Adventures with Soyrizo

Well over a decade ago I met David.  Great guy and happily part of the family since marrying my cousin, Rachel.  I'll never forget the time the cousins were all hanging out together and David gets on a roll talking about vegetarian alternatives to things normally meat like hot dogs, bacon, and chicken nuggets.  I had never heard of such things as "Tofu Pups" and "Not dogs"!  He had me in tears.

Dilly Beans

Hi.  Is it really August?  That's not right.  Ok I'll spare you my blathering on about how time flies and revisit the weather ups and downs.  Today I made Dilly Beans.  They taste just like they sound and then some!

In late June we went to our farmers market and had a lovely time.  We went after lunch and realized that it would rock to go for lunch should we ever return.  I am pleased to report we ventured back yet again.  This time for lunch and goodies from the farmers.

Lentil Stew with Chicken Andouille Sausage

 
We left off that it was C's birthday and I made cupcakes.  My plan was to make one of his favorites for dinner and the cupcakes.  There was a last minute thing with work right around quitting time and the next thing I knew I was calling online ordering Papa Johns.  Yep, happy friggin' birthday sweetie.

Curried Vegetables with Dahl

Time for more true confessions.  I don't know anything about Indian cuisine.  In fact, I used to frequent an Indian buffet for lunch with coworkers.  One day I was gushing about how much I loved "that one tofu dish".  My buddy, Burke's like, "Um that's cheese, not tofu."  What? I about died!  You have no idea how much of that I would pile on my plate!  Hence why I used to frequent it.  Now, it is more of a quarterly treat.

Pizza on Saturday means I can cook something fun on Sunday!  Nice!  I'm still loving Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home.  I haven't made anything I didn't like out of it yet.

This is no exception.  There's curry, always a great start!  Then there's cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and red and green bell pepper.  If that's not enough veggie for ya add in spinach.  Finally there's dahl!  Dahl is pureed cooked lentils which makes the dish a creamy stew wonderful served on rice.  This has to be the healthiest meal I've had in a long time. (no cheese in disguise as tofu here)  Bonus, it tasted delicious!  We each had seconds!  Word of warning, prepping the vegetables took awhile so add some time in for this.

My favorite part had to be the cauliflower and sweet potato.  Yum.  C added some Thai Chili paste and I thought it was a welcome addition if you like it spicier.  I ended up adding some too.

This makes TONS.  Haul out your large dutch oven.  We had enough leftovers for two more dinners at least.  If only I didn't forget to put them in the fridge.  grrr.

Curried Vegetables with Dahl
from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home


Dahl
1 1/2 cups red lentils
4 cups hot water

Curried Vegetables
1 onion chopped
1 fresh green chile finely diced (I used poblano)
3 Tbsp canola oil
2-3 sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (about 4 cups)
1 Tbsp mild curry powder
1 tsp cumin
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger root
2 cups water
1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
2 green or red bell peppers, chopped
8 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2-3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt to taste

Thoroughly rinse the lentils.  In a medium saucepan bring lentils and water to a boil.  Lower heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Preheat dutch oven on stove over medium high heat.  Once hot add oil and saute onion and chile for a couple minutes.  Lower heat to medium and add sweet potatoes, curry powder, cumin, and ginger.  Cook for 2-3 minutes stirring often.  It will smell AWESOME!

Add water and stir to pick up all spices collected on bottom of pot.  Add cauliflower and bell peppers.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Once lentils are cooked puree lentils and the cooking liquid in blender or food processor until smooth.  Once the cauliflower is tender stir in the chopped spinach and lentil puree (dahl).  Salt to taste.  Serve immediately over rice with naan bread.  Have seconds without guilt!

Herbed Risotto with Piperade

"I feel full after the Risotto."

Happy Prez Day!  Were you off today?  C and I were off and spent the morning with Z at IKEA.  It is quite the kid friendly place.  Some day we would LOVE to remodel our kitchen and checked out their cabinets and appliances etc.  It was fun but a kitchen remodel is a scary prop ya know.

