Broccoli Cheese Soup

Not your mama's broccoli cheese soup....

More like a broccoli lover's soup! I LOVE the bright green color.

I followed this recipe. It's not vegan, but it's very delicious! I can't remember the last time I bought cheese to cook with, so I think I'm doing well at lessening my impact on the environment, my body, and animals. Sometimes cheese is just delicious.... especially when paired with broccoli!

Served with a slice of Ezekiel bread. It's so good, and eating something this vibrant makes you feel good.

Nutrition facts:

Not bad for a cheesy soup. I got 5 servings out of this recipe.. I can't wait for lunch tomorrow!

And for dessert....

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies! Only one, though..  for now ;) They are very good; I definitely recommend them. Dillon and I had fun baking last night!

On the marathon front I'm doing well - feeling confident and excited! Today was a cross train day, and Dillon and I went on an hour long walk in the snow. It was a nice change; Plus we went out to breakfast at Dunn Brothers, which was awesome. I love coffee and a muffin in the morning!

Dillon and I plan on relaxing for the rest of the evening, which sounds great to me! I hope you enjoyed your weekend!

~Kasey

Clear Your Mind

Today was a great day off! I read, ran, went to yoga, baked and cooked an awesome meal.

I haven't gone to a yoga class in so long! Today I went to the gym and ran for 45 minutes before going to yoga so I could get in some cardio and strength today. I should really go to yoga more because its challenging and relaxing at the same time.

One thing, though - I'm terrible at clearing my mind. I know I need to just be focusing on my breath and body movement, but I can't turn my damn brain off. I have this trouble at night too when I'm trying to go to sleep.

That just means I need to work harder at it, I guess. Try to take more yoga classes and take time each day to try to clear my thoughts. I think that would be something good for me to work on.

Anyway... On to the eats!

I work up really hungry this morning, so I had the usual x2.

I didn't go to the gym until around 11, so I took this as a snack while I ran some errands this morning.

Green monsters are so pretty! This had about 3 cups of spinach, 1 cup of soymilk, 1 tbsp of peanut butter, and 1 small banana.

Then I was still hungry before my workout, so I had 1/2 of a Clif Bar that I picked up at the grocery store.

This is a new flavor, and I liked it a lot! Of course I do love bananas, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this.

Then after almost 2 hours of working out and 910 calories burned, I didn't feel like cooking lunch - I just wanted to eat!

Chips, salsa, carrot, and pickles. Mmmm - a very random, but tasty lunch.

Then I was on to my baking.

Dillon loves coconut, so I wanted to make him some macaroons. I decided on this recipe for Hippie-roons from the Hungry Hungry Hippie.

They turned out a little flat, but still very good. I even liked them, and I don't even usually like coconut. Dillon was a happy camper.

I also made a fancy dinner today - Mushroom Risotto with Caramelized Onions from Oh She Glows. I've never made risotto before, and it was a process. It was so worth it, though! This is an awesome recipe. The only changes I made was I used brown rice, not barley as I didn't have any, and for liquid I added 1 cup of red wine. Check out Oh She Glows for a great description on how to make it - She takes much better pictures than I do! I just love her blog.

Working on this dish for over an hour was so worth it! The mushrooms were very flavorful and the caramelized onions made the dish.

And one of the best parts was the nutrition facts - 

Click here for additional nutritional information.

This dish made 4 servings, so that's only about 323 calories per serving. It was so rich and filling that you would never think that calories were that low! There's quite a bit of fat, but it's good fats from the olive oil.

I enjoyed this wonderful meal with a glass of Pinot Noir.

And I'm sipping a second glass now :)

I'm sure I'll have a snack later while watching Law and Order SVU with the hubs. Popcorn maybe? We'll see.

It's back to the grind tomorrow for me. Hope you had a fabulous day!

Hazel says Hi!

~Kasey

Good Day!

Its nice to start out the week with a good day!

I had a great run and lifting session this morning.

