Minestrone

When I was younger I used to loathe minestrone soup. So when I saw this recipe in An Everlasting Meal I wasn't that interested. But something kept bringing me back to the recipe and I finally tried it. And now I love minestrone soup! This recipe is creamier than the minestrone from Olive Garden; it has tomatoes, but it's not overbearing. Using dried beans is essential because the liquid from the beans is creamy and gives the soup depth. Add some parmesan cheese, pesto, or olive oil on top with some crusty bread on the side and you've got yourself a satisfying meal. 

My favorite thing about this soup is that it freezes so well. Just make sure you cook the orzo pasta right before you eat it, not before you freeze it.

Minestrone

from An Everlasting Meal

1 cup diced onion, carrot, celery, leek, fennel (I used more than 1 cup and it was still good)
3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
a small pinch of chile flakes
the end of a piece of cured meat or hard salami, diced
1 cup any combination parsley, thyme, marjoram, basil leaves
2-3 cups roughly chopped any combination of greens, with any stems ad leaves, ribs and cores
1/2 cup whole tomatoes, well chopped or drained canned tomatoes
6 cups cooked beans
a Parmesan rind
8 cups any combination of bean broth, stock, and liquid from can of tomatoes
1 cup small pasta such as orecchiette, little tubes, or small penne
Pesto, olive tapenade, fresh ricotta, or parsley for garnish


Cook the onion, celery, leek, fennel and garlic in the olive oil until tender in a big pot. Add the chile flakes and any cured meat. Stir to combine. Add the herbs, greens, tomatoes, beans, and cheese rind, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot. Add liquid to cover. Simmer for 45-60 minutes, until everything has agreed to become minestrone. Just before you eat the soup, cook the pasta in a pot of salted, boiling water, only enough for the soup you're planning to eat that week, and add it to the weeks soup. If you freeze minestrone, cook new pasta whenever you eat the minestrone you've frozen.
Garnish with pesto or olive tapenade, or a big dollop of fresh ricotta, or simply parsley.

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Vegetable and Bean Tamale Pie

Did you know that the United Nations declared 2016 the "year of the pulses"?

Pulses are beans, in case you were wondering. 

Beans are sustainable, inexpensive, and healthy, so it's no wonder that the United Nations is trying to encourage us to eat more of them.

Here is one recipe that I've been using as a summer freezer meal for two years. It is a family favorite and it uses TWO types of beans: black beans and pinto beans.

 It also has a lot of summer produce, like zucchini, corn, and cilantro. When I was at the farmers' market I found this beautiful yellow zucchini and I fell in love with its amazing color and creamy flesh, which the picture doesn't do justice.

This recipe is from The Best Make-Ahead Recipe by America's Test Kitchen. Although I love the recipe, they're directions for cooking the frozen casserole haven't been successful. I've found that I have to let it thaw longer than 30 minutes and I have to cook it longer than the 1 1/2 hours. I prefer to take the casserole out in the morning and let it thaw on a dish towel on the counter, and then cook it for 1 to 1 1/2 hours in the oven. Just be aware of that when you cook it for the first time :)

Vegetable and Bean Tamale Pie

serves 6-8

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, minced
Salt
2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, well drained, with 2 cups juice reserved
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 - 4 teaspoons minced chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (you need this for depth of flavor!)
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15.5 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 15.5 ounce can kidney or pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 cups frozen corn (do not thaw)
1 medium zucchini (about 12 ounces), cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
4 teaspoons lime juice from two limes
Black pepper
One recipe of homemade cornbread stuffing (see below)


1. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes are very dry and browned, 10 to 15 minutes.
2. stir in the chili powder, garlic, chipotles, oregano, and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the reserved tomato juice, scraping up any browned bits. Off the heat, stir and black beans, kidney beans, corn, zucchini, cheese, cilantro, and lime juice and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Transfer the bean mixture to a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Spread the cornmeal topping evenly over the feeling, pushing it to the edges of the baking dish.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.


