Black Bean Tortilla Soup with Avocado & Tomato Salsa

So THIS recipe was stolen from my Food Network app and they apparently stole it from "La Dolce Vegan".  I'm not normally a fan of black bean soups, but this one was enough to make my meat-eater boyfriend groan with pleasure and request it many times since. I think it's because it's blended afterwards, thick, flavourful and the chips inside....oh man.  Try it. It's gooooood.

Also, I've since made the "salsa" separately for topping on fajitas, tacos and more. Also good. I've added my personal tweaks directly into the recipes.

Soup

1 small onion, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 medium carrot, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups vegetable stock (I use vegetarian chicken-flavoured stock)
1x19 ounce can black beans, drained
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder (I used maybe 2 tsp)
1 teaspoon dried oregano (I used maybe 1.5 tsp)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I added more, I have a salt problem)
plain tortilla chips

Salsa

1 medium tomato, chopped
1 avocado, cubed
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
1 green onion stalk, minced
1 tablespoon oil (e.g. flax, hemp, olive)
2 teaspoons fresh lime or lemon juice
salt to taste

In a medium soup pot on medium heat, sauté the onions in oil until translucent. Add the celery, carrots, and garlic and sauté for 2-3 minutes.  Add the stock, beans, chili powder, oregano, and salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover with lid and simmer for 15-20 minutes. With a blender or food processor, blend half or all of the soup until smooth (be.careful when blending hot liquids). Return to pot and reheat.

While the soup simmers, in a medium bowl, stir together the tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, green onions, oil, and lime/lemon juice. 

Put a large spoonful of the salsa in the middle of the soup and place tortillas along the outside of the bowl, dipping and crunching as you go :)

 

Sweet Potato and Bean Burritos

I can't take credit for this one, it's ripped off entirely from AllRecipes....just wanted to share it anyway.  Link with comments (I LOVE the reader comments! Allows you to make all sorts of lovely adjustments) here:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Addictive-Sweet-Potato-Burritos/Detail.aspx

The ingredients sound weird, but trust me. They WORK.

Quinoa Croquetas

1 cup raw quinoa (wash and cook per basic instructions, we cook this amount in in 2 cups veg broth (bring to boil, reduce to low and cover/cook for 15 minutes)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup grated parmesan
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion (white mostly)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 egg and one egg yolk (or egg replacer)
oil for sauteing

Mix all ingredients together using hand or spoon. Mix until it has the consistency of soft dough. Heat oil in skillet until medium hot. With the help of a spoon, drop egg sized balls gently into hot oil. Let cook until golden on both sides, drain on a paper towel before serving.  We sometimes use different dips, sauces, but they taste pretty good on their own.

We usually eat these with greens (beans or broccoli) and dill potatoes, but last night we weren't as hungry, so just whipped up a spinach salad with red onion and feta :)

I should also add that last night, my bf let the "dough" sit in the refrigerator for an hour or two before he made the patties and fried them - he said they stuck together much better, and I think they were his best yet!

Balsamic Eggplant Parmesan

6 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. olive oil
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar, divided
1 tsp. oregano
3/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
1 large eggplant (1 1/2 lb.), cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices (a mandolin makes quick work of this)
1 cup chopped onions
1 1/2 tsp. minced garlic
4 Tbsp dry white wine, divided
1 can (14 1/2 or 16 oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 cup seeded, chopped tomato
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Shredded mozzarella cheese, enough to cover two layers (I use a whole brick)
Parmesan cheese, shredded (1 cup+)

