Superbowl Snacks!

My team may not have been in the Superbowl, but that didn't stop us from watching. We drank beer and ate some yummy snacks. It was kind of like a complete meal made from appetizers. Delicious.
I served Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip, based on Alton Brown's recipe, which you can find here.  I also made boneless buffalo wings. That recipe is below. They were so yummy.

I like wings, as I believe we discussed in an earlier post, but I always feel like they are too hard to eat. Making them boneless solves that problem. You can just pop them in your mouth. MMM. I made some without sauce over them and served those with honey mustard sauce. Also quite yummy.

I am afraid I didn't take any pictures of these. We were too busy watching the game. The picture below is of the dip, which I served with pita crackers and cut veggies.

Boneless Buffalo Wings - Adapted from The Pioneer Woman's Classic Hot Wings
1 lb chicken breasts
1/2 c panko bread crumbs
1 egg

One 6-ounce bottle cayenne hot pepper sauce (I used Franks)
 1/2stick butter

Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Cut chicken into chunks that will take about two bites to eat. Beat egg in a shallow bowl. Place panko in a shallow plate or bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Coat chicken with egg then coat with bread crumbs. Place on baking sheet and spray tops of chicken with  light coating of chicken spray. 

Cook for 15-20 min or until cooked through and golden brown.

Meanwhile, heat the cayenne sauce and butter over medium-low heat. Add the Worcestershire and hot sauce to taste. Let it boil then turn off.

Place the wings in a dish and pour the hot sauce over the top. Toss to coat.

The Challenge Redux

January ended a few days ago and I completed the challenge!
But, I had so much fun that we decided to keep going, with a few tweaks.
I no longer have to make a new recipe every day, but I do need to pick a number at the beginning of the month and make that many recipes.
So, based on what I made in January I am going to pick a fairly conservative number for February. We are going to try for 12 new recipes in February. I think that should be easy enough.
Look to the next post for two that I made for Superbowl Sunday! We are off to a good start.

Spicy Sweet Chicken

This dish was adapted from a hot wings recipe. I love hot wings, but I find that they are a little difficult to eat and you leave a lot of the meat on the bone. I made these with boneless skinless chicken thighs. I like the thighs better for this than the breasts because they are more flavorful.
It was good, but I didn't make it spicy enough. I was worried it would be TOO spicy and it wasn't even all that spicy. Next time I'll stick with the recommended heat next time. 
This would also be delicious over tofu, but we had been very vegetarian for a while and it was time for a meat based dish.

Spicy Sweet Chicken - Adapted from Pioneer Woman's Asian Hot Wings

6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3/4 cup plum jelly
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes (this is what I should have used. I only used about 1/2 the amount)
3 jalapenos, minced fine

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Place chicken thighs in an oiled casserole dish and spray with cooking spray. Cook for about 15-20 min or until internal temperature is 160 degrees.
Add the plum jelly to a small saucepan. Stir in the soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Add brown sugar, ginger, red onions, garlic, red pepper flakes and hot peppers. Stir to combine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook the sauce until slightly thickened, about 15 minutes. 

Pour the sauce over top of chicken, reserving some sauce for serving. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Place the chicken on plates, and then spoon extra sauce over the top.
Serve with rice and a cooling salad. (I used jasmine rice.)

Cavatelli with Arugula and Tomato

This is the first pasta dish of the challenge (if you don't include the lasagna, which, obviously, I do not.)
It was different from what we are used to eating, this isn't just pasta with tomato sauce spooned over it. It was complex and fresh and I could have eaten it all day. It's a good thing I only made enough for two servings.
A lot of people don't like anchovies and I totally understand, but the paste melts right into the sauce and gives it a nice salty savory flavor. Trust me. It is so good.

Cavatelli with Arugula and Tomato - adapted from Pasta Galore

3 handfuls of baby arugula leaves
3 tbs olive oil
3 tbs garlic olive oil(or saute a garlic clove in the oil and remove the clove before adding ingredients)
3 large scallions, sliced
1 celery stick, diced
1 15oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 - 1 tsp anchovy paste (optional)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste
6 oz cavatelli or similar pasta shape
Parmesan or pecorino romano cheese for serving

Wash and coarsely chop the arugula.
Heat olive oil in wide deep skillet and fry scallions and celery together until softened, about 4 min, stirring frequently. Set aside.
Bring large saucepan to a rolling boil. Meanwhile, in a small skillet heat garlic oil over medium heat and add tomatoes, anchovy paste and red pepper flakes. Fry together for about 10min, stirring frequently, then set aside.

