Farmer's Market Soup

Last night turned out to be one of those evenings where everything takes twice as long, and you stop and get dinner out! Thank goodness for Panera right down the street. We had dinner there and I brought home dinner to the older boys.

Tonight, I wanted to use up all the vegetables we got at the Farmer's Market, so I made the soup I had planned for last night. Since we all had BLTs for lunch today, and the weather got rather blustery and cold this afternoon, I got a craving for a yummy melty cheese sandwich. I went over to Whole Foods and grabbed some brie. Voila! Brie and heirloom tomato grilled sandwiches and Farmer's Market soup!

Here's what I added for our soup
2 boxes free range chicken broth
(32 oz. each)
1 zucchini cut into small pieces
3 leeks cleaned and sliced
1 head cauliflower cut into small pieces
1 large can stewed tomatoes (my favorite is muir glen)
2 bay leaves
1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed
pinch of salt
dash of pepper

4 handfuls cheese tortellini

Add all ingredients to the pot and allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes.

Before serving, add tortellini and cook for another 5 minutes.

This recipe made a ton of soup! We have enough for another meal next week. I meant to cook the tortellini in a separate pot and just add it when I served it, but I was busy at that point and just threw it in. When I defrost it for next week, I will have to add some more broth.

Week's menu plan

I thought I would post my menu plan for the week. I'll post a couple of the recipes later in the week as I take pictures.

Monday: fresh pasta (from farmer's market) and leftover pesto or red sauce

Tuesday: tortellini soup and BLT sandwiches

Weds: burritos (My friend's father in-law makes the tortillas for Trader Joe's and he was in town this past week, we got some yummy fresh tortillas to take home!)

Thursday: Tri-tip sandwiches with sun-dried tomato spread. I think I will play with it a little to not add sugar, but we'll see. We'll have zucchini crisps with this since I got some at the farmer's market yesterday!

Friday is pizza night because I don't cook on Fridays, and Saturday I'll be at the football game, so my boys are on their own! I am excited to try some new recipes this week, and bring back some old favorites!

Granola!

My husband and my 16 year old stepson are HUGE fans of cereal. Eat it every morning and LOTS of it! My son and I can take it or leave it. However, I have always been a HUGE fan of good granola. On one of the blogs I read every day, I came across this today...

http://www.mixmygranola.com/

I am ordering some and trying it out. I will post when I get it and tell you how it is. I wanted to let my 5 year old make some of his own too, but I'm not telling him he can add candy!!!

Presents!

Today, I got the one thing I wanted most from our wedding registry! My former father and mother-in-law, who I am still very close with, bought us a 9 cup Cuisinart food processor! I can't wait to use it to cook new recipes. Exciting times!

What is your favorite kitchen gadget or appliance?

Garden Lasagna

I haven't made lasagna much, but this one was great! My husband had 3 helpings :)

Ingredients:
1 lb lean ground beef
2 cloves garlic
drizzle olive olive oil
1 12 oz. can stewed tomatoes
2 small zucchini
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups spinach
1/4 cup fresh basil (I used the basil from our garden)
no-bake lasagna noodles
mozzerella, cut into 1/4 in slices (about 20 slices)
pasta sauce (I used classico organic, probably my favorite)
1/8 c. parmesan (I used shaved parmesan because I like how it looks!)

Preheat oven to 375

Drizzle olive oil in a pan and add garlic. Cook for a couple minutes, then add beef. Cook until brown. Add tomatoes and zucchini and cook for about 5 minutes. Add spinach and basil. cook another 5 minutes, until most of the liquid evaporates. As you can tell from the picture, I kept the zucchini tfrom getting too cooked because it cooked when in the oven.


Coat bottom of a square baking dish with pasta sauce and cover with lasagna noodles. cover noodles with a layer of meat mixture, sauce, then a layer of the mozzerella slices. Repeat with noodles, meat, sauce and cheese. Top with shaved parmesan. Bake 45 minutes, until top is bubbly and browned. I hope your family enjoys this as much as we did!

Granola Bars

Last week, I posted a granola bar I wanted to try. Oh, were they yummy! I used cranberries and some leftover mangoes and berries I had from Costco. I also added some sunflower seeds. This recipe is a keeper, and I would work great as a cooking project with the kids. They are wrapped up in saran wrap and in our cookie jar. I think I'll make a double batch next time!

Sausage and Pepper Sandwiches

I tried a sample of the Trader Joe's version last week, but found it a little salty, so I thought I'd try to duplicate it myself. This was one of those nights where I am trying to use up the produce and leftover sauce from the tortellini the boys had when I was out the other night.

4 sausages (I used Trader Joe's Smoked Apple Chardonay)
1/2 onion
2 bell peppers (I used an orange one and a yellow one)
16 oz. marinara sauce (I used Classico Organic Tomato, Herbs and Spices)
Olive oil
4 sandwich rolls of your choice
Sprinkle of shredded cheese for each sandwich
Thinly slice the onion and bell peppers (taking out the seeds) Drizzle olive oil in the pan and let it heat up slightly. Add onions and let them cook for about 3 minutes, then add the peppers, sausage and pasta sauce. Allow them to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Serve on sandwich rolls and sprinkle parmesan, provolone or mozarella just before serving.

I also made baked fries to go along with it.

3-4 potatoes peeled and cut into long strips
Seasoning to taste (I usually use Emeril's original seasoning)
Cooking spray

I also often make these with sweet potatoes

Place potatoes on baking sheet and spray with cooking spray
Sprinkle with your seasoning of choice and bake at 400 degrees 20-25 minutes, until they are brown and crispy.

This was an easy dinner, and it seemed to be a hit with my stepson and my husband (although my stepson pulled out as much of the peppers and onions as he could!