I was able to keep my eating well under control - I wasn't very hungry very much.

Work was pretty mellow.

I ate a BUNCH of fruit! 2 bananas, 3 clementines, 2 apples.... yum!

I got my iPhone!!! My wonderful hubby picked it up from our apartment office and set it all up for me.

The one little snag in the day was that I lost my car key - hopefully I'll find it at work tomorrow. Good thing is that we only like about 2 blocks from work, so Dillon was able to bring me my spare really quickly!

And I made a fabulous dinner!

A delicious strifry! Photo taken from my iPhone.. not bad, eh?

Serving it up!

Served over 1 cup of brown rice. So satisfying.

Dillon found this cool thing you can do with WolframAlpha. Just add your ingredients with "+" signs in between them, and you get this:

Nutrition facts! This made 3 servings, so 442 calories per serving... and you get all the great vitamin values and such.

Dillon always discovers cool things like this - I should really listen to him more!

Well with that, I'm going to go have him teach me more about my new phone!

Au revior!

~Kasey

"Cheese" Sauce

Happy Monday, All!

I had the day off today! I did some shopping, had lunch with a friend, worked on my resume while drinking coffee at Starbucks, and cooked. All in all a good day. I'm sad its almost over, as I now work 7 days in a row. Bleh - oh well. I'm sure it won't be that bad.

On to my yummy supper! We bought a couple of russet potatoes yesterday on a whim, so I decided to make baked potatoes for supper tonight. I just wasn't sure how I wanted to serve them.

Awhile back I made some delicious cheesy pasta sauce and remembered thinking that it would be good on other things. Things like baked potatoes and roasted broccoli.

Cheesy Sauce from Vegan Yum-Yum
(I halved this today, but made the full amount when I used it as a pasta sauce.)

1 Cup Soymilk
1/3 Cup Raw, Unsalted Cashews
1/4 Cup Nutritional Yeast
3 Tbsp Low-Sodium Tamari or Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp Earth Balance Margarine
1 Tbsp Tahini
1 Tbsp Fresh Lemon Juice
2 tsp Dijon Mustard
1/2 tsp Paprika
1 Pinch Nutmeg
2-4 Cloves of Garlic, optional
Black pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Then either heat it on the stove in a saucepan if using it as a topping, or combine in a skillet with cooked pasta.

Easy as that!

It thickens up pretty nicely while being heated. Make sure to stir quite often so it doesn't burn.

Mmmm, a delicious and simple supper. It's a really good cheesy sauce, without all the fat and cholesterol that comes with real cheese. I topped my potato with some vegan sour cream and ground pepper, as well. The broccoli was roasted in the oven like we always do - with olive oil, salt, and pepper at 375° for about 10 minutes. Yum! A hearty and warm meal was just what we were hungry for - especially since it's barely above 0° outside!

I think the sauce would also go well over rice or quinoa. I'll test that out by using the leftovers in a quinoa bowl tomorrow for lunch. I hope I won't be disappointed!

I'm off to enjoy the last few hours of my day off. Tomorrow morning it's supposed to be about -20° real air temp when I get up. We'll see if I'm motivated enough to hit the gym, or if I'll just stay cozy in bed.

Goodnight!

~Kasey

"It's the best pizza I've ever had"

Says Dillon after his first couple bites of the pizza I made from scratch for dinner.

Look at that crust! Made from this recipe. You really can't go wrong with Mark Bittman's recipes! The toppings included tomato sauce, kale, red pepper, onion, and dayia cheese. Mmmmmm

And for dessert - 

Looks like cookie dough, doesn't it? Well it's much better for you than that! Here's what I used:

Dessert Hummus adapted from The Wannabe Chef

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup chocolate chips

All you do is blend the first 4 ingredients together in a blender or food processor until smooth. Then fold in the chocolate chips.

It tastes like peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough... but without the guilt that usually comes with  eating a bunch of cookie dough! I know it seems weird, but believe me... it's delicious!

