Black Bean Soup (With all the Fixin's)

First off, I want to apologize for the lack of posts lately. My computer has been practically unusable and I've been trying to figure out what the issue is. Unfortunately, my technical issues are happening just as my prenatal and chiropractic appointments are moving to every week and Z appears to be dropping his one nap.

Now.

When I'm 9 months pregnant.

:Facepalm:

Silver lining though - as a result of my "I'm too pregnant to feel like doing anything but not pregnant enough to be nesting yet" state, I've been trying to think of super easy but healthy meals. This week I whipped up a simple but delicious black bean soup with all the fixin's. You seriously won't believe how easy this is to put together. It would make the perfect side dish to a Mexican or Southwestern meal, or you can add some rice to make it entree material.  I'll get a proper photo up once my technical issues are resolved!

Meal Plan Monday: Spanish Gazpacho

This week's meal plan features Spanish Gazpacho!

After "Crazy Week" (Mother's Day, both our birthdays, and our anniversary) and all the celebrating, we are in desperate need of a detox.  Look out veggies, here we come!

Our meal plan for the week includes:

Now that summer weather has arrived, it's the perfect time for gazpacho, the quintessential cold Spanish soup!  I LOVE cold soups when the weather starts to get hot - especially now that I am very pregnant and in the Florida heat. :)  This recipe was given to me by my mother-in-law, who lived in Spain for a few years. 

Gazpacho only takes about 10 min to make with a good blender and it's a great make-ahead option, as it's best after it chills for a few hours. It's a perfect quick, no heat lunch option - plus, all the ingredients are fresh, raw veggies so you get lots of good nutrients.  By making it yourself instead of buying it canned or getting it at a restaurant, you can control the sodium content.  I usually make this recipe two batches at a time. 

Monday Meal Plan: Tuscan Bean Soup

So ...

I had a severe case of pregnancy brain this past week.  despite 3 trips to the grocery store within 2 days I somehow still managed to forget ingredients that I needed for last week's meal plan.  As a result, we ended up ordering pizza one night and the tikka masala I had planed was pushed to this week. 

Oh well.

The meal plan for this week includes: 

Tuscan Bean Soup

Monday Meal Plan: Hungarian Mushroom Soup

Good morning, all!

I'm sorry for not getting my meal plan up last week! We ended up taking a little trip up to NC for a long weekend and the meal planning sort of fell by the wayside. We had a wonderful trip which I will write about later, but for now, here's the meal plan for this week!

Hungarian Mushroom Soup

I have a soft-spot for mushroom soup ... mushroom anything, really.  I never liked mushrooms until 2000 when I was traveling through England.  We stayed at a bed & breakfast with an attached restaurant and we were served the most INCREDIBLE mushroom soup one night.  I've been a big fan ever since.

Strangely enough, mushrooms were one of the things that I could not tolerate in my first trimester with Z. Thankfully, it didn't last too long and hasn't been an issue this pregnancy!

So back to the soup... This recipe is fairly easy to make and always a crowd-pleaser! It's somewhat comparable to the mushroom soup they serve at Panera's, but I think it's tastier. :)

I'll try to get a picture up soon!

Meal Plan Monday: Slow Cooker Irish Stew

Happy Monday everyone!

This week we are going totally vegetarian with our dinner menu, which includes:

Asparagus and Mushroom Couscous with Aunt Ruth's Steak Sauce (recipe to come)

Mexican Baked Potatoes with Chips & Guacamole

Vegetarian Greek Pasta  (recipe to come)

Last week, I made an awesome whole food, slow cooker Irish Stew that's perfect for an easy peasy St. Patrick's Day dinner! After all, the best way to celebrate holidays is with food! Just wait til you see what I have planned for Arbor Day. ;)

Meal Plan Monday: Simple Tortellini Soup

Meal Plan Monday: Week of November 27th

Ground Turkey Stoganoff and Roasted Broccoli

Taco Salad

Tapas! (Roasted Brussels Sprouts, Garlic Tomatoes, Crusty Bread, Mushrooms, etc)

Simple Tortellini Soup

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This super simple tortellini soup is one of my favorite "pantry meals", and especially comforting when you aren't feeling well.  It's a simplified adaptation of a soup that my mother-in-law made for us while I was recovering from my C-section with  Z.  I love that I can dump all the ingredients in a pot, take Z through his bedtime routine, and dinner is ready by the time he's down!

Tuscan Soup with Kale

So sorry for the slow down - it has been a crazy (good crazy) couple of months!  We recently discovered that we are going to be traveling to Europe twice this summer doing mission work - and we have been super busy preparing for the trips (more on that in a future post)!  Plus, my husband's "Spanish mama" (a family friend) is flying in today and visiting for a few weeks!  Hopefully you'll see some Spanish recipes up here soon!

I know this is the second soup in a row - but I love soup!!!  We probably make a batch of this soup every other week when it's cool out - but we eat it in the summer too! For an extra nutrition punch, add chia seeds at the end.  I've also been known to make a double batch and freeze half for a night when I'm short on time! 

20-Minute Minestrone Soup

This simple minestrone is rustic, healthy, Italian, and always there for me (sounds like my husband!)

   This was one of those "I'm staving and need to eat healthy but I'm exhausted and haven't gone grocery shopping yet" kind of meals.  As I mentioned before, I recently started an awesome new job.  New job = new flow.  New flow = new quick, healthy, go-to recipes.  I call them pantry meals - chances are that I'll have all the ingredients on hand and all the ingredients will keep for a long time.  Basically, pantry meals are awesome meal-planing back up plans. This recipe is super easy to customize, so feel free to add extra veggies, switch out the pasta, whatever you like!

African Peanut Soup

Sorry for the hiatus!  I got a new job couple of weeks ago (a huge answer to lots of prayers) and now that I'm getting a hang of the new "normal", it's time to start blogging again!

West African Peanut Soup ...

I know what you're thinking.  If you've never had a peanut soup before, the idea can be a bit off-putting.  It's not a new idea to me ... I ate peanut soup as a kid when stopped in Williamsburg, VA on vacation.  But that was the very basic American colonial version - not the veggie filled West African version - and this soup was still a little out of my comfort zone when I first tried it.  However, I am SO glad I did!  Despite being completely vegan, this soup is creamy, hearty, and packs some protein without using any meat-substitute products.  Of course, you can always add some chicken to the mix if you like!

I try to plan on having this meal the same week there's another meal with rice.  That way I can add cooked rice at the end, making the cooking time much shorter!
*You may be thinking, "That's some funny looking rice in that photo ..."  You're right.  It's orzo.  I didn't have cooked rice and I got lazy.  :)

To add some green to the meal, I serve this soup with a side of roasted broccoli - YUM!