Stew

Stew is one of those incredible dishes that use up all the leftovers and turns into something delicious. Here’s a “recipe” for what I just tossed into a pot and am now calling it a Stew.

Ingredients:
1/4 Cup each: Red Beans, Chickpeas, Black Eyed Peas, Lima Beans, and Northern Beans
3 cups Vegetable Broth
1 Can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 Garlic Cloves, diced
1 Onion, Diced
2 Cups frozen mixed vegetables
2 Red Potatoes, diced with skin on
1 tsp each: Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano, and Basil
Fresh Ground Pepper to taste
2 TBSP EVOO

Directions:
Soak dried beans overnight, rinse, and set aside for later.

Saute onions and garlic in EVOO until soft. Add Vegetable Broth, tomatoes, and potatoes to pot, bring to boil. Simmer until potatoes are soft.

Add beans, vegetables, and spices, simmer until beans finish cooking.

I served mine just plain in a bowl. Then later in the week I had it with some quinoa and that rocked as well.

Eitherway, the stew was great and I still have some at home. But it’s so good, I don’t mind eating leftovers.

Magic Loaf

I made my own Magic Loaf. Although I started to put it together and realized after it was in the oven, I forgot the almonds! Still, it tasted great. Here’s my recipe:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almonds

2 TB olive oil

One onion, diced

One large garlic clove, minced

One large carrot, peeled and grated

2 cups cooked garbanzo beans, partly mashed

1 cup crushed cereal flakes

1/4 to 1/2 cup vegetable broth, as needed

1 heaping TB flaxseed meal

1/4 tsp. dried thyme

1 tsp. dried basil

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1/4 tsp. dried rosemary

1 tsp. ground cumin

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 TB soy sauce

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350º. Spray a loaf pan or 8×8 square baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside (an 8×8 pan makes a crisper loaf).

Grind the almonds into a coarse meal using a food processor or spice/coffee grinder. Place in a large mixing bowl and set aside.

Sauté any vegetables you’ve chosen in the olive oil until soft. Add to the large mixing bowl along with all the remaining ingredients. Mix and mash together well, adding only as much liquid as needed to create a soft, moist loaf that holds together and is not runny (you may not need to add any liquid if the grains and protein are very moist). Add more binder/carbohydrate as needed if the loaf seems too wet.

Press mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until cooked through.

Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes, then turn out onto a plate or platter and slice. Serve with potatoes, vegetables, and vegetarian gravy, if desired.

Here are some pictures of my food:

Mac’n Cheez

Here’s how I made the super yum-E Mac’n Cheez:

Ingredients:
1.5 cups uncooked whole wheat shells (you can use any pasta you want, I just like whole wheat)
2 tbsp non-hydrogenated amrgarine
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 3/4 cups water
3/4 tsp sea salt
dash fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp soy sauce
3/4 tsp garlic powder
pinch turmeric
1 tbsp canola oil
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup breadcrumbs (optional and you can use herbed)
1/2 cup chopped broccoli (optional, and you can mix in any veggies you want…peas, carrots, and spinach are pretty good too)

Directions:

1. Boil and drain noodles, reserve 1 3/4 cup of the water (or you can just put some extra water on to boil, it’s up to you).
2. Preheat over to 350F.
3. Melt margarine in saucepan over meadium heat
4. Beat in flour with a whisk, making a roux. Stir for one minute. Lower the heat if it bubbles too much. (Mine ended up really thick, so I jumped right ahead to the next step without waiting the minute)
5. Stir in the hot water, sea salt, soy sauce, garlic powder, turmeric, pepper, and any other spices you might like (I added oregano, basil, and thyme)
6. Stir for another minute until the sauce starts to thicken. Then whisk in the oil and nutritional yeast.
7. Add at least half the sauce to your cooked noodles and veggie in a lightly oiled casserol dish. Top with the rest of the sauce, the breadcrumbs and paprika. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned. Broil for about 5 minutes and remove from over.
8. Let cool for a a few minutes…because it’s pretty darn hot coming out of the oven.
9. Enjoy! (It makes about 6-1.5 cup serving sizes, At least thats what it looks like on my plate)

Hope everyone enjoys this recipe, it was really good and I definately plan to make it again.