Recipe - Veggie Stew

I came up with this recipe by complete accident to be honest. I was attempting to make a Minestrone soup but well it went terribly perfectly wrong. It ended up being a big pot of veggies and pasta with some liquid left over but not so much so to end up calling it soup. I have found this stew to be one of my most turned to comfort foods when the weather is cold, wet or just plain crap, yesterday would have been the perfect day for it except that I already have too much food in the house and no idea how/when I'm gonna do with it. Sprinkle some of your favourite cheese over your bowl and mmmm perfect. It's so hot when it's done being made and stays hot for a long time too that the cheese just melts so perfectly over the top. I can't wait for it to become weather again that I can make this! I tend to use some of the same veggies as I loved it so much this way but truthfully, use what you like! I can't see that if one loves the taste of bell peppers, why it wouldn't work or if you like to use peas (I suggest frozen in this case if you do though)... or corn... I could go on! Heck if you wanted to, add some ground meat to it (brown the meat first). It's all up to you, this is just the basic recipe as far as I'm concerned.

One note, in the photos, I've used canned kidney beans, normally when I have more time and haven't made this as a need something pampering, hot and quick but have planned it out I'd much rather use the non-salted dried version. If you use the dry version either you'll have to cook the beans before adding or let them soak over night in water.

Ingredients

Main Dish
 ♥ 2 or 3 small to medium zucchini (cut length wise in half and then sliced about 1/2 inch thick)

 ♥ 2 or 3 medium to large carrots (peeled, halved and sliced about 1/4th inch thick)

 ♥ 250grams (8 to 10oz) snap pea pods (ends snipped and cut into about 1/2 inch pieces)

 ♥ 250grams (8 to 10oz) package mushrooms (washed and cut into 1/2inch pieces)

 ♥ 250grams (8oz) package dried gluten free macaroni pasta

 ♥ 16 oz can diced tomatoes with juice

 ♥ 2 chicken bouillon cubes

 ♥ 2 16 oz can diced tomatoes with juice
 ♥ 2 cans kidney beans (drained & rinsed)

 ♥ 2 to 4 TBS dried basil, oregano and garlic powder (adjust according to your tastes)

 ♥ Your favourite shredded cheese

Directions
This is one of those 'couldn't be easier to make' dishes. Simply start out with a large non-stick soup pot over a medium to high heat. Coat the bottom with olive oil, toss in the zucchini and carrots. Let fry for a few moments to start to softening.

Toss in the snap peas, mushrooms and kidney beans.

Pour in the large cans of diced tomatoes along with their juice, add the bouillon cubes and then fill the pot until about a 1/4th from the top with water. The photos I took later on of this recipe was made using a no-salt added version of diced tomatoes that I found later on and they are in a box rather then can.

Add the seasoning but do NOT add any more salt! This is not the time to taste this for salt as it's not even close to being cooked and with all the canned items you just added along with the bouillon cubes, trust me, it won't need more salt.

Give this mixture a good stir. Cover, reduce heat to low (so it still simmers and slightly boils) and let cook until you have the desired softness to your veggies. Remember to stir every so often as well to keep it from sticking to the bottom. And yes I actually keep huge containers of a few dried herbs in my kitchen. They are stock items for me.

At this point you can do 2 things in terms of the pasta addition. You can prepare the pasta as par the directions in another pot or do as I do, about half way into the simmer process, just dump the pasta in and let the juice/water of the veggie mix cook the pasta. This works best to be honest but also will work better with macaroni pasta. If you use something like spirals, cook them first and add after. Macaroni for some reason just holds up better to being boiled to death then other shapes.

Tada... dish done. Ladle into bowls, sprinkle with your favourite cheese, find a good movie, grab a blankie and enjoy! (will get more photos when I make this again myself)

Editors Addition September 9th, 2011
Made this again not too long ago and got some great photos... have removed the 2 old ones and replaced them with my new ones. ENJOY!
 

Recipe - Italian Hamburger Helper

Or in my case, turkey helper!

I mentioned in one of my posts already that I try to stay away from pre-made or processed foods as often as possible without giving up every thing. When I lived in the USA, I was very fond of hamburger helpers in any shape or form. Sure some more then others but in the end, what wasn't to love about pasta/rice/potatoes with some meat and sauce?? Oh yea... the added salt and other crap they add to it in the process to make it 'storable'. Bleh I say... making home-made is SOOOO easy and so much better for you. And it really takes no more time then adding the meat and liquid to those cheap not so good for your processed boxes. I found this by pure accident and have completely changed it to suit a gluten free diet while retaining pasta (in this recipe at least) and making it mine. The original recipe has been changed so much that it won't be worth mentioning any more here and it was for a completely different dish all together. This just kind of happened in the end by tossing this in, changing that and altering this bit and that bit. Hope you enjoy as much as my husband and I did!

