Sweet potato lentil stew

This stew turned beyond delightful, hearty and mellow.

In the crock pot mix:

• one of those huge cans of Bruce's Yams, 2/3 of the liquid poured off

• one cup dry uncooked lentils 

• one cup water

• 4 cups beef broth

• 1.5 cups cooked black beans

• 1.5 cups garbanzo beans

• about 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• about 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• about 1.5 tablespoons cumin

• about 1 tablespoon chili powder

• about 1 tablespoon ras el hanout 

Cook about 4-6 hours on high 

Almost vegan, a little African

Today's dinner was completely an inspired blur. Let's hope I can record it because I think it was really yummy.

It started with noticing a package of Saffron Road harissa simmer sauce in the cupboard, with a can of chick peas right above it.

Stew!

Into the big old Le Creuset pot went:

• one package Saffron Road Harrissa Simmer Sauce

• a more or less equal amount water

• about 3/4 cup homemade chicken stock (if I hadn't added this, the stew would have been vegan; I added it to keep the stew from getting too spicy)

• about one cup great northern white beans. I make them from dry beans, unsalted, and freeze them in individual portions

• one can garbanzo beans, rinsed

Now the vegetables... 1/2 to 1 cup each, based on personal preferences:

• three color peppers

• baby carrots

• zucchini

• butternut squash

• peas

• Brussel sprouts (which I chopped)

And meanwhile, I started couscous in the steamer. I started with a normal portion of 2/3 cup couscous to 1 cup water but I had this odd 1/4 cup or so of uncooked couscous left so I tossed that in, too. I added a generous amount if ras el hanout and a drizzle of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil.

I was concerned about protein. I wanted to keep the low proportion of animal products therefore I made Morningstar veggie patties. 

Which ended up in the stew.

And I can't believe how delicious it was.

Chicken Rice Egg Drop Soup

It's miserably cold and I found myself lamenting that we couldn't make soup. And then I realized the idiocy of that, because I dropped all my frozen chicken drumstick stash into the crock pot Sunday to feed the family and make homemade stock.

So I've had chicken stock bubbling away for two days.

I asked the child if she wanted to make Daddy soup. She said sure. We had leftover rice from a Chinese take-out order and the leftover drumstick meat, so we started with that, in the strained homemade stock, for the base.

I asked her what kind of soup she wanted and she said Chinese. We cane up with the following ingredients:

- peas

- corn

- sesame seeds

- a few drops sesame oil

- teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

- 1/2 teaspoon ginger

- 1 teaspoon sugar

- 2 teaspoons garlic powder

- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar 

We got it crazy and bubbling and then drizzled an egg into it.

Chicken stock

As directed by several friends, I left my chicken bones and uneaten parts in my crockpot, adding lots of water.

For two days.

I don't have a sieve or cheese cloth so I took my colander, lined it with a thin disg towel and strained it that way.

My yield was 8 cups, which I poured into yogurt containers to freeze.

Quick hamburger stew

- about 2 cups browned grown beef

- about 32 ounces low sodium beef stock

- 3 carrots, peeled and chopped

- 1 large potato, cleaned and chopped

- Italian seasoning

- garlic powder

In crock pot on high two hours, then reduce to low until time to serve

Sausage chili

I got the last few coconut flour cornbread muffins out of the freezer and wondered what I could make to go with them. I had ground Italian sausage in the fridge, so I thought a chili with sausage might work.

I lightly browned the sausage in my big ol' Le Creuset skillet, with a little bit of coconut oil. I added a can of petite diced tomatoes (and yes I've read how now canned tomatoes are on the no-no list for many wholesome eaters, not only are they probably GMO but the cans are treated with... What is it? BHA? If I grow enough to can my own, I won't have to worry about it...)

Anyway, the tomatoes and meat are simmering away... I start tossing spices in, totally willy nilly as I've often seen Rachael Ray do. A lot of chili powder, some garlic, a few shakes of cumin, a few shakes of oregano, a little four color peppercorn, a pinch of paprika, and a good dump of cocoa. This is an operation done by smell. You want it very aromatic, because the beans will dilute it.

I added some water so it wouldn't stick and believe or not I piled about two cups frozen baby carrots on top. Stirred all that in. Then after 45 minutes or so of simmering on medium-low, I transferred it to the crock pot on high. I added one more cup water, 2 cans dark red kidney beans (reduced sodium, rinsed and drains), and the leftover black beans AND the leftover corn from the fridge.

I put it on high for an hour and then reduced the heat to warm for the rest of the afternoon.

Chicken white chili in the crock pot

I adapted this from a recipe on food.com.

The original:
http://www.food.com/recipe/amazing-crock-pot-white-chili-w-chicken-194585

In the crock pot, on high, about four hours:
- one can chicken noodle soup
- three cans water
- one box Archer Farms butternut squash soup
(I didn't have chicken stock)
- about 2 cups diced leftover chicken
- 2 really big cloves garlic, minced
- 3 peppers from my garden, diced (one green, one jalapeño, and one spicy green)
- about 45 ounces white beans
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons parsley
- 1 teaspoon fresh oregano from my garden
- 1/2 teaspoon country herb seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

At 2:30 (about 80 minutes after I set the crockpot up), I tasted the broth and found the peppers had kick but the broth was a tad plain and runny and I saw way more chicken than beans.

