Minute Minestrone with Chickpeas

I love soup. I could and have eaten soup for weeks at a time. 
When I was in junior high I ate Sapporo Ichiban Noodles pretty much everyday for lunch. When I was pregnant with Nigel I ate Chicken Noodle Soup everyday for lunch (well, when I figured out I was pregnant with Nigel).
When I go out to eat I almost always order soup vs. salad. I love soup.

I have had this recipe for a long time and I have only just tired it this week. I am just sad that I have tried it now and not this past November so we could have been eating it all winter long. 

This soup was perfect. Restaurant quality.  Warm and cozy and yummy. Perfect comfort food. Perfect chilly spring day food. Perfect.

Minute Minestrone with Chickpeas 
(makes 4 servings)

1 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 chopped Onion
1 tbsp of finely chopped Garlic
1 Tomato
1 tbsp of Tomato Paste
2 cups of Chickpeas (canned or cooked) (You can replace the chickpeas with any other cooked legume)
3 cups of Vegetable Broth
3/4 cup small whole wheat pasta (I didn't use whole wheat, sorry)
2 tsp of Basil
1 tsp of Oregano
1/4 cup of fresh, chopped Parsley (okay, confession. I didn't use any of these above spices. I chose to give my soup 6 or so shakes of Mrs. Dash Original. It was awesome and I'm sure Mrs. Dash had a lot to do with it)
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 cup of Parmesan Cheese

In a pot, heat oil over low heat and brown onion and garlic or 3 minutes or until the onion is transparent. 
Add the tomato and tomato paste, stirring constantly for 1 minute. 

Add the chickpeas and broth. Bring to a boil and add the pasta and spices (remember Mrs. Dash). Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes or until pasta is al dente.

Season with Salt and Pepper to taste (I hardly used any salt and no pepper) and garnish each serving with Parmesan.



I highly recommend this recipe. Serve it as a starter to company or make a batch and keep it all to your self. Maybe this is the only good thing about winter sticking around so late this year; more time to eat soup.

Chickpeas and Pasta with Sizzling Sage and Garlic

I just got back from a fabulous trip to the grocery store (even though my kids were crazy). I love grocery shopping. I know of only one other person (Lindsay) who shares my love and today was especially rewarding and I will tell you why.

I have made a fabulous meal plan (3 new yummy looking recipes to try this coming week) and I had written all of the things I needed to pick up and I actually found all of them, and, I bought a lot of junk.

 Aaron is away for the weekend and for some reason I would catch myself thinking how I needed to buy the McCain Cake (that was only $1.99) because Aaron was gone. I know, there is no logic there but I came home with lots of forbidden (sort of) food. Salt and Vinegar Chips, McCain Cake, and the one I'm most excited about:

Presidents Choice Mini Peanut Butter Melts


I know that you have all had ice cream with mini peanut butter cups in it but these are tinier.


They were with the chocolate chips and although I know how great they would be in a cookie I'm planning on enjoying these tonight while in my comfiest sweatpants watching a chick flick (Leslie, where are you??)


Now, onto other things. Last week was a gong show for meals around here. I dropped the ball completely but am now feeling back on track. I have been saving posting this recipe because I forgot to take photos but it was really yummy easy and, well, sizzling.

We love Chickpeas. Hazel actually asks to take them in her lunch for a snack. What a mean mom I am, teaching my kid to whine about when she gets to eat chickpeas. She should be asking about cookies or cup cakes. Oh well. But this always works in my favor because if I make a recipe with chickpeas I am usually confident that it will be well received.


Chickpeas and Pasta with Sizzling Sage and Garlic


1 large diced Onion
4 tbsp of Olive Oil
1 tsp of freshly ground pepper (I used regular pepper, nothing fancy)
1 tsp of Red Pepper Flakes
1 can of Chickpeas, rinsed
8 oz of large pasta (farfalle anyone?)
2 large cloves of Garlic
3 tbsp of chopped, fresh Sage

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Fry the onions in 2 tbsp of olive oil stirring frequently, especially towards to end. Season with salt, pepper and the pepper flakes. Add the chickpeas and turn the heat to low.

Meanwhile,  boil the pasta in salted water until al dente then add it to the chickpeas. 

Heat the remaining oil in a small skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and sage and fry for 20 seconds. Pour over pasta and chickpeas. Serve.

This was really good. Impressive even. Feel free to serve as a side dish or even as your main event! It looks pretty and smells heavenly. 


Nigel checking out the dinosaurs as a treat for you!




What happened to the Tofu??? Last Minute Stir-Fry

No, really? What happened to the tofu? This is driving me crazy! I always have tofu in the house. It is an easy way to 'beef up' (sorry, I had to say it) a meal. The last time I bought tofu I only used 1/2 of the package and I froze the rest to use in a stir-fry. Or I thought I did.

I made a lovely meal plan this week. It has a lovely mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals. Friday I went and picked up all of the groceries I was going to need for the week and I even stayed well under my food budget for the week. I was feeling quite proud of myself...until Friday night.

