Kitchen Chatter

3:13:35 PM EDT


Written by luvrte66 Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

6:57:43 AM EDT

This is an interesting recipe.  I would use this as a side dish.  It's a bit much for a main dish.  It's very tasty and I will be making this again.  Oh and of course, it's easy!

This recipe came from The McDougall Newsletter.

The original recipes says it makes 6 servings.  I was able to get 8 servings and they were nice sized servings. 

Layered Bean Casserole

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Bottom layer:

1  15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1  15 ounce can red or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1  15 ounce can chili beans in oil-free sauce, undrained
1  8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed slightly
¼ cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons chili powder

Mix all above ingredients together and ladle into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish, distributing evenly.

Middle layer:

1  15 ounce can white beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup fresh salsa
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon granulated onion
1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

Place all above ingredients in a food processor and process until very smooth.  Pour over the bean layer and spread evenly.

Top layer:

1  20 ounce bag fresh shredded oil-free hash brown potatoes

Sprinkle the potatoes evenly over the bottom two layers.

 

 

Bake uncovered for 45 minutes until potatoes are brown and sauce is bubbly.

That's all there is to it.  Simple and pretty darned tasty!

Written by dbaumgartner Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 1 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

6:21:54 AM EDT

Here's another easy, peasy recipe that can easily be doubled.  It keeps well and reheats well.  It's just a great recipe that can be modified in so many ways.

Giving is a try I stuck to the recipe and it came out great.  The only thing I did not add is the hot sauce. I forgot, but I will add it next time.  Also, I added some nutritional yeast into the mix. It's very tasty and I doubled it with no problem.

This recipe came from Susan's site "Fat Free Vegan Kitchen". Her recipes totally rock.  This one is not her original but was posted to her site.  According to the post the original recipe came from Dr. Neal Pinckney

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.  I think this recipe would freeze well. Doesn't it look good?

Southwest Skillet Dinner

1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- minced
2 T chili powder*
½ t salt
½ cumin
1 can tomatoes
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn or 1½ C frozen corn
8 oz whole wheat elbow macaroni or other pasta
hot sauce to taste

Saute onion, green pepper, garlic, chili powder, salt, and cumin until vegetables are tender. Stir in tomatoes, breaking with spoon. Add kidney beans and corn; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Toss with elbows.

* The amount of chili powder does not make this dish hot, and should be added even by those who don't like spicy foods.

Regular chili powder is quite mild. It is a mix of oregano, cumin, garlic, spices and small amount of pepper. For those who like it hotter, add cayenne pepper or hot sauce.

Written by dbaumgartner Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 6 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

6:06:00 AM EDT This weekend started my first cooking event without soy. I cook on the weekends and eat it all during the week. Saves so much time and if something is good I don't mind eating it again, and again.

Anyway, here's a recipe for Bean Burgers that I found over at Bush Beans site. It sounded yummy and of course, easy. So I gave it a go. This was my very first attempt at a bean burger. I must say I am impressed and it was quite tasty. I will be making these again.

I decided to take a picture before I added the dressings (tomato, lettuce. . .) I wanted you to see how the burger actually looked. Oh, I didn't put it on a grill. I used my electric skillet and I think it worked just fine.




Bush's Backyard Black Bean Burgers

2 cans (15 ounces each) BUSH'S BEST Black Beans, rinsed and drained (I used another brand. Sorry Bush's but I found some on sale)
½ cup whole wheat or all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup chunky salsa
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garlic salt
Hamburger buns

Place beans in food processor; process until fairly smooth. Add flour, cornmeal, salsa, cumin and garlic salt. Process until well combined. Spoon mixture into 6 balls on a large plate and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 4 hours before cooking.

Heat barbecue grill or ridged grill pan over medium heat. Coat grill or pan lightly with oil. Form each ball into a 4-inch patty about ½-inch thick. Place the patties on the grill or in pan and cook until browned and heated through, 4 to 5 minutes per side.

Serve on hamburger buns with your favorite toppings.

ENJOY!

Written by dbaumgartner Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

7:10:55 AM EDT

Well, before I share this goodie with you I have to warn you.  This will be the last recipe I post that contains soy.  I have gone soy-free and will remain so.  Reasons are many but the main ones are:

1. Interferes with thyroid hormone function (I take thyroid hormones and according to my Nurse Practitioner soy will cause absorption problems)
   
   
2. Interferes with the absorption of Vitamin D and Calcium. This is something I'm not willing to mess around with.  I have Osteopenia in my spine and have tested very, very low for Vitamin D.  I'm on prescription Vitamin D supplementation until September and then I'll be retested.

Given just these two items I think it is wise for me to ditch the soy. I'm not sad.  I consider this exciting and will be sharing the next phase of my kitchen adventures.

So, with that said, here's my final soy containing recipe.

Garlic Tofu Pasta

adapted from:Vegan Food.net Garlic Tofu Pasta Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

• olive oil
• 2 packs of frozen extra firm or firm tofu (thawed, drained, pressed and cubed)
• Garlic powder
• 1 lb Veggie Rotini pasta
• 1 jar of tomato basil marinara sauce
• Salt or pepper if desired

DIRECTIONS:

Boil water for veggie rotini pasta and cook until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat oil in skillet or frying pan, carefully pour tofu cubes into the oil.

