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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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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HomestyleTofu and Scallion Stir-Fry and Asian Cucumber Salad

This is what we had for lunch when we made the Faux-fried Drumsticks and Zucchini Corn Cakes.  No leftovers, except a little rice.


Homestyle Tofu and Scallion Stir-Fry
I saw a lovely picture on Mark Bittman's blog for something similar.  My version has a little ground beef in it, for flavor only.  This makes a great Meatless Monday meal- just leave out the ground beef and substitute water for chicken stock.  The extra stock/water and cornstarch is what makes the sauce, which kids love to mix in with their rice. I use short grain rice which is nice and sticky. I made a double recipe, and there was not one square of tofu left. 

1 box of extra firm tofu, drained and cut into small squares. ( I let it drain for a few minutes on a paper towel to minimize excess liquid)

1/4 lb. ground beef (this is just for flavor-leave out for meatless option)

(Optional to mix in with ground beef: 1 tsp rice wine, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil)

1/2 c frozen peas
4 scallions, chopped
1 T minced garlic
1 T minced ginger
2 T soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 T canola oil
1/4 c cornstarch
1/2 chicken stock or water

Heat a tiny bit of the oil in a large saute pan or wok. Add a pinch of garlic and ginger (reserve most of it). Cook the ground beef (with optional mix-ins if you desire) until done. Remove from pan and set aside. Add rest of canola oil to pan, then add tofu squares. DON'T TOUCH THEM FOR A FEW MINUTES!  Once they are brown on one side, flip them over gently to brown, and add the rest of the ginger and garlic. Throw in the frozen peas, and add the ground beef mixture.  Stir. In the meantime, add liquid to the cornstarch and stir so there are no lumps.  Add this cornstarch/stock mixture to the pan a little at a time and stir.  The sauce will thicken as it boils. When the sauce is thickened to desired consistency, add scallions, sesame oil, and soy sauce. Add more cornstarch/stock mixture if needed. Serve with rice.

Asian Cucumber Salad
I used my new mandolin slicer for this one. It is awesome.  Beautiful, even, and thin.  I got mine for under $15 at Target, and it works great.

You can see how I forgot the sesame seeds. Oops.

2 cucumbers, sliced very thinly
1/4 c rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkle sesame seeds
1 T canola oil

Mix vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small bowl and drizzle in the oil while whisking. Mix in with cucumbers. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.


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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.

Red Lentil Dal and Madeira Wine Chicken

This week we had to split things up between two days, due to a sick child. But I think as a result we ended up with even more good food- so this week's recipes will be split into two posts. We also ended up with multiple main courses, including Madeira Wine Chicken, BBQ Shredded Pork, and Steelhead with Brown Sugar and Balsamic Glaze.  It was difficult to pick which one to feature, until we made this super simple Red Lentil Dal for lunch.  It really hit the spot, is inexpensive, and can be consumed by people whose diets are restricted from dairy (use olive oil instead of butter!), gluten, meat, peanuts, shellfish, citrus, and strawberries.

Mild but aromatic and filling.

Red Lentil Dal

This is a recipe that Claire got from a co-worker. (This co-worker has a twin sister, and absolutely everything they make is mouth-wateringly good.) It's very mild, but flavorful and delicious.  Buttery in texture, it will have you reaching for a second bowl.  I was nervous about the whole can of chiles, but the coconut milk really tones down the spice.  We used half a can, and it was not the least bit spicy. Perfect for kiddies.  You can sell it to them by calling it something cool like "Monkey Brain Mash" if you have boys or "Magic Coconut Pixie Pudding" if you have girls. Or reverse it if you don't want to reinforce popular gender stereotypes, but know that you're fighting a losing battle.

1 cup red lentils, washed and sorted

1 medium onion finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can mild green chilies
3 T butter
1/2 tsp turmeric
1  15 oz can of unsweetened light coconut milk
1 tsp Better Than Bouillon chicken base  (or 2 c chicken broth)
3 c water (or 1 c water if you used broth)

1 T chopped cilantro (optional)

Melt 1 T butter/oil in a medium sauce pan.  Saute onion, garlic, and chilies for one minute.  Add turmeric, lentils, chicken base, and water.  Bring to a boil.  Lower heat, cover, and let simmer for 30 minutes.  Add coconut milk and simmer about 5 more minutes just to let the flavors incorporate.  Stir in a tablespoon of chopped cilantro before serving over jasmine rice, or Cinnamon-scented Rice with Peas, below.

Cinnamon-scented Rice with Peas

This is for when you don't have jasmine rice on hand. Like today.  This rice works well with Indian food.  As I have mentioned previously, I only cook rice in my rice cooker. I don't measure the water- I put enough water in so that when I lay my hand flat on top of the surface of the rice, the water level ends at my middle knuckle. Say what you want, but my rice and other grains are generally just right. You can make the rice using your favorite method.

