Tacos
Taco shells
Cuban black beans (mine were frozen from when my mom made them, but you can buy them canned)
1-2 tomatoes (diced)
1-2 avocados (made into guacamole)
3-4 leaves lettuce (sliced into "shreds")
1/4-1/2 pound shredded cheddar
1 package chick-un
1/2 onion
salsa
I cooked the onion and the chick-un in a pan together, but they weren't anything special and I would just leave them out in the future. Then you just pile each ingredient into your taco shell... so fast and easy and fresh!
Spiral Casserole
1 package whole wheat spiral noodles (cooked per directions and drained)
3/4 pound cheddar cheese
2 veggie sausages
2-3 roasted red peppers (mine were from a jar)
1 small package goat cheese
This dish was inspired my macaroni and cheese, but it has a western twist. I often make my mac and cheese as just that: macaroni and cheese. No other ingredients. This is unusual, as most recipes add a lot of cream, but I feel it is the heart and soul of the dish, and when served hot the cheese melts and you really don't miss the cream (when cold, it is much stiffer).
I decided to add a little kick to the dish. The sausages and peppers gave a little spice, while the goat cheese gave it some tang (and a little more creaminess).
It's pretty easy - just mix all the ingredients together in a very large bowl, then pour into a casserole dish. You can bake extra to get a crispy top, or you can just eat it as it is.
Noodle casserole is great - I froze 2 servings, had 2 servings for lunch this week.
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cheese. Show all posts
25.4.10
17.4.10
Friday: Finally Fresh Food
This week was pretty bad. I either had plans or got home so late every night that I didn't end up cooking ALL WEEK! I hate it when that happens. Monday I worked late. Tuesday I went to a kickoff party and basically ate dinner, but went ahead and went out to dinner afterward as well. Wednesday I got together with my family, but we ordered sushi to go. Thursday night I had a civic event (ballot counter at a speech contest), and ate pizza there. And then it was Friday.
Fresh Salad with Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil
As usual, the best ingredients make the best salad. Mixed greens are served with fresh mini-mozzarella, cut up fresh basil leaves (from my potted garden), heirloom cherry tomatoes, and served with aged balsamic, highest quality olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper, and a hint of agave nectar. Divine!
Artichokes
Last time I made artichokes they were undercooked. I wanted to avoid that, but I was also in a hurry. I decided to use the pressure cooker. I put in about an inch of water, dropped in the two perfectly round and aptly named "Globe Artichokes," brought to a "tsk tsk tsk," and then let it cool off until the lock released. They were overdone. Next time I will do the fast release method and see how they turn out. They were edible, but mushy. I served them with melted Earth Balance - fake butter mostly made from vegetable oils, so it still melts nicely. In fact, it is saltier than butter, so I think it makes a better dipping sauce.
Couscous Pilaf
This mix comes from Trader Joe's ready to cook. It has large couscous, orzo, mini garbanzos, and dark quinoa. It's fast and tasty, with a nice texture. I cooked mine with chick-un boulliuon (For ten minutes as package directs). When it was done I added cranberries and pistachios. I served it with an Italian soy-sauge. Delish!
Fresh Salad with Mozzarella, Tomato, and Basil
As usual, the best ingredients make the best salad. Mixed greens are served with fresh mini-mozzarella, cut up fresh basil leaves (from my potted garden), heirloom cherry tomatoes, and served with aged balsamic, highest quality olive oil, a dash of salt and pepper, and a hint of agave nectar. Divine!
Artichokes
Last time I made artichokes they were undercooked. I wanted to avoid that, but I was also in a hurry. I decided to use the pressure cooker. I put in about an inch of water, dropped in the two perfectly round and aptly named "Globe Artichokes," brought to a "tsk tsk tsk," and then let it cool off until the lock released. They were overdone. Next time I will do the fast release method and see how they turn out. They were edible, but mushy. I served them with melted Earth Balance - fake butter mostly made from vegetable oils, so it still melts nicely. In fact, it is saltier than butter, so I think it makes a better dipping sauce.
Couscous Pilaf
This mix comes from Trader Joe's ready to cook. It has large couscous, orzo, mini garbanzos, and dark quinoa. It's fast and tasty, with a nice texture. I cooked mine with chick-un boulliuon (For ten minutes as package directs). When it was done I added cranberries and pistachios. I served it with an Italian soy-sauge. Delish!
5.4.10
Weekend: Camping Sandwiches
Sandwiches are always a great meal, especially when you are on the go. We went camping this weekend and made sandwiches two days. We used the same basic "recipe."
