Green Soup

I found this article and recipe in a Reader's Digest when I was home, and when I got back home Kara and I tried it out.  Here's the recipe, then I'll give the review.

2 tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
2 yellow onions, chopped
1 tsp salt, divided
1/4 cup arborio rice
1 lb greens: green chard, kale, mustard greens, or beet greens
14 cups gently packed spinach (about 12 oz)
4 cups vegetable broth
Big pinch cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon juice, more to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion and 1/4 tsp salt; cook, stirring, until onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, add 2 tbs. water, and cover. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are greatly reduced and have a caramel color, 25 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine 3 cups water, remaining 3/4 tsp salt, and rice in soup pot. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover, and cook 15 minutes. Trim ribs and tough stems from the greens and spinach; discard. Coarsely chop greens and spinach.

3. When rice has cooked 15 minutes, stir in greens. Return to a simmer; cover and cook 10 minutes. When onions are caramelized, stir a little greens' simmering liquid into them; immediately add them to rice along with spinach, broth, and cayenne. Return to a simmer, cover, and cook until spinach is tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more.

4. Puree soup in pot with immersion blender until perfectly smooth, or in a regular blender in batches. Stir in lemon juice and garnish with olive oil.

We also garnished with croutons. And feta cheese.

Review:

It was very...green. Tastes like greens. The lemon juice and cayenne add some nice flavor to it. Kara suggested adding a Parmesan cheese rind into the soup as it's cooking. I liked the feta cheese in it because it's very salty and the creaminess offsets the kind of bitterness from all the greens. If you are feeling like you're getting scurvy or otherwise lacking in vitamins, go ahead and try this recipe and feel free to dress it up with whatever you like.

Cheesy Quinoa Casserole

The magazine we found this recipe in called it "Quinoa Mac and Cheese." After making it once, we decided it's not a mac and cheese dish at all, but does make a very delicious casserole. We've now made it twice, and it's delicious!
(This recipe makes one half the original recipe, good for 4-6 servings)

1 cup whole-grain quinoa

1 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth

2 medium leeks (perhaps half an onion?)

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

½ 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

¾ cup crumbled fat-free feta cheese

¼ cup light garlic and herb cream cheese

1 tablespoon milk

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Cooking spray

Panko

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

1. (Quinoa) In a large pot, combine quinoa and vegetable broth, then cover and bring to a simmer over medium-high. Reduce heat to a low and cook for 30 minutes or until broth is absorbed. Remove from heat and let rest for 5 minutes. Fluff resting quinoa with a fork.

2. (Greens) Meanwhile, roughly chop only the white and light green part of the leeks and discard the leaves. Heat the olive oil in a nonstick sauté pan over medium-high. Add leeks and garlic sauté for 2 minutes or until soft. Using a paper towel, squeeze excess water from spinach, add to pan and sauté 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in thyme, parsley, pepper, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs and feta together; set aside.

4. (Combine) Place cream cheese and milk in a small microwavable bowl and heat I the microwave on high for 30 seconds, then whisk to combine. Mix in Parmesan, spoon mixture into a zip-top bag, and refrigerate until ready to use.

5. Add cooled quinoa to spinach and leek mixture; toss to combine, then stir in egg mixture until combined. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray and pile quinoa mixture. Snip a corner of the cream cheese-filled baggie and squeeze evenly over quinoa. Scatter panko and parmesan on top and mist lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden. Serve immediately. 

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

Ever since we got back from vacation I've been on a healthier eating kick. There's nothing like eating snacks and pizza for a week to motivate me to try something new, and this one was super yummy. I found this soup quite a while ago from two peas and their pod, which is a blog that I don't really follow regularly, but where I occasionally find some good recipes to try out. This soup is colorful, flavorful, and relatively easy. I definitely recommend it. I was also surprised at how spicy it was. I guess I had forgotten that there were red pepper flakes and chili powder in there. :)

 

Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

1 T olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped (I used one large and one small because I like sweet potato and it definitely didn't seem like too much... I think it was just right)
1 roasted red pepper, chopped (I used jarred because I didn't want to roast a red pepper just for this soup. I had never purchased a jarred roasted red pepper before but it smelled super duper good right when I opened it. bonus. I also used some of the juice from the jar as part of the 2 cups of water below.)
2 cans low sodium vegetable broth (15 oz. size)
2 cups water
3 cans low sodium black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cans diced tomatoes with green chiles
1 T chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
Dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large soup pot, heat the olive oil. Add in the onion and cook until tender. Add in the garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.
2. Stir in the sweet potato and roasted red pepper. Cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the broth, water, black beans, and tomatoes. Stir well.
4. Add the chili powder, cumin, and red pepper flakes. Stir and toss in the cilantro. Stir again. Let the soup simmer on medium low for 30 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are soft.
5. Season with salt and pepper and serve hot.

