Vegetable Wheat Soup

We had this soup at a church activity a few weeks ago and my girls devoured it. I loved that it was packed with vegetables and was healthy and have made variations of it a couple times since then. Here's some general instructions to the best of my memory:

Cook 1-2 cups of wheat grains in a crockpot with plenty of water overnight.

In a large soup pot saute:

1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 roma tomatoes, diced

Add:
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 carrots, chopped

Turn up heat and add:
Chicken Broth. Bring to a boil.
Add cooked wheat.

Just before all other vegetables are finished, add veggies that cook quickly and that you don't want to turn soggy:

I added 1-2 small zucchini, chopped.
a handful of chopped cilantro

On the second go-around, I didn't have zucchini, so I added broccoli instead. And it was delicious. I was also hesitant to add cilantro as I was taking some to a friend who I wasn't sure liked cilantro, so I substituted with parsley.

This soup can be so versatile. Add any veggie you prefer and it's delicious. And hearty. And healthy. And it's so light, I wouldn't even mind having it in the summer with a salad.

One last suggestion. The first time I made the wheat, I had plenty, so I put half in the soup and froze half of it. The next time I wanted to make it, I just threw in the frozen wheat and it thawed very quickly in the boiling water. It took a whole long step right out of the process.

Salsa Mexicana con Aguacate: Mexican Hot Salsa with Avocado

I have always loved me a good batch of fresh salsa on . . . anything. And generally would make a "pico-de-gallo" mild version. But since we've moved west, I have made friends who would laugh at the thought of eating something like my "fresh salsa." They say "sin chiles, no tiene sabor!" (without hot peppers, there's no flavor!) I do still appreciate the flavor blends of pico de gallo, but I think I am finally beginning to understand that hot peppers really do give flavor . . . they're not just meant to burn your lips and throat.

A neighbor taught me how to make this delicious salsa a few days ago and Armando and I are both hooked. The first [huge] batch only lasted about 3 days and I've made about 3 batches since then.

So, this is what you'll need:

About 10 roma tomatoes
10 dried chile de arbol (you can find this in the Mexican spice section of your local grocery store)
a bunch of cilantro
1-3 cloves of garlic
a thick slice of onion
3-4 avocados
Salt (to taste)

Place about 10 Roma tomatoes in a large pot with water.


Remove the stems from the dried chiles de arbol (my neighbor explained that if you leave these on, they leave a bitter taste).


Drop the tomatoes and chiles into a pot of boiling water and leave them in just long enough so that the skins break on the tomatoes.

Put a little cold water in the blender (around a cup). Then add all of the ingredients and chop/blend until you don't see big chunks of the chile pepper.

(Note that my pictures are of me blending two tomatoes and 1 chile at first . . . I was so chicken . . . so I blended the chiles separately and added them little by little until I realized that the expert that was teaching, indeed was right. The more chile pepper, the better. We ended up putting the rest in! That's right . . . 10 peppers with 10 tomatoes!)


The consistency should be about like this...quite watery I think with just a little tomato that remains on the spoon.

Now for some flavor boost: Cilantro. My friend instructed me on choosing quality cilantro - she said "the smaller, the better!" You don't want the larger, overgrown leaves because they are so much more bitter.
Chop a bunch. Leave out the stems.

Dice the avocado to your liking. I like chunkier. Armando likes smaller. It's all up to you. The second time around, I didn't have avocados, but I still made the salsa and we ate it all up.

Dump it all in.

Stir slightly.

Serve on just about anything.

I made some for my mom and she said, she'd just like to eat it as a cold soup. I like it with chips, tostadas, jicama, tacos, enchiladas hondureñas, you name it. No matter what you eat it with, it's delicious!

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

This is an old favorite I dug out from the college cookbook archives. If my memory serves me correctly, my friend Kimberlee DeWitt gave me this recipe. She was the kind of neighbor that always had something homemade on her counter waiting for the next visitor. Let me tell you, this recipe was one worth knocking on her door for! They are soft, with a hearty oatmeal texture, the perfect amount of peanut butter and not too sweet.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 c milk
2 1/2 cups flour
3 cups rolled oats or wheat
3/4 tsp baking soda

Cream together butters and sugars. Add eggs, vanilla, and milk. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add gradually to wet ingredients. Drop mixture onto a greased and floured cookie sheet with sides:

Press onto the cookie sheet until all gaps are filled.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

While the bars are cooling make icing:

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
milk to desired consistency

Stir together.

