Easy Minestrone Soup

I made this soup tonight for dinner. We (my husband and I) just wanted something simple, quick, and something that will keep us warm for a cold, rainy night like it is now. This soup was perfect. It was light, filling, and delicious.

Ingredients

2 (15 oz) cans of cannellini beans (mash up one of the canned beans in the can with a fork, this will thicken the soup and will give it a meaty flavor)

1  (14.5 oz) can tomatoes with green chiles

1 cup cooked small shell pasta

1 zucchini, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small red bell pepper

1 cube vegetable bouillon (vegan)

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 tablespoons Bragg's amino or 1 tablespoon soy sauce

salt to taste

Direction

Saute garlic in olive oil over a medium high heat. Stir in bell pepper, both whole and mashed up cannellini beans, tomatoes, zucchini, vegetable bouillon, bragg's amino and salt. Let it come to boil, then add the cooked pasta. Cook for another 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Serve.

Roasted Vegetable Fajita

I made this roasted vegetable fajita for a mexican theme dinner last week and it was a huge hit! I served it with tomato salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce. 

Ingredients

1 large red bell pepper, sliced

1 large yellow bell pepper, sliced

1 large orange bell pepper, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced, sliced

2 large portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 medium red onion, sliced

olive oil

whole wheat tortillas

lettuce, chopped 

tomato salsa 

guacamole

sour cream 

shredded veggie cheese 

Fajita seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon onion powder

3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/8 teaspoon red crushed pepper

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 cube vegetable bouillon (vegan), crushed

Direction

1. Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Take a cookie sheet and cover with aluminum foil. 

2. Seasoning. Combine all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, Toss the bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), zucchini, mushroom, and onion with olive and 3 tablespoons of the fajita seasoning.

4. Transfer the mixture to the prepared cookie sheet. Roast, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 25-30 minutes.

5. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium heat. One at a time, heat the tortillas in the hot pan on each side until softened, about 20 seconds per side. 

6. To serve, divide the tortillas among individual plates, spread an equal amount of the vegetable mixture, salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and lettuce.  Fold in both sides of each tortilla over the filling and roll to close.

Vegetarian Tostadas

The crispy and crunchy tostada shells is topped with refried pinto beans, fresh lettuce leaves, freshly made salsa and guacamole, sour cream, and veggie cheese. This recipe is low in fat and calories, and quiet delicious!


Ingredients

1 (4.8 oz) pkg tostada shells

1 can vegetarian refried pinto beans "salsa style " (Trader Joe's brand)
1 pasilla pepper, roasted, seeded, peeled and sliced 

2 tablespoons hot water

Tomato Salsa

Guacamole

4 pcs romaine lettuce leaves, chopped

vegan sour cream 

Shredded cheddar veggie cheese 

Direction

1. Place the refried pinto beans and hot water in a sauce pan and simmer until heated through.

2. To assemble tostada, layer the tostada shells with refried pinto beans, roasted pasilla pepper,  guacamole, salsa, lettuce, and top with veggie cheddar cheese. Serve immediately.

Guacamole

This simple guacamole recipe is delicious and super easy to make and can be enjoyed in many different ways.


Ingredients

4 ripe avocados

3 tablespoons minced red onion

1 serrano pepper, stemmed, seeded and minced

2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves

1 1/2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced

1/2 teaspoon salt

Direction

Combine all ingredients together. Serve.

Fresh Tomato Salsa

Here's a fresh tomato salsa recipe that is very forgiving and adaptable. I made this salsa not spicy so my mother-in-law could enjoy it. But if you want it hot, feel free to adjust the serrano peppers to your taste or you can leave the seeds in (the seeds and veins in peppers contains most of the capsaicin, the compound that lend peppers their mouth-searing qualities).


Ingredients

2 serrano peppers, seeded, minced 

6 large tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/3 cup minced onion

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (add more if needed)

3 large jalapeno peppers, seeded, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

2 cloves garlic

juice of one lime

salt and pepper to taste

Direction

Combine all ingredients together. Serve.