I told you I've been a busy bee in the kitchen today; My food processor and I are exhausted!

I'm off to eat some more of my dessert hummus. Good night :)

~Kasey

9 Miles!

This morning I ran about 9 miles in 1:40:00! While not super fast, it's still pretty awesome if you ask me.

The half marathon isn't until May, so I think I'll be very ready for it! I think I'm really going to focus on speed during the week, and then on the weekends get 8-12 mile runs in most of the time. I don't like following a particular plan; I think it kind of takes the fun out of running. I want to run when, where, and for how long I want to run at that time! So I think this flexible plan should work very well for me.

To prepare for my long run today, I devoured this last night -

Mac and Chreese with roasted broccoli! You've probably seen this before :) We were supposed to have this on Thursday, but we went to Granite City for dinner that night instead. Whoops!

Last night we also went to Dairy Queen for Blizzards. Not very healthy of me, but it's been so long since we've had actual ice cream - it was a nice treat. Treats in moderation, right?

We turned in early last night after watching an episode of The Wire (it's so good!) so we could be rested for our day.

Right now I'm sipping this to recover from my run -

1 cup of unsweetened soymilk, 1 cup of frozen blueberries, and 1 frozen banana. Yum!

Well I need to go get ready for the day! Our plan today is to get some errands done (recycling, pharmacy, etc..), go eat Indian food, and then probably head to JL Beers to enjoy some brew while watching football. Go Packers!!

I think it's going to be a wonderful day. I hope yours is, too :)

~Kasey

Roasted Veggies

Hello Everyone!

We made it more than halfway through the work week! Yay :) I can definitely feel that mid-week slump setting in. School started back up yesterday, and I'm so glad I just get to focus on work now. It's so nice to not have to worry about school work. I just do my job and come home with nothing I have to work on or stress about. It's a nice feeling!

To fight off my mid-week fatigue, I made a bunch of roasted veggies for dinner! I cut them up this morning, so the only prep I'd have to do after work was season them. Our favorite combo of seasoning is olive oil, salt, pepper, and nutritional yeast. Simple and delicious.

Dillon and I absolutely love roasted broccoli, and we decided to give brussel sprouts another try. This time I cut them into smaller pieces so they were able to cook better.

I roasted them at 375 ° for 15-20 minutes.

Mmmmm, veggie perfection. We were loving the brussel sprouts this time.

While they were cooking, I made burgers to go along with them.

I pan grilled one of Amy's American veggie burgers (my fave!) and served it over Ezekiel bread with ketchup, kale, nutritional yeast, and onion. I made Dillon a turkey burger with the same fixings.

This very satisfying meal was made, eaten, and cleaned up in less than 40 minutes. Success!!

Well I'm off to watch Law and Order SVU - it's one of the only shows I try to catch each week. I'm amazed that there have been soooooo many seasons of it, and yet it is still so interesting and entertaining. 

~Kasey

Taco Salad

Hello!

I hope your Monday wasn't too painful. Mine went by pretty fast! I was very excited for dinner all day long. I make some type of taco dish every other week or so because it is so easy, quick, healthy, and delicious!

For this recipe, I was originally going to use some meatless ground for the "meat" of this dish, but the grocery store was out, so I used plain ol' black beans. It turned out wonderfully!

Taco Salad
6 corn tortillas
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
cumin
chili powder
black pepper
cayenne pepper
tabasco
lettuce
onion
salsa
sour cream - I used Tofutti's vegan sour cream, you could also use plain greek yogurt
cheese - I used Dayia's vegan cheddar cheese, but again, you could use any type you like

Preheat oven to 375°. Cut corn tortillas (I use a pizza cutter) into chip like pieces and arrange on a baking sheet. Coat with olive oil and salt to taste and bake for about 10 minutes. Check them frequently because they do burn pretty quickly. They should be crispy and just beginning to brown when they are done.

