Day 41 - Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

Yum. It was raining yet again, which of course called for some comforting soup. Steven and I spent ALL DAY schooling (because we pretty much ignored Monday) so it needed to be easy, too. This is an adaptation of Mary Herr's Winter Squash and White Bean Stew Recipe in the Fix It and Forget It cookbook (which has a lot of great recipes in it!). I didn't get it started until late, so it never made it to the crockpot, but it was awesome on the stove.

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into cubes
• 2 (15 oz) cans vegetable broth
• 2 (15 oz) cans white beans (great northern, or whatever), rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (10 oz) package fresh baby spinach

1. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and cinnamon and saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add vegetable broth, squash, beans and tomatoes to pot. Simmer over low heat approximately 30 minutes. Right before you are ready to serve, add the spinach. Heat until the spinach wilts.
3. The squash and beans will start to fall apart and really thicken the soup. Yum!

This would be really good with garbanzo beans (chickpeas).

Day 40 - Super (Bowl) Veggie Chili

You will never be able to tell the difference! This recipe is a mix between this recipe at All Recipes and this recipe by Rachael Ray. The goal was to come up with a perfect chili that NO ONE would realize was vegetarian. I think the key to that are the veggie crumbles, which, unfortunately, are not a staple at my local grocery store (did I mention that I live in a really small town?). But I had one package in the freezer that I picked up on my last trip to Vegas. And when I went to the local grocery, I discovered some more in the freezer case.

Whitney's Super (Bowl) Veggie Chili

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 tbsp ground cumin
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, de-seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles, or whole green chiles, diced
• 2 (12 oz) pkgs vegetarian burger crumbles
• 2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 tbsp ground black pepper
• 1 (15 oz) can red kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can white beans, drained
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, cook until translucent. Mix in celery, and peppers. When vegetables are heated through, mix in the vegetarian crumbles. Cover the pot, and simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Mix the tomatoes in the pot. Add chili powder and pepper. Stir in drained beans. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes.

Sorry, no picture. Everyone was too involved in the game and the chili was gone before I could take a pic. :)

Day 12 - Five Layer Vegetable Stew

This isn't really a stew, but it is too soupy to be a casserole. It has a really good flavor, though, so I suspect with some tweaking, it can be perfect!

Five Layer Vegetable Stew

• 2 cans white beans
• 4 oz pesto
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 6 small russet potatoes, thinly sliced
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 2 large zucchini, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• salt and pepper 

1. In a food processor or blender, process the beans, pesto, and 3 tbsp olive oil until well blended and creamy.
2. Heat the remaining olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the potato slices and cook until golden brown on both sides. Set aside. Add the onion slices to the same pan, and cook until browned on both sides.
3. Spray the inside of a large crockpot insert with non-stick cooking spray. Lay 1/2 the potato slices in the bottom. Spoon a small amount of bean mixture on top of potatoes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with onion and red pepper slices, bean mixture, salt and pepper. Layer zucchini slices, bean mixture, and salt and pepper, tomatoes. Repeat the layers. If there is any bean mixture left, pour it on top of the final layer of tomatoes. Cover and cook on low 6 hours.