Super Easy Instant Pot Minestrone Soup (Vegan)

Recipe from Taylor Stinson
Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen
Makes 6 servings

There’s no reason not to make this soup.  It’s quite easy to make and it’s delicious and filling to boot!  
 
2 Tablespoons olive oil (optional)
2-3 small sweet onions, diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 ½ cups green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 small zucchini, chopped or sliced
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
4 cups vegetable broth
1 (796mL) jar/can crushed tomatoes (or passata)
3/4 cup dry macaroni
Chopped fresh basil, for topping (optional)
Grated fresh vegan parmesan, for topping

Dump all ingredients except for macaroni, basil and parmesan in Instant Pot. (I omitted the olive oil and it turned out just great!) Set to manual and pressure cook on high for 4 minutes. Instant Pot will take about 10 minutes to pre-heat and then the 4 minutes to cook. When complete, press cancel and do a quick release of the steam, waiting until the pressure gauge drops back down and the lid is safe to open.
Remove lid, stir soup and add macaroni, then replace lid. Let macaroni soak about 5 minutes (maybe more like 10 depending on the type of pasta you use.)
Remove lid again and stir. Discard the bay leaves. 
Serve in large bowls and top with fresh basil and vegan parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Notes: 
Store the leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in the microwave for 2-3 minutes.  Freeze this recipe for up to 3 months. Microwave from frozen for 6-7 minutes or defrost in the fridge and reheat as normal.

Nutrition Information: (This info includes the olive oil, but if you omit it, the fat and calorie count will be less.)  Calories: 261kcal (13%) Carbohydrates: 42g (14%) Protein: 13g (26%) Fat: 6g (9%) Saturated Fat: 1g (6%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g Monounsaturated Fat: 4g Cholesterol: 1mg Sodium: 674mg (29%) Potassium: 789mg (23%) Fiber: 12g (50%) Sugar: 5g (6%) Vitamin A: 3550IU (71%) Vitamin C: 19mg (23%) Calcium: 130mg (13%) Iron: 4.1mg (23%)

Hot Day Tuna Nicoise Salad

Recipe adapted from Everyday Food

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

Serves 2

(Recipe can be doubled/tripled)

When it’s just too hot to cook, this salad will do just nicely for dinner.  You can blanch the beans, steam the potatoes, and boil the eggs in advance.  This dinner is very tasty and light enough for a steamy summer evening.  Serve some fresh peaches for a cool and healthful dessert.

Salad:

1 can tuna, drained and flaked

1/3 cup Kalamata olives, drained and chopped

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

4 cups baby lettuce, arugula or spinach

2 scallions, sliced or ¼ cup sliced red onion

2 hard cooked eggs, peeled and sliced

3 cups fresh green beans, blanched

4 small red potatoes, sliced and steamed (Optional)

Vinaigrette:

1 fresh lemon, juiced

¼ cup olive oil

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Kosher salt, to taste

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

Place the salad ingredients on a platter.  Place the vinaigrette ingredients in a jar with a lid.  Shake vigorously.  Pour the vinaigrette over the salad.  Serve at room temperature.

Quick Minestrone

Quick Minestrone served with a pimento cheese sandwich and an apple.

Serves 4

Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

This is just the simplest soup to make and takes just a few minutes to prepare.  I served it with pimento cheese sandwiches and some apples picked at the orchard.  Make a batch of Banana Chip Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies and then pack a couple along with this soup and a sandwich for a grand lunchbox meal.

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 carrots, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise

1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed) cut into ½-inch pieces

8 ounces fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/3 whole-wheat couscous

2 cups vegetable broth or chicken broth

2 Tablespoons tomato paste*

2 cups cooked navy beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup water

Kosher salt, to taste

2 Tablespoons basil pesto, optional

Flat leaf parsley, optional

Parmesan cheese, optional

Add the oil to a hot soup pot.  Add the carrots, bell pepper, green beans and garlic to the pot. Season with some salt, to taste.  Stir a bit and let the mixture cook for 2 minutes.  Add the couscous, broth, tomato paste, navy beans and water.  Season the soup with ½ teaspoon salt.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Turn off the heat and allow the soup to set for about 10 minutes.  Stir in a couple of tablespoons of pesto, if you like.  Serve the soup with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and parsley, if desired.

