Tortellini with Veggie Marinara

Abandoned Edibles
red cherry tomatoes, portabella mushroom, zucchini, broccoli, onion, sweet peppers, green pepper, parmesan cheese
(additional ingredients: tortellini, marinara sauce, beef stock, butter, olive oil, minced garlic, spices, etc.)

What I did: since I had such a plethora of wonderful veggies at my fingertips, AND since tortellini was on sale at the co-op, I decided to make a veggie marinara. I sauteed the veggies in olive oil and butter, de-glazed the pan with a bit of beef broth, added some marinara sauce, and simmered for a bit. I added the cherry tomatoes at the last minute, threw the tortellini in some boiling water, and voila: veggie marinara with tortellini! I topped everything off with a generous helping of parmesan cheese (you can never have too much, in my opinion)--it was simple, easy, and fast.



The Verdict
Great! Somewhat uninspired, I must admit (especially after last month's posting of beef stick stew) but overall tasty and satisfying.

Taste: 7.5
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 7

Improvements for next time: protein! Some type of meat?

Seitan Stir Fry

Abandoned Edibles
broccoli, chicken-style seitan, white mushrooms, zucchini, onions
(additional ingredients: better than bouillon chicken soup base, olive oil, butter, white rice, soy sauce, spices, etc.)

What I did: I made stir fry. Veggies + high heat + butter and oil + bouillon and spices + white rice = dinner! I am not in the mood to write tonight, can you tell?


The Verdict
Easy, simple, good. Yum.

Taste: 8
Creativity: 6
Appearance: 8

Improvements for next time: more veggies, of course!

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

Abandoned Edibles
broccoli, carrots
*BONUS* leftover AEs: broccoli slaw, garlic jack cheese, & béchamel sauce from yesterday (additional ingredients: onion, chicken soup base, cheddar cheese, garlic powder, potatoes, spices, etc.)

What I did: our refrigerator is inundated with broccoli and carrot products! I mean, daaaamn gina, we have an entire drawer full of carrots, broccoli, and broccoli slaw (which consists of--you guessed it--broccoli and carrots). I wasn't very motivated this morning, so I decided the best thing to do would be to throw everything in a pot and make some cheesy broccoli soup. I chopped up the slaw into itty bitty pieces, cut up all my veggies, and threw it on the stove with some soup base. The béchamel and garlic jack cheese (along with the potatoes & cheddar) acted as a wonderful thickener. Super easy to make!



The Verdict
Tasty and easy (I could make an immature sexual reference here, but I'll refrain!) Not exactly creative, but this soup DID get rid of my broccoli and carrot infestation, so I suppose that counts for something. One note I will make, however: that damn broccoli slaw took forever to get tender! I'm not sure how I feel about that shit. I still have a bag in the freezer, and I'm thinking I'll definitely be throwing that in an egg roll mixture sometime in the near future. And if THAT doesn't work...broccoli slaw, you are dead to me!

Taste: 7
Creativity: 4
Appearance: 6

Improvements for next time: more cheese! I didn't have enough cheddar.