Quickie Weeknight Wonton Soup

It's Monday night. I was hungry. I threw some things together without a recipe or prior research, and I like how it turned out! I'm recording it here for the next time I'm struck with a similar whim. This is an easy recipe to play with, use what you
have on hand! I think the only necessities are some sort of broth and the wontons; I was determined to use what I had on hand and not run to the grocery store!

Serves 2-3
Ingredients

• 3 C broth of your choice
• 1/2 cooked chicken breast (between 1/2-1 C) shredded, omit or sub with tofu if vegetarian
• 1 t minced garlic or about 3 cloves, minced
• a dash of seasoning salt
• 3 large mushrooms, sliced thinly, 1/4 bell pepper, chopped into small pieces, other vegetables that would work are peas and bok choy
• a dash of soy sauce
• a dash of red wine or rice wine vinegar
• rice or ramen noodles, if desired
• about 8 frozen wontons (mine are tiny and only take 1-2 minutes to cook-check your bag for instructions)
• green onions or dried scallions

To Do:
This is super easy but it helps to read cooking instructions for noodles, if you use them, and wontons. I added all ingredients before the noodles in order and heated to a simmer. My noodles needed 5 minutes and my wontons 1-2--so I added the noodles and set a timer for 3 minutes, then added the wontons and scallions, and set a timer for 2 minutes-that's it! Done!

Veggie-stuffed Acorn Squash

I didn't plan on publishing this one when I started making it, so I only took a couple of photos, and they were with my phone. My bad. Usually recipes need some tweaking before becoming blog-worthy, but I thought this one was a winner!

I LOVE acorn squash, and tis the season! I wanted a recipe I had all the ingredients for-after reading through dozens I decided to make my own!

Serves 4
What you need:
2 acorn squash
olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
1 carrot, sliced thinly
about 1.5 cups of cut up asparagus OR broccoli florets (including stems), or a combo of both.
chopped celery (optional-I didn't have any-but would add nice flavor)
4 garlic cloves, smashed
about 1/3 C walnuts
a splash of broth
a splash of white or red wine vinegar
cheese

What to do:

• Cut squash in half, brush or spray with oil, and put cut-side down on aluminum foil in the oven for 40 minutes on 400 degrees (or until soft)
• While squash is cooking, sauté onion and carrot in oil until soft, about 5 minutes
• Add broccoli stem
• Add 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• Add about 8 asparagus spears and ½ head broccoli, chopped small, a little broth and wine vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste, and saute a few minutes more, then add walnuts
• Stuff squash with filling, cover in cheese, bake at 350 for about 5-10 minutes or until cheese is melted. 
• Eat with a spoon. I eat as a main dish.

Peppers Stuffed with Beef and Quinoa

I can't believe I don't have a recipe for stuffed bell peppers on here! I guess I always make them up as I go, depending on what I have on hand. Here is a basic recipe to start from-as always, be creative and add what you like!

Serves 5

What you need/Ingredients:

• 5 bell peppers
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 lb/1/2 kilo ground meat
• 1/2 C uncooked quinoa
• 1 can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 T cumin, or more to taste
• 1/2 T chili powder, or more to taste
  
• grated cheese
• optional add-ons: mushrooms and almost any veggie go great! If you have more veggies you can use half the meat. Add them in at the same time as the onions.

What to do/Instructions:

• Cook quinoa according to instructions-usually it's 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water. Don't forget to rinse it first!!
• Wash and cut peppers. If you can find the shape that stands up, go for it! Peppers here aren't quite shaped right for that so I cut them in half. Arrange in a baking dish. Not all of mine fit, I had to use a second, smaller pan. If you arrange them snugly, they'll stay where you put them better. Same thing if you cook standing up. 
• Preheat oven to 375. If you like really well-cooked peppers, you can throw them in, without stuffing, for a few minutes. I personally like to just cook them in the toppings and have them a little crunchier.
• Start browning the meat. Drain off fat when meat is about half cooked, and add onions, cumin, and chili powder. Cook meat through.

• Add tomatoes. When quinoa is cooked, gently stir it into the meat mixture as well. 
• Stuff the mixture into the peppers.

• *Oven disclaimer* I have a South American oven (no top burners) on gas, using Celcius. Your oven is probably different so just keep an eye on it! Cook the peppers for about 20 minutes, then add cheese and cook a few minutes more. Everything in them is cooked so it really just depends on how well you want your peppers done.

• Enjoy!