-Vegan/Oil Free

This is the perfect fall soup.  It's rich and creamy without a drop of dairy or oil! I amped up the flavors by roasting the butternut squash and gave it a silky smoothness with potatoes and white beans. Seriously! 

Ingredients:
(Serves 4-6)

20 oz chopped butternut squash 
1/2 red onion, roughly chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 cherry tomatoes (optional)
10 oz golden potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup white beans, drained
1 c soy milk
1 c veggie broth

1 tsp herbs de Provence
 1/4-1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper to taste
tobasco -few dashes

To make:

• Preheat oven to 400ºF
• Spread squash, onion, tomatoes (if using) and garlic onto parchment lined baking sheet
• Sprinkle with nutmeg and herbs de Provence
• Bake for 30 minutes until soft and well roasted, set aside

• While the squash is roasting, boil the potatoes until fork tender, drain and set aside.

• Add to a high speed blender: vegetable broth, cooked potatoes, roasted vegetables, non dairy milk and white beans
  

• Blend on high until smooth
• Pour into pot and heat on low to medium

• Add salt & pepper to taste
• Add a few dashes of Tobasco for a little kick
• Heat until warm and serve with some additional cracked black pepper on top if you like

Enjoy!

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{Recipe} Vegan White Lasagna Soup With a Twist

 Ever since I saw this recipe for Vegan White Lasagna Soup,  I knew I would be making  it.

The only problem was that when I wanted it I didn't have any lasagna noodles on hand.   No worries, I swapped chickpea rotini in for the lasagna noodles and they worked out perfectly!    I also got a protein kick by using chickpea pasta.  

Ingredients:

Cashew Cream

1 cup raw cashews, soaked
1 cup vegetable broth
1 TBS lemon juice

Pinch of salt & pepper

Soup

6 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 medium sweet onion, dicedd

Juice of 1 lemon

6 cups vegetable broth

2 tsp Italian seasoning (I used a combination of basil, parsley & rosemary)

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp agave syrup (I used 1 tsp)

8 lasagna sheets (I used 8 oz of  chickpea rotini but any pasta should work)

1 package frozen spinach, defrost/squeeze out as much liquid as possible (optional)

Salt & Pepper to taste

To make:

• The cashews  need to be soaked for 6-8 hours but in a pinch you can soak them for 15-30 minutes in boiling water.
• When you're ready to make the soup, first make the cashew cream.  Drain and rinse off the soaked cashews. Add them and the rest of the cashew cream ingredients to a high speed blender and blend until very smooth. Set aside.
• Heat a large soup pot and add some water (or olive oil) to the pot. Add garlic and onions and cook until slightly caramelized.
• Add lemon juice and scrape any bits of onion and garlic off of the bottom.
• Add in vegetable broth, Italian seasoning,  nutritional yeast and agave.
• Pour in the prepared  cashew cream and whisk to combine everything.
• Season with a few pinches of salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer.
• Break up lasagna noodles into 1-2 inch pieces if using and add to pot. Otherwise add whatever  pasta you prefer.  
• Simmer stirring frequently until the noodles are al dente (check your  package instructions for how long they need to cook.
• When noodles are cooked, check and adjust seasoning if necessary.  Add in defrosted spinach (or fresh if you have it. ) Chopped kale would be nice too!
• Serve immediately and enjoy!

This was a hit and I'll definitely be making it again!  Check out my Recipe Index here if you're looking for more inspiration.

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Quarantine Times - Weeks 5 & 6

The weeks are starting to blur together. Here's what's been happening...

 Finding my kitchen looking like this and texting it to the culprit.

 New flowers popping up in the garden.

 Enjoying the beautiful weather for hikes.

Exploring new paths...

{Crock Pot Split Pea Soup}

The crock pot has been my friend.  I made this soup and also this one.

 Speaking of soup, College Girl made some Vegan Matzo Ball Soup and I bulked it up with some brown rice and spinach.
Some other recipes I've been revisiting....

Roasted Red Pepper Rigatoni

Easy Black Bean Lentil Burgers

Cauliflower Stuffed Shells

I also made lasagna with the ricotta mixture from this recipe.

More puzzles..this one is custom puzzle with a photo we took in Italy. 

It's over 1,000 pieces so it might be more than we can handle.  

