A few recipes for you.

As I stated before I've switched to the Weight-Watchers Core Plan, which has made life both easier and more difficult. Last night we had Ivayla's Curried Chicken (except with veggies for me) and it was delicious. I served it with Apple and Potato Curry Soup (which mind you is a bit of an acquired taste!) and a Spinach Salad with this dressing:

Susan's Lite Goddess Dressing

Make this dressing more like the original by increasing the tahini a tablespoon at a time, until it tastes the way you like. Remember that the fat and calories go up as the tahini increases!

6 ounces lite firm silken tofu (1/2 pkg. of Mori-Nu)
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon tahini
2 green onions, white parts removed, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, packed
1 large clove garlic

A few things to keep in mind: I know a lot of you guys don't eat tofu. We don't do it on a regular basis ourselves, but we had some that needed to be used. You could use a base of canola oil if you wanted to...but realize that it's going to skyrocket the calories. You do not taste the tofu in this. Tofu - unless kept solid - merely works as a base for recipes. I make a mean Tofu Chocolate Mousse and get rave reviews on it. Also, we did not have Apple Cider Vinegar, so we used Red Wine Vinegar. You could probably use regular vinegar. We used olive oil mixed with sesame seeds to replace the sesame oil. While it was good we wanted it tangier, so we plan on increasing the vinegar and lemon juice. Overall, however, it was very, very good. The best part? All but the tahini is core and the overall points for the sauce (serving size 2tbs) is 1 weight-watchers point. So...YUM.

Gardener's Skillet - aka Vegetarian Shepherd Pie

I am 100% addicted to this site

Utterly, completely, totally love. The site may scare you, as it's "Vegan" but it has fantastic recipes that are really easy to customize. I live with a non-Vegan and not once has he ever complained about the food from this site. We do customize - often times we'll use beef bullion instead of vegetable broth (because it's what we have), regular milk instead of dairy, eggs instead of egg substitutes. Still. it's good.

Anyway, to get to the point. I'm currently do the CORE plan on Weight-Watchers and therefore eating has gotten slightly more tricky. I found this recipe, decided to make it...and it was good. Beyond good. Delicious. Yummy. Fantastic. And I present for you. :-D

Skillet Gardener's Pie
(printer-friendly version)

I used kidney beans here because I like their flavor and texture in this dish. But feel free to substitute about 1- 1/2 cups of any cooked beans or lentils. Or, if faux meats are your thing, rehydrate some TVP, crumble up a couple of Boca burgers, or chop up some seitan and use it instead.

2 pounds Yukon gold or red potatoes
1/2 cup soy milk
salt and pepper, to taste
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced, leaves minced and reserved
8 ounces mushrooms, diced
2 cups fat-free vegetable broth
16 ounces kidney beans, cooked
2 cups green beans, cut in 1" pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced (or 1 tsp. dried)
1/4 teaspoon sage
2 cups baby spinach leaves, packed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons water (or veg. broth)
extra rosemary for garnish

Scrub the potatoes and cut them into cubes. (I leave mine unpeeled, but if you want you can peel them before dicing.) Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until potatoes are tender. Reserve a cup of their cooking water, if possible, and drain. Place in a large bowl, add the soymilk, and mash until smooth, adding a little of the potato-cooking water if they seem too dry. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and set aside in a warm place.

While the potatoes are cooking, make the "pie" filling. Spray a large non-stick or cast iron skillet with canola oil. Heat it on a medium-high burner and add the onions. Sauté until onions are translucent. Add the garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms, and sauté for 3 more minutes.

Add the vegetable broth, kidney beans, green beans, and herbs. Simmer on medium heat for 20 minutes and all vegetables are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste (I added a little hickory smoke salt). There should still be some liquid in the pan, but if it has become too dry, add a little of the potato-cooking water. Add the spinach and stir until it's completely wilted. Mix the corn starch with the water until smooth, and add it to the pan. Cook, stirring, until mixture has thickened.

Spoon the potatoes evenly over the top of the filling and sprinkle with chopped rosemary. If potatoes have cooled, put the skillet under the broiler for a minute or two. Serve immediately while hot.

Things to keep in mind:
- Keep the heat lower to keep the juices in there
- Celery Leaves go in with the herbs (and make a huge difference. Don't forget them)

Enjoy!

Mexican Rice

Vegetarian times had an entire Mexican meal spread in their March magazine (which I just got) and I went ahead and made it. Everything was good but the Mexican Rice was especially good. I thought I'd share it, plus it looked so pretty when it was done.

Ingredients:
1 tbs. olive oil
1 cup instant brown rice
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
8 green onions, chopped (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 tbs.)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbs. tomato paste
12 ounces or a can of black beans (optional but recommended.)

Instructions:
1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add rice and saute 3 to 4 minutes or until beginning to brown. Add corn, peas, green onions, garlic, cumin and oregano, saute 1 minute.
2. Spoon tomato paste in 2-cup measuring cup. Add enough boiling water to make 2 cups and stir to combine. Pour tomato paste mixture into rice and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, add black beans if desired and fluff with fork.

The rest of the meal can be found in these links. I recommend the tacos but warn that if the slaw is made...beware. It's beyond spicy. :-D

Chickpea Tacos
Spicy Orange Slaw - If you don't like spicy foods I recommend skipping the cayenne pepper altogether. It's really good but incredibly spicy.
In-a-pinch Profiteroles - fantastically good. Ice-cream with a coating and chocolate sauce.

Leek and Potato Soup

I was looking for a recipe and I found a recipe for microwavable Leek and Potato Soup. I don't have any microwavable dishes. I didn't have the spices they were looking for. So I created my own version and it was delicious:

Leek and Potato Soup
- Four cups of vegtable broth (I used boullion)
- Two Bay Leaves
- Two Potatoes or Three Small Potatoes - roughly chopped
- 1 Small Onion - roughly chopped
- 6-7 Garlic Cloves
- 2 Leeks - roughly chopped
- 1 tbs. olive oil
- In a large stockpot heat vegtable broth until it boils. Add in potatoes once it's boiling, turn the heat to medium. Add in three cloves of garlic and bay leaves
- In a pan add olive oil, heat until it's spitting. Add in three cloves of garlic, sautee until fragnant, then add onions and leeks. Sautee until they become brown.
- Add onions and leeks to broth, turn down heat and simmer until potatoes are done. - Top with a sprinklilng of parsley

Delicious Vegetable Soup

So good, so incredibly, incredibly, incredibly good. It's relatively easy to make you and adjust it however you want.

5-6 cups vegetable broth (or beef boullion cubes, it was what we had on hand. :-D)
1 16-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 16-ounce cans beans, rinsed and drained (I used kidney beans and white beans)
2 1-pound bags of frozen vegetables
4 cloves minced garlic
1 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoons oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
a shake or two of hot pepper sauce (or even a jalapeño)
black pepper and salt to taste
OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup small pasta OR 2 cups diced potatoes OR 1 cup frozen corn or other starchy vegetable OR 1/2 cup of quick-cooking grain (pearled barley, millet, or quinoa) or cooked rice (We used sweet potatoes)

Put 5 cups of vegetable broth and all remaining ingredients into a large pot and cook until vegetables are done, about 20-30 minutes. If the soup seems too thick, add more broth.
Taste and adjust seasonings before serving.

We adjusted this as to what we had on hand, since right now neither of us can afford groceries. Instead of spinach we used cabbage, added at the beginning. We used peas, carrots, celery, and sweet potatoes. Very good. It's incredibly filling and it's 2 points per half cup.

Instant Tomato Sauce

There are NO exact measurements in this, it was truly "this is what we have and I need tomato sauce" It was really good and easy to make.

- Sun-Dried Pesto - 2tbs to 3tbs
- Can of fire-roasted tomatoes (15.5 ounces)
- Handful of black olives
- Fresh garlic (as much as you want)
- Oregano and Crushed Red Pepper (to taste)
- Roasted Red peppers

Toss it in a saucepan, put a cover on it, and wait till it thins. It's incredibly good and easy to make...and pretty low-fat.

