Christmas 2013 - prep timeline

Just getting this all written out so I have a solid plan to follow on Wednesday. 



Monday P.M.
-make red sauce for lasagna


Tuesday A.M.
-make hummus
-make orange pecan cake
-make peanut butter bars 


Tuesday P.M.
-assemble (2) lasagnas and refrigerate
-chop vegetables for salad and roasting
-cook lentils and prep veggies for shepherds pie
-bake cookies for Santa (these)


Wednesday A.M.
-make naan
-mash potatoes and parsnips for shepherds pie
-assemble 'bliss in a dish' and refrigerate 


Wednesday P.M.
-saute veggies and assemble shepherds pie
-bake lasagnas 
-bake 'bliss in a dish'
-make mushroom bread

 



Adjusted Christmas menu...

APPETIZERS: 

• Hummus & Naan (recipe 1 or recipe 2)

MAIN COURSES:

• Vegetable Lasagna
• Lentil Shepard's Pie

SIDES:

• Mushroom Bread
• White Beans and Artichoke "Bliss in a Dish"
• roasted veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc)
• salad

DESSERT:

• Cranberry Orange Pecan Cake
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars 

One Pot Wonder - Tomato and White Bean

I found a couple of these 'one pot wonder' recipes on Pinterest and this one sounded quick and tasty so I decided to give it a shot for dinner tonight. With a few small changes to the original we had a pretty decent meal in record time!

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces pasta (I used thin spaghetti because I had it on hand)
• 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid (I used fire roasted garlic flavor)
• 6 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• a handful of chopped fresh spinach
• 1 can Great Northern beans (rinsed and drained)
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Place pasta, tomatoes, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano.
2. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated.
3. Add spinach and beans in the last minute or two.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving. 

Everyone thought it was pretty good but we decided together that next time we'll skip the beans (my 16 year old just isn't a fan of the texture) and instead add mushrooms and broccoli. I will definitely be making this one again, as well as trying other 'one pot wonder' recipes. They're especially perfect for days I end up having to work late, leaving little to no time for cooking!

Vegetable Lasagna

I happened upon this recipe on Pinterest recently and it sounded so good I decided to throw it into the running for our 2013 Christmas dinner. I've made a few different vegan lasagnas before and though they've all turned out okay, I wasn't thrilled with any of them. SO instead of jumping right in on Christmas day I thought this time I would test it out in advance in case it was underwhelming... and I'm so glad I did! But not because it turned out badly, just the opposite in fact! It was SO tasty I can't wait to make it again! I was surprised to find it tasted very similar to it's non-vegan counterpart! I made just a few changes to the original, here's the recipe as I made it.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 8 ounces Mushrooms, sliced
• 4-5 cups veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
• homemade pasta sauce (I left out the spices called for in the original recipe because my sauce already had them in it)
• 1 pound Lasagna Noodles, cooked
• 3 Large Sweet Potatoes, baked and mashed
• about 1/2 cup Daiya shredded non dairy mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Start by baking your sweet potatoes. Scoop out and mash with a fork. You can do this ahead of time or use left overs (which is what I did). 
2. Steam broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, then saute mushrooms and garlic in olive oil. In a bowl combine all of the cooked veggies.
3. Cover the bottom of your pan with your pasta sauce.
4. Add a layer of noodles and sweet potato.
5. Next add half of the vegetable mixture, sauce and cheese.
6. Add another layer of noodles and sweet potato, followed by the rest of the vegetables, more sauce and more cheese.
7. Finish it off with a final layer of noodles, topped with sauce and cheese.
8. Cover and Bake for about an hour in a preheated oven to 400 degrees. The last 15 minutes of baking time take the foil off. Let it rest about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

It was delicious! Though my youngest son wasn't a big fan, my 16 year old ate three big pieces and I liked it so much I was thrilled to have leftovers for lunch the next day! :) The only thing I found it was lacking was a pinch of salt (because I don't add salt to my homemade spaghetti sauce) but sprinkling a tiny bit on my own individual pieces fixed that issue. I look forward to not only making this again on Christmas day, but adding it to our regular meal rotation for sure!

