Hearty Vegetable Stew

It has cooled down a little bit around here the past week or so, and that means it is okay for me to make soup and/or stew more often. My husband doesn't really enjoy either of these, but he really doesn't like them in the heat of summer. Now that it is September, it is officially soup/stew season. Even though it will probably warm back up soon. (Fine with me!) The calendar says September and Fall, so soup and stews are on the menu.

As soon as I saw this stew in Everyday Food Magazine, I knew I would make it. It is easy. It is quick. And it is full of veggies. I loved this even though it was so simple. It had great flavor and my family really liked it too.

Hearty Vegetable Stew
Everyday Food Magazine September 2011

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, thinly sliced
3 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, diced medium
salt and pepper
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 bunch kale, stems removed, leaves chopped
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 sprigs thyme

In a large, heavy pot, heat oil over medium. Add carrots, celery and onion; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots soften, about 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, kale, beans, thyme and 2 cups water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer and cook until slightly reduced, 15 minutes.

"Cooking School"- Chopped Steak Salad

My daughter picked salad for our next "Cooking School" experience. We decided to make at least 2 kinds of salad. This was the first one we picked because it was a main dish salad that had lettuce as a main component. I also thought it would be fun to make a homemade Italian dressing since I prefer homemade dressings to bottled ones.

Also, please notice that I made a salad that contains beef. We cooked a flank steak. I am amazed. And it was easy. And it was tasty.

My daughter helped chop, rinse, cut and prepare the dressing. This was a great one to make together because there were lots of steps that she could help with.

This salad was fairly easy and perfect for a main dish salad. I don't think it would have been as good without the homemade dressing, but that is obviously just my opinion. Fresh herbs really made this dressing delicious.

Here is the recipe for Chopped Steak Salad from Real Simple Magazine
* I cooked the flank steak for a few more minutes than the recipe called for


Here is the recipe for Homemade Italian Dressing using Fresh Herbs
* I used fresh Italian Parsley, Basil, and Thyme
*I only used olive oil
*I didn't measure my vinegar or oil- just mixed it until it looked right

Green and White Bean Salad with Tuna

I love eating fresh salads all year round, but they just seem to fit in with the weather better right now. We have enjoyed a couple of months of beautiful weather and after a pretty hot week last week, this week it seems that the weather has decided to cool down quite a bit. This type of weather makes me want to load up on fresh fruits and veggies and to make lots of cool salads.

This salad has a double dose of beans- green beans and cannellini beans, which loads up this salad with lots of fiber and protein. It also has sliced pepperoncini, which I have really grown to love in the past couple of months. They give this salad a nice little zing. This was a quick dinner that I threw together the other night, after we got home from a baseball game. I'm actually eating the leftovers for breakfast right now. :D


Green and White Bean Salad with Tuna from Everyday Food
3/4 pd green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 Tbls white wine vinegar
2 Tbls olive oil
1 can (15.5 oz) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 can (5 oz) solid white tuna, packed in water, drained and broken into pieces
1/4 cup thinly sliced pepperoncini (about 9)

1. In a medium pot of boiling salt water, cook green beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain, rinse under cool water to stop cooking, and pat dry.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add green beans, cannelini beans, onion, tuna, and pepperoncini and stir to combine. Serve immediately.

Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup

Asparagus is a family favorite around here. We love it roasted, blanched, steamed, stir-fried- really, we love it anyway it is prepared.
I saw this soup and thought it would be an interesting way to find out if we like asparagus pureed.

The verdict- we do!

This soup is quick and easy to make and it is very filling. Cannellini beans and a little bit of plain greek yogurt are the secrets to getting that thick and creamy texture without the added fat.

I don't particularly like bacon or cooking it, but I have come to appreciate the crispness and flavor it can add to a dish in small amounts. As the garnish here with the asparagus tips, it is wonderful.

This soup just screams Spring to me. It's beautiful color and light flavor really hit the spot.

