Emergency Dinner 5: Vegetarian Fajitas

 

• 1 can refried beans
• 1 pound frozen peppers and onions
• 1-2 T olive oil
• tortillas (keep in freezer)
• jarred salsa
• seasonings of your choosing
• Spanish or Mexican rice mix

Thaw tortillas on counter, in oven, or in microwave.

Sautee peppers and onion in a little oil (or broth), season

Heat refried beans in microwave

Serve with rice

Christy's Ridiculously Easy Veggie Soup

For a large pot:

2 cans diced tomatoes
2 cans black beans
1 turkey kielbasa, sliced
4 heaping cups frozen mixed veggies
4 heaping cups frozen chopped kale, spinach, or combo
generous amount of Italian seasoning
4 cups V-8 juice
4 cups veggie or chicken broth
cauliflower
zucchini

bring above to a boil, turn down and simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes

add 1 small head cauliflower, chopped

simmer 10 minutes or until cauliflower is done (cooked but not mushy)
take off of heat
add about 3 cups shredded raw zucchini

Chunky Vegetable Soup

This recipe comes from the blog Simply Sissom and it is very, very, good and very, very, healthy. I look forward to checking out more recipes from this blog!

• 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 3 medium parsnips (or carrots) (I used carrots because that's what I had on hand)
• 1 bell pepper (I prefer red)
• 2 cups of sweet potato, peeled and chopped (I used butternut squash)
• 1 zucchini, chopped into half moons
• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 4 cups of chicken broth (Vegan- use vegetable broth) (I used vegetable broth)
• 3/4 t paprika
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t onion powder
• 1/2 t basil
• 1/4 t thyme
• 1/8 t pepper
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 1/8 t white pepper
• additional Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Bay leaf
• 4 cups of baby spinach
• 1 can of black beans, rinsed (optional)
• 
  

Cook onion and garlic in olive oil for about 5 minutes, add all ingredients except beans and spinach. 

Simmer 20 minutes until vegetables are tender.

Add beans and spinach.

Soup Spice Blend

• 2 TBS of smoked paprika
• 1 TBS garlic powder
• 1 TBS dried oregano
• 1 TBS onion powder
• 1 TBS dried basil
• 2 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp fine-grain sea salt
• 1 tsp. white pepper

Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes

(image courtesy of http://www.cookingclassy.com)

This recipe came from 

• 4 pounds ground beef
• 1 C chopped onion
• 1 C chopped green bell pepper
• 1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
• 2 cans condensed tomato soup
• 1/4 -1/3 C packed brown sugar (The original recipe calls for 1 whole cup but I cut it back to a little under 1/2 and think it could still use less.)
• 1/4 C ketchup
• 3 T Worcerstershire sauce
• 1 T dry mustard
• 1 T prepared mustard
• 1 1/2 t chili powder
• 1 t garlic powder

Cook beef in skillet in batches over medium-high heat until no longer pink, drain fat.

Add onion and green pepper to the pan and cook 5 minutes

Transfer meat mixture and vegetables to slow cooker and add remaining ingredients, stir well

Cover, cook on LOW 4-6 hours

My kids had this the traditional way on rolls, but I also made rice and my husband and I ate it over rice (it is a bit saucy, but that might be because I was 1/4 pound shy of 4 pounds of ground beef). I thought this would make so much (recipe says it serves 20-25 people) that I would be freezing a couple meals' worth, but we ate a lot of it that night, and are slowly eating the rest this week.

You could easily just finish cooking this on the stove, but I needed the slow cooker option because we were eating at different times that night.

Very tasty! I am making more rice and having some for lunch today : )

A Tasty, Healthy, Simple (if there are leftovers) Lunch

note to self: ground beef and rice are a match made in heaven

taco meat (lean ground beef and salsa)
brown rice
a few black beans
heated and stirred together

chilled cooked broccoli
olives
slice tomatoes
italian dressing

a big glass of ice cold water