Applesauce Oat muffins

I tried this recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe and I am definitely going to make it more often.

I did make a few edits though to veganize it:
Ground flax seed instead of egg
Coconut oil instead of butter

I had also used homemade applesauce I made last fall from freshly picked apples and canned for days like this!

A tasty healthy breakfast treat.

Spicy tomato soup

I recently tried this recipe from Vegetarian Times but made a few tweaks to the recipe.

Ingredients

Olive oil

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1 tbsp tomato paste or sauce

1 clove garlic, diced

1 tsp sugar

1 15-oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes

2 tsp balsamic vinegar

4 cups water

1 tsp dried thyme

1-2 tbsp fresh basil

2 heaping tbsp cornstarch

Vegetable broth

1. In a medium pot, saute onion for a few minutes in a few tablespoons of olive oil, then add tomato paste, garlic, and sugar.
2. Add tomatoes, vinegar, water, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, the cover and simmer at a low temp for about 15 minutes.
3. With am immersion blender, process until smooth. 4. In a small bowl, whisk cornstarch and a few tablespoons of broth. Add to pot. Stir, let sit for 5 minutes to thicken, and serve.

Black Bean and Sausage Stew

 I recently ran across an old issue of Family Circle with some great soup recipes. I made this black bean and sausage stew, and loved it!

1 lb black beans (soaked overnight)
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 lb sweet Italian sausage (casings removed, if any)
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
Chopped cilantro, avocado, and tomato for garnish (optional)
Or chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, and sour cream for garnish (optional) <- my="" p="" personal="" suggestion="">

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Add onion and garlic. Cook five minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in broth, water, soaked beans, chili powder, oregano and cumin.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, 60 minutes or so until beans are tender. Add red pepper during last few minutes of cooking.
5. Remove about 1 cup of the mixture to blender and puree, return to pot. (I skipped this step).
6. Garnish each serving as desired.

Squash Cassarole

Happy New Year!

This holiday, I wanted to start the year loading up on veggies. So I grabbed whatever squash and root veggies I had and put them all together for this tasty meal:

Ingredients
2 zucchini
2 summer squash
2 carrots
1 turnip
2 russet potatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
Shredded mozzarella Grated Parmesan Olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray casserole dish with olive oil. 2. Slice all veggies about 1/4" thick. Mix veggies in a bowl with about 2 tbsp olive oil and mozzarella (about 1/4 cup). 3. Pour veggies into casserole dish. 4. In a small bowl mix eggs, breadcrumbs and parmesan (a few tbsps). Pour over veggies. 5. Bake for about 30 minutes and serve! (Top with more parmesan if desired)