Then we went to Bellevue's Goldberg's Deli for an early lunch.  Z had his first matzo ball.  It was a special moment.  He chowed!  It actually made me want to make my own batch cuz the matzo balls seemed heavier than I'm used to.  Still pretty tasty though.

My new vegetarian cookbooks have drool all over them by now.  I bought four books which I realized is three too many.  I have major recipe overload and couldn't decide what to make.  Combine that with a crazy busy project at work and here comes take out Chinese.  [Never a bad thing but still...] Friday night I sat my butt down and made a menu for the week and a grocery list.  Sunday I went shopping during Z's nap.  Here's the menu if you're interested:

Sun: Pizza (duh - stay tuned for post)

Mon: Herbed Risotto with Piperade 

Tues: Falafel with cucumber sauce

Wed: Bubbe evening with Z, I try to wokout  (wish me luck)

Thur: Black Bean burgers

Fri:  Dinner with Bubbe and Queen to celebrate Bubbe's bday (woo hoo!)

Tonight I made risotto.  This was my first attempt at risotto.  I'm a cooking show junkie and have seen shows where the person makes risotto and touts how easy it is to make.  The trick is you must have everything ready to go and the patience to stand over it and stir close to constantly for about 20 minutes.  Quite the commitment even for an avid cook.  

Risotto is made with Arborio rice and is wonderfully creamy.  The interesting thing about it is there isn't any cream or butter needed.  You can add some at the end but the starch from the rice is what makes it creamy.  Probably the cooking method too.  C found all this out and was on board [Not a cheese or cream guy].

The verdict?  The risotto was lovely!  I was ecstatic with how well it came out.  C and Z both ate seconds!  If you make this, which I highly recommend, prep all the ingredients before you start cooking.  Read through the directions a couple times, especially the risotto part, since the beginning is pretty fast.  btw - a Piperade is a pepper, onion, and tomato sauce from the Basque country.  To serve ladle some risotto into a bowl, make a well in it, and fill it with the Piperade.  Heaven!

Herbed Risotto with Piperade

Adapted from Vegetarian Planet

Piperade

1 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 onions sliced

2 green bell peppers, cut into thin strips (julienne)

2 yellow, orange, or red peppers, cut into thin strips

4 cloves garlic minced

15 oz can of diced tomatoes drained

salt/pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

Risotto

4 1/2 cups broth (I used low sodium organic chicken)

2 tsp olive oil

4 shallots minced 

1 1/2 cup Arborio rice (uncooked)

1/2 cup white wine

salt/pepper

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil  (makes the whole dish!)

Prep all ingredients then start Piperade first.  Once it is cooking for the 15 minutes then you can start the risotto if you are comfortable double-tasking.  Otherwise, just finish the Piperade and let it hang out while you make the risotto.

Preheat large skillet over medium heat.  If using non-stick add oil right away, if using stainless steel let skillet preheat and add oil right before adding the onions.  Saute onions until they soften then add the peppers and garlic.  Lower heat to Medium low and cook for 15 minutes, stir occasionally.  At this point you can start the risotto if you'd like.  After the 15 minutes add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using.  You will make a lot and could almost halve this recipe.

In a pan bring the broth to a simmer and keep hot.  Put a ladle in the broth.  Preheat a medium sized pot over medium high heat.  Add oil and saute shallots for two minutes stirring constantly.  Add risotto and stir one minute.  Add white wine and 1/2 cup of warmed broth.  Stir.  I ended up turning the heat down to just warmer than medium to avoid burning.  When the liquid is mostly all absorbed add another 1/2 cup of broth, stir, add more broth when liquid is mostly absorbed.  Repeat until all the liquid is used.  It will take 18 to 20 minutes.  Risotto is done when all liquid is used and rice is tender but still slightly chewy.  Stir in pepper and Parmesan cheese.  Add all but 2 tablespoons of basil, stir.  