Bread (Whole wheat or Rosemary)
Meat (or fake meat, we used Tofurkey slices)
Cheese (havarti and cheddar)
Tomatoes
Mustard (in this case "Moosetard" Alaskan Smoked Lager Mustard)
Olive tapenade
Avocado
Everyone knows how to make a sandwich! You put all the ingredients between two slices of bread and eat. In this case, the sandwiches were a little bland. I think the bread:filling ratio was a little bread-heavy. Also, toasting the bread is always nice, and since we were camping we couldn't do that. This also made the sandwiches kind of "thick" and dry. A little mayonaise would have helped there.
The mustard was delicious, but too mild. On our last sandwich we slathered it on, and they were significantly improved. Also, we had kind of mild cheese and out tomatoes were bland. They looked good, but what can you expect - they were from the mainstream grocery store.
Overall, disappointing sandwiches, despite the ingredient list sounding good. It's all about the ratio, I suppose.
Bread (Whole wheat or Rosemary)
Meat (or fake meat, we used Tofurkey slices)
Cheese (havarti and cheddar)
Tomatoes
Mustard (in this case "Moosetard" Alaskan Smoked Lager Mustard)
Olive tapenade
Avocado
Everyone knows how to make a sandwich! You put all the ingredients between two slices of bread and eat. In this case, the sandwiches were a little bland. I think the bread:filling ratio was a little bread-heavy. Also, toasting the bread is always nice, and since we were camping we couldn't do that. This also made the sandwiches kind of "thick" and dry. A little mayonaise would have helped there.
The mustard was delicious, but too mild. On our last sandwich we slathered it on, and they were significantly improved. Also, we had kind of mild cheese and out tomatoes were bland. They looked good, but what can you expect - they were from the mainstream grocery store.
Overall, disappointing sandwiches, despite the ingredient list sounding good. It's all about the ratio, I suppose.
31.3.10
Wednesday: Post Happy Hour Greens
I had a case of the post happy hour blues. This is when you go to happy hour, but all the food is junky. You of course eat it anyway, since you are there to socialize. But afterwards you feel nasty. The best answer (if you are not so full that you think you will burst) is the post happy hour greens.
In this case, we had gone to Trulucks, a seafood joint in the UTC area. It was probably ok, but I'm a vegetarian. Even though I make a lot of exceptions, I also don't really like seafood, so there wasn't much of an incentive this time. I am also battling a cold, so I didn't feel like drinking. As an after thought, I probably should have stayed home, but I was so eager to hang out with my new neighbor-friends that I eagerly said yes! But all I ate was sweet potato fries (delicious), and a carrot cupcake (also good). Despite their tasty-ness, I felt incomplete. I needed the post happy hour greens.
Post Happy Hour Greens
The main thing is the cut up something green, season it, and cook it.
1 small head broccoli
4-6 leaves kale (I used dinosaur)
3 small purple potatoes
garlic flakes
nutritional yeast
havarti
white wine
soy sauce
butter
Cut the potatoes very thinly. They take a while to cook, but I was going to put all this in one pan. They had to be thin to cook faster than the broccoli. Chop the broccoli coarsely. Chop the kale. Sprinkle the garlic & nutritional yeast on top. Sprinkle some white wine and soy sauce. Grate half a block of cheese and chop a few small pats of butter. Mix it up, put it in the oven at 350. I baked dfor 20 minutes with foil and maybe 30 without. They were well done. I actually forgot about them after I took the foil off, but they turned out delicious. A minute longer and they would have been on the burned side.
In this case, we had gone to Trulucks, a seafood joint in the UTC area. It was probably ok, but I'm a vegetarian. Even though I make a lot of exceptions, I also don't really like seafood, so there wasn't much of an incentive this time. I am also battling a cold, so I didn't feel like drinking. As an after thought, I probably should have stayed home, but I was so eager to hang out with my new neighbor-friends that I eagerly said yes! But all I ate was sweet potato fries (delicious), and a carrot cupcake (also good). Despite their tasty-ness, I felt incomplete. I needed the post happy hour greens.
Post Happy Hour Greens
The main thing is the cut up something green, season it, and cook it.
1 small head broccoli
4-6 leaves kale (I used dinosaur)
3 small purple potatoes
garlic flakes
nutritional yeast
havarti
white wine
soy sauce
butter
Cut the potatoes very thinly. They take a while to cook, but I was going to put all this in one pan. They had to be thin to cook faster than the broccoli. Chop the broccoli coarsely. Chop the kale. Sprinkle the garlic & nutritional yeast on top. Sprinkle some white wine and soy sauce. Grate half a block of cheese and chop a few small pats of butter. Mix it up, put it in the oven at 350. I baked dfor 20 minutes with foil and maybe 30 without. They were well done. I actually forgot about them after I took the foil off, but they turned out delicious. A minute longer and they would have been on the burned side.
