Black Bean Burgers

My friend Robin shared her version of this recipe, and it was universally applauded. Husbands declared that they did not miss the meat. Children asked for seconds. The burgers freeze well, and are filling.  I served them on whole wheat buns with a side of sweet potato fries, salad, and roasted peppers.  It's a great Meatless Monday option.

Black Bean Burgers
You can add additional veggies to these quite easily.  I added some microplaned carrots- they melt right in. Did I mention these freeze and reheat easily?  They are also baked, not fried.   I served them with a greek yogurt based dip, see recipe below. 


2 cans cooked black beans (should be about 2 1/4 c)
2 1/4 c cooked brown rice (1:1 ratio with beans)
1/3 c sauteed chopped mushrooms
1/2 microplaned or very finely grated carrot
2 T chopped basil
3 T tomato paste
red pepper flakes to taste
1/2- 1  tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Process all ingredients briefly in the food processor.  Form into patties.  You may want to spray hands with cooking spray or rub a little olive oil to prevent the mixture from sticking.  Place on a coated cooking sheet and bake for 20 minutes.

Greek Yogurt Dip/Sauce
You can use this for your dip for sweet potato fries, too.  Sometimes I add a handful of spinach and blend it just for color, and because I like to add spinach to things.

1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 clove garlic
1/4 tsp dried dill weed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 grated cucumber (optional)

Blend all ingredients with a fork.


Sweet Potato Fries
I'm bringing this back from our original post. Here's what I said then:
I've been making these for years.  I clipped the original recipe out of some magazine, long since lost.  My husband is not a huge fan, but my kids love it.  They get to dip their fries in ketchup.  If they are not browning or crisping well, put them on the broiler on high and watch closely.  They're not going to be quite as crispy as fast food fries, but they're so much better for you....

2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled, cut lengthwise into 1/4- 1/2 inch wedges. (about 3-4)

Tossing sweet potatoes.

1 T olive oil
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika (smoked paprika if you have it)

Preheat oven to 420 degrees. Toss all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes, then turn. Bake for 10 more minutes and broil if necessary to desired crispness, but they are generally done after about 20 minutes. 

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Thai Pizza

Thai Pizza
My kids love this dish.  It's got a peanut butter sauce!  What kid doesn't like peanut butter- especially if you combine it with cilantro and bean sprouts, right?  Leave those ingredients off if you must for the kids, but I like to pile on the fresh crunchy veggies after the pizza bakes so that you have that crisp cool contrast with the hot pizza. My recipe doesn't use up the whole can of coconut milk, so I have some to use later in the week for coconut rice or chicken. If you aren't going to use it within a few days, freeze it. I use the ready made whole wheat crust from Trader Joe's.  While the crust is pre-baking, I get all my veggies chopped.  I made this and Meatball Pizza on the same night, and had the same amount of both for leftovers. It's that yummy.

1 package ready-made pizza dough
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c light coconut milk
1 T fish sauce
1 clove minced garlic

1 grated carrot
1 small grated zucchini
1/4 thinly sliced red bell pepper
1/2 leek, sliced (optional)
1 1/2 c sliced chicken or tofu
3/4 c shredded mozzarella cheese

2 scallions, chopped
1/4 chopped basil leaves (optional)
handful cilantro, chopped
handful fresh bean sprouts

Prepare dough as directed.  Spread out on a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, using olive oil as necessary to keep dough from sticking to the pan and to your fingers. Poke holes in it with a fork, and prebake in an oven for 8-10 minutes at 450 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine peanut butter, coconut milk, garlic, and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer and take off the heat.  Prepare veggies.  Once the crust is partially baked, spread the sauce on the crust.  Sprinkle carrots, zucchini, red pepper, leek (optional), and chicken or tofu.  Sprinkle cheese on top. Bake for another 8 minutes, until cheese is slightly browned.   Take out of the oven, and sprinkle scallions, basil leaves, cilantro, and bean sprouts.  Serve immediately.


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Meatless Monday: Vegetable and Chevre Casserole

Another successful Meatless Monday experiment. The kids liked it, and Claire was pleasantly surprised- as much as we love our veggies, few people jump up and down at the prospect of veggie casserole, right? It's also great reheated!

