cooking lately...

Cooking has become a serious passion for me in the last two years since getting married.  I think this astounds my mom, because I was the daughter who lit the green beans on fire and had foot high flames coming off the stove as a 12 year old...  I also used to be extremely picky, and put honey on anything that I didn't like the taste of,  tuna fish casserole, and orange slices being the most memorable.  Since I now have control in the kitchen, I am much more daring and care a whole lot more about what we are eating.  We have gone about 70% vegetarian (mostly because it is cheaper and I don't have to clean up after meat, which I find to be a huge inconvenience and sort of gross), and honestly, I love it.  So here are a few mostly vegetarian meals that I have found to be delicious and satisfying!

1.  Carrot Soup with Tahini and Crisped Chickpeas:  This soup was amazing.  It had a number of steps, but was well worth the effort!  It was a great combo of flavors and textures, plus it is basically carrots, and chickpeas.  I love eating something that simple with loads of vegetables.

2.  Black Bean Soup:  We eat soup about once a week around here, and I loooove this soup.  It is especially delicious if you put a decent sized chunk of cream cheese in it and eat it with tortilla chips. Plus, this one is super fast.

3.  Sweet Potato Tacos:  Janssen introduced these to me about 4 years ago, and I still can't get over how delicious they are.  We almost always make them vegetarian-style, and they are still so flavorful and delicious!  I absolutely love them!  These are also a pretty darn quick meal, especially if you make it vegetarian.

4.  Stacked Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas: This is one of my favorite dishes to serve.  I love salsa, roasted veggies, and cheese, so this one hits high on my list.  They are even delicious day 2!  Be warned, they do take a bit of prep-work, but totally worth the effort.

5.  Red Pepper and Fontina Cheese Pizza with a Balsalmic Glaze:  This was very tasty and Adam absolutely loved it!

Happy Cooking!