If you’re like me, we scour the internet looking for delicious recipes that take us out of our comfort zone. Sometimes I get stuck in a rut of making the same dishes over and over again. It’s not like the meals aren’t delicious. But sometimes we just need to rock the boat a bit. I just love Pinterest and visit every day looking for inspiration. Pinterest is a great resource for me where I find great food bloggers and recipes of all sorts like this one:
I was looking around one afternoon and my eyes lit up when I landed onA Pinch of Yum and this wonderful recipe for Spicy Peanut Soup with Sweet Potato & Kale. Why don’t I ever think about combinations like this? I’m in the Midwest. I don’t think this way. Sweet potato simmered with sweet curry and turmeric in coconut milk and broth finished with kale – seriously flavorful. There are even chopped peanuts in the recipe that gives this soup a little crunch – awesome!
And healthy! Look at all the good stuff it’s made from. Lindsay’s soup is thickened with creamy peanut butter instead of the usual roux of butter, flour, and milk. I didn’t miss it a bit. Many of us serve soup as a first course to a holiday meal and Spicy Sweet Potato Soup with Peanuts and Kale would be a stellar beginning.
And quick! Forty minutes from cutting board to table. I always have sweet potatoes on hand during fall and winter, so that was a cinch. I bought a package of frozen, chopped kale at the grocery to make prep even easier.
I didn’t have jalapeno, so I substituted crushed red pepper flakes. Lindsay calls for two cups of water. I used chicken stock instead. She likes to leave her sweet potatoes in bite-sized chunks, and I mashed mine up a bit to make the soup thicker. Try it. You’ll love it!
This dish is a warm and comforting, healthy, gluten-free, bowl of happiness. Lindsay at a Pinch of Yum says she was inspired to make this soup based on a West African recipe for groundnut soup. It would be fabulous as a first course for a holiday meal.
Author: A Pinch of Yum, Lindsay
Recipe type: Soups & Stews
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small to medium onion, diced
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1-14 oz can fire roasted or petite diced tomatoes
1-14oz can light coconut milk
2 cups chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet curry powder (I use Penzey's)
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ cup unsalted peanuts, chopped
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
1-10oz bag frozen chopped kale
Instructions
Put olive oil in a heavy soup pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until lightly browned.
Add sweet potato cubes and stir until they become lightly browned - 3-5 minutes.
Add garlic, stir and cook until the garlic becomes fragrant - 1 minute.
Add the curry powder and turmeric to the sweet potatoes. Stir and cook until the spices are fragrant, a minute or so.
Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, chicken stock, salt, and chopped peanuts. Stir everything together.
Bring the soup to a simmer and continue to cook uncovered for 20 minutes or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
Add peanut butter and kale. Stir and continue to simmer until the soup is thick and creamy.
This is one delicious salad. My Grandma Smith was fond of these kinds of salads like carrot salad, roasted beet salad, and sauerkraut salad. These are folksy homey old-timey country salads with bright colors and flavors. They’re easy-peasy to put together. And they’ll go with almost anything like ham, any manner of chicken, pork chops, ribs, or grilled burgers. One batch will feed a crowd of 12 – sounds like picnic time to me!
Pea salad was made in the good old days with canned peas – yuck! Bags of frozen peas are the way to go. Their color is better. The peas themselves have a subtle crunch. Frozen peas taste so much better, too, ten times better than canned. And you don’t have to worry about sodium, which we do in our family.
Here’s a Tip or Two:
#1 I’m using more and more frozen vegetables nowadays. In a 12-ounce bag, you get all vegetables, no water. Frozen vegetables like peas & carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, diced or hash brown potatoes, and onions are prepared, meaning the only work you have to do is thaw them out. Or just add them frozen into your recipe. As an example, I dump a bag of frozen peas & carrots to the sauce for a tuna-noodle casserole. Or dump a bag or two of frozen broccoli florets into broccoli-cheese soup. Sometimes I’ll even use frozen chopped onions to start a mirepoix. You get the gist. Sometimes it’s just easier.
#2 I’m as big a mayonnaise fan as anyone. I’m beginning to substitute full-fat Greek yogurt for some of the mayo in recipes like this one. Yogurt lightens up the mix a bit and adds a nice tang. I like to make homemade salad dressings and Greek yogurt plays well swapped out for some of the mayonnaise. See Healthy Thousand Island Dressing for an example.
Wanna learn how to make this awesome pea salad?
Follow me!
P.S. I didn’t mean to take the picture for this post with lemons and avocados in the background. Avocadoes were on the counter when I decided to be creative. They are not in the recipe, but they are beautiful. Oops. Ha!
We love this pea salad.Creamy Crunchy Bacon Pea Salad is quick, economical, made tasty with a secret ingredient and the addition of toasted pecans. Swap out some greek yogurt for the mayo and it's healthier, too. If you love peas, you'll love this salad alongside ham, any kind of chicken, pork chops, burgers, etc.