Tofu & Peas/Chicken & Peas

This is an incredibly easy, delicious, and filling dinner to make. The recipe calls for garam masala, but I really hate the taste. I've made this so many times and it's always gotten rave reviews.

Ingredients:

• 1 Large Onion - chopped
  
• 1 Package firm tofu, cubed/2lbs chicken thighs, cut up/2lbs chicken breast, but up (I recommend thighs if you're using chicken)
• 2.5 Cups (or a regular sized bag) frozen green peas
• 3 garlic cloves (or however many you like.)
  
• 3 tbs. olive oil
• 15.5 ounces Canned Diced tomatoes
  
• 2 tps. garam masala if you're using it.

Instructions:

• In a large skillet heat the oil and garlic cloves. When it's heated, cook the chicken or tofu. If it's chicken, place it in the skillet and sauté it until it's golden brown. For tofu, keep flipping it until it's golden brown on all sides. The recipe originally called for frying it in 2 cups of olive oil...obviously not so healthy.
• After the chicken/tofu is golden brown, add in the onions and sauté until soft. Add in the tomatoes (undrained!), peas and garam masala, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

This is an incredibly hardy and filling dish, plus it's pretty to look at. Everyone who has tried has liked it, and my family is full of picky eaters who don't "that foreign stuff" I cook. When I cooked it with chicken I used bone-in thighs, which made it much heartier. Darker meat also tends to give more of a taste to the meal than white meat, however I'm prejudiced. No one in my family likes white.

Vegetarian Paella

This was unbelievably delicious, even if the rice didn't cook quite through. I recommend using minute rice or cooking the rice half-way beforehand. Also, unless you're made of money, use tumeric instead of saffron. I'm still amazed that a teaspoon of something could cost $7.

Recipe, as always, from Vegetariantimes.com

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 to 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch-long strips
• 1 medium green bell pepper, cut into 2-inch-long strips
• 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 15-oz. can vegetable broth
• 2 cups uncooked quick-cooking brown rice
• 1 tsp. saffron threads, dissolved in small amount of hot water
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tsp. salt

Instructions:

1. In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
2. Set aside half the red pepper strips for garnish. Add all remaining pepper strips to onion mixture and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (with liquid), broth, rice, saffron mixture, thyme and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 10 minutes.
3. Stir in artichoke hearts, peas, half the parsley and salt. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste and add a little water to moisten if needed. Cook, stirring, just until heated through, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer paella to large, shallow serving dish and garnish with circle of reserved red pepper strips. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve hot.

We just used green peppers, as red were twice the price. :-)

Spinach, Tomatoes and Chickpeas

I'm a big lover of "frying pan" dishes - dishes where you just dump various items into a frying pan with olive oil and garlic, then simmer. They're particularly good when you haven't a lot in your kitchen and you really want food. (We never have prepared foods in the ho use)

This one turned out quite good, so I thought I'd share it.

Ingredients:

• Chickpeas/Garbanzo Beans - A cup to a cup and a half. You can use a can (15.5 ounces is the normal amount in the US).
• Spinach - Four or five handfuls, six if you have small hands. This isn't an exact measurement, but keep in mind that spinach shrinks when it's cooked. It may look like a huge amount when you place it in fresh, but it will quickly change. If you want to measure then use four cups.
• 2 tbs. olive oil
• 1 Can (15.5 ounces) of diced tomatoes.
• three or four garlic cloves
• 3 tsp. of oregano or curry, if you prefer that
  

Instructions:

• Heat olive oil in large frying pan, add in garlic. Simmer until garlic is fragrant.
  
• Add in the tomatoes and garbanzo beans (if you're using raw make sure they're cooked first), then the spinach.
• Stir well, sautée for 10 minutes or until spinach is wilted throughly.

It's very good and filling, plus you can't get get simpler than this.

Xander's Pasta Sauce, Stolen from His Blog.

It was that good. :-D I've just cut and pasted.