El Torito's Cilantro and Pepita Salad Dressing

This is a copy cat recipe of El torito's mexican ceasar salad dressing. This cilantro and pepita seed dressing is creamy and so delicious.

Ingredients

Salad

4 romaine lettuce leaves, chopped

2 medium size tomatoes, diced

1 large roasted red bell pepper, peeled, chopped and seeded

1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1 piece wheat tortilla, cut into thin strips,  slow baked until crisp

spinach

Salad dressing

1 large anaheim chili, roasted, peeled and seeded

1/4 cup roasted pumpkin seeds

1 garlic clove, peeled

1/4 teaspoon salt (add more if needed)

7 ounces salad oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

2 1/2 tablespoons grated Cotija cheese (you can also use Parmesan cheese if you cannot find Cotija)

1 bunch fresh cilantro, stemmed

3/4 cups mayonnaise

1/8 cup water


Direction

1. Salad dressing. Place all dressing ingredients except cilantro, mayonnaise and water in a blender of food processor.

2. Blend approximately 10 seconds, and then add cilantro little by little until blended smooth.

3. Blend in mayonnaise and water until well blended.

4. Salad. Combine all salad ingredients together, then spread some salad dressing over the greens.

Strawberry-Yogurt Smoothie

This smoothie recipe can be made quickly with any frozen fruit you have on hand. But, you could also make this with fresh fruits, just add more ice to the recipe.

Ingredients

1 (6 oz) strawberry yoplait yogurt

1 (6 oz) raspberry yoplait yogurt

2 cups ice

8 oz frozen strawberry

1/2 cup silk creamer

1/2 teaspoon stevia (or any sweetener of your preference)

Direction

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.

Homemade Tomato Sauce

This was my first time making tomato sauce from scratch. Ever since I learned to make pasta from scratch, I became determined to make tomato sauce using fresh ingredients to go with my fresh pasta. Unfortunately, my pasta maker broke two weeks ago that I couldn't have this homemade tomato sauce over some freshly made pasta. But anyhow, I still made tomato sauce from fresh tomatoes and mixed them with the store bought thin spaghetti, topped with grated parmesan cheese, and garnished with chopped fresh basil. It did still came out pretty good but I'm sure fresh pasta could have made it even better. 

Ingredients

4 lbs tomatoes, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2/3 cups basil, chopped

salt to taste

Direction

1. Place tomatoes in a large pot and cook on a high heat until the tomato softens.

2. Meanwhile, saute the onion and garlic in a skillet until the onion is translucent. Add the sauteed onion and garlic to the tomatoes. Stir, cover, and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add the basil in the pot and let it come to a boil. Turn the heat off and let the sauce cool for 15 minutes.  Blend the tomatoes in the pan with a hand blender for 1 minute, then simmer for 2 hours or until the sauce is thick.

4. Mixed this fresh tomato sauce with your favorite pasta. Enjoy!

Fried Potatoes and Eggs

This is my father-in-law's recipe for potatoes and eggs, however, I made a slight modification to the recipe to make it my own. It's an excellent recipe for breakfast. 

Ingredients

3 medium size red potatoes, washed, unpeeled and chopped

1/4 cup chopped green onions

4 eggs

1 tablespoons oil

3 tablespoons hot water

salt to taste

Direction

1. Heat the oil in a 12-inch non-stick skillet over a medium high heat. Spread the potatoes in the pan, sprinkle some salt over the potatoes and cook until brown. Flip the potatoes to cook the other side for about 5 minutes or until brown (Note: Potatoes may not stick together when you flip them, that's fine as long as they get flipped so they get done evenly).

2. When both sides are brown, spread the green onions over the potatoes.

3. Crack the eggs and drop them over the potatoes (Note: Make holes in the potatoes for this will help hold the eggs in place).

4. Turn up the heat to high, add the hot water in the pan, cover, and cook for 3 minutes for "medium" poached eggs or 4-5 minutes for "medium-hard" poached eggs. Serve immediately.