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February 9, 2019

Experimenting with ingredients in the kitchen is one of my favorite things to do! I didn’t intend to create a recipe when I was making this Rainbow Minestrone Soup. I was just “playing” at my stove, craving something warm and cozy. I threw a bunch of veggies together that sounded good and voila! This recipe for Rainbow Minestrone Soup was born.

I’m calling it Rainbow Minestrone Soup because it has all the colors of ROYGBIV: RED tomatoes, ORANGE + YELLOW carrots, GREEN spinach and beans, and PURPLE cabbage (well, almost..BLUE stumped me!)

This vegan Minestrone Soup has lots of veggies going on! It's simple and quick to make. Just let it simmer on the stove until you're ready to spoon in. Serve with freshly grated vegan Parmesan cheese and a chunk of crusty Italian bread.

When it comes to soup, I always start with onions and garlic. That’s actually the first step in most of my recipes! Quality ingredients are key so I insist on Imagine No-Chicken Chicken Broth and San Marzano tomatoes. These two ingredients really do make a difference in the taste of the recipe (in my opinion!).

I serve this Rainbow Minestrone Soup with freshly grated Violife Parmesan cheese and it’s heaven. A chunk of crusty Italian better would take this meal to nirvana! I hope you enjoy it. Tag me (#veegmama) if you do try it. I love seeing your versions of my recipes.

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Rainbow Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

1 can white beans drained and rinsed
1 onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
2 carrots diced
1 zucchini diced
1 cup red cabbage chopped
4 cups spinach
1 cup green beans cut into 1/4-in pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
4 cups vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
3 Tbsp Italian seasoning
salt + pepper to taste
vegan Parmesan cheese freshly grated
1 Tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large pot and add the onion and garlic. Cook until translucent, about 4 min.
Add the broth and beans. Stir in all the vegetables (except the cabbage and spinach) and the seasonings to the pot.
Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Stir in the cabbage and spinach and cook just until wilted, about 3 minutes.
To serve, ladle into bowls and grate vegan Parmesan cheese on top.

by Stephanie Dreyer

January 26, 2019

I love lettuce wraps! They surround flavorful fillings with lots of crunch while adding tons of veggie power. And if you’re counting calories, you don’t have to count the number of wraps you’re eating!

These Black Bean & Corn Romaine Tacos are a tortilla-less twist on my Taco Tuesday standby. The filling is a simple saute of black beans, onions and corn. I topped it with my favorite pico de gallo, red cabbage for more color, and of course lots of chopped avocado!

I serve it with additional lime wedges. (The more lime, the better in my book!). I hope you enjoy this veg-tastic taco alternative. Tag me if you make it (#veegmama). I love to see you cooking my recipes!

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Black Bean & Corn Romaine Tacos

Ingredients

For the filling:

1 can black beans drained and rinsed
1 can corn drained
1 onion chopped
3 Tbsp taco seasoning

For the pico de gallo:

4 roma tomatoes finely chopped
1 onion finely chopped
1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped
1 lime juiced
salt to taste

To serve:

1/2 cup red cabbage chopped
2 avocados chopped
12 romaine leaves

Instructions

For the filling:

Saute the onion in 1 Tbsp of olive oil for 3 minutes until translucent. Add the beans, corn and taco seasoning. Cook for 5 minutes until heated through.

For the pico de gallo:

Combine all of the ingredients for the pico de gallo in a bowl. Set aside.

To serve:

Spoon 3 Tbsp of filling into a romaine leaf. Top with the cabbage, pico de gallo, and avocado.
Serve with lime edges.

by Stephanie Dreyer

January 17, 2019

I served this vegan beef lasagna at a family event recently. Everyone LOVED it. Even the kids! Just goes to show that you don’t need meat or dairy to create a delicious lasagna. 🙂

I used gluten-free noodles because I’m lazy and hate boiling noodles (and with DeBole’s, you don’t have to boil them!). I also used Kite Hill Ricotta for the filling – a must for this recipe, in my opinion. For the vegan “beef”, I used the Trader Joe’s meatless “ground beef.” I have also used Beyond Meat’s Beefy Crumbles with equally delicious results!

Vegan Beef Lasagna

Serves 12-16

Ingredients:

1 package no-boil lasagna noodles

2 cans marinara sauce

For the filling:

1 package meatless ground “beef”

1 package Kite Hill Ricotta

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons Italian herbs seasoning blend

Salt and pepper, to taste

For the sauce:

2 cups cashews

2 cups vegetable broth

3 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 nutritional yeast

Juice of 1 lemon

Directions:

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Add the garlic and onion. Cook until translucent. Stir in the vegan beef and seasonings.
Add in the ricotta, crumbling it into the pan. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, Remove from the heat.
Place all the ingredients for the sauce into a high-speed blender and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.
Pour 1/4 cup of sauce across the bottom of a lasagna pan or casserole dish. Spread it to cover the bottom surface of the pan thoroughly.
Place 3-4 lasagna noodles on top of the sauce to cover as much surface of the pan as possible.
Spread 1/3 of the filling on top of the noodles and top with 1/3 of the remaining marinara sauce and 1 cup of the cream sauce.
Repeat two more times so that there are three layers of noodles, finishing with the cream sauce on top.
Cover with foil and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes before serving.