Brazilian Black Bean Soup and Pao de Queijo

First up on this week's menu plan, Brazilian Black Bean Soup from my friend Julie's blog. This soup turned out so flavorful, and we really felt good about eating it since the ingredients are so healthy! Unfortunately, I am currently having computer issues, so I will go ahead and direct you to Julie's blog for Brazilian Black Bean Soup and Pao de Queijo.

Hopefully I am back up and running with the blog soon! Have a great weekend!

Tofu Rancheros

As my husband mentioned in his Friday blog post, I had the pleasure of having 3 wisdom teeth removed on Thursday. It was quite an interesting experience. It was my first time being put "under" and, according to the oral surgeon, they had to use 3 times the anesthesia normally given to a person of my height and weight to actually put me out. Also, when I started coming to, I was apparently giving the nurses hair-styling advice, which is quite horrifying to me considering the fact that I myself haven't had an actual "hair style" in months. I am probably the least qualified person I know to give any kind of fashion/beauty advice.

Cooking advice? Menu planning advice? That would be a little more my area, although I suppose it would have been a bit creepy had I come out of the anesthesia plugging my blog!

Anyway, as I recovered from my surgery, the plan was that my husband was to fill in on the blog. He had several dinners that he was hoping to make and blog about for me. The first was Grilled Pepperoni and Red Onion Pizza. I wish I could vouch for how good it was, but I was sticking to a diet of pudding and applesauce at the time. It smelled and looked fantastic though.

Saturday, Jared planned to cook another delicious meal and blog about it. Unfortunately, due to a very manly accident (nothing involving washing dishes), he instead sliced his hand open and had to drive himself to the Urgent Care (his wife being too loopy on Lortab to drive) to be stitched up. Needless to say, the blogging never happened. We're quite the pair, huh?

Lots of blood, stitches, and pain pills later, I'm back with a brand-new meatless meal that I think will knock your socks off.

*Note: this is a very versatile recipe, experiment with the salsa and cheese types, substitute scrambled eggs or cooked chicken chunks for the tofu, use different veggies, feel free to make it your own! Adapted from a recipe on foodnetwork.com.

printable recipe

Tofu Rancheros

serves 4

16 oz tofu (firm)
16 oz salsa (I used red, but green would work too)
8 oz cheese (cheddar if using red salsa, monterey jack if using green salsa)

1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 package mushrooms, sliced
1/2 red onion, sliced
8 flour or corn tortillas, whichever you prefer

Chop your veggies and dice the tofu.

In a large skillet, heat a Tbsp canola oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, throw in the tofu and veggies.

Saute until the veggies are al dente, about 6-8 minutes.

Add the salsa.

Cook and stir until heated through.

Warm up your tortillas on a griddle or in a skillet until they just barely start to turn golden.

Top with a spoonful of the veggie mix and a handful of cheese. We added a splash of Tabasco to ours, keeping the kids' as-is.

Roll up and serve. So easy and so good!

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 13.

Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes

I almost didn't blog about this dish. It is so easy, it really doesn't qualify as a "recipe." But it was a perfect "Meatless Monday" dish, easily converted to a side dish (maybe for Italian Breaded Pork Chops) if you aren't into the whole Meatless Monday idea.

printable recipe

Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes

All you really need is your favorite pasta (I usually allow 2 oz per person) and a jar of sun-dried tomatoes. I like to purchase the big jar pictured here from Costco. We keep it in the fridge and have sun-dried tomatoes on hand whenever we need them. It is much cheaper than buying small jars at the store each time a recipe calls for them. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat up the sun-dried tomatoes with olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. The tomatoes we buy are packed in olive oil with garlic and herbs, but if yours aren't then you may want to add some minced garlic and italian seasoning.

Drain the pasta and toss with olive oil/tomato mixture. Season to taste with salt and red pepper.

Serve with a garnish of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. It's as simple as that!

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 12.

Macaroni and Cheese

Home-made macaroni and cheese, does it get any better than this? This beats the stuff in the box hands down. I actually didn't feel guilty serving this to my kids because it was made completely from scratch. It's not low-fat of course, but it isn't full of processed ingredients I can't pronounce!

This is a Pioneer Woman recipe so you know it's gotta be delicious!

printable recipe

Macaroni and Cheese

serves 6

16 oz box dried macaroni

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

2 1/2 cups milk

1 tsp dried mustard

1/2 tsp each of salt, seasoned salt, and black pepper 

1 pound cheese, I used half monterey jack and half cheddar but you can use whatever sounds good to you!

Preheat oven to 350F. Boil macaroni until it is very al dente (still firm but chewable), about 6 minutes. In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat.

Add flour and whisk for 5 minutes, do not let burn!

Add milk and mustard and continue whisking for another 5 minutes, mixture will thicken to gravy consistency. I had to cook it a little longer and turn the heat up to medium to get this to happen, just depends on your stove.

Reduce heat to low. Whisk an egg in a separate bowl. Add 1/4 cup of milk mixture slowly to the egg, whisking continually. 




This is called tempering and will bring the temp of the egg up gradually so you don't have chunks of scrambled egg when you add it to your sauce. (This happened the one time I tried to make alfredo from scratch, disgusting).

Add egg to milk mixture, whisking constantly until well-blended. Stir in salt, seasoned salt, and pepper. Add more to taste, if desired.

Stir in all but about 1/2 cup of the cheese. I was in a hurry and accidentally dumped it all in, oops. Stir it all together until blended and cheese is melted.

Stir in the cooked macaroni. Pour into a buttered casserole dish, 2 quart or 9x13 and top with remaining cheese (assuming you aren't an airhead like me). Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

I don't have a picture of the finished product in the baking dish because Nathan high-jacked my camera. He took this picture.

And this one. My husband was trying to entertain Hannah, who was getting fussy and hungry.

And this one. I have no idea what I am doing here.

Eventually we dished up the food. It was delicious.

I just happened to have an avocado so I sliced it up. It was so good eaten with the macaroni and cheese. Who would have thought?

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 8.

Tomato Tortellini Soup

This is meatless meal that will please kids and adults alike. I love making things from scratch, but sometimes it's great to have a meal that's just "semi-homemade" with the help of a few cans and pre-made ingredients. The end result definitely doesn't taste like it's from a can!

I adapted this recipe from one found in a Taste of Home magazine.

printable recipe

Tomato Tortellini Soup

serves 6-8

1 pkg (9 oz) refrigerated cheese tortellini

2 cans (10 3/4 oz each) condensed tomato soup, undiluted

1 can (15 oz) vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups milk

2 cups half-and-half cream 

1/2 cup chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes 

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese plus additional cheese for garnish

Cook tortellini according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a large stockpot (5 quarts at least) combine the soup, broth, milk, cream, tomatoes and seasonings. Heat through, stirring frequently. 

Drain tortelli and carefully add to soup.

Simmer over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in Parmesan cheese.

Serve hot with extra Parmesan cheese and fresh ground pepper as garnish, if desired.

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 7.

  

Lemon Garlic Pasta

The day after Christmas, we wanted something light and healthy for dinner. You know the feeling, after over-indulging in all the deliciousness, you just need a change of pace. Something without 4000 calories per bite, perhaps.

So, my husband whipped up his Lemon Garlic Pasta. We usually put chicken in it, but this time we made it vegetarian, it's fantastic either way.

Lemon Garlic Pasta

printable recipe

serves 4

1 red bell pepper

1 zucchini

(optional) 1 chicken breast marinated in Italian dressing (we like Good Seasons)

 4-5 garlic cloves

olive oil

1/2 cup grated Parmesan

1 lemon

8 oz cooked pasta (we like whole wheat thin spaghetti, but use whatever you like)

Slice the red pepper and zucchini in half, longways, and take the seeds out of the pepper.

Grill the vegetables until tender and a little blackened.

Grill chicken (if using) until cooked through.

Chop vegetables (and chicken) and set aside.

Mince the garlic cloves.

Saute the garlic cloves in a couple of Tbsp of olive oil until beginning to lightly brown.

Add in the vegetables (and chicken, if desired) and saute another minute.

Throw in pasta and parmesan and toss to coat.

Place in serving bowl and squeeze half of the lemon on top.

Cut the other half of the lemon into wedges.

Serve hot with parmesan and a lemon wedge for garnish.

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan 6.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup by Amy

I am so excited today to introduce my guest blogger, Amy from Serve at Once. I discovered her blog a few weeks ago and have enjoyed reading her funny stories and drooling over her recipes ever since. Her honeybun cake recipe was recently featured by Ree Drummond (aka The Pioneer Woman) on the Tasty Kitchen portion of thepioneerwoman.com.

I have asked Amy to share her Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup recipe with us for this week's Meatless Monday. Here she is, in her own words:

Hi. My name is Amy, and I'm a senior in college. I'm an English major...which pretty much means I have no idea what I want to do with the rest of my life.

And that's ok with me. Until May. When I have to figure out how I'm not going to starve.

*gulp*

But since it's December, I have a little more time until D-Day! And right now, I'm enjoying my last days in school and taking life one day at a time.

Also, I love puppy dogs, rainbows, and Diet Coke. 

And now, we are thoroughly acquainted! I know you can sleep tonight because we are now internet bff's. 

So last week, it snowed in Nashville. And I don't know if you've ever been privy to a Southern snow, let alone a Southern DECEMBER snow, but it ain't pretty. Let me walk you through a typical snowstorm here in Tennessee:

1. People catch wind of said storm.
2. There is a mad exodus to the grocery store. Bread, milk, and eggs are purchased like the Apocalypse is coming.
3. Because of said exodus, the roads resemble a clotted artery. People see the dust on the ground and think their cars are on an ice rink, and they drive like it.
4. Schools are closed because people drive like their cars are sliding around a hockey rink. 
5. People stay put because they figure if the city isn't risking the lives of children, then there is no reason they should put their lives at risk either. 
6. Thus, the world shuts down by 6 pm.

For academia, last week was final exam week...which, I'm sure you could guess, doesn't mix well with snow. College students hardly have any will to study anyway; put some fluffy snow on the ground, and they turn back into five-year-olds. And instead of going back to their apartments to study, my friends decided they were going to frolic in the snow. Then they decided that they weren't going to brave the roads. And then they decided to file into my apartment and complain of their raging hunger. 

Obviously, I have great friends.

I'm one of those people who buys extra things at the grocery store, justifying that it could to be a pantry item for "a rainy snowy day." One day in early fall, I happened to spot fire-roasted tomatoes, which I thought would add some zest to...a dish I would deem at a later point and time. Plus, the cans already had a "dollar-off two cans" coupon, so I couldn't not get them.

Right?

...

Right.

Thank you for justifying my extraneous purchases with me. I feel validated now. Too bad my bank account doesn't.

So before all of these hungry people showed up in my apartment, I had a random thought as I was watching the snow fall.

"Oh...I have fire-roasted tomatoes in my pantry. They would make an excellent soup today."

And then I kept furiously typing a paper for my final.

And then hungry people showed up. And they wanted soup. So, for once, my pantry was FULLY STOCKED, and I was able to produce something tasty from my own, two hands.

It was fate.

And behold, as necessity is the mother of invention, this soup was born.

This is not yo' mama's tomato soup.

It's zesty.

It's spicy.

It's good for grilled-cheese dipping.

It warms your belly on a cold winter day, which is what soup does best.

Stay warm, America, and enjoy your holiday season!

*Props to my wonderfully creative and talented friend, Caitlin Galo, who braved the 0 degree wind chill with me to snap some pictures of this soup with her beautiful Nikon.

Fire-Roasted Tomato Soup (serves 4-6)

Print this recipe

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 14oz cans chopped fire-roasted tomatoes (I use Muir Glen)
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, parsley etc), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
• ½-1 cup heavy cream (depending on your texture preference)

In a 3-quart saucepan, saute onions over medium heat until tender, about
three minutes. Add garlic and saute til fragrant (about one minute),
making sure to stir constantly to prevent the garlic from burning.



Stir in tomatoes, stock, 1 tablespoon of the herbs (I used cilantro because I
had it on hand--the results were magnificent!), sugar, salt, black
pepper, and crushed red pepper. Heat until boiling, stirring
occasionally. When soup reaches a boil, cover and turn the heat to
simmer for 15 minutes. Take soup off the burner and allow to cool
slightly, about 15 minutes.



Pour the cooled soup into a blender; how much of the soup you blend depends
on your texture preferences. Blend soup until desired consistency. Add
the soup back to the saucepan and heat until desired temperature. Add
cream and fresh herbs, and enjoy soup with grilled cheese or a crusty
loaf of bread.

Adapted from Muir Glen

This recipe is featured in Menu Plan: December 20-26.