Category: Vegetarian

Roasted Butternut Apple Soup

This is one of my favorite fall soups.  It’s kind of a froo-froo soup, but I love it!  Since I was on a soft diet at the time I made this batch, I don’t show the pecans on top.  You will just have to imagine it or make it yourself.  I don’t remember where I got this recipe from, but the original author suggested drizzling hazelnut oil on top.  I have never bothered finding it in a store, so I have no idea if that would make it better or not.  Most likely the answer is yes.  If you try it, let me know if it’s worth it!

 

Ingredients:

4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

4 large sweet-tart apples (Empire, Braeburn, Cameo, or Pink Ladies), unpeeled and cut in fourths

1/4 c. olive oil

1 1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 T. fresh sage or 1 tsp dried

6 c. chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you want it to be vegetarian)

1/3 c. pecans, chopped and toasted (optional)

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Combine butternut squash, apples, oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.  Spread onto an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once.  Bake until squash and apples are very tender.  Place 1/3 in blender along with 2 c. chicken broth.  Blend and then place in sauce pan. Continue with the rest of the apple mixture and chicken broth.  Cook blended soup in saucepan for at least 6 minutes, stirring frequently.  May top with pecans and a drizzle of hazelnut oil if desired.

Cilantro Lime Rice in Rice Cooker

This evening I started rice in my rice cooker and about 10 minutes later realized what I really wanted was cilantro lime rice.  I googled for inspiration and didn’t find a recipe that exactly fit my needs.  My mother-in-law makes wonderful cilantro rice, but hers is stovetop and I was already past that point and I didn’t have all the ingredients.  I decided to try my hand at makeshift rice.  As suspected, I was able to just add the desired ingredients to the rice once it was cooked, so I didn’t have to mess with stovetop rice.  Yay!  If you don’t have a rice cooker, you could just do this on the stovetop.

Ingredients:

2 c. uncooked brown rice

water (the amount your rice cooker says to use for 2 cups of rice)

2 T. non-dairy butter

juice of 1 lime

1 tsp salt

1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped

 

Directions:

Cook rice according to rice cooker directions.  Once it is cooked, add the butter, lime, salt, and chopped cilantro.  Stir well and serve as a side.  Pairs well with my enchiladas.

 

Adapted from: http://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2015/04/copycat-chipotle-cilantro-lime-rice.html

 

Refried Beans

The name isn’t actually true.  I didn’t actually recook these.  They really should be “mashed and seasoned beans,” but that just doesn’t have the same ring to it, and it is a highly unlikely google search.

 

Ingredients:

3-4 cups cooked and mashed pinto beans, or 2 cans of pinto beans, drained

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 clove garlic, minced

1 can of rotel with juice (10 oz can)

Juice of half a lime

 

Directions:

Soak beans overnight.  Drain and put in crockpot.  Cover with water with an additional inch of water on top of beans.  Cook on low all day (6-8 hours).

Drain water.  Mash beans (I used an immersion blender.)  Add in all ingredients and stir well.  May be served as a side dish or used as the bean portion of my enchiladas.

Grilled Skewers

What to do with a lonely red pepper that you bought intending to use it in tacos but you forgot?  Buy lots of other colorful companions with it and make kabobs!  My siblings were coming over for dinner and I couldn’t think of what to make, but then I ran across this recipe.  It has been labeled a keeper by all three guys eating it.  You can mix and match the veggies as you please.  I intended to add tomatoes and mushrooms, but I ran out of room in my marinade bag, so I made a chicken salad with them instead!

 

Ingredients:

8-12 skewers, soaked in water for at least 2 hours

2-3 chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes (omit for vegetarian option)

1 red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 zucchini, sliced in coins

1 onion, cut into 2-inch pieces

1 orange bell pepper, cut into 2-inch pieces

Marinade:

1/4 c. canola oil

1/3 c. honey

1/3 c. soy sauce (I used Kikkoman’s gluten free soy sauce)

2 minced cloves of garlic

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

 

Directions:

Begin soaking your skewers in water.  Cut all vegetables and chicken.  Combine marinade in small bowl and stir well.  Pour into a gall0n-sized bag.  Add cut vegetables and chicken.  Seal bag and turn several times until all pieces are coated with marinade.  Store in refrigerator 2-8 hours (I put the bag in a bowl to prevent leaks), turning several times to marinate all pieces.

Heat grill to medium heat.  Put vegetables and chicken on the soaked skewers.  Grill for 12-15 minutes.  At the very end we turned the heat up a little higher to give it that charred taste.  Make sure chicken is cooked (we cut a piece to see if it looked cooked).  If not, return it to the grill and continue cooking until it is cooked.  No salmonella, please!

