Italian Style Collard Green & Vermicelli Soup

Simple to make and so hardy!

1/2 Pound Ground Turkey
1/2 Onion, Chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
5-8 Collard Green Leaves, Rib Removed
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
8 Cups Water
3 Potatoes, Peeled and Sliced
3 Carrots, Peeled and Chopped
1 Cup Tomatoes, Crushed with the Juice
1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon
1/2 Cup Vermicelli Noodles
4 Fresh Basil Leaves, Chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Oregano
1/2 Fresh Pepper
Salt to Taste

In a large pot set the water to boil.  Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the Turkey, Onions, Garlic, and Collard Greens.  Cook for 5 minutes. 

Add the mixture to the boiling water. 

Add the potatoes... 

Add the tomatoes...

Add the bouillon...

Add the carrots.... 

Bring the soup back to a boil and simmer for about 2-3 minutes. 

Add the vermicelli and let the soup simmer for 1 minutes... cover and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes before serving... 

Sprinkle some Grated Parmesan Cheese... 

Vegan French Toast

I am no longer a full vegan but there are just some recipes I can't stop making (which is actually a good thing) Vegan French Toast is one of them... I got the idea from one of my vegan cookbooks and kinda made it my own!  

2 Cups Garbanzo Flour 

1 3/4 Cups Milk, Soy, Rice, Almond, Coconut, Hemp (if your milk is on the thicker side use 1 1/2 cups of milk and add 1/4 cup of water to dilute a bit)

2 Tablespoons Vanilla

2 Tablespoons Stevia Powder

1 Heaping Teaspoon Vanilla 

1 Teaspoon Ginger 

8-10 Slices of Bread (if you or family member have a gluten allergy... use gluten free bread)

I used Rice Milk because it is very thin... and you want your batter to be on the thin side.

This is Stevia Powder... It is a Leaf believe it or not and I believe it is 

20-30 times sweeter than sugar!!!

I used Earth Balance to cook... gives the French Toast a buttery flavor... 

Combine all ingredients except for the bread.... whisk until smooth... 

Dip the bread in the batter... make sure it is soaked through... 

Cook with the Earth Balance ... 

They will get nice, brown and crunchy!!!

I have been making this for my kids for a few years... they have no idea they are vegan!!!

MMMmmm...

Proof... the kids LOVE IT!!!

Serve with some Maple Syrup... MMMmmm

Shrimp Ball Noodle Soup

Okay... so on my way home from San Diego this morning I stopped at an Asian Market... lets just say that for me it was like Disneyland... ONLY BETTER!!! I spent over an hour walking up and down the aisles ... gawking and gasping at the spender!!! I admit it can be intimidating... but who cares!!! Just go!  I did... I don't speak the language, and most items are translated so it tells you exactly what it is.  I picked out a few things that I just absolutely had to try... Shrimp Balls (don't go dirty minded on me), Fresh Noodles... which are uncooked and can be frozen.  There are a few other items that I will blog about at a later time. But lets focus on these two for now.  I made a Shrimp Ball Noodle soup which ... if I may Toot my own horn... "Toot Toot"!!! I know this soup is not conventional but by all means improvise! Use some Ramen Noodles...  no shrimp balls... use shrimp... don't have collard greens... use spinach!  Get creative. These are simple ingredients that are far from simple in your mouth!!!

10 Cups Water

2 Chicken Breast

1 Onion, Sliced

3 Garlic Cloves, Chopped

4 Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Salt

3-5 Carrots, Sliced

2-3 Celery, Sliced

1-2 Cups Beans Sprouts

5-8 Collard Greens, Super Thinly Sliced

1 Package Shrimp Balls (this one had 25)

Noodles... I used about 3 cups worth
Chopped Cilantro for Garnish
Asian Hot Sauce for those of you who like it HOT!!!

These are the famous Shrimp Balls ... MMMmmm

Slice up a whole onion... 

Chop up the garlic...

Ramen Noodles... 

Fresh Carrots... 

Boil water and add the onion, garlic, and the 2 chicken breast... 

Add the Soy Sauce and poach the chicken for about 20 minutes... While the chicken is poaching... cut and prepare the rest of the ingredients... 

Peel and cut the ends off the carrots...

Slice into think sticks... 

Wash and cut the ends off of the celery... 

Cut into small thin sticks... 

Wash the Bean Sprouts... 

To prep the greens... wash the leaves well... 

Cut the middle and stack.... 

Cut into small think strips... 

Take the chicken out ...

Allow to cool and shred ... 

Add the greens... 

Add the chicken... 

This is what the wonderful little shrimp ball looks like... sigh... 

Add them to the soup and continue to simmer... for about 5 minutes... 

Add all the veggies and simmer for 5 minutes... 

This is what the noodles I bought look like.  They were raw... but they cook very fast! 3 minutes. 

Make sure you do not add the noodles until you are ready to serve... they cook quickly and 

you don't want over cooked noodles. 

Garnish with cilantro and asian hot sauce. 

Beautiful, healthy, tasty... MMMmmm

Big Batch Veggie Protein Burgers

So this is not one of those quick ready to eat recipes... there are like a million ingridients and it does take a while to make... but it really is easy.  So there are also no crazy ingredients, or preservatives and I will teach you how to freeze them for future use.  This recipe makes 12-14 Veggie Burgers.

1 Cup TVP (Add 3/4 cup of water and set aside until all water is absorbed)

1 Cup Cooked Beans or Lentils (I used Mung Beans)

1 Cup Cooked Short Grain Brown Rice

1/2 Onion

5 Garlic Cloves

2 Carrots

2 Whole Roasted Red Peppers

2 Zucchini

8 Mushrooms

1 Small Sprig of Fresh Thyme or a Pinch of Dry Thyme

3 Tablespoon Fresh Parsley, Finely Chopped

2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

2 Teaspoons Paprika

1 Teaspoon Paprika

1 Teaspoon Oregano

1 Teaspoon Cumin

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 Teaspoon Liquid Smoke (gives it a BBQ'd flavor)

2 Cups Garbanzo Flour

This is TVP... You can find it at any Whole Foods, Henry's, Sprouts...

I soak the TVP with 3/4 cup of water until all the water is absorbed...

Add 1 cup beans or lentils, you can mush them up if you would like...

1 Cup Short Grain Brown Rice... 

In the food processor combine the onion, garlic, and red pepper... 

Pulse until well chopped and pour into bowl ... 

Pulse the mushrooms until tiny... throw into bowl 

Add the carrots... Pulse until tiny... 

Add the zucchini and pulse until tiny... 

Chop up the Thyme ... Add to the bowl... 

Chop up your parsley... Add to the Bowl... 

This is Garbanzo Flour... it is AMAZING!!!! Made up ground up Garbanzo Beans... very high in protein. 

Add the flour and the remaining ingredients.... Let it sit covered for 1 hour. 

I used a large ice cream scooper to make the patties... I also sprayed the pan with some Olive Oil. 

Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes or until firm and slightly browned.  Let them cool and freeze in small freezer bags. To heat up just defrost and cook in a non stick pan with some olive oil.