Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot

I recently did a month-long "pantry challenge" where I challenged myself to try to use as much as I could from the freezer and pantry, minimizing trips to the grocery store and then only for fresh produce as needed.

Following that rule, I made vegetable soup! It was so easy and we made grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it. By cooking in the Instant Pot, it tastes like it cooked all day but really it only took 45 minutes from start to finish.

If you don't already have an Instant Pot, you can use a regular slow cooker or just make it on the stove and let it simmer a while. But really, you should get an Instant Pot. ;)

Vegetable Soup in the Instant Pot

2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, diced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 stalks Celery, diced
3 Carrots, sliced
2-3 cups of Vegetables (I used green beans and corn since I had them on hand, plus some shredded zucchini I found in the fridge. I add peas if I have them, and sometimes diced potatoes if I'm not worried about carbs)
2 cans Diced Tomatoes
2 cups Stock (I used chicken stock from the freezer, but would use water if I needed to make it vegetarian)
2 cans V-8 Juice
Herbs and Spices such as Oregano, Basil, Marjoram, Parsley, Thyme, Bay Leaf  (I added all of these, probably a tablespoon of the first 4 and a teaspoon of thyme, plus 1 bay leaf)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Push the Saute button on the Instant Pot, and saute the onion, garlic, celery and carrots in olive oil for a few minutes until the onions are tender.

Turn the IP off and add the rest of the ingredients. Give it a stir, place the lid, turn the valve to "sealed" and push the Soup button. Mine automatically set for 30 minutes and I thought that sounded good. Dinner is done!

Stuffed Peppers with Ground Beef and Quinoa

This recipe makes a big batch of stuffed peppers. I threw it together when I accidentally bought more bell peppers, not realizing I already had some, so I wanted to use them up. You can halve the recipe if you want to make less, or freeze half of the filling for a quick dinner another day. My daughter likes the filling by itself so I regularly keep filling in the freezer for her.

Stuffed Peppers

6-8 Bell Peppers, prepped for stuffing. Remove the tops, rinse out the seeds, and remove the white bits from the inside. Arrange them in a baking dish so they will stand up.

1 1/4 cups Quinoa

2 cups Water

1/2 tsp Salt

1 lb Ground Beef

1 Onion, diced

3-4 Carrots, shredded or diced

2 14oz cans Tomato Sauce (or 1 28oz can)

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

2 tsp Oregano

2 tsp Basil

1 cup Cheese, shredded - you can use Cheddar, Colby Jack, Mexican Blend, whatever

Rinse quinoa, then add to water and 1/2 tsp salt in a pot with a lid. Bring to a boil uncovered, then turn the heat down to low and cover with lid. Let it simmer for 12-15 minutes until you don't see much liquid left. Turn off the heat and let it sit with the lid still on for another few minutes. 

While the quinoa is cooking, brown the ground beef. Add the onions and carrots, and saute until softened. 

When quinoa is done, add tomato sauce and seasoning, as well as the meat and veggie mixture. Mix well. 

For each pepper, put a pinch of cheese in first. Then layer in some of the meat/quinoa mixture. Then cheese, then meat. Pack it in so the pepper is totally stuffed. End with meat mixture on top.

Bake at 350* for about 20 minutes, until the pepper is tender. Top each pepper with additional cheese and serve.

Lasagna Roll-ups

Lasagna is such a crowd pleaser. It's a lot easier to make a huge pan of lasagna with the Oven-Ready noodles, or fixing a Crock-Pot full of lasagna, so if you are feeding a big family, I recommend going one of those routes.

But if you want to have smaller portions available, for just 1 or 2 dinners or even lunches, these are fantastic. They are a little more work on the front end, but the convenience of the portions is worth it. Plus you are guaranteed to get the right proportion of noodles and cheese, which is really important to me. I don't like noodle hogs leaving me with too much ricotta. ;)

This is also a fantastic dish to make ahead and freeze. See directions below!  The pictures below show a double batch of roll-ups.

