Cauliflower Soup

2 heads of cauliflower, chopped fine
2-3 carrots chopped fine
2 celery ribs chopped fine
1 onion chopped fine
4 tsp garlic chopped
1/2 c. butter
olive oil
flour
6-8 c. chicken broth
2 c. milk
cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Saute onion in olive oil and butter. Add carrots and celery and cook until soft with a little gold color, remember color makes it taste good! Add cauliflower and garlic and continue to saute. Add maybe 1/4 c. flour and mix to coat. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Pour in chicken broth and cook until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. Mash with a potatoe masher or simply leave this soup chunky. Stir in 2 c. milk and top each bowl with a sprinkle of cheese! serves 6. 

Irish Potatoes

• 2 pounds cabbage, shredded
• 2 cups water
• 4 pounds potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 cups milk
• 1 cup chopped green onions
• Salt and coarsely ground pepper to taste
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• Crumbled cooked bacon and minced fresh parsley

• In a large saucepan, bring cabbage and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender. Drain, reserving cooking liquid. Keep cabbage warm.
• Place cooking liquid and potatoes in a large saucepan; add enough additional water to cover the potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and cook for 15-17 minutes or until tender. Drain and keep warm.
• In a small saucepan, bring milk and onions to a boil; remove from the heat. In a large bowl, mash potatoes. Add milk mixture; beat until blended. Beat in the cabbage, salt and pepper. Drizzle with the melted butter, bacon and parsley. 12-16 servings.

this is either a good side dish or a half of dinner with another meatless side dish like rice! 

Veggie (or Chicken and Veggie) Curry

1-2 chicken thighs, cut into chunks(optional)
3-4 Tbsp curry powder (adjust depending on how spicy you like it)
1 Tbsp dry ginger (or 4 Tbsp fresh, finely chopped)
1 Tbsp garlic powder (or 4-6 garlic cloves, minced)
1 large onion, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks (or two if omitting the chicken)
1 apple, diced
2 carrots, cut in small chunks (or 3 if omitting chicken)
2 celery stalks, chopped (or 3 if omitting chicken)
4 Tbsp  cornstarch
1 Tbsp sea salt
1-2 Tbsp maple syrup or sugarless sweetener
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1-2 cans (14 0z) coconut milk (adapt to your tastes)

Cut, chop, and prepare all your ingredients as described above and throw together in your crockpot. Turn crockpot on low for 4-6 hours. Stir on an hourly basis until fully cooked. You may desire to thicken further with additional flour or arrowroot powder or remove the lid during the last hour so some of the liquids can simmer off. Serve over a bed of brown rice and enjoy!

this is my modification of a curry I found online that we are gonna try soon!

Eggplant Parm

1/2 c Italian style bread crumbs (not panko!)
1/4 tsp each pepper and salt
2 tbsp parm
1/4 c mayonaise
1 whole eggplant, one peel strip removed from four sides and then sliced into 1/4 inch slices

preheat oven to 400. Mix together the first 4 ingreds in a shallow bowl. Spread mayo on both sides of each slice of eggplant and then dredge in bread crumb mix. Lay on a non-stick piece of foil on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. serve immediately.

we had this with pasta and marinara. Yummy veg only dinner! serves 4-6.

Thai-Curry Chicken Soup

6 cups chicken broth

3 tablespoons maple (pure) syrup or packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2tablespoons rice vinegar
2teaspoons curry powder
1 small red bell pepper, coarsely chopped (1/2 cup) optional
1 small jalapeño chile, seeded, finely chopped (1 tablespoon) or 1 tsp chipotle chili powder
2 cups chopped  cooked chicken
2 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, if desired
chopped green onions
2-4 cups shredded cabbage
3-4 carrots shredded

add all ingredients to a pot and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until veggies are tender, about 20 minutes. Serve hot with cilantro and green onions over the top! I had also added other leftover items that I have had in my fridge, rice, noodles, other veggies, anything you think would be a good pseudo-chinese soup. It's really yummy and the heat of this can be adjusted easily. this serves as many as you want it too!!

Roasted Potato and Leek Soup

3-4 med/large potoates, sliced thin
2-3 leeks, halved washed and sliced like celery
olive oil
salt and pepper

heat oven to 450. on a baking sheet arrange leeks and potatoes sprinkle w/ oil salt and peper and roast until golden brown.

3-4tbsp butter
1/4 c flour
1 tbsp minced garlic, 3 cloves chopped
6 c chix broth
1/4 c white cooking white
1/2-1tsp white peper
1/2 c sour cream
1/4 c shredded parmesan

while potaotes/leeks are roasting melt butter in soup pot. Add garlic and brown until golden. Add flour and white pepper and let cook until flour/butter/garlic/pepper mixture is bubbly. Add the broth slowly stirring it in until it's smooth. Add the leeks/potatoes and mash a bit with the potato masher. Add the wine and sour cream and parm. Bring to a low simmer and allow the flavors to meld a bit. Serve warm with crusty bread and maybe some this sliced onions on top.

Pasta with Canellini Beans

2 cans canellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 8oz cans tomato sauce
2 tbsp wozzy sauce
3/4 red bell pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced thin
3-4 tbsp olive oil
2-3 stalks celery with leaves, super thinly sliced
1 lb ditalini pasta
3/4 c red cooking wine
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
3/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Parmesan Cheese

Heat oil over med/high heat. Add sliced garlic and saute until golden (lightly golden). Add red pepper, saute one minutes, add celery saute 2 minutes more, add oregano and canellini beans, saute 5-7 minutes. Add crushed red peper, tomato sauce, basil, wozzy, and wine. salt and pepper to taste. Bring to boil, lower heat cover and simmer 30 minutes. While sauce is simmering heat water for pasta in pot. Cook pasta according to pkg directions or 1 min less. add cooked pasta to simmering sauce, stir. Add 1/2 c parm mix and serve immediately, with added parm if you like!