Vegetarian Kale and White Bean Soup
BBQ Lentil Loaf
Potato, Cauliflower, and Spinach Mash
Applesauce
Cooler weather has me thinking of heartier fare but there is no reason your favorite comfort foods can’t also be lighter in calories. Here are some highly satisfying recipes I’ve tried recently.
Vegetarian Kale and White Bean Soup
Raw kale can take some getting used to but I have always enjoyed it in soups. I started with this recipe for Vegetarian Kale Soup, from Allrecipes.com that packs a lot of nutrition into every bite.
Winter vegetables are still plentiful at our local farmer’s market. I bought kale, carrots, turnips, and brussels sprouts there this week. I used both the kale and the greens from the turnips in my soup. That’s a lot of greens but as you can see here in my before and after shots they wilt down to almost nothing. The second picture was taken after only 2-3 minutes of cooking with lid on.
I made a few substitutions and alterations to the original recipe in addition to the turnip greens. I substituted fresh chopped tomatoes for the canned and chopped bell pepper for the jarred roasted pepper. I also made my own vegetable broth for the first time using this recipe. I am looking forward to eating this soup for supper for a few days!
BBQ Lentil Loaf
There are few foods more comforting than meat loaf. I make a pretty darn good one but I wanted to try a plant based version. I know, I know, lentil loaf sounds like a total vegan cliche but trust me, you will be surprised by this recipe from one of my favorite sources; Brandi Doming’s “The Vegan 8”.
Her blog and website feature recipes with only 8 ingredients or less and she achieves tons of flavor with a minimum of ingredients. Her BBQ Lentil Loaf did not disappoint. I really like the barbecue flavor and the use of cornmeal and corn. Lentils are one of the easiest legumes for cook from scratch because they do not require soaking but I think you could use canned lentils if you wanted to skip that step.
Speaking of skipping steps have I mentioned that I hate doing dishes? Here is one trick I use that minimizes clean up. After sauteeing the onion and garlic I just added all the remaining ingredients to the saute pan to mix. Brandi’s advice about lining the loaf pan with parchment paper also make clean up a little easier!
Here’s the finished product served with the potato, cauliflower, and spinach mash recipe that follows.
Potato, Cauliflower, and Spinach Mash
I will sometimes make a quick meal of mashed potatoes with wilted spinach. It’s not much of a recipe. I just wash and cube a potato and steam the cubes for about 10 minutes. After 10 minutes I throw a couple of handfuls of baby spinach on top, cover and steam for an additional 5 minutes. Drain the mixture and remove the steamer insert. At this point you can mash with a little milk and add salt and pepper to taste. You can add or substitute cauliflower – just steam the florets along with the potato. Sometime I will also add some feta cheese or nutritional yeast.
To take this to the next level you can use this recipe for Kale and Cauliflower Casserole from Paula Dean’s son Jamie. I tried it a couple of weeks ago, using green onion in place of the leeks. I skipped the oil, sauteed the onion and kale in water, and used soy milk. My husband didn’t know the difference and said I could make it again.
Crockpot Applesauce
Apples were on sale this week so I grabbed a couple of bags to make homemade applesauce. This is so easy to do especially if you leave the skin on the apples as I do. They add fiber and nutrition.
I don’t add any sugar to my applesauce. My “recipe” consisted of one 3 lb. bag of Honeycrisp apples cut into cubes, 1/2 cup of water, and the juice of one lemon. Combine everything in the slow cooker and cook on high for about 4 hours. Then use a potato masher (I like this handy tool that I bought from Pampered Chef) to mash to the consistency you desire.
The cooked applesauce will keep for about a week in the refrigerator or you can freeze up to several months. You can add cinnamon or other flavoring if you like but I left mine plain because I may use it for baking later – applesauce makes a great substitute for oil in muffins and quickbreads.
Hope you enjoyed these recipes. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.
Comments