Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil
1/4 c. apple juice
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. diced red bell pepper
4 c. chopped fresh or canned tomatoes (I used 1 qt. home canned tomatoes)
1 c. vegetable stock (I used chicken broth)
1/3 c. orzo pasta
1/4 c. chopped fresh basil
1 pint heavy cream
1/4 c. butter

Directions:

In soup pot, heat oil and apple juice over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic and pepper 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is soft but not brown. Add small amounts of water if mixture becomes dry). Remove from heat. Add tomatoes and broth. Stir. Puree in blender and return to the pot. Add pasta; cook 10 minutes, stirring. Add butter and cream. Stir in. Simmer 15 min. do not boil. Add basil and serve immediately.

from here

I hoped it would taste like Zupas, but it wasn't exactly the same. Some similarities. Ruby liked it, but the others choked it down.

Quinoa Taco Salad

My friend, Nicole, posted this one year ago, and I just got around to making it. The kids thought I was trying to poison them, but the three older boys ate everything. Milo and Ruby were not as adventurous. Maybe next time.

2 c. cooked quinoa (I cooked 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup water)

1 Tbs. olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1½ tsp. cumin

½ tsp. oregano

1 to 2 tsp. chili powder, depending on heat preference

Dash cayenne pepper

Half each red, green and yellow bell peppers, chopped (I just used one whole yellow pepper)

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

¾ c. diced fresh tomato

2 limes

Salt and pepper to taste

6-8 oz. baby spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/3 c. feta cheese (or cheddar if you prefer)

1 avocado, diced

Cook quinoa according to package instructions.

Saute onion in olive oil for 3-5 min. Add garlic, cumin, oregano, chili powder, cayenne, and peppers; sauté an additional 2 min.

Remove from heat. Stir in the black beans and the juice of 1 lime. Stir in quinoa. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill.

Roughly cut baby spinach into strips. Remove about 1 cup of cilantro leaves from the bunch, rinse and pat dry, and toss with the spinach. Divide spinach and cilantro mixture evenly among 4 salad plates. (I thought it would be more like 6 salad plates) Top each plate with a large scoop of quinoa salad.

Top each salad with tomatoes, avocado, and feta or cheddar cheese. Cut the remaining lime into slices to garnish the plates.

Makes 4-6 servings.