Soup Series: Spicy vegetable soup

Making vegetable soup is seriously simple. A few steps and you're on your way to a serious nom nom nom session. First, you pick  your favorite veggies. Then, boil your water. Next, chop said veggies, add Sazon and let those vegetables cook down to a delicious, nutritious, satisfying soup. I'd like to share what ingredients I used to make the soup you see pictured below :-)

What you' ll need:

broccoli

 celery

 carrots

 cabbage

 scallions

 crushed red pepper flakes, to taste ( I used 2tsp)

black pepper, to taste

1 packet Sazon (Goya)

7 or 8 cups of water

Instructions: 

• In a large stock pot bring water to a rolling boil
•  as water boils chop/dice veggies into bite sized pieces 
• add Sazon packet to boiling water and add veggies
• season with pepper and red pepper flakes
•  allow veggies to cook down for an additional 20-30 minutes on a low heat setting or until they reach your desired texture

This soup makes a great start to a meal, a good snack to tide you over until your next meal, or served with salad and perhaps some garlic bread makes for an entree.

Enjoy!

That's my 2 cents!

- Kimba

Vegetable Lo Mein

Yum, Yum, Yum... that's what you'll say to yourself with every bite of this lo mein. This recipe is flavorful and doesn't leave you feeling heavy and gross like take out may.

 Veggie Lo Mein 

(Topped with leftover grilled chicken and garlic chili sauce)

What you'll need:

8oz Lo Mein Noodles

5 cups of water (to boil noodles in) 

 3/4 cup chicken or vegetable broth

1 large celery stalk, diced

3 green onions, diced

half yellow pepper, diced

1 cup broccoli, diced

1/4 large yellow onion, diced

1/2 cup  baby bella mushrooms, diced

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt, to taste

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil (If you don't have sesame oil, use any flavorful oil)

1tsp cornstarch (if you'd like to thicken sauce)

Instructions:

• In a large sauce pan, bring water to a rolling boil.
• Dice your veggies.

•  Add noodles, bring back to boil and allow to cook for 4 or 5 minutes.
• While noodles are cooking, heat sesame oil in large wok and stir fry veggies. 

• Once veggies are tender, add broth, allow to simmer, add 1 tsp of flour or cornstarch if you'd like to thicken sauce.
• Once noodles are cooked, drain in colander and run under cold water to stop your noodles from becoming overcooked
• Add noodles to veggies, sprinkle with salt and red pepper flakes, and enjoy!

Note: I topped my lo mein with chicken (protein) for staying power! ;-) 

That's my 2 cents!

-Kimba