Vegetable and Chevre Casserole
I got the original recipe for this from thefresh20.com, which is a great meal planning site.  I tweaked it a little by adding chevre instead of feta, and adding TVP to give the recipe a little more substance. TVP is textured vegetable protein. It is low cost, and you just add hot water for a few minutes to reconstitute it.  It has the texture of ground meat, but not the flavor. I add a little balsamic vinegar to it to give it a little more flavor, and mixed into dishes, it adds texture and protein. The recipe works just fine without it, also.

1 box whole wheat penne pasta
1 medium onion, diced
2 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, diced
2 zucchini, diced
4 tomatoes, diced
1 c green beans, diced
3/4 c packed basil leaves, chopped
2 c chopped spinach
1 c crumbled chevre cheese
1 c TVP (textured vegetable protein), reconstituted (optional)
1/4 c sunflower seeds
4 T balsamic vinegar
2 c vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper
1 c whole wheat bread crumbs
1/2 c parmesan cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook pasta as directed, drain and place in 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and add onions and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add carrots (these take longer) and saute, adding a little vegetable stock of water if the pan gets dry. Next add zucchini and saute for a minute before adding green beans.   Add tomatoes, basil leaves, and 3 T balsamic vinegar. Let simmer for a few minutes. Add the rest of the vegetable stock or water and salt and pepper. Stir in basil leaves and spinach at the last minute, and then pour over the noodles. Stir so that all the noodles are covered. Add 1 T balsamic vinegar to the TVP, and mix into the casserole along with the sunflower seeds. Crumble in the chevre and mix carefully.  Mix the bread crumbs with the cheese and sprinkle over the top.  Bake for 20 minutes covered, then 10 minutes uncovered so that the bread crumb layer is golden brown.

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Baked Parmesan Chicken Tenders and Lemon Zucchini Noodles

Claire needed a week off, so Myndi, who has been taking care of my kids for nearly 5 years, helped me with this meal. The veggies are mixed in with the noodles, but I still like to serve it with a salad. It was a big hit with the twins, who kept asking for more "noo-noo" (noodles) and "bawk bawk" (chicken). Of course, it turns out that many of the noo-noo were ending up in hair and down shirts, but I'm pretty sure they got a good meal anyway. Bawk bawk!

That's homemade ranch dressing from the previous post.
You can use it as dip, too if you want.

Baked Parmesan Chicken Tenders
This recipe was adapted from thefresh20.com. It's easy to make and delicious.  My son dipped his chicken in ketchup.  If you have any leftovers, they are also great for a quick lunch or sandwich the next day!

Prebaked...

1 1/2 lbs chicken breasts, cut into palm-sized pieces of even thickness
1 egg
2 T Dijon mustard
3/4 c (whole wheat or panko) bread crumbs
1/4 c Parmesan cheese, grated
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oregano

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine the breadcrumbs, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and oregano in a small shallow bowl. Whisk the egg and mustard with 2 T water.  Dip the pieces of chicken into the egg/mustard mixture, and evenly coat with breadcrumbs.  Arrange on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes or until the chicken is done.

Crunchy hot delicious!

Lemon Zucchini Noodles
I really love zucchini noodles, which is good because I still have a lot of zucchini.  When mixed with whole wheat spaghetti, which can sometimes taste like corrugated cardboard strips, it adds moisture and a lightness without adding significant calories. I used a whole lemon with the zest as well, and happened to score some lovely grape tomatoes from Nicole at work, so I threw those in too.  This would also be a great Meatless Monday main dish or side dish.

I had to include this prep picture because it was so tantalizing.

1/2 package of (whole wheat) spaghetti, about 8 oz
1 medium zucchini (do not peel)
1 c grape tomatoes, quartered
1 1/2 c spinach, chopped
juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Cook the spaghetti noodles as directed on the package. While you are waiting, zest the entire zucchini until you have a pile of zucchini noodles (see picture). In a large pan, heat 1 tsp olive oil and add garlic.  Stir and add zucchini, noodles, and lemon juice/zest. (The best cooking tool for this is a pair of long chopsticks, but failing that, try tongs.) Add the tomatoes and spinach, and toss in the pan for another minute until the spinach is wilted.

It looks like pasta and tastes like pasta, but it's half vegetables!

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Meatless Monday: Spinach Cheese Quesadillas, Easy Black Beans, and Spanish Rice

Quesadillas with beans and rice is almost a no-brainer, but the lack of green in the meal seems wrong to me. I will usually serve this with a little salad anyway, but adding the spinach and making the beans from scratch (although to make it quick, I used canned beans) really adds to the freshness and nutrition.  I also upped the health quotient by using whole grain tortillas and olive oil instead of butter.

