Split Pea Soup

2 C. chopped onion
4 cloves chopped garlic
2 C. chopped carrots
2 C. chopped celery
1 lb. bag dried split peas
8 C. vegetable broth

Saute onion, garlic, carrots and celery in water until onions are translucent. Add vegetable broth and split peas. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer. Cook until all liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently. (Approximately 2 hours) Blend or process soup with some water until it is the desired consistency.

Most of my kids LOVED this. Caitlin and...oddly enough, Sera...weren't all that fond of it. My husband took a couple of bites and was glad he picked up fast food on the way home from work.

A word to the wise

Canned refried beans taste so much better than homemade...at least my homemade. Blech.

Tomato Soup

OMG, I just made the YUMMIEST tomato soup! I'm not sharing with my kids. It would be wasted on them because they won't even like it. lol

1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, crushed
5 pounds fresh, ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 bunch basil, chopped
1 bunch oregano, chopped

Fry onion and garlic with a small amount of water. Add the tomatoes and 6 cups of vegetable stock.

Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer. Cook on low utnil tomatoes have stewed. Add the chopped herbs.

Drain the tomatoes, but keep the liquid.

Puree the soup, adding liquid until desired consistency.

I got a recipe for a blended spinach salad off of Fat free Vegan that I made for breakfast this morning.

Blended Spinach Salad

1 C. pineapple
1 orange
1 pear
1 apple
1/8 slice lemon with peel
1 T. ground flaxseed
1 C. frozen blueberries
1 large handful spinach (8 oz)

Blend pineapple, orange, pear, apple, lemon and flax seed until liquidy. Add frozen blueberries and blend. Add spinach and blend for 20-30 seconds.

I used frozen strawberries instead of blueberries because that's what I had on hand. You could taste the spinach a little bit if you had a large amount of the smoothie. My kids gulped it down without a complaint though and my husband, who only had a sip, said he couldn't taste the spinach in the small sip he took. I think I may do it again tomorrow with romaine lettuce instead to see if I can find a leafy green that you can't taste at all.

Hot dogs and Mushrooms

So, Ethan and Cole asked for a snack today. I was in the middle of making a mocko salad (I'm so addicted to those things lol) so I decided to spread some refried beans in the middle of a romaine lettuce leaf, then top it with some salsa and see if they would eat that. Ethan looked at it, exclaimed, "HOT DOG!!!" and gobbled it down. lol It did look a little like a hotdog...if you squinted your eyes, pretended the lettuce leaf was actually bread and really need your eyes checked. Cole, on the other hand, wasn't as anxious to eat it. He took a bite or two and asked, "If I promise not to complain about being hungry until dinner, can I not eat this?" So, Ethan ate Cole's...then had yet another hot dog. lol

Tonight, I made Florentine Stuffed Mushrooms. Drake ate like three of them, grimacing the whole time, then said, "Honey, I know this took you a long time to make, so I'm trying to eat them, but please never make this again. I have to admit...it wasn't all that good. It really lacked flavor.

Florentine Stuffed Mushrooms

12 large whitebutton mushrooms, (about 1 1/2" wide)
1 tsp water
3/4 C. minced onions
1/2 t. minced garlic
1/2C.finely chopped spinach
1/2 C. seeded and finely choppedd red bell pepper
1 T. fresh thyme
pinch of black pepper

Remove,trim andfinely chop mushroom stems

In a medium pot of boiling water, cookmushroomcaps for two minutes. Remove and run under cold water. Plce on paper towels, gill side down, to drain.

Lightly coat a medium size skillet with cookingspray. Add water and saute all veggies, including mushroom stems, for six minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat broiler or toaster oven.

Spoon mixture into mushroom caps. Broil until caps turn light brown, approximately three minutes.

I knew there was no way the kids would eat them, so I didn't even bother offering them any. I guess I'll have to figure out something to do with the leftovers. Stir fry, maybe?

Not very interesting

I haven't really tried any interesting new foods lately. Every morning is still crockpot oatmeal because that's what the kids keep requesting, lunch is usually leftovers of dinner the night before, and dinner is just whatever easy thing I can throw together. Payday is tomorrow though, so I'll be able to actually go out and buy new fruits and veggies, so meals will be more interesting!

Last nights dinner was the vegan chili that we had had before. This time, though, I remembered to add the cilantro and added about two tablespoons of lemon juice and a large can of kidney beans. This chili got MUCH better reviews, so I think this is how I'll be making it from now on. I didn't do it in the crock pot, either, but I don't think that really made a difference...it just took less time and more effort. lol

I'm hoping to wake up in time to make it to the farmer's market on Saturday. It runs until noon, but the kids have tae kwon do from 9:30 on, so I really need to get there as soon as it opens (8:00) so I can get back and get everything put away with enough time left to get the kids ready for their classes.

