Roasted Root Vegetable Soup and Curried Chicken Puffs

1 large sweet potato
4 carrots, peeled and cut up
2 parsnips, peeled and cut up
1 small apple, peeled and cut into wedges
1/2 onion, chopped and sauteed
3-4 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Oven Grilling Method:  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Spread vegetables in a single layer on a sheet pan. Drizzle on the oil and mix with your hands to evenly distribute the oil. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until vegetables are lightly browned and tender. Transfer to a large saucepan, and add the broth and seasonings. 


Easy Slow-Cooker Method:  Sautee chopped onion in a fry pan and transfer to slow cooker. Place all cut up vegetables in slow cooker and cook on low for 5 hours. Add broth and seasonings and cook and additional 1 1/2 hour. Mash vegetables with a potato masher or blend in a blender in batches till smooth. Serve 


CURRIED CHICKEN PUFFS (from sparkpeople recipes)
Pastry Puffs:
1 c water
1/2 c hard margarine, butter, or shortening
1/4 tsp salt


1 c all-purpose flour


4 large eggs


Curried Chicken Filling:
2 c chopped cooked chicken (for veg version may use tofu, crumbled)
10 oz. can of low-fat condensed cream of chicken soup (or cream of mushroom, or your own white gravy or     cream mix)
1 Tbsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/16 tsp pepper


For Pastry Puffs: Combine first 3 ingredients in medium heavy saucepan. Heat and stir on med-hi until boiling and margarine is melted. Reduce heat to medium.
Add flour. Stir vigorously for about 1 min until mixture pulls away from side of sacepan to form soft dough. Remove from heat. Let stand for 5 min.
Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition until well combined and dough is thick and glossy. Drop, using about 2 tsp for each, about 3 inches apart onto greased baking sheets. Bake in 425 degree F oven for about 30 minutes until dry. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Makes about 48 pastry puffs. Trim 1/4 inch slice from top of each. Set tops aside.


Curried Chicken Filling: Combine all 5 ingredients in large saucepan. Heat and stir on med-low for about 10 minutes until heated through. Makes about 2 1/3 c filling. Spoon about 2 tsp filling into each pastry puff. Cover with tops. Serve immediately. Makes about 51 puffs.

Butternut Chili

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp each: cumin, chili pwdr, and ginger
1 med red or sweet onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
2 c butternut squash, cubed
3 c gluten-free broth
1 28-oz can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes, diced or broken up, with juice
1 c chopped green chiles - mild or hot, as you prefer
2 14-oz cans black beans, rinsed, drained
1 14-oz can white Northern beans, or red kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 Tbsp golden balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
1 Tbsp agave nectar (honey if you don't have agave, but honey not considered vegan)
1 large fresh lime - for juice and garnish


To assemble in a slow cooker: Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the cooker; add garlic and spices and stir to combine. Add the remaining ingredients except the lime juice. Gently stir with a wooden spoon or vinyl spatula (you don't want to mash the beans) to mix. Cover and follow the manufacturer's instructions for slow cooking a chili with canned (not dried beans). Suggested cooking is on low for 5-6 hours.

To make on the stove top: Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; add the spices, stir and heat through for a minute; add onions and stir for 2-3 minutes; add the remaining ingredients except the lime. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer; lower the heat and keep the chili at a slow simmer, covered; stir now and then, and check the consistency. Add a little more broth if needed, to thin. Cook for an hour or so until all the flavors have combined and the sauce is thickened and rich.

Before serving, squeeze in the juice from half a lime; stir. Taste test for seasoning adjustments -more lime? A pinch of salt? More heat? A touch more sweetness? Serve piping hot, as is, or with a garnish on top.  Serves 6.

Garnish Ideas:
Chopped fresh cilantro
Wedge of lime
Crumbled blue corn chips

In making this, I omitted the celery as we aren't overly fond of it, and reduced the garlic. I used a fresh jalapena pepper from the garden for the green chile. It was so delicious that Pat told me it was the best recipe I've made to date. Yay! Another yummy recipe to enjoy.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

This dish is eaten throughout Asia, with some variations. This is the plain and average version Americans enjoy.
1 lb. chicken meat, cut into bite-sized chunks and sauteed
1 8-oz can pineapple tidbits or chunks
1/3 c sugar
1/4 c vinegar
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp soy sauce
(opt) 1 t instant chicken bouillon granules
1/8 t ground black pepper or red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 c bias-sliced carrots ( 2 med, or more if you like)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or powdered if you don't have fresh)
   If you don't want as much garlic taste, reduce or change out the garlic and add some onion
(1/4 c onion, minced or sliced in thin lengthwise half-moon strip)
1 lg green or red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 cups hot cooked rice

For sauce, drain pineapple, reserving juice. Add enough water to juice to equal 1 1/2 cup. Stir in sugar, vinegar, cornstarch, soy sauce, and bouillon. Set aside.
Start stir frying the chicken chunks and garlic. Add carrots and stir-fry 1 minute. Add bell peppers (and onions), stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes or till crisp-tender.
Stir sauce. Pour into center of pan. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 1 minute more. Add pineapple. Heat through. Serve over rice. Serves 5.

