Lasagna Soup

Wanna know something funny? I actually use my own blog when making my meal plan each week and writing up my grocery list! So YES...this is really how we eat all the time!! I hadn't even really noticed I do this until Jay caught me the other day...we both had a good laugh over it.

On that note...remember the challenge I put out there back in January to eat better...plan better...and save a few bucks each month? How are you doing at that? I know in our house it's made a huge difference! I now shop intentionally for groceries by planning all meals, and only buying at the store what is on my list. I've found we can sometimes even go 8 or 9 days with out stopping in at the store again. And by making the list, I don't forget anything! Those quick stops to pick up the one thing I was missing...like eggs or cilantro, two or three times a week...would quickly add up to an additional $10 or $20 a stop because I would be swayed by things on sale, or easy snacks that looked tasty! I've for sure saved about $20-$30 a WEEK this year by planning our meals.

I still often feel that it's pricey to feed our family of four. We were talking about it on the weekend though and decided to break it down per person, per day. We buy everything organic or all-natural, we value that. For our family, it came to about $6-$7 per person, per DAY. That's NOT bad if you saw how amazing we eat!! Not bad when you consider that's the price of a daily venti fancy Starbucks, which we don't buy...the price of a husband grabbing a quick sandwich to-go for lunch, which Jay doesn't do...the price of a magazine at the til in the grocery store (for the record I would LOVE to always buy a food/cooking magazine at the til, but am too cheap to pay the price)! So, we've cut out some luxuries so our kids will grow healthy and strong...worth every penny:)

Alright...on to the soup! This one is SOOO yummy...our boys love it too! Ripped this recipe out of a magazine once...I believe it was Rachael Ray?...and pulled it out of my recipe stash one day to try...I've made it many times since. Pretty quick to whip together...about 30 minutes. This batch makes enough for two meals for us...and actually tastes better the second time around:) ENJOY!




Lasagna Soup

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lb ground beef - we use grass-fed
Salt and pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
4 carrots, finely chopped or grated
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 or 5 handfuls of fresh spinach, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 lb lasagna noodles, broken into jagged pieces - I use brown rice lasagna
1 cup basil leaves, torn
1 cup ricotta

Directions

In a soup pot, heat the olive over medium heat. Add the beef, season with pepper and cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes.

Stir in the onion, carrots and garlic and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the spinach and let cook-down for a minute or two with the lid on.

Stir in 2 cups water, the chicken broth and tomatoes...cover and bring to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, about 15 minutes. Stir in the basil and season with salt and pepper.

Serve the soup in bowls with a spoonful of ricotta on top.

*We love to sprinkle ours with fresh parmesan too!

Brown Rice Noodle Salad with "Best Ever" Cilantro Peanut Dressing

Well...truth be told we plan vacations around the nearest Chipotle and Cheesecake Factory. We go to the Cheesecake Factory to SHARE this amazing huge salad that has an amazing dressing on it...it's our favourite thing. We even order an extra dish of it to dip our bread into!! Obsessed? Maybe a tad:) We just know when something tastes good:)

I finally decided that it was time to replicate this dressing! This was my first shot at it...for company Friday night (always a risky thing to try something new for company!!)...but it was a success if I do say so myself! The salad complimented it well too, although I forgot to take a picture of the massive platter that I created the salad on!!...so I recreated a smaller version the next day and took a photo. This salad was our complete meal, with chicken skewers on the side. An amazing and affordable meal to entertain with...just be sure your guests like cilantro!!

As a side note...the salad we order this dressing with at Cheesecake Factory is nothing like this one, it's more of a Mexican tostada type salad...but it went REALLY well with this style of salad too!

The brown rice noodles I used are a healthier alternative to the white rice noodles often found in Thai food. They can be tricky to find, so white would totally work as well. In Kelowna, they are available at Choices, Superstore and Bulk Food Store (listed most $ to least $). I usually stock up when I find them:) They are great to keep on hand for a quick stir-fry dinner or whatever (soak dried noodles in hot water for 5 minutes...done!).

Brown Rice Noodle Salad

Layer any amount of the following things...options are endless...this is what I used:
Brown Rice Noodles (soaked and left to dry so wetness is gone)
Spinach/Lettuce
Chopped Carrots
Garden Fresh Peas
Sprouts of any kind...I used Alfalfa and Sunflower
Shredded Red Cabbage
Sliced Cucumbers
Chopped Cilantro..we are fans:)
Chopped Mango
Chopped Cashew Pieces

"Best Ever" Cilantro Peanut Dressing
(substitutions in bold italics make this dressing Whole30 friendly!)

3 whole big cloves of garlic
1 Tbsp fresh ginger
2 bunches cilantro, (rinsed well, most of stalk ends trimmed off)
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 1/2 tsp wine/rice/apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp honey (brown rice syrup to make it a vegan dish) 1 softened date
1/2 cup olive/avocado oil
3-4 Tbsp peanut butter almond butter
1-2 Tbsp tamari (soy sauce) coconut aminos
Dashes of hot sauce...whatever your liking:)

Throw all ingredients into food processor, except olive oil. Once everything is pureed and blended, slowly stream olive oil in so that the dressing becomes emulsified:)

I now wish I would have tripled the amount of cilantro I grew this year...I will be making this dressing weekly!! If you're not fans of cilantro, you could try making it with parsley. Results would be similar, but likely not as good:)

Enjoy...invite company over for this one:) A great summer meal to enjoy on the patio with some Sangria...that's what we did!!

ps...notice a 'slight' improvement in the photo quality??!! I'm trying...and enjoying...

