Creamy Cauliflower, Kale and Rice Soup

A friend of mine has recently started eating a vegan diet and has been sharing all kinds of plant-based recipes. I have been excited to try them out and so far everything I have tried has been really good! When I first made this soup I was SUPER nervous! It made tons, required some work and was bright green and not all that appetizing looking haha! But looks can be deceiving and it was surprisingly good! I portioned out the big batch into smaller containers and have been having it a few times a week for lunch. I love eating soup all the time, but especially in cold weather and to me this is a great replacement for the green smoothies I just can't bring myself to drink when I am already cold. Definitely try this one out!

Recipe from Purpose + Plants
Ingredients:
1/4 cup veggie broth
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, sliced or chopped
1 head cauliflower, florets removed and chopped to bite sized pieces
2 cartons veggie broth
1 bundle of kale, ribs removed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3/4 cups cashews, soaked in hot water for 5 min (recommended raw, but if you cant find them, roasted cashews work too!)
2 cups brown rice, cooked (I used 1/2 rice and 1/2 quinoa)
Salt to taste

Directions:
Add broth to a soup pot - saute the onions until translucent and fragrant.
Add the garlic, carrots and celery and cook a few more minutes, stirring them around to tenderize.
Then add some salt, cauliflower and veggie broth. Bring soup to a boil and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Once the cauliflower is cooked through, add the kale to the soup and let it wilt for a few minutes.
Then at this point I like to take the kale and put it in the blender with the soaked cashews, chickpeas and about 2 cups of the broth and blend that puppy smooth.
Pour that back into the soup and finish it off by stirring in the brown rice! (You'll notice, for the sake of beauty, I held off blending the soup until after I took the pic because it looks like this...)

Healthy White Chicken Chili

I have been embracing the fact that I actually have time to cook again and it has been fun looking for new (and hopefully healthy) recipes to try! I love all kinds of chili but especially chicken chili. I found this healthy version on The Lyons' Share and changed up a couple things but it was great and made tons!

original recipe HERE, what I did below...

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs raw chicken breast

4 stalks celery

1 small yellow squash

1 medium zucchini

1 yellow/orange bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

2 cups kale, cut in bite size pieces

2 T minced garlic

1 c salsa verde

1 t salt

2 cans beans (I used 1 great Northern and 1 cannellini)

1 carton chicken broth

Directions:

- Chop all vegetables except 3 stalks of celery into bite-sized pieces and place in crock pot

- Place chicken breasts, garlic, salt and 1 can beans on top of vegetables and pour salsa over top (I used great Northern)

- In a blender place remaining 3 stalks of celery, chicken broth and other can of beans (cannellini)and blend together

- Pour mixture on top of everything else in crockpot

- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours

- 30 minutes before serving shred chicken and add the chopped kale

Kale Chips

I had heard good things about kale chips for quite awhile but never got around to trying them until now. I found this simple recipe on allrecipes.com but I have heard of sprinkling them with Parmesan cheese and all kinds of variations. I was surprised by how crunchy they were and tasty too! My kids even gave them a try and kind of like them :-).

Ingredients:
1 bunch kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon seasoned salt

Directions:
1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Chicken Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Kale and Mushrooms

I saw this soup in an issue of Clean Eating and knew it would be perfect for a night when I needed something quick. I was pleasantly surprised by how flavorful it was all on it's own! (and FYI, it makes tons)

Ingredients:
10 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 10-oz bunch kale, tough stems removed and leaves coarsely torn
8 oz cremini mushrooms, stems trimmed and caps thickly sliced
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, thinly sliced (I used 1 can chicken)
1/2 t fresh ground black pepper
1/2 c grated low-fat Parmesan cheese

Directions:
In medium stockpot, bring broth to a boil on med-high heat. Add potatoes and simmer until almost tender, about 7 minutes. Add kale and mushrooms and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Add chicken and pepper and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minuts.
Top with parmesan and ladle soup into serving bowls.

Serving size: 2 cups Calories: 297 Fat: 5g Carbs: 34g Fiber: 5g Sugars: 6g Protein: 31g Sodium: 356mg Cholesterol: 50mg

Yam Vegetable Stew

This was my favorite food picture from the trip...it is definitely a pretty dish with all the colors! This stew was so flavorful and filling that I didn't miss the meat at all (and I thought it was great eaten plain without rice, bread, etc. to go with it).

recipe from Sara
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp cooking oil or coconut oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/2 serrano pepper minced or 1 tsp dried chili flakes (I prefer to skip the serrano pepper and chili flakes and just use a tablespoon of Sriracha sauce)
2 quarter size slices of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1-2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 peeled yams, cut into matchsticks
1 can coconut milk (Sara likes to use 2 cans coconut milk instead of the water below)
1 cup water or vegetable stock
1 bunch or less of any leafy green, chopped (we used swiss chard I believe, but kale or spinach works as well)
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
1 can garbanzo beans
optional: chopped tofu or cooked chicken,

Directions:
Saute onion in oil, add curry powder, serrano pepper and ginger, saute until onion soft.
Add Carrot, garlic, yam, saute on medium until carrots begin to soften. Add coconut milk and broth/water, and beans/protein, if using chard, kale or beet greens throw them in now. Cover and cook until yam is soft, then stir in cilantro, tumeric, lime juice, and salt and pepper. If using spinach stir that in at this time. Serve over rice, cous cous, or quinoa.

