Best Cauliflower soup

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower
3 big carrots
1 big onion
1 tsp chicken grilling seasoning*
1 tsp dry basil
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 cups leftover cooked turkey or chicken (optional)
6 cups chicken broth or water
1/4 cup chopped fresh green onions
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley and dill
olive oil
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk



Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roughly cut up the cauliflower, carrots, and onions in big chunks and spread them on a cookie sheet. Drizzle generous amount of olive oil over the veggies, sprinkle the grilling seasoning, dry basil, turmeric, salt, and pepper and put it in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the veggies are tender and starting to brown.

Add the roasted veggies, the broth or water to a pot with the turkey or chicken, if using and cook for another half hour. Blend the soup with an immersion hand blender, then add the cream, fresh green onions, parsley, and dill, add more salt and pepper if needed.


Makes 6-8 servings

*I used McCormick Montreal chicken seasoning

Broccoli Rice Casserole

Ingredients

• 2 cups Cooked Rice
• 2 cups Broccoli, cooked and drained
  
• 1 can Cream Of Mushroom Soup (I use homemade)
• 1 cup chopped mushrooms
• 1/2 cup Chopped Onion
• 2 cloves minced Garlic 
• 10 oz. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• 1 1/2 cups Milk
• 1/4 cup Butter
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 3 1/2 quart baking dish.
2. Saute onions and mushrooms in butter in a skillet until the onions get translucent. 
3. In a large bowl, mix together rice, broccoli, soup, cheese (reserve 1/2 cup for topping), milk, onion and mushrooms, and garlic. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Pour into prepared casserole dish and bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Add reserved cheese and bake for 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Makes 6 servings

Araksya's Tip: I like to add cooked chicken or turkey

Quinoa Pasta with veggies

Ingredients:


6 slices bacon chopped
6 oz quinoa pasta*
6 oz sliced mushrooms
1 small onion sliced
1 bell pepper sliced
1 cup zucchini chopped
2 cups spinach
2 cups marinara sauce
2 cups water
1/3 cup fresh parsley and cilantro chopped
1 TB dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh
olive oil (if needed)
salt and pepper to taste
parmesan cheese


Cook bacon in a big skillet until cooked through but not too browned. Add onions, mushrooms, peppers, and zucchini and cook until they are tender, stirring occasionally.
Then add quinoa pasta, marinara sauce, water, dried basil, salt and pepper, cover the skillet and cook until pasta is done.
Add spinach and fresh herbs, stir well and serve with parmesan cheese.


*Araksya's tip: You can use regular pasta instead of quinoa pasta. You can also add 1/2 cup regular quinoa with pasta
like I did to give it more texture.

Mashed Potatoes with Roasted vegetables

I made up this recipe when my husband harvested some red potatoes from our garden.


4 potatoes
2 boneless chicken breasts quartered
1 yellow squash diced
1 zucchini diced
1 eggplant peeled and diced
1 big bell pepper, diced (I used red pepper)
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic with skins
1 tsp paprika
2 TB parsley chopped
1 tsp dry basil
oil
salt and pepper


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Boil potatoes in a pot with water until cooked through. Drain and mash them in the same pot adding milk, salt and pepper to taste, half of the paprika and parsley. Cover and set aside to stay warm.

Meanwhile arrange the veggies and chicken on a big cookie sheet, drizzle with some olive oil, add dry basil, the rest of paprika, salt and pepper and roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until the veggies are browned and the chicken is cooked.
Remove the skin from the roasted garlic and mash it with a fork.
Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces and add to the potatoes along with the veggies and garlic.


Makes 4-6 servings

Araksya's tip: I used the red potatoes with skins.