Vegetable Soup

My Mom made the absolute best vegetable soup in the world! I've tried to copy it without using meat, but haven't gotten the results I've wanted...until now. This soup satisfies my hunger and my soul. I can close my eyes and remember eating Mom's soup as a child. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do. The liquid smoke and No Beef Base are optional, but highly recommended for the deep, rich flavor I look for in vegetable soup.

Vegetable Soup

1 small wedge cabbage, shredded
1 can green beans, mostly drained
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 large onion, chopped
3 small gold potatoes, medium diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 bag frozen roasted vegetables, optional
4 carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 can lima beans, mostly drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1 small can water
vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
onion powder
liquid smoke, optional
1 teaspoon Better Than Broth No Beef Base, optional
1/4 cup rice or other grain (to give the soup a little substance)

 

Put all ingredients in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Lower fire and cover. Cook on low (hard
simmer) until cooked, about 1 hour, adding vegetable broth as needed.

No Beef Stew

This dish started out as a beans and greens dish while on vacation in Oklahoma. We were at my sister-in-law's house for a cookout (Oh my gosh, I had forgotten just how much meat people eat at a cookout!) and I brought my Instant Pot to cook for Bob and I. I kept adding things and it was a lot like beef stew! So when Bob asked for some of my beef stew I decided I'd better post it so I wouldn't forget what I had done! Amounts of ingredients are variable...make a little or a lot. I like to make a lot and portion and freeze what we don't eat in a couple of days.

No Beef Stew

Several potatoes (depending on how big they are and how much stew you want to make, use your favorite potato)
1 bag greens (such as collards, kale, spinach, etc.)
2 cans beans, rinsed and drained (any kind...mix and match)
1 cup frozen sliced carrots
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup frozen corn
4 rounded teaspoons Better Than Bouillon No Beef Broth paste
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder to taste
1 1/2 to 2 cups hot water

Scrub or peel (if not organic) the potatoes and cut into large diced pieces and place into the Instant Pot liner. Add the rest of the ingredients (adding the water last).

Set the liner into the IP, cover and seal the lid. Make sure the knob is turned to pressure. Set on Manual for 5 minutes. Quick Release.

Note that it will take a while to come up to pressure because of all the frozen foods. If you want to use fresh, that's great and it will not take as long to come up to pressure. I just always have bags of greens, corn, and carrots in my freezer so that's what I use.

Broccoli Slaw

I love the organic broccoli I get at Whole Foods. It has a wonderful, clean taste, but is on big long stalks. I've been putting some of the stalks in my stock bag in the freezer but throwing the rest away. Hated that. Then I was talking to my daughter the other day and she mentioned she made some broccoli slaw as a side for dinner. Broccoli slaw! What! She gets hers in a bag all shredded but I knew I would be making mine! Woohoo...here come the broccoli stalks!

Broccoli Slaw

1/2 cup plant milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 wedge cabbage, green or purple
2 carrots, scrubbed if organic, peeled if not
2 large broccoli stalks, peeled

2 tablespoons tofu mayonnaise
1 teaspoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon sugar (agave nectar is fine too)
salt and pepper to taste

Stir the lemon juice into the milk and let it sit a few minutes. This is your buttermilk substitute.

In a food processor, shred the cabbage, carrots, and broccoli stalks. Place slaw mixture in a large bowl.

Mix together the mayonnaise, mustard, and sugar and add to the slaw. Pour in the buttermilk and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Refrigerate for about an hour to allow flavors to blend.

Salad Supreme Seasoning

I was informed today that McCormick Salad Supreme seasoning has cheese as it's first ingredient. Oh no! I keep it in an old jelly jar so I didn't have the food label handy so I looked it up online. Double oh no! Ugh...why?

I found this recipe and all the reviews said it was delicious so next time I make Linguini Salad I will try it.

Salad Supreme Seasoning Mix Link:

Salad Supreme

Linguini Salad

I've been making this pasta salad for years and my family always loved it. The original recipe calls for shredded cheese, but, of course is left out now! This is a great dish for potlucks too, especially with spiral noodles instead of linguini noodles. I'm not a huge fan of ripe olives, so I only add them when I make this for a potluck.