Creamy Potato and Corn Chowder

This is my second shot at a corn chowder recipe, the first turned out to be QUITE spicy, so the mild flavor of this chowder was refreshing. The original was a vegan recipe to begin with so I only had to make a few small changes to suit our personal tastes and it was just what we needed on this COLD snowy night! :)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 5 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3.5 cups frozen corn
• 2 cans creamed corn
• 3 cups rice milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the celery and carrots to the skillet and saute 8-10 minutes, until carrots and celery have softened. Add the salt, pepper and garlic powder if using.
2. Meanwhile, bring the 4 cups of vegetable broth to boil in a large pot. Add the peeled and chopped potatoes and boil for about 8-10 minutes, until fork tender. Once the potatoes have cooked, add in the sauteed vegetables.
3. Next, add in both the frozen and the canned corn. Whisk the flour together with the rice milk in a liquid measuring cup and add to the rest of the soup. Return everything to a light boil and stir in the flour. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens, reduce heat and simmer a few minutes more to bring all of the flavors together.

Voila! That's it! The result was a nice, thick, hearty soup with a great flavor. I love that it uses ingredients I pretty much always have on hand so we will definitely be adding this one to the regular Fall/Winter rotation! :)

Christmas dinner 2013

Speaking of Christmas dinner... I've pulled together my list for this year and it looks so darn good I kinda wish it was Christmas tomorrow! :) Like last year, my family has agreed to a completely vegan meal so I'm excited! We'll be down four people for dinner this year (my sister's kids will be with their dad), but I'm still cooking for a group of nine so hopefully most everyone will like what I've chosen.

Here's my list...

APPETIZERS: 

• Hummus and Pita Bread
• Breaded Zucchini Sticks

MAIN COURSES:

• Lasagna with Sweet Potato and Cauliflower
• Lentil Shepard's Pie

SIDES:

• Mushroom Bread
• White Beans and Artichoke "Bliss in a Dish"
• roasted veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc)
• salad

DESSERT:

• Cranberry Orange Pecan Cake
• maybe a pie of some sort - apple cranberry?

I may also make some cookies but it just depends on how many days I have to work leading up to Christmas and how my arthritis is feeling at the time. Can't wait for dinner this year! Only 16 days away!! :)

Mushroom Bread

I had a bunch of leftover mushrooms from Thanksgiving that needed to be used up before they went bad, so I went on a search for recipes and decided to go with this one. The original wasn't vegan, but it was super easy to swap out for non dairy ingredients. This is the recipe, as I made it...

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 loaf French or Italian bread
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup Earth Balance buttery spread, softened
• Daiya shredded non dairy mozzarella cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
2. Slice bread in half horizontally.
3. Mix together mushrooms, garlic and butter. Spread the mixture on both sides of the cut bread. Place the bread, cut sides up, on a baking sheet. Sprinkle preferred amount of Daiya non dairy cheese over mushroom mixture. 
4. Bake in preheated oven until cheese has melted, about 10-15 minutes. Cut in wedges to serve.

My boys looked at this as I was putting it together and said, "gross, I hate mushrooms!" When it came out of the oven they both ate multiple pieces.  Apparently mushrooms aren't so bad after all. ;) Personally I loved it! I think I may even add it to my Christmas menu this year. Delish! Will make this one again for sure!

Vegetarian Kale Soup

I've never had kale before. After being vegan for about a year, and hearing SO many people raving about kale this and kale that, the health benefits, the flavor... I decided it was time to finally give a try. So a few days ago when I made my grocery store run, I picked up a bunch of kale. With no idea or plan on how I was going to prepare it. Last night, while searching for a recipe to use up my broccoli I came across this vegetarian kale soup recipe on AllRecipes. I figured, why not... and got started.

I always read the reviews before getting started on a new dish. A lot of times I find helpful tips that aren't in the original recipe but really improve the flavor. What I learned this time was that I would need to adjust things just a smidge to get a spicier soup (because my kids are big fans of the heat). So here is my slightly altered version of the above recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 8-10 cloves garlic, minced
• pinch cayenne pepper
• dash red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
• 1 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt (I used pink himalayan)
• 1 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 large bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
• 1/2 Hungarian hot pepper, diced
• 8 cups organic vegetable broth
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 cans white beans (I used great northern)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot, cook the garlic until browned. Stir in the kale and cook until wilted, approximately 3-5 minutes. 
2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cook over med-high heat (lid on) for approximately 1-2 hours or until potatoes are tender. 

