Quick (Vegan) Dinner: Stuffed Peppers and Vegetable Dill Soup

'Tis the season for perpetual lamenting over sad breakfast and dinner photos. Dark, dark, dark. Everyone knows the flash is the enemy of food photography, and overhead lights are a close second. I need to make one of those DIY lightboxes. 

Sad photo aside, this dinner was fabulous and easy. And, frankly, better balanced than most I throw together. I'm forever leaving out either protein or grains, but this stuffed pepper has both. 

The recipes below are meant to serve two, and have suggested modifications, should you desire a vegetarian or omniverian (I made that word up - I feel it should exist) options.

Vegetable Dill Soup

Ingredients

1/2 onion

5 carrots

5 small potatoes (I like the vixen gold variety. Red gold or fingerling work well, too)

2 tbs olive oil (or butter, if not vegan)

6 cups vegetable broth (or chicken, if omniverian)

3 cloves garlic

1/2 cup fresh dill

salt to taste

Cooking Instructions

Thinly slice onion, carrots and potatoes. Shave garlic into thin slivers. Coarsely chop dill (I actually like to use scissors for such undertakings).

In a good sized pan, heat olive oil and add onions. Saute for three minutes, or until about halfway soft, and add garlic. Saute for another minute and turn off heat.

In a good sized pot, bring broth to a boil. Add carrots and turn down to a simmer. After three minutes, add potatoes. When carrots and potatoes are almost the desired consistency (for me, this is usually after another ten minutes) add onions and simmer for another three minutes. It is best to keep the lid on between additions throughout this process. 

Remove from heat and add dill. 

Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients

1 cup seitan "ground beef" (I like to use Upton's Naturals. Or you could use actual beef, should you be an omnivarian)

1 cup white rice

1/2 onion

1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes

1/2 cups water

2 bell peppers, any color (I'm a fan of red or yellow, myself)

2 tbs olive oil (or butter, if not vegan)

Cooking Instructions

Preheat oven to 425

Roughly chop onion. Cut stems off peppers and clean out their seedy little guts.

In a medium pan, heat oil and add onion. After three minutes, add seitan "beef". Heat another five minutes, stirring often.

In a medium pot, bring water and canned tomatoes to a boil. Add rice, turn down to a simmer, put on the lid, and cook 25 minutes (or time suggested for your rice). 

Stir rice, seitan, and onions together and put combination in peppers. Place peppers on their sides in a pan. Place pan on a middle oven rack and bake for twenty minutes, or until peppers start to brown.