Easy and Delicious Tortilla Soup

I loooove making this soup. We made it the other night, and I was so excited about it, I forgot to take a picture... and it's now all gone. As with all the recipes I post, switch it up and add/remove things you don't like - other than the vegetable broth, all the ingredients are optional! And, as usual, this makes a lot (should be enough for at least 4-5 people) and I like to have leftovers to make my life easier the next day- feel free to half it. It's super quick and easy because you're literally just dumping canned things into a pot - I don't even know if this qualifies as cooking, but it's yummy and filling!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, diced
• 1 tbs canola oil
  
• 1 cup of frozen corn kernels (or 1 can of corn)
• 1 can black beans, rinsed (or 1 cup soaked/cooked beans)
• 1 can of green chilis
• 1 can of sliced black olives
• 1/2 jar of salsa of choice (or more if desired)
• 8 cups vegetable broth (I usually do 4 cups or 1 carton of veggie broth and add 4 cups water and Braggs Liquid Aminos or salt until I get the desired amount of broth)
  
• Block of firm tofu, cut into 1" squares (optional) - I like to stir fry it around in a separate pan for a minute to brown it before throwing it in
  
• Chipotle seasoning to taste (usually just a pinch for me - more if you want spicy).
  
• 2 ripe avocados
• Monterey Jack cheese (optional - otherwise the recipe is vegan)
• Cilantro (optional)
• Fresh green onion (optional)
  
• Tortilla chips

In a large pot, sauté the onion with oil then add the broth, olives, green chilis, corn, salsa, beans, and tofu (if using). Add water and Braggs (or salt) to get desired broth amount. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and cook on medium for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with tortilla chips, and add cheese, chives, and sliced avocado to your bowl of soup if desired. Garnish with cilantro, too!

Source: I've been making this for years based on tortilla soups I've had and gradually making it better!

Oreo Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies (Vegan)

So I never said that all my recipes would be healthy. This is a total fatkid indulgence. But really, really freakin' good. I got the idea from a link my friend Amy sent me, so I decided to "veganize" and jazz up the recipe - and voila! They are le yum. You can also use the recipe if you just want to make vegan chocolate chip cookies, and don't want to also stuff them with gooey Oreo goodness. So, without further ado....

Ingredients (for about 2 dozen cookies):

• 1 cup (2 sticks) Earth Balance vegan butter, softened
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup granulated sugar (I use the unbleached organic pure cane sugar)
• Egg replacer for 2 eggs (Such as Bob's Red Mill, or Ener-G Egg Replacer)
• 1 tbs pure vanilla extract (never skimp on a good quality extract. Trader Joe's is decent. Just no imitation vanilla!)
• 3 1/2 cups flour (I mix unbleached white flour with whole wheat pastry flour to feel slightly less guilty)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 bag of chocolate chips (10 oz)
• 1 package of sandwich cookies of choice - Newman O's, Trader Joe's JoJos, or Oreo cookies - you'll probably have extras left over, too... bummer...

Preheat oven to 350. Cream the butter with the sugar until smooth. Add in the egg replacer and vanilla. Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and gradually add to the dough. Fold in chocolate chips.

Now, take a regular cookie sized ball of dough (about ping pong ball sized) and shape it around the top of an Oreo cookie. Do the same to the bottom of the Oreo and press together to seal - basically encase the Oreo with dough. It should look like a ridiculously huge cookie.

Bake for 9-12 minutes on a silpat or parchment paper-lined cookie sheet until the top starts to turn lightly golden. You always want to take chocolate chip cookies out right before they start to look really done... let them cool for 5 minutes then transfer them to a cooling rack.



They're yummy when they're all gooey and warm, but also good for days afterward. The first time we made them, we used vanilla cookies, so feel free to experiment with different kinds - just check the cookie packaging to make sure they're vegan!


Source: idea from here, veganized and used my usual vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe: http://www.beckybakes.net/2011/01/20/oreo-stuffed-chocolate-chip-cookies/

Fresh Guacamole

Fresh Guacamole

Ingredients:
4 large avocados (or 5 smaller ones)
3 tablespoons lime juice (fresh is ideal)
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup diced onion
3 -4 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
2 roma tomatoes, diced
2 gloves of garlic, minced
1 pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)

Peel, pit, and mash the avocados in a large bowl until you get the desired chunkiness/smoothness. Add the lime juice and salt, stir together, then add the onion, tomatoes, garlic, and cilantro, mixing well. If you're using cayenne pepper, stir that in as well.