Cook pasta and arugula together according to pasta package directions until al dente. Drain and tip into the pan with scallion and celery.

Mix together to coat the pasta and transfer to a serving dish. Pour tomato sauce over cavatelli. Sprinkle with cheese and serve at once.

Gingery Fish and noodles

This recipe was delicious, it was from Monday night.(I know, I know, I am WAY behind. I'm catching up now.)
 This was not only a new recipe it was a new technique. I've never steamed fish before, but it was so simple! I am definitely going to try steaming again.
I adapted this a little. I found that there wasn't enough of the ginger scallion mixture to toss, so I just made up some more. The amounts below are what I ended up using.
I also mixed the scallion/ginger at the end of the recipe with the soy and spooned it over the fish, instead of spooning it over separately.

Gingery Fish And Noodles - adapted From Everyday with Rachel Ray Magazine

4 scallions thinly sliced
1 2in piece fresh ginger peeled and cut into matchsticks
2 pieces firm white fish (I used Alaskan Cod) 
6oz rice noodles
1 tbs vegetable oil
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (more if you like it spicy)
1/2 tbs soy sauce

Bring 3 inches of water to a boil over high heat in a steamer pot. Meanwhile, mix the scallions and ginger in a small bowl. Scatter about 1/3 of the mixture in the center of a piece of foil large enough to wrap the fish pieces. Place fish pieces side by side on top. Season with salt pepper and half of remaining ginger mixture. Make a sealed packet. Steam until cooked, about 10 min. Discard ginger and scallion.

Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package, drain and rinse. In large nonstick skillet heat 1/2tbs oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 min. Increase heat and stir in broccoli rabe; season with salt and black pepper. Cover and cook 1-2 min. Add noodles, toss.

In a small skillet heat remaining oil over medium high heat. Add remaining ginger mixture and cook for 10 sec. Spoon ginger sauce over the fish along with soy sauce.

Pinto Pie

This dish was ok. It was very edible...I know that isn't a great way to describe a meal, but it was. I didn't dislike it. I just thought it was a little bland. It is basically a chili with cornbread baked on top. There is nothing wrong with this concept. I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but if I were to make this again I would add some different spices and maybe some other veggies to the chili part. The opportunities for adaptation are high.
It is also a really fast dish to make. Perfect for a busy weeknight.

Pinto Pie - from Vegetarian Times
2 14.5 cans of pinto beans drained, 1 1/2 c of liquid reserved (this was all the liquid in the cans)
3tbs tomato paste
3tbs olive oil
1 large red onion diced
2 1/2tbs chili powder
3 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6tbs whole grain cornbread muffin mix (I used hogdson mills brand)
1 1/2c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I used soy sour cream, because I can't eat yogurt)
1 large egg
1 1/2tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Coat 9in pie dish with cooking spray. Whisk reserved bean liquid with tomato paste in small bowl and set aside.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 cups of the onion. Cover and cook 4 min or until onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Add chili powder and stir 10 sec to coat onions. Stir in tomato paste mixture, 1 cup tomatoes, and then beans. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, 6 min or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Meanwhile, combine cornbread mix 1/3 c yogurt, egg, sugar and 1tbs water in medium bowl.
Spread chili beans in prepared pie dish. Pour cornbread batter over beans, spreading with back of spoon. Bake 10 min or until cornbread is set and golden.
Meanwhile, finely chop remaining 1/2 c onion. Place in small bowl, mix in remaining 1/2 c tomato and season with salt and pepper if desired. (I also squeezed in a little lime juice)
Serve pie with tomato salsa and remaining yogurt.

You can also serve with any other taco toppings you would like - I used shredded lettuce, limes and shredded cheese.

African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans

I love my slow cooker. I don't use it as often as I probably should, mainly because I have a limited recipe repertoire for it, but when I do use it I am reminded of how wonderful and useful it is. 
This stew comes from Wednesday night. It was my first day of my externship, and I had no idea when I would be home or how tired I would be. This is the perfect time to pull out the slow cooker, I thought to myself. And because I had to be up pretty early on Wednesday morning I actually did most of the prep for this the night before. I sauteed the onion and garlic and chopped the sweet potato and just put it all in a big bowl in the refrigerator so that all I had to do the next morning was toss it in the slow cooker.
Is this stew authentically African? I have no idea. It does taste similar to some things I have had at Ethiopian restaurants I have eaten at. It was filling and hearty and perfect for the cold, cold weather. (The high on Wednesday was 16 degrees! 16!) I ate it for lunch on Friday and on Sunday. It keeps really well and would probably freeze nicely too.

