Vegetarian Yam and Black Bean Stew

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It's been nice and warm in Western Canada, but on the eastern part of the country they haven't been so lucky.  Why must it unfairly snow all the way into April over on the east coast, while on the west coast we haven't seen snow all year (and crocuses have been out of the ground and cherry blossoms in bloom since February)?  I don't know, I don't know.  This comfort food recipe is for the east coasters (you're welcome).  Of course, you can still enjoy it in Spring weather too!

I love when I'm eating something and I know that not only does it taste good, but it's wholesome and nutritious.  This Vegetarian Yam and Black Bean Stew has chili and soup-like components, and I love the chunks of fresh yam.

This recipe came to me from a girl who I work with named Jenna, who you may remember from Mango and Black Bean Quinoa Salad fame.  Jenna eats a dairy-free and gluten-free diet, so her recipes follow the same dietary restrictions or can be modified easily (for instance, in this recipe you can substitute the all-purpose flour for gluten-free flour, or just eliminate it altogether). What they aren't missing is taste, flavour, and colour.  I've told her to keep the recipes coming, because they are keepers!

Happy one week belated Easter!

For a printer-friendly version of any recipe, simply click 'Print' below the title of any blog post. Voila - a clean recipe without my ramblings or any pictures!

One Year Ago:  Curried Coconut Chicken Vegetable Soup
Two Years Ago:  Spinach Quinoa Salad with Grapefruit
Three Years Ago:  Greek Quinoa Salad



Yam and Black Bean Stew

Serves:  4

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 green pepper (seeds and stem removed), chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• Pinch of crushed red chili flakes
• 3 cups peeled and cubed yams
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed well
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced (for garnish)

Directions
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and green pepper and cook for 4 - 5 minutes, until tender.  Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, oregano, and chili flakes, and cook for 3 minutes longer. Add the yams, beans, tomatoes, tomato pasts, broth, flour, salt, and pepper, and bring to a gentle simmer.  Simmer 10 - 15 minutes, until yams are tender.  Adjust seasonings as desired.  To serve, sprinkle with sliced green onions.

Enjoy!

Recipe Source:  Jenna!

Slow Cooker Philippine Pork Stew

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Ok, this one comes VERY Hubby approved and recommended.  He seems to throw this comment out kind of often, but apparently this was the, 'best meal this year.'  Then I reminded him he said that about a pasta I made about a month ago, and so he said, "ok, this one is second place then."  Then I reminded him that he said that about a dinner he had at a restaurant we went to on our anniversary and another dinner that we had a week after that at another restaurant.  So, who knows really with him, but he definitely thought this was a keeper!

He put a cookbook into my stocking last year called The Best of Bridge - Slow Cooker Cookbook, and I have made only one or two things in it so far, but something triggered him to remind me of it this week.  I told him to go get it off the shelf, choose anything in the book, and I would make it.  The majority of the summer hasn't exactly been 'slow cooker bubbling away on the counter season,' on account of the heat wave, but a couple of weeks ago we were experiencing a bit of an Augtober that kind of put a 'damper' on things, and a CrockPot dinner seemed like just what the weatherman ordered.  The 'Pork Adobo' recipe caught his eye, and thus a Wednesday night dinner was born.  To be honest, it's probably something I would have turned the page on and never made if not for him choosing it this week.  Ingredients like, 'cinnamon stick,' and 'whole clove,' aren't usually up my alley, but a deal was a deal and I made the dish anyways.  Are we ever glad we did!  The Hubby gave rave reviews, and I always especially know it's a good meal when he excitedly packs his leftovers for lunch the next day.  He admitted afterwards that he chose the recipe because the cinnamon and clove seemed weird.  Haha.  Side note - a stick of cinnamon from the bulk section of our grocery store costs $0.03.  A whole clove is too light to even register on the store's scale, so the cashier shrugged and put it into the bag for free.  The bay leaves were the same way.  I basically robbed the grocery store!!

Souper Sunday #17: Low-Fat Chicken Pot Pie Soup

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This soup totally tastes like you are eating the inside of a chicken pot pie, but with a spoon, and with the type of reckless abandon that I normally reserve for things that are not low-fat at all.

 

Bonus points if you go to the additional effort of making a puff pastry topping to dip into the soup.  That would be amazing.

The Hubby has been asking me to make him chicken stew for a few years or weeks now, and so I finally caved and made it for him today.  Only, chicken stew is so not what my waistline needs right now, so instead I cheated and made this Low-Fat Chicken Pot Pie Soup from the Skinny Taste website. (with a few small tweaks),  He took it to work for lunch, and isn't home yet so I haven't been able to hound him about how he liked it.  But, speaking for myself, "Daaaaaaaaaamn."  You would not even know that this was made with skim milk and without the addition of any butter or oil.  At about 250 calories for a 1 1/2 cup bowl, it's a super filling lunch or dinner that won't totally demolish your calorie allotment for the day.  I especially like that fact today, since I really need to get back on track with eating healthier after eating 'a lot' of the Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars last week.  I can't even talk about those bars because it makes me think about those bars which makes me want to go to the store and buy the ingredients for those bars which makes me want to eat almost the entire pan of those bars again.

Souper Sunday #11: Classic Beef Stew

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Classic.

 

Baby, it's (still) cold outside, and this stew felt like the perfect supper today.  Is this a soup?  No, but in my books it's close enough to qualify for Souper Sunday status!

What a great weekend I've had!  Yesterday my awesome mother treated me to lunch and a spa day as a birthday present.  We got facials,  and then I got a massage while she was getting a manicure.  It was so, so nice, and such a treat since the two of us are not really spa types normally.  The spa that we went to was in the mall, so we popped into a few stores, including the bathing suit store for a total of two whole minutes...after just having had a lunch (with wine) and spa day everything in there just looked really...tight.  I'm going to Las Vegas with some friends at the end of this month (And. I. Can't. Freaking. Wait.), so the time came today to go back to the bathing suit store from yesterday and pick out a new bikini.