While the tortillas are baking, drain and rinse the black beans. Then place into a skillet, and cook on medium heat. Use the spices listed to season the beans to your liking.

The beans should be done at about the same time as the chips. Then serve with your choice of toppings!

Delicious! I like to assemble mine by starting with lettuce, then beans, cheese, onion, salsa, sour cream, and then the chips. I had this plate, and then another serving! Dillon loved it, too! We've never done a taco salad with beans before, and they were really good. Definitely one of my favorite meals.

I've always loved tacos, and they are just so versatile! Plus- this meal took only about 20 minutes to make, which is great since I don't get home from work until a little after 6:30.

Well I think I'm going to do some reading before turning in for the night. I just picked up some compression socks (in hot pink, of course) that I'm excited to wear during my run tomorrow morning! I must be well rested to have a good run. I'll report back later with how I feel about them.

Good night!
~Kasey

Guinness Stew and Beer Bread

Our errands today included getting a new cutting board, new pot holders, and new napkins with napkin holders. Kind of impulse buys, but I got some pretty yellow pot holders and white napkins with blue holders. I think I'm getting too anxious for Spring. Too bad it'll be a good 3 more months until winter is over :( I want to ride my bicycle!!

We also checked out a new bar in West Fargo - JL Beers. They have a smaller bar downtown that has 32 beers on tap, but the new one has 40 beers on tap! We love having a big selection to choose from.

I had a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter, easily the darkest beer I've had all to myself. It was amazing! I definitely have an appreciation for rich, dark beers. Dillon does too, of course. He recently discovered his love for Guinness - which brings me to our dinner, Guinness Stew!

Guinness Stew 
Adapted from this recipe

2 bottles of a dark stout or ale - I used one bottle of Guinness and one bottle of Smithwicks
3 cups of vegetable broth - give or take
7 oz of seitan - you could definitely sub this for ground beef or turkey
1 can of dark kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 russet potatoes, cut into cubes
2 large carrots
4 stalks celery
2 tbsp of soy sauces
1 tbsp steak sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 tbsp flour, to thicken
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Cut seitan into strips and put into the pan with the drained and rinsed beans. Add soy sauce and steak sauce to the pan and cook until throughly covered in sauce.

While the seitan and beans are cooking, prepare vegetables and add to a crockpot. Add the seitan and beans to the crockpot and pour the beer on top. Add enough broth to the crockpot to cover all the ingredients.  Let cook on high for a couple of hours.

While it's cooking, make this delicious and easy Beer Bread to go with your stew!

When you're about ready to eat, add the flour to the stew to thicken the broth. I did this about 40 minutes before serving, and it worked out perfectly!

Then when you're ready - serve!

So hearty and delicious! (See - cute new napkins and holders :) )

We really enjoyed this stew! It's really easy to prepare and now we have some leftovers for lunches this week, too! The beer flavor isn't very strong, but you get a taste of it. Dillon especially liked it, and the bread goes complements it so well!

I would definitely recommend trying this recipe, and like I mentioned, you could easily sub ground meat or even sausage for the seitan and beans if that's more your style. I'm sure it would be great either way. And if you're not into buying a whole 6-pack of Guinness or dark ale to make this stew, you don't have to! Most liquor stores have a "make your own 6-pack" section, and that's where we got our beer for this. Though now that Dillon discovered that he really loves Guinness, I'm sure we'll have it around more often. 

Well I must get to prepped the other food I want to make for the week. Especially the almond butter, as it is kind of rude to process almonds late at night in an apartment!

I hope you had a great weekend! I know I did :)

~Kasey

Fried Rice

Good Morning!

I hope you're having a good week so far. Mine has been ok; I'm still adapting to this whole "real job" thing - working 40 hours at my desk. It hasn't been so bad, definitely much less stressful that job + school. Once I get done with my shift I can forget about work and pursue things that make me happy - like cooking!

