Dinner – Hello Leelo

Recipe | Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

What I love about this recipe is how fast it is! Only 15 mins for a tasty and hearty soup, that’s easy to reheat for leftovers throughout the week. Or, a great last minute meal for small gatherings.

Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: 15 mins

What You’ll Need:
3 cups (or 2 cans) of tomato soup (I used Trader Joe’s boxed soup)
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cups half-and-half
2 cups chicken stock
1 whole 9 oz package of cheese filled tortellini
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

What You’ll Have:
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

What You’ll Do:
Saute garlic with the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat until golden brown.

Add in the tomato soup, sun-dried tomatoes, half-n-half, chicken stock and spices. Bring to a simmer.

Once simmering, drop uncooked tortellini into the soup. Cook about 12 minutes, until the tortellini is cooked through.

Serve topped with shredded parmesan cheese.

You can also serve this with a side salad and toasted baguette.

Enjoy!

Recipe | Vegetarian Chili

Adapted from Emeril’s Vegetarian Chili

This chili is so tasty and I guarantee any meat eaters in your family will LOVE this soup because it’s very hearty. Some of the changes I made, I believe, make the soup taste better but you can always use fresh ingredients — it just may need a bit more seasoning.

This also reheats GREAT for leftovers during the week.

Serves: 6-8
Cooking Time: 55 min

TIP: Do all the prep before, it makes the cooking process much faster.

What You’ll Need:
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onions
1 cup chopped red bell peppers
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 to 3 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
1 medium zucchini chopped
1 can corn
1 can stewed organic tomatoes
1 can organic black beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup vegetable stock or water
Sour cream and avocado for garnish
Cooked brown rice

What You’ll Have:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespooon ground cumin
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

What You’ll Do:
(If you’re cooking brown rice — start cooking now)
In a large pot heat the oil over medium heat, until it coats the pan. Add the onions, bell peppers, garlic, and serrano peppers, and cook until soft (about 3 minutes).

Add the zucchini and corn, cooking until soft and the vegetables give off their liquid (about 6 minutes).

Add the chili powder, cumin, salt and cayenne, and stir. Add the tomatoes, the beans, tomato sauce, and vegetable stock, stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer for 20 minutes.

(If you’re cooking white rice, you can start cooking that now).

To serve, place 1/4 cup of rice in the bottom of each bowl. Ladle the chili into the bowls over the rice. Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream and spoonful of avocado.

Enjoy.

Recipe | Proscuitto Wrapped Chicken in a Cream Sauce

Adapted from http://www.kwestiasmaku.com/

Guys, I’m not lying — this dish is so freaking good. Seriously guys, enjoy making this fast, tasty and easily Gfree meal. Nom. Major Nom.

What You’ll Need:
Thinly sliced chicken breast
Proscuitto
Asparagus
Half n’ Half
Pesto

What You’ll Have:
Flour (optional)
Olive Oil

What You’ll Do:
In a cast iron skillet heat up a few tablespoons of olive oil.
Lightly coat the chicken in flour (optional).
Wrap each piece of chicken in 1-2 slices of proscuitto and place them in the skillet, 5-7 minutes on each side until browned.

While that is cooking, trim and snap the asparagus.
Steam for 7-10 minutes.
Set aside.

Pour in 1/8 – 1/4 cup of half n’ half and mix in about 1-2 tablespoons of pesto.
Add a dash of flour to thicken (optional).
Stir in steamed asparagus.

Serve with either warm bread or pasta.

Enjoy!

Recipe | Stuffed Bell Peppers

Serving Size: 3-4
Cook Time: 35-40 minutes

What You’ll Need:
1/2 lb lean ground turkey breast
1 cup onions
1 heaping tbsp of taco seasoning
2 cups of cooked rice (we used brown)
3-4 organic bell peppers
1 can of black beans
½ cup of corn
1 (16 ounce) jar of salsa
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Sour cream
Avocado

What You’ll Have:
Olive Oil
Taco Seasoning

What You’ll Do:
> Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
> Half bell peppers and seed them. Coat them in olive oil and place in a baking dish.
> Cook for 20-25 minutes.

> While the bell peppers are cooking, cook turkey meat AND cook the rice (20 mins for white and 40 mins for brown).
> In another pan cook chopped onion until browned. Then add cooked rice, black beans and corn until heated through.
> In a large mixing bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked ground turkey, chopped onions, black beans, corn and rice. Add in the jar of salsa and mix well.

> Stuff the turkey into each half of the bell peppers and place back into the baking dish.
> Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes.
> Sprinkle the tops of each pepper with shredded cheddar cheese. Place back in the oven to melt the cheese.
> Top with avocado slices and sour cream just before serving.

Enjoy!

P.S. You might have some stuffing left after — it’s perfect to mix with some scrambled eggs in the morning for a Spanish Scramble!

P.P.S. For a vegetarian meal, cut out the meat and add quinoa and sautéed veggies.