Minestrone Soup

Now that the holidays are over and things have settled down, I feel like we are back to our normal eating/cooking routine.  We are back to cooking a lot on the weekends and making/freezing foods for the kids.  Even though I'm at home all day, I like having simple dinners during the week.  Not only is it less stressful but it also seems to be healthier for us.  Our quick meals during the week are often lighter than the food we indulge in on the weekends.

This weekend I made a minestrone soup.  Mr Pears didn't seem all that thrilled with the prospect of what we called, "a bland soup", but he...umm...ate his words, lol!  This soup is super healthy and packed with a ton of great veggies and beans and a ton of flavor.  It does use a few slices of bacon so it is not a typical vegetarian minestrone, but it could be...and I think it would be just as good.  I just served it with some garlic french bread, and it was a great meal.

This is definitely a weekend recipe, though, in my opinion.  There is lots of chopping to do. But the work does pay off and the recipe made enough soup for us to freeze two batches for later.

So if cutting calories was on your list of resolutions...or if you just want a nice light dinner next week, give this one a try. :)

photo from foodnetwork.com, my darn phone isn't uploading!

Minestrone Soup, adapted from Bobby Flay
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, chopped
2-3 large carrots, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 head of cabbage, sliced thin, and steamed for 2-3 minutes
1/2 bunch kale, destemmed and chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 can diced tomatoes, drained
1 bouquet garni (1 sprig rosemary, 4 sprigs thyme, 1 bay leaf, tied with kitchen string)
2 cans cannellini beans
salt, pepper, and freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat and then add the onion, celery, carrots, garlic, and bacon and cook for about 5 minutes while stirring.  Add in 4 cups of water along with the stock, cabbage, kale, tomatoes, and bouquet garni.  Bring the soup to a boil then turn down the heat and let it simmer together for about 30 minutes.

In the meantime, puree one can of beans in  your food processor or blender.  After 30 minutes of simmering add the puree and the other can of beans (drained) to the soup, stir it together and let it all cook 10 minutes longer.  Taste the soup and season it with salt and pepper.

When you serve the soup sprinkle each portion with some Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

Moroccan Eggplant

Yesterday I did something wild and crazy....I made myself lunch.  Might not seem that crazy to you but it is a rare occurrence around here.  Most days I don't eat lunch.  I've discussed this before...you can read about it on the only other lunch post I've done, back in August, which was probably the last time I made myself lunch.

Anyway, I know I should eat lunch more often and since we had an extra eggplant left over from the yummy eggplant parm we made the other night, I decided to revive an old favorite of  mine, Moroccan Eggplant.  It is super easy to make but it does take about an hour since the eggplant has to roast for 40 minutes.  It's not a labor intensive dish though, and I actually did something else wild and crazy while it was roasting.  I cleaned out my spice cabinet.  Woo Hoo.

For anyone who is interested in some house organizing/decluttering motivation, check out this calendar from My Simpler Life.  The calendar is free to download and each day you have just one item to declutter.  I'm loving it so far!  And Jan 5, 2012 was the day to clean out the garlic salt that expired in 2004.  No lie.  Plus I didn't even live in this house in 2004!  (Mr Pears owned the house before we met).

Ok back to the recipe....it's good.  It is easy to reheat throughout the week and it is healthy.  I hope you like it.

Moroccan Eggplant, adapted from....I don't know!  I've been making this awhile and I've no idea where I found the recipe....sorry!  If it's yours let me know and I'll give credit where credit is due.

(makes three lunches, double the recipe to serve four for dinner)

1 medium sized eggplant
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons smoke paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
a pinch of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
Serve over couscous

Start by spraying a large pot or dutch oven with vegetable oil cooking spray and heating it on medium for about 5 minutes.  Prick your eggplant all over with a fork and then put it into your hot pan and cover it.

Let it roast for 20 minutes, turn it over, then let it roast another 20 minutes.  When it is cool enough to handle, slice off the top stem, slice the eggplant lengthwise and then put it face down in a colander to drain for about 10 minutes.

