Macaroni Vegetable Soup

As the winter enters our lives, I typically go into soup mode. I love my soups and a variety of them, nothing goes better on a cold winter day then a hearty soup to warm you up. Growing up my family always made sure to have a pot of soup on the stove during this time of year, I would normally go with a big bowl of soup and that would be my meal throughout the day but for others you may want to try a small soup and a sandwich.

Vegetables are a part of any soup and you can add as many as you like but to get the soup to be more hearty you have to add a pasta to the mix, macaroni goes well with this dish but you can use small tube pasta or bow tie pasta in place of the macaroni for those that may not like it. A broth is always part of any soup and my choice of broth here was chicken but vegetable can go just as good.

Inspired by Family

MORE SOUP RECIPES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PORTUGUESE CALDO VERDE SOUP
EUROPEAN EGG DROP SOUP
SWEET POTATO, CARROT AND CORIANDER SOUP
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Macaroni Vegetable Soup Recipe

Servings: 6  Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

Quinoa Thai Tuna

I can't say enough about how I enjoy trying new foods especially when the food is a healthy choice like Quinoa, now quinoa is a grain like crop which is closely related to spinach, this would explain it's high protein and best of all it lacks gluten. The quinoa seeds are generally cooked like rice and it has been labeled by some as a super food not only high in protein but also fiber, magnesium, iron and calcium.

I looked around to find some foods that I would enjoy with the quinoa and with my taste leaning towards fish, tuna seemed like the best choice after some research but not just any kind of tuna, canned tuna with spicy thai chili flavouring. The quinoa will stick to the tuna and some fruit and vegetables added will give you an added boost of flavour and have your taste buds quite content.

Inspired by Cloverleaf Recipes 

MORE FISH RECIPES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
BROILED SALMON WITH MARMALADE GLAZE
SAVOURY SHRIMP FRIED RICE
BAKED TILAPIA WITH GARLIC BUTTER MIX
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quinoa Thai Tuna Recipe

Servings: 2  Prep Time: 5 minutes  Cook Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

Steam to Skillet Vegetables

I like to keep experimenting with a healthy side, growing up I didn't enjoy my vegetables as much as I should have or do now, besides carrots, onions, lettuce and cucumbers. Those where as far as my vegetables got at a young age. I slowly started to incorporate vegetables more and more as my teen years progressed and my young adult years. The health benefits of vegetables are great and none are better the broccoli.

This green plant is high in Vitamin C and dietary fiber, it is rich in lutein and is great for the human immune response system which boosts DNA repair. What you need to remember is that broccoli is best steamed or stir fried, boiling broccoli will reduce all the health benefits you would get from this great vegetable. I like to add a variety of vegetables to go along with broccoli, carrots are normally my companion choice but you can add any vegetable that you enjoy.

Inspired by Family

MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPICY HOMEMADE FRIES
MUSHROOMS SAUTEED WITH GARLIC
HOMEMADE MASH POTATOES
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steam to Skillet Vegetables Recipe

Servings: 2  Prep Time: 2 minutes  Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Spicy Homemade Fries

The classic side of fries, something we all grew up enjoying whether we added them with our wings or burgers or just had them on their own and made them a sort of meal to enjoy to ourselves. The only thing I would change from then and now is to avoid the deep frying, as you get older, you start looking at certain things to avoid but baking the fries, keeps a classic favourite on the menu.

Creating your own homemade fries is one of the easier meals you can make, you can add any spice that you enjoy to the fries and just have to make sure you cook the potato to a proper temperature. I enjoy adding some spice to just about anything and that doesn't change with my fries. This classic is made to taste and makes ketchup an unneeded necessity with this dish but for those that love to dip their fries in ketchup, dip away.

Inspired by Family

MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOMEMADE MASH POTATOES
STEAM TO SKILLET VEGETABLES
MUSHROOMS SAUTEED WITH GARLIC
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spicy Homemade Fries

Servings:  4  Prep Time:  10 minutes  Cook Time:  25 minutes

Ingredients

Mushrooms Sauteed with Garlic

I always try to find a healthy side to go with my entrees. Vegetables are always a great choice as a side for just about anything, whether your eating fish, meat or chicken. The best things about vegetables is that you can heat up the majority of them and with the right mix and blend of ingredients turn them it a wonderful side.
I have to admit I enjoy just about any vegetable and growing up my family always made sure to have a garden growing in the summer months. As I got older I decided to get a little space for myself in the garden and try growing some vegetables.

I planted sweet and hot peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes to name a few and every year would experiment with a vegetable that I hadn't tried before, one of the best experiments involved corn until the neighbourhood racoons though it was time to snack on them and that was the end of that. The one vegetable though that just never seemed to grow right where mushrooms but I'm always glad that the local grocer has a bunch of them to choose from. So after quite a few experiments in the kitchen, I feel that I have found the right tasting side of mushrooms for any plate. These mushrooms will have your company asking for seconds.

Inspired by Family

MORE SIDE DISH RECIPES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HOMEMADE MASHED POTATOES
STEAM TO SKILLET VEGETABLES
SPICY HOMEMADE FRIES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mushrooms Sauteed with Garlic

Servings : 4  Prep Time: 10 minutes  Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

Yummy Homemade Meatballs

There are times I like to walk into the kitchen with an idea and that was exactly the case that happened when I decided to try making homemade meatballs. We all need some inspiration and watching television helps, a simple plate of spaghetti and meatballs got me thinking, that I wanted to try making some homemade meatballs. I know that to make meatballs an egg and some bread crumbs are needed but I though why not add some of my favourite spices to the mix.

The mind started working overtime and I do my best to stay away from deep frying anything, so baking the meatballs was the only way I was going to go with this, you can add any spices you enjoy, it's your meatball make it the way you like. The keys to remember is the size that you want your meatballs to be and ground beef isn't the only option, for some you can always use ground turkey, chicken or lamb. Enjoy the meatballs on their own or add some veggies or pasta to go with them.

Inspired by Food Network

MORE BEEF RECIPES
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELICIOUS BEEF STEW
SLOPPY BACHELOR BURGER
TRIPLE CHEESE HAMBURGER
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Yummy Homemade Meatball Recipe

Servings: 4  Prep Time: 15 minutes  Cook Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients