Kale Attacked Minestrone Stew

The reason for the name of this stew:
My husband came home from work, walked into the kitchen to see what I was cooking and commented: "What happened to the dinner? Did it get attacked by kale or something?"
I chuckled!
Kale doesn't tend to wilt down quite as much as other greens in cooking. Though thankfully for the sake of my husband, it does a little.... so when you throw a whole bunch into your stew although it takes over at the start, by the time it's cooked down a little bit, it seems like a much more reasonable amount!!!!! lol
Then again, I think being attacked by the "super hero" power of kale isn't such a bad thing after all ;-)
And so I bring you....

KALE ATTACKED MINESTRONE STEW

You'll need:
1 large onion
1 large zucchini
1 large carrot
2 cloves of garlic
1 can cannelliini beans (drained)
1 can tomatoes
1 bunch kale
3 stalks of both basil and parsley (fresh)
4 bay leaves
1 litre vegetable stock (I used home made)
1/2 cup soup pasta

Chop all the vegetables and herbs. In a large pot brown the onion using a bit of water to prevent from sticking. Add all ingredients to the pot and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes until the vegetables are soft (and the kale has wilted down lol).

Most of the stock will be absorbed by the pasta - making it more the consistency of a 'stew' and not a 'soup'. If you prefer this more 'soup-like' just add more stock (or water).
Remove the bay leaves prior to serving.

 
I am linking this to Meatless Monday: Watercress.
I have to confess that I can't find watercress in our regular store and I didn't have the time to look for it in other places! Any greens can be substituted for the kale in this recipe.

Simple Green Split Pea Stew

For those nights when we need instant meals and we have the morning to prepare, I find the slow cooker is just so handy! 
This meal is so tasty and yet it's as simple as chopping and letting the slow cooker do the rest of the job for you.
 
Don't own a slow cooker - you can also make it over a stove top if you prefer - just bring all the ingredients to a boil and then simmer for 40 minutes.

SIMPLE GREEN SPLIT PEA STEW

Serves 4

1 cup green split peas - (if you have time soak overnight in 2 cups boiling water)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons chili (optional- adjust as desired)
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1/2 large green capsicum
1 can tomatoes
1 can baby potatoes
2 cups veggie stock (either store bought or home-made) 

Chop all the vegetables to your desired size.
Place all ingredients in a slow cooker and leave for 6-8 hours until everything has softened.
Remove bay leaves prior to serving.

Serve with warm bread of choice.

Question of the day?
Do you enjoy using a slow cooker?

POTATO AND LENTIL LAZY NIGHT STEW - Easy Mid-week Meal

I have made this 'stew' (for want of a better word) several times.
Its so quick & easy but yet really tasty. That makes it great for those evenings when we are late home from one activity and not long til we need to leave for the next....
The added bonus is that these are simple foods that we almost always have on hand.

POTATO AND LENTIL LAZY NIGHT STEW

To serve 2 you'll need:
1 onion
2 potatoes
1 zucchini
1 cup button mushrooms
1 can lentils
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup fresh basil leaves, torn

Chop the onion, potatoes, zucchini and button mushrooms into small pieces. 
Add to a frying pan and lightly saute, adding small amounts of water to stop from sticking to the pan. 
Drain the lentils and add them to the veggies with the tomato paste. Cover for 15 minutes.
Remove lid and stir through the basil.
Serve with black pepper.

*You can sub fresh oregano in place of the basil. 

Equally as tasty, but changes the meal completely!*

Submitted for Healthy Vegan Friday.
You can add your recipe at these blogs:
carrie on vegan

veggie nook

greenthickies 

WIAW - Split Pea & Leek Stew

Happy Wednesday everyone! :-)
I hope you've all had a wonderful day.

Its been a few weeks since I did a What-I-Ate-Wednesday Post.

Over on the peas and crayons blog, June is sensible snacking month. I find that winter is definitely a time of year when its easy to sit and snack, so its a nice reminder for me to be mindful that I'm only snacking if I really need to eat something. Today I had an apple when I was driving home from work at 6pm. I think that definitely falls into the category of 'sensible snacking'. 

Here's what I ate for meals during the day:

Breakfast - blueberry 'yogurt' and oats.

Lunch - mexican rice & beans with spinach on a grain wrap.

Dinner was Split Pea & Leek Stew - courtesy of the slow cooker!

I reckon I could just about call my WIAW posts "Slow-Cooker Wednesday" since our slow cooker is used almost every Wednesday. Its such a wonderful kitchen appliance for my late-home day! 

Here's today's recipe: 

Split Pea & Leek Stew

 

1 cup green split peas

1 leek

1 onion

2 potatoes

approx 1 1/2 litres of stock

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon minced garlic

Chop the leek, onion and potatoes. Place in the slow cooker with the bay leaves and garlic. Pour over the stock (you'll need enough to just cover all the vegetables).

Put the lid on and set to high for 5-6 hours.

Remove the bay leaves prior to serving.

Optional: stir through a tablespoon of tomato paste if you like tomato flavoured stews!

 Delicious served with warm crusty bread.... but then again, what meal isn't!!! ;-)

I have been making our own stock lately. Its really easy to make and amazingly tasty. I don't buy veggies to make it because I find that the expense of doing that adds up really quickly. Instead, I save all our 'off cuts' - meaning the ends of carrots, capsicums, zucchinis, celery, beans, broccoli and any other vegetables that would otherwise be thrown in the bin. All the end bits truly make an amazing stock and I'm yet to find a vegetable that seems to spoil the stock! What a great way of making the most of 'all' the vegetable!!!
I just keep the pieces in a container for 5-7 days and then pour them into a large stock pot and cover with approx 2 litres of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 1-1 1/2 hours. Strain the mixture and then its ready to use. The stock also freezes well.

Questions of the day:
Have you ever tried making your own stock?
Do you call it a "slow cooker" or a "crock pot"?

WIAW - Trade

I'm sure by now you know that on Wednesdays I have oats for breakfast, salad for lunch and soup for dinner! Today I also enjoyed snacking on these delicious pumpkin cookies from Kari @ Bite-Sized Thoughts:

Try them - you won't be disappointed!

So this week instead of showing you yet another What-I-Ate-Wednesday, I decided I would trade Wednesday for the weekend (same letter after all so I can still call it WIAW)!
That's because we went camping last weekend!
How is it that something so simple can be so fun & relaxing....???

I love going away camping (when its not too long).

I thought I'd share with you our camping stew.

This is such a great meal to prepare when you don't have your full kitchen available & especially in cooler months. 
Its very easy to transport the food needed for this stew too.
I pre-chopped all our vegetables at home before we left just to make it easier.

Camping Stew
 
3 medium potatoes
1 zucchini
1 carrot
1 onion
1/2 chili
1 tin butter beans
1 large tin diced tomatoes
Sprinkling of italian herbs

Chop all vegetables.
Put all ingredients in a large pot. Bring to the boil. Simmer for 40 mins. 

Serve with fresh crusty bread.

 Sit in front of the fire and enjoy your steamy stew!

Now for camping breakfast:

Soaked oats! This was too easy.

We boiled water in our billy. Poured it over the oats and left their lids on for 5ish minutes. Then added apple sauce, raisins and cinnamon.

Delicious warm camping breakfast!

Is it just me or do the oats on the left remind you of the 3 bears??? ;-)

Question of the day:

Do you have certain meals that you always eat when you go camping?

Potato and kale stew

I love a meal that is easy to prepare but also very satisfying. 
I must admit that I don't mind a bit of chopping and stirring - that is my idea of relaxed cooking. This stew is exactly that! :-)

You'll need:
4 potatoes
half bunch of kale (approx 5-6 stems)
1 zucchini
1 can butter beans
4 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon stock powder
3 cups water
1/4 cup tomato paste


Chop the potatoes into rough 1-2cm cubes - no need to peel them though I do recommend giving them a brush first!
Chop the zucchini into slices.
Remove the leaves from the kale stems. 
Drain the butter beans.
Place all these ingredients into a large stock pot.
Crush the garlic over the veggies, add the stock powder and pour the water over the top. You may need more water depending on the pot size - you need enough to just cover the vegetables but not drown them. 
Bring to a boil and then lower the heat and leave to simmer with the lid on for 20 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste and serve. 
You may want to add some fresh herbs to serve :-) I recommend parsley.

This is my contribution to Healthy Vegan Friday for the week.
You can add your recipe at these blogs:
carrie on vegan                    veggie nook                    greenthickies  

Carrots, peas & corn, bean stew

Another really tasty stew that is super easy to prepare & can be made in under 30 minutes from beginning to end!

This is great for people who like to eat simple and basic meals, also good for those who aren't familiar with vegan meals as it can be a great way to show them eating vegan doesn't have to be difficult and can have many similar flavours to ones that they are already used to!

You'll need:

1x 400g can butter beans

1x 400g can whole peeled tomatoes 

            (or half a big can!)

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

1 carrot

1 corn cob

3/4 cup frozen peas

1 teaspoon each dried herbs: basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram

black pepper, to serve

Chop the onion and place in a frying pan with the peeled crushed garlic cloves. Water saute for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

Drain the beans & add them to the pan along with the chopped carrot, the peas and the kernels chopped off the corn cob.

Leave the veggies cooking in the pan for 5 minutes and then add the tomatoes and break the whole tomatoes up into pieces with your mixing spoon. Leave to cook for 10-15 minutes until tomatoes have broken apart and the sauce has thickened. 

Add the herbs towards the end and mix them around.

Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cracked black pepper.

This can be eaten by itself or served with a side salad or crusty bread, or even on top of pasta!

Simple Silverbeet & Sweet Potato Stew

Here's a nice quick meal that can be made in under 30minutes, from beginning to end - for those evenings when we're simply exhausted!

Its also great for leftovers, can be warmed in the microwave or stove top.

What you'll need:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into bite size pieces

1 large brown onion, peeled and chopped

1 bunch silverbeet, bottoms of stems removed and chopped

1 can chickpeas, drained

1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger

1/2 cup vegetable stock

1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon cumin

tahini - to serve

Sautee the onion & garlic in a large pot until the onion is soft. Add the sweet potato, silverbeet and chickpeas.  Pour the stock & soy sauce over the vegetables, sprinkle the cumin on and add just enough water so that the mixture is not floating but so that the complete bottom of the pot has moisture. I found this was about 1/2 cup. Put a lid on and simmer the mixture for 15 minutes until the silverbeet is cooked through & the sweet potato is soft. The stock should thicken and a little bit remaining in the bottom but not so much that the mixture is soggy.

Spoon into bowls & top with a spoonful of tahini.

Optional: Serve over brown rice or noodles.

Black & White Bean Stew

This stew is deliciously tasty and the range of colours make the dish look amazing! Maybe it should be called rainbow stew ;-)

A bit of chopping involved & it needs to cook for a while but its easy to do, so its definitely not a stressful meal to make.

If you have children, get them involved with the chopping & draining of the beans - they'll love it!

You'll need:

1 can black beans

1 can cannellini beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1/2 can corn (you can use fresh or frozen if you'd rather)

1/4 head cauliflower

1 zucchini

1 carrot

1 large brown onion

1 red capsicum

1 large potato

1 teaspoon minced garlic (or 1 clove fresh)

1/2 teaspoon chilli (more if you like!)

2 bay leaves

juice of half a lemon

2 cups water

dried oregano & black pepper to serve

Yes, its a long list - but trust me.... the flavours come together wonderfully! And don't be tempted to leave out the lemon - it adds an amazing little zing that is delicious!

Finely chop the onion & add to a stock pot with the garlic and chilli. Saute for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

Chop all the remaining vegetables into little pieces and add to the pot along with the bay leaves & the tin of tomatoes. Add the water (I always do this by rinsing out the tomato tin!). 

Stir until all the vegetables are mixed around well.

Press the veggies down so they are under the liquid.

Place the lid on the stock pot and bring to the boil over high heat. This will take approx. 5-10 minutes.

Reduce heat to low & simmer with the lid on for 30-40 minutes until all the veggies are soft.

Serve with oregano and pepper.

This makes a big batch which is handy for leftovers, or even a second meal. 

To turn it into a 'pie' place the remaining stew in a casserole dish and make a "crust" by combining breadcrumbs & nutritional yeast & milk until moistened crumbs are formed. Spread the crumb mixture over the top. Bake in a moderate oven for 30minutes until warmed through & the top is golden brown.

Lentil & Spinach Stew

This is seriously the best meal I've had in soooooooooo long.
The flavours work fantastically together & its so comforting to eat!

(Serves 2)

You'll need:
1 pack of traffic light capsicums - use half of each capsicum
1 onion
1 zucchini
1 tin lentils (I use Woolworths brand no added salt ones)
1/4 head cauliflower
1 tin of tomatoes
100-150g fresh spinach (not silverbeet but actual spinach leaves)
Italian herbs
Cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons unhulled tahini
Sprinkling of nutritional yeast

Cut the onion and capsicums into small pieces.
Place in a warmed frying pan with 1/2 cup water & allow to soften. Do not allow pan to go completely dry - add more water if needed. The water also helps to make the capsicum and onion soft.
Add the chopped zucchini & cauliflower and cook for another 5 minutes.
Drain the tin of lentils and then add them to the pan. Stir until completely mixed in with the vegetables. Add the tomatoes and keep on the heat til mixture is completely warmed through - approx another 5 mins.
Turn the heat off & then put the spinach leave on the top of the mixture. Allow the residual heat to wilt the spinach leaves and then stir stew until well combined.
Serve into bowls & add a tablespoon of tahini on the top. Add a sprinkling of nutritional yeast also.

This is delicious with the tahini stirred into the stew as it thickens & makes it very creamy!