Crispy Potato Wedges

These make for a great side dish. They are spicy and crispy yet fluffy in the middle. They go with everything.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons paprika

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

• 1 tablespoon chili powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 4 large potatoes, cut into wedges

• 1 cup bread crumbs

Directions

• Step 1

  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• Step 2

  Mix paprika, olive oil, garlic powder, chili powder, salt, and black pepper together in a bowl until marinade is smooth.

• Step 3

  Place potatoes in a baking dish; add marinade and rub into potatoes. Sprinkle bread crumbs over potatoes and coat each wedge well.

• Step 4

  Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 355 degrees F and continue cooking until wedges are tender enough to puncture with a fork, about 30 minutes more.

Simple Tomato Soup

This recipe is so easy and delicious. It's easily made vegan (if you use margarine instead of butter or 2 tablespoons of olive oil), ready in 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or margarine

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 onion, thinly sliced

• 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

• 1 cup water

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

• freshly ground black pepper to taste

• 1 pinch red pepper flakes

• 1/4 teaspoon celery seed

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

1. Heat butter and olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat and cook onion and garlic until onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

2. Add tomatoes, water, sugar, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, celery seed, and oregano.

3. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. Remove from heat and puree with an immersion blender.

5. Reheat soup until warm and season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Taco Meatloaf

Here is a twist on a classic recipe for your next Taco Tuesday.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef

• 1 cup crushed tortilla chips

• ¾ cup shredded pepper Jack cheese

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 (1 ounce) packet taco seasoning mix

• 2 eggs, beaten

• ½ cup milk

• ¼ cup mild red taco sauce, or more to taste

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Thoroughly combine beef, tortilla chips, pepper Jack cheese, onion, and taco seasoning in a bowl.

3. Whisk eggs, milk, and taco sauce together in a separate bowl. Add to meat mixture and stir until well combined.

4. Press mixture into a 9x5-inch loaf pan and top with a strip of taco sauce down the center.

5. Bake in the preheated oven until cooked through and browned on top, 45 to 60 minutes.

Spicy Chickpea Soup with Kale

With cold weather crops coming on now, this recipe can use your fresh kale from the garden along with pantry staples.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1 medium onion, minced

• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced

• 2 stalks celery, diced

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 4 cups chicken broth

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas - rinsed, drained, and lightly smashed

• 1 small bunch kale, chopped

• salt and ground black pepper to taste

• 1/2 cup finely chopped fresh parsley

• 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmesan cheese, or to taste (optional)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium-sized pot until warm.

2. Add cumin seeds and red pepper flakes; cook and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; cook and stir until onion is softened and translucent, about 5 minutes.

4. Stir in chicken broth, chickpeas, and kale.

5. Bring soup to a simmer and cook until kale is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; stir in parsley.

6. Remove from heat; top with Parmesan cheese.

Frozen Vegetable Stir-Fry

Soy sauce and peanut butter add a nice Thai-style flavor to this stir-fry. Using frozen vegetables makes it a very quick and tasty vegetable side dish.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 2 teaspoons peanut butter

• 2 teaspoons olive oil

• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables

• Chicken (Optional)

Directions

1. Combine soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, and peanut butter in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir frozen vegetables until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

3. Remove from heat and fold in soy sauce mixture.

Quarantine Cooking: 5 Can Chili

The apocalypse is gonna be a gas with this simple 5 can chili. Raid your bunker for these ingredients. The recipe is so simple I’m not even going to list the instructions below. Just dump and heat to kill any … uh … pathogens.

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can prepared chili with beans

• 1 (14 ounce) can whole kernel corn

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can vegetable beef soup

• 1 (10.75 ounce) can tomato soup

• 1 (10 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers