Quick Vegan Spaghetti Sauce

2 containers (8 oz each) of baby portabella mushrooms, finely diced

1 carrot, minced

1 celery stalk, minced

1 yellow onion, minced

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp dried garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

sprinkle of red pepper flakes

salt and pepper (lots of pepper)

1 jar 26 oz spaghetti sauce

Brown the finely diced mushrooms with olive oil in a large pan until the water is released and they start to brown. 

Add black pepper during the cooking time. 

Add the spices, oregano, garlic, onion powder and red pepper flakes.

Once the mushrooms are brown and liquid cooked out add it to your pan or crockpot that you will be simmering the sauce in. 

Add your jar of sauce to the mushrooms.

Same pan, add more olive oil and soften and brown the onion, carrots and celery. I used a food processor to mince these up small. 

Add black pepper to the cooking time. Once brown add them to the pan with mushrooms and sauce.

Simmer your sauce until all blended together or add to a crock pot. 

I added a splash of water because my sauce was thick from all the veggies. 

When sauce is ready, serve over pasta or vegetable noodles of your choice.

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Pressure Cooker Wild Rice Soup

Pressure Cooker Wild Rice Soup

6 tsp Better than bouillon Vegetarian

6 cups water

1 cup wild rice, uncooked

1 cup diced carrots

3/4 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced onion

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup flour

2 cups whole milk

Pepper

Add bouillon, water, rice, carrots, celery and onion and poultry seasoning to the pressure cooker.

On high put the time for 30 minutes. 

When 30 minutes is up on the pressure cooker, Make the roux.

Add butter to pan, let melt. 

Once melted add flour, stir and cook for a few minutes.

Slowly add in the milk whisking at the same time to eliminate lumps, add pepper.

Open up the pressure cooker by releasing the pressure.  Add some of the liquid to the roux to thin it out.  

When it is thin enough add it to the pressure cooker with the rice and vegetables.

Stir until mixed.  If too thick add more milk. 

It should be fairly thick.  

To add chicken: add 1 lbs chicken breast raw to the first part with rice and vegetables. 

take out after 30 minutes and shred, add back to pot and add the roux. 

Enjoy. 

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Roasted Red Pepper Soup

Red peppers are loaded 2 times more than an orange in Vitamin C.  They also are packed with antioxidants.  So make this soup during the cold season and see if it helps reduce your cold.  

2 medium red peppers

1 Tbls olive oil

3/4 cup chopped onion

1 tsp salt and pepper each

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbls tapioca or potato starch (I used corn starch)

13.66 oz Thai coconut milk (unsweetened)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1//4 tsp ground mustard

1/8-1/4 tsp red pepper flakes up to 1 tsp

pinch of ginger

Roast the red peppers in a 475 degree oven for 20 mins total. Turn the pepper after 10 mins.

Broil the peppers for 2-3 mins.

Remove from the oven, place peppers in a zip lock bag until cooled off.

Remove the skin and seeds from the pepper. set aside.

In a large soup pot, add olive oil, onions, salt and pepper.  Sauté until soft. 

Add garlic for a few seconds- don't burn

add vegetable stock and corn starch, mix until smooth.

add coconut milk and spices.

add in red peppers

blend with an immersion blender (or a blender. )

bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins. 

makes a small batch about 3 small containers.

Double the recipe.

Enjoy!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Parmesan Basil Tomato Soup

2 Tbls butter

1 c diced onions

2 diced carrots

2 Tbls minced garlic from a jar

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 (28 ounce) cans san Marzano tomatoes

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained

1 Tbls sugar

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

4 cups vegetable broth

1 parmesan rind (I put it in and it all melted. so you could probably put in a 1/4 cup parmesan)

1 bay leaf

3 Tbls basil pesto (good quality)

2 Tbls balsamic vinegar

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1 cup heavy cream(next time try coconut milk)

In a large soup pot, add 2 Tbls butter, onions and carrots. Cook until soft on low. 