Last night I made an adapted version of the Fried Rice recipe listed in Alicia Silverstone's book, The Kind Diet. I love this book and was excited to make a recipe using a couple of things I haven't used before - daikon, bok choy, and rice vinegar. Here is my adapted version.

Fried Rice
serves 2 generous portions

1 tbsp sesame seed oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 pinch of sea salt
1/2 cup of thinly sliced daikon rounds
1 large carrot sliced into rounds
1 head of baby bok choy, chopped
1/4 cup of diced yellow onion
1 crown of broccoli, chopped
1 cup of cooked brown rice
rice vinegar and soy sauce, to taste

In a large skillet or wok, combine the oil, garlic, and salt. After about a minute, add the onion. After another minute or 2, add the carrot and daikon. Once those begin to soften, add the broccoli and bok choy. Season with soy sauce throughout the cooking process to taste.

Once the veggies are close to being done to your liking (I like mine still a bit crisp), season the rice with the vinegar and soy sauce and add to the skillet. Mix everything together and let cook for another minute or two and serve!

Looks good, right?

We had a glass of Riesling with our meal.

Mmmm, what a delicious mound of food!

This was really good! I liked the daikon a lot and am excited to try it in more things. This meal was so easy and quick, too. I got home a bit after 6:30 and we were eating just after 7. By 7:30, the kitchen was clean and we were relaxing on the couch with another (small!) glass of wine. Good day :)

I hope you enjoy your day!

~Kasey

A Simple Supper

Well my first final took me all of 10 minutes to complete. Easy, peasy! 

When I got back home, I worked on some stuff for my final tomorrow morning, and then hunger struck.

Luckily, I had planned ahead and had been pressing some tofu for about an hour, so it only took about 15 minutes to whip this up.

Tofu, pan fried in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and garlic powder, along with leftover brussel sprouts and brown rice. I'm not sure that I love brussel sprouts yet, but they're good for me and getting old so I ate them.

This was a healthy and quick meal... just what I needed :)

Off to work I go!

~Kasey

Minestrone Soup

Since the high was below zero on this relaxing Sunday in the north, I decided I should make some soup.

I'm usually not a big fan of soup, as I've never found it very satisfying. Dillon and I went to the Olive Garden for the famous soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch the other day, and the minestrone really wowed me! 

So today I decided to try to make this heart soup at home! It was a huge success :)

Minestrone Soup inspired by The Olive Garden

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small minced white onion

1 zucchini, sliced

1 cup frozen cut Italian green beans

3 celery stalks, chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

4 cups vegetable broth

2 cans (15 oz) red kidney beans, drained

2 cans (15 oz) great northern or small white beans, drained

1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes

1 carrot, chopped

2 tablespoons minced parsley

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

3-4 cups hot water

1 cup wine, any kind would work

4 cups fresh baby spinach

1 cup small shell pasta

Prepare veggies, except the spinach, and add to stock pot, and sautée veggies in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.

Thanks for the awesome stock pot, Mom :)

Then add the liquids and spices.

Let bring to a boil, and then let simmer until the veggies begin to soften. I let it cook for a little over 2 hours before I added the pasta.

When you're about ready to eat, add the spinach and pasta.. and a little more wine if you'd like :)

I also added a bit of tomato paste because I had to add some additional liquids once I added the other ingredients. I think it helped enhance the flavor a bit.

Once the pasta is done, pour into a bowl and serve! I had mind with a piece of toasted Ezekiel bread to dip in the soup :)

Mmm, it was so hearty and delicious! Perfect for a chilly day.

And one of the best parts...

Leftovers! 

I love having meals for the week already made. It'll be nice to be able to just focus on getting through my last few exams instead of cooking this week.

This soup left me completely satisfied. The beans add a bunch of protein and fiber and the veggies give it a ton of nutrients and flavor. Simply delicious!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend; I know mine went by too fast! I can't wait to get through this week and get home to celebrate with my family.

Wishing you a productive and happy Monday,

~Kasey