And stir a little more til it's creamy and smooth.

Drop onto bars. The original recipe says to let it cool. I personally like to drop it on while they are still warm.

Spread icing evenly.

And then try to eat only one.

Good luck!

Orange Avocado Salsa

I stumbled across this recipes a few years ago, made it in the same day and it has remained among our favorite to garnish fish tacos. The mix of flavors and the exploding citrus makes it perfect for fish.

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
1 Tsp honey
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 large navel oranges
1 firm, ripe avocado, pitted and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

In a medium bowl, whisk lime juice and honey until combined. Season with salt and pepper; set aside. Slice off both ends of each orange. Following the curve of the fruit, slice away peel and white pith. Cut oranges into quarters lengthwise; slice sections crosswise into 1/4-inch thick pieces. Transfer to bowl along with onion and avocado; toss gently to coat with dressing. (Make sure not to stir this up too much or the avocados will fall apart. The mix of the honey and lime with the pepper on the oranges is absolutely divine!) Set aside to serve.

Taco Soup

Apologies up front for no specific measurements. It's a recipe that's changed over the years from Mom's chili to Daisy's version of Taco Soup.

Brown a pound of hamburger with diced onion, garlic, plenty of cumin, salt, pepper, and chili powder.

Add beef broth (enough to make it like a soup, beans (I use black-canned or homemade are great), a can of diced or stewed tomatoes, corn (I like to use frozen), sliced olives, green chiles and let it simmer to blend flavors. Taste to see if it has enough seasoning.

Oh, if you have a ranch dressing packet on hand, its delish in this dish. Shhhh. That's supposed to be the "secret." (wink. wink.)

Garnish with any combination of shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado, fresh cilantro, and lots of corn chips. It tastes even better when you share it with friends.

Great Grandma's Goulash

Well, it's snowing here in Utah and the temperatures are frigid (maybe not for you Wyoming or Alaska people) but we're not playing outside . . . not even to make a snowman! This weekend, I just wanted something good. I called my sister, Makayla, and asked if she wanted to come make me something. She kindly obliged (although jokingly as she has a new baby and lives 6 hours from here). She said she was craving goulash. So, Keek, this one is for you. I've had it in the archives to post for over a year now (I think this pattern is repeating itself). This is one of the recipes my grandmother came and made to put in the recipe book of my great-grandmother's recipes (see that here).

Ingredients:

1 lb hamburger
1 pkg shell or elbow macaroni
1 large can diced tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
1/2-1 green pepper, diced
seasonings (salt, pepper, basil, oregano)
a little sugar

Brown Hamburger with onion, green pepper, salt, and pepper. Add tomatoes, seasonings, and a little sugar to taste. Prepare noodles. Combine and serve with parmesean cheese. Stay inside and enjoy! Welcome to comfort food season. I'm brainstorming ideas for Thanksgiving Dinner. Please share any must-have dishes/recipes that you can't let a Thanksgiving go by without indulging.

Quinoa Vegetable Salad

What is Quinoa? It's a tiny grain cultivated from a tumbleweed type plant in South America. If you want to know more, read the Wiki details here.


It's very quick to cook and looks fluffy like this when it's all done - (just a quick 15 minutes).

So here's the recipe . . . with Emily's notes . . .

Ingredients:

1/2 cup quinoa (rinse, boil in 1 cup water, reduce heat, cover, 15 minutes)
1/2 cup frozen petite peas
1 small carrot, shredded
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved

1/4 cup (or less) chopped green onions

1 cup fresh spinach or lettuce (optional, to serve salad on)

Dressing:

1 Tbl. white balsamic vinegar (I used dark, I don't think it matters but maybe white looks nicer).
2 T. olive oil
1 1/2 T. Dijon mustard
1/4 T. sugar
1 Tbl. minced fresh parsley (dried works but fresh tastes best)
1 Tbl. minced fresh thyme (I used dried)

Mix dressing and pour over salad.

Now, you'll notice that the veggies I put in this salad in the picture don't match the recipe. You can throw pretty much anything in there. I put in what I had on hand, but I must say the frozen peas are my favorite with the tomatoes and grain. It's the perfect mix of textures and flavors.

Also, on another side note, Quinoa is great as a healthy breakfast. Let me know if you try this or if you have any other Quinoa recipes that you like! I'd like to try more.