2 cups long grain rice

1 stick cinnamon

2 whole cardamom pods

1/3 c frozen peas

2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Cook the rice with the cinnamon and cardomom pods. When the rice is about 5-10 minutes from being done, toss in the frozen peas, but don't fluff the rice yet. When the rice is done, stir the now cooked peas and chopped cilantro. 

Quick Cucumber Raita
I usually make this at the last minute.  It is great for getting kids used to the flavors and spice of Indian food. 

1 cup of grated cucumber (peeled and seeded if necessary)
2/3 cup of plain yogurt (eyeball it)
2 T minced onion
1/2 tsp ground coriander
(1/4 diced red pepper optional)
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together.

Steamed Artichoke Hearts
We had this as an appetizer for lunch. I saw the artichokes at Trader Joe's and couldn't resist.  It's been years since I've had steamed artichoke hearts. They definitely remain one of those foods that take a lot of effort to eat, but let's face it, it's fun to dip things repeatedly in sauce.  Melted butter and mayonnaise are traditional dips. See below for some better variations. If you want a video of how to eat an artichoke, or if you just like watching people masticate in a creepy way, this is simple and to the point. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mL4RaoSaHu4&feature=related


Morrison Family Dipping Sauce
equal parts soy sauce and white vinegar, about 3 T each
few drops of sesame oil
1/2 clove of raw garlic (or a whole clove if you are comfortable in your relationship)
few sprigs of chopped cilantro


The other sauces pictures are Sweet Chili Sauce, Cucumber Goddess Dressing, and Balsamic vinegar and olive oil with salt and pepper. 


Madeira Wine Chicken
This is one of Claire's original recipes.  It's really wonderful and goes well with a side of buttered noodles.  If you accidentally let some of the sauce drift over onto the noodles, that's okay...  I served it with roasted root vegetables, sauteed chard, and salad.  Unfortunately, the twins were screaming "More! More! More!" so I didn't get a chance to photograph the final plate. 

4 chicken breasts butterflied and browned in olive oil
10-16 mushrooms chopped
1 c madeira wine (subsitute sherry if you don't have Madeira)
1  c chicken broth (or 1 tsp of Better Than Bouillon and equivalent water)
1 can artichokes
1 T lemon juice (optional)
2 T capers (optional but recommended) 1/2 c cooking cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste
Cook chicken, set aside.  Saute mushrooms, add wine and chicken broth. Simmer until reduced by half.  Add artichokes and chicken, and simmer 5 minutes more.  Stir in cream cheese.  Add lemon juice and capers if desired.  Serve over pasta.


Neeps and Tatties
Basic roasted root vegetable, or as my Scottish father-in-law would call them, Neep and Tatties. Not sure if I really need to include a recipe at this point, but I used...
some carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
some turnips (neeps), cut into chunks
a couple potatoes (tatties), cut into chunks
about 1/2 an onion, cut in chunks
1-2 zucchini, cut into chunks
2-3 T olive oil
sea salt & pepper
2 tsp smoked paprika
 Toss everything together, except the zucchini. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.  Take out the pan, give the veggies a little stir.  Add the zucchini, and bake for about 10 more minutes, or until carrots are tender.  If you want your veggies to be a little browner, stick the baking pan under the broiler for a minute or two. 


Sauteed Rainbow Swiss Chard
I used the green garlic and the red onion because I had some leftover-leave it out if you don't have it.  It turned out wonderfully. And let's face it, my kids never tire of chard. (Ha.) I was looking for 1 piece of leftover bacon to toss in for saltiness, but leftover bacon in our house is about as easy to locate as Sasquatch. 


1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 stalk of green garlic (kind of like a leek), sliced finely on the diagonal
1/8 red onion, sliced thinly
1 large bunch of rainbow swiss chard
sea salt & pepper to taste


Heat 1 T oil in pan.  Add garlic once hot, followed closely by the green garlic and red onion.  Toss in the chard.  Add 1/4 cup water or chicken broth. Cook until done the leaves are soft. Don't overcook it.  Take off heat immediately, or it will get wilted and icky green.  Sprinkle with a squeeze of fresh lemon if you want.

Claire's Famous Pulled Pork for the Crockpot
We're just getting started with the options for this recipe.  This freezes well, and it's what you will want for a nice summer evening picnic on the patio or deck.  I'm thinking grilled corn, summer slaw, thick slice of watermelon, and salt and vinegar potato chips. We're not superwomen, so, no, we didn't make all that.  But stay tuned- summer is coming. I hope. You can also use it as taco meat, burrito filling, or quesadilla filling.

2 pork tenderloins, 1 lb. each
2 T taco seasoning
1/4 c apricot jam
1 c apple juice
1T molasses (optional)
1/8 tsp liquid smoke (optional)

1/2 bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (about 1 1/2 c)
1/2 c honey
1 can diced green chilies (optional)

Rub pork in taco seasoning, place in crock pot, cover with jam.  Pour juice on the side.  Cook on low for 8 hours.   Take out pork.  Throw away cooking juices.  Combine pork with BBQ sauce and honey.  Serve warm on buns with a side of coleslaw. 

  

Sweet Chili Sauce