So I went into my freezer and added another bag of beans. Each bag is roughly 15 ounces/1 can. Then I added maybe a 1/2-3/4 teaspoon more cumin and about 1/2 teaspoon chili powder.

Then I still wasn't happy so I added a can of creamed corn for more body. Might add fresh broccoli later.

Chilled Pear Apple Soup

Ah, these 100 degree days... Makes me anxious to visit Djibouti or the Sahara desert.

I had the eight-year-old prep a variant of Eileen Bresslin's vegan chilled pear soup. I say variant because I lost the recipe long ago and I added applesauce to it.

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 can pears, the big car, the 30-some ounce can. I use pears in juice, and I drain half the juice
- about two cups your favorite applesauce
- about one tablespoon or maybe slightly more lemon juice. Up to half a lemon worth.
- ginger to taste
- spearmint leaves from the garden

Combine all the ingredients except spearmint and blend until smooth. Pour into a bowl.

Roll the spearmint leaves between your fingers and then lay across top of bowl. Chill until nicely cold.

Canned black bean vegetable soup

It's cold & damp & I'm exhausted & feeling phlegmy & afraid I'm coming down with a cold.

I poured myself some water and dropped in some Aspirine UPSA with vitamin C (French effervescent aspirin) and opted for canned soup. Easy on my mouth, good for my soul.

I had grabbed a can of Amy's Organics black bean vegetable from Target during the weekend, $2.19 for two servings. While the salt content is outrageous (620 mg of sodium per serving or 26% of the RDA), the other nutritional content proofed beefy for a soup.

Other nutritional info, per serving:
- 1.5 grams total fat
- 5 g/ 20% daily fiber
- 6 g/ 10% protein
- 20% vitamin A
- 8% vitamin C
- 4% calcium
- 8% iron

The label claims it's GMO free, vegan and gluten free.

Now, dumping it out of the can is gross. The water comes first, then the puréed beans with vegetable matter in it. When it heated and blended to a single consistency, it proved delicious and hearty.

Very happy soup.

Lazy Soup

I got lazy today and threw this soup together:
- 1 can Campbell's vegetarian vegetable
- 1.5 cans water
- 1 can cream style corn
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup prepared white beans
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon curry powder

Mash Up Turkey Soup

We got the leftover turkey out of the freezer and then I made last minute arrangements to cover someone's shift tonight.

I whipped out the crock pot and threw in:
(this could be nasty)
- one cup rice, unprepared, which I then steamed and ended up using about 1.5 cups prepared rice
- one can Campbell's cream of chicken soup
- one can broccoli cheese soup
- 1.5 cans unsweetened soy milk (then it ran out)
- 1/2 can vanilla almond milk
- shredded turkey
- 1/2 cup pickled mixed vegetables
- frozen white beans
- turkey
- 1 can green chiles
- 1 can petit diced tomatoes
- about 1/4 teaspoon country herb blend
- about 1/2 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin and black pepper

Okay... One hour later. I cook by smell, I can't eat something if it smells bad. And this smells putrid.

I upped the chili powder, added a pinch of Indian chili powder, garlic powder, minced garlic and paprika. I tasted a piece of the turkey and it was edible- just smelled gross.

After the seasoning melded in the crock pot for a couple hours, my mother-in-law and other family members commented that it smelled delicious. My husband went shopping, and the soup evaporated into a pâté, or so he described it.

He filled tortillas with turkey and the leftover soup and they were FABULOUS!

Oddball Brunch

- leftover steak fries, reheated in the oven
- sweet potato fries with a side of real maple syrup
- Pacific foods, home style tomato soup
- morningstar breakfast patties
- grape juice with bubbles

Friday update

Yesterday for dinner I let my 7-year-old daughter make one of my multigrain pizza crusts. I read the recipe out loud and she found ingredients, selected measuring spoons and did the measuring. We topped the pizzas with chicken (leftover from her earlier meal with the grandparents at TGIFridays), black olives, broccoli, pineapple and several kinds of cheese. It was the best pizza ever.

Today child had peach muffins and Very Vanilla soy milk for breakfast.

For lunch I packed her:
- leftover "mighty green soup"
- banana
- juice box
- cucumber slices
- dipping sauce for the cucumbers of 2/3 whipped cream cheese and 1/3 Goddess dressing
- ritz style crackers

Mighty Green Pork Soup

It's raining and I wanted to make this:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2011/01/pork-soup-part-one.html?m=1
But as usual I don't have the ingredients. So I made a similar soup.

