Cauliflower Soup

One of my daughter’s favourite foods is soup. I could put anything into a soup, and she would gobble it down. So I thought I would try to make a healthier version of cream of cauliflower soup. She couldn’t get enough of it!

6 cups cauliflower, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp olive oil
1 litre vegetable stock
½ cup red lentils
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan or Asiago cheese for topping

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. On a baking sheet, bake the cauliflower, onion and garlic for about 40 minutes.
Add cauliflower, onion and garlic to the stock, and add the red lentils. Cook for approximately 15 minutes more. When the cauliflower is soft, it is done. Puree until smooth. Top with fresh asiago or parmesan cheese.

Black Bean Tacos (similar to fish tacos)

When we were on a recent vacation, my husband fell in love with fish tacos. I came home, and tried to replicate these for him, but in a vegetarian version. They turned out really good, and were so simple and easy to make. To be honest, they took about 10 minutes to make (and even less time to eat)!

6 soft corn taco shells
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbsp cumin
4 cups cabbage, finely sliced
Juice of one lime
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 avocado, sliced
1 cup salsa

In a medium bowl, combine beans and cumin. Set aside.
In another medium bowl, combine cabbage, lime juice and cilantro.
To assemble tacos, do a layer of black beans on a taco shell, followed by some of the cabbage mix, and top with the avocado and salsa. Enjoy!

Bean and Rice Fiesta Salad

1 cup brown rice, cooked according to package directions
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup diced tomatoes
3 green onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro
2 tbsp lime juice
¾ cup frozen corn, thawed
Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a bowl, and mix well. Let it refrigerate for a couple of hours so that the flavours really come out.

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

We love chickpeas in this house. Seriously, we go through a few cans a week, and they go in just about everything we cook. They are a versatile bean that adds flavour and protein to a meal. So, to try something slightly different than I am used to doing with chickpeas, I roasted them. They were DELICIOUS! They get crunchy on the outside, and the spices add just enough flavour. We almost devoured an entire bowl in one sitting. Make extra of these, trust me, they won't go to waste.

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika and cumin
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne
1 19oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

After the beans are rinsed and drained, place into a kitchen towel to get them as dry as possible. This is important. If the beans are still moist, they will not get crispy.

While the beans are drying, add olive oil, spices and salt to a bowl. Mix well. Add the beans, and stir until all the beans are evenly coated.

Place on a cookie sheet in an even layer. Bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the beans are crispy.

These will stay fresh in an air tight container for a couple of days...if they make it that long.

Tomato Stew

This is a very quick slowcooker/weekday meal. I think next time I will try it with fresh basil on top. The goats cheese adds just the right richness to the stew.

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 cup green beans, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn
1 19oz can chick peas, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp goats cheese

Add all ingredients but goats cheese to the slowcooker. Cook on low for 6 hours, or high for 3 hours. Add goats cheese, and continue to cook for 30 minutes.
I served it with toasted pita bread, but you can also put it on top of rice or pasta.

Laziest of Lazy Man Cabbage Rolls (Slowcooker)

Since I love cabbage rolls, but hate the work that goes into them, I decided to try out this recipe in the slowcooker. It really can't get any easier than this! Both my husband and daughter had seconds, so I'm going to take that as a strong hint that this was a good recipe.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, including liquid
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
¾ cup brown rice
½ cup dried red lentils
1 340g bag of cole slaw, or 6-8 cups sliced cabbage
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a slowcooker, and cook for 6 hours on low. Then, add about 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese, and continue to cook for another half an hour on high, or until the cheese is melted. See, I told you it was easy!

Enchilada Casserole

Everything about this casserole was tasty. The sauce was very rich because I used tomato paste rather than the traditional tomato sauce, and the cocoa added so much flavour. The bean mixture was very filling, and the olives on top added the perfect amount of saltiness. I'm not sure how authentic this casserole is, but it is definitely delicious!


Bean Mixture
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Sauce
1 5.5oz can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 tsp cocoa powder
2 tsp chilli powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp salt
A pinch of cinnamon

Other
3 whole wheat tortillas
1 cup cheddar cheese
About 10 Kalamata Olives, pitted and chopped (optional)


Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a frying pan heated to medium high, sautee pepper, onion, garlic, cumin and salt in a little bit of olive oil until onions are translucent. Add black beans. Continue cooking for another couple of minutes.

While the onion and pepper is sautéing, combine all ingredients for sauce in a bowl, and mix until a sauce is formed. Set aside.