Mound risotto in bowl.  Use a ladle and make a well, ladle in piperade and sprinkle parm and basil.  Enjoy with the rest of the white wine you used for the risotto!

Free beer!

Ok let's face it, if I named the title of this blog post what it is really about you wouldn't have read this far.  But now that I have your attention please humor me and keep on reading...

I was reading Cozy Kitchen's blog about Eggplant Meatballs.  Not being a fan of eggplant, blah, I decided I liked the idea but just couldn't do it.  So I did a search for lentil meatballs and found a couple recipes.  I mainly followed this one and added my own twist.  They came out surprisingly well!  Z-man ate them which is a huge bonus in my book.  C ate nearly as many as he would eat of beef meatballs.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm not in lala land over here.  The rain (and snow) isn't making me batty.  They are definitely not meatballs as we all know and love but they are for sure a close second.

Are you still reading?  I'm impressed and think you look lovely today.  Have you lost weight?

The first night we had them with spaghetti and marinara sauce.  [Yep, jarred.]  The second night I simmered them in BBQ sauce for meatball subs.  They are super filling and pretty tasty!  We both liked them even better in BBQ.  They can easily stand up to simmering in a sauce like a regular meatball so next time I'll let them sit awhile in marinara.  So here it is, what I was originally going to title this post but thought otherwise...  [drum roll please]

Lentil "Meat"balls 

1.2 cup low-fat yogurt,well- drained
2 cups dried brown lentils
2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth if you're hard core)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp garlic powder divided (the real thing would be good)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cooked spinach (get that frozen chopped stuff)
2/3 cups bread crumbs (I toast a piece or two of bread and pulverize in processor)
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (shhh don't tell C)
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
salt/pepper

Bring broth to a boil.  Add lentils, bay leaf, and 1 tsp garl powder.  Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 20-30 minutes.  All liquid should be absorbed and lentils downright mushy.

In large bowl mix all ingredients very well with a spoon.  If you are like me you pull out the food processor instead and pulse it all until it looks the picture above-ish.  Sorry, not much to look at but it all works out in the end and the picture kinda helps.

Let mixture sit in fridge an hour or two.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Wet your hands and shape meatballs and place onto well greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 25 minutes turning them halfway through.  If you can break it apart like a meatball with a fork then you know they're done.

Fun additions would be saute onion, mushrooms, garlic. Whatever you like!  Heck, try it with some roasted eggplant!  I almost wonder how some Lipton onion soup mix would be in there.  Yep that's right I said it.

Tzatziki Goodness

Tzatziki can really make a dish.  Most of my family calls is cucumber sauce.  It is essential on gyros or kafta kabobs or falafel or as a dip with bread mmmmm.  The other night I had dinner with Carolyn and she told me she ate tzatziki for lunch.  Yes, with a spoon straight up!  I thought she was off her rocker.  Then I thought about it... it is yogurt but instead of adding fruit there's cucumber.  It works.

I made falafel and kafta kabobs for New Years Eve (recipes to someday follow).  Tzatziki is so easy to make that I really don't see the point in buying it ready made.  I got several compliments from others so I'm thinking this is worthy of sharing.

Couple Disclaimers
1)  This is another one of those approximate recipes.  I don't have solid measurements.  Truthfully, that's what I love about most cooking - you can make it your own.
2)  I don't have a finished product picture so you'll have to imagine it all mixed up. Time to face facts - I spaced.

Tzatziki Goodness

16 oz Lowfat Plain Organic yogurt (you can use Greek yogurt to save time)
1 peeled, seeded, then shredded cucumber
2-3 cloves garlic (depends on how garlicky you like it)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried dill (I'm sure fresh dill would rock the casbah)
salt/pepper
1 green onion diced (white and light green part)

If you have Greek yogurt you can happily skip this paragraph.  Place a fine mesh sieve on top of smaller bowl.  Put paper towels (or cheese cloth) in bottom of sieve.  Add yogurt and top it with another paper towel or two.  Use a can of soup or equivalent on top as a weight to help drain liquid from yogurt.  Let sit for at least 30 minutes.  You can throw it in fridge if you're worried you'll space and come back to room temperature nastiness.

