Category Archives: Uncategorized

How to make amazing burgers out of leftover soup

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If you can’t tell by my posts lately, I love soup! I love leftover soup too but after about 3 days of it, I’m ready for something new. That’s when I usually ship it off to my hubby to share with the guys at work. I learned a cool new way to make burgers from leftover soup from my favorite vegan food blogger Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day.

Here’s my second try at this, I used leftover Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chili Soup for the burger and served it on rosemary sourdough bread with caramelized onions, spinach and Southwestern Chipotle Sauce. It was so good… like “party-in-your-mouth” good!!

Leftover Red Lentil, Chickpea & Chili Soup Burger with Chipotle Dressing/Sauce

First, I tried it out on leftover Chipotle Split Pea Soup and it was excellent! My hubby and toddler loved it and my hubby requested I put together a batch for him to take to work.

Here’s how you do it:

* Take 1 cup of leftover soup and add it with a liberal 1/2 cup rolled oats and 1 Tbsp golden flax meal…. and that’s it!

* Mix and place in fridge for several hours or overnight – I did overnight, worked out great!

* Shape into patties and cook in cast iron pan on high heat until done.

 

Simple Coconut, Ginger, Carrot Breakfast Bread (Sugar, Soy & Wheat Free)

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Since both my kids decided to nap at the same time today, I had a chance to make this breakfast bread recipe I’ve had my eye on for a few weeks. I’m always on the lookout for healthy but fast breakfast options for busy mornings and this works perfectly! I had leftover shredded carrots from making the Healthy Veggie Muffins a couple of days ago and Chipotle Split Pea Soup last night so this was a perfect way to use them up!

Breakfast bread with peanut butter, orange slices and a glass of almond milk… Yummy!! Toddler and hubby loved this and ate it throughout the day!

The original recipe is from… you guessed it! Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, my all-time favorite recipe source and vegan food blog. I changed it up a bit over the past year, I make it often because it’s really good! If you haven’t explored her blog, PLEASE do so!!!

  • 2 cups old-fashioned oats
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon Kal Stevia Powder (I use 1/4 tsp)
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 tablespoons fresh ginger
  • ¾ cup dried unsweetened coconut
  • 2 large carrots
  • 1 – 15 oz can of white beans and their liquid
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 2 tablespoons psyllium husk
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce – I like to use cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar – I used apple cider vinegar
Pre-heat Oven to 375
1.       In a food processor, process oats into flour; place in mixing bowl with the rest of the dry ingredients.
2.       Next, pulse the ginger and carrots in the food processor until really broken up
3.       Add the beans, water, psyllium, applesauce and vinegar and puree until smooth
4.       Add to the dry ingredients
5.       Grease an 8 by 8 square pan and bake at 375 for 45 minutes.
6.       Let cool completely before serving
Oat “Flour”
Ginger & Carrots
Dry Mix
Putting it all together
Add wet to dry
Pour into pan and flatten

Easy Breakfast Bread!

Chipotle Split Pea Soup

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I did it, I finished a whole can of chipotle chiles in adobo sauce! I always buy a can, use one or two for a recipe and the rest of it sits in the fridge and rots.

As you can see, I’ve been on a soup kick this week due to the recent rain. I love soup, it’s so easy and almost everything you need ends up in one warm bowl of goodness!

This is from… you guessed it! Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day vegan food blog. She has so many delicious recipes, I may just cook my way through her whole site!

First off, this soup smells SO GOOD when it’s cooking… the kind of smell where your neighbors peek their heads over the fence and say “What are you cooking? That smells awesome!”. Not only does it smell good, it tastes good too! Plus it’s easy to make, cheap and very healthy (protein & fiber!), what more do you need!

I served this soup with leftover Chickpea Flatbread – cut into pieces and toasted. My hubby ate his flatbread with Southwestern Chipotle Sauce, his new everyday condiment of choice.

Chipotle Split Pea Soup

2 T olive oil
1 t thyme
1 t basil
1 t tarragon
1 t rosemary
1 large onion, 1.5 cups chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced or 2.5 T
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 medium stalks celery, chopped
1 lb dried split peas
6 -8 c water or vegetable stock
2 bouillon cubes if not using stock
1-3 canned chipotle peppers in adobo chopped
salt/pepper to taste
1 T balsamic vinegar
fresh parsley or cilantro if desired

* In a heavy bottomed soup pot over medium heat add the dried spices,onions and garlic and saute for several minutes.

* Add the carrot and celery and saute for several more minutes, then add the peas.
* Stir to coat with the veggie/spice mixture then add the water or stock.
* Bring to a boil for several minutes then cover and turn down heat to a strong simmer.
* Cook for 30 minutes or until the peas are tender.
* Add the bouillon cube and more water if needed and the chiles.
* Cook for 15 minutes more, then stir in the balsamic vinegar.
* Taste and adjust seasonings.
* Top with fresh herbs if desired.

Kale Butter

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This is for all you kale “cult members” out there! There seems to be two kinds of people when it comes to kale – those who have no idea what it is and those who are obsessed with it. I don’t have much experience in between the two, only one or the other. We eat kale almost everyday so I suppose that puts us in the “cult member” category.

I found this recipe in the Engine 2 Diet book. It’s really good on crackers, pasta, veggies and sandwiches/wraps. I smear this on my toddler’s sandwiches with white beans and soy cheese and she devours it!

Ingredients:

* 1 bunch kale, rinsed and chopped (I use black/lacinato kale – use stems too)

* 1/2 cup walnuts

* 1/2 cup water – (use water leftover from steaming kale!)

* Salt, to taste

Directions:

– Steam the kale for 5 minutes, until tender

– Blend the cooked kale with the walnuts and 1/2 cup of the green water from steaming. Blend until smooth.

– Add salt to taste, if desired

My toddler LOVES this! Can you tell?

 

Homemade Taco Seasoning

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I haven’t bought or used packet taco seasoning for a few years now and I never will again! This is the most flavorful taco seasoning recipe, it’s easy to make and has much less sodium than the regular packet kind.

This recipe is from Food.com, it’s the #2 highest rated out of 3,286 taco seasoning recipes. I tried the top rated 5 and this one is the best, in my opinion. I use this to make my taco/burrito/tostada TVP “meat” (with hidden greens) and anything else that calls for taco seasoning!

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons mild chili powder (for the best flavor do not reduce this amount)
  • 1/2-1 teaspoon garlic powder (I use 1 tsp)
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 2 -3 teaspoons cumin (I use 3 tsps)
  • 1 teaspoon seasoning salt (or use 1/2 teaspoon white salt) – I use 1 tsp Santa Maria Style BBQ Seasoning
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 pinch cayenne pepper (optional or to taste) – I use a big pinch

Directions:

  1. Combine all ingredients (double or triple if desired) .
  2. Store tightly sealed in a small glass jar until ready to use OR freeze in individual wrapped foil packets

TVP Tacos with this seasoning… YUMMY!!

So if you don’t eat cheese, how do you eat pizza??

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We ordered pizza tonight, didn’t feel like cooking… strange, I know. You’d be surprised how good pizza is without cheese PLUS it’s much better for you that way!

We like to order Papa Johns – veggie with extra sauce, no cheese and sometimes I add a little Daiya Mozzerella Cheese on top and melt it under the broiler for a minute – yep, it melts like regular mozzarella and it’s completely dairy free. It’s made out of tapioca and it’s good on top of pizza, mexican food and many other things. You can find it at Sprouts.

Tonight we used a coupon and skimped on the toppings – mushroom and olive only. I make a really good loaded veggie pizza that you have to eat with a knife and fork, recipe coming soon!

Pizza!