Vegetable Stew That Even My Kids Like

Get a free recipe from the new cookbook 20-40-60! Ready in about 60 minutes, this hearty and healthy soup will win over the pickiest of eaters.


Prep Time: 15 Minutes | Cook Time: 45 Minutes | Servings: 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

½ teaspoon salt

4 large cloves garlic, pressed

Place a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat and add the olive oil. When hot, add the onion and salt and sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion is fragrant and translucent, about5minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for30seconds while stirring constantly.


1 (32-ounce) carton vegetable stock

1 teaspoon mixed dried herb blend

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon tomato paste

Pour the stock into the onion mixture and scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any browned bits. Stir in the herbs, bay leaf, and tomato paste. Turn the heat to low.


4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled

1 small sweet potato, peeled

2 parsnips, peeled

3 carrots, peeled

3 ribs celery

4 cups water

Cut the potatoes, sweet potato, and parsnips into ½-inch dice and add to the broth. Cut the carrots and celery into ¼-inch dice and add to the soup. Simmer for 30minutes or until the potato is tender and the soup thickens slightly. Remove the bay leaf. Taste to check seasonings; add additional salt in ¼-teaspoon increments if necessary.


6–8 eggs

1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Coarse salt

1 bunch parsley, chopped with stems

Blue corn tortilla chips

Fill a shallow pan with water, add the vinegar, and bring to a simmer (a few bubbles breaking the surface). Ladle stew into bowls. Crack and slide eggs one by one into the simmering water. Cook for 2–3minutes, or until the white is set and the yolk is still soft. Remove the eggs individually with a slotted spoon, floating one or two on top of each bowl of stew. Sprinkle a little coarse salt on top of the eggs. Sprinkle stew liberally with parsley and serve with tortilla chips.


Whether you only have twenty minutes or an hour—or something in between—you can deliver a delicious entrée and side dish to the table with these quick, easy, and crowd-pleasing recipes. Organized by "available time" rather than by "kind of dish," this unique cookbook is designed to help the time-conscious cook with dinner planning.

Enjoy "Mac and Cheese with Candied Sausage and Green Peas" from the "20-Minutes or Less" section. You can create a hearty "Vegetable Stew with Blue Corn Chips and Poached Egg" in forty minutes. If you have sixty minutes in the morning to prep, you can make "Sweet and Spicy Turkey Taco Salad" in a slow cooker. And if you've got more time, plan ahead by making easy-to-freeze dinners on the weekend for a quick bake-and-serve weeknight meal.

As a busy mother of four, Kate Otterstrom also makes dinnertime fun with recipes you might not expect could work for dinner—including "Toothpick Appetizers for Dinner" and breakfast favorites like "Slow-Cooker Cheese, Sausage, and Mushroom Strata."

With the ingredients paired side-by-side with the instructions, it is easy to learn a new recipe or pick up where you left off after an interruption. Since Kate is gluten-intolerant herself, each recipe also includes instructions on how to adapt it for a gluten-free option, along with a dedicated space for you to jot down notes for additional variations.

In today's busy world, time is precious, and this cookbook can help you get dinner on the table with however much time you have.

Chelsea Oldroyd