Oh, and by the way,I had fresh pineapple for lunch today. It was SOOOOOO good. I love pineapple. I had a mocko salad for breakfast...tres yummy!

Mocko Salad

It's not a taco salad without corn chips and ground beef with taco seasoning, so it's a "Mock"o Salad...and it was DELISH!!!!

Vegetarian refried beans makes the first layer (just spread it out on the plate)
Four romaine lettuce leaves, torn up, makes the next layer
Another layer of refried beans (because refried beans are tres yummy)
A layer of diced tomatoes
All topped with salsa

YUM! It was the largest salad I have EVER seen. I thought there was NO WAY I could finish it, but I knew I needed to attempt to get my one pound of raw veggies in, so I dug in...and finished it, while still wanting more! I've already made myself another one for dinner. It's calling me from the fridge. lol

I spent like three hours making this bean...thing...last night for lunch today. It didn't turn out anywhere near as good as I had hoped it would. :( I did eat it for breakfast though and sent some to work with Drake. I was going to have it for dinner, but I'm opting for the mocko salad again instead. I still need to figure out what the kids are having for lunch and dinner though. There's no way they'll touch a salad. lol

Still chugging along

We haven't done any new foods recently. We've been having oatmeal for breakfast every morning, which is always a hit with everyone. I was feeling really lousy last night and didn't want to cook, so Drake somehow managed to convince me to fry up some burgers for him and the kids to eat. It was a lot less work than any veggie meal would have been, that's for sure. We told the kids they were tofu burgers so they wouldn't think that I was willing to cook them meat, and thusly, start asking for it again. lol They thought the tofu burgers were okay....not great...just okay. LOL If they knew they were actually meat, I'm sure they would have been raving about how wonderful it tasted and how they HAD to start eating meat again. lol They said they probably won't be asking for tofu burgers again. ;)

Tomorrow morning starts my new way of eating. I'm going to be following the "Eat to Live" program by Dr. Furhman. It's basically unlimited fruits, low starch veggies and beans. It's pretty much how I figured I'd be eating anyways. I need to stop with the bread and potatoes. lol I'll still be able to stick with my morning oatmeal though, which is good. I really need to incorporate more salad type veggies into my diet anyways.

So, that's about it from the veg*n homefront!

Artichoke hummus

1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/3 cup tahini
1/3 cup fresh parsley
1 medium clove garlic, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 to 2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

In food processor or blender, combine all artichoke spread ingredients and 2 Tbs. water. Process until mixture is almost smooth but retains some texture and is slightly thicker than hummus. If necessary, add water by teaspoonfuls to thin. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

I actually don't have a food processor or blender at the moment, so I smashed the chickpeas with a potato smasher, diced the artichoke hearts and blended it all together with the whisk beater on my KitchenAid. It's more the consistency of tuna salad than hummus, but still REALLY good. The boys and I had this for lunch. We dipped celery in it. The boys didn't want to save any for the girls, but they have, so I'll add the girl's rating when they get home from school and have it as an after school snack. The boys both LOVED it. Cole gave it a five and Ethan a four. I think Ethan is just fond of the number four today though. lol I have a heck of a time getting my boys to eat celery. They finished an entire bunch for lunch though, dipping it in this hummus!

Stuffed Shells

Stuffed Shells

1 container extra firm tofu
5 T. nutritional yeast
dash of nutmeg
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 boxes frozen spinach
4 cloves of garlic (again, I used way more than this lol)
5 T. extra virgin olive oil
Marinara sauce (recipe to follow)
jumbo pasta shells
1 t. oregano
1 t. basil

Blend 3/4 of the tofu with 2 T. olive oil, nutmeg, yeast, 1/4 t. sea salt until smoothe. Mash the rest of the tofu into the smooth mixture. Preheat the oven to 350*. Saute onion in olive oil, add garlic. Defrost spinahc and squeeze out the water. Add spinach, onion and seasonings to the tofu mixture.

Cook shells acccording to the package directions. Place a layer of marinara on the bottom of a pan, stuff the shells with the tofu mixture, place stuffed shells on top of the marinara, then cover the shells with the rest of the marinara.



Marinara

2 1/2 cups tomatoes
2 sundried tomatoes, reconstituted
1/4 C. extra virginn olive oil
4 cloves of garlic
2 T. parsley
1/8 t. cayenne
1 t. sea salt

Mash tomatoes and mix with the rest of the ingredients. This was originally made as a "raw" marinara, but of course, when added to the stuffed shells, is cooked. It's very good raw though.