I didn't have the main ingredient for my meal. That was because I chose to go to the wrong grocery store that didn't have a deli and couldn't pick up what I needed. I had realized this while shopping but obviously didn't think of what to replace the meal with. Oops.

So Friday night we ended up having frozen pizza. And then again Sunday because I had all of these yummy leftover plans with the meal I didn't buy. Good thing my guys like pizza. In fast last night when I still was off with my meal plan (what is the point of even making a meal plan if I don't follow it) and they were still asking for pizza:


 or begging. 

I didn't give in. Instead I remembered the tofu I had in the freezer and had a brilliant idea to have stir-fry. But then I couldn't find the tofu. Anywhere. I actually emptied both the fridge and freezer looking for it. It had disappeared. 

We still had stir-fry, just without the tofu.

We actually have stir-fry a lot. It is a great last minute meal when you don't know what else to make. You can throw whatever you want in it and serve it with a ton of different sauces. You can eat it with Couscous, Vermicelli Noodles, Quinoa, or Rice. Yum!


Last Minute Stir-Fry

The first step for me in making a stir-fry is choosing what I am going to eat it with. I love Vermicelli noodles. They take minutes to cook, and are fun to eat. The reason I say plan this first is that if you are eating rice or quinoa you need to get that cooking since they take a little bit of time. 

1 tbsp of Olive Oil
1/2 c EACH (or more if you have less veggies) of a variety of vegetables (Last night we had: Onion, Garlic, Mushrooms, Parsnips, Green Pepper, and that is all I think...)
1 cup of one or more of: Cubed or Crumbled Tofu or Beans (black bean for us last night)

Heat your pan and oil. Throw in your ingredients and stir-fry them up! Next you need a Sauce. 

Soy Sauce and a little cornstarch makes a great simple sauce. Add a little peanut butter and its so good. Have you ever thought of using your favorite salad dressing? Try it...so good!

Last night I had some Spicy Peanut Sauce in the fridge. I knew it would be too spicy for the kids so I added some water (to dilute the spice) and cornstarch (to thicken it up) to it . Add your sauce to your veggies, and when everything looks cooked and smells delicious then dish up your rice/quinoa/noodles/couscous, add your stir-fried veggies and eat up!


Usually this is a no-fail meal around here, no matter what I put in it.





 But sometimes there is a kid who just wants more pizza.


 At least he didn't cry or throw his bowl. He just sat there waiting for Aaron to come home so he could charm him into feeding him. And it worked.

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"Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison

"Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone" by Deborah Madison

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Do you see that this book has won some awards? A Julia Child Cookbook Award Winner and Book of the Year. Whoa! So Julia likes it but did I?

I love the library. I go to the library at least once a week with my kids but we are often found there 2-3 times each week. I love books but I don't like spending money so I take advantage of the free ones. Since I have started eating more vegetarian cusine I have been borrowing more than my share of cookbooks and now its time for me to start letting you know what I have found. 

This is not my first time reading a cookbook but it is my first book review and here it goes:

I'm a visual person.

Have you noticed that even when I don't get a picture of a recipe or meal I always add pictures of the munchkins? That is because I like to look at things. I have always learned better and faster with colored highlighters and pens; diagrams and pie charts; and pictures. And not just since having kids, always. So while this book was hearty and had a lot of great things about it, it immediately looses major points with me because of the lack of photos. It looks like a giant text book.



Now, there are some pictures. There are 3-ten page sections of pictures. That is about 30 pages of images. 30 out of 742. Not enough. 

But will the lack of visual interest stop me from recommending this book to you?

No.

This book is amazing. 

It is very well organized. Everything is where it should be. The table of contents has 18 categories from 'sandwiches' to 'eggs and cheese'. There are wonderful tips on every page about what to serve with each recipe and simple ways to alter it. The font is easy to read and the descriptions really take over the need for pictures (I can't believe I just said that). This book is a monster but is fabulous. 

The only recommendation I can make though is to buy it. It is really 742 pages long. 

So full that I think you need to own it to appreciate it. This is a book I may have to just not return to the library. 

Bring on the late fines; I can handle it.

Lentil Soup for a Chilly Day with Quick Drop Baking Powder Biscuits

I am so sick of the weather in Kingston. One of the best things for me about living in Eastern Ontario is that the weather is generally wonderful. Especially when I am comparing it to the 8 month winters of Edmonton. Yesterday was sunny but not warm. It should have been but it wasn't. In fact it was down right chilly! The sun can only do so much when there is a cold wind blowing off the monster that is Lake Ontario. 

Yesterday was a busy one around here. We did some shopping, walking, had a lunch date with friends, headed home to do some laundry, and then swimming with the kidlets; all before dinner. By the time we arrived home we were all tired and hungry. We all headed straight for the kitchen ready to get to work. The kids had crayons, paper and rulers; everything they needed for their "homework" (why do kids rush into growing up by making up work for them to do?) I went straight for the refrigerator to see what I had.  A friend who was swimming with us told me I should make Lentil Soup but I wasn't sure that I had carrots, or onions or anything else that was needed. But guess what? I did! 

