Elle's Kitchen: Healthy Potato Soup

With the weather turning colder and a crock

full of potatoes, it seemed to be a perfect time

for Potato Soup.  I turned to Pinterest, my new 

go to spot for recipes, and I started searching.

I have to admit I was shocked at how unhealthy

many of the recipes were, some called for scads

of butter or a pint or two (!) of heavy cream, my

favorite gasp moment was the recipe that called 

for an entire brick of Velveeta.  Yeeps!

Obviously, it was time to refine the search to

healthy potato soup recipes...

Ingredients:

2 - 3 potatoes - dice in 1'' cubes

with peels on

1 large cauliflower - cut florets in 

large pieces

32 oz. vegetable stock (or chicken)

1 tabl. butter

3 -4 cloves of garlic - peeled

1/2 teas. black pepper

1 teas. salt

1 bay leaf

a pinch of red pepper

3 tabl. sour cream

Toppings:

sharp cheddar - grated

scallions

bacon

Combine all the ingredients except the sour 

cream in a stockpot, cover, bring to a boil and

boil on high for 18 minutes.

Remove from heat.  Remove the bay leaf.   Add the

sour cream and puree with immersion blender to 

desired consistency. [If you do not have an immersion

blender you can puree in batches in a blender, just take

care because it is hot.]

Top with toppings and serve.  It is nice to

have a toppings bar so everyone can add their

own.  Our vegetarian is home from school and

she certainly wouldn't go near the bacon.  We, 

on the other hand, love it - you can go a little

crazy with the toppings since the rest of the

soup is quite healthy.

Elle's Kitchen: Curried Vegetable Stew with Couscous

 

I found this recipe on Pinterest the other day

and since it is Fall we are trying to include a

soup in our weekly menus.  The recipe linked

to Fitness Magazine.

* Please read the end of this post to see my

recommendations for improving the recipe.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

1 tabl. ground cumin

1 teas. ground coriander

1 teas. curry powder

1/4 teas. ground allspice

1/4 teas. ground cinnamon

3/4 teas. salt

1/4 teas. pepper

1 1/4 cup water

3 tabl. olive oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tabl. chopped garlic

1 tabl. chopped fresh cilantro

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 zucchini, diced

1 cup green beans, cut into 1/2'' pieces

1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 cup diced fresh tomatoes

cooked couscous

 

 

Stir spices, salt, pepper and 2 tabl. of the

water together in a small bowl until smooth.

Set aside.

 

 

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium

heat.  Add onion, garlic, cilantro and spice

mixture.  Cook, stirring, 1 minute or until

onion begins to soften.

 

 

Add cauliflower, zucchini and green beans;

cook 2 minutes. 

 

 

Add 1 cup plus 2 tabl. water; bring to a boil. 

 Simmer, covered for 5 minutes or until

vegetables are just tender.

 

 

Stir in chickpeas and tomatoes; simmer 5

minutes more.  Serve over couscous.

 

 

*This recipe looked good, had a nice mix of

 textures but was bland.  When I first added

the spices, Mr. Wonderful was outside on the

deck and yelled into the house that it smelled

great.  We expected it to be delicious and spicy.

In my opinion, the spices were added far too

early, the flavor of the spices were cooked off.

I would add the spices later in the cooking.

I would try it again, but do it my way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Vegetarian Summer

We are enjoying a (mostly) vegetarian summer.

Our kids are home from school for the next few

months and one of our kids is a strict vegetarian

so to make it easier and healthier all around we

have all joined the bandwagon and are eating

mainly veggies.  We are pouring through cook

books and checking out recipes on Pinterest.

We have had some delightful meals and a few

clunkers...  I generally fill up a big grocery cart

each week before I even get out of the produce

area.  I think all these fruits and veggies are

making our bodies feel better.  I must admit,

when the vegetarian is not going to be home for

dinner we do take out an order of ribs or throw

a few kabobs on the grill.  Honestly, I could

really get used to this style of eating.



Elle's Kitchen: Vegetarian Philly Cheese "Steaks"

I think it might be better without meat.

Our family's vegetarian is coming home today

after her first year at Purdue University, so we

have been trying out some new recipes.

Ingredients:

4 whole wheat rolls

4 large portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 large green pepper, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

provolone

1/4 cup vegetable broth

1 tbsp. flour

1 tbsp. reduced sodium soy sauce

1/2 teas. pepper

Spray large nonstick skillet with Pam and

set on medium-high heat.  Add onion and

garlic and saute, stirring often, until soft,

2 - 3 minutes.

Add mushrooms, green peppers and

pepper and cook about 7 minutes.

Reduce heat to low, sprinkle with the

flour and stir to coat.  Stir in the broth

and soy sauce, bring to a simmer.

Remove from heat, place cheese on

top of veggies, cover and let stand

for 1 to 2 minutes.

Place on toasted bun and serve.

Enjoy!



Elle's Kitchen: Vegetarian Chili

A Perfect Recipe for a Snow Ice Storm.

The good news is we still have power.  Though

how any power line could have stayed up after

the winds we had last night is beyond me.  At

3am I woke up and thought someone was  trying

to break in the door, it was the wind! 

The whole house was shaking.

Having lived through a few midwestern ice

storms, we were prepared for the worst.

If we had lost power, 2 people and a dog

would have moved into my studio since it has

a gas heater.  Kate and I would have slept

in the family room with our dog in front of

the gas fireplace.  And anyone else who needed

to come by to warm up is welcome.  I have city

water so we can still shower and flush the toilets. 

Those around us with wells are not so lucky.

That meant if the worst happened we didn't

know how many we would have here.  Add to

that the fact that Kate is a vegetarian and

dinner time can get a bit complicated.  It has

to be vegetarian, it has to feed alot of people

and it has to be something I can make ahead

and be easy to reheat.

The solution ~ Vegetarian Chili.

Someone gave me this recipes ages ago,

sorry I don't know where it originated.

Vegetarian Chili

2 tabl. olive oil

1 large red pepper, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup vegetable stock

28 oz. can crushed tomato

14 oz. can black beans, undrained

14 oz. can red kidney beans, undrained

1 tabl. ground cumin

2 tabl. chili powder

1 tabl. hot sauce

1 teas. salt

14 oz. can spicy vegetarian refried beans

Toppings

shredded Monterey Jack or sharp cheddar

chopped scallions

sour cream

tortilla strips

Over moderate heat, add oil to a deep pot and

combine onions, peppers and garlic.  Saute for

3 to 5 minutes.

Deglaze pan with broth, add tomato, black beans

and kidney beans and stir.

Season with cumin, chili powder, hot sauce and

salt.  Add refried beans to thicken.  Simmer

on low for 5 to 10 minutes.

Ladle into deep bowls and top with toppings.

I doubled this recipe to serve a crowd.

Serve with corn muffins.

Enjoy & stay warm.