Greek Vegetable Bean Soup

The ingredients here are pretty traditional for a veggie bean soup, but the addition of lemon and olive oil to the broth takes this dish to another level — one the Greeks call Fasolada.

I found the recipe in a Costco member magazine and made 3 big batches all at once, so that I could share it with two other families.

And that's how I ended up tweaking the recipe. Because when I got to making the pot for my house, I ran out of a few things.

The end result is a delicious lunch or dinner. You'll have amazing leftovers or enough to freeze for a second meal.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Greek Vegetable Bean Soup
Inspired by this recipe from Costco

3 cans white beans (like Northern), rinsed and drained
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium-large white onions, diced
4 celery stalks with leaves, diced
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into half moons
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
24 ounces diced tomatoes, with juice
6 cups water
1 large lemon, cut in half
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Juice of 1/2 a large lemon
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
Crumbled feta cheese for topping

Place a stock pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Sauté until onion is translucent, about 3 to 5 minutes.

Add drained beans, tomatoes, water, olive oil, halved lemon and salt and pepper to pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 1 hour. Add lemon juice and parsley.

Ladle into bowls and top with feta cheese. Serve with a chunk of crusty bread.

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Here's a warm dinner (because spring is taking her sweet time arriving) that is easy to prep.

Set it up in your slow cooker before heading out to work or a busy day of running errands and come home to a slightly spicy, delicious meal.

The leftovers taste even better the next day.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice
Inspired by this recipe from the Food Network

1 pound Italian sausage, sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large red bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon minced garlic
6 cans dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon brown sugar
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock (or broth)
1 smoked ham hock
Sliced green onions for serving
4-6 cups cooked rice for serving

Cook sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat until each piece is nicely browned. (Sausage does not need to be cooked through.)

Drain and transfer sausage to bowl of slow cooker. Add onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, beans, spices and brown sugar. Stir to combine. Add chicken stock and mix well. Nestle ham hock into center of crock.

Cook on low for about 7-8 hours. Alternatively, cook on high for 2 hours, then cook on low for another 3-4 hours or until ready to serve.

Serve in bowls with rice. Top with a sprinkle of sliced green onions.

Green Chile Turkey Quesadillas

I roasted a small turkey over the weekend. Winter's still clinging on here in Peoria so why not keep the oven going?

Now we have lots of leftover turkey. (Of course, you can easily sub leftover roasted chicken in this recipe.) I'll likely be making a batch of Cajun Turkey Jambalaya on Friday.

Last night, we had these quesadillas for dinner. I made them ahead and my boys warmed them up to eat while I headed out to a meeting. Nothing was left when I got home, so yay!

The recipe took about an hour from start to finish and made enough of two meals, so I froze 4 of the quesadillas. That's a win in my book.

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Green Chile Turkey Quesadilla

2-3 cups chopped cooked turkey (or chicken)
1 10 ounce can green enchilada sauce
1 4 ounce can diced green chilies
8 large (10 inch) flour tortillas
3 to 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray
For topping: salsa, sour cream, guacamole, sliced green onions

In a medium bowl, combine turkey, enchilada sauce and chilies. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Spread pan with cooking spray. Place one tortilla in pan. Sprinkle cheese (scant 1/4 cup) on one half of tortilla. Top cheese with about 1/3 cup turkey mixture. Sprinkle more cheese on top.

(Note: I just eye balled the amounts of cheese and turkey mixture when I made these, so use an amount that seems best to you.)

Fold other half of tortilla over mixture and press down with a large spatula. Cook until cheese begins to melt, about 1 minute. Then flip quesadilla over to brown the other side, cooking for another minute.

Place on plate and cover to keep warm, or place on a baking sheet and hold in an oven warmed to 250 degrees.

Repeat process with remaining ingredients. You may need to lower the heat on the pan. You may also need to wipe out the pan once or twice to remove any blackened bits.

Serve warm with sour cream, salsa, guacamole and/or sliced green onions.

Connor's Chocolate Chip Muffins

My sister and her family are visiting this week and my nephew Connor needs at least one breakfast with chocolate chip muffins. And there can be no banana mixed into the muffins.

So Connor and my niece Layne helped me whip up a big batch of buttermilk chocolate chip muffins. We made large ones and some mini muffins, so that everyone could taste-test them.

Layne made a list to make sure everyone got a sample. Her Uncle Bob tried to refuse, but eventually ate 3 of them.

My boys, Layne and Connor say these muffins go great with bacon, hard boiled eggs and fruit for breakfast. Connor, who last appeared here when he inspired this cucumber salad recipe, also likes these muffins for dessert.

What's your favorite chocolate chip muffin recipe? Let us know!

Mangia! Mangia!
Andrea

Connor's Chocolate Chip Muffins
Inspired by this recipe from LittleSweetBaker.com

2 /12 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips (mini or regular size)
1/2 cup melted butter, cooled
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners or spread with coking spray. (This recipe makes a bit more than 12 muffins, unless you use an extra large muffin tray.)

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe dish and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking power, baking soda, salt and chocolate chips. Set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the melted butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.

Make a well in the middle of the flour mixture in the large bowl. Slowly pour the wet mixture into the dry flour and gently stir to combine.

Divide the batter evenly into the muffin tins. Fill about 3/4 of the way to the top.

Layne filling the muffin cups.

Bake at 425 degrees for 5 minutes. Then lower the heat and bake for about 12-14 minutes or until the muffins are browned on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Mini muffins will cook faster.

Mini muffins.

Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes before enjoying with cousins for breakfast, lunch, dinner, a snack or dessert!

Connor tested and approved.