Vegetarian Chili

This great meatless chili is wonderful for those cold winter days. Vary the vegetables, add different kinds of beans, make it without the soy crumbles. You can vary it many ways, and it still turns out great. Top it with some cheese and sour cream, or a tablespoon of salsa. Hearty, healthy meal that is done quickly. I've used canned beans in this recipe, but you can, of course, cook yours from scratch. Even better the second day.

Vegetarian Chili

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 green or red pepper, seeded and chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 yellow squash, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 cans crushed tomatoes
salt to taste
1/2 cup salsa
1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can light red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can refried beans
1 cup soy crumbles



Heat oil in large pot. Add onions, green pepper and garlic. Saute until onions are soft. Add the zucchini, squash, oregano, red pepper and chili powder and saute for another couple of minutes. Add the tomatoes, salsa, and salt. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, lightly covered. Add all the beans and cook on low to medium for about 20 minutes to let all the flavors meld. Add soy crumbles and cook until heated all the way through. Serve with chopped onions, cilantro, cheddar cheese, or sour cream.

Cheesy Vegetable Soup

This is a hearty vegetable soup that can serve as a whole meal. Serve it with lots of crusty bread and a small salad. It's great for cool nights, and it's even better the next day with a sandwich. Kids will love it because of the cheese; adults will know it's good for you because of all the vegetables. You can experiment with the vegetables a bit if you want. I often use asparagus instead of broccoli, or cauliflower instead of potatoes.


Cheesy Vegetable Soup

* 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 cup chopped celery
* 1 cup potatoes, chopped (about two large)
* 1 cup diced carrots
* 1 cup fresh chopped broccoli
* 3 cups vegetable stock
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoon dried
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese


In a large pot, saute the pepper and onions in butter until tender.
Add remaining vegetables, vegetable stock, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer covered for about 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are
tender.
Combine flour and milk until smooth; stir into pan. Bring soup to a boil; cook
and stir for 2 minutes, or until soup thickens slightly. Mix in the parsley. Just
before serving, stir in the cheese until melted.

Corn and Red Pepper Soup

This is a favorite soup of mine. The vegetables taste great together, and it's a thick soup that I serve with sour cream, chopped avocado, and finely chopped red pepper on top. Hearty yet elegant, it's a great soup, and it's easy to make. You don't have to puree it if you don't want to, but I like the creamy texture it gives the soup. As always, I have made it vegetarian, but you can use chicken broth if you prefer. I've also made it fairly thick, but you can thin it down with more milk if you like it thinner.

Corn and Red Pepper Soup

2 tablespoons butter
1 pound fresh or frozen corn kernels or 2 cans of corn, drained
1 large tomato, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 cups vegetable broth, canned or homemade
2 cups cream or milk (fat-free, if preferred)
Red pepper, to taste
Salt to taste
Sour cream, chopped avocado, and finely chopped red pepper, for topping.



Melt butter in a large soup pot or Dutch oven. Add corn, tomatoes, pepper, onion and garlic. Stir vegetables over medium-high heat until lightly caramelized. Add flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add broth, and let simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Puree in batches until smooth. Add milk to pan and reheat gently, never boiling. Season with red pepper and salt.

Serve soup topped with diced avocado, diced red pepper, and sour cream.

Welsh Tomato Rarebit

This tasty cheese dish is perfect for a snack, or makes a great light dinner or lunch. Just add a green salad on the side, and maybe put some ham or bacon as a topper to the toast you serve it on. It's great for the chilly days and nights of fall, and it's a snap to make. This is a bit of a variation because I've added the tomato, but I like it better that way. You can leave it out if you want.


Welsh Rarebit

2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup diced tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1/4 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard
1 Tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tsp red pepper
2 eggs
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste



Melt the butter in a heavy Saucepan over medium heat. Stir in flour until smooth, then continue to cook and stir until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Gradually stir in milk and simmer until thick, stirring the whole time. Remove from heat.

