White Orchid Melody

I made up this recipe for dinner this week and it turned out really good, so I thought I’d share.  I used chicken bullion granules, so technically this is not vegetarian.  I think the important thing is to buy organic animal products and use in moderation.  You could substitute vegetable broth/bullion though.  It was quick and easy.  The most time consuming part is cooking the rice.  I made it earlier in the day so it would be ready to go whenever I decided to make dinner!

Vegetable Wild Rice Casserole

1 cup brown rice
½ cup wild rice
1 lb frozen mixed vegetables (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)

Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
¼ c half and half
1 cup water
1 tbsp chicken bullion
Italian seasoning
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Lemon pepper seasoning

Cook brown and wild rice mixture until nearly done.  Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt butter, mix in flour until smooth.  Add half and half, stirring until smooth.  Mix bullion with water until dissolved.  Add bullion to flour mixture, whisk smooth.  Add seasonings.  Bring to a simmer. 

Combine rice and vegetables in large mixing bowl, and pour in sauce.  Stir well to combine.  Transfer to baking dish.  Toss bread crumbs or crushed crackers with melted butter and sprinkle over top of casserole.  Bake about 20 minutes until heated through.

Serves 4

This recipe makes individual frittatas using your muffin tin.  I personally don’t care for eggs, but my family LOVES this recipe.  They look fancy enough for a special brunch, but they are easy enough for a Saturday morning treat. You could add any sort of filling to the eggs.  My version has onions, garlic, and spinach.

8 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch of black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
Onion
Garlic
fresh baby spinach
Mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350° F. Beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Saute onion, garlic, and spinach. Brush the inside of a muffin tin with olive oil or coat really well with cooking spray.  Pour the eggs 1/3 full into muffin tin.  Add spinach mixture.  Pour remainder of eggs. Top with shredded cheese. Bake at 350° F until cooked almost all of the way through, about 15 minutes. Then broil until the tops are brown, about two minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes and serve.  Makes 10-12 frittatas.

It is so cold here!  This is a great stew for warming up these winter nights!

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
4-6 cloves garlic
1 cup carrots
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp italian seasoning
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups cooked white beans (can be navy, northern, or cannellini)
1 cup green beans, cut into 1″ pieces
2 cups fresh baby spinach, chopped
1 cup of pasta (rotini or elbow macaroni work well, but any small pasta will do fine)
salt/pepper to taste

Heat oil in stock pot over medium heat.  Chop onion and garlic (I use a food processor).  Saute in olive oil.  Finely chop carrots in food processor (this adds texture, rather than having chunks of carrots).  Season with italian seasoning mix and celery seed.  Add tomatoes.  Bring to a boil and stir until thickened.  Add white beans, broth, and green beans.  Return to a boil.  Stir in spinach.  Cover and simmer for 5 minutes.  If you are making this early in the day, you can allow it to simmer here for as long as you want.  About 20 minutes before serving, stir in pasta, salt, and pepper.  Cook until the pasta is tender, but firm.  You can thin with additional vegetable broth if the mixture seems too thick.  Serve with crusty italian bread.

I did quite a bit of cooking over Christmas and even more eating!  My stepdad sent us a Honeybaked Ham, which we enjoyed on Christmas eve.  And then I made a giant turkey for Christmas day. 

Yes, giant.  As in, I wasn’t sure it was going to fit in the pan.  The small grocery where I shop only had 20+ lb turkeys.  Way too much for the four of us, I knew.  But the turkey breasts were so much more per pound, that it was exactly the same price to get a breast as a whole bird.  And with needing to stock a freezer for after the baby comes, I figured leftovers weren’t the worst thing. 

So, after taking a day to rest and recover from the holiday, I set out to do some marathon cooking again.  Thursday I did my shopping for all the supplies, and then Friday I spent the whole day cooking.  I found my recipes by googling “freezer recipes” for both turkey/chicken and ham.  I don’t think I made any of them exactly as the recipe stated.  I have a really hard time following a recipe for anything other than baking (when it’s disasterous not to!)  So anyway, I made a Santa Fe Turkey Casserole with turkey, frozen mixed veggies, pinto beans, cheese, tomatoes, peppers and onions; a turkey/veggie/rice dish; a turkey/veggie/cheese/noodle dish; turkey manicotti (recipe was for ham, but I had lots of turkey).  Then I used the ham to make Scalloped Potato and Ham Casserole, cheddar/broccoli/ham wraps, and a ham and pineapple pizza.  Oh, and I made some Vegetable Bean Chowder, which used the ham as well.  Susie was pretty excited to get the ham bone when I was finished! 

Cooking all day is so exhausting, but I know it is worth it to not have to worry about meal planning right after the baby.  I made a menu card listing everything I’ve made so that Brian or I can check that and choose a meal.  I’d read that you can just keep a white board on the outside of the freezer to keep track of what you have in there.  Seems like a good idea if you do this all the time.  But in this case, I probably won’t want to go down to the basement just to see what Brian can thaw for dinner.  I’d rather have something close at hand; and we can just mark things off as we eat them.  I’m curious how the dishes are going to turn out when thawed and baked.  Some better than others I’m sure. 

I prepared this for the family over the holidays and it turned out really good!  I found the recipe at epicurious.com.  I modified it a bit though to keep it simple.  It called for letting things sit overnight and such.  Who has time for that?

Vanilla-Maple French Toast

Servings: Makes 6 servings.

Ingredients
9 eggs
2 1/4 cups reduced-fat (2%) milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 3/4-inch-thick slices French bread
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
Warm maple syrup

Preparation
Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in milk. Add 1/3 cup maple syrup, sugar, vanilla, and salt; whisk to blend. Divide custard between two 13×9x2-inch glass baking dishes. Arrange bread in single layer in dishes. Let soak 5 minutes. Turn over, let soak 5 minutes. Heat large griddle or heavy large skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, brush griddle with some butter. Add soaked bread; cook until brown on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn French toast over; cook until bottoms are brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to plates. Serve with additional syrup and Warm Berry Preserves (see below).