Stir often and stir-fry until golden brown.

Add much garlic powder after turning off the heat.

Strain the pasta, replace it back into its pot, mix in the marinara sauce, then pour the oil, tofu, and garlic mix onto the pasta.

Mix well and serve. Enjoy it while fresh if possible. Use salt and pepper if desired. The leftovers are pretty good as well.

This is simple and tasty. Of course you could add other veggies or mushrooms.  I have reheated this for lunch, at work, and it works great!

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7:59:14 AM EDT

Well, the verdict is in.  Vegan Dad's funnel cake recipe is a winner.  My technique is not very good so I didn't have full sized funnel cakes.  But, who cares when it tasted so good.

The best is that it's really not that hard. I was surprised.  I thought it might be labor intensive and after my first try I would never make them again.  But, I was wrong.  I was actually on the phone while I was making these. So, you know it's got to be easy.

Vegan Dad used Strawberry jam with his.  I used Blackberry.  Both are yummy. Also, I used an immersion blender instead of a food processor.  It worked just fine.

Click here for Vegan Dad's Funnel Cake recipe. Here's how it looks.  Remember, my technique is not perfect.  But, it sure is good.

  

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6:03:53 AM EDT I thought you guys might like this for the holiday.  Put it in the crockpot and you're done.




Written by dbaumgartner Permalink | Blog about this entry |  Add to del.icio.us |  digg this This entry has 2 comments: Show Recent | Add your own

5:37:41 AM EDT

This delicious recipe came from Celine over at Have Cake Will Travel.  It is adapted from Vegan Planet. Here's a the book if you want to grab a copy.

I made some changes to the recipe so here we go. Click here to view Celine's original post

Yam and Bean Curry

INGREDIENTS:

1 Tbs corn oil  
1 small shallot, chopped  
2 large yams, peeled and diced small  
4 small turnips, peeled and diced small  
1 Tbs curry powder  
1 tsp ground coriander  
3/4 tsp ground cumin  
1/2 tsp turmeric  
1/2 tsp ground ginger  
1 tsp cracked black pepper, or to taste  
1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, depending on taste  
2 garlic cloves, pressed  
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth (I used a full 32 oz box)  
14 oz can diced tomato, with juice (I drained the can since I used a full box of veggie broth)  
15 oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed  
1 medium granny smith apple, cored, peeled, quartered and diced medium

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, heat oil on medium. add shallot, letcook for a minute. add yams and turnips, cover with broth. bring to a boil. turn heat down and let simmer for 10 minutes.  
 
Add spices, garlic, and broth (I think she might have meant add the tomatoes so that's what I did), bringing to a boil again. lower temperature, add beans, and apple, stir. cover and let simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

if you want it to be creamier, remove 2 cups, puree them, and stir back into the rest of the curry. (I mashed some up with a potato masher and it worked great)

The suggestion was to serve this over rice.  Since I made this to last me for lunches at work, I made some rice and then mixed it with everything else.  I added the rice after everything else was done.  It works for me and makes reheating easier.  But, if you are making it for a dinner then I would serve it over rice.

It's very tasty and came out just right.  As much as I dislike chopping and dicing this was worth it

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7:45:56 AM EDT

This is just delicious.  I am already thinking about modifications that can be made.  Different flavors, maybe some peanut butter.  Just yummy stuff.

I used Lindt 85% chocolate for the bitter sweet chocolate ingredient.  other than that I followed the recipe.

Serve it up with some Purely Decadent Dairy Free Frozen Dessert and you've got a winner.  At least I think so.

The recipe is Christine's original so please click here to view the recipe at Christine Cooks.

Now, here's what it looks like.  Doesn't it look good?  Oh it is.  I hope you give it a try.  You'll enjoy them, I just know you will.

 
fresh out of the oven

 

 
ready to eat

Here's the yummy frozen dessert I used.  Delicious!

In a few days I'll be posting the recipe for the Yam and Bean Curry.  Very tasty!  So, stay tuned. . .

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5:40:31 AM EDT

This is so easy and yummy and cheap.  :-)

I followed the recipe almost exact except that I did not use frozen corn and I added a box of Yves Meatless Ground.  Other than that I followed the original recipe.  I think it tastes even better the next day.  It's a keeper and I'll be making it again.  What do you think? Me thinks it's just yummy!

Vegan Macaroni Casserole

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups elbow macaroni
4 cups water
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tablespoons water
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 15 ounce can water
4 teaspoons chili powder
salt and pepper to taste
10 ounce box frozen corn (I used canned corn)
19 ounce can kidney beans drained (or 2 cups cooked kidney beans)
1-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
I ADDED 1 box of Yves Meatless Ground

DIRECTIONS:

Cook pasta in water until tender and drain

Saute onion in large, non-stick pot, adding water as necessary (I added the meatless ground while I sauteed the onion)

Add remaining ingredients as well as cooked pasta.

Simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally

Serve hot

Makes 4-6 servings (I ended up with 4 nice sized servings)

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