How to stay on track during the holiday... food prep! Keep healthy foods stocked in your fridge! This is one of my favorites as the weather gets cooler! 

Hearty Minestrone Soup
Ingredients:

• 1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
• 1 cup chopped zucchini
• 1 cup fresh green beans, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 ½ stalk minced celery
• 4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
• 7 cups water
• 4 No Chicken Cubes
• 1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can small white beans or great northern beans, drained
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup carrot, minced or shredded
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 ½ teaspoon of dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 4 cups fresh baby spinach
• 2 cups small shell pasta (I like the brown rice pasta or Ronzoni Gluten Free pasta)

Directions:

Sauté onion, for 2 minutes, add celery and carrots and sauté for another 2 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add garlic, vegetable broth, tomatoes and herbs and spices and simmer for 15 minutes.

Add green beans and zucchini and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add beans and bring soup to a boil

Add spinach at the very end to just wilt.

I like to cook my pasta, rice, or other whole grain separately and add to my bowl so that it doesn’t soak up the broth while cooking, or sitting overnight for leftovers.

Instant Pot:

 Make the broth with the onions, carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, herbs and spices and set for about 5 minutes with a quick release.

Add the zucchini and green beans and set for 3 minutes, with quick release. Open and set on sauté. Add beans to heat through, and spinach at the last minutes.

I was at work when I finished the second part and I added the pasta to make it easier for serving. Fresh soup with fresh veggies at work for a birthday lunch! Yum!

Mushroom Tofu Stoganoff

Asked for and posted!!! Yummy! Yummy!


Mushroom Tofu Stroganoff

3 cups finely chopped onion
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 packages Hard (or extra firm) tofu, cut into 1/2-inch dice cubes
4 tablespoons tamari
8 tightly-packed cups sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Black pepper to taste                                                                                                                               3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (aprox… we chopped up a bunch and added to taste)                                                                                      
1 cup  “no chicken” bouillon (1 cup of water to 1 cube)
                                                                  
¼ cup flour                                                                                                                                             
½ cup soy or unsweetened almond milk
1 and ½ containers of Tofuti “sour cream”   (Most of the time I no longer use this. I just add a little more almond milk)    

1.  Bake Tofu cubes in a 450 degree oven on a sprayed cookie sheet for about 30 minutes or until they start getting golden brown
2.  Dry saute onions, garlic, sauté for about 5 minutes or until brown, then set aside (add broth or water as needed to prevent sticking.
3. Sauté the mushroom about 5 minutes. Add tamari sauce towards the end, and then put back in the onions and add the fresh parsley salt and cayenne pepper. (will add a little black pepper next time)
4. Add broth, bring to boil and stir in flour/milk mixture to thicken
 Lower heat, stir, and add Tofuti sour cream and cook additional 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Serve over noodles of choice. (You can toss noodles with 1 tablespoon butter to prevent sticking if you prepare ahead of time)
Serves 8 (this recipe can easily be halved for a smaller portion- but we like leftovers!)

Hearty Lentil and Mushroom Shepard's Pie

This was soooo good! Even Kara liked it!!! And she has been anti everything "Vegan" we have been making! I got the basic recipe from FatFreeVegan.com but of course I made a few tweeks!

Ingredients

• 10-12 medium potatoes (I used both red and Idaho potatoes)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (could leave out if wanted)
• 1/2 cup rice or soy milk (add more if needed)
• Salt and Pepper to Taste
• Garlic and Onion Powder to taste
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 ounces cremini or baby bella mushrooms (I only had white and it still came out great!)
• 1 cup uncooked lentils 
• 1 1/3 cup water 
• Vegetable bullion cube
• 1/2 cup or so of Vegetable Broth
• 1 to 2 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I only had ground-so just did a few shakes)
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch 
• 10 ounces baby spinach (1 bag) 
• 1 cup fresh bread crumbs (really good with potato bread)

Instructions

1. Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a small mixing bowl.
2. Cook lentils in 1 1/3 cup of water with vegetable bullion cube for 20 minutes.
3. While the potatoes are cooking, Dry sauté onion over medium heat until translucent (add a little veggie broth or water as needed to prevent sticking. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
4. Puree lentil in blender/chopper, adding vegetable broth to help smooth. It will still be a bit chunky  chunky. Add the lentils and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in soy sauce, thyme, and pepper. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve in a small container. Stir into the lentil mixture. Add a little extra vegetable broth if needed to moisten. Leave on low while mashing potatoes. 
5.  Drain potatoes potatoes then add the milk, salt, pepper, onion, & garlic powder and mash until fluffy. Cover and set aside until needed. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
6. Add the spinach, a little at a time, cooking just until it’s all wilted down. Remove from the heat; taste to adjust seasonings to your liking.
7. Use a 2-quart (preferably round) casserole dish, or two deep-dish pie plates. (I used 1 large 10x14 dish) Scatter the breadcrumbs evenly over the bottom. Pour in the lentil mixture, then spread the potatoes evenly over the top. If using two pie plates, divide each mixture evenly between them.
8. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the potatoes begin to turn golden and slightly crusty. Broil for the last few minutes if necessary. Let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve.