Dinner Archives - Veggie Craving

“I could never give up cheese!” I hear it all the time when I tell people I eat a whole foods plant-based diet, which means no dairy at all. It’s an understandable reaction. Heck, I know I used to react the same way when I met someone who didn’t eat dairy and am sure I meant it just as much as they mean it when they say it to me–which is why I love this recipe! Broccoli and cheese soup is a favorite—the creamier the better. This recipe is so thick, creamy and flavorful that you won’t even miss the dairy. I tried several different recipes and combined the best of all of them to come up with this one, but I hope this is the only one you’ll have to try!

Yummy–this picture doesn’t nearly show the beautiful color of the soup.

One of my friends tried the soup and loved it, but said it was more like a stew, which is why you’ll notice that the ingredients say the cornstarch is optional. I like my broccoli and cheese soup thick, so I put in two tablespoons cornstarch but it would honestly be fine without it, or maybe just one tablespoon. Add cornstarch according to how thick you like your soup!

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Cheezy Potato and Broccoli Soup

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Serves: 4 - 6

Ingredients

7 cups vegetable broth
2 - 3 large potatoes, cubed
2 stalks celery, diced
3 – 4 cloves minced garlic
1 medium onion
1 cup raw cashews
½ cup nutritional yeast
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp mustard powder
2 T. corn starch
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. sea salt
1 – 2 T. cornstarch, OPTIONAL depending on how thick you want it (I recommend using organic, non-GMO cornstarch if available)
Pepper to taste
4 – 5 cups chopped broccoli (I use frozen)
1 teaspoon dried basil

Instructions

In a large pan, add five of the cups of vegetable broth, potatoes, celery, garlic and onions and bring to simmer covered while completing the next two steps. Allow the pot to simmer about 15 minutes.
Place the cashews and the remaining two cups of the vegetable broth in the blender. Blend until smooth. (Note: If you don’t have a high-powered blender, you may want to consider soaking the cashews in water for a couple hours. I’ve also boiled the cashews for about five minutes, drain them and use as described in the recipe).
Add nutritional yeast, almond milk, garlic powder, chili powder, mustard powder, corn starch, smoked paprika and salt and blend until combined.
Pour cashew mixture into the pan with the veggies and bring to a simmer until the soup thickens. This should only take a few minutes.
Once the soup has thickened, add the broccoli and basil and bring to a simmer until potatoes and broccoli are fork tender.
If you like a smoother soup, puree anywhere from half to the entire mixture, depending on your preference. I like chunks of potato and broccoli so I only puree part of it, sometimes I skip it altogether and typically just use an immersion blender.

Let’s talk chili! No doubt there are those who will say that a good chili can’t be made without meat. I would say, “That’s bull ” or rather, no bull! I haven’t had chili with meat in it for years and yet, chili is still one of my favorite comfort meals. I’ve made lots of different recipes and like pizza, even bad chili is good. But none of them hit the spot as much as this recipe. It’s hearty and full of flavor! I could not stop eating and my hubby said multiple times, “This is really good!”—and he’s not easily impressed!

This recipe makes a LOT of chili, which is by design. I love recipes that make a large amount that will allow for leftovers or for the recipe to be used for two meals. When I made it the first time, we had it early in the week and then on Friday night, we enjoyed some chili pie—two meals for the price of one!

This recipe had just the right amount of spice for my family, but if you like it milder, you may want to delete the cayenne pepper or replace the ancho chili powder with just regular chili powder. So as the weather gets colder, cook up a pot of this and let me know what you think! I hope your family likes it as much as mine does! chiliJPG

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Spicy Four-Bean Chili

Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients

1 large onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms, coarsely chopped
One bag of beefless crumbles or package of seiten (optional, if you leave out, doubling the mushrooms would be a great idea!)
One six-ounce can tomato paste
2 15-oz cans diced tomatoes
One cup of water
1 Tablespoon smoked or regular paprika (I love smoked paprika, probably one of my favorite spices)
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
Dash cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon celery salt
2 15-oz cans chili beans
2 15-oz cans kidney beans
1 15-oz cans pinto beans
1 15-oz can black beans
2 Tablespoons Tamari or soy sauce
1 Tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
One to two cups frozen corn

Instructions

Chop up onion and in a large pan, cook in water or veggie broth until soft, 7 – 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for another minute or two. Throw in the chopped chipotle chili, stir and cook for just a minute.
Next add mushrooms and crumbles/seitan, if using. Cook until mushrooms have reduced.
While that’s happening, drain all your beans and rinse thoroughly. It helps to have a little minion here to open up all the cans of beans and tomatoes.I like to buy organic beans and my post here explains why.
Now, just go crazy and dump all the other ingredients in your big, giant pan.
Let it cook at least 15 minutes but the longer the spices are able to cook together, the better!

My little “minion” hard at work!

My little minion modeling her cans

Look how pretty all the beans look!