Meatless Monday -- Black Beans and Brown Rice

BTW, I love beans.  Don't know when this love developed, but they are my secret favorite food.  So this made for an awesome dinner with leftovers for lunch.  It is essentially Skinny Taste's Cuban Beans and Rice. I doubled her recipe, used brown rice instead of white, and modified my cooking method/times.

Ingredients
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 small-medium yellow onion, diced
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
about 2 tbl olive oil
2 cans black beans
4 cups water
1 tsp cumin
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp oregano

Methods
1. I heated up some olive oil in the bottom of my heavy bottomed stock pot and softened up the peppers, onions and garlic.

2. I added the black beans, including the juice, brown rice, and 4 cups of water.  I also added the cumin, oregano, and bay leaves at this point.  I brought the mix to a boil, covered, lowered the temp and simmered until the brown rice was cooked.  At that point I took the lid off and boiled off some of the remining liquids to thicken up the sauce.

Opinions
Still love me some black beans.  This was a win.  Full of fiber and protein between the beans and rice.   I turned this into  servings, and they have been filling. The leftovers made for a good lunch too.  It was also not overtly salty, despite using the bean juice (i'm one of those people who ALWAYS rinses her beans).

I made something similar from Our Best Bites a few weeks ago... It was supposed to have chicken, but i felt the beans gave me enough protein.  that one had a nice apple salsa topping... I would be happy to add in the apples to this and make a nice mix between the two.

Beef Fajitas

Another work week means another week of lunch!  I find that if I make lunch during the weekend I'm much more likely to eat healthy and have a good midday meal at the desk.  If I don't make lunch I'm quite likely to eat something unhealthy or enhance my lunch with something i shouldn't eat.  This week I'm doing fajitas, mmmm.  Fajitas are one of my favorite foods in the world!!!  They just make me happy.

Materials
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic chopped
~ 1 lb flat iron steak cut into strips
2 green peppers cut into strips
1/2 sweet onion cut into strips
3 roma tomatoes, quartered and de-seeded

Methods
I combined the lime, canola, oregano, cumin, and garlic in a bowl and mix well. Afterwords I chopped the peppers and onions and beef.  Toss the beef and vegetables with the marinade, cover and let sit for 4-8 hours.  Later I heated up a skillet on high and cooked the meat.  I removed as much liquid as possible and to allow the beef to sear and get well seared on the outside.  I removed the steak once cooked and added the peppers, onions, and tomatoes to the pan, removing as much liquid as possible.  once cooked I tossed the veggies and beef together and prepared to enjoy.  I usually enjoy my fajitas with a fork as is, avoiding beans, rice, and tortillas. 

Grove Dip

We caught the Steelers-Bengals Game a couple of weeks ago at our friends place. I wanted to bring something, and dip came up. I immediately thought of Grove Dip, from the Moo Groceries Cookbook for the Vicksburg Historical Society.

Materials
2 11-oz cans corn, drained and rinsed
1 4-oz can chopped green chiles
3 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tbl sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Methods
Drain and rinse the corn. In a bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, and sugar. Add corn, chiles, green onions, red peppers, and cheese. Mix and Chill for several hours before serving with tortilla chips.

Verdict
It was delicious! I had a sample of this once before, and it was about as good as I remembered.

Things to note about the recipe -- it makes a ton of dip, and I mean a ton!!! I would definitely recommend halving it if you aren’t feeding a crowd. Likewise, I’ve actually considered two substitutions -- I would consider omitting one can of corn for a can of black beans. I would also consider subbing some strained non-fat yogurt or some greek yogurt for the sour cream, mayonnaise, sugar combo. Corn, beans, and yogurt would mean you could eat as much as you wanted!

025 -- Peanut Thai Noodle Salad

My friend Lulu had a few of us over for dinner a few weeks ago. She had recently introduced me to this awesome food blog, Our Best Bites, which always has yummy looking recipes. To intensify my love for OBB, Lulu made their Thai Peanut Noodle Salad. I have seriously had dreams, ok well really daydreams, about that salad. It was way too yummy for its own good. Obviously (a) I have major issues, and (b) I had to give it a try of my own.