African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans - adapted from Cooking Light Slow Cooker

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
4 c cubed peeled sweet potato, about 1.5 lbs (1/2 in dice)
1 16 oz can small red beans
2 c vegetable broth (low sodium if possible)
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp grated peeled ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato, drained
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
3 tbs creamy peanut butter
3 tbs chopped dry-roasted peanuts
lime wedges

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook 5 min or until tender.
Place onion mixture and next 10 ingredients into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Spoon 1 c cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add peanut butter. Whisk until completely incorporated. Stir mixture into stew. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

I served this with some rolls I made from refrigerated pizza dough. Super easy and delicious.

Flash Roasted Veggies with Chipotle Tomato Sauce

Again, I apologize for being behind. To make up for it, today you will get two posts! Hooray!

This came from Tuesday night. That was my first day of classes for the semester, so I wanted something that would come together quickly and easily, but still be delicious and hearty, because it was COLD.
This was delicious. We have a big thing for Mexican food this house and well, this is a very Mexican flavored dish. I really liked the sauce, it was spicy without being too hot and it was a complete meal in a casserole dish. I love that. It is a bit like a deconstructed veggie burrito. yum yum yum yum yum! I served this with some sauteed kale, but you certainly don't need to. This is fine all by itself.

Flash-Roasted Vegetables and Rice with Chipotle Tomato Sauce - adapted from Vegetarian Times
Vegetables & Rice:
1 c white rice
2 small zucchini, cut on a bias into 1/4 in slices
2 small yellow squash cut on a bias into 1/4 in. slices
2 small red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 in rings
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
optional -cheese for the top (The recipe calls for queso fresco, I used shredded cheddar because that is what we had.)

Chipotle Tomato Sauce:
2 chipotle chiles in adobo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
1 large white onion, halved and cut 1/4 in thick

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
Place rice and 2 c cold water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 min.
Meanwhile, toss together zucchini, squash and bell peppers with oil and chili powder in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheets an roast 20 -25 min or until tender and beginning to brown.

To make Sauce: Blend chipotles, garlic and tomato in blender until almost completely smooth.
Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, and cook 5-7 min or until browned and softened. Stir in tomato mixture, reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 min or until thickened.

To serve: Spread rice in bottom of casserole dish. Top with vegetables then sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

I apologize, I am about 3 posts behind. School started this week and I have been lazy. But, never fear! I will catch up in the next few days.
On Monday Bob went out for lunch with a friend and I went out for dinner. I was going to just make a PB&J for lunch, but I thought, this is a great time to make a smaller recipe. This recipe, with a few modifications because of what we had in the house, comes from another one of my favorite blogs 101cookbooks.
It was a nice light, fresh lunch. I used canellini beans, because we were out of chickpeas and I didn't realize it, but I definitely think this would be much better with chickpeas, as the recipe suggests. I think it would have a much nicer texture.  I also used prunes, but this would be great with dates. It would probably be good with dried apricots as well, but they might be a little too sweet.
The dressing is fantastic. I would use it on lots of things.

Moroccan Carrot Salad - adapted from 101cookbooks
Dressing:
1 tbs cumin
1/3c extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salad:
 3 large carrots shredded on a box grater
 one 15- ounce can canellini beans, drained and rinsed (recipe calls for chickpeas. Use chickpeas if you can)
2/3c prunes cut into small pieces
1/3c fresh mint, torn
For serving:
toasted almond slices,  optional

To make the dressing:
In a bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, beans, prunes, mint, and almonds, and rose petals (if you're including those as well.) Gently toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (You can toss this salad, minus the almonds, hours in advance. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.)

Baked Hush Puppies

Well, last night's recipe was not one of the best. The batter came out wrong. It was too thin, but I was afraid to add too much more flour because I didn't want it to be too heavy. It was heavy any way, an the batter was super think. Maybe it didn't work because hush puppies are supposed to be fried.
Here is the problem. I am scared of frying things. Oh, I can shallow pan fry, but proper deep frying on my stove scares me. I am very accident prone and the idea of having a huge pan of hot oil somewhere that it could spill all over me is slightly terrifying. We love hush puppies, though, and I may just have to get over my fear of frying to make these right.

Baked Hush Puppies - adapted from Vegetarian Times
1 1/2 c fine ground cornmeal
1/2 c cake flour
1Tbs plus 1tsp cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt, pus more for sprinkling
1tsp creole seasoning
1 large egg
1c low-fat soy milk
1/2 large sweet onion (1c) finely diced
3/4 c vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and creole seasoning. Whisk together egg and milk in a separate bowl. Stir onion into cornmeal mixture, then fold in egg mixture. Shape batter into small balls and place on prepared baking sheet Bake 10 min. Brush tops with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake 3 min more.