In a circular pyrex dish that is about the same size as the tortillas (it doesn’t have to be the exact same size), layer sauce, tortillas, bean mixture and cheese (in that order) like you would a lasagne. Top with pitted and chopped Kalamata olives if desired.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown.

Minestrone Soup

Since being back at work off of my mat leave, my slowcooker has also been working full time. I love coming home to a house that smells great, and having little to no prep work for getting dinner on the table. This recipe is amazingly good! The red wine makes the broth so full of flavour, and with all the beans, it is very filling.

If you have a cold day coming up in the forecast (which is almost everyday for us with all the rain we are getting), put this into the slowcooker. There is no better way to warm up on a cold day than a hot bowl of soup.

1 litre vegetable stock
1 19oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14oz can lima beans, rinsed and drained
3 small zucchini, 2 medium carrots, 2 celery stalks, 1 yellow onion, 2 cloves garlic, all finely diced
1 24oz can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper to taste
2/3 cup red wine
3 tbsp freshly chopped basil
½ cup whole wheat macaroni
Parmesan Cheese

Add all ingredients up to salt and pepper to slowcooker. Cook on low for 6 hours. Add red wine, basil and macaroni. Continue to cook for another hour. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Lentil Soup

The most important ingredient in this soup is the molasses. Honestly, it makes the soup! The broth has such a rich flavour. Not to mention that it is so simple to make. I have had many lentil soups, both ones that I have made, and in restaurants, and this has got to be the best one that I have had. Give it a try. You may be surprised how you like it.


2 cups brown lentils
1 litre vegetable stock
2 carrots, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
1 onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 ½ tbsp molasses
2 cups water
3 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
Freshly grated parmesan cheese to top

Add all ingredients, except basil and cheese, to a large pot and cook for about an hour on medium/high, or until the lentils and vegetables are soft. Puree until smooth.
If you want to do it in the slowcooker, add all ingredients except basil and cheese, and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 3 hours.
Top with fresh basil and cheese, whether it is cooked in the slowcooker or the pot.

White Bean Dip

This is great served with veggies or crackers, and only take a few minutes to prepare. An added bonus was that I gave it to my one year old on top of crackers, and she couldn't get enough of it.

1 19oz can white beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup light cream cheese
½ cup roasted red pepper, jarred is fine
1 14oz can of artichokes, liquid drained out
¼ cup sundried tomatoes

Place all ingredients into a food processor or blender. Blend until purreed. Chill in the fridge for a couple of hours before eating.

Stuffed Peppers

I have always wanted to make stuffed peppers, but I have never reallly gotten around to it. I bought a big bag of quinoa a while back and have been trying to find suitable recipes for it, but nothing really caught my eye.

I went to my friends a couple of weeks ago, and she made stuffed peppers with quinoa, and figured I would try them out for myself. Traditionally, rice is used in stuffed peppers, but I actually really like the quinoa flavour in this recipe. If you are used to the rice and meat stuffed peppers, this is quite a bit different, but not being a meat eater, I found these quite tasty. However, this recipe may be a little “strange” if you eat meat on a regular basis. But, try it out, you might actually be surprised by these.

1 cup quinoa
½ cup red lentils
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, juice included
1 ½ cups vegetable stock
¼ cup fresh basil, chopped
1 cup Asiago cheese
Salt to taste
4 bell peppers, any colour works

In a medium pot, bring to boil the vegetable stock. Add tomatoes, lentils and quinoa. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the quinoa “opens” to form little curls. Remove from heat and add ¾ cup of cheese, chopped basil and salt.

While quinoa is cooking, cut the tops off of the bell peppers, and remove seeds and membranes. Cut a small slice off of the bottom of the pepper as well, so that it will stand straight in the dish. Place in an oven safe dish, standing up. Place about a cup of water (depending on the size of your dish) so that there is about ¼ inch of water on the bottom. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top of peppers.

Place in a 425 degree oven for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool for a couple of minutes before eating.

Corn and Black Bean Soft Tacos

This meal was quite easy to make. The most difficult part was cutting the veggies.

I even fed the black bean filling to my daughter for lunch the next day and she liked it (well as much as you can tell that she liked it since everything seems to be “shared” with the dog lately). I also made enough for our lunches the next day, and it was very filling. I didn’t even heat it up, just ate it cold.


4 large whole wheat soft tortilla shells
1 cup tomatoes, diced
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup lettuce, chopped (any kind will do)
3 green onions, finely sliced
¼ cup roasted red pepper (jarred is easiest)
¾ cup Monterey Jack cheese
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
Salt to taste

In a medium skillet on medium heat, add black beans, tomatoes, garlic, cumin, salt and about ¼ cup of water. Cook until tomatoes are soft, about 5 minutes.