Linguini Salad

1 pound whole wheat linguini, cooked and cooled
1 large tomato, chopped
1 medium bell pepper, diced (half green and half red is great for Christmas!)
4 ounces sliced ripe olives
3 tablespoons Salad Supreme, to taste
8 ounces fat free Italian dressing

Mix all ingredients well and chill for at least an hour before serving (better if made the day before).

5 Bean Chili

Ever since I became plant-based, I've been looking for a good chili recipe. They always seemed to be too labor intensive so I wouldn't even try it or they didn't quite satisfy on the level chili is supposed to. So I've been experimenting and playing around with the recipe. Well, I think I hit it today! I made it for the Super Bowl tomorrow and it smelled so good we each had chili for dinner tonight!

5 Bean Chili

1-28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can dark red beans, drained and rinsed
1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chili beans
1/2 bag frozen chopped onions
1/2 bag frozen chopped mixed bell peppers
1 cup frozen corn
1-8 ounce can tomato sauce, no salt added
1 tomato sauce can water
2 packets low sodium mild chili seasoning
4 slices pickled jalapeño
2 teaspoons pickled jalapeño juice
several shakes liquid smoke
1/4 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon ground cumin
chili powder, to taste

Add all ingredients to Dutch oven. Stir and bring to a boil on medium heat. Lower heat, cover and cook on low for about 20-30 minutes, adding additional seasonings as needed.

Potato Cabbage Bowl

Today for lunch I was hungry for potatoes, cabbage, and cauliflower. But I couldn't think of any recipe that used all three of those ingredients. And I felt like steamed food too. So I decided to "channel" my Mom and just put everything I was hungry for into my steamer and hope for the best! It was so good I ate almost all of it!

Potato Cabbage Bowl - serves 2

2 medium gold potatoes, scrubbed and cut into pieces
1/4 to 1/2 head of cabbage, rinsed and torn into medium to large pieces

1-2 handfuls of cauliflower florets, rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
Low sodium seasoning salt

Put all ingredients into a steamer and liberally sprinkle with seasoning salt. No need to stir. Add water to steamer bottom and set timer for 40 minutes. When done, stir to mix vegetables and seasoning. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper, to taste.

Note: You can mix and match the vegetables, change the type of beans, use different seasonings, add onions, etc. to add variety if you wish.

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

When I was growing up my Mom made the sweetest, most calorie laden sweet potato casserole you could ever dream of! Lots of brown sugar and of course topped with marshmallows. I didn't know I liked sweet potatoes until I got married and cooked my first holiday meal! I simply opened the can, dumped it all into a pot and added a little brown sugar. It was wonderful! I don't get canned sweet potatoes anymore; I'd rather add my own syrup and cook from scratch. So, in time for Thanksgiving, here is my recipe for sweet potatoes! This recipe serves 1

Holiday Sweet Potatoes

1 medium to large sweet potato
Pure Maple Syrup
Ground Cinnamon
Ground Nutmeg
Water
Vegan sugar (optional)
Raisins (optional)

Steaming sweet potatoes
and corn together!

Cook the sweet potato until very soft. I like to steam mine. Place sweet potato on cutting board and cut into fat rounds (this makes it easier to peel). Peel the potato, cut into large chunks, and place into a sauce pot. Place on stove and put on medium heat. Drizzle some syrup over all the pieces. Add a little water, the cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and sugar if using. I don't use the sugar very often, just when I want it a little sweeter. Lower fire and stir to mix and let everything heat up and blend flavors. Taste and adjust spices. Add more of anything until it's just the way you like it.












If you want to make a fancy casserole, just put the finished sweet potatoes into a casserole dish, top with pecan halves dipped in a little maple syrup and bake at 350F for about 1/2 hour.

Eggplant Dressing

My Mom was a vegetarian until she married my father. One of her favorite recipes (and mine!) from her vegetarian days was eggplant dressing. It's just like dressing with meat, only subbed with eggplant. I'm the only one in my house that like eggplant so I always get a really small eggplant. It makes just enough for me to have for a meal. Mom, of course, used oil to cook her eggplant but I use vegetable broth and I think it's a lot better!

Eggplant Dressing

1 small eggplant, peeled and diced

1/4 sweet onion, sliced or diced
vegetable broth
black pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
sea salt, optional
Brown rice, cooked

Line a sauce pot with vegetable broth and place eggplant and onion in pot. Season with a light touch, you want the flavor of the eggplant to come through. Cook on medium until it comes to a boil, then lower heat, cover, and cook until eggplant and onion are tender and taste done. Add a little vegetable broth as needed to ensure eggplant stays nice and moist.