Author: Mimi
Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: American
Serves: 10-12 servings
Ingredients
2-12oz. bags of frozen peas, thawed and patted with paper towels to remove moisture
½ cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup red onion, diced
⅓ cup mayonnaise
⅓ cup full-fat Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 Tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
12 oz. bacon, cooked to crispy and drained on paper towels, broken or chopped into pieces
Anyone who grew up in the vintage mid-century years remembers creamy tomato soup from a well-known soup canner. What a satisfying and hearty lunch or dinner served with a grilled cheese sandwich. I remember my mother would make us tumblers of tomato soup and grilled cheese to eat at our picnic table in the fall. One of my favorite childhood memories. Fifty years later, I can still taste and smell that soup served in Tupperware mugs and dunking the sandwich quarters.
Cincinnati- based Tom & Chee, a tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwich restaurant attracted Shark Tank investors Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran, who invested $600,000 in the franchise idea. Who woulda thunk? I mean, it’s tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich. The lesson goes to the fact that tomato soup is a gastronomic bomb and a Midwestern staple.
Serve hot Creamy Fresh Tomato Soup with your favorite accouterments and
you’ll have a beloved memorable quintessential comfort meal in no time.
I like this recipe because it’s loaded up with other vegetables, not just tomatoes. You can control the salt which is always a good thing. You can control fat content depending on how creamy you want your soup to be. And if you don’t have fresh tomatoes on hand, you can substitute canned tomatoes (Salt-free if you roll that way.)
My goal for this batch was to use up tomatoes I already had on hand. I used three fresh tomatoes from the Farmers’ Market, a half-quart of heirloom grape-sized tomatoes leftover in the fridge, and a 15oz. can of salt-free petite diced tomatoes. So, it really doesn’t matter the source of your tomatoes.
Love tomato soup, but tired of the canned variety? Make up a homemade batch from simple and healthy ingredients. It's easy!
Author: Mimi
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6 servings
Ingredients
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1½ cups onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, trimmed and roughly chopped
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
4-5 pounds of fresh tomatoes, or any combination of fresh and canned(with juices)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 Tablespoons dried basil leaves
1 bay leaf
1 Tablespoon salt or salt substitute (optional)
2 teaspoons black pepper
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
3 cups reduced sodium chicken stock
½ cup heavy cream
½ cup whole or 2% milk
Instructions
In a large heavy pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add onions, carrots, and red pepper. Reduce heat to medium. Put a lid on the pot, and allow the vegetables to steam for 10 minutes until they're soft.
Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper, basil and bay leaf. Stir and saute for one minute.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir.
Add chicken stock. Stir. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.
Cook for 30-40 minutes.
In small batches (3-4), use a blender to liquefy the soup. Pour the liquefied soup into a large bowl until everything is blended.
(CAUTION: The contents are hot. When blending anything hot, always cover the blender jar top with a kitchen towel. If you use the blender lid, the heat generated as you're blending will blow the lid off and you'll have hot tomato soup all over you and your kitchen. Not good.
OR use an immersion blender.
Pour the soup from the bowl into your cooking pot. Add the heavy cream and milk. Over medium heat, bring the soup to temperature.
Check for seasoning.
Finish soup with a Tablespoon of unsalted butter to add some sheen. (Optional)
Serve
Notes
Accouterments: Oyster Crackers, Croutons, Any sandwich especially Grilled Cheese, Garlic Bread, Hot Rolls, Cornbread.
Garnish with a dollop of Sour Cream, a sprinkling of Grated Cheddar Cheese, or finely Chopped Basil.
If you want a creamier soup, add more heavy cream and less milk. Or you could use half-n-half instead. At Mimi's Table
Don’t be skeptical. Walk on the Wild Side with a heaping bowl of this fabulous and flavorful chili. Take a look. How can you resist?? I can’t.
UH OH! – what is that nestled among all those yummy vegetables? OK – You may be right – shhhh, it’s ground chicken. Guess I’m busted, eh?
Truthfully, the day I decided to make this delicious chili, I wasn’t going to shell out $12 for all the portabello mushrooms called for. BAM! Best Veggie Chili is, essentially, a frugal recipe. You know? . . . So, I substituted a pound of browned ground chicken at $3.99/pound for some of the portobellos I wasn’t willing to pay for at the grocery.
However, if you find portabellos cheap, I wouldn’t hesitate using them, leaving out the chicken. I’ve done it before, and it is FABULOUS! Or substitute cremini mushrooms, which really are baby portobellos and cheaper. My “meat-lover” husband loves this chili with or without the ground chicken.
I’m not a big zucchini fan, but it goes into the pool with all their veggie friends. This dish is such a happy one!
What’s to love?
The finished flavor is perfectly balanced. It’s not spicy hot, but has subtle heat from the serrano chilis, chili powder, and cumin. What you’d expect in chili. Use whatever canned beans you enjoy: pintos, kidney, black, or a can of chili beans. This day, I used a drained and rinsed can of black beans and a can of regular chili beans with all their liquid.