One-Pot Macaroni with Garden Fresh Vegetables

It's been so overcast and cool here today that it kinda got me thinking that I should do something with the ground beef in my freezer. Normally in Summer we tend to BBQ out with some meat and veggies...but it just didn't feel right for today:)

This meal is great...and sure to please all the males in your house!! Levi normally consumes anything resembling food, but he was done his first portion before Noah even started!! That's gotta stand for something?! It was a hit, nonetheless. The best part was I prepared and cooked the entire thing in under 30 minutes. The second best thing was that I had everything in my pantry or garden to make this dish:)

Feel free to omit or sub any of the veggies...or even chop them tiny so your kids won't notice them;)...a great way to use up surplus from your garden! I can see myself making double and triple batches of this one day for our growing boys and all their friends! One that note...this dish would also freeze well!

ps...I couldn't help but mention that this dish totally resembles Hamburger Helper...talk about a blast from the past...only it's about 150% better for you!!

One-Pot Macaroni with Garden Fresh Vegetables

1 lb lean ground beef (I used bison)
1 chopped onion
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 chopped red pepper
3 chopped carrots
1 tsp each oregano & basil...dried or fresh from the garden!
1/2 tsp salt & pepper
1 can crushed tomatoes
2 cups brown rice macaroni (roughly half the bag)

In large pot or pan saute ground meat over medium heat...cook until no longer pink.

Add everything except the tomatoes and macaroni...cook until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and 3 cups of water...bring to a boil...add macaroni.

Reduce heat and cover...simmer...stir occasionally...until pasta is al dente (a slight crunch).

Feel free to garnish with a sharp grated cheese (I would have if we had some in the fridge!!)...and fresh chopped basil:)

Enjoy!!

Rustic Pasta

Hands down the favourite supper in our house for the past six months..it's amazing! As Jay would say, it's the "most manly vegan meal he's every had"! I've entertained with it...and they've loved it....I've cooked it for my entire family while visiting in Ontario...and they all loved it! It's flavours are so unique, that you just have to try it yourself! Weekends begin in our house on Thursday night....so we find ourselves having this almost every Thursday evening, once the kids are in bed (although Noah gobbles it right up too!), with a nice glass of red wine.

I got this recipe from Alicia Silverstone's book The Kind Diet....GREAT book if you haven't taken a peak at it yet...have made almost every recipe in the book...love it:)

I should also add that we usually eat this dish with fresh parmesan on top...cheating a little I know...so it's not entirely vegan when consumed that way:) (But is just tastes SO good!!)

Also...side note...I know the quality of the photo is brutal...sorry:)

Rustic Pasta

1 pkg of long pasta....we use Brown Rice Pasta..always:)
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced on diagonal
1/4 cup shoyu or tamari (good quality soya sauce)
1 head of cabbage, thinly sliced (red or green...both taste amazing)
5-6 Tbsp marinara sauce (good quality organic pasta sauce)

Cook package of pasta until just al dente, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, heat the oil, add the onions and cook on medium heat until softened, try not to let them 'fry brown'...about 7 minutes. Then add the garlic and celery, suate for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in the shoyu, then add the cabbage, saute covered for about 10 minutes or until all the onions and cabbage appear well cooked.

Add the pasta to the skillet with the marinara sauce and toss together. Cook for another minute or two and serve!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce

Last week was so sunny and warm here, considering it's October! Noah and I headed out to do some yard clean-up...and stumbled upon MANY great finds in our garden still! Take a look...there was even a handful of strawberries...those just didn't last long enough with Noah around to be in the picture!



The rest of the day kinda got away on us...and all of a sudden it was 6:30pm and I found myself realizing I had planned nothing for dinner! That is not like me....I usually am thinking about dinner before I eat breakfast!! So...the boys had already eaten and were about ready for bed...it was only Jay and I that I needed to worry about. Moments like this I usually resort to Black Bean Quesadillas...that's kinda our "go-to" meal...but we were missing a few key ingredients. I took a quick look at this beautiful assortment of veggies and realized they needed to be enjoyed! This is what I came up with!



Eliminate the last step of stirring in the spoonful of cream cheese...and don't garnish your bowl with parmesan...and you've got a beautiful vegan supper!

Garden Vegetable Rose Sauce with Brown Rice Pasta

2 cloves of garlic, minced
Handfuls of fresh tomatoes coarsely chopped...canned would work too
1 large zucchini, sliced
1 large bag of spinach
1 heaping spoonful of cream cheese
handful of fresh basil...or dried basil works too
salt and pepper if desired

Heat up saucepan with a drop or two of olive oil. Add garlic and let cook for a minute or so. Add zucchini and let cook for another minute or two. Add tomatoes until well heated. Add spinach and basil. Cover pan and let spinach cook down. Stir in cream cheese...voila you have rose sauce, minus the heavy cream!

Cook Brown Rice Pasta as directed on bag...spoon over top and add a little parmesan..ENJOY!...oh...and of course it always tastes better with a lovely glass of red wine:)

A very affordable, FAST dinner that you could add some chicken breasts to if desired...and even use for entertaining!