Potato Soup

1 to 2 large Potatoes per person, Peeled & Chopped; I like Yukon Golds
Water
1 Medium Onion, Chopped; Optional

Almond Milk
Vegan Butter; I like Smart Balance Light
Salt & Pepper

This is very easy and can be made for any number of people without a real recipe change. Use 1 to 3 large potatoes per person. I like to make extra so I can have left overs.
Place large pot full of water on stove. Bring to boil while You and peeling and chopping the potatoes & onion. Boil the potatoes in water till they are fork tender but not falling apart. Drain.

Put onion in bottom of pot with a small amount of water. Let the onion cook till translucent. Then add potatoes back. Cover the potatoes with Almond milk. Let the almond milk be about 1 to 2 inches above the potatoes so you have enough soup for all potatoes. Let the milk heat up but not boil. Boiling could curdle the milk. Add a couple Tbsp of butter to the soup. About 1 Tbsp for every 2 people. Add salt & pepper to taste. Serve with Saltine crackers.

• You could also wilt some kale down into the soup; Potatoes & Kale are always yummy together
  
• Or peas would be really good too
• You could also thicken the Milk w/ a roue of butter & flour or oil & flour and add the peas to have Peas & Potatoes in Gravy. Which is also really good.
  

Mixed Berry Cobbler

Berry Filling

• 2- 12 to 14oz bags of frozen Organic Berries (Fresh organic berries about 4 to 5 cups)
• 1/2 to 3/4th cup sugar (depends how tart you like your berries. Only add 1/2 cup if they are really sweet berries)
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Cobbler dough

• 1-1/3 cups (165 g) all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons (40 g) granulated sugar, divided
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons (70 g) Vegan butter (I use Smart Balance light)
  
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) Almond, soy, or other non dairy milk

If berries are not frozen put all ingredients in and set aside so berries get juicy. Even if the are frozen you can do this. Preheat oven to 375F.

To make dough. add all dry ingredients to bowl. Crumble butter into flour till it feels like wet sand. Then put in the almond milk. Mix till it makes a sticky dough.

Place the Berries into a non oiled 8x8 pan or a Pyrex container for baking. Make sure its atleast 2 inchs high. Place a pan under it in the oven to make sure it doesn't boil over. Place berries in baking dish. Take your fingers or a spoon and pull apart the dough and place on top of the berries. Take a little extra almond milk and brush the top of the dough.

This needs to bake a good 45 to 50 minutes. Let top brown. Make sure the underside of the dough is done! This will be the last part of the cobbler to finish cooking. And it does take dough a pretty good amount of time to cook in the top of a cobbler.

Maple Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Flax Celery Stuffing

These potatoes turn out sweet and yummy. They are easy & you will never miss the Heavy syrup canned version. This also allows you to use Organic which I jump at the chance for with most veggies, fruits, & legumes.

• 2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 or 3/4-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup Organic Brown Sugar
  
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 400F

Peel, Rinse, & Chop Sweet Potatoes into nice bite sized pieces. About 1/2 inch cubes. ( I wear gloves because they dye your hands orange. But its not necessary.)Throw them into a Medium Mixing bowl. Then add all the Ingredients listed above and toss together till all potatoes are nice & coated. Place on a 9x13 in baking sheet. Cover with Aluminum Foil and place in Preheated oven. Let bake for 15 Minutes covered and then uncover & stir place back in oven uncovered. Bake another 15 minutes and stir again. Then bake another 15 and stir. They are done when they are tender and some are being caramelized.

Celery Flax Stuffing
Super easy & quick!

4 Cups Dry Bread stuffing
Broth
Vegan Butter
1 Cup Celery
4 Tbsp Flax Ground

If you use plain bread add 2 tsp poultry seasoning, its just mixed herbs

Add oil or vegan butter to a pan and saute celery until tender. Put butter & broth into baking dish and add the celery & flax (You can hold the flax till the end if you don't want to put it in the oven, If has more nutritional value if its not heated.) Bake as directed on bag.

Smoky Barley & Veggies - 4 ways, Crock Pot, Speedy, Bake, Pie

Crock Pot Smoky Barley & Veg Soup

This is almost basically a "rock" soup. Meaning you just throw in everything you have. This is a basic recipe. You can add or take out any of the veggies or barley. Add A little more paprika if you want a little more flavor. This will fit tight in a 5qt Crock pot.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Oil
6 Carrots, Chopped
4 Celery, Chopped
1 Onion, Chopped
4 Cloves Garlic
3 Potatoes, Chopped
1 Cup Corn, frozen or Canned
3 Cans Beans, Drained (I use Kidney & Black beans)
1 Cans Chopped Tomatoes
6 Cups Veg Broth
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tsp Paprika
1 Tbsp Hot sauce ( add an extra if you like it hot, I use the smoky Tabasco)
3/4 Cup Pearled Barley
Salt & pepper to taste

You could also fold Kale into this soup.

