the easiest dinner after a day of apple crisp making: hearty chimichurri rice and bean soup

I needed a dinner option last night that was easy. And vegetarian. And that everyone would enjoy. And that could be made with minimal effort...

Now on the tenth (!) year as a back-to-school tradition, we'd spent the morning making apple crisp for the boys' teachers, the afternoon swimming at a friend's, and the early evening chauffeuring to physical therapy for one, cross-training for the other. By the time we rolled home-- at dinnertime-- I really wanted/needed someone else to tackle dinner.

Trader Joe's to the rescue. The boys sampled this while we were picking up our (zillion pounds) of apples and both claimed it was really good. Three ingredients into a pot? Sounds good to me too.

Special bonus that all the ingredients can be kept on hand in the pantry and freezer. So, whether you find yourself in need of a night off of cooking because you made apple crisp for 20 families, or just because you're a fan of the quick and easy, this one's a keeper.

Trader Joe's Chimichurri Rice and Black Bean Soup
recipe credit going to the nice lady giving out samples in the Darien, CT store
(4-6 servings; can double)

one 32-oz carton Roasted Tomato-Red Pepper Soup
one or two 14-oz can(s) black beans, rinsed and drained
one 16-oz bag Chimichurri Rice (freezer section)
optional - sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
optional - avocado

Place soup, black beans and rice in a pot. Heat over medium-low until warm. Serve with sour cream, Greek yogurt, and/or chunks of fresh avocado. Leftovers can be frozen.

For posterity's sake, I'm including a few photos from the apple crisp making as well. Each year I think, "should we do it again?" And each year, it's the one cooking project the kids really look forward to. So, I embraced the happy chaos again, and hope that this token of thanks for all their hard work in the year ahead is enjoyed by each teacher's family.

I know it drives some of you crazy that we don't use a recipe for our apple crisp. I linked a few apple crisp recipes here in this post from 2009. This pic from later in 2009 always brings a smile. And I recall that back in 2013 we attempted to apple pick before embarking on the project. Lesson learned that apples aren't really in season when school starts here in CT.  

simple clean eating soup: bone broth + trader joe's healthy 8 chopped veggie mix

Wow, after a whirlwind two-week school break, and a lot of restaurant meals {achem… and fruity, frozen drinks}, I am ready to dial things back a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love it when someone else cooks for me. But, about this time each year I start to crave simpler meals. Recipes that take just a few minutes to make. Ones where veggies or some lean protein are the highlight.

Easy is key. And not just because today I don't have time to cook because I am picking one of my children's "airport treat" pack of Trident bubblegum off of an entire load of vacation laundry… don't get me started. Anyway, today I wanted-- and needed-- a quick quick quick and easy lunch. It's still pretty chilly here in CT, so soup sounded good. And in that department, I have a two-ingredient fav...

If you've been following me for a while, you know I am a big fan of bone broth. And, hopefully, you have some of your own kicking around your freezer. You do? Good. Recipe here, if you don't already have it.

Simple Clean Eating Veggie Soup
(makes about 8 cups)

1 quart (or two pints) homemade bone broth  
one 16 oz tub Trader Joe's Healthy 8 Chopped Veggie Mix*

In a soup pot, warm the bone broth and veggies until veggies are desired doneness. I take my broth straight out of the freezer, and it thaws while my veggies are cooking, so the whole process takes about 10-15 minutes. Enjoy warm with some good fat, like a little handful of nuts, for a complete "clean" meal. 

* If you're not near a Trader Joe's you can, of course, make your own 1 lb batch of chopped mixed veggies… but I'm a big fan of having someone else do the chopping for me, in this case. If you want to mimic the above mix, it's a combination of broccoli, carrots, green cabbage, red cabbage, jicama, green bell pepper, celery and radishes.

The red cabbage in that TJ's chopped veggie mix turns your broth a brilliant fushia… be sure to get all that bone broth goodness down the hatch. If no one is looking, it's perfectly appropriate to use a straw….

