If I had to pick a favorite way to prepare potatoes, it would have to be oven roasting them. I love how they get perfectly crisp on the outside, but still soft on the inside when baked at high heat in the oven. I love seasoning them up real well too; potatoes can be like a blank canvas with endless possibilities with help from your spice cabinet.

This potato side dish is one of my favorite recipes to make – and one of my family’s favorite to eat, it’s one of my main go-to recipes. I can’t tell you how many times I have made them for my family. (Another family favorite are these Cheddar-Dill Roasted Red Potatoes – you’ll have to give them a try too).

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I don’t know about you, but I love having a nice hearty soup waiting for me in the fridge, especially on weeknights. I find myself making large pots of soups on Sundays which in turn carry me through the week with leftovers for lunches and an easy dinner.  I love soups just like this Italian Tomato and Lentil Soup with Spinach, full of wholesome protein and vegetables – basically everything you need for a good quick meal in a bowl.

This vegetarian Lentil Soup recipe is especially great for those of you who are trying to incorporate more meatless meals into your daily diet. It’s very filling and satisfying and you can even give it a little more protein and texture by adding broken pieces whole wheat spaghetti or pasta to it (whole wheat pastas are a great way to bump up protein). I love to serve it with grated parmesan cheese (freshly grated if you have it or use my favorite shredded Parmigiano Reggiano from Costco).

Are lentils healthy?

Lentils are not only a staple in an Italian kitchen, but also a vegetarian one. They are a complex carbohydrate and are high protein as well as fiber. They are also naturally gluten-free. It’s no secret they are an absolute powerhouse when it comes to nutrition. If you are looking to boost your protein intake, lentils make a great choice!

More healthy lentil recipes to try:

Mediterranean Lentil Salad

Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili

Lentil Salad with Carrots and Cilantro

So delicious.

This Italian Lentil Soup recipe makes a lot of soup – about 15 cups of soup and about 8-10 servings, based on serving size. I like to freeze my leftover soup in 4 cup glass Pyrex containers like these (affiliate link). To defrost, set in refrigerator overnight and warm slowly in a pot over medium heat or in individual bowls in microwave. Add additional liquid if needed.

Ingredients for Italian Tomato and Lentil Soup

How To Make Italian Tomato and Lentil Soup

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil and add diced carrots, celery, onion, pepper and minced garlic. Season with 2 pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper. Saute vegetables in oil for about 7-10 minutes until soft and fragrant.
2. Add lentils, diced tomatoes, vegetable or chicken stock and water to vegetable mixture. Add 2 more pinches of salt.
3. Bring soup to a slow boil over medium high heat for a few minutes, then back down to a simmer over low heat. Simmer, with lid half on, for about 35-40 minutes stirring occasionally, until soup starts to thicken.
4. Taste for salt and pepper as its cooking and add more water if it gets too thick. The lentils will absorb most of the liquid in the soup while cooking but you’ll still want it to have liquid once done cooking.
5. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add fresh spinach leaves to soup and gently stir to combine.
6. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and lots of it!

Healthy Soup Recipes

Soup is one of my go to meals when I’m trying to trim some pounds or just generally feel healthier. Some soups I tend to make often are  Slow Cooker Italian Sausage and Kale Soup with Sweet Potatoes, Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, Italian Vegetable Beef Soup and Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup.

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Italian Tomato and Lentil Soup with Spinach

• Author: Aggie Goodman
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 40 minites
• Total Time: 0 hours
• Yield: 8-10 servings
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stove
• Cuisine: Vegetarian

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Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2–3 celery stalks, diced
• 1 large onion, diced
• 3–4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1lb dried lentils
• 2 15 oz cans diced Italian tomatoes, with liquid
• 4 cups vegetable (or chicken) stock
• 5 cups water
• 2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 4 pinches kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, divided
• 10 oz bag fresh spinach
• fresh grated Parmesan, for serving