Mix into rice (as a dressing) or serve over rice. I use Lundgren's Wild Rice Blend (that's what the black bits are in the photo). This is also really good on pasta!

Add salt to each individual serving, if desired.

Pasta Primavera

Everyone I know eats meat. So when our daughter and her fiancé come over we usually grill. Bob grills hamburgers for everyone else and either portobello burgers or bean burgers for me. Last night I didn't feel like burgers so I said I would make some pasta primavera. I was pretty intimidated since her fiancé is a chef. Oh, and have I mentioned that I don't really have a recipe for this? Ugh! So I just started grabbing everything I could think of that I've had in primavera sauces in restaurants and started chopping! He couldn't see how I was going to get a rich enough sauce without using butter. Not only did he like the sauce, but he got seconds! He never guessed my secret for a thick, rich sauce either, I had to tell him! It's the chopped mushrooms! They almost melt into the sauce making it thick and rich!

Pasta Primavera

1 yellow squash, cut up
1 zucchini, cut up
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 orange bell pepper, cut up
Oregano
Basil
Vegetable broth
4-5 oz crimini mushrooms, rinsed
2 jars pasta sauce
1 pkg whole wheat linguine, cooked

Place all vegetables except mushrooms in a Dutch oven. Add seasonings to taste. Cook on medium heat, add about 1/4 cup vegetable broth. Cover and cook until vegetables start to get soft, adding a little broth if needed.

Put mushrooms in a food processor fitted with an "s" blade and process until the mushrooms are the size and texture of ground beef. Add the mushrooms to the vegetables and stir. Add the pasta sauce, cover and cook on medium heat. When the sauce comes to a boil, lower fire and simmer until vegetables are soft (to taste) and flavors have blended.

Serve over linguine pasta.

Tip: Save the mushroom stems in a freezer bag and use it to make stock when the bag is full!

Fig Preserves

When I was a kid, I helped my Mom pick figs. Oh.My.Gosh...the itching! I always looked forward to the preserves Mom would make, but geez, I hated picking those things! Bob and I just got home from our vacation in Louisiana to see my family. My sister gave me two gallon bags full of frozen figs! I was going to just cook a little at a time but by the time we got home, they were half defrosted. So I put them in the fridge and let them finish defrosting. So this morning I took both bags and dumped them into a pot and started cooking. There was about 2 cups worth of juice in the bags with the figs.  I used a lot less sugar than my sister and my sugar is also vegan. Ohhhhhh! It tastes so good!!!

Fig Preserves

2 gallons ripe figs
Water (if no juice from figs), about 2 cups
2 cups vegan cane sugar

Put figs into Dutch oven, add water (if needed) and sugar and stir. Cook, uncovered, on high heat until it comes to a boil. Lower heat to medium and let cook, uncovered, until figs are cooked and juice is thick. Add water a little at a time if necessary to keep figs from drying out. You need liquid to thicken. When figs are done, smash with a potato masher until preserves are chunky but there are no whole figs left.

Taco soup

I used to make Taco Soup quite often but just haven't since I became plant-based. I realized the other night that it doesn't need ground beef to be taco soup! So I went into the kitchen and started throwing things into the pot! You can eat this as a soup, over potatoes, or my favorite...rice! Yum! FYI-we ate this so quick I didn't get a photo! Next time! Lol!!!

Taco Soup

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
1 can lima beans, drained and rinsed
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 quart-sized box vegetable broth
Black pepper, to taste
2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning, to taste
Several drops Liquid Smoke

Line a Dutch oven with vegetable broth. add the onion and cook until the onion has caramelized slightly. Add the garlic and cook a couple of minutes more.

Add the beans, tomatoes, and tomato sauce plus 2 tomato sauce cans of water. Pour in the rest of the vegetable broth, then the seasonings and Liquid Smoke. Stir and taste for seasoning.

Bring to a boil, lower heat to medium, cover and cook 20-30 minutes, until done.

Stuffed Potatoes

My Mom made stuffed potatoes often when I was a kid. They were kind of a production back then, since she had to mince the onion by hand. With my food processor I can do that really quick! Mom didn't use basil in hers, but we love it. The recipe looks intimidating because I tried to give very detailed instructions. Once you cook it, you'll see how really easy it is.

Stuffed Potatoes

2 large Russet potatoes
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
1/2 - 1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Rinse and peel the potatoes. Set the potatoes in cold water so they don't discolor while you're preparing the other ingredients.

Peel the onion and garlic. Quarter the onion and place onion and garlic in a
food processor fitted with the "S" blade. Pulse to mince to the point that you can still see individual pieces of onion (you don't want mush).

On the narrowest end of the potato, poke with the tip of a short, serrated knife (a narrow steak knife works well) then rotate knife to scrape out the inside of the potato. Keep going until you have almost reached the other end of the potato. Be sure to leave enough potato to prevent it from falling apart while cooking. Widen the cavity, leaving enough potato so it doesn't fall apart.

Combine the potato scrapings with the onion and garlic. Add the seasonings, including a small amount of salt. Mix well.

Stuff the potatoes with the potato/onion mixture. There will be some left over that you will use so just leave the extra in the bowl.

 

Line a deep skillet with vegetable broth. Place the potatoes with the stuffed side facing inside the pot. Spoon the extra stuffing mixture over the potatoes and into the veggie broth. Cook, covered, on medium-high until the broth has cooked down. Turn potatoes over. Add more broth and lower fire to medium-low. Add more broth until potatoes are done (a fork will go through unstuffed end) and broth is gone.

Waldorf Salad With a Twist

Before I was plant based, I loved Waldorf Salad at Ruby Tuesdays. But I don't get that anymore of course. I've never made a Waldorf Salad, so I looked on the Betty Crocker website. I mean, really, you know Betty Crocker knows how to make it! I had to change it...you already knew that! LOL!







Waldorf Salad With a Twist

1/4 cup vegan mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain soy yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Almond Breeze almond milk
1 Granny Smith apple, coarsely chopped
1 Gala apple, coarsely chopped
2 medium celery stalks, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped walnuts

1 small box Sun-Maid dried cranberries

 

Mix mayonnaise, yogurt, lemon juice and milk in a medium bowl. Stir in the apples, celery, nuts and cranberries. Serve over salad greens if you like. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.

 

Note: This recipe does not make a lot of sauce. If you like more sauce than "barely covered" just double the mayo, yogurt, milk and lemon juice.



Pinto Beans

Bob and I love beans...any kind of beans! We usually have at least one bean night per week. Sometimes it's canned black beans or chili beans but most of the time it's dried pinto or great northern beans. Bob was raised eating pinto beans only so I cook those most of the time. They are so easy to cook in the pressure cooker I only measure out 1 cup of dried beans and make a small amount.

 

Pinto Beans

1 cup pinto beans, rinsed and soaked for at least 4 hours (or use the quick method of boiling for 2 minutes and let sit, uncovered for 1 hour)

5 cups water

1 medium onion, chopped

mixed frozen sweet peppers

black pepper

garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons marjoram

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

Add all ingredients to pressure cooker and stir. Turn to high, cover and bring to pressure. Turn heat to just under medium and cook at pressure for 25 minutes. Take off heat and let cooker de-pressurize naturally. When lid will unlock, open and salt the beans before serving, if needed.

Veggie Stock Tip

I hate to waste food. I like to save bits and pieces of vegetables to make stock. You know the pieces I'm talking about...the stem end part of the tomato that you cut off and throw into the garbage disposal, the top leafy part and the bottom of the stalk of celery, the first layer of onion that you peel off because it cooks leathery, the top and bottom of the carrot and the peels too, whatever. I use every edible part of the vegetable! Don't throw them in the garbage or garbage disposal, or even the compost pile...put them in a gallon freezer ziplock bag and throw them in the freezer. When the bag is full or even half full (if you can't wait!), toss the veggies in a Dutch oven, or even better, a pressure cooker. Throw some bay leaves, a little seasoning, bring to a boil then simmer. When the stock is done, strain. Toss the veggies. You can now use the stock right away or let it cool, then save in the freezer until you need it for soup. If you're making it in a Dutch oven it will take you 2-3 hours. A pressure cooker will give you wonderful veggie stock in less than half an hour. Experiment with your seasonings...have fun!

Smothered Cabbage

This is my Mom's recipe. It's funny how my tastes have changed over the years. I remember walking into my house after school and smelling this cooking and dreading dinner. I took as tiny a serving as allowed and did my best to choke it down. Now I love it...it's one of my comfort foods! I hope my Mom is smiling when she looks down from Heaven and she sees me eating her smothered cabbage.