Definitely make this the day you're using it, because while it's still good the next day, it does get a little browner in color even when covered in the fridge. This makes a good amount of guacamole, and you can certainly half it if you only want to make enough to go with your meal. If you're making it for a party, I'd one and a half it so you have a little extra - it goes fast!

Source: just googled guacamole recipe for inspiration and took the best qualities of different ones

Burritos with Cilantro-Lime Rice, Garbanzo Bean Filling, and Flour Tortillas

Don't be fooled by the mushy picture - these are yummy! And you can easily add other things (sour cream, cheese, salsa, etc) or use pre-made tortillas if time is an issue. Either way, it's a quick, filling, yummy dinner that will also leave you with some leftovers as it makes about enough for 6-8 burritos.

Flour Tortillas

Ingredients:
3 cups flour (white, whole wheat pastry, or a 50/50 mix)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup warm water

Mix ingredients until you get a nice dough, and knead it a little. Separate into 6 equal sized balls (or about 8 balls if you don't have a large griddle as your tortilla will be too big to fit in a normal sized pan otherwise). Roll each ball out on a floured surface into a thin tortilla. Cook on medium-high heat (no oil necessary) and flip it when it starts to bubble/brown. I store leftover tortillas in foil in the fridge and they soften back up again when heated. They also freeze well.

Source: Michelle!

Cilantro-Lime Rice (Chipotle Restaurant Style)

Ingredients:
Rice (I always use brown rice, but I think white works best here and I make an exception)
1 lime (or 1/4 cup lime juice)
1 - 1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt

Prepare the rice (1 cup dry rice to 2 cups boiling water, bring to a boil then simmer on low for about 30 min until rice is fluffy). When rice is just about done, add the juice from the lime and some lime zest if you have a zester. Stir, and add in the fresh cilantro and salt. Add more lime juice and salt to taste if desired.

Source: myself, trying to channel Chipotle

Garbanzo Filling

Ingredients:
1/2 of a large onion, diced (optional)
2 cans of garbanzo beans
1 packet of vegetarian taco seasoning
1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil

Sautee the onion with the oil until translucent on medium heat. Add one can of garbanzo beans WITH the juice, and one can WITHOUT the juice. Stir together and add the packet of taco seasoning. Simmer and stir (tends to stick to the pan) for about 10 minutes until it is a tasty mush. This filling would also be good for tacos, use in a layered dip, etc. Very yummy and doesn't taste at all like garbanzo beans if you're skeptical.

Source: Inspired by post on VegWeb (http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5911.0)

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Fill your tortillas with the beans, rice, and whatever else you want - fresh guacamole, salsa of choice, cheese or vegan cheese, sour cream or vegan sour cream, veggie mix (link coming soon), etc and wrap 'em up! Enjoy.

Vegan Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles)

This makes about enough for 4, or 2 with lots of leftovers – I like to make a lot so I don’t have to cook again the next day! This could be halved easily, although I would still make the full amount of sauce. Depending on how wide and fresh your rice noodles are, you may need to make a little more sauce in order to have enough. Also depends how saucy you like it. You can also use less veggies, I just like a lot... and tofu is optional.

Source: kind of made this up after combining what I'm used to getting at restaurants with various vegetarian and non-vegetarian sauce recipes online... trial and error! And it's not a final product, if you make it and have suggestions for me, let me know!

Ingredients:

• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3-5 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups broccoli
• 1 cup sliced carrots or other veggies (green beans, peas, mushrooms, etc)
• 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges (optional)
• Package of wide rice noodles (fresh is better, but I could only find dried)
• Extra-firm tofu, 1 block, sliced into 1-2” squares*
• 1 cup fresh Thai basil or Holy basil
• Green onion, chopped, for garnish
• 1 cup bean sprouts, for garnish

Sauce (most of these can be purchased for around $2 each at an Asian market):

• 1/4 cup soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons Golden Mountain or other vegetarian stir-fry sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar or palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon Thai chili sauce (or more, if you want it spicier)
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1) Chop the veggies (feel free to deviate from the ones listed here) and stir-fry in a large wok with canola oil on medium heat.

2) While the veggies are cooking, mix the sauce in a separate bowl and stir with a fork or whisk to mix well.

3) Prepare the noodles according to the directions (boil, or soak beforehand) and set aside.

4) Add about half the sauce and the tofu to the nearly cooked veggies and fry together for a few minutes.

5) Add the noodles, Thai basil, and remaining sauce, and continue to fry together for a few more minutes until the noodles have been coated with sauce and the basil has wilted.

Serve with green onion and bean sprouts on top (optional).

* For the tofu, I cheated and found pre-cut and fried restaurant-style tofu for $1.79 at the Asian market, but it can be prepared any way you like. It can be stir-fried in the pan with the veggies, or fried to a golden color beforehand and set aside to be added toward the end with the noodles.

Basic [Vegan] Pesto

I have adapted this recipe from this link here. However, it's really basic, versatile, and I use it a lot, so I'd like to share it. Plus, of all the vegan pesto recipes, I like it the best. Non-vegans will like it and won't even know the difference, which is why I hesitate to give it the 'vegan' label that tends to scare people away.

Ingredients:
About 2 cups fresh basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping cup nuts (pine nuts are best, but they're pricey, so we usually use walnuts, pecans, almonds, or a mix of whatever we have)
5 cloves garlic (I usually use 7 or so, because I'm a garlic lover)
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper (to taste)

All you do is mix it all together in a food processor until it's a lovely, tasty green mush. Usually I have to stir it around a few times to get it just right. My quantities are a little different than the recipe linked to because I like to have a little extra. Why? Because it freezes excellently. I always have some in my freezer to quickly thaw and easily add to a meal. It usually lasts us several weeks, then I make more, but it could last a lot longer than that- we just go through it! Trader Joes has a great plastic tub of basil you can buy, if you aren't growing any. I've also heard of people freezing pesto in ice cube trays so they have perfect one-serving frozen blocks.

Here are some ideas on what to do with pesto:

• mix with noodles (I like the gluten-free brown rice elbow noodles) and a little nutritional yeast, and maybe a splash of Braggs for some yummy pesto macaroni and "cheese" - or add mozzarella cheese if you prefer.

• spread on a whole wheat tortilla with mozzarella cheese (or vegan "cheese") and grill yourself a pesto quesadilla (or you can use slices of bread to make a grilled cheese sandwich ). Add fresh tomato to make it Caprese style! In fact, it's great as a spread for pretty much any sandwich.
  

• add globs of it as a pizza topping, or spread it on a pizza crust instead of tomato sauce.eat it as a dip with pita chips (this was discovered on accident at one of the 4th of July beach house gatherings). Mmm!
  

• mix it in with a salad instead of using dressing.
  

As you can see, it's very versatile, easy to make, easy to store for later, and yummy, which makes it an A+ in my book. Enjoy!

Hello!

I'm trying to keep better track of the recipes that I like to cook a lot, and printing them out and assembling them into a book or committing them to memory was just not happening. So, I decided to start archiving things on a blog so I can find them anytime, and so can you! Maybe I will eventually add pretty pictures of the food, too, because I know I don't really like to cook someone else's recipe without at least seeing a picture of it first.

Cooking and baking is a nice escape from the stresses of law school, and I enjoy trying new recipes as well as modifying old ones. Being 90% vegan (sometimes I eat a little cheese) and 100% too poor to eat out every day, I pretty much have to cook a lot. Time is often an issue, so my recipes usually have an emphasis on doing things quickly (ie, using a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of making sauce from scratch...). They're often pretty basic, I'm not saying I'm some super good cook, and I might be the only one that reads this :) And I'm not going to copy someone else's recipe, change the amount of salt in it, and say that mine is "loosely based" off theirs - whatever. I'll give credit where credit is due when I can! I just hope others benefit from my recipe collection and can use it to find something new, healthy, and tasty to cook for dinner.

Oh, one odd thing: you probably won't find mushrooms on here. I'm the only veg person that doesn't like mushrooms. But they can easily be added to most recipes if you're normal and like mushrooms.