Vegetarian Taco Soup

I make this soup using a variety of beans, mostly what I have on hand, but my favorites are black, garbanzo, and chili beans – use what you like!

This makes a huge pot, I make it on the weekend to eat all week, so you may what to scale it back.

1 T veg. oil
1 large onion – diced
2-3 cloves garlic – pressed/chopped
Cilantro to taste
1 or 2 hot peppers such as jalapeno – diced
6 cups/cans of assorted beans – drained unless Chili Beans
2 cups/cans of sweet corn – drained
2 cans Mexican diced tomatoes with chilies
1 packet ranch dressing
1 packet taco seasoning
2 cups of water
Salt, pepper, Cajun seasoning to taste

In a dutch oven or other large pot, heat oil then add onion, garlic, cilantro, and peppers; sauté until softened. Add beans, corn, tomatoes, seasoning mixes and water, add more or less water to taste. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for at least 30 mins. Can be served over corn chips and tops with cheese and sour cream or plain yogurt to cut the heat

Barley and Quinoa

The other day I went to my local farmers markets, one by work and one by home, to pick up fresh produce. I found zucchini, green beans, baby potatoes, peppers – both hot and sweet, apples, peaches, onions, tomatoes and basil. Okay, so there was a lot more out there, but I’m just listing what I bought. From that I created the following stew:

Southwest Barely Stew:
This takes about 1 or so to make, but most of that is cooking time.

1 chicken breast – diced or a 1 cup of chopped leftover chicken (optional)
½ a sweet onion – chopped
2 small or 1 large zucchini – diced
1 small bell pepper – diced
3 or 4 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 small hot pepper - chopped (optional)
Oil for sautéing

Sauté together in a Dutch oven until the chicken in cooked through and the veggies are tender crisp. Add:

1 can or 1 ½ cup of (cooked) black beans, rinsed
3- 4 cups of water or stock/broth, more if you want it soupy
1 - 16 jar salsa with corn and beans in it
juice of ½ a lime (about 1 tbsp)
add the following to taste:
Creole seasoning, cumin, chili power, salt and pepper

Simmer for 20 minutes and taste and adjust flavors as needed.

Add 1 cup quick cooking barely and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the barely is tender. Let stand for 5 minutes to thicken. Can be served with cheese and plain yogurt or sour cream on top.

You can double the amount of stock to have a nice veggie soup for the winter.

Enjoy!


I’ve been making this over for about a year now and love it. I’ve gotten rave reviews from my tasters. If you leave out the shrimp you have a nice vegan offering. The lime and cilantro are key so don’t skip them!

Quinoa with Shrimp, Beans and Corn
(this is good hot or as a cold salad)
30 mins or less till this is ready

1 c. quinoa – washed and cooked in stock
1/4 – 1/2 shrimp, peeled and cut into thirds (optional)
1 can black beans or 1 ½ c cooked beans – drained and rinsed
1 can corn or 1 ½ thawed frozen
2-3 cloves garlic – pressed
½ onion – chopped
1 red bell pepper – diced
2 limes or lime juice
½ bunch cilantro (or to taste) – chopped
To taste:
Salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, chili power, cumin

While the quinoa is cooking, heat some oil in a large frying pan. Sauté the garlic, onions and red bell pepper until they start to soften. Add shrimp and hot pepper flakes, sauté until shrimp is cooked. Add beans and corn to the pan and cook until hot, stir in quinoa and season with lime juice, cilantro, and spices to taste. Let cook over medium heat until everything is hot and the flavors have started to blend. This gets better as it sits and can keep for at least a week if made without the shrimp.

Enjoy!

Biscuits - good!

After spending last weekend in New Orleans and eating some of the best biscuits I've had in a very long time I decided that it was time that I found/came up with a recipe to end all. Since I trying to eat all-natural, I knew that what ever recipe I started with would need some modifications since I don't used Crisco. Another tenet of my diet that I am also working on it eat all/mostly whole grains, so the addition of whole-wheat flour to anything I make right now is a given... unless its a cake.

So my recipe for light, fluffy, melt in your mouth buttermilk biscuits is as follows:

1 c. unbleached flour
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking power
1/2 t. baking soda
pinch of salt to taste
1/3 c. butter, slightly softened
1 c. fresh butter milk

Preheat oven to 450F degrees. In a medium bowl mix all dry ingredients, then cut in the butter using a pastry cutter or a fork (buy a pastry cutter if you're going to make biscuits very often, its worth it!) until it forms pea-gravel like crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk until just combined. Turn dough out onto a smooth floured surface, and knead enough to form a ball. Pat the dough out until it is about 1" thick and cut with a biscuit cutter or glass. Place on ungreased baking sheet and brush the tops with buttermilk if desired. Bake for 8-12 minutes depending on the thickness of your biscuits. They are done with firmish to the touch golden brown and done on the inside (just crack one open if you're unsure). Once out of the oven, brush again with buttermilk if desired and serve hot with butter and honey.