While yogurt is draining.  Shred the peeled and seeded cucumber.  Cucumbers are really watery.  Place the shredded cucumber on a couple paper towels and wring out to remove as much liquid as possible from it.
 

When yogurt is drained place it in medium to large bowl.  Add all ingredients but the green onion.  Mix well.  Chill for at least an hour but ideally overnight.  Right before serving add green onion.  mmm I could have some right now.

Make this Veggie Chili

Saturday we had our first ever holiday party!  It was pretty fun if I do say so myself.  Yes, this does mean we skipped having Sunday pizza.  GASP!  Eh, it happens.  C made some yummy burgers (big beefy oniony burgers).  I love Seattle because it is always BBQ season here.

I wanted the party to be appetizers and desserts.  Naturally, vegetarian chili comes to mind.  ???  Typical.  Anyway, I decided it was definitely something people can eat standing up schmoozing and didn't look back.  The verdict?  Success!  (Phew)  

Finished Chili: droool

My mom has reminded me several times that I was SO lucky it turned out cuz chili was a risk for the following reasons (counting on fingers required):

1) I had never made this recipe before

2) Veggie chili always seems to be lacking something (ummm meat)

3) I didn't know if it would be too hot since kids would be there

4) It is a party and people are standing around and not wanting to eat chili (ok I don't know if she actually added this one but I thought about it)

Turns out this chili had just the right amount of heat. Even C didn't add hot sauce!  Yet, I *think* kids were able to eat it with cheese and sour cream added.  Plus, I added mushrooms to it which added to the beefy taste and I didn't miss meat one bit.  Finally, I also made meatballs for the party, covered in bbq sauce but whatevs.  People could technically add them to the chili if they wanted.  Wonder if anyone did...

The recipe below serves 6 to 8 people.  I quadrupled it for the party as shown in the photo.  Chili always has a million ingredients so don't be scared and my goodness get your spices from a store that carries them in bulk so you don't break the bank!

Missing from Photo: a bowl FULL of seasoning

Make this Veggie Chili Chili

Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooking for Health

2 tbsp Canola Oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cups red, orange, or yellow bell pepper diced

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1/2 cup diced zucchini

1/2 cup mushrooms diced 

3-4 cloves garlic crushed

1.5 tbsp ground cumin (mmmm cumin)

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 tbsp New Mexico red chile powder (or cayenne)

1 tbsp Canned chipotles in adobo sauced (puree or finely mince the pepper)

1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes

1 tbsp Molasses

1 can pinto beans undrained

1 can black beans undrained

salt/pepper

Preheat soup pot over med-high heat.  Add oil. Once shimmering add onions and peppers with a little salt. Saute for 3 minutes.  Add carrots and celery, lower heat to medium, and cook about 5 minutes.  Next add mushrooms and zucchini and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and stir, then toss in all spices from cumin through chile powder in ingredient list. Cover and cook 5 minutes stirring occasionally to avoid sticking.

Add pureed chipotles with adobo, molasses, and tomatoes and stir well.  Finally add beans (including their liquids) and gently stir.  Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  You can eat it as is or with cheese, sour cream, and crackers.  Or as C's family does it - over macaroni noodles.  Or like my dad on top of a baked potato.  I served it with the optional toppings of cheddar cheese, sour cream, diced onions, and seasoned oyster crackers.  

Come an' git it!