29.3.10
A Day Off: Frech Toast & Texas Barbeque Tofu Sandwiches
After the Pre-Easter Picnic Brunch, I took home half a baguette, which was left mostly open overnight. This morning I thought I'd better save it by making it into French Toast
French Toast
1/2 baguette, sliced
About 1 cup Milk (I actually used Vanilla Soymilk, Unsweetened)
3 eggs
Cinnamon (optional)
Butter for cooking (or oil)
I never measure when I make it, so I can't tell you exactly how much milk I used, but the basic idea is to mix up milk and egg and dip some bread in it, then fry it (medium-high heat, use a thick pan, and lots of butter helps).
French Toast is really easy, especially once you've made it a few times. The hardest part if getting the ratio of batter to bread accurate. Some people like to lightly dip their bread, but I like my bread to soak up as much batter as possible. I also like to add cinnamon, and usually vanilla extract, too. Today I got the ratio just right - not a drop of batter leftover, and every piece of toast saturated thoroughly. Oh yeah, and I had some "Ambrosia" and strawberries leftover from the brunch so I served those up as well.
After the Pre-Easter Picnic Brunch, I also ended up with a LOT of potato salad! Somehow, I inherited a very large and very full container. I wanted to make something that would go with potato salad. In fact, I think I will be making things to compliment potato salad all week. And what goes better with potato salad than barbeque?
I was really hungry, so I made my quick version. I post it here today with the promise that I will also make my involved version sometime.
(Quick) Barbeque Tofu Sandwiches
1 package baked tofu (terriyaki flavor)
4 slices jalepeno cheese (or jack, cheddar, etc)
1/2 heirloom tomato, sliced
2 foccacia buns (mine had rosemary, which added an interesting flavor twist)
Barbeque sauce
My buns were frozen, so first I heated them up in the microwave to defrost them a bit. Then I sliced them in half. I also sliced the baked tofu into 4 thin slices.
I placed two slices tofu on one half of each bun, then placed two slices cheese on top of that. I put them in the toaster oven, toasted them once, then turned it to broil for 5-10 minutes. Then I added the other half of the bun and toasted one more time.
I pulled out the sandwiches, added the barbeque and sliced tomato, and voila! I served it with a heap of potato salad, 1/2 of a sliced up avocado with slat and pepper, and the leftover brussel sprouts from Friday.
Marshall says: "Yum! That was an amazing sandwich!"
And later he says: "That sandwich was so good!"
Time: 15 minutes
Leftovers: Well, I actually took some of the tofu and cheese I would have put on my sandwich, and put it one piece of bread sliced in half to make a half sandwich for lunch tomorrow.
French Toast
1/2 baguette, sliced
About 1 cup Milk (I actually used Vanilla Soymilk, Unsweetened)
3 eggs
Cinnamon (optional)
Butter for cooking (or oil)
I never measure when I make it, so I can't tell you exactly how much milk I used, but the basic idea is to mix up milk and egg and dip some bread in it, then fry it (medium-high heat, use a thick pan, and lots of butter helps).
French Toast is really easy, especially once you've made it a few times. The hardest part if getting the ratio of batter to bread accurate. Some people like to lightly dip their bread, but I like my bread to soak up as much batter as possible. I also like to add cinnamon, and usually vanilla extract, too. Today I got the ratio just right - not a drop of batter leftover, and every piece of toast saturated thoroughly. Oh yeah, and I had some "Ambrosia" and strawberries leftover from the brunch so I served those up as well.
After the Pre-Easter Picnic Brunch, I also ended up with a LOT of potato salad! Somehow, I inherited a very large and very full container. I wanted to make something that would go with potato salad. In fact, I think I will be making things to compliment potato salad all week. And what goes better with potato salad than barbeque?
I was really hungry, so I made my quick version. I post it here today with the promise that I will also make my involved version sometime.
(Quick) Barbeque Tofu Sandwiches
1 package baked tofu (terriyaki flavor)
4 slices jalepeno cheese (or jack, cheddar, etc)
1/2 heirloom tomato, sliced
2 foccacia buns (mine had rosemary, which added an interesting flavor twist)
Barbeque sauce
My buns were frozen, so first I heated them up in the microwave to defrost them a bit. Then I sliced them in half. I also sliced the baked tofu into 4 thin slices.
I placed two slices tofu on one half of each bun, then placed two slices cheese on top of that. I put them in the toaster oven, toasted them once, then turned it to broil for 5-10 minutes. Then I added the other half of the bun and toasted one more time.
