Southwestern Chili/Soup

Every Wednesday, I have class until 7:59:59PM at the earliest, and it never fails that I'm starving halfway through, and needing something to eat.  Often, this results into the ordering of dinner, which then leads to me eating something that I'm not super jazzed about eating, which leaves me feeling blah.

Today, I made the decision ahead of time to make some chili/soup to have when I got home from school, so I brought out the crockpot and added...

1 large onion, chopped
1 package "chicken style" seitan, chopped into bite sized pieces
1 can pinto beans (drained)
1 can black beans (drained)
1 small can (6oz?) chopped green chilis
1 8oz (smallish) can of enchilada sauce
1 regular (8oz?) can of diced tomatoes (mine were no salt added)
1 bag Trader Joes fire roasted peppers and onions (added in frozen)
1/2 bag Trader Joes fire roasted corn (added in frozen)

Spices - I never measure them... so use according to your own taste!
Chopped garlic - we always keep a jar of chopped garlic in the fridge, I think I threw in 2-3 tbsp.
Cumin - 1 tbsp
Chili powder - 1-2 tbsp.

Cook the onion in the crock pot for a few minutes, then add everything else. Cook on high for 1 hour, then lower to low. Then go to class.  Come home to a delicious soup.

** We had some extra cashew cream (cashews pureed in just enough water to make a sour cream consistency), so we eat put a dollop of that on top.

Awesome.

Husband approved!

Spaghetti Rice!

When I find a pasta sauce that I love, I buy jars and jars and jars of it. It's even better when I find it on sale.  That's just the case with today's creation.  There was a 50% off sale at Whole Foods on large jars of Rao's Homemade Marinara sauce. I bought a jar one week and we had some during the week and loved it, so the next weekend when it was still on sale, I bought a few more jars.

Today was cold, rainy and ick - also known as a perfect day to bring out the crock pot!  Looking through my cupboards and freezer drawer, I pulled out the following...

(Short grain) brown rice - ~2 cups
1 large jar of marinara sauce (Rao's comes in a large, 24 oz. jar)
1 bag frozen 365-Brand organic "California Blend" veggies
Remnants of a bag of Boca crumbles
3/4 bag of no-meat meatballs (maybe 12 total?)

Dump it all in your crock pot. Stir gently. Add in 3/4 (sauce) jar of water. Cook on low while you're at work.  Come home to a dinner for MANY - or dinner for 2 plus lunch for the week!

Vegan Black Bean Burgers

After going vegan, I've decided that I'd also like to lessen the number of processed foods we eat.  It's really easy to get into the habit of eating highly processed meat substitutes.  One of the things that we love are veggie burgers - and the best burgers we've had are from the pub up the street from us - Olde Magoun's Saloon. It's absolutely delicious - so I've decided to make burgers from scratch.  It sounds like a lot of work, but with a food processor, it's really easy!

This recipe was sent to me by my friend Amie - I'm not sure where she got it, but I made it for the first time tonight and we both loved it.  I shredded the carrots (and added a red pepper) in the food processor before adding the rest of the ingredients.  It was great!  (Note: I may have over-processed it, as the texture was not solid enough for me to finish on the grill!)

Vegan Bean Burgers

Ingredients: (makes 6 big, hearty burgers)

• 2 cans black beans (rinsed and drained)
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup dry rolled oats
• 1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

To Prepare:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Next, add the oats and pepitas to your food processor and grind until coarsely chopped (they will still be a little chunky).  Let it run for roughly 10 seconds.  Grate the carrots, and then add to your mixture in the food processor.  Add 3/4 of the beans, all spices, and the olive oil.  Once all of this is in the food processor, give it a whir and mix it all together.

Spoon mixture into a mixing bowl and then fold in the rest of the whole, reserved beans.  Wet your hands and then form into 6 medium sized patties.  Place patties on a non-stick baking sheet or into a baking pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 40 minutes, turning once in the middle.  If you want to grill these, pre-bake them for 30 minutes at 300, and then throw them on the grill to reheat and get a little extra browning.

Chris's favorite: Chickpea salad

There are many recipes that I make once, and Chris thinks I'm crazy and will hardly look at it.  Then I make it again, and he gives it a taste, loves it, and ends up requesting that we make it all the time.  This is one of those recipes.  It sounds lackluster, but it fits beautifully into my new-found veganism, and his vegetarianism.  The recipe is really pretty improvised, and made like a tuna salad, so use your proportions in the same manner.

It makes good sized amount - enough for 4 sandwiches or so. 

2 15 oz cans of Chickpeas (we use either the No Salt Added from Whole Foods, or Goya rinsed well.)
OR
1 15 oz can of chickpeas plus one can of cannelini, pinto, or navy beans.

1/2 c. chopped white onion (less if you're not a huge onion fan)
1/4 c. chopped celery
1 tbsp grainy mustard
2 tsp dill weed
2-4 tbsp mayonnaise (we use a vegan mayo made by Spectrum)

Drain the beans and rinse well (less necessary if you're using a salt-free kind). Put them in a mixing bowl and mash them with a potato masher so they're 50-75% mashed/broken up, but not so much that you have a paste.

Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly. Taste it, and if it needs something - add it!  We've added other chopped veggies like peppers, carrots, green onions, and other stuff like sunflower seeds, cashews, etc.  Serve it as you would tuna salad: on greens, on toasted whole grain bread, whatever sounds good to you!

My vegan version of "Overnight Oats"

So, I bought these great 16 oz plastic cups with lids at my local grocery store.  I have this weird love of storage products, no idea why.  I'd seen tons of mentions of "overnight oats" - and didn't really understand the whole idea behind it.  Finally, I decided to try it out. 

After finding myself with a can of Quick Oats, I needed to figure out what to do with them.  They're a great breakfast, but when I'm leaving at 5:30AM, the last thing I have time for is to not only make oatmeal, but be able to consume it rather quickly to get out the door on time.  So, here was my creation - the idea is not original, but this recipe wasn't directly taken from a single source.

In a jar/short, squat container:

3/4 cup Quick Oats
Light vanilla soy milk, to cover (make sure you have at least 1 cup, so your oats have a lot to absorb). If you like liquidy oatmeal, add more. You can always add more in the morning).
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Then add whatever else you like in your oatmeal, cereal or granola.  For example: raisins, nuts, chopped apples, bananas, etc.

Cover and refrigerate overnight.  Enjoy in the morning!!

The final product reminds me of the muesli that you can buy at Au Bon Pain.  Their final recipe is just shy of 400 calories for 8 oz. I think that this recipe would be close to that, but it depends on what you add in. (They have sunflower seeds, honey, sugar, almonds and dried cranberres - all of which are pretty calorie dense.  In addition, dried cranberries have oils and sugars on them, so there you go.) If you're watching your calories, make note what you're adding in. 

Healthy, vegan pancakes!

I love pancakes, but I kept finding recipes that included eggs, milk, butter, and lots of oil.  As I've recently began a vegan/plant-based lifestyle, I've been experimenting with recipes, and finally found one we both loved!

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tbsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 cup soy milk (I used Whole Foods 365 brand vanilla)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp cinnamon

 Mix it all up. If it needs more liquid, add some more soy milk, but it should be good. I cook my pancakes in my cast iron skillet sprayed with a touch of Pam.

Awesome.

"Veg" Chicken Salad

I have always loved chicken salad. My dad used to make it with leftover grilled chicken breasts and mix it with a variety of things from grapes, wild rice, almonds, onions, you name it, he tried it.  My grandmother was more of a traditionalist and made hers with onions, celery, macaroni and curry powder.  The tough thing about prepared (i.e. store bought) chicken salad is that it tends to be heavy on the mayonnaise, and the chicken is of questionable quality (and origin)... and it's chicken, which doesn't get eaten at our house.

My version of chicken salad is vegetarian (but not vegan), healthy, light and delicious!  The ingredients can be substituted to include any fresh, crunchy vegetables you have on hand.

For the chicken, I use a whole bag of Quorn Chik'n Tenders. I put them on a big plate and microwave them until they're thawed, but not hot. They don't need to be hot because you're making a salad that's best served chilled.  If you're using regular chicken, I think that using 2 cups of chopped, white meat chicken would be best.

For the vegetables, pick a variety of them.  In the version I made for lunch today, I used a small zucchini, a large head of broccoli, a handful of sugar snap peas, celery, and three large scallions.  I've also used different colors of peppers, cucumbers, green beans, peas, carrots, kale, white onions, summer squash, and probably others I can't think of. I've also added in chick peas (garbanzo beans), which were hardly noticed, but add even more protein and fiber.

To prep your vegetables, chop them all up into small dice. They should be about the same size as your chunks of chicken.  I tend to have twice the amount of vegetables as chicken, because I love vegetables.  A quick note regarding onions... it doesn't matter what the ratio of your vegetables used are, except onions. Keep your onions to no more than 10% of your recipe, or you will have no friends. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Unless they've eaten the chicken salad with you. :)

After you've chopped all of your vegetables, toss them in a BIG bowl. The biggest you have - otherwise you'll just spill it when you try to mix it. Then, assuming you have a good 4-5 cups of vegetables and chicken, add about 1/2 cup of mayonnaise and 1-2 heaping tablespoons of curry powder.  (I use an egg-free, vegan mayo, simply because it's lower in fat and calories, and that's what I like.) Using a wooden spoon, stir it very, very well.  You may have to add in more mayonnaise, or more curry, depending on your taste. Then, refrigerate until you're ready to eat it.  As it sits, the flavors meld together and the little bit of liquid will lightly soften your vegetables and make the salad creamier.

This stuff is terrific. Stuff it in a pita, serve it over salad greens, or just eat it out of a bowl. We had it over some spicy greens from the garden, and it was a fantastic, filling, summery lunch!