I am so glad that she recommended soup because it was just what we all needed to warm up on a chilly day.

Lentil Soup
(play with the ingredients, I just threw all of this together and had great results)

1 Can of Lentils rinsed
1 Onion, chopped
1 tsp of Garlic
3 Carrots (or another root vegetable; parsnip, potato...)
2 cups of small Pasta (shells, egg, whatever)
2 tsp of Thyme 
4 cups of vegetable broth (if you don't have vegetable broth, any other kind would do)
Salt and Pepper

Use a little butter or olive oil and saute your onion and garlic in the bottom of a sauce pan. When it is soft add all of your other ingredients. Let everything simmer until your vegetables are soft and your pasta is cooked. How easy was that? Fast, yummy, and warm. 

Feel free to serve with Rawsome Kale Salad

Now while your soup is simmering lets make some super easy baking powder biscuits. We have always loved the biscuit but I didn't make them very often because they were messy to prepare, but then my mom sent me this recipe I was so glad because it was so much less work...you will see.


Quick Drop Baking Powder Biscuits

2 cups of All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
1 tsp of Salt
1 cup of cold Buttermilk (you can add 1 tsp of vinegar or lemon juice to regular milk so make it sour but I usually just use regular cold milk)
4 tbsp of butter (room temp)
1 tbsp of Sugar
(you can also add chopped onion to this, or grated cheddar cheese, or maybe ham and cheese for an easy to pack lunch)

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. 
Lightly grease a baking sheet (or use parchment paper).

Okay, I'm going to give your the recipes directions but them I'm going to tell you to just ignore them if you want and do what I always do.

Measure dry ingredients into a medium bowl (sifting not necessary). Add butter and milk to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined (don't over work this batter!)

(Or, just dump everything into a bowl and go at it. Dry then wet? I never make them that way and they always turn out gorgeous)

Immediately drop onto baking sheet about 2 inches apart. (that is right, no rolling out the batter, just drop onto the pan)

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 


Serve warm with butter, or not, they are delicious with or without. 


Click Here for Lentil Soup
Click Here for Quick Drop Baking Powder  Biscuits





Things that make me smile :) and Super Moist Pumpkin Muffins

About 4 weeks ago my dear friend Tina told me that she had found mini silicone muffin liners. I was shocked and excited. I've been watching for some that weren't going to make me have to starve my family for a week because of the price and she wasn't even looking and found some. In Kingston. Shocking. Where did she find these wonderful liners? Home Sense. I would never have thought to look there. I love Home Sense but am too poor to let me self go in. 

I've known for 4 weeks that the liners were there but I haven't had a chance to get over and pick some up until Friday and even then it wasn't easy.


I spent this past week sick. And then just when I thought I was feeling better Aaron caught the bug. We spent the week laying around and feeding our kids junk because we were too sick to do or make anything. By Friday the fridge was empty, the pantry was raided (Thanks to Nigel who, at 2 is already eating everything) and it was clearly time to venture out of the house if we wanted to survive. 

I showered, dressed and by then was ready to crash. But then I remembered that my kids were starving so we grabbed jackets and my grocery list and headed out. We had about 5 places to go to with Home Sense being the last place on the list. When we finally got there Hazel was crying to go home and Nigel was crying to go in. I was tempted just to leave but I was  actually in the parking lot so we just went for it. 

I walked in, found someone who worked there and asked where the mini silicone muffin liners were and found out that they were cheaper than Tina thought! Dragging the kids in was worth it already. Well, there were 2 different brands and one was cheaper. They also only had 4 dozen left. Exactly what I wanted; 4 dozen liners would fill my 2 mini muffin pans. (I know that I technically can use them without the pans but in reality I need the pans. Don't ask me why, I just do)



So my trip was worth it. I am loving these adorable little liners, and I had to bake some muffins pronto:

Super Moist Pumpkin Muffins

1 1/2 cups of All-Purpose Flour (I should have used Whole Wheat)
1 tsp of Baking Soda
1 tsp of Baking Powder
1/2 tsp of Salt
1/2 tsp of Cinnamon (triple this, they need it)
1/2 tsp of Nutmeg
1/2 tsp of Ginger (I couldn't find my Nutmeg or Ginger so I used 1 tsp of All-Spice)
1/2 cup of Raisins (Omitted. I can't handle raisins where they don't belong. Which is everywhere except my moms Raisin Cookies)
1 Egg
1/4 cup of White Sugar
1/3 cup of Cooking Oil 
1 Cup of Canned Pumpkin (My can had almost 3 cups in it so I put the extra in a ziplock bag and it is in my freezer for later)
1/2 cup of Milk

Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until just moist. Lightly grease your muffin pans. or...


Fill muffins cups with batter 3/4 full. Bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.


YUM! 
This recipe made 36 mini muffins. I have froze almost 2 dozen and the  rest we are enjoying right now.

p.s. The muffin liners at Home Sense cost $4.99/dozen for 1 brand and $6.99/dozen for the other. The woman who helped me said that they only randomly carry them and that Winners also has them occasionally.