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Instructions

1. In a large pot, heat olive oil and add diced carrots, celery, onion, pepper and minced garlic. Season with 2 pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper. Saute vegetables in oil for about 7-10 minutes until soft and fragrant.
2. Add lentils, diced tomatoes, vegetable or chicken stock and water to vegetable mixture. Add 2 more pinches of salt.
3. Bring soup to a slow boil over medium high heat for a few minutes, then back down to a simmer over low heat. Simmer, with lid half on, for about 35-40 minutes stirring occasionally, until soup starts to thicken.
4. Taste for salt and pepper as its cooking and add more water if it gets too thick. The lentils will absorb most of the liquid in the soup while cooking but you’ll still want it to have liquid once done cooking.
5. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add fresh spinach leaves to soup and gently stir to combine.
6. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and lots of it!

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Notes

This recipe makes about 15 cups of soup and about 8-10 servings, based on serving size. I like to freeze my leftover soup in 4 cup glass Pyrex containers like these (affiliate link). To defrost, set in refrigerator overnight and warm slowly in a pot over medium heat or in individual bowls in microwave. Add additional liquid if needed.

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You know I’ve been to Costco when you start to see recipes with pesto and goat cheese popping up frequently on the blog. I can’t help it. There are a few staples from Costco that I can’t be without and their pesto and goat cheese are two of them.

I have to admit, since trying the pesto from Costco I really haven’t made any at home – it’s that good (for store bought!) and you just can’t beat the convenience or price.

These Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto and Goat Cheese were inspired by my neighbor who made for us once and brought some over for me to try. He actually cooked his on the grill and wow, they were amazing. I could not wait to make them for myself. I wanted to try them on the grill, but honestly this past week here in Florida has been so brutally hot and muggy that the thought of standing over a grill “testing” a recipe just didn’t appeal to me. Roasting them up in my oven worked just as well, and I got to enjoy the a/c while doing it.

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We are officially in my favorite food season. All the fresh vegetables! I have to say, in Florida we are in this season most of the year, but when the weather is as hot as it is right now all I crave is cool, refreshing salads like this Cucumber Avocado Salad.

I have made this simple salad several times over the last few weeks and each time I make it my daughter and husband dish out the compliments. They are currently the only salad eaters in the family (in addition to me) although my oldest son does like his veggies, just served in a more deconstructed version and not in salad form. I’m good with it.

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This recipe and post were created in partnership with Shuman Farms’ Real Sweet Vidalia Onions.

This Three Bean and Vidalia Onion Salad has to be one of my favorite salads to make when we are barbecuing over the summer.  It’s a classic salad that you probably have seen more than once on a salad bar – but homemade is so much better! Wow, can you taste the freshness. I love to add sweet Vidalia onions for extra flavor, especially when they are in season mid-April to early August.

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Click here to Pin this easy Roasted Asparagus recipe!

You know it’s spring when you see bunches of asparagus popping up everywhere at the grocery store. After a long season of winter squashes and sweet potatoes (with all due respect), it’s one of my favorite sights to see in the produce section. I always associate asparagus as an Easter side dish, and rightfully so since growing up that was the one vegetable I always made sure was being served for Easter lunch. I don’t really remember it being an everyday veggie for our family, but instead one I looked forward to for our holiday meal.

Nowadays asparagus is everywhere. I like to make it like this, simply roasted in the oven with a little olive oil, coarse salt and fresh ground pepper. It’s also delicious sprinkled with a breadcrumb and Parmesan mixture right at the end of it’s cook time. (more…)

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If there is one thing I’m learning it’s that I will always thank myself on Tuesday night for cooking up a batch of brown rice Sunday. Food prep like cooking grains, baked potatoes and even shredded chicken in the slow cooker ALWAYS saves me during the school week.

When I find myself unsure of what I want to make for dinner (not to mention, short on time), it’s always incredibly helpful to have a few staples already cooked up and waiting in the fridge. Brown rice is one of those staples and helps to make this super quick and easy Vegetable Fried Brown Rice possible even on the busiest of nights.