Stir the tomatoes into the sauce. Whisk together the mustard, pepper, worcestershire sauce, and eggs; stir into tomato mixture. Set the saucepan over very low heat or a double boiler.

Stir in the cheese, and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until cheese has melted.

Serve over whole grain toast.

Black Bean Soup

This is a great, quick bean soup. You cut time by using canned black beans and refried beans, but don't add any extra salt. There's plenty in the canned beans. You can cut down on the salt content by using your own beans, or by rinsing the canned black beans.

This soup is wonderful on a cool night. I love soup, and this is one of my favorites. It's very filling and satisfying. I make a lot of my soups vegetarian, since I live with one, but you can always substitute chicken broth for the vegetable stock that I use, and you can add cubed ham if you want. It's good either way.

Black Bean Soup

1 teaspoon olive oil
2 cups salsa
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 16-ounce can refried beans
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat. Add all but 1/4 cup of the salsa and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes. Add the refried beans, black beans, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Top with some of the remaining salsa and the sour cream and cilantro.

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of my most favorite soups. It's great in the fall, when butternut squash are in season. Mildly sweet, it's perfect for those cool nights (or even when it's still warm). I like it with lots of black pepper, as a counterpoint to the sweetness of the squash. It's a simple yet elegant recipe; you can't mess this one up, it's just too easy.

Butternut Squash Soup
4 leeks, rinsed and chopped *see note on how to clean and rinse a leek below*
1 butternut squash (2-3 pounds), cut into 1-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
3/4 teaspoon salt
5 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup shelled raw pumpkin seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
Black pepper, to taste

Place the leeks, squash, bay leaf, salt, and broth in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the squash is tender, about 12 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup in batches and rewarm over medium-low heat.

Meanwhile,roughly chop pumpkin seeds and rosemary on a cutting board. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the seeds and rosemary, stirring occasionally until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the seeds and rosemary. Sprinkle with black pepper, to taste.

*How to Clean and Rinse a Leek
Leeks are often very dirty in between the layers, especially if you buy them from a farmer's market. To clean them without making a huge mess, this is an easy way:
Cut off the dark green part of the leek, and peel one layer off the outside. Then slice the leek lengthwise, almost all the way to the root, but do not cut through it. Rinse the leek under cold running water to remove the dirt between layers. It won't fall apart because you haven't cut it all the way down, but you can separate the layers with your fingers as your rinse.

Cucumber Salad

This is a simple cucumber salad, and it's great for when you have a surplus of cucumbers. Tasty.

Cucumber Salad
2 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 tsp sugar
1 cucumber, unpeeled and thinly sliced

1. In medium bowl, with wire whisk, mix vinegar, salt, sugar, and oil until blended.
2. Add cucumber and toss to coat.

Eggplant parmesan

This is a great eggplant parmesan recipe for when you're in a hurry. You cook the eggplant in the microwave, and it doesn't take nearly as long, plus, you don't fry them, so you cut out a lot of calories. It's still good, and it takes a lot less time to prepare. Quick, easy, and delicious.
Ingredients:
1 lg. eggplant (1 1/2-1 3/4 lb.)
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted
2 c. spaghetti sauce
1 1/2-2 c. (6-8 oz.) shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
Pierce skin of eggplant several times. Place on paper towel in microwave at high 6-7 minutes. Roll over 2 times. Let cool. Cut into 1/2 inch slices. Combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese and butter. In 8 inch square dish, alternate layers of spaghetti sauce, eggplant, breadcrumbs and mozzarella cheese, with the last topping being the sauce and cheese. Cook in 350 oven until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Garlic Lentils (Lehsuni Daal )

Lentils are very nutritious, filling, cook quickly, and are arguably the most flavorful of all the legumes. We've been eating them since prehistoric times, and as they're high in protein, they're often a staple of vegetarian meals.