As usual with some more in depth dishes, here are a few tips to make this go easier

Tip #1 - If you choose to use veggies in this, I suggest fresh/raw or frozen if you want to just cook the veggies right along with all the main dish ingredients instead of having another step later on. If you wish to use canned veggies, simply add them to the end of the main dish cooking time instead of at the beginning. Still suggest frozen or fresh though because they are better for you, aren't processed for 'storage' and don't have all that salt it's packed in.

Tip #2 - Use non-stick pans for the entire dish. You don't want pasta stuck to the bottom of your pan and most certainly don't want cheese burnt to it either. Remember to not use metal on the non-stick pans, especially if you are using a whisk for the cheese sauce. I always have a plastic one for these cases.

Tip #3 - If you are doing this with pasta (I use a rice based gluten free one) you must use macaroni! I've tried a number of other pastas from spirals to penne and they all just dissolve into nothing for some reason before the main dish is cooked through enough to absorb the liquid.

Tip #4 - Use a large pan to start this dish. In the end you will need a pan big enough to fit all of the below ingredients along with the fact that you'll need room to mix it all together along with the cheese sauce. I suggest a soup pot but it will be quite over sized. My option most of the time is I cook it in my deep sided frying pan and when I'm ready for the cheese sauce to be added, I transfer it to a large tuperware bowl and do my mixing there.

Tip #5 - This is two fold. When using seasoning mixes (such as the Italian mix I suggest in this recipe) try to get them in salt-free versions. They are better for you, allow the taste of the actual wanted spices to come through and also allow you to adjust the salt in the dish rather then making it the main seasoning. And part 2, I suggest not adding any additional salt to this dish (it's not even in the ingredient list) as there is already plenty of salt in the rest such as the cheese, the bouillon cube and the tomatoes alone.

Ingredients

Main Dish
 ♥ 1 pound ground meat (I used turkey as I don't eat much red meat any more)

 ♥ 16 oz can diced tomatoes (roughly.. a bit more won't effect it much but don't use less)
 ♥ 1 chicken bouillon cube (or beef if you are using ground beef)

 ♥ 16 oz water (use the can or carton from the tomatoes! Works well and less dishes!)

 ♥ 2 TBS Italian seasoning mix (make sure to read the ingredients to ensure the mix doesn't contain gluten based bulking agents)

 ♥ 1 cup broccoli florets (optional... peas, corn, carrots, finely cut green beans... all work well too)

 ♥ 1 to 1/2 cups gluten free macaroni pasta (see tip #3)

Cheese Sauce

 ♥ 2 TBS butter (must use butter or the sauce won't set right)

 ♥ 2 TBS gluten free flour mix
 ♥ 1 cup skim or 2% milk (don't use whole, it makes it way too heavy)
 ♥ 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
 ♥ 2 or 3 TBS sour cream
 ♥ freshly ground pepper (season in the end to taste)

Directions
In a fairly large non-stick pan brown the ground meat until cooked through. On top of that add all of the rest of the 'main dish' ingredients (including veggies if you are using them). Stir together and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and cover. You want a nice firm boil going so I suggest a medium heat to remain under it. Cook about 20 minutes or until the liquid is 90% absorbed (you want some liquid to remain but not a whole lot... you want it to be thick). Come back every few minutes and stir the mixture and remember to do this as you want the pasta to cook evenly and not to stick to the bottom.

While the main ingredients mix is cooking away you'll want to prepare the cheese sauce to go over it. In a small sauce pan melt butter but don't let it burn. Add flour, whisk and cook flour mix for 1 or 2 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the milk slowly. Bit by bit while whisking the whole time. You don't want lumps so start out slow. When you have about half the milk mixed in you can just pour the rest in at once. Return to a low heat. You don't want to burn your sauce so if you see it start to boil at all, remove again from heat. This is a vital part... do not let it boil. Once the mixture is hot but not boiling, add cheddar cheese and mix well. When the cheese is fully melted, you will have to judge if you want your sauce a bit thinner or not, if you want it thinner add more milk but only a tablespoon at a time. While you are doing this add your sour cream as well, this will also thin out the sauce a bit too. When you have the thickness you want, remove from heat and season to your taste with pepper.

When main mixture has absorbed most of its liquid and the pasta is fully cooked through, remove from heat, add cheese sauce and mix well. I think this dish is better served hot but hey it's pasta, can't go bad cold either!

Don't mind the silly looking hairy man below while he licks off the serving spoon from this delicious recipe. It only shows the honor to how great this dish is and his personal chef.