Live a Little Garlic Bread

Wednesday night.  Eating vegetarian.  In a hurry so figure spaghetti here we come. [missing meatballs sniff sniff]   Joy oh joy.  But wait... we have hoagie rolls!  I can make garlic bread.  drool.  Garlic Bread.  You know you love it.  How can anyone possibly pass on it?  Suddenly, lame meal has turned into eagerly anticipated meal.

Anyone can and should make garlic bread.  Don't buy that pre-buttered stuff at the store.  As Dad says, "Live a little!"  Get yourself some olive oil, a head of garlic, and some italian seasoning and become a gourmet.

Live a Little Garlic Bread

Extra Virgin Olive Oil (amounts will vary depending on how much you are making)
Crushed garlic (just wing it here - remember, live a little)
Italian seasoning
salt/pepper
Hoagie rolls sliced in half lengthwise

Preheat oven on broil.  If you have a toaster oven feel free to rock that instead!  Combine all ingredients but rolls in a bowl. Generously brush cut side of roll with oil mixture and arrange on cookie sheet.  Try not to drool on your bread please.

Pop in oven and stand-by cuz it'll be quick.  I actually had my top rack on the middle slot which bought me some time so they didn't burn.  Phew.  Take them out when they are browned to your liking.  Pretend to like the spaghetti as much as the bread.

Holiday Groove

What are your favorite holiday CDs?

For me Elvis Christmas is the big winner!  Many fond memories of my brother, Jon, rockin' out to Elvis Christmas in our living room.  Good times!

Elvis Presley, Elvis ' Christmas Album LP
Next, there's Philidephia Brass Carols blah blah blah see the image :)  Instrumental and beautiful and reminds me of my dad.

A Festival Of Carols In Brass

Lately, I'm totally diggin the bluegrass Christmas music featuring some heavy hitters!  Check it out, you'll love it.

A Very Special Acoustic Christmas

Finally, there's A Very Special Christmas Volume ANY!  Reminds me of my sister who LOVES these albums with good reason.  Honorable mention: Elf:Soundtrack, Travis Tritt Christmas, The Chanukah Song song by Adam Sandler. :)

A Very Special Christmas

What are your favorites?  Share, don't be shy.  Happy holidays!

Chili and Tea? Couldn't be...

First off another SNOW DAY!!  C's school was cancelled and I worked from home again so all day was Daddy Daycare for Z.  He did an awesome job!  Thanks QT.

My dad is visiting and is super fit.  He walked up this enormous hill, ice and crazy sledders and all, and stopped at the store and picked up some knock-off Baileys for me.  Um Yum!  Love you Dad!  Ok, I texted him while he was out to ask him to get it but still way awesome of him to get it for me.  Lucky for me C just made another pot of coffee so "Baileys" and coffee it was.  Yippee.

Fast forward a couple hours and my throat is scratchy and I feel like a cup of tea.  Chai tea.  hmmmm how would "Baileys" taste in Chai?  Ummmmm Amazing!  YES indeed I have, in fact, died and gone to heaven.  I think I like it better than in coffee.  Still not as good as on the rocks but it is way too cold for anything on the rocks.  Don't judge.

Yesterday we had bean and corn chili for dinner.  This is one of my many recipes that I don't really follow any particular recipe to make.  Every time I make chili it comes out different but surprisingly the same.  This time I paid attention so I could pass along to others.  I couldn't resist snapping a shot with the chili and a beer in the best beer coozy in the world!  Have you ever seen a beer coozy look all studly with an 80s collar and all?! Cracks me up!  ILL-INI!!!