My 14 year old and I both ate two bowls. I really liked the taste and texture of the kale, I'll definitely be making this again. Though the next time I think I'd like to add some chopped carrots, a couple more potatoes (or just larger ones, mine were pretty small) and maybe some corn. 

Corn Chowder

I've been craving corn chowder since I went to Panera for lunch earlier this summer and saw they were offering it. Unfortunately the Panera variety has dairy in it so I knew I'd need to make my own. I bookmarked a few recipes and chose this one for dinner tonight because I had pretty much everything on hand. I substituted where necessary but basically followed this recipe.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced (I subbed yellow)
• 2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno (I subbed 1/2 hungarian hot pepper)
• 2 cups non dairy milk (I used coconut)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1 teaspoon salt (I used pink himalayan)
• additional salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large pot bring broth, potatoes, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno and garlic to boil. Turn the heat down to low and put the lid on. Let simmer for 15 minutes or until potatoes are tender. 
2. Add in the non dairy milk. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keep cooking on low heat until warmed through. Or longer until desired soup has reached desired thickness. 

I like my soups on the thicker side so I cooked it on medium heat (lid on) for about an hour after adding the milk. Even my 16 year old (who loves spicy food) had to stop halfway through bowl #2 to blow his nose! ;) You can definitely taste the heat of that hungarian hot pepper! My lips and tongue, even the roof of my mouth, were burning when I was finished eating. Six thumbs up from the three of us who ate it. Carter mentioned he thought it tasted a lot like the Cauliflower, Carrot & Potato soup I made in December. I totally agree, though tonight's dish was definitely spicer thanks to that hungarian pepper!

Spaghetti with Broccoli, Chickpeas and Garlic

Made this last week and never posted the recipe. I found the original here, had all of the ingredients on hand so I thought, why not! I made a few very minor changes to what was written, and it was good, though it would be slightly better with a couple more changes so I'm going to post it here with those changes in case I come back later to make it again...

INGREDIENTS

• 12-15 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large bunches fresh broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 (15 oz) can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 pound spaghetti noodles
• 4 tablespoons lemon juice
• pinch cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Cook garlic and red pepper flakes in oil over moderate heat, stirring until garlic is golden, approximately 1 minute. Add broccoli and salt and cook stirring occasionally, until broccoli is crisp-tender, about 7-10 minutes. Stir in chick peas and cook until heated through.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta. Add pasta and reserved cooking water to broccoli and chick peas and cook over moderate heat, tossing until well combined. Stir in lemon juice. Serve drizzled with additional olive oil.

We happened to have some (ick) parmesan cheese, that was left here by my dad, so the boys sprinkled some on their bowls. I didn't actually drizzle with additional olive oil at the end like it said to, but I think it needed it so next time I definitely will. When I made this I doubled everything, except for the broccoli because I only had one bunch in the fridge, but including the chickpeas. All four of us were in agreement that it was just too many chickpeas and not enough broccoli. So the version I've posted here has been adapted to reflect that. Other than that the flavor was quite tasty and it was a great way for me to use up my broccoli before it went bad. ;)

Guacamole

I recently purchased a few avocados for the first time ever in my life! (why yes, in fact I have been living in a bubble) I decided I wanted to try my hand at making guacamole so we could have an at home version of the Chipotle burrito bowl. My experiment was a huge success and I'm recording the recipe here so I can make it again (and again and again and again)!

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 avocados - peeled, pitted and mashed
• 1 lime, juiced (about 2.5 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 roma tomatoes, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a medium bowl mash together avocados, lime juice and salt. Mix in cilantro, tomatoes and garlic. Stir in cayenne pepper. Refrigerate 1 hour for best flavor or serve immediately. 