Plus, this gave me an opportunity to use my *new* blender. My parents gave me a blender/food processor combo about 3.5 years ago (I think) for Christmas. They share a base, but have different tops. Since then I have used the food processor tons of times, my general favorite thing to make being hummus. However, I had never actually pulled the blender portion out. Now I feel a lot better about it. I swear I usually don't wait that long to use gifts... the week the infamous pasta roller shows up I plan to make something special :)

In other conversational news... this was the first time I actually used raw ginger in a recipe. I usually sub ground ginger, skip it, or just skip the recipe in the first place. I think am closing in towards having cooked with most of the veggies at our little Kroger save the greens.

Materials
Dressing
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 lime
2 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbl rice vinegar
2 tbl soy sauce
3 tbl honey
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbl minced ginger
1/4-1/2 cup copped cilantro
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
1-3 tsp siracha chili sauce
2-4 tbl water (as needed to make dressing-y)

Salad
6 cups chopped Nappa Cabbage/Savoy Cabbage, or some other greens
1 red pepper, sliced
1 yellow pepper, sliced
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, sliced or chopped
Handful of baby carrots, julienned
1 box whole wheat linguine

Method
Combine all dressing ingredients in blender and mix. Set to side and chill


Cook linguine until al dente. Rinse in col water. While linguine is cooking chop vegetables.

Toss dressing, pasta, and veggies and serve!

Verdict
Awesome! It doesn't taste like I remember Lulu's tasting, but i could still have dreams about this. I'm sold on OBB! About the only problem i see is that it feeds a bunch! I knew it would be more than a meal or two when I looked at it, but I was dumb enough to think I didn't need to halve (or quarter) it. Really, since the dressing is the super star of this meal, you could make a pretty good meal out of just the veggies and the dressing without the noodles, but what fun would that be? So, anyone want to come over for dinner tomorrow or Tuesday? You can see the super awesome yellow kitchen in person!!

024 -- Spanakopizza

The weekends are pizza time at my house. It harks back to childhood and growing up in Chicago. I had some feta cheese left over from last week's lentils, so I decided I wanted to do something with them. I had been reading some recipes on the web and decided to make a Greek spanakopita inspired pizza. MMMM pizza and spanakopita -- a combination that can't go wrong, right? I feel so Rachel Ray in naming my dish :)

Materials
Olive oil spray
1 Can refrigerator pizza dough
3 Cloves garlic, minced
1 Green pepper, chopped
1/4-1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
Spinach
Feta cheese
Oregano
Dill
Salt
Pepper
1 Lemon


Methods
First, spray the surface of a baking sheet with olive oil. Roll out the pizza dough to the desired thickness and spray the surface with olive oil again. Bake at 400 (or temperature on can) for about 7 minutes.


Pull the pizza out of the oven and start topping. I put the minced garlic down first, followed by peppers and onions. The spinach took the place as the top veggie. Spread the feta over the spinach. Top with dill, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste. Finally, sprinkle with lemon juice.

Bake for about 8 minutes longer and enjoy!

Verdict

Winner! This was excellent, definitely one to enjoy again. I adore dill and feta, making this a yummy combo! Plus it was pretty darn healthy. I thought that the lemon brought out the dill and oregano and made it pretty darn tasty!! Warning, since there isn't a lot of cheese (its really more of a flatbread...) the toppings like to slide here there and everywhere.

Recipe17: WW Veggie Soup

I was wanting something veggie filled and light last weekend. I was DESPERATE to lose at least half a pound, so I thought I would try the 'staple' WW veggie soup (because apparently I don't eat enough soup?). Although, soup is one of the things I find easiest to make in a veggie form that keeps me filled up.

Materials
4 garlic cloves
medium onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 sweet pepper, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
2 cups cabbage, shredded
2 cups broccoli florets
2 cups cauliflower florets
dried thyme
6 cups vegetable/chicken broth
2 tbl parsley, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 lemon

Methods
Combine vegetables, broth, thyme, and garlic in large stockpot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add parsley, salt, pepper, and the juice of a lemon.