INGREDIENTS (in crock pot)
- about two cups chopped and browned pork

(I browned mine in my Le Creuset cast iron skillet with two parts canola oil to one part walnut oil, adding fresh ground pepper and minced garlic while it fried)
- 32 ounces Kitchen Basics unsalted vegetable stock
- 16 ounces Pacific foods Organic butternut squash soup
- 36 ounces water
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 1/2 cups frozen greenbeans

- 1 can Great Northern Beans
- 1 crown fresh broccoli
- 1/4 cup frozen peas
- 1 cup frozen corn

Cheesesteak soup

Today, I will make the transition from chicken soup to beef soup.

I prepared a pound of chip steak in the Le Creuset skillet with extra virgin cold-pressed olive oil, garlic powder, oregano and a few tablespoons of Pacific Foods Organic Creamy tomato soup.

In the crockpot I mixed:
- a cheap can of condensed vegetable beef soup, with 1.5 cans water
- about 10 (?) ounces creamy tomato soup
- 32 ounces wegmans culinary beef stock
- 3/4 of the meat, with cooking juices, chopped ridiculously tiny
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- more than 1 cup shredded extra sharp cheddar

I did it!!! It tastes like a cheesesteak!

Soup, Smoothie & Mac and cheese

Today was an exciting food day!
Breakfast was a banana-chocolate-peanut butter Smoothie my husband made, lunch was a small dish of ice cream and leftover cauliflower, and then and then I had boxed macaroni and cheese for dinner (which left me sooooo full and feeling like I had chewed on beef jerky for an hour) and then I took the yogurt strawberry coffee Smoothie to work and bought a Bolthouse farms immunity boost mango Smoothie for the drive home and now tapioca pudding.

I picked up a few items at Target tonight:
- the Bolthouse immunity boost Smoothie (mangos, cherries and apples--yum!), $3.99
- another Bolthouse Smoothie, this one chai vanilla protein, $3.99
(I can splurge on froo-froo drinks since I don't get to eat)
- 4 cans of Campbell's soup, 2 broccoli cheese and 2 vegetarian vegetable, $1.37 each
- 3 containers of Pacific Foods soup, one carrot ginger cashew and 2 creamy tomato, $3.24 each
- 8 ounces shredded extra sharp cheddar, $2.59
- naproxen, 200 tablets, $7.69

Total: $33.46
Team member discount: - $3.35
Redcard discount: - 1.52
New total: $28.59

A weird little dinner

I asked my mother-in-law for one of her sweet potato casseroles. She usually makes it with raisins, walnuts and roasted marshmallow.

Unfortunately for me, nuts were out of the question. So I asked for one without. I thought I could handle the marshmallows and raisins but I could only make it through two of each. I ended up picking the others out.

But I still enjoyed it.

To accompany this, my husband chopped and cooked an aging head of cauliflower. He whipped up a cheese sauce, which he lamented came out runny but I think it fabulously came out like soup! He chopped a chik*n patty for protein and everyone in our house loved it! It had a fantastic, smooth flavor.

(of course, I merely had tiny pieces of cauliflower and lots of cheese sauce. It was yummy to eat something NOT chicken soup.)

The Dental Diet update

Today's breakfast smoothie is shaping up to be:
- very vanilla silk
- peanut butter
- vanilla carnation instant breakfast
- banana
- banana yogurt
- caramel

Yesterday's meals included (for me):
Breakfast
- Coffee and my vegan sweet potato coconut milk soup

Beverage before walk to school
- Very Vanilla Silk

Morning snack
- Christina's lemon chicken Greek soup

Lunch
- Greek yogurt with honey

Afternoon snack
- two bowls of my mother-in-law's chicken noodle soup made with veggie stock instead of chicken
- two goldfish crackers

Tea
- celestial seasonings green tea (with white) and raspberry

Early dinner
- apple butter (from a local artisan farm) and cottage cheese

Dinner
- the last half of the malted vanilla milkshake from the Purple Cow
- another bowl of chicken soup

Greek soup

My friend Christina made me Greek chicken soup which is very lemony and right now feels like the best thing I have ever tasted. When I get better, I'll have to investigate this as right now it is the thing that makes life worth living.

After three big bowls of this soup (straight out of the pot I reheated it in), I have determined WHY I love this soup. It's a liquid version of chicken with lemon-butter sauce/ chicken française. One of my favorite meals!

Preliminary internet search has revealed these recipes:
http://greekfood.about.com/od/greeksoups/r/Chicken-Soup-Avgolemono-Greek-Egg-Lemon-Chicken-Soup.htm

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/greek-lemon-chicken-soup/Detail.aspx


http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/353

Pork Soup (part two)

So, my husband was left to tend the soup. I suggested he buy some sort of canned white beans (since I thought of this to make dried beans) and a can of creamed corn. I also suggested he get some heavy cream and some vegetable broth in case I decided to go "cream of" or if the soup went dry.

I went to work and instructed hubby to drain the beans, rinse them and add them to the pot. I told him to add the creamed corn as is, and if the soup got dry to add some water. And not to add anything else until I got home.

He listened well.

The soup tastes fabulous and needed no water, nor did I have to add anything else-- no more vegetable stock, no cream.