Bean and Corn Chili


3 dried chiles (I used New Mexican but chipotle would rock.  Let's blame the snow)
4 cloves garlic
1 large onion diced
3 celery stalks chopped (doesn't this feel like deja vu from the last couple recipes)
2-3 carrots peeled and chopped
1 green pepper diced
1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
1.5 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
salt/pepper
1.5 Tbsp tomato paste
1.5 cups chicken broth (there I go cheating again)
1/3 cup brown lentils (I just love lentils and couldn't help myself - totally optional if you have the restraint)
15 oz can black beans drained and rinsed
15 oz can pinto beans drained and rinsed (sure throw them in the same colander, go wild)
2 15 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn

First off put about a cup and a half of water in a bowl and zap for 4-5 minutes until boiling (or go old school and use tea kettle).  Put whole dried chiles in water, weight with small plate and let rehydrate about 5 minutes. Chop the veggies... come back and slice off top of chile, throw them in a blender with about 1/2 cup chile water and the garlic, blend until as smooth-ish. 

In soup pot preheat on medium high.  Add 1-2 tbsp olive oil and saute onion adding salt and pepper.  Add carrot, celery, and pepper and cook a couple minutes.  Add chile blend stir about 30 seconds.  Add tomato paste and seasoning stir about a minute.  Add broth, lentils, beans, and tomatoes stir.  Bring to simmer, lower heat to med-low and cover.  Cook for about an hour or more until lentils are cooked.  Add corn and warm through another couple minutes.  

C's family got me into having chili on macaroni.  It is tasty.  I also add shredded cheddar cheese but guess what, C doesn't.  I love him but sometimes feel sorry for him.  To go through life hating cheese must be such a bummer don't you think?  Guess what, it wasn't hot enough for him so he added hot sauce.  I did too. 

Lentil Cabbage Stew

Imagine this, you get off a flight from Chicago to Seattle at 10pm on Sunday.  Your 20 month old needs to be changed from head to toe cuz it is a fact that one diaper will not hold 16 oz of milk and 12 oz of watered down apple juice.  It just won't.  (We aren't negligent parents.  We just let sleeping dogs lie).  Wait and wait and then wait some more for your bags.  Wait for shuttle to car.  Drive home.  Get to door.  There's a package!  What's this?  A package?  For me?  FUN!!  There's absolutely no better way to come home from a trip.  *Mental note always come home from long trip to a present, wish me luck.

Ok, first put Z-Man to sleep and bring in bags.  Boo hiss being an adult sucks.  Now the package, laundry will wait :)  My best friend, Carolyn, from day 1 college sent me a present!  I told her we were trying to go veggie during the week so she sent us her favorite veggie cookbook.  (She also sent us a fiction book her and her husband loved which I am not allowed to read until I take and pass a Microsoft Database Developer exam this January. More on that later once I read it)  THANKS CAROLYN!!!

I was so excited about this book!  The first recipe I tried from is called Bulgarian Lentil Stew.  It sounds pretty dull eh?  It was actually really yummy.  I have to say I added more garlic, seasoning, the lentil cooking liquid and had to cook everything longer that instructed.  Oh and I used chicken broth to cook the lentils instead of water.  oops.  Truthfully, I'm not all strict about this veggie thing but it feels really good.

Here's the final product!  Ok it doesn't look like much but it was really good.  Trust me.  Try it!  btw - I really think the name Bulgarian Lentil Stew isn't as fitting as Lentil Cabbage Stew which sounds way tastier.

Lentil Cabbage Stew
1/2 cup green lentils  (C thought it could use more lentils which warmed my heart, do what you like)
3 cloves garlic crushed
bay leaf (recipe said bay optional, weird.  I could see cilantro or some iffy herb or seasoning but bay? Don't get it.)
3 cups water or (veggie or chicken) broth
1 large onion diced
1 green pepper diced (oh yeah the original recipe called for yellow bell pepper which I didn't have and cost twice as much so whatevs)
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
1/2 cup mushrooms diced (it called for 1 cup which I didn't have - ok I needed the rest for another recipe to be blogged about at a later date)
1 tsp thyme (recipe called for rosemary but I wasn't in the mood)
1 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp cayenne or new mexican chili powder vary type and amt as you like
small cabbage chopped (I used green but not sure if it matters)
28 oz can of diced tomatoes

*TIP - Here's what makes life easier for a cook, prep everything before you start.  I make sure to chop the onion last so I don't cry through the other veggies.  I preheat the soup pot then start chopping the onion. Usually by the time I'm done the pot is ready for oil and the onion.