Smothered Cabbage

1/2 green cabbage, cut into wedges
1/4 cup onion, diced
salt and pepper, to taste

water or vegetable broth

Rinse cabbage and place in Dutch oven. Add onions and sprinkle with pepper. Pour about 1/2 inch of water into the bottom of the pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to high simmer/low boil. Cook until cabbage is soft. Add water during cooking, if needed. Taste and salt if needed.

IP Directions:

Rinse cabbage and place in the IP liner. Add onions and sprinkle with pepper. Pour 1 cup hot water into pot with cabbage. Cover and seal. Cook on Manual for 3-6 minutes, depending on how soft you like the cabbage. Quick Release. Season to taste. 

Great Northern Beans

Bob and I love beans. And being able to cook them quickly in the pressure cooker just adds to the appeal. Bob was raised eating pinto beans only, so that's what I cook most of the time. But every once in a while I throw in a ringer like great northerns, red beans, or black beans.

Great Northern Beans

1 cup great northern beans
5 cups water
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup frozen mixed peppers
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons dried marjoram leaves

Rinse and pick through beans. Soak in water for at least 4 hours. Drain and rinse. Add to pressure cooker. Add the 5 cups of water and the rest of the ingredients. Cover and lock lid in place. Heat on high until cooker is pressurized. Turn heat down to maintain pressure and cook for 30 minutes. When beans are cooked, take cooker off of heat and let de-pressurize naturally (about 15 minutes). Open cooker and salt the beans to taste.

Note: If you want to cook these beans in a Dutch Oven, follow my directions through putting all the ingredients in the pot. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil. Boil for about a minute then lower heat to simmer. You may cover if you wish, but leave partially uncovered or the beans may boil over. Simmer until beans are soft. Salt the beans to taste.

Hummus

I really like hummus, but I don't like buying it at the store. One reason is that it is so expensive. Another reason is that it's got so many unnecessary ingredients. It's a lot better fresh. You can dip anything into hummus.  Sometimes I dip sliced cucumbers, sometimes carrot sticks. Radishes would be good too.

Hummus

2 - 16 ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 - 4.5 ounce can green chilies
1 large garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 - 4 ounce jar sliced pimientos, drained
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional (or parsley)

Add chickpeas, water, chilies, garlic, and cumin to a food processor. Blend until smooth. Add pimientos and pulse until they are coarsely chopped. Transfer hummus to a bowl and stir in the cilantro (or parsley). Season hummus with salt and pepper if desired. Cover and chill for a couple of hours for flavors to blend.

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

So you just got invited to a barbeque and you've been asked to bring a pasta side dish. Hmmm...you're supposed to cook something you don't get to eat? Ha! I don't think so!!! This salad is good when you first make it, but if you can, make it the day before or even that morning for dinner. The flavors blend so deliciously if it's allowed to sit in the fridge for a while!

Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is actually a seed, but a lot of people think it's a grain, so who am I to tell them different? You can find it in just about any grocery store now. One brand is Red Mill, another is Ancient Harvest. It seems that every store puts quinoa in a different place, so if you don't find it in the health food sections with the grains, try the "gourmet" area. Or pretend you're me and have a clerk find it for you. That'll teach 'em for not putting a product where I think it should go! LOL!

FYI - This is another recipe that lets you decide how much of certain ingredients you want to use. For instance, if you don't care for corn, don't put much, or any. Substitute...play with your food!

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

2 cups water
1 cup quinoa (red quinoa is great in this salad, but more difficult to find)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
vegan cheddar cheese, shredded or cubed (can use nutritional yeast)
frozen corn (you can defrost if you want to, but not necessary)
frozen sliced sweet peppers (can use fresh)
oil-free Italian dressing

 Follow the package directions for cooking the quinoa. The ratio is 2:1 water to quinoa, so you can make as much or as little as you like. When it's all cooked, the package usually says to fluff and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. I don't want any of my cheese to melt, so my quinoa sits in the freezer to get nice and chilled. When the quinoa is chilled, add the rest of the ingredients except the dressing, and stir. At this point the quinoa is still able to absorb a little liquid and you don't want dry quinoa salad, so pour in a little more dressing than you think you really need. By the time you're ready to serve, it will be all absorbed and just right. Stir, fluff, and serve!