To Store: Wrap the dish tightly with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with vegetable oil spray and then for oil and refrigerate for up to two days or freeze for up to one month.
To Serve: adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375 degrees. Unwrap the dish. If refrigerated, bake, uncovered, until the feeling is bubbly and the crust is baked through and golden, 50 to 60 minutes. If frozen, unwrap the dish and let the casserole sit at room temperature for a few hours, I usually take mine out at lunchtime and let thaw until dinner. When you're ready to bake, cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake until the feeling is bubbly and the crust is baked through and golden, 50 to 60 minutes.

*I've tripled this recipe and it actually makes enough for 4 dishes instead of 3. I'm not sure how I defeated the law of conservation, but I did.

Cornbread Topping

1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
6 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs

1. Whisk the flour, milk, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda together in a large bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk the butter milk, butter, and eggs together. Stir in the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until uniform. Use as directed in beef tamale pie and vegetable and being tamale pie.

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Eggplant Tomato Pasta

I've been getting a lot of requests for our favorite freezer meals, so I started taking pictures while cooking them. Notice how minimalist the photos are? I'd like to say it's the new fad, but alas it's because I snapped these in between cooking large batches of food and fighting off my two boys who wanted to eat or play with the food amidst my photo session. Back to freezer meals... They save my life on a daily basis. Although they take a whole week of cooking and prep, that one week lasts me about 3-4 months, depending on how often I use them. Plus, I can use a lot of fresh summer produce to make meals that last until mid-winter.

One thing I love about the summer is fresh produce at the farmers' market. We go every Thursday, on my bike with kids in tow, and it feels almost surreal when I walk up to a vendor and say "the usual." This particular week one vendor had these beautiful eggplants and I knew I had to buy a few and make a freezer version of one of our favorite pasta dishes.
I have also become a convert to fresh herbs, so they go on everything. Whether you put the fresh basil in the pasta before the freezer or after, it doesn't matter. As long as you include it!

Eggplant Tomato Pasta

Adapted from Food Network

Makes 4 servings

1 medium eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Coarse grained salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (28-ounce) can peeled and crushed, or diced tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, optional
Salt and coarsely ground fresh black pepper
1/4 cup basil (about 10 leaves), torn
8 ounces bow tie pasta (farfalle), cooked al dente

Parmesan cheese for topping

Place eggplant in a colander and season generously with salt. Fill a 1-gallon plastic bag with water, seal tightly and place over eggplant to weigh down. Let stand for 40 minutes.

Rinse the salt off the eggplant, and pat dry. Place the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, add eggplant and cook, stirring often, until golden brown on all sides, about 20 minutes.

Add garlic, tomatoes and their juice to the pan. Stir in the sugar and salt. Simmer until sauce has slightly thickened, about 15 to 20 minutes or longer depending on how juicy your tomatoes are. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add the basil and cook 1 minute more. Serve over pasta.

To Freeze:
I usually make a triple batch and put the pasta in glass Pyrex containers. If you have the time and patience it's best to let the pasta cool on the counter, then in the fridge overnight. Wipe the extra condensation off the lids before transferring to the freezer. The lids on the Pyrex are plastic and I label the containers using a dry-erase marker. Discovering this was a game-changer for me :) These should last in the freezer for up to 3 months.

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Meatless Monday: Lentil Tacos

A few times I have attempted to create some kind of weekly post, like Friday Favorites. But, after a while I get tired of it and move on to something new. I'm not very good at keeping a routine (just ask the Nerd). 

So don't get too excited about the title "Meatless Monday" because I may or may not post meatless recipes on a regular basis :)

Nonetheless, here is a great recipe for your Meatless Monday. I really enjoyed the recipe; the lentils were flavorful and I didn't feel I was missing anything especially with the addition of the toppings.