Lasagna Roll-ups

Ingredient List for a single batch:

1 box regular Lasagna Noodles

24 oz (1.5 lbs) Ricotta Cheese 

2 Eggs

3/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

3/4 cup Mozarella Cheese, shredded

1 Tbsp Basil

1 Tbsp Parsley

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

Marinara Sauce - you can use jars of sauce, or make it from scratch. Here is my "super easy" recipe that starts with a pizza sauce base. I have been adding lots of veggies to it lately though (diced onion, bell pepper, shredded carrots, shredded zucchini, etc.)

Step 1. Boil Lasagna Noodles according to package directions. I use my giant stock pot for this job, so the noodles have plenty of room to move around in the boiling water. If you are using a regular pot, you may need to cook the noodles in smaller batches. I was able to cook 20 noodles (the whole box) in my big 12 qt stock pot.

While the noodles are cooking, lay out aluminum foil and give it a quick spray with oil to keep the noodles from sticking to it. When the noodles are done, lay them out on the foil. Be careful, they will be hot!

Step 2: Combine all filling ingredients. I use my Kitchenaid Mixer for this. Spread filling over each noodle. 

Step 3: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll up the noodles and place them seam-side down on the tray. It's ok if they are close but you don't want them to be touching. Freeze.

Step 4: Once frozen, package the rollups into freezer bags. I just put them all in one gallon-size ziploc and pull out however many I want to cook at a time. Freeze.

To cook, just put them in your baking dish, top with marinara sauce, and bake at 350° until bubbly, about 30 minutes. Top with mozarella cheese and bake for an extra 5 minutes until melted. You can make 1 or 2 in a small dish, or cook a larger batch for the whole family.

Optional: Put in your family's serving size in a ziploc, add 2 cups of marinara sauce to each bag and freeze. For my family I would put in 6 rollups, since we make 2 for each adult and one for each child. When ready to cook, cut away the bag, put the contents into a baking dish, cover with foil and bake at 350° until bubbly. It will take close to an hour this way. Top with mozzarella and bake an extra 5 minutes, then serve.

Easy Homemade Garlic Knots

I don't know what took me so long to try this. We are in trouble now.

I stole some pizza dough and made garlic knots out of it, before rolling out the rest into pizza crusts. They were amazing and I'll have to triple my recipe forever now so I have enough extra dough to make garlic knots.

Garlic Knots

Make pizza dough as usual. I'll include the recipe below, and here is the link for the full directions in case you haven't read them before. The preheated pizza stone is the key to the pizza crust.

Preheat oven (I used a toaster oven) to 350*. 

When the dough has risen, pull off bits and roll into a snake between your hands until it's about 6 inches long. Then tie into a knot and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush with Garlic Herb Butter and bake for about 20 minutes or until light brown on the bottoms. The tops of mine did not brown much at all. Brush with additional butter, if desired, and serve.

Garlic Herb Butter

1/4 cup Butter
1/4 tsp Salt
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Parsley
2 cloves Garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients well. I recommend making extra for dipping your garlic knots, and your pizza crust, and really you can just put it on top of your pizza....


Pizza Dough

1 tsp Active Dry Yeast
2/3 cup Warm Water (not hot)
2 cups Flour (white, whole wheat, or combo - if 100% WW I recommend whole wheat pastry flour)
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

If you like a thicker crust, just double the recipe.  My pictures show a double batch.

Combine ingredients in mixer with dough hook, lock it down if your mixer has a locking mechanism, and let it go at low speed for 15 minutes.   Spray with olive oil and cover with a towel.  

Let rise for 1 hour in a warm area.  If your house is cold, go ahead and heat your oven, and set the bowl on the stovetop.  If you have laundry drying in the dryer, that's another place you could let it rise. I usually just leave mine in the kitchen but I'm in Florida and it's rarely cold in there.

Bruschetta Chicken

This is one of my very favorite low-carb meals to make. It feels like an amazing Italian dish but without the bread or pasta. 

Bruschetta Chicken

2 lbs Tomatoes, diced (4-6 medium tomatoes)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Basil
2 lbs Chicken Breast, diced
salt and pepper
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350*. Mix olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic and basil. Add diced tomatoes and stir to coat. Set aside.

Cut up chicken breast and spread in the bottom of a deep baking dish. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and mix around. Pour tomato mixture over chicken. Cover and bake for about 40 minutes or until chicken in the center is done. Pour off some of the liquid if desired. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and bake additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.

White Sauce Pizza with Basil and Tomato

The family was having homemade pizza, but I wanted something different. One of the many things I love about making homemade pizza dough is that you can divide the dough into individual pizzas, and even make more dough ahead if you have more people to feed.

I took my ball of dough and rolled it out. Then I topped it with a homemade white sauce, fresh basil leaves, sliced tomato, and mozzarella of course. So good!

White Sauce for Pizza

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 (or more) cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese

Grown Up Mac and Cheese with Chicken Parm Bites

Sometimes you cook actual food and other times you eat boxed mac and cheese. And sometimes you combine them. :)

We made some Chicken Parmesan Bites. Yum!

Then we made some Grown Up Mac and Cheese. Yum!

Put them together. You can thank me later. :)

Of course, you can make homemade mac and cheese too. I do that sometimes, but probably not as often as let Annie's help me out.

Chicken Parmesan Bites

We love this recipe. We started cutting the chicken into chunks to make them all about the same size to aid in cooking, and then our kids started calling them chicken nuggets, and eating them. I don't know why they aren't as into chicken strips but whatever works!

Chicken Parmesan Bites

~1 lb Chicken Breast tenders (I used nine) cut into bite-size chunks
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1/4 cup Almond Meal
1/2 Tbsp Oregano
1/2 Tbsp Basil
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1 Egg, beaten
3 Tbsp Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl, and beat egg in a separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg, and then into breading. Set onto baking sheet while oil heats. Heat olive oil to about medium high. Brown breaded chicken on both sides in hot oil, then place in a baking dish. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.

Manicotti

You can use any pasta for this - manicotti, jumbo shells, or lasagna noodles. If you use lasagna, cook them and lay them out, spread the cheese mixture down the noodle and roll them up.
 

Manicotti

1 pkg Manicotti, cooked according to package directions (maybe one minute less)
1 15 oz container Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated (plus 1 more cup for serving)
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 quart Marinara Sauce (I make it up ahead and freeze it; a jar of sauce also works but it probably costs more!)

Preheat oven to 350*. Cook pasta according to package directions, only take them off about a minute early and drain.  Spray a 13x9 baking pan with cooking spray.

Mix ricotta, parmesan and mozzarella cheeses with the egg and herbs. Spoon into cooked pasta, and set into prepared pan. Pour sauce over all and bake for 20-30 minutes, until bubbly.

If serving immediately, top with additional mozzarella cheese. Put it back in the oven for a few minutes to melt if desired.

If freezing, portion the manicotti (and make sure you get sauce for each one, too) into freezer-safe containers and freeze. To serve, thaw and bake until warm, and top with mozzarella cheese.

For a super easy and quick marinara sauce, take some pizza sauce and add diced tomatoes and sauteed veggies, and cooked ground beef if you like.

Vegetable Juice Soup

Lots of juicing going on around here! I really miss having a warm dinner when I do a lot of juicing, so this was the perfect way to feel like I had eaten a warm meal, and it was still all juice!

Vegetable Juice Soup

6-7 medium Tomatoes
2 stalks Celery
2-3 cloves Garlic
7-8 Carrots
Slice of Onion

Juice all together and heat just until warm (so it's not cooked to death, killing all the good enzymes from the fresh juice). Add salt and pepper, basil and oregano as desired.

Chicken Bruschetta

I was really in the mood for bruschetta with some nice crusty bread, and figured if I added chicken it would count for dinner. Yum! My meat-hating kid also liked it so that was a big plus.

Chicken Bruschetta

2 lbs Tomatoes, diced (4-6 medium tomatoes)
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
2 cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Basil
2 lbs Chicken Breast, diced or shredded
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, grated

1 Baguette, sliced

Preheat broiler.  Mix everything but the chicken and cheese, and let marinate while you prepare the bread and chicken. Arrange bread slices on baking sheet. Spoon some chicken on each slice, then top with bruschetta mixture.  Add shredded mozzarella and bake until cheese is melted.  Easy!

Chicken Parmesan

Chicken Parmesan

~1 lb Chicken Breast tenders (I used nine)

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated

1/4 cup Almond Meal

1/2 Tbsp Oregano

1/2 Tbsp Basil

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1 Egg, beaten

3 Tbsp cooking Oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients in one bowl, and beat egg in a separate bowl. Dip chicken pieces in egg, and then into breading. Set onto baking sheet while oil heats. Heat oil to about medium high. Brown breaded chicken on both sides in hot oil, then place in a baking dish. Bake until chicken is cooked through, about 20-25 minutes.  Alternatively you can just continue cooking on the stove until the chicken is done.  

Serve with marinara sauce (and pasta for those who want it!)

Zucchini Spaghetti and Meatballs

Whether you want to eat low-carb or gluten-free (or both!) or just get more veggies into your diet, this is a great alternative to regular spaghetti.

Meatballs

1 lb Ground Beef
1 Egg

1/4 cup Bread Crumbs (optional, eliminate if gluten-free)
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1 tsp Garlic Salt
pinch Pepper

Preheat oven to 425. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Form into small balls and place on baking sheet and cook 7-9 minutes or until done. Drain on paper towels. 

The trick to the zucchini noodles is this amazing spirooli slicer.  You don't have to peel the zucchini first but I prefer it peeled.  Stick it in the slicer with the smallest blade inserted, and spin!

Awesome zucchini noodles!  I slice my zucchini vertically, about halfway through so I get a bunch of half-curls.  Spoon hot sauce over them and you almost forget you aren't eating pasta.

 Serve with hot marinara sauce and enjoy!

Super Easy Marinara Sauce

Super Easy Marinara Sauce

First, make a batch of Pizza Sauce:

2 cups tomato sauce (1 14oz can is fine)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp oregano
1 Tbsp basil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
10-15 drops Liquid Stevia, optional (or sugar)

You can freeze this in two portions, or make a huge batch with a giant can of tomato sauce, and freeze into a bunch of portions.

When you want marinara sauce, just take a portion of pizza sauce, add a couple of cans of diced tomatoes and a can of tomato paste, and heat it up. That's it!

Here is my lovely sauce over zucchini spaghetti and served with meatballs.

Pizzadillas

I had one of those quick moments of genius that occasionally strikes.  Tortilla, pizza sauce, cheese, stick it in the toaster oven, then fold it in half and cut it into wedges.  That's it! :)

American Chop Suey aka Goulash

This is a dish my husband grew up with - we added diced tomatoes to it and some spices.  Super easy and simple, and the leftovers heat up well for lunch the next day.

American Chop Suey aka Goulash

1 lb Ground Beef
1/4 cup Onion, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup Bell Peppers, chopped (optional)

1 can Stewed Tomatoes

1 can Diced Tomatoes

1 lb Macaroni

Cook macaroni according to package directions.  Brown ground beef (with veggies if using) until no longer pink.  Add tomatoes. Heat together and serve over pasta.

Top with parmesan or shredded mozzarella cheese, if desired.

Pizza "Noodle" Soup

Similar to the Black Bean & Vegetable Soup (version 1), this one is low carb and cutting the zucchini into "noodles" is so good!

Pizza Soup with Zucchini Noodles

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 small or 1 large Onion, diced

2 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock
2 cups Water
2 14oz cans Tomato Sauce
3 Zucchini, noodled (see note below)
1 Tbsp fresh Oregano or 1 tsp dried
2 Tbsp fresh Basil or 2 tsp dried
Salt and Pepper to taste
Parmesan Cheese, grated, for garnish



I use this really cool kitchen gadget to make noodles out of zucchini, cucumbers, potatoes, etc.  It's really nice if you like veggies chopped up on a salad.

Heat olive oil and saute garlic 2-3 min. Add onion and saute 4-5 min. 

Add broth, water, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat to low and add zucchini, oregano and basil, s&p.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes - the longer the better. Top each serving with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.

Black Bean and Vegetable Soup 1

This soup is pretty simple, delicious, and full of healthy veggies.  Best of all, my kids will eat it!


Black Bean and Vegetable Soup 1

3 Tbsp Olive Oil
3-4 cloves Garlic, minced
2 small or 1 large Onion, diced
5 Carrots, sliced
3 stalks Celery, sliced (optional)
2 cups Chicken Broth or Vegetable Stock
2 cups Water
2 14oz cans Tomato Sauce
1 can Black Beans, rinsed and drained (or equivalent if you cook your own)
3 Zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 Tbsp fresh Oregano or 1 tsp dried
2 Tbsp fresh Basil or 2 tsp dried
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil and saute garlic 2-3 min. Add onion and saute 4-5 min. Add carrots (and celery if you like), saute for 2 more min.

Add chicken broth, water, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. If desired, add 1/2 cup red wine. Reduce heat to low and add beans, zucchini, oregano and basil, s&p. Optional veggies are 2 cups spinach & 2 cups green beans. Simmer for 30-40 minutes - the longer the better.  

Pizza Crust - Gluten Free and Low Carb

I discovered this pizza crust recipe when I was on the HCG Protocol to lose weight.  It's so good I've kept making it!  I make this version for my kids, and I sub half the coconut flour for a Tbsp of flax meal when I make it for myself.

Tonight I split the recipe and made my kids each their own  Heart Pizza for Valentine's Day.

Coconut Flour Cheesy Pizza Crust (personal pizza size)

1 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

1 Egg

2 Tbsp Coconut Flour

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

1/4-1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/4-1/2 tsp Basil

Preheat oven to 350*. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to preheat as well and you can cut your baking time in half.

Mix cheese, egg, coconut flour and baking powder and spices until well combined. You'll have to use your hands so just go ahead and get them messy.

Press out on a piece of parchment paper to about 1/4 inch thick. Pick up parchment and stick it in the oven on the hot stone. If you don't use the stone method, put the parchment on a baking sheet and into the oven.

On the stone, 15 minutes should be enough to cook both sides of the crust. On a baking sheet, bake about 15 minutes, then flip the crust over to bake the other side for another 15 minutes or until it's golden brown.

Remove from oven, top with sauce, cheese and toppings (meats should be precooked) and return the pizza to the oven to melt the cheese and warm up the toppings.

This is the one I made for myself - Coconut Flax Cheesy Pizza Crust (with heart-shaped pepperoni, of course)

Crockpot Lasagna

All I can hear from the other room is, "Wow, this is yummy!"  "Mom, this is so good!"  And my favorite, "Can I please have some more?"

These phrases are music to a mama's ears, especially coming from the mouths of two somewhat picky kids who don't voluntarily eat many veggies.

I adapted this recipe from CrockPot365 and it was so, so good.  Probably the best lasagna I've ever tasted, actually.   I'm sure the original version is great, but here's what I did, mostly because I used what I had available at the time.

Crockpot Lasagna (for a 6-qt crock pot)

1 box of uncooked regular Lasagna Noodles, any brand (not the quick cooking kind)

1 large container of Ricotta cheese, or half Ricotta, half Cottage Cheese

1 egg

1-2 jars (or equivalent homemade) Marinara Sauce (check back later for my recipe full of pureed veggies)

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, shredded

1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, shredded

 1/4 cup Water

Optional: Meat, pre-cooked

Optional: Chopped Veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, spinach, etc. 

If using both ricotta cheese and cottage cheese, you may want to blend it up.  I used a stick blender, and I also added a small handful of raw baby spinach.  It turned a very faint shade of green which went unnoticed by my veggie-haters.  Then mix in the egg.

If using meat, mix it into the marinara sauce before you begin.

Pour a layer of sauce into the crock pot.  Add a layer of lasagna noodles, breaking them up as necessary so they fit.   Smear some of the ricotta mixture on the noodles, or plop a little along if it's hard to smear on broken noodles.  It doesn't have to be perfect.

Add a layer of chopped veggies here if you are using them.

Sprinkle some shredded mozzarella and parmesan.

Repeat layers: sauce, noodles, ricotta, (veggies), shredded cheese, etc.  End with a layer of sauce on top.

Pour water over the top and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours.

Serve!  And be prepared to refill your kids' plates at least once, if not twice!  :)