I didn't use any of these, but she says you can garnish the soup with cilantro, avocado slices, cheese, tortilla strips, and/or sour cream. 

I had to put the soup on medium-high for part of the 30 minutes because my potatoes just weren't getting soft, and I didn't end up adding any salt and pepper at the end because I thought it tasted great. However, I didn't get the low sodium versions of beans and vegetable broth so you may want to add some salt if you do get the low sodium stuff. I served it with buttered wheat toast which was super good to dip in the soup broth. Yum yum yum. I'm looking forward to lunch leftovers tomorrow. :)

Mac and Cheese with Roasted Poblano Chiles

Kara and I have been looking for quite some time for a good mac and cheese recipe. I think we finally found it - we loved this dish! Even though this is a slightly spicy recipe, variations should be pretty easy. The hardest part of the recipe was timing everything - I'd suggest doing the peppers first, and putting the noodles in to cook about when you start the Bechamel sauce.

Mac and Cheese
3 Tbsp unsalted butter
3 large fresh poblano chiles
Sea salt
1 lb dried pasta
4 cups hot Bechamel sauce (recipe included)
8 oz sharp white cheddar, grated
8 oz sharp orange cheddar, grated
8 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano or Asiago, grated
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1/2 c breadcrumbs

Bechamel sauce
6 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/3 c unbleached all-purpose flour
4 c whole milk, heated till steaming
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg

Peppers:
Lay chiles on the sides on a gas burner and turn flame on high. Roast chiles, turning with tongs, until skins are evenly charred, about 10 minutes. (We put them in the oven on high broil).
Steam until cool in a closed paper bag (we put them in a covered bowl), about 15 minutes. Under cold running water, rub off burned peel. Then discard stems, core and devein chiles, scraping away all seeds, and cut into long thin strips.

Pasta:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to instructions on package until just tender. Drain pasta and transfer to a large bowl (do not rinse) and toss with butter.

Bechamel Sauce:
Melt 6 tablespoons butter over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook, whisking often, without allowing flour to brown, about 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in hot milk. Add salt and nutmeg (and black pepper, if desired). Return to medium heat and bring to simmer. Continue to cook, stirring with a wooden spoon, until sauce has thickened to texture of melted ice cream, about 10 minutes.
Add cayenne, paprika, mustard, and Tabasco to sauce.
Stir all but one cup of the grated cheeses into the bechamel sauce. Heat, stirring until cheese just melt and sauce is smooth.

Pour the sauces over the pasta in the bowl. Add chiles and stir. Spoon into a buttered 9x13 baking dish . Top with remaining cheese and breadcrumbs.

Bake at 400 until pasta is heated through, sauce is bubbling, and top is browned, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand on a rack for 5 minutes. Serves 8.

Sweet Potato Burritos

In an effort to actually eat more of the veggies we get from the farmer's market I found this recipe for sweet potato burritos. I thought they were good, and my husband, who's not typically a sweet potato fan, didn't mind eating them.

1 med onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cans kidney beans, drained
1 C water (more or less, depending on your preference)
3 T chili powder
2tsp cumin
some mustard
a pinch of cayenne pepper
2T soy sauce
3-4C cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
12 tortillas (10in)... made about fifteen for me, but I'm no burrito-wrapping expert
8+ ounces of shredded cheddar cheese

Sauté onion and garlic in vegetable oil until soft. Stir in beans and mash it all up. Gradually stir in water and heat until warm. Remove from heat. Stir in chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne, and soy sauce. Divide beans and sweet potatoes into tortillas, top with cheese, and fold burrito-style. Bake on baking sheet 12-15minutes. Serve with sour cream and/or salsa. Yum.

I wrapped the extras in foil, put 'em in storage bags and froze them. Hopefully they'll be just as good reheated.