African Curried Coconut Soup with Chickpeas

We had this last night and it was wonderful -- a great meal on a cold, fall evening.


2 Tbs. oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
32 oz low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
2 cans chickpeas (15 oz), rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped tomatoes (if canned, drain)
1 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 can light coconut milk (14 oz)
1 cup brown rice
2 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

1. In large stock pot, heal oil. Add the onion, red pepper and jalapeño; cook, stirring periodically until softened, about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, 1 minute. 
3. Add the broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, black pepper and rice, bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 30 minutes until rice is done.
5. Add the remaining ingredients and cook, stirring occasionally until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Tofu Enchiladas

These are super easy and really yummy!

1 block firm tofu

1 package flour or corn tortillas (the small size)

1 1/2 cups corn

1 cup salsa

1 bunch chopped, fresh cilantro

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 can enchilada sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a large baking dish.
3. Mash tofu in large mixing bowl.
4. Add corn, salsa, cilantro and 2 cups of the cheese. Combine.
5. Put a few spoonfuls of the mixture in a tortilla and roll up. Place, seam-side down in the pan. Continue making until pan is full and mixture is used up. You'll need to gauge how much to use in each one.
6. Pour the enchilada sauce over each enchilada -- try not to leave any tortilla exposed. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
7. Bake 34-40 minutes, until bubbling on top and beginning to brown.

broccoli soup

1/4 onion

2 carrots

1 celery stalk

3 small potatoes

5 cups vegetable broth plus 1 cup water

1 bay leaf

4-5 cups head of broccoli chopped

2 teaspoon kosher salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 teaspoon curry powder

cheddar cheese (optional)

Saute onion, carrot and celery in about 1/4 cup of vegetable broth until tender. add salt, pepper and curry and mix together. Add vegetable broth, water, potato, bay leaf and broccoli. Cook until potato is tender, about 30-45 minutes. Remove bay leaf and blend with an immersion blender. Serve as is or add a few tablespoons of cheddar cheese to each bowl to make broccoli cheddar soup. This soup is healthy, quick, easy and yummy.

Vegetarian Chili

I received this recipe through one of those email recipe exchanges. I don't know the woman who sent it to me, but it's really good. We've now made it twice and it's on the menu again this week! The only things I changed from the original version were adding more spices and I got rid of the green pepper 'cause my kids don't like it. Feel free to add it back -- I'll bet it's good. This makes enough for two adults and two kids with enough left-over for one person's lunch the next day.

3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium onion, diced

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 tsp. cumin

1 tsp oregano

1 Tbs. chili powder

1 30 oz. can chili beans, drained

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (I use these because my kids don't like big chunks of tomato)

Optional toppings: grated cheddar cheese, Fritos, avacado

1. Heat oil in a large sauce pan and saute the onion until soft and translucent. Add garlic and spices and continue cooking over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
2. Add chili beans and tomatoes and heat thoroughly. (This is great reheated, so if you can, make it in the morning and then reheat it for dinner.)
3. My kids love this with some grated cheddar and a big handful of Fritos on top. You can also serve it over pasta.

Enchilada Casserole

We had a bunch of family in over the weekend for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday. Great fun! I made dinner one night for everyone and there were a few restrictions... one relative can't eat wheat and another is a vegetarian. So, I was thrilled to find something EVERYONE could enjoy. I ended up making two -- one with chicken and the other without. I'll tell you how to do both:

This makes enough for one 9"x13" pan.

1 cup chopped onion

1 red pepper, chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1 cup salsa

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup frozen corn, thawed and drained

14 six-inch corn tortillas, each one torn into around 8 pieces

8 oz. Monterey Jack and Cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can enchilada sauce

Optional garnish: chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream, chopped black olives

If you're adding meat: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Saute onion in a little oil until soft and starting to brown. Add red pepper and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic and saute an additional minute. Set aside.
3. Combine beans, salsa, corn and sour cream. Add onion mixture and stir until blended.
4. Spray 9x13 pan with oil. Layer half of the torn tortillas on the bottom. Cover with the bean/sour cream/onion mixture. Sprinkle with half of the grated cheese. If you're adding chicken, put it on now. Top with remaining tortillas.
5. Carefully pour one can of enchilada sauce over entire casserole. Try to cover eachtortilla with a little bit of sauce. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. (At this point you can cover it and put it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it. Make sure to add 15-20 extra minutes of cooking time if it's cold when you put it in the oven .)
6. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking an addition 15 minutes, until heated through and starting to bubble on top.
7. Serve hot and garnish with chopped cilantro, sour cream and black olives.