You'll need a small pot and a large soup pot.  Bring 3 cups liquid to a boil in the small pot.  Add lentils, bay leaf and garlic. Stir.  Cover and simmer about 20 minutes until they are mostly cooked.

While lentils simmer preheat soup pot on medium high heat.  Add olive oil and onion.  Stir, add some salt and pepper and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add pepper, carrot and celery stir and cook another couple minutes.  Add seasonings and cabbage, turn heat to medium.  Cover and cook about 10-20 minutes.  I don't know if it was cuz I kept checking it or what but it took forever for the cabbage to cook (soften).  I also think I didn't chop mine small enough.  I liked the somewhat crunchy texture though as did C so it worked out.

Add tomatoes and lentils with most of the lentil cooking liquid.  For me, there was about 1 cup of cooking liquid left so I added 3/4 of it.  I bet I could have added it all but I wanted to keep it stew-like and got nervous it would be too thin. I know, like 1/4 cup makes that much difference...  Cover and cook until cabbage and veggies are as you like them (or you are too darn hungry to wait another minute to eat).  We pretty much let it cook another 20 minutes at this point but we only did the cabbage cooking part for 10 minutes.  You feel me?  Enjoy!

Veggie Stuffed Peppers

Hola! Last night I made vegetarian stuffed peppers. Yum! They could have used another 15 min in the oven but Z was ready to eat so we rallied.

Even though I parboiled the peppers they still were a little firm. C found them bland so next time more spice. He added his own hot sauce.

Mmmmm. So far so good with weeknight vegetarian. Btw- Monday we ate bean quesadillas, we are at three days in a row!

Lisa Needs More Time Veggie Peppers

4 green bell peppers halved lengthwise with seeds removed

1.5 cups cooked crazy Brown Rice Medley from Trader Joe  (any brown rice works)
15oz can of drained and rinsed black beans  (I use low sodium)
15oz can of diced tomatoes (I use salt free)
1 large onion diced
 3 cloves garlic crushed
1-2 carrots diced
1-2 celery stalks diced
3-4 mushrooms diced
2 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Chili powder (I usually use New Mexican Chile Powder)
1 tsp Oregano
Salt/pepper
15oz can tomato sauce (I use salt free)

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Place the pepper halves into the boiling water and parboil for about 2-3 minutes until they begin to soften.  Remove peppers from water and put skin down in a greased 13x9 baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Preheat a nonstick large frying pan over medium-high heat and spray with vegetable spray or use olive oil.  Saute onion until soft (about 2 minutes) then add garlic and stir (about 15 seconds).  Add carrots, celery, and mushrooms and cook stirring often for another couple minutes.  Once carrot begins to soften add turn heat down to medium and stir in seasonings and cook about a minute.  Add tomatoes, rice, and black beans stirring gently.  Taste it here and add more seasoning and salt and pepper if needed.  Stuff the pepper with mixture, top with tomato sauce.

Cover with tin foil and bake 50-60 minutes.  Make sure peppers are cooked to your mother's liking :)  C would add more hot sauce.

*Note - there isn't any cheese in this dish because in my house cheese is only allowed on pizza.  sniff sniff.  (the things we do for love)

Veggie night two

Normally, my mom watches Z on Wednesdays and we workout then go out for dinner (and undo everything we did at the gym). This week we leave for Chicago on Thursday so we switched the date night to today (wedn)

Workout went fine then we went to an overpriced Mexican (sort of) restaurant, Azul. What kind of restaurant has tacos, enchiladas, and Jamaican Jerk pork chops? Strange. Decent food but way spendy! Hi $13.50 for enchiladas? $16.99 for the jerk chops? Does that seem pricey to you? Am I just cheap or what? Luckily,the enchiladas were pretty tasty so I moved on.