Warm Berry Preserves

Ingredients
1 1-pound bag frozen unsweetened strawberries
1 1-pound bag frozen unsweetened raspberries
2/3 cup low-sugar strawberry preserves (I use Smucker’s- no corn syrup!)
1/3 cup sugar
water

Preparation
Mix all frozen berries, jelly, and sugar in large nonstick skillet.  Add water about half way up berries. Boil until mixture thaws and thickens but is still chunky, stirring frequently.

I thought I’d posted this one before, but don’t see it…who knows?  Anyway, I thought it would be good since it is party season and these make a great party food.  Get little mini pitas (2″ rounds) for appetizers.  If you are making this as a meal the 4″ rounds work well.  These are simple to make, and the filling can even be made a day ahead and reheated prior to stuffing.  Even the most discriminating guests will enjoy these.  No one will even realize they are eating vegetarian!

Thai Pitas

1 pkg Soy Crumble
1 sweet red pepper, finely chopped
2 Tbsp ginger, minced (you can substitute dried)
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp cilantro
3 Tbsp smooth peanut butter
2 Tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice, if you have it)
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp canola oil

Cook soy crumble with red pepper, ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes.  In a small bowl, whisk together cilantro, peanut butter, lemon juice, soy sauce, and canola oil.  Stir into crumble.  Line pitas with romaine lettuce and stuff with mixture.  That’s it.  So easy!

These are so good!  And easy!  I used to buy the premade cookie dough that you could bake up, but seriously, these take maybe 10 minutes to prep.  They are a great homemade gift for the holidays.

 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 Tbsp (1 stick) of butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375.  Grease cookie sheets (I use the wrapper from the stick of butter).  Whisk together flour and baking soda in a small/medium bowl.  In a large bowl combine butter, sugar, and brown sugar.  Beat on medium until fluffy and well blended.  Add the egg, salt, and vanilla and beat until combined.  Stir in the flour mixture until well blended and smooth (you can use a mixer or stir by hand).  Stir in (by hand) the chocolate chips.  You can also add nuts if you like. 

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets.  Space about 2″ apart.  Bake about 8 or 10 minutes, or until the cookies are brown just at the edges.  Let the cookies stand on the sheet for a couple minutes until firm, then transfer the ones you haven’t already eaten to a rack to cool. 

Mmmm! I’m making some of these tomorrow!  If I remember I will take a photo to add here!

I’m preparing this recipe for a stocking stuffing party we are hosting this weekend.  We are making stockings for an Army National Guard Unit that is serving in Iraq.  This is a modification of a recipe that I got from a local restaurant.  I ordered it everytime I went there, and then they took it off the menu, so I begged for the recipe!  Lasagna is time consuming, but oh-so-good!  You could make double and freeze one uncooked for later use.

Vegetable Lasagna

4 c. Broccoli Florets, steamed and chopped
3 c. White Bread Crumbs
1 c. 2% Milk
½ c. Olive Oil
2 c. Ricotta Cheese
1.5 lb Frozen Spinach, Thawed
¾ c. Parmesan Cheese
1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
½ tsp Thyme
½ tsp Basil
½ Tbsp Sea Salt
¼ tsp Ground Nutmeg (optional)

Combine above ingredients for filling mix.

1 lb Lasagna Noodles
Marinara Sauce
Mozzarella Cheese
Baby Spinach

Blanche noodles and chill in ice bath.  In greased pan, layer sauce, noodles, filling mix, fresh spinach, and cheese.  Repeat for four layers omitting fresh spinach on top layer.  Sprinkle with herbs and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  Remove foil and finish about 12 minutes.

These vegetarian Sloppy Joes make a quick family dinner.  Good messy fun!  Serve on a toasted wheat bun with your favorite side dishes.

1 Tbsp Canola Oil
1 Medium Onion, finely chopped
½ c Mixed Bell Peppers, finely chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
Sea Salt
Cracked Pepper
Dash Celery Seed
1 pkg Soy Crumble (Morningstar or Boca)
1 – 15oz can Tomato Sauce
¼ c Ketchup
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add onion, peppers, garlic, and seasonings.  Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.  Add Soy Crumble.  Cook until thawed.  Stir in tomato sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally.
Season with more salt and pepper as desired.  Scoop onto toasted wheat buns.  Enjoy!

This is a simple but hearty soup for a cool fall day.  I usually make cornbread with mine, but it’s also good in a sourdough bread bowl.  You can use canned beans or cook your own from dried.  If you don’t like spicy, omit the serrano peppers and the cayenne pepper.  The red pepper flakes add flavor, but not much heat.

2 cups dried black beans (or 4 cans)
2 carrots (or 1 cup baby carrots), diced
1 cup frozen corn
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 serrano chili peppers (more or less to taste), chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp cumin
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
dash of cayenne pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
3 cups of crushed tomatoes (you can also use Rotel tomatoes w/ green chiles)

Cook black beans.  Heat oil in stock pot.  Add onions, garlic, and peppers.  Saute until onions are tender.  Add spices and stir to combine.  In blender or food processor, puree half of beans along with onion mixture.  Return to stock pot.  Add broth, tomatoes, and remaining beans.  Stir well and bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer and add carrots and corn.  Continue to simmer an hour or so, until carrots are tender and flavors have melded, stirring periodically to avoid sticking (I recommend a non-stick pot for this recipe).  Serve with homemade cornbread muffins.  Yum!