Here is the recipe for Light and Creamy Asparagus Soup
* I added the juice of 1 lemon to the soup, since I added some lemon zest
* I didn't add the cayenne to the soup, I sprinkled it on top of the adult portions
* I added a garnish of lemon zest on top

Holiday Chopped Salad

I have been looking at the older holiday magazines that I have kept and this salad jumped out at me.
I think it must have been the combination of colors and the variety of vegetables that caught my eye.
It just seemed so festive for a holiday salad and I love it when a salad doesn't necessarily contain lettuce or greens of any kind. (that might sound wierd- I love salad with greens and lettuce, but it is nice when other veggies are the star of the show)

I decided to make this when my sister was visiting over the Thanksgiving break and I cut the recipe in 1/2.
It was really yummy.
I think it would be delicious served on top of romaine or mixed greens, but it is very delicious on its own.
It can also be made ahead, which is great if you are having a really hectic holiday season.
It is just nice to see some pretty veggies that make you want to taste them. Everyone needs a little distraction from the sweets right about now. Or maybe it is just me!

Holiday Chopped Salad from Our Best Holiday Menus 2007-BHG
1 15 or 19-oz can canneliini beans, rinsed and drained
2 small green peppers, seeded and cut into bite-size chunks (1 1/2 cups)
1 medium cucumber, cut into bite-size chunks (3 cups)
1/2 head radicchio or 1/4 head purple cabbage, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
1/2 of a 16-oz pkg radishes, halved or quartered (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 Tbls honey
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
coarsely chopped fresh Italian parsley and/or mint

1. In separate resealable plastic bags, place beans, green pepper chunks, cucumber chunks, radicchio, and radishes. For dressing, in a screw-top jar, combine oil and lemon juice. Cover and shake well. Add honey, salt, and black pepper, covering and shaking well, after each addition. Pour 1 to 2 Tablespoons dressing into each bag. Seal bags. Chill for 2 to 4 hours, turning bags occasionally.
2. To serve- arrange vegetables with dressing and feta cheese in rows on serving platter. Sprinkle with parsley and/or mint.
Makes 8 to 10 servings

CEiMB-(rewind) Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Tuscan Vegetable Soup is not this week's recipe for Craving Ellie in my Belly. This week I was supposed to make Linguini with Shrimp.
Well, sometimes it just doesn't happen.
I didn't get to this soup in the middle of October for some reason, but saw that everyone was completely raving about it.
I decided to go back and make it, because it looked really easy, delicious and was getting rave reviews from everyone. It was chosen by Pam over at Lobster and Fishsticks, find her post about it here.

I made it when my mom was here visiting and it came together in a flash. We had been out at the park and got back home really close to dinner time. I couldn't believe how quickly this soup came together. It really is a simple soup, but it was really full of flavor and vegetables. My mom really liked it and so did the kids.

So, since it is soup weather right now, I encourage you to make this soup.

If you are feeling like shrimp is a better option, then go check out the CEiMB Blogroll to see what everyone thought about the linguini.

Recipe for Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Tuna Panzanella

I've mentioned before how much I really love Panzanella aka Bread Salad. Ina's recipe is the first one that I tried and I make it quite regularly.
Basically if I ever see a variation of Panzanella, I want to try it-like this Edamame Bread Salad that I posted about a couple of months ago.

I saw this really easy version of Tuna Panzanella in an issue of Good Housekeeping and found it intriguing.
I made it for dinner back in August and was really pleased with the results. My husband really liked it and asked for seconds (picking out the tomatoes, of course), but I still saw that as a success. I packed him the leftovers in his lunch the next day and he really enjoyed it.

I only made a couple of changes- I used cherry tomatoes and added a chopped yellow bell pepper to have more veggies mixed in there (and because I knew my hubby was going to pick out the tomatoes).
The recipe claims to be ready in 30 minutes and it was. Nothing tough here. The only thing you have to do is toast the bread cubes, open a few cans, and then throw everything else together.