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First post of 2019! I’m excited to finally share with you a reader favorite slow cooker recipe of mine that I updated into an Instant Pot recipe. This Slow Cooker Lentil and Quinoa Chili has been one of the most popular and most cooked recipes from the blog, I love that everyone enjoys it so much! Now you can make it in the Instant Pot!

I’ve had my Instant Pot well over a year now and cook a lot of basics in it (chicken, pork, spaghetti squash, hard boiled eggs and now rice), but I don’t make enough full meals in my Instant Pot. I am going to change that this year, that is my goal – starting with this Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili recipe.

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With Thanksgiving this week, I wanted to share with you some of my go-to vegetable side dishes – these Roasted Green Beans with Almonds is one of them. I have been making this dish for as long as I have been contributing to our family’s Thanksgiving meal. It’s a great, fresh alternative to green bean casserole, if you are looking for something lighter to add to the table.

How do you cook green beans with almonds?

I like to roast my green beans in a 425 degree oven with a little sliced onion or shallot then toss with lemon zest and almonds. You can use sliced almonds or slivered almonds. I typically use sliced almonds but change it up every now and then depending on what I have. This time I used slivered almonds. I like to add my almonds to the green beans and have them toast up in the oven while the green beans are still cooking but you could also pan toast the almonds and use them as a topping for the green beans when they are done cooking.

These green beans are so easy to oven roast, but if you wanted to, you could easily steam them ahead of time and toss with same lemon zest and almond mixture in a skillet to save room in the oven. Don’t forget to squeeze some lemon over the green beans and season well with salt and pepper before serving! The lemon adds even more fresh flavor to the vegetables.

Side dishes for Thanksgiving

These roasted green beans with almonds and lemon round out our Thanksgiving table well. I am a big fan of side dishes on Thanksgiving and my plate is always filled to the rim with all the veggies, stuffing and cranberry sauce. My family’s traditional stuffing is this Italian Stuffing and I always make this fresh Apple-Orange Cranberry sauce every year.

If you need some last minute Thanksgiving side dish inspiration check out this post with 50 Thanksgiving Sides – you will definitely be hungry after browsing through all those recipes!

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Roasted Green Beans with Almonds

• Author: Aggies Kitchen
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 6 servings
• Category: Side Dish
• Method: Oven

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Roasted Green Beans with Almonds is a simple side dish that is perfect for holiday entertaining or to serve alongside your favorite weeknight meal.

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Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans, trimmed
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
• lemon juice, from half lemon

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Toss the green beans in a large baking dish with the oil and sliced onion and season well with salt and pepper.
3. Roast until just cooked through and slightly browned, about 15 to 18 minutes. Combine the almonds and zest in a small bowl. Sprinkle zest and almonds over green beans and toss. Roast for another 3-5 minutes, careful not to let almonds brown too much.
4. Transfer green beans to a platter and squeeze juice from half lemon over green beans. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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I was introduced to delicata squash by my mom 7 years ago when she brought some to my house after receiving it in her weekly CSA basket from one of her local farms. At the time, both of us didn’t eat a lot of meat and she was excited to share this vegetarian stuffed delicata squash recipe she pulled together with me. My mom has always been good at pulling together meals with whatever she has on hand – I like to think I got those skills from her.

This Stuffed Delicata Squash recipe was originally posted in January of 2011 (see below). Ironically, my mom was here “saving the day” again a couple of weeks ago, just as I picked up a few delicata squash at Trader Joe’s. I love how Trader Joe’s can make an ingredient so popular, especially when it’s a fruit or vegetable. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, no worries, you can find delicata squash mixed in with the selection of hard squashes (spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut squash) at most grocery stores.

The filling in this recipe is made with garlic, onion, spinach and white beans. If you prefer to include meat, swap out the beans for cooked crumbled Italian sausage.

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