Preheat oven to 400*F. Combine vinegar, 1 tablespoon of the oil, 1/2 teaspoon each salt and sugar, the oregano and pepper in bowl. Coat large cookie sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Brush both sides of eggplant with vinegar mixture and arrange in single layer on cookie sheet. Bake 15 minutes per side or until fork-tender. Combine onions, garlic, 1 teaspoon oil and 2 tablespoons wine in large nonstick skillet; cook, stirring, over medium-high heat until onions are soft, 5 minutes. Stir in stewed tomatoes with their liquid, chopped tomato, basil, remaining 2 tablespoons wine, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon sugar. Bring to boil over high heat; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally to break up tomatoes, 10 minutes. Spoon one third of the sauce into shallow 2-quart baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant over sauce. Spoon half the remaining sauce over eggplant. Sprinkle with 2/3 cup mozzarella and shred parmesan - enough to cover mozz. Top with remaining eggplant, sauce and mozzarella and more Parmesan. Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes. Bake uncovered 15 to 20 minutes more, until bubbly. Let stand 15 minutes before serving for easier cutting.
This one doesn't have a ton of protein but it's yummy :)

Update June 3/11. OMG I SUCK.  Made this last night, adjusting ingredients for a long casserole dish, and it was great. Made garlic bread and an amazing salad to go along with it and by the time it was ready, I and my three guests gobbled it up before I even REMEMBERED to take a picture of our awesome meal.  One of my guests, we'll call him "C", was kind enough to say last night that until he started eating with us (we've been eating together almost every Thursday for going on 6 months now), he never thought vegetarian food could be satisfying and so delicious.  It did my heart good to hear :)

Anyway, I FINALLY remembered to take a picture of what was left as I put away the two remaining slices for our lunches - please excuse the photo. Combined with the bread and salad, it truly was an exquisite meal:

For the record, I blame my not taking a proper picture/forgetting on extreme hunger, deliciousness, and two bottles of this:

$14 bucks at your local LDB and SO good :)

Spinach and Blackbean Pizza - with homemade crust

Feel free to buy a ready-made crust, but this one is fast and easy and can be made with 1/2 whole wheat flour, if you like.

Crust:
.25 oz (7 grams) active dry yeast
1/4 tsp granulated sugar
3/4 cup 110 degree water
1 cup whole wheat or white flour
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve yeast and sugar in water, allow to rest for 8 minutes. In separate bowl, combine flour and salt. Pour yeast mixture over flour and mix well with heavy spoon.  I let the dough rise for about half an hour in the bowl, then I cut it in half.  This will make two thin crust pizzas. Roll out each piece a bit and then use the heel of your hand to spread over a lightly greased pizza pan (sprinkled with cornmeal if you like). Use a fork to poke holes in the crust, then bake at 450 degrees for a few minutes until the dough is no longer soft.  Remove and add toppings. This will ensure a crispy crust when you bake later. *This will make one regular crust or two thin crusts.

Topping:
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed, drained, and mashed
1/3 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup salsa (optional, I just put on a bunch of raw, chopped tomatoes)
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (I just kind of shook it all over the toppings)
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used mozzarella)
1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
salt to taste in the beans

Combine the beans, onion, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic; spread over crust.  Layer with salsa/tomatoes, spinach and cilantro. Sprinkle with hot pepper sauce and cheeses. Bake at 450 to desired doneness - around 10 minutes. There are no words for how good this is.

Tofu Tacos

hard or soft taco shells
1 block firm/extra firm tofu
1-2 onions
1-2 cloves garlic
Regular taco seasoning (I like it strong so would use two packets for this amount of tofu)

I'm making this for dinner tonight.  Take one large block of firm tofu, cut into cubes and put into a bowl. Mash with potato masher until it's completely crumbled. Follow the directions on the taco seasoning as you would with meat, top with lettuce, tomatoes, avocado and/or cheese and sour cream in either soft tortillas or hard shells.

Quick and Easy Hummous

1 can chick peas (but any kind of bean works - I like cannellini, too)
2 cloves garlic
squeeze or two of lemon
squeeze or two of sriracha
1 tbsp tahini (not necessary but nice if you have it)
salt to taste
olive oil
water (.5-1 cup?)

Whip it all together in a blender and season to taste.  I use about 2 tbsp of oil and then just add water to get the consistency I like.  We had this the other night with roasted vegetables for a quick and complete meal. Delicious.

The sriracha gives it a slight orange colour. I like this with pita chips (roasted for a few minutes after being brushed with some olive oil and salt), regular pita or fresh veggies. I once added some cilantro for a greenish colour and different taste - do as you like!

Tofu Breakfast Scramble (in tortillas)

This is my favourite breakfast. I don't eat eggs on the weekend anymore.

1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 tomato, diced
3/4 cup mushrooms, chopped
handful or two of fresh spinach
1/2 block medium, firm or extra firm tofu
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp dried parsley or a handful of FRESH (preferred)
1-2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric
season: cayenne or chili flakes, salt, pepper
Slice the tofu into approximately one inch cubes. Then I use a potato masher to mash it up...after all the cooking is done, it will resemble scrambled eggs.  This is our preferred veggie combo...but you use what you like. The original recipe called for peppers, but we prefer mushrooms, spinach and tomato.  I find salt isn't really necessary because of the soy sauce.

 

Sautee onion, garlic, pepper (or whatever veggies you're using) and tofu in oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Add remaining ingredients, reduce heat to medium and allow to cook 5-7 more minutes, stirring frequently. I add the parsley last to keep the fresh green colour and taste.
Wrap in a warmed flour tortilla and top with salsa, cheese, hot sauce, avocado as you like. (makes two large tortillas each for two people).  In the pic below, we were out of tortillas, so used pitas instead. Good, but not as good as tortillas :)

Tofu and Veggie Stirfry

I make variations of this, either with oyster/soy sauce and fresh ginger ("Chinese") or with that Glico Japanese Curry that you can buy in stores (try it, it's really good!), but use any flavouring you would normally for a stirfry.

1 block firm/extra firm tofu
1 onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
variety of cut veggies (I like carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, water chestnuts, celery, green beans, WHATEVER)
cornstarch to thicken if desired

After trial and error, I like to slice the tofu into pieces a few mm thick, then about 4cm long by 2 cm wide. Basically, bite sized.  Fry the pieces first in a bit of veg oil and seasoning with salt and pepper on both sides. Frying first gives the tofu a crispy and chewy texture (for even chewier, freeze tofu as soon as you get it home, then thaw - it will have a texture very similar to chicken).

First fry the onions and garlic until soft, fry tofu in another pan and remove.  Add veggies and flavour with sauce or curry of your choice, when the veggies are almost to the tenderness you like, add the tofu and combine.  Serve on rice or noodles.  If serving with the soft noodles you buy in the grocery store, add the noodles into the big pot with all the veggies and tofu and toss together to get the sauce all up in that.

Greek Pasta with White Beans and Spinach

2 (14.5 ounce) cans Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (19 ounce) can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
10 ounces fresh spinach, washed and chopped (I use full leaves)
8 ounces penne or fusilli pasta
1/2 cup+ crumbled feta cheese
salt to taste
handful of chopped basil, chili flakes, oregano, at least two cloves garlic chopped
1/2 cup white wine into the sauce (optional but yummy)

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes and beans in a large non-stick skillet. Add herbs and wine. Bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach to the sauce; cook for 2 minutes or until spinach wilts, stirring constantly. Serve sauce over pasta, and sprinkle with feta.

*I should add that we had some leftover cherry tomatoes in the fridge when I made this, so in they went!
*We just discovered quinoa pasta! Haven't tried it yet but we intend to try it this Thursday. A fantastic option for those seeking more protein in their pasta meals.

Veggie and Black Bean Fajitas

flour tortillas
3/4 can black beans
3-4 bell peppers of varying colours
1 full onion, cut into strips
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp + cumin (to taste)
various spices (salt, pepper, southwest spice, coriander, cayenne, red chili flakes)
3 tbsp nutritional yeast (if you have it)
top with choice of: cilantro, cheddar cheese, avocado, raw tomatoes

Stir fry onions and garlic till soft, then add peppers and cook nearly to desired softness. Add black beans and nutritional yeast if using.  Add spices to taste. Fold into tortillas and top as desired.