Veggie Lasagna

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Date: March 1, 2020

Recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2020/02/perfect-vegetable-lasagna/

Modifications: I added some wine into the sauce so it was a little more liquid. For veggies I used mushrooms and red peppers (in addition to the onion and spinach). I didn’t have quite enough regular lasagna noodles for the last layer so I used the no-boil noodles we had on hand for one layer and it was totally fine.

I forgot to put 1/3 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pan AND also forgot to spray the pan first so thought it would be a huge mess but somehow it was all good.

Time to table: If you TRULY follow her recipe (50 minutes bake time + 45 minute rest) it would have been pushing 3 hours. We didn’t let ours rest more than maybe 5 minutes though.

Servings: A ton – we have an 11×15 dish so ours wasn’t as overflowy or tall.

Erin: Love

Ben: Like (strongly prefers meat in all meals)

Kids: Like – no complaints at all

Notes: This was one of my favorite veggie lasagnas I’ve tried, because it was pretty light on the sauce so not a saucy mess.

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Posted in cheese, garlic, mushrooms, onion, pasta, red pepper, ricotta cheese, spinach, tomatoes, vegetarian | 1 Comment

Lentil Taco Soup

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Date: January 26, 2020

Recipe: https://peasandcrayons.com/2017/02/vegetarian-lentil-tortilla-soup.html

Modifications: There were no lentils at the store, so I used the brown lentils I had on hand. I looked in the comments, and the recipe writer suggested adding 1.5 cups more water and only 1/2 cup of brown lentils because they absorb more water, and to make it on the stovetop – so I did all that and it turned out great. I also added chopped kale at the end.

Time to table: Maybe 1.5 hours with simmering time.

Servings: This would feed our family for exactly 2 dinners.

Erin: Like

Ben: Like

Kids: Annie said she loved it, the boys were fine with it

Notes: We got this from my coworker Emily as a meal swap, and I really loved it so wanted to try it again.

Posted in black beans, corn, jalapeno, kale, lentils, onion, pinto beans, red pepper, salsa, vegetarian | Comments Off on Lentil Taco Soup

InstantPot Chicken Noodle Soup

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Date: December 26th 2019

Recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/how_to_make_chicken_soup_in_the_pressure_cooker/

Modifications: We added some leftover mushrooms.

Time to table: About an hour

Servings: 3 meals? The kids had it for lunch several days after this dinner.

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Kids: They liked it, but got a little tired of it after a couple days in a row 😉

Notes: I loved how easy this is to use a whole chicken; you get the rich broth from the chicken skin and bones, and easily shredded meat. We made the noodles separately so that they wouldn’t get mushy in the fridge.

Posted in carrot, celery, chicken, mushrooms, onion, soup | Comments Off on InstantPot Chicken Noodle Soup

Creamy Tortellini Soup

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Date: January 6

Recipe: https://pinchofyum.com/tortellini-soup

Modifications: I used half & half, and a bit more spinach

Time to table: About an hour (her estimates are always laughable – she states 20 minutes of cooking, when IN THE RECIPE, it specifies cooking sausage until browned, then cooking veggies for 5 minutes, tomato paste/spices for 5 minutes, simmering for 15, then adding tortellini/cream and spinach and cooking for whatever the package states which is at least 3 minutes. Why!)

Servings: Probably around 8 adult servings

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Kids: All really liked this one! (I haven’t used the triple love tag for awhile but this one gets it – obviously quite outdated and should be quintuple love now I guess but I’ll keep it)

Notes: This soup was REALLY quite good – very decadent with the cream, and cheesy pasta and sausage, but also quite a few veggies in there too.

Posted in carrot, celery, italian sausage, onion, pasta, spinach, triple love | Comments Off on Creamy Tortellini Soup

Creamy Orzo and Veggies

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Date: October 7

Recipe: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/one-pot-creamy-broccoli-orzo-dish/

Modifications: I think I followed the instructions pretty closely here.

Time to table: 30-45 minutes or so

Servings: I can’t remember how much leftover we had, but it certainly served us all for dinner.

Erin: Like

Ben: Like

Kids: All really enjoyed

Notes: This was nothing fancy but pasta + cheese + veggies is a win in our house. I really hate handling raw chicken too much so I think if I made this again I’d cook the chicken separately in the instant pot and mix in at the end.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Veggie Chow Mein

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Date: October 23

Recipe: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/vegetarian-cajun-chow-mein/

Modifications: Used angel hair pasta because I couldn’t find chow mein noodles. Didn’t have oyster sauce so I used red chili sauce instead (not at all the same thing I realize but it tasted good)

Time to table: 30-45 minutes or so

Servings: 2-3 adults

Erin: Like

Ben: Like

Kids: Didn’t even bother giving them this one

Notes: Ben was skeptical but he really liked this one. This was excellent and I wish it made more so we had leftovers!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Veggie Chow Mein

Roasted Cauliflower Burrito Bowls

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Date: September 2

Recipe: https://pinchofyum.com/roasted-cauliflower-burrito-bowls

Modifications: Didn’t really follow the recipe exactly, but the idea is a great one! We had:

Roasted Cauliflower tossed in taco seasoning, Rice, Black beans/corn mixed and sauteed, chopped lettuce, green onions, sour cream, cheese, avocado, salsa

Time to table: 30 minutes or so

Servings: As written I’m sure it’d be around 4-5 adults

Erin: Love

Ben: Like

Kids: Like (they’d strongly prefer meat to the roasted cauliflower but they don’t hate it so that’s a win)

Notes: This was the veggie forward meal we needed after the last 12 days of State Fair/end of summer excess

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Roasted Cauliflower Burrito Bowls

Peach Chicken Salad

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Date: July 11, 2019

Recipe: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/peachy-chipotle-chicken-tortilla-avocado-rice-salad-fried-halloumi/#bo-recipe

Modifications: Did not use halloumi cheese, it was $$$$, used feta instead (did not fry it either), used quinoa for the rice. I added some massaged kale in addition to the greens because I had it available. Topped with pumpkin seeds and fried tortilla strips, and fresh basil.

Time to table: Once again, forever. I even had the quinoa pre-cooked!

Servings: I think as written it’d probably be 4-5 adults – I kind of loosely doubled and had 8 women and we had a few lunches worth of leftovers.

Erin: Love

Notes: Like the last salad, this really is awesome but it takes awhile to prepare. Certainly more satisfying in the end though!

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on Peach Chicken Salad

Southwest Mango Kale Salad

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Date: July 7, 2019

Recipe: https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/southwest-mango-kale-quinoa-chopped-salad/#bo-recipe

Modifications: Used pumpkin seeds in the dressing instead of sunflower seeds. I only used one bunch of kale because the one I had was huge. Used frozen corn.

Time to table: A million years. Am I the slowest cook ever? It’s possible. The link said 20 minutes which is a JOKE – it took me about an hour, but I did cook the quinoa (but then continued chopping while it cooked), and then I also fried the tortilla strips but really – 20 minutes?! No.

Servings: 4 adults

Erin: Like+

Ben: Like

Kids: Tolerated the modified version I made for them.

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Modified kid version – more quinoa, black beans, red pepper, corn, kale chopped up more than in ours, and avocado kind of mashed up and mixed in instead of left in chunks. Used cheddar cheese in theirs. Omitted the mango (for some reason none of them like it), jalapeno,and didn’t use much of the dressing

Notes: Very hearty and filling salad although there are 50 component parts so it does take quite awhile to prepare.

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Salmon Pesto Pasta Salad

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Date: June 25, 2019

Recipe: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/smoked_salmon_pasta_salad/

Modifications: Added pesto to the sauce – probably around 1/2 cup. Used baked salmon instead of smoked.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 5-6 adults – we had this for one dinner as a whole family and then the kids had it a 2nd time.

Erin: Like

Ben: Like

Kids: Like

Notes: We have a very hard time coming up with meals to make in summer that everyone will enjoy – tried this one to replicate the love of salmon pesto pasta, and it was a decent hit. We all like tuna salad but don’t want it every week. Trying to find different pasta salads because they transport well and work for picnic dinners while Luke is at soccer at the park.

Posted in celery, green onions, pasta, pesto, red pepper, salmon | Comments Off on Salmon Pesto Pasta Salad