I found the original recipe on All Recipes and altered it just slightly based on personal tastes and the reviews I read. I also add one of the avocado pits to the finished guac, before storing in the fridge (in a sealed container), to keep it from turning brown before we can finish it. Learned that little tip on one of the many cooking shows I love to watch! ;) Though of course we did try it with tortillas chips alone, the whole reason I made it was to add to a bowl with seasoned black beans, brown rice, corn and tomatoes... with tortillas chips for scooping the whole mess up. I left my guac pretty chunky (like I like my soups) because I feel like too smooth of a texture seems way too much like baby food! ;)

Spicy Vegan Chili

This is a combination of two different recipes that I combined/tweaked according to what I had on hand. I originally did a search for veg chili recipes because I'd gotten a large amount of BEAUTIFUL fresh produce at the West Side Market in Cleveland the day before that I couldn't wait to start using! The first recipe I found was from Oh She Glows, the second one I came across was on All Recipes. Both sounded delicious so I just went for it and improvised a little. It could not have been simpler! If I'm being honest, I have a tendency to be a bit of a lazy cook, so I skipped the saute step that both original recipes called for and just tossed everything together and mixed it all up. My kids DEVOURED this, eating 3-4 bowls each! That was AFTER my youngest made faces at it as I was adding things to the pot and my 16 year old announced that he hates chili (because he's not a fan of the texture of beans). Turns out with so many veggies it wasn't too 'bean-y' at all! This made a HUGE amount and everyone has eaten multiple bowls of it reheated the next day (it's even spicer today)! My youngest son even commented that when we ran out he wanted me to make another pot!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 2 jalapeno peppers, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 1 (12oz) bag frozen corn
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 can diced fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 can (4oz) chopped green chiles
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can tomato paste
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 tablespoons dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. chop/dice/mince all of your vegetables.
2. toss ALL ingredients into large pot and stir. 
3. cook over medium heat for approximately 1 hour.
4. simmer on low for at least two hours more, adding more water or vegetable broth if needed.

When I tossed everything into the pot I also added what was left from a box of quinoa I had on hand. I have no idea how much it was since I didn't measure, but I did end up having to add some extra water while this was cooking as it started to get pretty thick. Next time I will add some carrots as well because I love them, and I think zucchini or yellow squash would be great in this! Like I said earlier, my kids LOVED it! Some of us ate this topped with Sour Supreme and/or spooned over brown rice. Definitely a new one for the regular rotation! It would also work well in the crock pot (if you have a BIG one) on days that are too hot to use the stove. 

Baked Macaroni and [NOT] Cheese

I found this recipe in the book Chloe's Kitchen by Chloe Coscarelli. As I was making it the ingredients seemed very familiar to me. I just checked and sure enough this is almost exactly the same recipe I found online (on Chloe's blog) and made as part of my Christmas dinner spread last year! The only differences being the online version calls for broccoli to be added, and the book version is baked after the sauce is mixed into the noodles.

My boys and I enjoyed it even more this time around because we were able to eat it fresh from the oven while it was still deliciously creamy!

The biggest change I made to this recipe was to use Penne pasta in place of the elbow macaroni because it's all I had on hand. I was also out of breadcrumbs so I just skipped those this time.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
• 1/3 cup flour
• 3 cups non dairy milk of your choice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast powder (or 1/2 cup flakes)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons sea salt (I used Himalayan pink salt instead)
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon agave

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add macaroni and cook according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, make a roux by whisking the Earth Balance and flour over medium heat for a few minutes until it forms a paste. Add non dairy milk, nutritional yeast, tomato paste, salt and garlic powder to the saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat to low and let simmer until the sauce thickens. Stir in lemon juice and agave. 
4. Toss noodles with the sauce and transfer to the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned and crisp. Remove from oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

DELICIOUS!!

Shredded 'Chicken' Chili

I decided to go with another recipe from The Everything Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook for dinner tonight. But I didn't think of it until late in the day so instead of sitting in the crock pot on low for 5-6 hours, I just tossed it all in a big pot on the stove for about an hour and a half. The kids LOVED it! My 15 year old said it was the best chili he's ever eaten! In his words, "even better than anything Jayden's mom makes and she cooks for a living". ;) I doubled the recipe in the book and there is not a single drop left. They said I definitely need to make this one again, though I think next time I may have to quadruple it!

Personally I thought it was a little spicy, my boys LOVE spicy though so to them it wasn't hot at all. I guess I just have sensitive taste buds.

I try not to use a lot of canned items, fresh is definitely a million times better. But I've been swamped this week and haven't been able to get to the grocery store yet so this was all about convenience. I always drain/rinse my canned goods to get rid of as much excess salt as possible, I also buy low/no salt wherever I can.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup diced bell pepper (I used yellow because it's what I had on hand)
• 1 pkg Gardein Chick'n Strips, shredded by hand
• 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can no-salt added corn, drained
• 1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can Rotel
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon basil
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used Himalayan pink salt)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Put everything into one large pot, cover and cook on med-low for 1.5 - 2 hours. 

