Knead to Cook

Food & fitness obsessed girl.

Lentil and Bean Chili. V. GF.

by Filed Under: Beans, Chili, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Soups, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Wheat Free 3 Comments

 

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I’m such a chili and lentil fan – I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to combine the two. Packing beans into any dish is a major vegan score.  The more protein the merrier.  This one pot chili, is perfect to simmer all day long or is perfect for lunch – leftovers get better and better.  Plus cleaning up is a breeze.

Yesterday’s temperature was a balmy 80 degrees and now today is a chillier & dreary 55. Today I felt like soup and realized I had everything for chili in my pantry so I went with that.  I desperately need to get to the grocery store.  This big pot of chili serves 8-12 people easily, if not more.  I have 5 in my family and we will have plenty of leftovers for lunches.  I don’t only make chili in the fall/winter and love it year round.  I pair it up with brown rice or quinoa for extra punch of protein.  How do you eat your chili?
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— Knead to Cook

Coconut Curry Cauliflower Soup. Vegan.

by Filed Under: Brunch, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Fitness., Gluten Free, Indian-inspired., Pasta, Soups, Vegan, Vegan proteins, Vitamix, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

Coconut Curry Cauliflower Soup. Vegan.

Coconut Curry Cauliflower Soup. Vegan by Knead to Cook.

Coconut Curry Cauliflower Soup.  Vegan.

On Saturday I bought an almost 7 lb (YES!!) golden colored cauliflower head at the farmer’s market.  I couldn’t resist. It was absolutely gorgeous and I thought of roasting it and making soup.  Geez I could feed an army with a cauliflower THAT large.  So Sunday, after our run and church service – I cut up about a 1/3 of it to roast and the rest went into this gorgeous and very tasty soup.  I simmered the soup most of the afternoon and served it with my favorite Mary’s Crackers that are gluten free and vegan.  I have plenty of leftovers too for lunch all week.  This is a fall soup must-try for sure!
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— Knead to Cook

White bean chili in the crock pot.

by Filed Under: Chili, Crock Pot, Gluten Free, Mexican, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 10 Comments

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Three days into the flu and I’m starting to feel human again.  Race day is Sunday and I’m still torn if I’m doing it or not.  I’m hoping to do it just at a slower pace but get back out there.  Who has ever heard of getting the flu in April?  My doc thinks that I have a milder case and that the Tamiflu will help but he wasn’t sure about race day either.  I’m done with my meds on Saturday.  We shall see.  Fingers crossed.

Well I whipped this quick white bean chili recipe up on Tuesday after I saw the doc.  It was so easy and I knew that way my family would have a nice dinner on the table even if I buried under the covers in my bed warding off the chills.  The dinner was really tasty – I had it for lunch yesterday.  Perfect Meatless Monday idea or anytime you need a quick dinner without a lot of effort.

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— Knead to Cook

Black bean and sweet potato bake in the crock pot.

by Filed Under: Cheese, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Potatoes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 32 Comments

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This was our dinner from Monday but after a week of pure madness with the weather again, I’m finally sitting down to blog about it.  My husband has now embraced the vegetarian lifestyle (for the moment) and I’ll admit, it’s becoming a balancing act between three carnivores and two vegetarians for dinner.  I’m having flashbacks of when my kids were younger and everyone wanted something different for dinner.  Moms out there know exactly what I’m talking about!  So Mondays are strictly Meatless Mondays here now. It helps me out a tremendous amount – taking the guesswork out of what’s for dinner and my kids know not to look for the elusive meat choice of the night.  Plus one night without meat won’t kill them, despite what they think.

This recipe takes seconds to get together and put in your slow cooker/multi cooker/crock pot.  I’ll admit, not a gorgeous dish but it rocks your tastebuds!  I’ve been eating the leftovers and it just gets better every day.  Plus it’s loaded with beans for protein and great vitamins!  A good friend of mine dropped off some of her special Indian rice and we served this over that.  All I can say is HEAVENLY!

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— Knead to Cook

Cuban Black Bean Soup.

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free Leave a Comment

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Perfect recipe on a snowy, cold day.  This recipe is healthy, perfect for Meatless Mondays or if you’re a vegetarian or vegan like me.  This soup packs a great punch of vitamins and protein thanks to the veggies and black beans.  I like to serve this with a hearty cracker, tortilla chips or crusty bread for dipping.  I’m all over flavorful soups that are easy, fix it and forget it and are heart healthy.  So, remember that New Year’s Resolution to eat healthy?  Well even if that’s long past… you can hop back on the train.  This soup would also be perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.  Serve it with some baked tortilla chips and no one will miss the meat.  Also would be wonderful in a bread bowl.  
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— Knead to Cook

Slow Cooker Ribollita (Italian vegetable soup).

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Party Foods, Soups, Vegetarian, Vitamix 2 Comments

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I grew up eating a very similar soup from my grandmother and aunt.  It was known as a peasant Italian soup.  Very inexpensive to make and uses up a lot of veggies that you have on hand.  Perfect!  My family is starting to show signs of colds and stuffy heads and I thought it was the perfect soup for dinner.  I load it up with a lot of veggies and garlic to help them feel better and clean out congestion, at least for a little while.  You can puree this soup, as I have or you can leave the veggies whole.  My purpose in pureeing is simply because my youngest daughter will sit and pick out the things she deems not edible.  Once blended, I can avert questions of ingredients and be sneaky.  You choose.  If I was making this for adults or even my older daughter, I would’ve left them intact because visually it’s more appetizing.

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— Knead to Cook

Easiest Slow Cooker Chicken Taco Chili.

by Filed Under: Chicken, Chili, Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Mexican, Party Foods, Wheat Free 2 Comments

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My husband made this dish on Saturday prior to our swim meet.  We recently got a new slow cooker that allows you to sauté in the insert and it makes life so much easier.  This recipe came about from what we had on hand and whipped up in under ten minutes before we were out the door.  Perfect for busy mornings and using up leftovers!  You can add or subtract what you have on hand to make this work in your kitchen.  This would be a great dish if you’re hosting a super bowl party of playoff game get-together.  Insanely easy!

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— Knead to Cook

Slow cooker tomato basil soup.

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Soups, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 6 Comments

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I attended a soup party last week and wanted to make a vegetarian option that I could eat but that others would enjoy too.  Tomato soup is just one of the favorite comfort foods that I always go to.  It was a hit with my friends.  This is a great weeknight soup to make in your slow cooker and have it ready for fast dinner when you get home.   Plus this recipe doesn’t use cream so it’s on the healthier side, which I love.   I served it with bread topped with shredded cheddar and broiled for a minute or so.  Grilled cheese would also be perfection!
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— Knead to Cook

Chicken Teriyaki in the Slow Cooker.

by Filed Under: Asian inspired, Chicken, Crock Pot, Wheat Free 8 Comments

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Slow cooker, crock pot, whatever you call it – it is a lifesaver for busy families.  This week has been totally nutty for me.  Lots of swim commitments in the afternoon and evenings and this weekend starts our weekend meets.  I’ve also been quite smitten with my slow cooker as I got a brand new one that does all of these great things so today is my second day testing it out.  This recipe is so easy and so flavorful. You can easily toss all of the ingredients into your slow cooker and make rice ahead of time and you will have dinner the minute you get in the door after work/taxiing or whatever  you do.  During the busy holiday season, recipes like this are a must to be the ultimate time saver and who can’t  use more time?

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— Knead to Cook

Coconut Milk and Chickpea Stew.

by Filed Under: Crock Pot, Evolution Power Yoga 40 Days, Gluten Free, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wheat Free 4 Comments

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Last Wednesday, before Thanksgiving, our family went out to dinner to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday.  We went to my favorite local hot spot that has some really clean, vegan dishes and I had the most amazing soup.  It was the inspiration for this stew.  I’ve been tweaking and fine-tuning hoping to even come close to the magnificence that was the soup I had last week.  Although vegan, this stew is really filling, thick and delicious.  Even my most staunch carnivores, who tasted my soup at dinner, were raving about it.  I’m so anxious to have dinner tonight.  Even better – I put all of my ingredients into my new crock pot and let it cook all day.  Easy peasy.

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— Knead to Cook