Loaded Veggie Soup

Recipe # 2 of 2013...

Loaded Veggie Soup!

A perk of my job has been getting to know many of the families I work with on a personal basis. We often share recipes and this is one I had to share! It's the best veggie soup recipe I have ever tasted!

Ingredients:

1 Onion

3-4 Ribs of Celery

3 large Carrots 

2 Tsp Olive Oil

Italian Seasoning

1/3 Head of Cabbage

1 Zucchini

1 Squash

1 can of Chick Peas

Kale Greens

2 cans Diced Tomatos 

1 bottle of Low Sodium V8 Regular

1/2 bottle of V8 Spicy 

First: chop up the onion, celery, carrots, zucchini, and squash. Slice the cabbage and kale in thin strips. 

Second: saute all the veggies in 2 tbsp of olive oil until cooked through. 

Third: Once the veggies are cooked, pour the tomatoes and chick peas into the crock pot. Then add squash, zucchini, kale, cabbage, celery, carrots, and onion. 

Finally, pour in V8 juice, italian seasoning, and pepper to season. I only put half of the spicy V8 because I am not a fan of anything spicy.  If you are a fan of spicy, I would definitely suggest putting more in than just half the bottle. 

And....ENJOY!! 

Baked Eggplant Stacks

For my New Years resolution, I have found 52 new recipes to try throughout 2013.

Here's #1.....

Baked Eggplant Stacks

4-5 Servings

1 large eggplant
3 or 4 large tomatoes, to match the diameter of the eggplant
Crumbled feta OR goat cheese (Thanks Sam) 
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Juice of half lemon
2 garlic cloves
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Cut of the eggplant crosswise into ½” thick rounds. Lightly season them with salt and leave them for 30 minutes on a side to let water to come out of the eggplant.

Once ready drizzle olive oil on top of each slice and grill them on a lightly oiled baking pan for 3 minutes on each side. 

Blend the basil leaves with 4 tablespoons olive oil, 2 garlic cloves, lemon juice and 1 teaspoon salt in an immersion blender or food processor until smooth.

Cut the tomatoes crosswise to 1/4” thick rounds.

Lightly oil the baking pan. 

Arrange 4 eggplant rounds side by side. 

Spread 1/2 tablespoon of the basil-garlic mixture on top of each one, then generously sprinkle feta crumbs. 

Top each with tomato rings. Add another layer of eggplant, basil spread, feta and tomato rounds and top with the rest of the crumbled feta.

Tip:  I used feta for my recipe; HOWEVER, courtesy of the suggestion from Sam, I would highly suggest using goat cheese instead. The feta cheese didn't melt as much as the goat cheese would have. 

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Drizzle some olive oil or balsamic vinegar on top of each stack and bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!!