I used non-fat Greek yogurt with a sprinkle of dill instead of sour cream.
This has the added benefit of increasing the protein content of the meal.

Spinach Cheese Quesadillas
I feel silly writing a recipe, but I do know at least one woman who did not know what a quesadilla was.  I explained that it was a grilled cheese sandwich, only instead of bread you use tortillas.  I buy my shredded cheddar in bulk, and then freeze it in small bags in 2 cup portions.  I also normally would add a little chopped mushroom to this, but mushrooms is on one of my kids' Don't Like List. Therefore, I'm not allowed to give him a hard time about it, so I leave them out for now. 

I used sprouted grain tortillas for these.

2 cups chopped spinach
(1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms, sauteed, optional)
2 cups shredded cheddar
1 scallion chopped
10-12 medium tortillas
small amount of butter or olive oil

Butter or brush olive oil one side of a tortilla and put in a frying pan, with the heat on medium. Sprinkle cheese, spinach, sauteed mushroom, and a little scallion. Do the same with one side of another tortilla and layer on top, greased side up. When the quesadilla is brown on the bottom, carefully flip over and brown the second side. Makes 5-6 quesadillas.

Black Beans
Holy frijoles, these are yummy! My twins LOVE beans and rice.  Can't feed them fast enough. If this is the case for you, make a double batch and use the leftovers the next day for lunch. The flavors meld together overnight, so they're even better reheated. If you want to REALLY make it from scratch, soak the beans overnight and cook for 30 minutes to 1 1/2 hours, depending on how long you soaked the beans, etc.  Or you could use a pressure cooker or crock pot. It's really not difficult; just takes some planning.  

I added frozen roasted corn. So good.

• 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, rinsed
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped or frozen corn
• 3 T chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 T sherry or white wine
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt to taste

Saute the onion and garlic together in 1 tsp olive oil. Add red pepper, then beans.  Stir in balsamic, soy sauce, and sherry. Salt and cayenne to taste. Bring to a boil.  Simmer for 5 minutes, then stir in cilantro right before serving. 

Spanish Rice

I may have mentioned before that I cook all my rice in a rice cooker. It's an old rice cooker that I've been using for over 20 years. I add enough water so that my second knuckle is covered when I lay my hand over the surface of the rice. It works every time, but makes it difficult for me to estimate how much water to write down in a recipe. So, I'm adapting the following recipe from http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/best-spanish-rice/detail.aspx

I used short grain brown rice. Long grain rice would give it
a more traditional look. Oh, and I stirred in some chopped
spinach at the end. See Laura's List for more on that.

1 1/2 c white or brown rice, uncooked

2 c water or vegetable broth

1/4 c chopped onion

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp dill weed

1 c salsa

Saute onion in olive oil until soft.  Add uncooked rice and saute.  Add oregano and dill weed. Mix in salsa. At this point, you can add the water and finish cooking on the stovetop, or transfer the whole mixture along with the liquids to a rice cooker to finish. Either way, it's ready in about 20 minutes.


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Meatless Monday: Economical Spinach Pesto, Goat Cheese Croquettes, and S'mores Bars

My almost 9 year-old son asked whether or not vegans could wear wool.  I had to think about it, but it launched a whole conversation about vegetarianism, and I brought up the concept of Meatless Mondays. http://www.meatlessmonday.com/  The kids got really excited.  REALLY excited, to the point where it was almost disturbing. My son started talking about how we should do a whole meatless week at least once a year. My 5 year-old daughter was a little apprehensive about this, and asked, "But what about bacon???" I told her that we could probably live without bacon for a week. She's still skeptical. This week, coincidentally, Claire and I didn't really have any meat recipes anyway, so we decided to make it a meatless post. It's not a vegan post, so feel free to wear wool socks while you eat.

Goat Cheese Croquettes
I buy the cheese at Costco, where you can get a pound for about $6. These are unbelievably good. Freezing them for a bit before you fry them up helps them hold their shape a little better. Slice, dip, freeze, fry, eat.  That's really all there is to it.

With Balsamic Rooster Vinaigrette (recipe below).
I also added a few chopped scallions
and a handful of pistachios and ripe figs.