Stir-fry Rice (Pat)

When I ate this for dinner after Pat had made it, and said how delicious it was, he had me take a picture of it and wanted me to include it on the blog. He doesn't use a recipe. And, he puts anything in the fridge in it. These are the approximate instructions for making it:
5 c cooked rice
1/4 onion, chopped
4 T veg oil
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c mirin
2 carrots, sliced
1 lg bell pepper, chopped
3 eggs
1-2 tsp white pepper
Heat the oil and start to saute the onion. Then add the pre-cooked carrots and the bell pepper, stirring 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce and mirin. Then add the rice and stir till hot and seperated, starting to turn slightly brown. Turn off heat. In seperate pan, scramble eggs, add to the rice mixture, and incorporate the white pepper seasoning, flavoring to taste. Thanks for whipping up one of your quick meals Pat.

PERUVIAN QUINOA-VEGETABLE SOUP

I found this recipe in the book "The 30-Minute Vegan" by Mark Reinfeld and Jennifer Murray. I've been wanting to try eating quinoa for some time, but hadn't found an appealing way to eat it. This piqued my culinary curiosity and I tried it. Here it what the authors tell about the recipe; "On our honeymoon in Peru, after politely refusing the house specialty of fried guinea pig, we would typically opt for this yummalicious soup. From the mountains of Cusco to the jungles of the Amazon to the island of Lake Titicaca, we were happily treated to this national favorite time and time again. Most of these ingredients grow in the Andes Mountains and are popular among the locals. It was amazing to see quinoa growing in its natural environment. If you can't find purple potatoes, and will do." 
7 c water of vegetable stock 
3 Tbsp soy sauce 
3/4 c uncooked quinoa 
1 1/2 c chopped purple potatoes, or potatoes of choice 1 large carrot, sliced 
3/4 c diced yellow onion 
4 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced 
1 c sliced cabbage 
1 Tbsp seeded or minced jalapeno or other chile pepper 
2 large tomatoes, chopped 
1/4 c minced fresh cilantro 
1/4 c fresh Italian parsley 
1 t sea salt, or to taste 
1/2 t black pepper, or to taste 

1) Place the water and soy sauce in a large pot over med-high heat. Add the quinoa. 
2) Begin prepping the vegetables and place them in the pot as you go. Start with the potatoes, carrot, onion, garlic, cabbage, jalapeno, and tomatoes. 
3) Cook until the potatoes are tender and the quinoa is cooked, about 20 minutes from when the quinoa was added. Add the cilantro, parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.

I wanted to make it for Sunday dinner, and to have it ready after church, adapted it to cooking in a slow cooker. I reduced the amount of vegetable stock to a 32-oz tetra pak carton of veg broth, increased the carrots because I like them, and used canned jalapeno, and dried garlic and parsley. I cooked it on high for about 4 hours or so, and served it with cornbread drizzled with honey. It was incredible. I could eat the whole pot of it all by myself.

Black Bean Enchilada

I love black beans, so when I made enchiladas with chicken, I had to make some with black beans for me. I had left-over cooked Yukon Gold potatoes, so I put those in as well. I made the filling on my own, but then found a recipe for black bean filling in the Better Homes and Gardens Special Interest Mexican issue, so added carrots to it. This second time I made these enchiladas, I tried following the recipes from the magazine more carefully. I don't think I like purchased mole sauce. I would either leave it out, or make my own. Here it the recipe from the magazine:

Black Bean Filling
1/2 c chopped onion (1 med)
1/2 c chopped carrot (1 med; I like at least two)
1 med fresh jalapeno chile pepper, stemmed seeded, and finely chopped (canned worked for me)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp oil
1/2 c sour cream (I left this out)
1/3 c purchased mole sauce
2 Tbsp water
2 15-oz cans black bean, rinsed and drained
1 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese (again, no dairy for me)

In a large skillet, cooked onion, carrot, chile pepper, and garlic in hot oil until onion and carrot are tender. Remove skillet from heat. In a small bowl, combine sour cream, mole sauce, and the water. Stir sour cream mixture, beans, and cheese into onion mixture in skillet. Makes 8 servings.

So without all the dairy to offset the mole sauce, I only used the onion, garlic, carrot and jalapena; sauteed. Then stirred in 1 can black beans and the microwaved carrots, spiced with black pepper,  a generous tsp or to taste of dried oregano or Italian seasonings, and red chile pepper or red chile flakes. Maybe those potatoes really were a good addition. Don't use baking potatoes, use the thin skinned boiling kind. Then roll up the filling in tortilla shells, place in greased or sprayed baking rectangle pan. Cover with sauce of your choice, and bake on 350 till heated through. If you choose to use a salsa as topping for the sauce on these, like I pictured it, then you can optionally heat in the microwave, and top with the salsa.

Chip and Salsa Soup

Chip and Salsa Soup
Servings: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

• 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 15 can black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup chopped green onions
• 1 1/4 cups fresh salsa, mild or medium
• 1 tablespoon canned diced green chilies
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 2 cups fat-free tortilla chips, broken into bite-size pieces
• 1 cup avocado chunks

Place the broth, beans, salsa, corn, green onions and chilies in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat for 10 minutes to blend flavors.

Place 1/2 cup of chips and 1/4 cup of avocado in each of four bowls. Ladle the soup over the avocado and chips and serve at once.


I really like this recipe, and it's non dairy! I got it from the "McDougall All-You-Can-Eat Cookbook", which is a cool resource (http://www.drmcdougall.com/free_5a.html).  This is another way I get some veggies in Karl's diet ;)  We like to have quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas on the side.

I'm in the middle of moving, but I'll get pictures up as soon as I can!