The sweet crunch from corn is irresistible. It makes the dish. Do not be tempted to leave it out. I always use frozen corn, but if canned is all you have in the larder, what the heck. And canned petite diced tomatoes. You can use fresh tomatoes and dice them yourself if you have access to lovely ones and the time to prepare them. Or a sous chef . . . just sayin’
One serving suggestion is to make some brown rice and scoop 1/4 – 1/2 cup into the bottom of the bowl and ladle the chili over that. A slab of freshly made cornbread is another good idea. If you like a little more spice in your bowl, add a shake or two of Tabasco, or use Pepper Monterey Jack cheese as garnish. Don’t be shy either. Add a dollop or two of sour cream and diced avocado. You won’t regret it.
This is also an awesome slow cooker dish. Like any good chili, it’s great the next day and freezes beautifully.
Credit for this recipe goes to Emeril Lagasse, renowned chef and restauranteur, thus the title. Here’s the link on Food Network.Don’t be intimidated by the plating. It’s a little foo-foo. Not very Midwestern, if you know what I mean. In any regard, this is one great bowl of chili.
This is an extremely flavorful vegetarian chili with portabello mushrooms as the meat substitute. Don't care for mushrooms? Substitute ground chicken or turkey. This is a fabulous dish that can be made on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: American
Serves: 6-10
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1½ cups yellow or sweet onion, diced
1 cup red or yellow bell peppers, diced
2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
2-3 serrano peppers, minced
1 medium zucchini, cut into small dice
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
1½ pounds portobello mushrooms, wiped clean and cubed
1 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes
2 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon cumin
1¼ teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne
2- 15 oz cans black beans, or pinto beans, or kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup vegetable stock or water
¼ cup cilantro, chopped, optional
Shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Sour cream, optional
Diced avocado optional
Instructions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add the onion, serrano peppers, and bell peppers. Sautee for 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Add garlic, and continue to sautee for 1 minute or until you can smell the garlic.
Add onions, serrano pepper, bell pepper and garlic into a large slow cooker.
Add the next 10 ingredients to the slow cooker. Omit the cilantro. Stir to combine.
Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours or on low heat for 7-10 hours, stirring occasionally.
Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro, if desired.
At serving, sprinkle cheese over hot chili. Add a dollop of sour cream, diced avocado, and serve with a wedge of lime as garnish.
Notes
Cooking Options: Substitute browned ground chicken or turkey in place of some of the portobello mushrooms. Serving Options: Serve with ¼ to ½ cup of cooked brown rice in the bottom of the bowl, then ladle chili over rice. Serve with hot corn bread.
For one thing, quinoa is a complete protein source. It is gluten-free. Quinoa is a good source of fiber (One-half cup of quinoa has 14 grams of protein and 6 grams of fiber.). This mighty super-grain can help offset the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, and has a wide range of anti-inflammatory nutrients. Quinoa is not a cereal grass like wheat, oats, barley, or rye, but is a member of the same food family that contains spinach, Swiss chard, and beets. One cup of cooked quinoa has a total of 222 calories, with approximately 39 grams of carbs and 4 grams of fat. WOW!
Quinoa is one of the healthiest and most nutritious foods on the planet! It may even become an “out-of-this-world” crop. NASA scientists think quinoa is suitable to be grown in outer space.
Quinoa comes in a variety of colors: red, black, white, or mixed (shown above) to compliment almost any main dish, or on its own mixed with other side dish ingredients or salads. Heck, this salad can be gobbled up on its own!
Any way you look at it, quinoa is one super food health conscious cooks should include in their pantries. For me, it has the texture of couscous, which I like. Now that my husband and I are trying to follow a heart-healthy diet, I’m sure we’ll discover fantastic uses for this incredible, edible pseudo-grain.
Let’s make some up for lunch!
Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad with Pine Nuts & Tomatoes
As a stand-alone salad or a side dish, Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad with Pine Nuts and Tomatoes is a healthy alternative to traditional dishes.
Recipe type: Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Serves: 3-6 servings
Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, uncooked
1 large or 2 small heads of broccoli, cut into florets or use frozen chopped broccoli thawed and well drained
6 ounces sweet grape tomatoes, cut in half
¼ cup + 1Tablespoon olive oil, divided
1-2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
2-3 Tablespoons honey
Juice of ½ lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup pine nuts, roasted
Salt & Pepper to taste
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Toss the broccoli florets with 1 Tablespoon olive oil. Place broccoli on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-30 minutes, until broccoli is tender and golden.
Cook quinoa according to package directions. Set aside.
To make the dressing, combine dijon, honey, lemon, garlic, and ¼ cup of olive oil in a small bowl. Stir to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, broccoli florets, roasted pine nuts, and tomatoes.
Serve the salad warm, cold, or at room temperature.
Notes
I would use the quinoa as a base and substitute lots ingredients and change up the dressing. Add sliced black olives, tomatoes, chopped red onion, and a handful of crumbled feta cheese for a Greek-inspired option. Or corn kernels, tomatoes, chopped red onion, and crumbled cooked bacon for a more American flavor. Diced avocado, tomatoes, chopped red onion, chopped cilantro, and shredded cheddar cheese, along with a honey-lime vinegarette?
And trade the honey-vinegarette for low-fat Italian dressing - Yum!
At Mimi's Table