Anyway, the vegetarian option was they filled the enchilada with onion and peppers. No beans? Seems like a no brainer to me. So I went with chicken. C was the big winner and got a salad. Let's not even discuss the chips and salsa. My mom used to hand them right back to the server back in her slim days. What awesome will power! We hand them right back when we need a refill ya know?!

Anyway, long story long... Day two was not a success. C declared eating out during the week is a no go on the way to the restaurant so there you have it.

Wish us luck for day three.

Veggie night

Well hi! The baby shower went really really well! My sister has some super friends which made the party oh so fun! More on that later but I'll warn you the pix are marginal at best. Today I talked with a camera buff friend about SLR cameras... Maybe someday.

C is reading _Eating Animals_ by Jonathan Safron-Foer. http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d.html/ref=redir_mdp_mobile/175-2015185-0142269?a=0316069906 We decided to try and eat vegetarian during the week and reserve eating meat to weekend meals. It is healthy and reduces energy consumption. We started today.

Tonight I made a really easy yummy made up dinner. Trader Joe has cans of fire roasted tomatoes with green chiles. I made pinto bean quesadillas in about 15 minutes!

1 small onion diced
1 large clove garlic
1 15 oz can tomatoes with green chiles (or can of tomatoes and small can of green chiles) draining optional
1 15 oz can pinto beans drained
Large handful frozen corn thawed
Tortillas (I used flour - use what you like)
Cheddar cheese

Spray large Frying pan with Pam (or use olive oil). Sauté onion about 3 minutes in large frying pan, add crushed garlic and stir about 20 seconds. Add the tomatoes with chiles and stir. Add beans and stir gently. Let most of liquid cook off and then add corn. Cook through about three to five minutes.

Spoon filling onto half of a whole tortilla. Top with grated cheese and fold clean half onto filled side of tortilla. Put onto griddle or another frying pan. Toast both sides until golden brown and cheese is melted. Cut into wedges and devour! Yummy and filling!

Mac n Cheese heaven

Ok you saw my award winning photo of the Mac before. Here's what it became... Gouda and white cheddar cheese goodness!

Z had THREE helpings! I would have had three helpings but the cupcakes in my tummy wouldn't move over and make room. Stupid cupcakes.

I totally recommend this recipe (see link from earlier post) one thing I will do next time is sprinkle crushed wheat crackers on top with cheese for some crunch. You feel me?

Saturday dinner...

We didn't feel like anything heavy since we pretty much ate all day (must not step on scale). We decided bruschetta fit the bill.

C used a green heirloom tomato plus a red. Nothing fancy, tomato, garlic,onion, basil, balsamic, olive oil, and salt/pepper. Mmm. Sometimes i add white beans but didn't today. Throw it on homemade toasted bread and chase it with wine (or in C's case beer). Yummy.

You'll notice there's an extra bowl of straight balsamic on the table cuz there's never enough for C. When he's out of bread he drinks it like cereal milk.

Mac and Cheese experiment

Busy day today with no pictures to prove it...  

Cupcakes. Check.  (white cake with white chocolate buttercream frosting from friend, Em's cookbook _Baked_ Thanks Em!)  Oh and yum watch for picture of my overfillde yumminess.

Sausage.  C cubed the pork shoulder and it is in the freezer.  hmmm maybe should take out a little early to thaw some.

Mac and cheese using the recipe from Cozy Kitchen.  About to start cooking pasta now.  I'm halving the recipe cuz Z and I are on our own with Mac and Cheese.  C hates Cheese.  Yes, I still married him.  Yes, he still loves pizza. He's Captain Light-on-the-cheese.  One time a buddy of ours and I got our own pizza with TRIPLE Cheese just to show him.  It was actually disgusting.  Live and learn.  I digress...  here's the link and watch for pix

http://www.acozykitchen.com/smoked-gouda-mac-and-cheese/