Cup of Garden Soup

 

I saw this recipe in last month's Better Home and Gardens magazine where they had a special feature from Jamie Oliver. Since I have been on the lookout for healthy recipes, this one caught my eye. I was pleasantly surprised at how flavorful and filling it was! The rest of the family even liked it for the most part too. Jamie says you can use whatever veggies you happen to have in your garden and since I don't have one, I just followed the recipe pretty closely :-) and it was great!

Ingredients:
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* 2 strips of smoked bacon, finely chopped (I used 4 strips turkey bacon, or leave it out to keep it vegetarian)
* 1 clove garlic, peeled and finely chopped
* 1 medium red onion, peeled, halved and finely chopped
* 2 carrots, washed and finely chopped
* 2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
* 1 zucchini, finely chopped
* 1 small leek, washed and finely chopped (I used 4 green onions)
* 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
* 1 bay leaf
* 2 14.5-oz cans chopped plum tomatoes (I used fire-roasted garlic)
* 1 large potato, scrubbed and diced
* 1 cup Romanesco cauliflower or cauliflower florets (I used regular cauliflower)
* 1 15.5-oz. can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
* 4 cups (one 1-qt. container) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
* Large handful curly kale, stalks removed, chopped (about 2 cups)
* 1/2 cup mixed small pasta shapes or broken spaghetti
* Small bunch of fresh basil (optional) (I left this out because I was already spending a lot at the grocery store)
* Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
* 5 Tbsp.freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the bacon and fry it gently until it starts to turn golden. Add the chopped garlic, onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, leek, oregano, and bay leaf. Cook slowly for about 15 minutes, stirring now and then, until the vegetables have softened.
2. Add the cans of tomatoes, the chopped potato, cauliflower, drained chickpeas, and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender and cooked through (check by sticking one with a small knife).
3. Add 2 cups of water to the pan and return to boil. Once boiling, add kale and pasta and cook for 10 minutes more, or until the pasta is tender. If soup is too thick, thin it out with a little more broth or water.
4. If using the basil, tear the larger leaves into the soup and reserve the baby leaves for garnish. Season with a little pinch of salt and black pepper. Taste to check the flavors. Remove bay leaf and discard. Divide soup between serving bowls and sprinkle with the reserved basil leaves. Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana

(this pic courtesy of Favorite Family Recipes, it's much better than the one I took!)

I have only eaten at Olive Garden a handful of times and have never tried this soup there so although I can't vouch for how similar it is to the orginal, I can tell you it is DELICIOUS! When I saw the recipe on Favorite Family Recipes The ingredients sounded intriguing and I am always up for a new soup recipe. I'm so glad I tried it! I loved it and even my husband, who is a soup skeptic, loved it.

Ingredients:
3 cans (14oz) Chicken Broth
2 cups whipping cream (I used 1 cup cream, 1 cup whole milk)
red pepper flakes (to taste) (I left out since I used spicy sausage)
salt and pepper (to taste)
1 small onion, diced, sauteed
1/2 pkg. bacon (cooked and crumbled)
4-5 cups chopped kale
3 to 4 potatoes scrubbed and cut into slices or small chunks (skins left on) (I used red onions)
1 lb Johnsonville mild Italian sausage (shaped into small rounds, browned, and put on paper towels to de-grease... or if you are in a rush, just brown the sausage like you would ground beef). (I used 2 small links spicy Italian sausage)

Directions:
Put everything together in a large crockpot and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours. (they suggested not putting the potatoes in until the last 40-60 minutes, but I put mine in at the beginning and was glad I did...they took awhile to cook)

Slow Cooker Chicken

I found this recipe on the blog Recipe Rut and it inspired me to buy a whole chicken (or any type of bird for that matter) for the first time in my life. This is not a meal to make if you don't like working with raw meat...like me! Luckily, the night before Mike took over the rinsing, drying, spicing and stuffing of the bird because I thought I may get sick (this coming from a girl who can hardly stand to work with a boneless, skinless chicken breast). I had the crockpot all set up with the foil and we popped him in there and in the fridge overnight and in the morning I put him in the crockpot. So, definitely the easiest meal I've made in awhile :-)! The chicken was cheap, $3.00 for the whole bird and I'm using the rest of the meat to try a new enchilada recipe tonight (Honey Lime Enchiladas), so definitely economical! The chicken was moist and pretty good, not bursting with flavor, but great with a side of potatoes and a salad.

INGREDIENTS:
1 (2 to 3 pound) whole chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
Lemon- cut into wedges
2 Garlic cloves in skin

DIRECTIONS:
1. Wad three pieces of aluminum foil into 3 to 4 inch balls, and place them in the bottom of the slow cooker.
2. Rinse the chicken, inside and out, under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels. Season the chicken with the salt, pepper and paprika. Stuff chicken with lemon wedges and garlic clove. Place in the slow cooker on top of the crumbled aluminum foil.
3. Set the slow cooker to High for 1 hour, then turn down to Low for about 8 to 10 hours, or until the chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear. (I just left mine on low the whole time because our crock pot is a little tempermental, but it was fine)