Cook covered.

Heat Crock pot for 15 or 20 minutes. Put oil in bottom of Crock pot. Chop up all veggies and put them in the crock pot with the oil, paprika, corn, garlic, & bay leaves. Mix up well. Then add the drained beans Tomatoes, Veg Broth, & Hot sauce. Let cook on High for 4 to 6 hours. Add the barley 15 minutes before you are getting ready to eat. But even if you leave it cook longer the barley will hold up pretty good. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Quick Stove top Fix

Heat pot on stove. Add oil. Add all veg, garlic, paprika, & bay leaves. Let cook till veggies are tender. like 15 minutes. Add Everything else including the barley. Cook covered. Let simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

All Done!

I like to take toasted bread & let it soak up some of the broth. It is very yummy!

Bake/ Pot Pie/ or Shepards Pie
You can also turn this into a cake. Follow instructions as listed above. Except just let veggies start to get tender. Don't let them get totally tender. You can add the barley or not. It you add the barley. Add an extra 3/4 Cup. Let in soak up all the liquid.. Put in oven and cook for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Check done ness of veggies to know when it can come out. About 10 to 15 minutes before it comes out of the oven add the vegan cheese (such as daiya). Let it melt and slightly brown. Then it is ready.

• You could also cook it like the pot pie below. Have everything done and stick in oven just to melt the cheese. But this won't carmalize the tomatoes and cheese on the sides. And that cruchy top is yummy.

• You could also put biscuits on top to bake.

• Or Mashed Potatoes like a shepards pie! Add a little Boca crumbles or other crumbled vegan meats.

Pot Pie
You could also turn this into a pie. Don't add all the broth & barley if you are going to do this. Only use like 2 to 3 cups broth. Cook till veggies are done. If the broth hasn't cooked down and thickened from the potato starch add some oil & flour mixture. Heat the oil like 20 sec in microwave. For every Tbsp of oil add a tbsp of flour. For every cup of liquid you want to thicken add 1 tbsp each. After this thickens put into pie crust. With a bottom and top crust. And bake till crust is browning.

• If you are topping with crust, bread, or potatoes it is a good idea to take out the barley so that there are not as many carbs in the meal.

I will be back to add some links to some crust & biscuit recipee....

An Indian Rice Recipe with Veggies & nuts & Roti

Indian Rice w/ Veggies & Nuts

1 1/2 Cups Long Grain Organic Brown Rice
1 Tbsp Smart Balance Light or Vegan butter of choice
1/4 tsp Cloves or 4 whole Cloves
1 Cinnamon Stick, small
1/2 tsp Cardamom or 3 to 4 Cardamom pods
1 tsp Cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 Cups Chopped Veggies, Like carrots, peas, corn, green beans
1/4 cup chopped nut of choice ( I like cashews or almonds)
1/4 Cup Organic white raisins
2 1/2 tsp salt
3 to 3 1/4 cups water

Let rice set in water for 30 minutes or longer. Strain and let rice dry out some. Heat the pan with the butter. Add he rice. Let the rice soak up the butter and fry a few minutes then add spices (Not Turmeric). After a minute add the Turmeric and let cook for another 3 minutes. Add Veggies, Nuts, salt, & water. Bring to a boil and let cook for 30 minutes with a lid on. After the 3o minutes if there is no water visible and there are wholes in the top of the rice, take the lid off and cook for 5 minutes. To let some of the water evaporate. Put lid back on and let set for 10 minutes. Make sure there is water left before you leave it open on the stove for those 5 minutes. Stir it if you see water then leave it on the burner. If not take it off and just let it set for the 10 minutes with the lid on. This way it will not burn. Fluff with a fork and then it is ready to serve.

Roti- Indian flat bread

Will make 12 small Roti or 8 Big Roti

4 Cups flour
1 1/4 Cup water
Smart Balance Light or other vegan butter

Mix flour & water into a dough. Knead then set aside for 15 minutes. Break into 12 balls and the role each bowl out with a rolling pin. Put butter on the skillet and fry each piece of Flat bread on each side. Let small sections brown. If there is a small amount of flour left on bread when done that is ok.

You can also serve this with Curry & a protein source. We normally have tofu or tempeh.

