Pressure Cooker Chunky Potato and Cheese Soup

Lately, I have been in a soup frame of mind.  This doesn't sit too well with the girls as they don't care for soup.  They will eat it, after they have expressed their displeasure and requested they be served waffles in lieu of the soup.  Instead, I remind them that I am the Mommy and they are the pesky little things that enjoy messing with my mind and they will eat the soup so there is a fighting chance they will get all of their vitamins!

The soup frame of mind also lends itself well to two of my favorite pieces of kitchen equipment: 
1.  My Slow Cooker
2.  My Pressure Cooker
Both make meal planning sooooo much easier.  Dump and Done! 

Both of my two favorite kitchen toys also have alarms - as I forget EVERYTHING, these alarms are great.  Then again, I have two growing kiddos.  I don't need an alarm.  It seems we live in the kitchen as they are always STARVING to DEATH (no melodrama here!).

This past week, I tried out a new recipe I had pinned to my Under Pressure! Pinterest Recipe Board.  I wanted something fast as well as something "soup" and something that could go sans meat since I didn't want to dig and unearth some of what is left of the 1/2 cow we'd purchased in the fall.  And, I just didn't want to bother thawing the meat and cooking it.   

Chunky Potato and Cheese Soup

YUP!  Cheesey Goodness Comfort Food!

If you pop on over to the site where the actual recipe is located, you'll see that it called for bacon.  Meh, we omitted this as, again, I was not in a meat of any type sort of mind.

This recipe was a big hit here!  The girls ate it - and Miss Mia actually went back for seconds.  My parents enjoyed it as well.  Oh!  and do NOT omit the Red Pepper Flakes.  They make the soup!  They are not enough to make the soup painfully hot, just a little "hiya!" as you go about eating this delicious and comforting soup!  If my Mom can eat it, anyone can eat it!

As usual, there were some additional changes to the recipe.
1.  No bacon (next time, I will probably add as we do love bacon here)
2.  I just dumped the potatoes in.  I didn't have a steamer basket and one of our family recipes of potato soup uses mashed potatoes, so smooshed potatoes are a "comfort" food for us.
3.  I used a full onion. 

Some thoughts as to the next time I make this:
1.  add diced carrots - again, family recipe.   potato soup always had tiny piece of carrots
2.  add chopped celery - again, family recipe.
3.  sub out some of the potatoes for chopped and peeled radishes (seriously, did you know this trick????  no one knows the difference!)
4.  sub out some/all of the potatoes for cauliflower (what?  this makes is Cauliflower and Cheese Soup????)

And remember - These raw potatoes need no cooking, just chop and dump in the Pressure Cooker!  You will have your meal, prep to table, within an hour (I am not making any "in just a few minutes" promises.  I have two kids.  Emergencies only happen when I am making one of those "fun and faboulous meals in 30 minutes.  But, even with the emergencies, this Comforting Potato and Cheese Soup was on the table here within an hour!

Zucchini Spaghetti with Lentil Marinara

 Zucchini Spaghetti with Lentil Marinara

I'm going to make a confession right now . . . I may love Zucchini in my cakes and other Sweet Treats, but I do not really care for it by itself.  I don't know what it is, but I really am not that big of a fan.

Then, our neighbor dropped off one Zucchini.

One little, lonely Zucchini.

One was not enough to shred and freeze and it was too hot to bake any Sweet Treats.

That's when a recipe popped up on Pinterest.  So, I pinned it in my Recipes to Try Page.

I made it the next evening.  I was VERY WORRIED that my oftentimes picky girls wouldn't eat it.  BUT - they LOVED it.

I used the food processor to shred the Zucchini as I don't have the spiralizer.  I just used my generic lentils from the pantry.

This turned out to be a very quick and easy recipe that I will be certain to make again if I ever get a single Zucchini to grow in my garden!  Or if some kind neighbor drops off another one or two ;)

Adapted from For the Love of Food Blog.

 A. Daisy wanted to share that grown up 2 1/2 year olds also eat this yummy food!

Farmhouse Veggie Burger

DH's Amish friend had some yummy looking Eggplant at his produce stand.  So, we grabbed two of them along with the piles of peppers and tomatoes.  Then, it was time for me to find some way to "prepare" it . . . a way that everyone would enjoy.