Kale-White Bean Stew {aka: 4-hour-workman-window-and-I-haven't-gone-to-the-market-but-need-to-make-dinner-during-those-4-hours-with-what-I-have-on-hand-oh-and-can-you-also-make-it-vegetarian-please soup}

It's a well-known fact that I am not in my school groove yet. If I see you around town, or on the sidelines {of three sports x two kids}, and you ask, "how's your year going so far?", I may very well look at you like a deer in the headlights. 

We have turned a corner. Apparently gone are the days when my kids tumbled off the schoolbus, played in the yard til dinner, and we all sat down together at a reasonable time. Now, they arrive home minutes before my chauffeuring begins. Afternoon and evening activities overlap. Homework has become more plentiful. And there's still only one of me. 

Oh, and, I am not willing to forego healthy meals, or family dinners. 

Wednesdays are unique in that my children only have half-days of school. It's funny because I remember when they started preschool I used to think that 4 hours off was an amazingly long time. Now, with four other normal length school days/week, I sort of treat Wednesday as a wash.

However, today found me halfway though a {truth be told: disorganized} week of meals, marooned at home during a 4-hour workman window {the same 4 hours the kids are in school}, needing dinner prepared before 12:30. And I hadn't done much grocery marketing. Did I throw up my hands in despair and say we'll just go to Station Eats in between tennis lessons, a baseball game, and the first big middle school project that involves poster board? No. Because mama is trying to get back to svelte… my older child came home from camp a vegetarian…. and if you make me sit around the house for four hours waiting for you, you better believe I'm going to put that time to good use by cooking something. The result of rifling through the pantry and freezer or ingredients?

Kale-White Bean Stew 

{aka: 4-hour-workman-window-and-I-haven't-gone-to-the-market-but-need-to-make-dinner-during-those-4-hours-with-what-I-have-on-hand-oh-and-can-you-also-make-it-vegetarian-please Soup}

olive oil

frozen pearl onions {or a chopped onion}

canned white beans {drained and rinsed}

kale {chopped, fresh or frozen}

a jar of TJ's bruschetta {or a can of diced tomatoes and some garlic}

veggie broth

orzo {or couscous, quinoa, farro, wild rice, brown rice}

Heat olive oil in a large soup pot, over medium heat. Saute the onions until golden, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Stir. Lower heat to a simmer and cook until the grain you added is cooked. 

Reheats beautifully {if you need to dine in shifts}. Freezes perfectly {if you want to make a big batch and freeze some for a busy night ahead}.

I know some of you like me to be more precise with my measurements… Here is what I added today, which made 8 servings {4 for tonight; 4 to freeze}:

two 32 oz cartons veggie broth
one 12 oz jar TJ's bruschetta
two 15 oz cans white beans
16 oz frozen pearl onions
16 oz frozen kale
1 Cup TJ's Harvest Grains blend

Then, while one child was creating a math presentation and the other was systematically destroying the kitchen that had just been cleaned-- I mean, sewing a Medieval costume out of felt-- I slathered some good butter on French bread and wrapped it in foil ready to go into the oven for a few minutes, in anticipation of a quick family dinner in between practices tonight.

{Kid-Pleasing} Spinach Tomato Gnocchi Soup aka "Sure-I'll-Join-You-In-The-Yard-For-A-Glass-Of-Wine-Because-Dinner-Will-Only-Take-A-Few-Minutes-To-Make" Soup

 

This soup could be called: "It's--Finally-Spring-in-CT-So-We-Are-Out-And-About-But-It's-Still-Nippy-Soup-Weather" Soup.

Or, it could be called: "Sure-I'll-Join-You-In-The-Yard-For-A-Glass-Of-Wine-Because-Dinner-Will-Only-Take-A-Few-Minutes-To-Make" Soup.

Or: "Spinach-Tomato-Gnocchi" Soup. Whatever you want to call it, my kids loved it. My husband loved it. And I loved it…. especially since it went from grocery bag to table in less than :30 minutes.