Mexican Cheese Fondue

Fondue pots must be the most ubiquitous wedding present ever, so go find yours. I'll bet you have one. If you've never used it with your kids, now is the time. They'll think it's the coolest dinner ever.

Anyway, it's hard not to like fondue -- especially the cheese kind. This version is very kid-friendly as it doesn't include wine or expensive French ingredients. The kids and Dave made this for dinner last weekend and there wasn't a drop left-over. This makes enough for four -- 2 adults and 2 kids.

3 Tbs. butter

3 Tbs. flour

1 garlic clove, minced

2/3 cup milk

1/2 cup chicken broth, plus more to thin the sauce if needed

8 oz shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese

3 Tbs. salsa (mild or hot -- you choose)

Possible dippers: cubes of French bread, pre-cooked broccoli or cauliflower florets, chunks of grilled chicken, sauteed whole mushrooms, red and yellow pepper strips, carrot sticks, jicama slices (almost everything tastes good when it's dipped in cheese!)

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until just starting to brown, around 1 minute. Whisk in flour until blended.
2. Whisk in the milk and chicken broth.
3. Continue cooking until it thickens and starts to boil, 2-4 minutes. Reduce heat to low.
4. Gradually add the cheese, stirring until it's melted.
5. Stir in the salsa. If sauce seems too thick, add a little chicken broth.
6. Transfer the sauce to a fondue pot and set the flame to keep it warm.
7. Start dipping

Spanakopita

I first had this several years ago at my aunt's farm in Maryland; it was so good that I made it soon after I got home for my own family. It's one way that I can get my kids to eat spinach or Swiss Chard without too many complaints.

I usually prepare two batches when I make it because then I use all the phyllo dough. If I don't, the left-overs just sit in my fridge... anyone have other good uses for phyllo sheets?

8 cups chopped spinach or Swiss Chard (or 2 packages frozen, thawed)

1 onion, finely chopped

4 Tbs. butter

2 Tbs. flour

1 cup milk

5 eggs, beaten

1/2 pound feta, crumbled (or other mild white cheese, grated)

dash of nutmeg

8 oz of phyllo sheets (in the freezer section of the grocery store)

1/2 cup melted, unsalted butter

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in frying pan, saute the onion until soft and then add the spinach. Continue to saute for 3-4 minutes until spinach is wilted and heated through.
3. Stir in flour, gradually add milk.
4. Cook until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in eggs, cheese and nutmeg until smooth.
6. In 11X14 pan, brush and layer 8 sheets of phyllo with butter. Add filling and top with 8 more buttered sheets.
7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Thai-Style Noodles

My daughter loves these. My son isn't as much of a fan, because he only likes peanut butter if it's on a banana. So, when I make them, I always set aside some plain noodles for him.

3 Tbs. natural peanut butter

2 Tbs. water

1 Tbs. soy sauce

2 tsp. sesame oil

2 tsp. honey

2-3 cloves garlic, crushed

1 inch ginger, grated (I keep ginger in 1" pieces in the freezer. They're much easier to grate when they're frozen. You also don't need to worry about the peel -- I just grate the whole thing.)

8 oz spaghetti, cooked and drained

Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro, chopped dry roasted peanuts, chopped green onions (all optional)

1. Sauce: combine peanut butter, water, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, and ginger in a food processor or blender. Puree until smooth.
2. In large serving bowl, toss spaghetti with the sauce. Garnish with cilantro, peanuts and green onion (I let the kids put these on themselves if they want).