Tip:  After opening the jar or can of tomato paste, scoop out what you need for this recipe.  Then scoop out the remaining tomato paste using a 1 Tablespoon measuring spoon and put the tomato paste in an ice cube tray.  Place the tray in the freezer for about 30 minutes.  Then, remove the tray from the freezer and pop out the tomato paste “cubes.”  Place them in a freezer bag, label and then pop the bag in the freezer.  Now, you’ll have tomato paste ready to go into future dishes.

Curried Tofu and Green Beans (or Sugar Snap Peas)

Recipe from Everyday Food Magazine

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

I’m always on the hunt for a yummy, easy-to-make meatless meal.  My husband and I gave this one a big thumbs up.  He said this one was his favorite way with tofu.  I chose to make this using sugar snap peas because they had some lovely fresh ones in the produce section. Other reviewers suggested adding ingredients like cayenne, water chestnuts, lime juice, cumin.  Obviously, this recipe is quite forgiving and you could change it up as you see fit. This dish will definitely be in our regular Meatless Monday rotation!  (If you've never prepared tofu before, never fear!  It's quite easy.  I've provided instructions in the links below.)

1 container (14 ounces) firm or extra-firm tofu, drained

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 Tablespoon curry powder

Coarse salt and ground pepper

4 garlic cloves, minced

½ cup half-and-half OR coconut milk (Using coconut milk will make this dish vegan.)

½ cup water

1 box (10 ounces) frozen green beans, defrosted (I used sugar snap peas instead.  I think broccoli and/or asparagus and even red pepper would make good substitutes.)

4 plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces (3 cups) (I used 3 regular tomatoes. I think a couple of cups of cherry tomatoes would be tasty substitute as well.)  (I've tried this with a 15 oz. can (drained) of tomato bits and it works great!)

Cooked brown rice, for serving

Halve tofu horizontally; then crosswise. (You should have 4 equal squares). Cut each square diagonally into 2 triangles. (You can also cut the tofu into smaller triangles.)

Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and cook, turning once, until golden-brown, about 10 minutes. Remove from pan to a plate. Reduce heat to medium. Add remaining tablespoon oil, onion, and curry powder. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic; cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Reduce heat to medium-low. Add half-and-half or coconut milk and 1/2 cup water; bring to a gentle simmer. Return tofu to skillet. Add green beans (or sugar snap peas) and tomatoes, cover, and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Serve over rice if desired.

How to Prepare Tofu:  (Click on the link to the left to see a photo how-to.) Arrange tofu in one layer on a baking sheet lined with 3 layers of paper towels or a clean kitchen towel; cover with three more layers of paper towels or another clean kitchen towel. Place another baking sheet and a weight on top. Let tofu drain until towels are soaked, about 20 minutes.

Here I have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go.  You'll also see my
veggie broth scrap bag that I have out to fill with veggie scraps as I prep.
When the bag is full, I'll have enough to make Homemade Vegetable Broth.

Delicious Green Beans (with no meat)

Recipe from Alice Wootton's Kitchen

Serves 4-6

Here's how I make a "mess" of green beans that are quite tasty without pork. 

Fill a large pot with fresh green beans.  

Add about 4 cups of vegetable broth. (I use easy-to-make Homemade Vegetable Broth.)

Add a half a head of fresh garlic. (No need to peel.)

Add a medium onion, cut in half (unpeeled) OR some whole scallions

Add a large pinch of Kosher salt and some freshly ground pepper

Bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and cover the pot. Allow the beans to simmer until they are cooked to your liking.