Once drained and cool, scoop out the flesh and put it into a saucepan.  Mash it up with a wooden spoon.

Turn the heat on to medium low and add the remaining ingredients, stirring to combine.  Heat all the way through, about 10 minutes.

While the eggplant is heating, make your couscous.  I make mine by heating 1 cup of water in the microwave until boiling (about 1min30sec) then pouring it over 1/2 cup couscous in my serving bowl.  I just stir it together and put a small plate on top for 5 minutes.  Fluff, drizzle some olive oil and voila!

Top the couscous with the eggplant and enjoy!  This is easy to reheat and keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days.  You can make the couscous fresh each day (only takes 6 minutes!) or make a bigger batch and reheat that too. 

Lobster Bisque

I may be one of the only people in the world who isn't all in love with lobster.  I've had it every which way you can imagine, including raw, and I'm just not the biggest fan.  This soup, however, is awesome.

This lobster bisque could be the easiest soup I've ever made.  Since you buy the lobster already cooked from the grocery store, you are literally just making a quick cream based soup and heating it for a few minutes.  With this recipe you can have a homemade seafood soup in about 30 minutes.  Hard to beat that.  The Old Bay and cayenne pepper give it a bit of kick and a lot of flavor for a soup with only ten ingredients...or any soup for that matter.  Try this for a delicious and heart-warming lunch or dinner one of these chilly fall days.

Lobster Bisque, adapted from Wilma Scott
1 cup vegetable stock (or chicken stock)
1 medium onion, diced
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound lobster tail, cooked and roughly chopped

Put both the onion and the stock in a small pan and bring to a boil, lower the heat and allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a medium size pot, melt the butter and whisk in the flour.  Cook the flour about 3 minutes whisking constantly.  Now slowly pour in the stock and onions while continuing to whisk.  Whisk in the milk and then the spices and tomato paste.  Stop to taste the soup now and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  Stir in the lobster then allow the soup to simmer for about 15 minutes or so.  Be careful not to let it burn.  Serve and enjoy!

Greek Couscous Salad

I'm pretty sure I'm not the only Mom out there who "forgets" to eat lunch on a regular basis.  Sometimes I do really forget, I'm just too busy doing other things and by the time I notice I'm starving it's 3:00 and I figure I'll make it to dinner.  Sometimes, though, I'm just too lazy to make myself lunch.  After making, feeding, and cleaning up after two kids' meals twice in the day already, sometimes I just want to sit on the couch for a few minutes and breathe.  (God Bless Naptime)

So in order to combat starvation-by-laziness, I like to make up a lunch I can keep in the refrigerator for the whole week.  Usually it is some type of salad I can eat cold, no further preparation involved.  I really like to make pasta salads but recently a friend sent me a recipe for a couscous salad that is pretty great.  This salad is nice and light but filling too.  The lemon vinaigrette and chopped kalamata olives really give it a bright fresh taste. So to all the busy Moms....this one's for you.

Greek Couscous Salad, adapted from MyPanera
2 Tablespoons pistachios
1 3/4 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
10 ounces couscous
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
4 oz crumbled feta cheese
1/4 chopped pitted Kalamata olives
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

To begin, put the pistachios in a dry pan over medium heat and toast them until they are golden brown, shake the pan often to keep them from burning.  They will toast in just a few minutes so don't walk away! Set them aside when done.

Now bring the vegetable stock to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Once it boils, stir in the couscous, cover and remove the pan from heat.  Let the couscous sit while you chop those veggies.  Once the veggies are chopped, put them and the couscous and cheese into a large bowl and stir to combine.

Lastly, make the vinaigrette in a small bowl. Put in the lemon juice, salt and pepper first, then slowly whisk in the oil.  Once all are combined pour the dressing over the salad and stir it to combine.

You can eat this salad right away or refrigerate it for about 4 days.

**PS. Sorry for the lack of photos these last two days, I am having some technical difficulties with Picassa.  I am much better with a wooden spoon than I am with a computer. ;)