Xander's Pasta Sauce

Ingredients:

• 3 T olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can roasted, diced tomatoes with garlic
  
• 2 tsp pesto
• 2 T oregano (approximately)
• 6 pitted black olives, sliced
• 1/2 tsp salt
  
• dash of crushed red pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt

Directions:

Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat until it's about the consistency of water. Add the garlic and onion and sautée until the onions are slightly soft (they'll be somewhat translucent). Reduce heat and add both tomatoes, including juices, and stir until well mixed. Add all of the other ingredients, except the olives. Simmer about 10 minutes until the sauce starts to bubble. Add the olives and simmer until the sauce is the desired consistency. Serve over hot pasta.

---

I'm not sure how many this will serve; Siri and I both ate enough with the pasta to be satisfied, and there was quite a bit left, so it'll easily be enough for three or four people. In addition, I didn't really measure most of the spices, so those are approximations of what I added--definitely season it to your palate's preferences. Finally, the way I cooked it left some of the tomatoes in large chunks, so you may wish to puree the diced tomatoes before adding them in or add them before the crushed tomatoes so they have a chance to cook down a bit.

Siri recommends adding thyme.

Hoppin' John

I made this because we had left-over brown rice and left-over black-eyed peas. It's amazingly good, with a few alterations. I also mixed in left-over tofu, because it was there and going bad. And I'm posting it because so far, ya'll like your meat. :-D

Ingredients:

• 2 cups quick-cooking brown rice - whatever rice you have laying around. We had long grained brown rice already cooked.
  
• 16- to 20-oz. can black-eyed peas - I used dried beans that I had already cooked. Except for canned tomatoes I avoid canned foods.
  
• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 1 medium clove garlic, minced
• 3 medium tomatoes, chopped - alas, they're not in seasons. We substituted fire-roasted with garlic. Much better.
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil or 1 Tbs. dried - we didn't have any and skipped it
  
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp. dried

Instructions:

1. Cook rice according to package directions. Meanwhile, drain black-eyed peas, reserving liquid. Rinse peas under cold running water and set aside.
2. In large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 12 minutes. Add garlic, and cook, stirring often, until onions are golden, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes, basil, thyme and 1/4 cup water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in rice, tofu* and black-eyed peas until well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until flavors have blended, 5 minutes. If necessary, add a little reserved liquid from peas as needed to keep mixture somewhat moist. Serve hot.

*If you're using tofu, cube it and fry it in a bit of olive oil, then toss it in. Or crumble it if you want.

Notes: I used a wok frying pan, I did not bother waiting the entire 12 minutes, and instead of using the water I used the tomato juice. It was delicious, and the pictures are below. I served it with sweet potatoes (cubed and boiled with a bit of molasses) for a perfect southern dinner.

Moroccan Harira

This is pretty involved, but it's well-worth it. I plan on making naan later on to go with it. Recipe is from Vegetarian Times' article The Soup Cure - healing soups other than chicken noodle. I'm planning on making several of the soups, so be prepared. ;-)

Haria
1/2 Cup Lentils (For Americans such as X and I, these will be found in the dried beans section.)
1 Tbs. olive oil (or as needed)
1 large onion, chopped (2 cups)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 cinnamon stick (or three tsps)
1 15-oz can chickepeas (garbanzo), rinsed and drained
2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15-oz can chopped tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
(You can use diced if you can't find them.)
1/2 cup vermicelli
Lemon wedges, for garnish (We skipped, they're not in season)

Tadouira
2 tbs. all-purpose flour
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbs. lemon juice
1 tbs. tomato paste

1. To make Harira: Cook lentils in pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain.
2. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion, parsley, cilantro, ginger, and cinnamon; sauté 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Stir in tomatoes, and sauté 5 minutes more.
3. Stir in broth, chickpeas, lentils, reserved tomato liquid, and 3 cups of water. Season with salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
4. To make Tadouira: Whisk flour with 1 cup water in bowl. Whisk in cilantro, lemon juice, and tomatoe paste. Stir Tadouira and vermicelli into Hairqa, and cook 3 minutes, or until noodles are soft. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutritional Info:
Per Serving (8 altogether): 179 Cal; 7 G Prot; 3 G Total Fat (0.5 G Sat. Fat); 33 G Carb; 0 MG Chol; 537 MG Sod; 6 G Fiber; 5 G Sugars