1-2 logs of Chevre cheese
1 - 2 cups bread crumbs, any type
canola oil for cooking

Slice the Chevre logs into 3/8 inch circles. Press each circle, front and back, into the bread crumbs and lay out on a plate. Put the plate in the freezer until you are just about ready to serve.   Heat enough oil in a small sautee pan so that the Chevre discs have enough to float. When the oil sizzles with a drop of water, carefully put the Chevre circles into the oil. Let them brown on one side, and flip after a few seconds.  You want the oil hot enough so that the cheese browns quickly. If you have it in the oil too long, it will melt and disintegrate. Serve immediately.

Balsamic Rooster Vinaigrette

Blanche, a co-worker who loves to cook, gave us this little hint for a nice variation from boring vinaigrette. The Rooster Sauce is easy to find in the Asian aisle, and just a few drops will not make the dressing spicy.  Keep this on file when you're tired of everything else, but once you've tried it it will become a go-to recipe.

1/3 c balsamic vinegar

2/3 c olive oil

1/2 tsp sugar or honey

2 squirts of Rooster sauce

1/4 tsp salt

freshly ground pepper

Shake or whisk all ingredients until emulsified.

Spinach Basil Pesto
When my boyfriend, now husband, and I were just out of college, we had a lot of strategies for stretching our dollar. At that time, fresh basil and pine nuts were specialty items and tended to be on the expensive side.  They can still be pretty pricey especially when out of season, and so one way to make the basil stretch is to use mostly spinach.  I also substitute sunflower seeds for pine nuts, and the flavor is still wonderful.  The spinach gives it a more saucey consistency, so I am able to use proportionately less oil. I've made an occasional batch with a handful of pistachios, which adds a wonderful fullness to the sauce. You can eyeball the ingredients.  My kids love this, and it also makes great dip!  Claire's boys listed this as one of their top three dinners. No joke.

1 cup fresh basil leaves
6 cups spinach leaves
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3/4 c sunflower seeds or pine nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
salt (don't skimp, but if the nuts are salted, don't overdo it)
freshly ground pepper

Chop the garlic finely in a food processor. Add the sunflower seeds or pine nuts and chop them with the garlic. You may need to add a little oil to get it to process well.  Take out half of the garlic/nut mixture and add in a handful or two of the spinach and basil leaves. Process in batches, adding oil as necessary, until the mixture is almost frothy. Salt and pepper to taste.  Drain and rinse your pasta, and put the pot back on the burner. Add the appropriate amount of pesto, and stir just for a minute before adding your cooked pasta and turning off the heat. Toss in fresh grated parmesan, and serve!

This is much lighter and less oily than traditional pesto.
It is more of a "sauce," yet retains that fresh basil nutty flavor.
I also like to use it as a pizza "sauce." The kids love it! 

Putting it together...

Tired of pasta?  Try these other tasty combinations... My recipe for Roasted Mini Sweet Peppers is on an earlier post, http://lomomacooking.blogspot.com/2011/04/verde-chicken-in-red.html.  I used regular sized red and yellow peppers this time.

Roasted Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Sandwich 

(with Spinach Pesto Spread)

Kale chips on the side!

Spinach Pesto and Roasted Sweet Pepper Pizza 
I added some pistachios and grated mozzarella cheese.  
This is also great with a combination of mozzarella and smoked Gruyere.

You can make your own dough, or in a pinch,
pre-made pizza dough is easily available at the grocery.

Kale Chips
You may find this hard to believe, but once you make these, it's hard to stop eating them.  They are crisp and light.  I like them just shy of burnt.  My kids LOVE them. My toddlers will jam fistfuls into their mouths. The basic premise is high heat, short time. My son reminded me to mention that it's better if you trim the stems, which don't crisp well.  And the flatter the kale, the better. 

I usually like them just a little more done than this.
The reason there are so few kale chips in the photo is
that we ate a lot of them between the oven and the table.

Wash and prepare kale by trimming off the stems and breaking the leaves into bite size pieces.  If you have Russian kale or another flat-leafed variety, you can use the whole leaf, but still trim the thick stem. Toss with a light drizzle of olive oil and arrange on a single layer on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt. Bake at 450 degrees for 4-5 minutes, until they are dark green.  You can also broil on high for 4-5 minutes.


S'mores Cookie Bars
Claire found this recipe on another cooking blog, and we had to try them. You may want to just make two batches up front. http://www.lovintheoven.com/2008/12/day-11-smores-cookie-bars.html

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.  Makes 16 cookie bars.

Rooster sauce.