Add garlic for 15 seconds (don't burn it)

Add tomato sauce, san Marzano tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, sugar, dried basil, Italian seasoning, vegetable broth, parmesan rind, bay leaf, basil pesto, balsamic vinegar.  

Simmer in the soup pot for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add 1 cup fresh basil.

Add 1 cup heavy cream or coconut milk. 

Blend with an immersion blender until smooth and blended. 

Enjoy!

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Butternut Squash Sausage and Wild Rice Soup

1 large sized Butternut squash ( I grow mine in my garden and they are larger than the ones at the grocery store, so if you have to buy 2)

olive oil

salt and pepper (I also put on my squash a homemade seasoning but I don't remember what I put in it.  I have it in a pepper mill.  Just salt and pepper is fine)

1 lbs hot ground sausage

3 medium carrots, chopped

1 medium onion, chipped

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp ground sage

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

vegetable broth 1 cup at a time until thick soup consistency (or chicken broth or water, I used water and it tasted good)

1/2 of a can of coconut milk

1 can  (15 oz) of cooked wild rice, drained

Cut butternut squash in half the long way, clean out seeds.  Rub with olive oil and salt and pepper or seasonings. 

400 degree oven roast for 1 hour, remove from oven and let cool.

While the butternut squash is roasting, in pan brown sausage in crumbles.  

Drain sausage and keep in a bowl.

In sausage fat, cook carrots until brown and soft.

Add onion to carrots and cook until soft.

Add garlic to carrots and onions, cook 1 minute.

Add sage, salt, black pepper and nutmeg to carrot mixture, cook 1 minute. 

Take carrot mixture off the heat and cool until butternut squash is done.

When butternut squash is cool, scoop out insides and add to a soup pot along with the carrot mixture. Add vegetable broth (or chicken broth or water) to the squash/carrot mixture until soup consistency.  

Cook in pot for about 20 mins on low heat.  

Take an emulsion blender and blend up squash/carrot mixture until smooth.

Add in half the can of coconut milk and blend until smooth.

add in cooked wild rice. 

Now at this point you can eat it like this if you are a vegetarian (my daughter is a vegetarian, so I take out a couple bowls full for her, and add the meat to the rest of the soup.)

Add the cooked sausage to the rest of the soup or the entire soup.  If you took some soup out for vegetarians you might not use the entire pound of sausage. Just put in as much as you would like.  

PRINTABLE RECIPE

 This picture above is the carrots, onions, garlic, and spices

 This picture above is the roasted butternut squash

 This picture above is the butternut squash blended with the broth and coconut milk. there is no rice or sausage in it yet.

 This picture above is the coconut milk and wild rice I used.

This picture above is the blended soup with just the wild rice in it. 

Mushroom Bolognese

MUSHROOM BOLOGNESE

3 baskets of Mushrooms (8oz each)

1 medium onion

3 medium carrots

3 celery stocks

5 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz tomato paste

1 cup milk, 2%

1 cup dry white wine

salt and pepper to taste

basil, oregano, red pepper flakes to your taste

In food processor add mushrooms until finely chopped. Remove to a bowl

Add onions, carrots and celery to food processor until finely chopped.

Add Mushrooms, carrots, celery and onions to a pan with olive oil. 

Cook until all the moisture is out of the mushrooms and it starts to brown.

This will take awhile so be patient.

Once brown, add garlic for 1 minute.

Add tomato paste and cook 2 minutes

Add wine, milk and salt and pepper, cook 1 -1 1/2 hours on simmer

serve with spaghetti noodles and enjoy!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Spaghetti and Walnut Meatless Balls

I saw this recipe on the Chew and changed it a little bit.  I also cut the recipe in 1/4th when I made it. It ended up making 12 balls.  My 18 year old son tried it and said they were really good.  He is not a vegetarian like his sister.  

Walnut Meatless Balls

1 medium yellow onion, minced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 glove garlic, minced

2 cups walnuts ground fine in a food processor

1 1/2 cups bread crumbs (I used Italian seasoned focaccia bun I had left over, toasted it, then ground it fine in the food processor, this gave it an Italian seasoned flavoring, delicious.  You can used seasoned bread crumbs.)