If you have any tomatoes or basil that need to be used and want one last taste of summer, make this today!

Recipe for Tuna Panzanella

Warm Seven-Layer Salad

I saw this recipe in Everyday with Rachael Ray Magazine. Every month there is a feature in that magazine, I think it is called Kid Zone, and it showcases a recipe that is easy enough for kids to make with a little bit of help.
I thought this Warm Seven-Layer Salad looked really good and loved how there were different veggies/ingredients than the usual ones that you would see in a salad like this. I also liked the fact that it was served warm, so it would make a great dinner.

Now, this recipe starts out with cooking bacon and then cooking the green beans and summer squash in the bacon fat. Sorry- ya'll, I just couldn't do it. I don't like cooking real bacon and I certainly am not going to cook vegetables in bacon fat. I don't have anything against people or recipes that use this method, I just wasn't excited about that at all. I don't like bacon.
I decided to buy the precooked bacon that you just warm in the microwave and crumbled that for the top.
I just sauteed my green beans and summer squash with a little water, cooking spray, salt and pepper. It worked out fine. I also warmed my beans with these veggies.

You layer the cooked green beans, summer squash, tomatoes, white beans, romaine lettuce, and sprinke some shredded cheese (I used a combination of cheddar and mozzarella) on top of those layers. Then you top that with a dollop of plain yogurt and sprinkle some crumbled bacon pieces on the very top, to finish the whole thing off.

I made mine into minis, so that everyone had their own serving and we all really liked this combination of veggies turned salad.

The fact that the green beans, summer squash, and white beans were warm added a nice contrast to the crisp, coolness of the romaine lettuce and tomatoes, which was again contrasted by the yogurt and bacon. Lots of flavors that really complimented each other. This was good!
And the kids enjoyed layering their own servings into the mini trifle dishes.
I will make this again. It would be great for a potluck or get-together.


Recipe for Warm Seven-Layer Salad

One Year Ago-Lavash Crackers and Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

White Bean and Arugula Pasta Salad

Do you ever get tired of the same old pasta salad type dish? I know I do.

I made this in the heat of the summer. I didn't want to turn on the oven, I wanted something that would be ready in a matter of minutes, and I wanted it to taste good.

I saw this recipe in the August issue of Southern Living Magazine. I was at the library with my kids and was thumbing through it- the picture just looked really good, and besides, sometimes you just want a dinner or dish that is easy-peasy.

This is a variation of the recipe, that was provided- which added a couple of cans of tuna, in my mind turning it into an acceptable main dish.
I had most of the items on hand, which was another plus.

The original recipe called for sun-dried tomatoes, but I didn't have any, and my husband thinks tomatoes are poisonous, so I decided I preferred that he live, so I just chopped a red bell pepper and called it good.

I usually only use whole wheat pasta, but when we were unpacking our food boxes that we brought from Utah, I found a box of the cute mini bowties, so I used those.

I love the arugula in this, which adds a nice little peppery bite, but you could also use spinach. The feta could also easily be swapped out and you could use chickpeas instead of white beans.

I couldn't remember the exact name of the recipe when I did my picture, but when I found the recipe later at myrecipes.com, I realized that I messed up the name a little bit. Oh well, you can call it whatever you want. All I know is that it was easy, tasty, and left us feeling quite satisfied.

Recipe for Pasta with White Beans and Arugula

One Year Ago- Tilapia Fish Sticks, Millet Pilaf, and Kale Chips

Giada's White Bean Dip with Pita Chips

I finally got around to making this dip that I saw in a million different places!
I remember seeing it on Aggie's Kitchen a while ago and I don't even remember the other blogs where I saw it.

We had some friends coming over for dinner and I thought this would be a great appetizer/side for everyone to munch on.