"Sure-I'll-Join-You-In-The-Yard-For-A-Glass-Of-Wine-Because-This-Spinach-Tomato-Gnocchi-Soup-That-Everyone-Loves-Will-Only-Take-A-Few-Minutes-To-Make" Soup

{makes 8 servings}

2 T olive oil

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

6 cubes Dorot frozen garlic OR 6 cloves or garlic, chopped

6 cubes Dorot frozen basil OR 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil 

15 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

11 oz organic baby spinach

1/2 cup roasted {or sun-dried} tomatoes in olive oil*

2 quarts organic chicken or veggie broth

16 oz package gnocchi 
optional: 2 T cooked and crumbled bacon {good if you have leftovers from breakfast}

In a large pot or Dutch oven, sauté the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is lightly browned, 3-5 minutes. Add all other ingredients and bring to a rapid simmer. Simmer soup until spinach is wilted and gnocchi is cooked, which only takes a few minutes. Serve warm. You're welcome! 

The soup will freeze nicely, though you may want to wait to add the gnocchi if you are making a big batch. Just keep the gnocchi on hand, and add it when you are heating up a batch.

*These were the tomatoes I used. Handy to have a ginormous jar of these in my fridge to pop into various recipes…

Oh, and P.S. it's delicious with a drizzle of sriracha over the top. 

spicy kim chi soup

We just returned from the most fabulous family trip. My parents generously invited us to stay in a home they'd rented right on a lagoon in Akumal, Mexico.

And when we weren't exploring the tidal pools,

reading under the palapa,

visiting Mayan ruins,

walking to the beach,

relaxing in a hammock,

or spotting iguanas, searching for fossils, trying to open coconuts, and making palm frond crowns,

 we were eating.

The food was amazing.

But after the last margarita had been enjoyed,

the vacation wrapped up, and we begrudgingly traveled home. That first day back in CT, I craved something detoxifying, light, flavorful and easy. Something that I could make a big pot of on Day 1 and enjoy all week, as I moved through a mountain of laundry, mail, and the misc to-do's of a week away...

Spicy Kim Chi Soup
(serves 6-8, will keep for several days in the fridge, but will not freeze well)

2 T olive oil (or your favorite oil)
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 zucchini, thinly sliced
32 oz kim chi, not drained (I like the radish one from Sunja)
2 quarts organic veggie broth (I like this brand)
16 oz smoked tofu, cut into 1/2 inch chunks (I like this brand)

In a large pot, sauté the sliced onion and zucchini over medium-high heat until beginning to brown. Add the kim chi and all the fermenting liquid from each jar {just dump the contents of each jar right in the pot!}, the veggie broth and the smoked tofu. Stir, then lower the heat to a simmer and let the soup do its' thing (uncovered) for about 30 minutes, or until flavors are melded and veggies are soft. Serve warm. 

 This was the perfect re-entry meal from vacation. In fact, it's become one of my favorite soups to make and have on hand for easy lunches during the week. I hope that you enjoy this zesty soup as much as I do!

homemade turkey broth

As we head into a brand-spanking new week, and you clean the remnants of Thanksgiving out of your fridge, don't toss those turkey bones. Whether you set aside time today, or freeze the bones for a lazy day ahead, you can use them to make a rich, nutrient-dense bone broth.

I made my big pot of homemade bone broth today. Since it was going to be simmering for a few hours, I spent the day by the fire, and played catch-up around the house.

The recipe {which you can find here} is so, so good. And it's so easy. It does take time, but why not give yourself the gift of a quiet day at home?

Trust me. It's worth it.

making the most of a sick day {how a well-stocked freezer makes it rather blissful}

I will not lie... I heard the sounds of screeching brakes when my older child's sniffle from last night turned into a full-blown-stay-home-from-school-chest-cold this morning. I had my whole day planned out, including my annual pilgrimage to the Container Store for the upcoming Pumpkin Cannelloni Project / homemade Christmas gift packaging / wrapping paper + all of my pre-Thanksgiving grocery marketing.

But all of that running around was not meant to be. Instead, I'll join the crowds at the market next week, and today I'll stay home and take care of my older child. We'll sit by the fire during a {forced} day of relaxation. {Something I would never do on my own.}

And the fact that I found myself well-stocked for any untimely illness makes today actually kind of blissful.

Want to prepare for winter cold season too? Both of these recipes freeze beautifully, so you can make a big batch and tuck them away for days when you might need them:

• Homemade Chicken Soup Base ("Bone Broth")
• Lemon-Ginger Tea concentrate