I pulled out the sandwiches, added the barbeque and sliced tomato, and voila! I served it with a heap of potato salad, 1/2 of a sliced up avocado with slat and pepper, and the leftover brussel sprouts from Friday.
Marshall says: "Yum! That was an amazing sandwich!"
And later he says: "That sandwich was so good!"
Time: 15 minutes
Leftovers: Well, I actually took some of the tofu and cheese I would have put on my sandwich, and put it one piece of bread sliced in half to make a half sandwich for lunch tomorrow.
11.3.10
Thursday Night: Italian!
I have always wanted to make lasagna, but I always thought it would be hard. Then a friend at work said it was really easy, and I felt inspired. Still, it took me about a year to remember to buy lasagna noodles. I finally got some today! I got home determined to make it, even though I realized I only had half the sauce required (actually more like 2/5), and almost no cheese. Do you think that stopped me? No, it did not. And I was very glad I'd had a stint at veganism in college - I pulled out all the old "fake cheese" tricks.
Healthy Lasagna
1/2 box lasagna noodles (more like 3/5)
1 jar pasta sauce (actually 4/5 of a jar)
I should have used a second jar of sauce, but I didn't have it, so I used 1 small can tomato paste, and about 2-3 cans of water, plus a tablespoon or so of Italian seasoning.
1 small jar olive tapenade (optional)
Mix the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and olive tapenade in a medium bowl (easier if you just have 2 jars of sauce - no mixing required).
1 package firm tofu (soft, silken tofu would have been better - a little more wet; this replaced 1-2 cups of ricotta or cottage cheese)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup "dry" parmesan (like Kraft)
2 eggs
Crumble the tofu into the bowl. Add the eggs, nutritional yeast and parmesan. Mix well.
1 tomato, slice thin
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
Alternate layers of:
sauce
noodles
cheese mixture
Top with sliced tomato and grated parmesan. Tomato could also go in the middle. Cook for 60-90 minutes, until noodles are soft.
Mini Caprese
Heirloom tomatoes are not quite in season, so I got the heirloom cherry tomatoes instead. I think they grow better in a greenhouse, so are better out of season than the large ones.
1 package heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 package small mozzarella balls in brine (drained)
1 large spoonful of pesto
Mix all ingredients together and let marinate 30-60 minutes. Yum! I also added a tiny bit of extra olive oil.
Marshall says: Well, he didn't say much, except he did warn our neighbors that it was "hippie lasagna." Everyone pretty much liked it, but agreed it could be a little saucier. I think 2 jars of sauce would have done the trick, because the made up sauce was thicker, and so probably got drier from cooking than regular sauce would have.
Serves: a lot of people
Total time: 30 minutes prep, 90 minutes cooking, 2 hours total
Leftovers: We had 4 people eat, and we didn't eat half of the pan of lasagna. At least 4 servings leftover.
Healthy Lasagna
1/2 box lasagna noodles (more like 3/5)
1 jar pasta sauce (actually 4/5 of a jar)
I should have used a second jar of sauce, but I didn't have it, so I used 1 small can tomato paste, and about 2-3 cans of water, plus a tablespoon or so of Italian seasoning.
1 small jar olive tapenade (optional)
Mix the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, and olive tapenade in a medium bowl (easier if you just have 2 jars of sauce - no mixing required).
1 package firm tofu (soft, silken tofu would have been better - a little more wet; this replaced 1-2 cups of ricotta or cottage cheese)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup "dry" parmesan (like Kraft)
2 eggs
Crumble the tofu into the bowl. Add the eggs, nutritional yeast and parmesan. Mix well.
1 tomato, slice thin
1/4 cup fresh grated parmesan
Alternate layers of:
sauce
noodles
cheese mixture
Top with sliced tomato and grated parmesan. Tomato could also go in the middle. Cook for 60-90 minutes, until noodles are soft.
Mini Caprese
Heirloom tomatoes are not quite in season, so I got the heirloom cherry tomatoes instead. I think they grow better in a greenhouse, so are better out of season than the large ones.
1 package heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 package small mozzarella balls in brine (drained)
1 large spoonful of pesto
Mix all ingredients together and let marinate 30-60 minutes. Yum! I also added a tiny bit of extra olive oil.
Marshall says: Well, he didn't say much, except he did warn our neighbors that it was "hippie lasagna." Everyone pretty much liked it, but agreed it could be a little saucier. I think 2 jars of sauce would have done the trick, because the made up sauce was thicker, and so probably got drier from cooking than regular sauce would have.
Serves: a lot of people
Total time: 30 minutes prep, 90 minutes cooking, 2 hours total
Leftovers: We had 4 people eat, and we didn't eat half of the pan of lasagna. At least 4 servings leftover.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