This one has been more manageable and fun to put together. It's called Where's Bowie and there are different David Bowie personas in the puzzle.

 The weather has been unpredictable so sometimes I have hot tea by the fire.

 While the lilacs are  also in bloom.

See more lilacs here.

We had hail one day too! Crazy!

How is your quarantine going?

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{Recipe} African Peanut Stew

I think this blog is turning into a soup blog but it's what I've been making a lot of lately.  This is actually a stew that cooks up in the slow cooker so I'm mixing it up a little (haha!).   I was inspired by this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 15-oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

4 cups vegetable stock

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)

1 15-oz can diced tomatoes

4-5 cups diced sweet potatoes (2 medium)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter (I used creamy)

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

4 cups chopped greens (I used kale but spinach works too)

toppings: peanuts, fresh basil 

To make:

• Combine all ingredients in slow cooker (except the kale/greens). Cook on low 6-8 hours.
• Stir in chopped kale and cook for 15 minutes more.
• Mash sweet potato until the stew is thickened.  Serve with chopped peanuts and fresh basil on top (optional). Enjoy!

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{Recipe} Broccoli Barley Soup

This soup is made from mostly pantry staples (along with some fresh or frozen broccoli) and would make a great "quarantine" or any time dish.

Shout out to my friend Jessica for this recipe!  This sounded really different from any other soup I had made recently. 

My only adjustment was sautéing the garlic and onion in water instead of olive oil.  I also used 6 cups of vegetable stock.  

Since I didn't  have crushed tomatoes, I pureed a  can of diced tomatoes.  Remember to cook the barley first. (1 cup dry barley in 2 1/2  cups  water=2 cups cooked barley).

The soup is bursting with flavors and textures!

Make sure to season with salt and pepper!

So warm and comforting!

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{Recipe} Slow Cooker Taco Soup {Vegan}

This recipe got devoured so quickly that I only have one photo of it!  

 It's super easy to throw together in the slow cooker and the soup is hearty as is, but add some avocado to the top and you'll be full for hours!  Feel free to sub in ground turkey or beef if vegan isn't your thing.

Ingredients:

1 package of beefless ground crumbles (Gardein or Trader Joe's are my faves), equivalent to one pound of ground meat

1 medium yellow onion, diced

4 cups of vegetable broth

2 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes

1 14. 5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed well

2 cups frozen corn

1 14 oz can tomato sauce (I used my homemade sauce)

Jalapeno slices from the jar (about 5-6), chopped

Taco seasonings of your choice: chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper

To make:

• Sauté onion in a pan with some water or oil for about 2 minutes. 
• *EDITED 2025* I no longer sauté the onions and "meat" together-I just throw it all in the slow cooker and it comes out perfectly every time!
• Add beefless ground crumbles, breaking it up and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. (If using meat, cook until the meat has browned, then drain off fat.)
• Add the onion/"beef" mixture to the slow cooker along with all of the other ingredients. Start with about 1 tsp of each spice (except the cayenne pepper, start with 1/4 tsp of that).
• Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.  Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Serve with diced avocado (my favorite way) or some shredded (vegan) cheese.  I also like to add a little Everything But The Bagel seasoning on top
• Enjoy!

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Things Loved Lately

I'll be back with more Edinburgh/Dublin adventures soon. For now I'm sharing some of my favorite things that I've been loving lately.

This candle from Bath & Body. It smells like you're making something yummy!

Kopari Natural Coconut Oil deodorant.  I'm giving natural deodorant a try and so far, so good. It was time to ditch the aluminum and other nasty anti perspirant additives.  This silky stuff smells amazing and feel so good going on, not sticky at all,. Their website said it could take a few weeks to detox until it's truly effective but I haven't had any issues.

My homemade pea soup.  I made my crockpot recipe but on the stove this time.

 This rainbow sweater that I bought in Ireland at Next. I have gotten so many compliments on it (even a woman who was working at security in Dublin said she "loved my jumper!"

This nail color, I love getting my nails done!! The color is Ginger's Revenge from OPI.

Starbucks holiday cups always make me happy!

My letterboard got in on the Thanksgiving fun.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, this lovely card from an even lovelier blog friend. Go say "hi" to Cindy.

I finally tried the Trader Joe's butternut squash crust pizza that I bought back in this haul.  It takes awhile to cook it but it held together better than the cauliflower crust pizza and it was quite tasty!

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