This meal was SO good! It definitely got 5 stars from me and my husband. Emma, my six year old, also gave it 5 stars. Caitlin liked it all except for the spinach, so it got 3 stars from her. Cole gave it a 2. He ate the shells, but left the stuffing. He did like the marinara though. Ethan gave it a 3. He ate the stuffing, but not the shells. Sera, of course, scarfed it all down. She gives pretty much ALL food 5 stars. lol

Lunch Time!

So, we just finished off the potato kale soup. I thought it was DELICIOUS. In fact, I had seconds. This was my first venture into the world of kale and I can't say I was disappointed. It has a very mild flavor and really did add to the soup.

Potato Kale Soup


1 lg. onion, chopped
1/4 C. olive oil
2 lg cloves garlic (I used a lot more though..I LOVE garlic)
pinch of hot pepper flakes
4 medium potatoes, chopped into 1 1/2" pieces
2 vegetable bullion cubes
3/4 lb. kale
3 T. soy sauce
1/2 T. salt
dash of tobasco (I actually used red horseradish because I didn't have any tobasco)


Put onion in soup kettle. Add olive oil, garlic, pepper flakes and saute. Add potatoes with 1 quart of water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Add bullion. Crush potatoes (how much depends on how chunky you want the soup) Destem the kale and shred. (Bunch the leaves together, then slice into thin strips with a knife) Add kale, soy sauce, salt and tobasco to the soup. Simmer until kale is wilted.





I give this dish 5 stars. I thought it was absolutely delicious. Hubby gives it 4 stars. He liked the potato soup, but just isn't fond of kale. He called me from work and told me, "I just wanted to let you know that I finished the soup. It was really good. Well, the potato part was, anyways." Later, he called me back and asked if we had the funds for him to pick up a sandwich at Subway. I guess it wasn't filling enough for him. Caitlin and Emma are eating lunch at school, so they didn't have any. Cole (age 4) gives it 4 stars. He said it was really good, but it wasn't as good as some other food. Ethan (age 3) gave it 1 star. He ate the potato part, but picked out the kale. It took him over an hour to finish a TINY bowl of the soup. He kept saying, "Mommy's soup is yucky!" I tried bribing him with orange juice and a banana, but he refused to eat the kale. It didn't go to waste though. Cole was more than happy to eat the kale that Ethan picked out. That's my boy!

So, an adult pleaser, but not necessarily a child pleaser. (Although, Cole is turning out to be quite the happy vegetarian!)

Crock Pot Oatmeal

For the past two mornings we've had oatmeal for breakfast. (I recently had my cholesterol tested and it was EXTREMELY high and oatmeal is supposed to help lower it) It's SO easy to make. Before I go to bed at night, I just throw it in the crockpot, set it on low, then it's ready when we wake up.

Yesterday I added apples and walnuts. It was a hit. For this morning though, I used bananas. Caitlin and Drake thought it was gross. Of course, the bananas got all mushy and it made the oatmeal slimy. I still thought it was really good, as did Emma and the boys. Of course, Sera will eat anything, so she scarfed it down. It's now been requested that I stick to the apples and walnuts. I wasn't all that fond of the apples because I used granny smith and I thought they were a bit too tart for the oatmeal. I think I'll use gala next time.

So anyways, here's how you do it. Keep in mind, I have seven people in my family. If you have less, you won't want to make as much oatmeal. Just stick with the 2:1 ratio.

Crock Pot Oatmeal

4 C. oats (not instant or quick cooking)
8 C. water
Fruit of choice (as little or as much as you want. I used two diced apples the first day, and three sliced bananas the second)
handful of chopped walnuts

Put in the crockpot on low for 8 hours.

Later I'll review and post the recipe for the potato kale soup that I made for lunch! (Although, I already took a bite and can tell you it's VERY yum!)

Chocolate pudding and chili

So, the chocolate pudding was a complete flop. We got a 0 stars from Caitlin, a 3 stars from Emma, a 2 stars from Cole and 1 star from Ethan. Sera ate it, but she eats everything.

Here's the recipeincase you think you'll like it more than they did. lol

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

3 small avacados
2 bananas
1 can coconut milk
cocoa
raw sugar to taste

Process all in a food processor until creamy. Refrigerate.

I don't know how much cocoa I used. I just kept adding it a little bit at a time until it was the flavor I wanted.








The chili was a bigger success:

Vegan Chili

2 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 lrg. onion, chopped
1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
1 C. vegetable broth
1 1/2 C. lentils, rinsed and drained
1 lrg. red bell pepper
1 lrg. yellow bell pepper
1 4 1/2 oz. can green chilis, drained
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. finelt chopped cilantry

Put all together in a crock pot. Heat on low for 8 hours.

This dish got 3 stars across the board.