At the end I did mix 3 tablespoons of corn starch with 3 tablespoons of water then dumped it in to thicken things up just a smidge (since I was going for chili and not soup). I served it with Daiya non dairy cheese, Tofutti Sour Supreme and tortilla chips. Super yum!

Crockpot Butternut Squash Soup

I checked a new cookbook out at the library a few days ago and immediately marked a bunch of recipes to try. Tonight I decided to go with this one because I had all the ingredients on hand, including a butternut squash sitting on the counter needing to be used. As always, the peeling/chopping part of making soup with a lot of veggies takes some time, but I've always found the taste to be worth it in the end.

I altered this recipe as it was written just a bit because I wanted a heartier soup, to see the original version snag your own copy of The Everything Vegan Slow Cooker Cookbook.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 medium butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 4 small russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 5 cups organic vegetable broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (I used Himalayan pink salt, but regular table salt would be fine)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a 4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for six hours.

Doesn't get much easier than that! Though there was actually another step... just in case you like your soup pureed you can let this cool, remove the bay leaf, then process in a blender until smooth. I like chunks though so I skipped that. 

                

Now, I've never eaten or prepared a squash, so this was all new to me. I had a heck of a time peeling that sucker (partly due to my arthritis, I just couldn't keep hold of it) but also because I have a crappy knife and that skin is TOUGH! I really need to invest in at least one good knife!

If my oven wasn't broken right now I might have roasted my veggies before throwing them all in the crockpot.

In the end I found the finished soup to be rather bland (which I kind of guessed it might be when I looked at the ingredients list, but I'm not super experienced when it comes to spices just yet so I didn't feel confident enough to experiment). If I were to make it again I'd definitely spice it up quite a bit more. As it was, I added a bit of garlic powder and black pepper to our bowls which helped boost the flavor a little. Though this wasn't my favorite soup ever (probably the least so, actually) the leftovers won't be wasted. I'm considering adding some brown rice and maybe some white beans tomorrow when I eat it for lunch.

I'm also planning another first with this squash, and that's roasting the seeds! I've always wanted to roast pumpkin seeds after we carved out jack-o-lanterns, but I never knew how to do it so I just tossed all those icky gooey innards. This time I looked up the instructions/recipe and I'm all over it (borrowing my sisters oven since mine won't be fixed until later this week).

P.S. If you're one of the possibly three clueless people in the universe who knows nothing about butternut squash like me, I found this link extremely helpful: All About Butternut Squash via The Shiksa in the Kitchen

Sweet Potato, Carrot, Lentil and Apple soup

I was a little nervous about this recipe in the beginning for a couple reasons. First, I've never tried lentils before. I know. Seriously! I have an excuse though! I grew up in a single mom household where my sister and I were often on our own for dinner because our mom was a waitress who worked the night shift. That means we ate A LOT of Kraft mac & cheese, Hot Pockets, chicken pot pies and salisbury steak! And even though I've always loved fruit and even some veggies, it's taken me a long time to venture away from those processed foods and to start eating a larger variety of REAL foods! 

So back to the soup (still obsessed with tasty tasty soups)! I've never tried lentils and I've never had something sweet like apple, in a dinner type recipe. As far as I've ever known, apples are for dessert... and horses! ;) BUT I've learned something new today! I really liked the little bit of sweetness that the apple gave this soup. It was perfectly at home mingled in amongst the other flavors in this dish!

As always I made a few changes to the original recipe and added some extra things so it would be a super hearty, filling soup. I was not disappointed!

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance buttery spread
• 2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced
• 1 apple, peeled cored and chopped (I used honeycrisp because it's what I had)
• 1/2 cup green lentils
• 1 can corn (no salt added)
• 1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 5 cups organic vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:

1. Melt the Earth Balance in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, carrots and apple , cook and stir approximately 10 minutes. 
2. Stir the lentils, beans, corn, ginger, pepper, salt, cumin, chili powder, paprika and vegetable broth into the pot with the vegetable mixture. Bring the soup to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium low, cover and simmer until lentils and vegetables are soft, about 45 minutes.
3. The original recipe calls for you to puree the soup in batches now, but I'm a chunky soup kinda gal, so I skipped this. I did however remove the lid and bump up the heat a smidge to let the broth thicken a bit. 