IMG_5150

IMG_5155Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/8626/yummy-honey-chicken-kabobs/

Greek Salad

After I made skewers, I had leftover chicken and vegetables.  I searched the internet and found inspiration for this recipe.  It was, once again, a hit with the guys.

 

Ingredients:

1/2 c. olive oil (I used Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

1/2 c. red wine vinegar

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

3/4 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

2 T. minced onions

1 yellow pepper, diced

3 roma tomatoes, diced

7-8 mushrooms, diced

2-3 cups of cubed, cooked chicken (lightly salted and peppered) (omit chicken for vegetarian option)

1-2 handfuls of fresh basil (optional)

Optional add-ins that I didn’t use:

Feta cheese

Black olives

Cooked pasta

Green onions

 

Directions:

 

Cook chicken and allow to cool.  In a large bowl, stir together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, basil, oregano, sugar, salt, and minced onions.  Dice the vegetables and add to the olive oil mixture.  Add cooled chicken.  Stir in some torn basil leaves and garnish with a sprig of basil.  Store in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before eating.

 

Recipe adapted from:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/11689/greek-pasta-salad-i/

 

Tachos

This is a taco/nacho mash up.  Apparently it is also a people group in South Sudan, but this post has nothing to do with that.  This is what you get when you make all the ingredients for tacos but all you have sitting around is corn chips.  They’re tacos that you eat like nachos; therefore they are tachos.  The best thing about this “recipe” is that you can totally switch out ingredients according to your preferences.  This is what I used this time:IMG_4939.JPG

This is a great meal to serve if you have people with different allergies/preferences.  They can take what they want and leave the rest.  The most important part is your taco seasoning.  I use Old El Paso’s Original Taco Seasoning.  It has neither gluten nor dairy in it where as many seasonings have one and/or the other.  You could also make seasoning from scratch, but I am making enough things from scratch that this is one of my cheater recipes.

 

Ingredients:

1 package Old El Paso Original Taco Seasoning

1-2 pound ground beef (omit for vegetarian)

1/2 onion, chopped

2/3 c. water (you can just fill up the seasoning pouch with water and it’s the right amount)

1 package Wholly Guacamole

1 jar Tostitos Salsa (or Pace or any other- just read the label)

1 bunch green onions, chopped (I put the white parts in with the beef so they could cook down some)

2 cups cooked brown rice

1.5 cups cooked black beans

1 bunch chopped cilantro

4 roma tomatoes, chopped

1/2 bag chopped spinach, raw

1 bag corn chips (I use Tostitos, Santitas, HEB, etc.)

1 bag of shredded cheddar cheese (optional if you are not avoiding dairy)

 

Brown the beef and the chopped onions and white parts of green onions.  Add the seasoning and 2/3 c. water and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Chop all of the veggies.

Set everything out buffet style and have people make a bowl of whatever they want in it.  Use the chips to dip the ingredients.

Beef and Bean Enchiladas

This is the last lonely enchilada.  I made several pans of them and remembered to take a picture right before I ate the last one!  I served these enchiladas to my family on Christmas Eve.  I did most of the prep ahead of time and just rolled them while the oven was heating up.  The beans make them creamy so you don’t really notice the absence of cheese.  However, if people want cheese but not everyone can have it, I suggest putting some shredded cheese on the table that they can add at their leisure.

 

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef (omit if vegetarian)

1-2 cups cooked and mashed pinto or white beans or 1-2 cans of refried beans

several dashes of salt if you make your own beans

juice of 1 lime

1 can rotel

2 cans of mild Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce (last time I checked it was gluten free.  Please always take personal responsibility and check the ingredients.  Sometimes manufacturers change things without much of an announcement.)

1 package of corn tortillas

 

Directions for beans: If you are making your own beans, soak them overnight, drain in the morning, and put them in a crockpot all day on low.  They are finished when they are easily squishable.  I drained the liquid into a bowl and then added just enough in to be able to mash them with my immersion blender.  Make sure to add some salt if you made your own beans.  If that sounds too complicated, just get a can or two of refried beans. 🙂

Directions: Brown the ground beef until thoroughly cooked.  Add in the lime, rotel, and one can of enchilada sauce.

Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish.  Open the second can of enchilada sauce and put a very thin layer on the bottom of the pan, but reserve most of it.  Grab a tortilla and put a spoonful of the beef and bean mixtures into the tortilla.  Roll it and place it in the pan.  Continue until the pan is full and/or all ingredients are used.  Top with remaining enchilada sauce.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Serve with rice and guacamole if desired.