Tag Archives: red pepper

Cinco de Mayo Tortilla Soup

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Cinco de Mayo Tortilla Soup

This is one of those recipes that I’d made for years and sort of forgot about. I’m glad I remembered it, because it’s so darn easy. And as a bonus, my kids completely devoured it last night for dinner. So it’s definitely a winner!

Oh so long ago I picked up a Nordstrom cookbook. Sounds a little weird I know, but they have a cafe and the food is actually really quite good. The book I have is more than 10 years old. It’s the Nordstrom Friends and Family Cookbook and I’ve adapted many recipes from it. It’s not a vegan book, so I’ve had to be a little creative…which I like to do.

Their recipe for tortilla soup is outstanding. It calls for chicken, but I just add more vegetables instead. It’s awesome!

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Easy Noodle Stir Fry

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I love eating vegetables. I love drinking vegetable juice. I love smoothies with vegetables. I love shopping for vegetables at the farmers market. I love growing vegetables. I FRIGGIN’ LOVE VEGETABLES! And…I’m a mom of two teenage boys who until relatively recently hated most vegetables. This seemed really unfair to me. I took it personally. And felt like I had somehow failed as a mom.

I mean, come on, this is a big part of my life and I was unable to share it with my kids. Over the years, I would talk to other moms whose kids ate vegetables and pretty much whatever was served for dinner. I’d hear things like: “I’m not a short-order cook,” or “They have to at least try a tasting portion.” Well, this never, I mean never, worked in my house. It always lead to drama at the dinner table which took all of the fun out of our family dinner. I want that time to be one where we share and laugh and connect…not a time to argue, fight or negotiate.

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Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho + Cilantro Pesto

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The minute I walked into Whole Foods and saw this amazing display of the most beautiful heirloom tomatoes you have ever seen; I knew then and there exactly what I wanted to do. My mom (who is visiting me right now – yay!) was telling me about her friend Joanie’s gazpacho and how delicious it was. The best she’s ever had. Bingo…Miss Joanie’s gazpacho with heirloom tomatoes. YES!!!

Of course, I need to put my little spin on any recipe that crosses my path, so I made a little cilantro pesto with almonds to top off the chilled soup. It works. For sure.

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