That's it! Easy-peasy and very tasty if you ask me! My fellow soup loving 13 year old wasn't wild about this one, though he did eat a whole bowl. My 15 year old liked the taste of the soup, and said he was full after finishing his big bowl, but has issues with the texture of beans... and apparently lentils as well. -_- My 17  year old didn't really like it either. Oh well! More leftovers for me I say!

Christmas glitches...

and a delicious meal anyway!

I posted recently about my plan for Christmas dinner. While I was MOSTLY on track with the things I needed to get done in advance, a tiny glitch in the process {my oven broke on Christmas Eve in the middle of my cooking spree} threw things out of whack and some of my dishes had to be sacrificed in the end. :( Here is what I ended up making, and my thoughts on the finished products:

APPETIZERS:

• veggie tray
• black & white bean dip w/chips {it's been WAY too long since I made this tasty dip. I need to remember to make it again soon!}
• hummus w/pita {disappeared in the blink of an eye. multiple people at our get together hadn't even heard of hummus before, let alone tried it. But it was a huge hit!}

MAIN DISHES:

• lasagna
• mac & cheese  {I chose these as my two main dishes because I thought they were basic enough that my picky nieces and nephew would at least try them (and hopefully like them)! I was mostly correct. Almost everyone ate and loved both of these dishes. My oldest son most of all. He went on and on about how much he loved them and he devoured pretty much all the left overs single-handedly in the days following Christmas. I will say, I wasn't totally wild about the lasagna filling, but I think with one small change it will be better so I will probably try it again. The mac & cheese was AMAZING when it was fresh, but by the time everything else was finished cooking it was not nearly as creamy and dreamy. Still good, but not great. I WILL make it again for sure, and we'll eat it right away next time!}

SIDES:

• garlic mashed potatoes with gravy {a big hit with pretty much everyone. I'm not usually a fan of lumpy potatoes myself, but these weren't bad}
• brussel sprouts {I've never eaten them before and since my BIL asked for them I gave it a go. I've discovered I'm not a fan. But said BIL and others loved them}
• garlic mushrooms {HOLY GARLIC BATMAN were these mushrooms garlicky! Very, very good... but powerful!}
• cranberry sauce {delicious and SO super simple to make}

DESSERT:

• double chocolate cookies {I am not a huge fan of chocolate, but I chose these cookies in particular because I figured kids would love them. apparently I know nothing. and the world has flipped upside down because most of the kids DIDN'T like these, but I LOVED THEM! I probably ate far more than my fair share... and multiple kids fair shares as well! The feedback I received was that they were not sweet enough, but frankly I think thats why I liked them. Because I'm not a huge fan of candy or sweets in any form. They were definitely chocolatey, and plenty sweet if you ask me. Pretty easy too so I could definitely make these again if I needed cookies for some grown ups who don't mind a slightly less sweet treat.}
• raspberry bars {so this is what I had JUST put together and popped in the oven when it decided to die on me. :( Unfortunately, because it was 1am at the time I couldn't run them over to put them in my sister's oven. I decided to try and salvage the dish, because what did I have to lose at this point. I covered them and took them to my sister's house the next morning. they definitely didn't turn out right, then bottom was too soft and the top was too crumbly, and somehow they still disappeared. I didn't try any myself, but my dad (who asked for them specifically) said they still tasted good, even with the texture being a bit off.}

Sadly I wasn't able to make any of my pies, the peanut butter cookies, the sweet potatoes or the dinner rolls (but I plan to try them all at a later date). I didn't get to my sister's house the next day until 2pm (because she had another commitment in the morning, which is why we were doing everything at my house to begin with) and I was cooking non stop from 2 until we ate at around 6 or 7 I think. In fact I was SO busy cooking, even with my mothers help all afternoon, I never had a break and I managed to not take a single photo all day of anything! :( Not the food I slaved over, not the kids opening presents, nothing! :( I'm pretty bummed about it. But I suppose there's nothing that can be done now. That's just the way it goes.

The food was great though, 100% completely meat and dairy free! And everyone had a great time.

I'm looking forward to our next vegan holiday!