Saturday, February 16, 2013

Travel

I have started a travel blog, all about my broke adventures and my practical tips.

If you are so inclined, join me at Travelin' Lass

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Soup!

I really do cook, I promise.

Monday night my roommates and I did a collaborative dinner, and watched the third Jurassic Park movie.  You know the one, with William H Macy, and the kind of forgettable plot.

I have been craving minestrone soup hardcore, so I found a recipe in my multitude of cookbooks.  I used the Minestrone recipe from Clueless In the Kitchen  by Evelyn Raab with a few tweaks.

For the record, I love this cookbook.  I got it when I was in high school, and I use it all the time.

So back to the soup...

I substituted Kale for Spinach, and added some Italian herbs and a bit of rosemary.  I also messed with the veggie levels a bit.  I like a lot of veggies in my Minestrone.

It turned out really good, everyone liked it, there's hardly any left.  I'm going to call that a win.  I am posting my recipe, but not the one from the book, for obvious copyright reasons.


Jurassic Minestrone


1 Onion Chopped
3 Celery Stalks Chopped
2-3 Carrots Chopped
(I used Pre-chopped from Trader Joe's because I hate chopping onions, celery and carrots)
4 small garlic cloves Chopped or smushed or whatever
3 medium zucchini sliced or chopped
about half a bag of frozen green beans defrosted
28 oz can of died tomatoes  DO NOT DRAIN
15 or 16 oz can of Kidney beans drained
4 large handfuls of chopped Kale
1/3 Cup orzo
About 2 Tablespoons Olive oil I eyeballed it
About 1 Tablespoon McCormick Italian Seasoning
About 2 Teaspoons Rosemary
Salt and Pepper to taste
At least 8 Cups of Water

Heat up the oil in a large stockpot, add the garlic and cook on medium for a couple of minutes, just enough to soften it, add the chopped, onions carrots and celery and soften a bit, add some salt and pepper and the herbs, mix it up a bit and let it meld a bit.  Add the tomatoes and their juice, then the water.  Bring to a boil and cover, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add the Orzo and green beans, cover and cook for about ten minutes, making sure to stir beforehand so the orzo doesn't stick.
Add the kidney beans and Kale and cook about ten more minutes until the Kale is softened.
Serve with Parmesan and crusty bread, should make at least six servings.