1 Tbls dried oregano

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, grated

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt and pepper

4 large eggs

1 lbs spaghetti noodles (or any kind you want), cooked

parmesan cheese for garnish

fresh basil for garnish

Cook onions and olive oil for a few minutes until the onions soften.  Add the garlic, cook 1 minute.  Turn off the heat and let cool.

Mix ground walnuts, ground bread crumbs, oregano, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. 

Add the eggs, onions and garlic will all the olive oil in the pan. 

Mix well.

Form into balls

Place on pan with foil, spray with cooking spray so it doesn't stick.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 mins

Remove from pan and add to Red Sauce. 

Cook in Red sauce for 5-10 mins

eat with spaghetti noodles. 

garnish with parmesan cheese and fresh basil leaves

Red Sauce

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 cup olive oil

1 can (28 oz) San marzano whole tomatoes, crushed in a food processor

1 Tbls dried basil

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

In a pan add olive oil and onions, cook for a few minutes until the onions soften.

Add the garlic, cook 1 minute. 

Add the crushed tomatoes, basil and red pepper flakes

simmer sauce while walnut balls are cooking.

Simmer until sauce starts to thicken. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Before I baked them

After they were baked

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

Olive oil

1 medium chopped onion

6 ounces diced butternut squash

Chicken broth (I start out with 1 cup and keep adding) (vegetable broth for vegetarians)

salt and pepper

dash of nutmeg

Add olive oil to a pan and sauté onions until tender. 

Add diced butternut, salt, pepper, nutmeg and 1 cup of chicken broth.

Bring to a boil until butternut is soft. Keep adding chicken broth to keep the pan wet. 

When it has cooled, add to a blender and blend.

Strain back into pan and heat and add chicken broth until you like the soup consistency. 

Enjoy, yum.

You can put some in individual containers and freeze for later. 

NOTE: To make this a quick and easy soup, I had peeled and diced a couple of butternut squashes, I roasted them with olive oil, salt and pepper. When they cooled I froze them in a zip lock bag.  So when you go to make the soup, I put in 6 oz of frozen butternut squash cubes and made the soup.  

To save even more time, peel and dice the butternut squash and freeze in a zip lock bag.  Then use the 6 ounces of cubed squash. 

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Carrot Ginger Soup

Carrot Ginger Soup

Olive oil (maybe 4 Tbls, when the pan got dry i added more)

1 medium onion, diced

6 large pealed carrots, chopped

2 garlic cloves diced

Fresh ginger about 1/2 Tbls chopped

2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth for vegetarians)

1/4 tsp cumin

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 can coconut milk, unsweetened 13.5 oz can

1 Tbls honey raw best quality

In a large frying pan add olive oil, chopped onion and carrots.  Sauté until onions and carrots are getting tender.

Add chopped garlic and ginger, saute briefly, don't burn the garlic.

Add cumin and red pepper flakes.

Add chicken broth and simmer until carrots are tender.

When the carrots are tender, add half the milk. 

When it has cooled some, add to a blender and add honey at the end.  

Strain the blended carrots back to the frying pan. Add the rest of the coconut milk.

Heat and serve. Yum

You can put them in individual containers and freeze.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

This is the coconut milk I had in my pantry so I used this. It is really good.  First time I tried coconut milk.  I don't know what other brands taste like. 

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Butternut Squash Ravioli

FILLING

1/2 a butternut squash, peeled and diced

olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Roast butternut squash cubes in a pan with olive oil, salt and pepper until soft.

Take out and mash

Add parmesan cheese

If it is dry add some melted butter

I then put it in a small zip lock bag and put in the refrigerator.

PASTA

1 1/2 cup flour

2 eggs

1 Tbls olive oil

put flour in large bowl, add a well in the middle, add eggs and olive oil. 

Mix until mixed. 

then kneed for 10 minutes on the counter. 

wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 mins

PRINTABLE RECIPE

I eat these ravioli's with Better than Olive garden Alfredo sauce.  

recipe here