Verdict
This was pretty ok and fairly filling considering that it is essentially calorically non-existent. I can see why its a 'staple' of weight loss in weight watchers. The recipe called for swiss chard, but alas our kroger was without so i bumped up the rest of the veggies accordingly to account for the missing chard. I also used a green pepper instead of red -- red would have made it even more visually appealing. WW claims that this makes 12-1 cup servings. Personally, if this is the main portion of the meal I, needed 2 cups and a fresh multi grain roll with some sort of fat product on it. I've got some of it stored up in the freezer for a soupy day :)

Recipe 11: Faux-strone

I wanted soemthing hearty and soupy for supper tonight since I've been down with a sore throat, presumably due to the weather. Since I'm vegetarian for Lent (except when out and allowed to use meat based stocks due to Vicksburg being Vicksburg) and I didn't want to spend very long in front of the stove, my options were fairly limited. I threw together this faux-minestrone to satisfy my craving.

Materials
~ 1 1/3 cup whole wheat penne (uncooked)
~ 2 cups chicken stock
~ 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
~ 2 cups frozen tuscan vegetables (zucchini, cauliflower, carrots, lima beans, red peppers, italian green beans
~ 1 tsp basil
~ parmesan cheese

Methods
Cook the penne until al dente according to package. Meanwhile, combine chicken stock, roasted tomatoes (including juices), vegetables, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium sized pan. Add cooked penne. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes to allow flavors to meld. Makes 3 servings. Top each serving with paremsan cheese.

Verdict
Yummy!! A great, fairly hearty soup that hit the spot. I heart soup. It is one of my favorite things about winter. So much of a favorite that I even make it during the summer! The fire-roasted canned tomatoes really helped to give this soup a good flavor. This is definitely a keeper in terms of a quick soup with 'in the pantry' type goods. I would consider adding some red kidney beans or increasing the pasta to 2 cups next time I make this to make it a little more hearty, but that really isn't necessary.

Recipe 3: Veggie Frittata

For my next endeavor I decided to do some breakfast for dinner, or brinner as my friend Jane likes to call it! The veggie frittata here is based on a low fat frittata published by the Hungry Girl. Those of you who know me well know that this was a massive step up as I DESPISE eggs.

Ingredients:
~1 1/2 cup egg substitute
~2 tbsp fat free non-dairy creamer
~2 slices mozzarella cheese
~1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
~1 portabella mushroom cap
~1 green pepper
~2-3 green onions
~ sliced grape tomatoes
~ 1-2 tbl Parmesan cheese
~ plain Greek style yogurt


Directions:
1. Whisk egg substitute and non-dairy creamer. Chop mozzarella cheese into pieces. Mix mozzarella and cheddar cheese into egg mixture. Turn on Broiler

2. Heat up an oven safe pan to medium-high and soften the mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Cook for approx 5 minutes to soften. Add tomatoes and cook for another 3 minutes. Add the egg mixture. Shake pan to spread eggs, mix to ensure that cheese is spread and eggs get up under your veggies. Cook for 2 more minutes

3. Place pan under broiler for approx 4 minutes until egg is puffed up and fully set.

4. Let cool and slice into quarters. Serve with a fat dollup of Greek yogurt or sour cream.



Verdict:

AWESOME. For a girl who doesn't really like eggs, this was great. The original recipe called for mushrooms, turkey bacon, and apples -- which also sounds good -- but this just spoke to me. I added some pepper and herbs to the egg mixture before added it to the pan. I loved all the veggies -- I knew I could probably eat half of it because it was so yummy, and it wouldn'tbe all that bad because it was all veggies. Definitely a winner -- I plan to do this low fat frittata again with other goodies in the middle!


My friends Amber and Kristen are the ones who introduced me to putting sour cream on frittata's. It totally makes it sooo much better! I highly recommend it.