 Aaron was neutral to the recipe. He said it was "good," but since he is a meat-lover it will never live up to the real thing.

Besides tasting great, the lentils make this dish very nutritious. You can read more about lentils here.

Lentil Tacos

adapted from allrecipes.com

1 teaspoon olive oil
2/3 cup finely chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
2/3 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp taco seasoning, or to taste
1 2/3 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
2/3 cup salsa
Taco shells or corn tortillas

Taco toppings: sour cream, cheddar cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until tender, about 5 minutes. Mix lentils and taco seasoning into onion mixture; cook and stir for 1 minute.
Cover lentils with chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes.
Uncover and cook until mixture is slightly thickened, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash lentils slightly; stir in salsa.
Serve about 1/4 cup lentil mixture in each taco shell; top with lettuce, tomatoes, Cheddar cheese, and sour cream.

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Meatless Monday: Lentil Sloppy Joes

*This post has been revised; Aaron pointed out that the original post inferred that we are meat-banning extremists... oops. Hopefully the revision makes more sense :)

Lately, Aaron and I have been trying to eat vegetarian dishes as much as possible, mainly because of the increase in meat prices and because it's healthier. Overall, it is cheaper and healthier to moderate the amount of meat in out diet. Now I must be clear by explaining that I grew up on a farm where my family raised animals and so we knew exactly what they ate and how they were butchered. So after leaving home it has been a personal struggle for me to eat commercialized meat, but I'm getting there, slowly but surely.

I've been looking for ways to substitute grains and legumes for meat, and here is one such creation. I thought that maybe lentils would be a good substitute for sloppy joes since they are a similar size and texture to ground beef. Turns out that I was right! I also created the sauce from a few different recipes on www.allrecipes.com and it is delicious!

Fill up on Folate and Fiber

Lentils are packed full of folate (commonly known as folic acid)– just one cup of cooked lentils provides you with almost 90% of your daily recommended intake! And why is folate so important? You’ve probably heard about this vital vitamin in regards to pregnancy, as it is critical in the prevention of birth defects. Folate also functions to support red blood cell production and help prevent anemia. 

Besides folic acid, lentils also have a TON of fiber (Aaron will attest to this fact). That same cup of lentils has 63% of your daily recommended amount of fiber. Crazy! 

Packed with Protein

That same one cup of lentils also supplies... Drum roll, please... 18 grams of protein! Making it the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut.

Plus, unlike meat, lentils are virtually fat-free! 

If that weren't enough, lentils supply you with more than one-third of your daily recommended amount of iron. For women this is epic; finding foods that supply that much iron is nearly impossible. Believe me, I have done my research.

The color/variety of lentil you use should depend on how you will be using them.

Green and brown lentils retain their shape after cooking; so if you are substituting lentils for ground beef a green or brown lentil would be the best choice. 

How to Cook Lentils:

The bonus of using lentils is that they don't have to soak before cooking, yay! This makes cooking lentils as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Rinse and drain lentils.
2. Place in pot and cover with water or broth.
3. Boil for 2-3 minutes, and then reduce the heat and simmer until tender (this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on the variety, age, and desired texture).

Lentil Sloppy Joes
Aaron Rating ********** (7 out of 10)

1 cup of lentils (green or brown)*

4 cups of water or broth (I used organic beef broth)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt

Pepper, to taste

1. Rinse lentils, place in pan, and cover with water or broth. Boil for 2-3 minutes and then let simmer until tender (mine took about 25 minutes).
2. Heat olive oil over medium heat; add green pepper and onion, cook until soft. 
3. Add rest of ingredients. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. 
4. When lentils are done cooking, drain and add to sauce. Cover and let the juices soak into the lentils for an additional 10-15 minutes. Serve on bread or buns.

*If you are not ready to venture into the meatless world alone you can make a mixture of lentils and ground beef, or use 100% meat. Either way it is delicious :)

Sources:

World's Healthiest Foods

My New Roots

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