Winter Vegetable Stew

I have to credit my sister-in law for posting this site for the recipe. I made it last night and I liked it a lot. Brady ate most of it and Lani was coerced to eat it, if she wanted some healthy banana bread for our FHE treat.

Winter Vegetable Stew

1 cup onions, cut into 1/2 inch wedges

1 sweet potato

2 carrots

1 lb. banana or Hubbard squash

1 cup parsnips

2 cloves of garlic

1 red bell pepper

2 cups low sodium vegetable broth

1 cup pureed tomato (I used tomato sauce)

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1/4 tsp. cayenne (or desired amount)

1 (10 oz) package of frozen peas

1/4 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 bunch of cilantro sprigs rinsed or thinly sliced green onions (I used green onions)

Directions:

Peel onions and cut into 1/2 inch wedges. Peel parsnips, carrots and sweet potatoes into 3/4-inch pieces. Peel and mince the garlic or press garlic. Rinse bell pepper cut into 1/2-inch strips, I cut smaller, to hide them from my non-pepper lovers!

Cook onions, parsnips, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash and garlic in 1 cup of broth for 10 minutes in covered pan, stir occasionally. Add a few tablespoons of water if it starts to stick.

Add 1 more cup of broth, along with bell pepper, tomato sauce, lime juice and cayenne to taste. Return to boil and then reduce heat. Simmer covered until vegetables are tender when pierced about 12-15 minutes. If stew sticks to pan or gets thicker then desired, add more broth as needed.

Add peas and stir occasionally until hot, about 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle soup in bowls and garnish with cilantro or sliced green onions.

It was quite good, I added some saltines for some more texture and my kidlets liked that a lot. I was hoping to serve with freshly baked whole wheat bread, but I took a little nap and didn't get to that!

I found this recipe by searching under ingredients. I got some parsnips from bountiful baskets a couple of weeks ago and wanted a different recipe. I had almost everything in my fridge, my friend gave me a squash and all I needed was the pepper. Good for a colder fall night like last night!