pasta fagioli soup

Happy Meatless Monday!  Warm up with this souper duper recipe- pasta fagioli!  It’s hearty, healthy and so tasty {extra cheese for the kiddies, please}!   This soup has a whole bunch of kale in it… kale is a nutritional powerhouse.  It’s in the cabbage family & loaded with Vitamins A, C, folic acid, calcium and iron!

3 Tablespoons olive oil,

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes (with basil, garlic & oregano)

2 14.5 cans vegetable or chicken broth

3 cups of water

2 cups small pasta (shells, rigatoni)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1 bunch fresh kale, tough stems discarded, chopped into 1/4-inch slices

2 cans small white beans, drained & rinsed

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon salt, additional to taste

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Grated Parmesan for serving

1.)  Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onion and cook for 5 minutes.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute.

2.)  Stir in tomatoes, broth and 3 cups of water.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Add pasta and Italian seasoning.  Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.

3.)  Stir in kale; cook 5 minutes more.  Reduce heat to medium and stir in beans, tomato paste, salt and pepper.  Heat through.

4.)  Ladle into bowls; garnish with Parmesan cheese.


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recipe adapted & photo courtesy of Family Circle

black bean & goat cheese quesadillas

This delicious quesadilla is vegetarian-friendly and kid-approved! We got the recipe from Fine Cooking and made two small modifications - we reduced the level of spice for the little ones and added spinach for color & extra nutrition!


3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
15-1/2-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teasspoon chili powder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups spinach, packed
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. fresh lime juice; more to taste
3 to 4 oz. fresh goat cheese, crumbled
1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, pitted and peeled
6 flour tortillas, 8 inches across


(1.) In a medium skillet, heat 2 Tbs. of the oil over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the onion and sauté, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes.
(2.) Add the beans, cumin, chili powder, and 1/2 cup water and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost all the water has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Take the pan off the heat. With the back of a fork, break up the beans to make a chunky mash. Stir in the spinach and half of the cilantro and season with salt and pepper.
(3.) In a small bowl, combine the avocado, lime juice, and remaining cilantro and use a potato masher or the back of a fork to mash into a chunky paste. Season to taste with salt and pepper; add more lime juice if you like.
(4.) Spread the black bean mixture evenly over three of the tortillas. Scatter the goat cheese over the beans and cover with the remaining tortillas. Lightly coat a large heavy skillet or griddle with oil (about 1 tsp.) and heat over medium heat. Set one of the quesadillas in the skillet and cook until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Flip the quesadilla over and brown on the other side for another 1-1/2 minutes. Remove from the pan, cook the remaining quesadillas (add more oil to the pan each time) and cut each into eight wedges. Serve each wedge with a dollop of the guacamole.

fish & garbanzo bean burgers

We found this super tasty recipe from eco child's play! We made two small modifications: we used cannellini beans instead of garbanzo beans & halibut in place of tilapia {only because that's what we had at home}.  The recipe is very adaptable, so use what you have!

1 pound of tilapia
1/2 teaspoon of salt
pepper, to taste
1 cup canned white beans
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
whole grain buns
lettuce
tomato slices
tarter sauce

1.) preheat oven to 375.
2.) lightly grease baking pan with olive oil. season fish with salt & pepper. bake until flaky 7-10 minutes. remove fish from oven. leave oven on.
3.) in a food processor, puree beans, parsley, 1/4 tsp salt and bread crumbs. process for one minute. place bean mixture into a large bowl and add egg. crumble in the fish. gently mix until incorporated. form into 8 patties.
4.) lightly grease an ovenproof skillet and put over medium heat. cook until brown one side, about 5 minutes. flip cakes carefully and place in oven for 5 minutes. serve on buns with lettuce, tomato and tarter sauce.

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photo courtesy of Parenting.com