Take corn, and place into the centre of a paper towel. Squeeze out excess water in the sink. Heat a small skillet on medium high, and add corn in a single layer into pan. Sprinkle on the chili powder and cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the corn becomes darkened, but not black (only about 5 minutes).

Once the beans and the corn are done cooking, put together tacos by starting with the beans, followed by corn, lettuce, onions, pepper and cheese. Roll up the wraps, and your done! Serve with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Slowcooker Spanish Rice

Thought I would try something new, and this caught my eye. It is a great side dish, or can even be a small meal on its own.

1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup green lentils
1/2 cup red lentils
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup assorted, finely diced vegetables (I had some left over vegetables that needed to be used, so I used celery, carrots, onion and bell peppers)
1 24oz can diced tomatoes, including liquid
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tbsp chili powder
Salt to taste

Put all ingredients in a slow cooker for 5 hours on low.

Southwestern Salad

One question that constantly plagues my husband and I is “what do you want for dinner?” This is one of my most hated questions, especially when we can’t seem to come up with a good answer, and even after suggesting all recipes that I have in my repertoire, we still can’t come up with something that we really want to eat. If I were to leave it up to my husband, he would make his flank steak and potatoes with broccoli. Not really my type of meal.
So, with the weather getting nice, and summer just around the corner (although looking outside, it looks like it is about to rain), I felt like a salad would make a good dinner. But, I didn’t want just your standard lettuce, tomato and cucumber type salad. Can you say b-o-r-i-n-g?? I started searching for different salads on the internet, and combined a few that I saw into this salad.
You know that feeling that you get after eating your traditional salad? The one that makes your feel not even close to being full, and leaves you thinking about walking to the fridge to see what else you can eat? This salad doesn’t do this. You actually feel satisfied after this salad because of the protein in the black beans. Next time, I might even add black eyed peas as well…

Makes enough for 4 people

Salad
3 cups romaine lettuce, finely chopped
2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
3 green onions, chopped
¼ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, grated
½ green pepper, finely chopped
1 19oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing
¾ cup salsa
¾ cup sour cream

In a large bowl, combine all salad ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together salsa and sour cream to make the dressing. Pour dressing on top of salad.

I served it with corn muffins. Actually, I crumbled the corn muffins into the salad sort of like croutons. I usually make things from scratch, however, today I was lazy, so I used an organic corn muffin mix. If you are doing this, try to stick to an organic brand. Some of the traditional brands have too many ingredients in them that I can’t pronounce, therefore I don’t buy them.

You could make this without the corn muffins, but I found that it gave the salad a sort of sweetness that seemed to complete the salad. I know it sounds strange to crumble them into the salad, but try it, you may like it.

Potato Salad

For years my husband has been asking me to make potato salad. I don’t love potatoes, but decided that I would try to make it anyways. I wasn’t sure how the recipe would turn out, but for someone who doesn’t like potatoes a whole lot, I actually really liked this recipe! It is a little different from your traditional recipe (with the addition of white beans), but still has some of the traditional ingredients that you would normally find in potato salad (like hard boiled eggs). If you are looking for a healthier twist to the generally high fat potato salad that you are used to, try it out – you may be pleasantly surprised.

Salad
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped*
1.5 lb bag of new potatoes (I prefer to used new potatoes, but any potato will actually do)
3 stalks celery, diced
¼ cup red onion, diced
1 19oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

Dressing
½ cup plain yogurt
3 tbsp light mayonnaise
1 tbsp dijon mustard
¼ cup fresh dill, finely chopped
½ tsp salt

Wash and scrub potatoes thoroughly. Boil in water until fork tender.

While potatoes are cooking, chop celery, onion and rinse beans. Add to a large bowl. Add chopped hard boiled eggs.

In a small bowl, combine all ingredients for dressing.

Once potatoes are cooked, drain and let them cool. Once cooled, add to celery, onion, beans and eggs. Add dressing and mix until it is evenly coated. Refrigerate for a few hours before serving.


*fill a pot with COLD water. Add eggs to cold water, and turn on stove to medium high. Once the water begins to boil, set a timer for 10 minutes. At the end of 10 minutes, strain water, and place eggs in cold water. Once they are cooled, dice up the eggs.

