Simple Vegetable soup

Veggie Soup

We felt like having something light tonight, so I cooked up this soup. It was really simple but surprisingly zesty and hearty. Prep and cooking time is around 40 minutes.

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups vegetable broth (I get Swanson brand @ Walmart)
• 1 Cup water
• 1/2 head of Cabbage shredded thin
• 2 stalks of celery diced
• 1 small onion chopped fine
• 5 medium tomatoes blended in the food processor - around 1 cup will do
• 1 Cup of diced mixed vegetables - sweet corn, peas, Italian beans, carrots
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped fine
• 2 Tblsp olive oil
• 1 Tsp garlic salt
• 2 Tblsp Salt
• 2 Tsp black pepper
• 3 Tblsp Italian seasoning (Thyme, Oregano, basil, etc)

Heat the olive oil In a large soup pot or a pressure cooker. Add the garlic and 1 Tblsp of the Italian seasoning to the oil and stir for about 30 seconds. Then, add the onions and the celery to the pot and fry the mix for a while until the onions begin to look soft. Then, add the cabbage, mixed vegetables, tomatoes and the broth to the pot and heat on medium heat. Stir occasionally and bring the mix to a boil.

Prep for the soup

Add the salt and rest of the spices and the water to the pot. If you are using a pressure cooker, this the time to close the cooker and cook for 2 whistles (or 10 minutes). If using a regular soup pot, simmer on low-medium heat for around 30 minutes. Adjust the spices if required.

Serve with dinner rolls or garlic bread.

Vegetarian pasta

Here is a really delicious vegetarian pasta recipe. Its a spin off of a recipe I found on the internet with some of my twists thrown in.

Ingredients:

• 1+1/4 Cups pasta (I prefer elbow, you can use what you prefer)
• 2 Tblsp Olive oil
• 1 Tblsp mixed Italian seasoning
• 4 garlic cloves chopped finely
• 1/2 Tblsp crushed red pepper
• 1 large Onion chopped into thin long slices
• 1 Bell pepper chopped (different colors is nice)
• 1/4 Cup Sun Dried Tomato in Oil chopped
• 1 Cup pasta sauce (I prefer Classico spicy tomato and basil)
• 1 Tsp salt
• Fresh Basil (optional)
• 1 Tblsp pine nuts
• 1 Tblsp finely chopped parsley

First, boil the pasta in water with a couple of pinches of salt or as described on the package instructions. You want the pasta to be al dente - or cooked so as to be firm when eaten. Once cooked, drain the pasta and keep aside.

In a separate big pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add garlic, crushed red pepper and the Italian seasoning and cook for 30 seconds. Now, add the onions, mix well and cook for a minute or so. Then, add the bell peppers to the pan. You can crank the heat up and stir the veggies constantly. Doing this leaves the vegetables nice and crisp.

Next, add the sun dried tomatoes, salt and a pinch of black pepper (optional) to the mix. Cook on medium heat again for about a minute. Add the pasta sauce and mix well.

Finally, add the pasta to the mixture and mix well once again. Cook well for about a minute and turn the stove off. Keep tossing the pasta once in a while if you plan to keep the pasta on the stove.

That's it! Its all done. Serve piping hot with warm garlic bread or garlic dinner rolls. Enjoy.

Italian Vegetarian soup

This is a cool easy recipe for a hearty Italian soup on cold nights that I got from a colleague (Thanks Marlene!) It originally required cooking on a slow cooker, but I just used a traditional pressure cooker to speed things up.

Ingredients:

• 1 Cup baby spinach leaves (frozen stuff will do)
• 2 medium carrots chopped
• 2 medium celery ribs chopped
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 medium potato chopped
• 1 garlic clove chopped
• 4 Cups vegetable broth (Get Swanson brand from Walmart)
• 14.5 oz. can of Italian Stewed tomatoes (Walmart again)
• Puree of 3 medium tomatoes (fresh)
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/2 Tblsp crushed Red pepper
• 1 Tblsp Mixed Italian herbs (Walmart brand will do)
• 1 Tsp Salt
• A pinch of Black Pepper

All right this is real simple - so easy even a cave man could do it. First get all the ingredients ready. Then, throw all of them into the pressure cooker - broth first, then the veggies and finally the spices.

Stir well and bring this mixture to a boil. Bring the heat down to medium and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Finally, close the lid and pressure cook for 2 whistles on medium heat - then turn off the stove.

Once the pressure is released, the soup is ready. You can adjust the salt and spices at this point. If you'd like the soup to be spicier, sprinkle a little more black pepper.