This dip is similar to hummus, but with white beans. I added an extra garlic clove (on accident), but no one seemed to mind too much. Everyone really enjoyed the dip and pita chips. I didn't use as much olive oil as Giada called for, on the pita chips and they still turned out nice and crisp.

I had a little of the dip leftover and I used it as a spread for some sandwiches later in the week.
I am definitely going to be making it again, in the near future as football season is upon us!


Recipe for Giada's White Bean Dip

One Year Ago-Turkey Pot Stickers and Prudy's Asian Chicken Salad

Herbed Turkey Strips with Roasted Peppers and Beans

This is a dinner that I made a couple of months ago.
I am nearing the end of the recipes I have left in my drafts and this is one meal that was simple and delicious, but somehow just kept getting pushed out of the way.
I mean, why post dinner when you can talk about dessert, right? I am kidding of course, but sometimes cakes and cookies are more fun to look at.

I don't remember exactly where I found this recipe, it was either Southern Living or Cooking Light. It was fast and easy.
I liked the fact that this used turkey, which is lean and healthy, instead of chicken. A little variety in the protein area of our meal. I like variety.
I served this meal over sauteed kale and we really liked it.
That I do remember.

Herbed Turkey Strips With Roasted Peppers and Beans

Prep: 20 min., Chill: 30 min., Cook: 15 min.
Be sure to grate the lemon rind before squeezing the juice needed for the recipe. Use the entire 2 tablespoons of lemon juice in the marinade if you like a tangier flavor.
1 (3-pound) boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into 1/2- to 3/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (7-ounce) jar roasted red bell peppers, drained and chopped
2 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Pierce turkey slices evenly with a fork.
Stir together Italian seasoning, 1/2 tablespoon oil, lemon juice, and next 3 ingredients. Coat turkey slices with oil mixture. Cover and chill 30 minutes.
Cook turkey slices, in batches, in remaining 1 tablespoon hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat 3 minutes on each side or until done. Remove turkey from skillet, cover, and keep warm. Add beans and peppers to skillet; cook over medium heat until thoroughly heated, stirring gently.
Cut turkey slices crosswise into 1/2-inch strips. Arrange on a serving platter. Top with bean mixture. Combine pine nuts, grated lemon rind, and parsley. Sprinkle over beans. Serve immediately.

Coming Next-Napa Noodles

Greek-style Stuffed Peppers and Greek WonTon Cups

The other day I noticed that I had a little bulgur and some feta I needed to use and 6 gorgeous peppers, so I turned to The Food You Crave and found a recipe for Greek-style Stuffed Peppers. I made a couple changes to the recipe- I used ground turkey breast instead of ground beef and added a can of cannellini beans. I was able to fill 12 pepper halves and still had a little of the meat mixture leftover, so I made some Greek WonTon cups- using Greek Seasoning to flavor them and cooked up the leftover meat mixture. I put the mixture inside and topped them with some chopped plum tomatoes. Yum!

Greek-Style Stuffed Peppers from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger

1 pd lean or extra-lean ground beef ( I used 20 oz. ground turkey breast)

One 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 medium zucchini, coarsely grated ( about 1 1/2 cups)

1 15-oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

1 small onion, minced

1/2 cup bulgur

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1.2 tsp salt

Freshly ground pepper to taste

3 medium red bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise, core and ribs removed

Two 14.5 oz cans no-salt-added stewed tomatoes, finely chopped and juices reserved (I used 2 cans of diced tomatoes, seasoned with olive oil and garlic)

1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine the beef, spinach, zucchini, beans, onion, bulgur, egg, oregano, salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.

Arrange the pepper halves cut side up in a 9x13-inch baking dish and fill each pepper half with the meat mixture. Pour the tomatoes with their juices over the peppers and sprinkle with the feta. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and bake the peppers until filling is completely cooked and the peppers are tender, about 45 minutes longer.

To make Greek WonTon cups- Go to this post and substitute Greek Seasoning for spice mix used.

Up next- Homemade Samoas for my Matt, on his birthday