I found it in my Natural Living Magazine.  The date of magazine is unknown, Miss Mia and Aisey have destroyed the magazine with their paper airplanes.  But, it does say this is from Farm Cafe in Portland, OR.

Farmhouse Veggie Burger

1 T olive oil
2 whole eggplant, peeled and diced in 1-inch pieces
2 scallions, chopped
1 T parsley, minced
1 cup medium cheddar, shredded
1 cup breadcrumbs
3/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
3 T olive oil

Over low heat in large nonstick pan, heat the olive oil and saute the eggplant until gray and very soft, about 15 minutes.  (Okay, this was soooo not the case for me.  I started out with stove at about 2 and i wasn't cooking at all.  I finally got frustrated as dinner wasn't going to be ready prior to the girls bedtime, so I turned it up to about medium heat and it still took approx another 1/2 hour for the eggplant to gray and turn soft).

Mix together the eggplant and the remaining ingredients except oil and chill for 30 minutes in refrigerator.

Form into 6 patties about an inch thick.  (This made burgers that were way too think and big for me . . . so I made 'em smaller and ended up with around 9 patties.  In all honesty, I could have made them a little thinner and ended up with 12 good sized patties . . . but I don't like HUGE burgers).

In a saute pan, heat Olive oil until shimmering hot, fry each side of patty until dark brown, about 5 minutes each side.  Serve with caramelized onions, spicy brown mustard, roasted red peppers and salad mix.

~ We liked them and will make them again.  I love it - I had all of the ingredients except the eggplant.  The eggplant ended up being 2 for $1.  Therefore, the entire meal plus all the burgers we froze . . . $1.00!  Beats store bought veggie burger prices!  YAH!

Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta

I'm not certain what I think of this recipe. I had decided to make it because I had all of the ingredients. I also thought it was a somewhat healthy new way to enjoy pasta . . .

I didn't hate it.

But, it isn't a meal I'll ever "crave".

It won't go on our meal plan, but I wouldn't NOT make it again, should I feel like enjoying some pumpkin in my main meal one evening.

Penne-Wise Pumpkin Pasta
~ adapted from rachel ray magazine

1 pound whole wheat penne rigate
2 T extra virgin olive oil
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
2 cups chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
15 oz pumpkin puree
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 pinches ground cinnamon
1 pinch nutmeg
Pepper
grated parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente. Drain.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the EVOO in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots and garlic and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, pumpkin and cream. Add the hot sauce, cinnamon and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Lower the heat and simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes.

Toss the pasta with the sauce and pass around the parmesan cheese at the table.

Creamy Shells with Tomatoes and White Beans

This was a simple recipe that everyone, including Miss Mia, Miss Picky and my Dad (GASP!) all ate.


Creamy Shells with Tomatoes and White Beans
~ adapted from everyday with rachael ray

1 pound jumbo pasta shells
6 T butter
1 onion, finely chopped
6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 cup heavy cream
2 ½ pounds tomatoes, finely chopped
16 oz navy beans (or other small white bean), rinse
½ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
½ cup snipped chives
Salt
Pepper

In a large pot, of boiling water, cook the pasta until al dente, drain. Set aside.

In the same pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook. Stir occasionally until tender about 6 minutes. Add the cream and simmer, stirring occasionally, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the reserved pasta, the tomatoes and beans and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Toss with the ½ cup parmesan and chives, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Pass more parmesan at the table.

Corn, Rice & Bean Burritos

This was really yummy ~ DH never once complained about it being a vegetarian meal!

1 1/3 cups fresh or frozen corn, thawed

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium green pepper, sliced

1 Tbsp canola oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice

8 flour tortillas, warmed

3/4 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese

1/2 cup reduced fat plain yogurt

2 green onions, sliced

1/2 cup salsa

In a large skillet, saute the corn, onion and pepper in oil until tender. Add the garlic, chili powder and cumin; cook 1 minute longer. Add beans, rice and salsa; heat through.

Spoon 1/2 cup filling off center on each tortilla. Top with cheese, yogurt and green onions. Fold sides and ends over filling and roll up.