Minestrone Soup

I took this recipe from food and wine and changed it a little to make it vegetarian and a little more flavorful.

1 large onion

3 celery ribs

3 carrots

1/2 fennel bulb (optional, but very yummy)

2 tble olive oil

Splash of mediterranean spices (basil, oregano, thyme, ect)

5 tble tomato paste

3 garlic cloves

2 bay leaves

1 can diced tomatoes

6 cups vegetable broth

2 cans navy beans

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

Parmesan Cheese

Chop onions, carrots, celery and fennel and then saute with spices for 6-8 min.

Add tomato paste, garlic, and bay leaves. Cook for 2 min

Add diced tomatoes and broth

Simmer for 1 hour

Add beans and peas

Cook for another 15 min

Garnish with parmesan cheese

Tofu Stir-fry with Asparagus

This is the recipe I used as inspiration, but I didnt have all the ingredients so mine was a bit different but still YUMMY:

toasted sesame oil (I didnt have so I used regular oil)
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, cut into slices thick as a pencil
5 green onions, thinly sliced
scant 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (peeled) (I didnt have so I used ginger powder)
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 a bunch of asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces (I used 1 pkg frz asparagus)
a couple big pinches of fine-grain sea salt
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 big handful of toasted cashews, chopped up a bit (I used almonds)
a few handfuls of spinach, or chopped kale, or chopped chard (I used kale)
juice of one lime
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce (I didnt have subbed in soy sauce)
1 small handful fresh mint, slivered (I didn't have so omitted)
1 small handful fresh basil, slivered

Heat oil in a large pan or wok over medium high heat. When it is hot, add the tofu, and cook until golden - remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.
Add another splash of oil to the pan and, as soon as it is hot, add the onions, ginger, red pepper flakes, asparagus, and salt. Stir fry for about a minute, then add the garlic, almonds, and kale. Return the tofu to the pan. Stir in the lime juice and the soy sauce. Cook until the veggies are soft.

Serve with rice.

Claire Claps for Stuffed Shells

I got this recipe off of food network and made it my own!

1 box of Jumbo Shells (12 ounces)

Filling:

1 15 oz container of reduced fat ricotta cheese

1 15 oz container of fat-free ricotta cheese

1 1/3 cup grated parmesan (or romano)

4 egg yolks

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Sauce:

5 cups marinara sauce (I made my own)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (or 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper)

1 package of fake meat of your choosing (recipe calls for pancetta, but we used fake turkey and liked it!)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (part skim works fine)

Instructions:

Crank your oven to Bake 350˚

Combine all filling ingredients and mix well. Set aside in the fridge.

Cook the Jumbo Shells until they are more than al dente (about half the time on the package) as they will cook a lot more in the oven. When they are done, strain them and spread them out on a pre-oiled baking sheet and let cool.

In a large pan, heat oil, add fake meat, crushed garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook until meat is warmed and garlic is tender-- careful the fumes will be spicy! Add sauce and mix throughly.

In a 9x13 pan, line the bottom with 1 - 1 1/2 cups sauce. As you fill the shells (less filling than you think-- about 2 tbs), place them in the pan. Once the pan is full and all the shells have been filled, pour the rest of sauce over the top. Top with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 350˚ for about 45 minutes until tomato sauce bubbles.

Enjoy!
Bonnie

Chicken Soup

Sautee 1 large yellow onion diced in olive oil
Add 2 cloves crushed garlic
5 celery stalks diced
5 carrots
handful minced fresh parsely
Add water if veggies start to stick
Once the veggies have started to soften add 2 boxes and 1 small can chicken broth
Add 1 can crushed tomato
2 bay leaves
ripped up kale leaves to taste
a smattering of frozen peas (optional)
shreaded already cooked chicken to taste
Salt, pepper & cayenne pepper to taste
Bring to a boil and then let simmer for at least 30 minutes
Best if stands for a while to let broth absorb flavors
Add already cooked pasta noodles to your bowl and pour soup over (I find if I add noodles to the soup they get swollen and gross)
Serve with warm bread

6-8 servings

Bonnie & Lindsay's Idea

Since we are all such culinary geniuses - we should make an effort to record the great things we create and share them with eachother! There are so many times we throw things together and to our surprise it turns out awesome, but we never remember exactly how we did it.....I think it takes effort to actually WRITE down the measurements...but if you think you've made something that I should make - then post it here. You have to follow the blog inorder to receive the updates when something is added. At first I was thinking that I could add you all as publishers so that you could post whenever, but I think that could get complicated if you aren't used to blogging. So you can just email your genius creations to me and I will post them.