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Chickpea and Sweet Potato curry

I am constantly being reminded that there is only a short time left on my maternity leave. Although I am excited to go back to teaching, I am nervous about how I am going to have enough time to prepare meals, while trying to squeeze in every spare second that I can with my daughter. My solution? I have gotten a new slow cooker (with a timer!) and have dedicated myself to finding some recipes that I can easily put together in the morning before I head to work.

It was a cold/windy/snowy day today, and what’s better on a day like that? For us, a warm curry hits the spot. I just threw a bunch of ingredients in the cooker, and was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I even gave this to my 9.5 month old daughter for dinner.

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 19oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 onion, diced
1 cup cauliflower, chopped
2 ½ cups vegetable stock
1 ½ tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup frozen green beans
Salt to taste
Freshly chopped cilantro for topping

Throw all ingredients but peas and green beans in the slow cooker. Cook for 6 hours on low. Add peas and green beans, cook for another half an hour. Top with cilantro when serving.

I made toasted pitas to go with this. Cut the pita in triangles, drizzle with olive oil and salt, and broil for a few minutes until golden brown.

I also made a salad to go with this. Totally hit the spot with the crazy weather we have been having lately.

Lentil Salad

This salad is super filling, and great as a lunch on its own, or as a side dish.

Salad
1 ½ cups green lentils, cooked according to package directions
3 tbsp crumbled goats cheese
1 avocado, diced
¼ cup red onion, finely chopped

Dressing
2 tbsp minced sundried tomatoes
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp maple syrup
½ tsp salt

Additional Ingredients;
4 cups lettuce, any will do, I used mixed greens


Make dressing in a small dish. Combine salad ingredients in a medium bowl. Pour dressing over salad and toss well.

Refrigerate lentil salad with dressing for a couple of hours.

Serve on top of the lettuce.

Thai Curry (slowcooker)

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1 14oz can light coconut milk
1 tbsp red curry paste
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/3 cup all natural peanut butter
1 red pepper, julienned
1 orange pepper, julienned
1 small red onion, finely sliced into rings
1 ½ cups water
1 19oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2-3 cups roughly chopped bok choy
¼ cup chopped fresh basil
1 cup frozen peas
8oz brown rice noodles

In a slow cooker add all ingredients from soy sauce to chickpeas. Cook on low for 5 hours. At the end of the 5 hours, add bok choy, basil, peas and noodles. Make sure you stir the noodles in really well otherwise they will clump. Cook for another hour. Serve with more fresh basil if desired.
You can also cook the noodles in a separate pot just before serving to prevent any clumping.

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This is modified from "Eat, Shrink and be Merry".

1 19oz can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup light vegetable cream cheese
1 cup cottage cheese
1 can artichokes, drained and roughly chopped
½ cup red onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 tsp olive oil
½ cup Asiago cheese, grated
1 pkg frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a greased pan, mix together chopped artichokes, onions, and garlic with the olive oil.Bake for 35 minutes.

While the artichokes and onions are cooking, in a blender, puree beans, cream cheese and cottage cheese. Add ¼ cup Asiago cheese.

Drain the spinach by folding 3-4 paper towels together. Place spinach in the middle, and squeeze out excess liquid. This is important, otherwise your dip will be too liquidy.

Once artichokes and onions are cooked, add them to the blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into an oven safe dish. Add drained spinach and mixed until well combined. Top with the rest of the Asiago cheese.

Bake in 350 degree oven, uncovered, for 30 minutes, or until cheese is golden brown.

Serve with toasted pita chips. To do this, cut whole grain pita into triangles. Drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle on salt. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, or until they have browned.

Chickpea a la King

Makes about 4 servings
A vegetarian take on the popular Chicken a la King.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 portabella mushroom, diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 19oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 cup vegetable or chicken stock
1 ½ cups skim milk
4 tbsp spelt flour
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a large pot. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook for a couple of minutes. Add stock. Cook for several minutes more, or until vegetables are tender.

While vegetables are cooking, combine milk and flour in a bowl. Set aside.

Once the vegetables are cooked, add chickpeas to the pot. Then add the milk mixture 1/3 at a time, waiting about a minute in between adding more.

When all milk mixture is in the pot, add the peas and mushrooms. Let it simmer for a few more minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Right before serving, add parsley and mix well into the stew. Serve with whole grain buns or bread.

I also added some diced, cooked chicken breast for my husband.

If you want to do this in the slowcooker, add all ingredients but peas, skim milk, flour and parsley. Cook for 4 hours on high or 8 hours on low. About 30 minutes before it is ready, mix flour and milk together in a container until flour is dissolved. Add to slowcooker along with the peas. Top with parsley when serving.