And they're cheap.

This is an Indian dish, and it's very spicy. It makes a great dinner on a cold night, but I can eat it anytime, even in the summer. I love lentils. If you can't do without the meat, add some cubed ham or italian sausage.

Quick, easy, delicious, and economical. You can't get a better recipe than that.

Garlic Lentils (Lehsuni Daal)


* 1 cup lentils
* 3 cups water
* 2 tbsps olive oil
* Salt to taste
* 1 onion,finely chopped
* 1 tomato, finely chopped
* 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
* 1/2 tsp red pepper
* 3 tbsps butter
* 3 dried chilies, chopped
* 1 tsp cumin seeds
* 8-10 cloves of garlic


* Mix the lentils, water, olive oil, turmeric powder, red pepper, salt to taste, onion and tomato in a deep pan and boil till the lentils are very soft. Depending on if you're using fresh or dried lentils, it can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes.
* In another small pan, heat the butter and add the cumin seeds; they'll pop and sizzle.
* When they stop sizzling add the garlic and chilies and sautee until the garlic is lightly browned.
* Add spice mixture to the lentils and stir well.
* Serve with rice.

Baked eggs with roasted vegetables

This is one of my favorite brunch or breakfast recipes. It only takes about 20 minutes to cook, and it tastes great and seems as if you've spent a long time slaving over the stove. You can substitute skim milk for whole; there's not a huge taste difference. I usually use the skim, actually. I sometimes roast a tomato and some green pepper along with the mushrooms and potato, so feel free to add any kind of vegetable you want. Just remember, cut them small (1/4 inch pieces). You can also throw some bacon or ham pieces in there with the veggies when you serve it if you want. Get everything prepared in pans before you start cooking. Everything goes into the oven at the same time, and you only need to stir the vegetables once or twice, midway through cooking time. Eat with a nice whole grain toast, and it makes a perfect breakfast.


Baked eggs with roasted vegetables


Butter for greasing dish
10 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 and 1/2 cups any type cheese, coarsely grated
10 oz mushrooms, coarsely chopped (1/4-inch pieces)
1 large potato peeled and coarsely chopped (1/4-inch pieces)
2 - 3 green onions, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons olive oil

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 450°F. Butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish (about 2 inches deep).

Whisk together eggs, milk, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth, then whisk in cheese. Pour into baking dish. Bake in upper third of oven until puffed, golden, and set, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss together mushrooms, potato, green onion, olive oil, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a shallow baking pan. Spread vegetables in an even layer, then roast in lower third of oven while eggs are baking, stirring twice after 10 minutes, until tender and golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Serve eggs with roasted vegetables spooned on top.

White Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

This is a great salad to make for lunch, and it's particularly good this time of year because of the abundance of cherry tomatoes. They're sweet and tasty, and go perfectly with the light rosemary and parsley dressing. If you don't have cherry tomatoes, use very ripe tomatoes cut into small pieces, making sure to add the tomato juice to the mixture. It makes it better.

White Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

1 large can of white beans, Great Northern or canelli beans, drained and rinsed or 2 cups white beans
1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley

Dressing
1/4 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig of fresh rosemary or 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1 - 2 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup of lemon juice


Put the garlic and rosemary in olive oil in a small saucepan. Heat on medium until it begins to sizzle. Remove the pan from the heat and let sit for 20 minutes, allowing the rosemary and garlic to infuse in the oil.

Remove rosemary sprig (if using fresh) from the oil, discard. Remove the garlic from the oil, reserving the oil. Add the garlic, Worcestershire, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and lemon juice to a food processor or in a small bowl. Pulse until smooth if using processor. If mixing by hand, mash with fork and mix until smooth as possible.

In a serving bowl, add the garlic mixture to the beans until they are well coated. Let sit for a few minutes so that all the flavors combine. Mix in the reserved olive oil, tomatoes, and parsley.

Serves 6 to 8.