Another good way to eat this bread that isn't so good for you is with butter & sugar. It is very yummy! :)

Crock Pot Chili or A Quick Chili

Crock Pot Chili - 5 QT

3- 15oz Cans Chili Beans w/ liquid
2- 15oz Cans Chili Beans w/ liquid
2- 15oz Cans Mixed Beans w/ liquid
6 Carrots, Chopped
4 Stocks Celery, Chopped
2 -28oz cans Chopped Tomatoes (1 w/ liquid & 1 w/o)
2 Simply Organic Mild Chili Packets
1 Tbsp Chili powder
Paprika- Optional to taste

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot and set on High for 4 to 6 hours. Its done as soon as the carrots & celery ate tender & the flavors have combined.


Quick Pot chili

Same ingredients but add 1 onion. and 1/2 a small can or tomato paste.

Place chopped carrots, celery, & onion into pot w/ a small amount of oil. Cook till tender. About 10 minutes. Add Tomato paste and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add all the other ingredients. Let cook on stove at a simmer for about 30 min- to 1 hour. Just long enough for the seasoning to grow and share its flavor. Then you are ready to eat!

Chili is even better the 2nd day. The flavors have time to come together some more and the sauce thickens a little more. It is so good!

• You can also add pasta, rice, quinoa, barley, etc.If you do this make sure you don't let it cook for to long after wards.
  
• Kale & other hearty green would be good to wilt in at the end as well.
• You can also turn left overs into pot pie!
• You can also pot ground flax in this recipe for some Omega-3
• Or you could add some Vegetable puree like sweet potato or chuncks of sweet potato to add to the nutrient spectrum.
  

Wraps

Wraps are easy and quick here is a couple super quick and easy choices.

Vegan Riblet Wrap

1 Morningstar Riblet
2 Trader Joes Lime Jalapeno Flour Shells (Very yummy!) or shell of your choice
1/2 Tsp Smart balance light (or other vegan butter)
Corn

Cook the riblet in the microwave as directed. Heat up pan and take the shell to smear around the butter. Place the shell in pan to start browning. Put the riblet in a bowl and pick apart into small pieces. Place half the riblet & sauce on the shell. Place corn either in the shell or on the plate. The corn is really good with this. Let the shell brown nicely and get crisp not floppy. This is so yummy and addicting.

There are so many more concoctions you can come up with

Ideas:

• Vegetarian refried beans w/ tomato, lettuce, & sauce
• Vegetarian refried beans with tofurky slices

• Tofurky slices & vegan ham slices w/ vegan swiss cheese (opt)
• Tofurky slices w/ Dijon mustard

• Left over tofurky roast w/ stuffing, corn, green beans (any side you had) w/ a cranberry dipping sauce.
• Tofurky, Ham, Dill slice (kinda like a Monti cristo w/o the egg & cheese) w/ a soy gravy mustard sauce
• Scrabbled tofu
• The omelet from Vegan brunch
• Grilled or roasted veggies: green peppers, onions, mushrooms, etc with a dipping sauce
  
• PB&J
• Vegan Sloppy Joes
  
• Vegan Burger fried w/ simply organic taco seasoning w/ tomato, lettuce, etc w/ optional tofutti sour cream
  
• Vegan burger whole or crumbles w/ caramelized onions & sauteed mushrooms
• Vegan burger whole or crumbles cooked. Add BBQ sauce & onions rings
• Vegan crumbled burger fried with peas, carrots, green beans, vegan worcestershire sauce, pepper, etc ( Kinda like a Shepard's pie in a wrap)
  
• The Monti Cristo Idea form above w/ a Vegan coleslaw both cooked inside the shell
• Indian food would go good in these also. Alot of Indian food is eaten with bread kinda as a spoon. These breads are normally Roti /Chapati or Parantha. Which you can prepare easily and use almost just like this instead of like a spoon. For a more authentic taste & feel.
  

You can also do desserts.

• Like cooked apple w/ Cinnamon & vegan butter of choice. Put between two shells and toast in pan.
• Semi- Sweet chocolate chips or carob chips with peanut butter

The possibilities are endless!

Almond Milk recipe

Almond milk instructions.

Basically you:

• Measure out 2 cups or 10oz of almonds and soak them over night.

• Then you drain them and put them in the blender with 6 cups of water. You blend it all together with a high speed blender.

• Some people like it plain others add some dates for a sweeter end product. I'm sure you could add other sweeteners like agave nectar if you would like.

• After it has been blended you poor it through cheese cloth or something similar to remove the almond pulp.

Then you have the milk. It will keep for 3-7 days.

After you strain the pulp either freeze the almond pulp for cookies and such or dry it with a dehydrator and make flour! So there is really no waste.