Now, as I said, my batter was too thin. I couldn't make these into balls, they ended up being more like johnny cakes. They tasted ok, but they were too heavy since I had added more cornmeal. If you make them and they work out, let me know! I really wanted them to be good.

Roasted Portobello Sandwiches with Parmesan Mayo

 We are back from vacation! Yes, there was a little break there because we were down in Florida enjoying the sun and the 85 degree weather. Now we are back in the cold. So sad.
It was hard to choose what to make for our first dinner back. I didn't want something too heavy because we had been eating lots and lots of food on vacation. And I wanted something with lots of veggies because, as I said, we ate lots of food on vacation.
I settled on Roasted Portobello sandwiches with Parmesan mayo. Substantial enough to feel like a real meal, but light enough that we wouldn't feel overstuffed.
They were pretty good. Not great. They were missing some kind of zing. I am not sure what I would add to them, but they need something.

Roasted Portobello Sandwiches with Parmesan Mayo - from Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast Cookbook

1 package (6oz) presliced portobello mushrooms
balsamic vinegar
4 slices crusty bread sliced about 1/2 in thick (I used sourdough)
6oz bottle of roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 c baby arugula

Preheat broiler
Place mushrooms on baking sheet and brush with vinegar. Broil 11-12 min or until browned and tender

Spread toasted bread slices with Parmesan Mayo (see below). Top 2 of the slices with about half of the bell peppers and 1/2 c of arugula. Arrange mushrooms over top of arugula. Top with remaining bread slices.

Parmesan Mayo
1/2c light mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2tbs grated parmesan cheese
2tbs minced red onion
1/4ts black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until well blended.

You will have leftover mayo. I used mine in some egg salad, but you could easily use it on sandwiches or anything else the needs a little zing.

Maple-Glazed Chicken

It's a rare chicken post! Yes, last night we had maple-glazed chicken. This was a good recipe that was made far more complicate than necessary.
First, it calls for bone in skin on chicken breast cut into large chunks. This is completely unnecessary. I'm not sure what the point of having the bone in was, but it doesn't cook long enough to get the flavor from the bone, which is usually the point of having it. It just makes it difficult to eat. If I made this again I would use boneless. Possibly still skin-on, though I don't think that is necessary either. Obviously, if i were to do that I'd cook it for less time.
Next, the apples you add to it were too mushy. The texture was just strange. I would have cooked them for less time, and I might have taken the skin off, or cut them smaller or something. They became a bit difficult to eat because they were being held together by the skin, but they were mushy. Odd.
Finally, I would have cut back on the 'glaze'. There was too much of it and it was too watery. I think I would probably have cut back by about a third.
I did taste good though. There was just something missing. We couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe some fresh parsley or something at the end. If you can figure it out let me know.It was a nice meal for a cold winter evening. I served it with a warm farro salad.

Maple Glazed Chicken

Farro salad

Maple Glazed Chicken - From the Food Network Magazine
2 lbs skin on, bone in chicken breast, cut into large chunks (See above)
kosher salt
2tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 apples cored and cut into wedges
8 medium shallots quartered lengthwise
1/4 c fresh sage, torn
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c apple cider vinegar

Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add chicken skin side down and cook, undisturbed, until browned and crisp, about 5 min.
Turn chicken and add apples, shallots and sage to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium high and cook until chicken is browned on the bottom, 4-5 min. Transfer chicken to plate and continue to cook apples and shallots, stirring until golden, about 2 more minutes. (This is probably where I would have added the apples so they weren't too mushy)

Meanwhile, mix chicken broth, maple syrup, vinegar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add mixture to skillet and boil until reduced by about three quarters - 3-4 min. Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat, and cook until cooked through about 2-3 more minutes.

Tonight we are having leftovers. Because when you are cooking constantly, there are lots of leftovers.

Catfish en Papillote

You can't win them all. This recipe was ok. When it was finally finished. The directions said to cook for 10 to 12 minutes. I thought, 'great, we'll have dinner around 7:30, I'll start the catfish at 7:15. Should be plenty of time.' I was wrong. The fish took almost 30 minutes to complete cooking.
I'm not sure what went wrong. They were not particularly thick cuts of fish. The oven was the correct temperature. I had wrapped the fish en papillote as directed. It just took forever.

Aside from that little snafu, the fish itself wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. I'm not sure I'd put this on the make again list. The papillote is impressive looking, it's a technique I have used before, though that time it came out much better. This looked a lot better on TV than in real life.

Catfish en Papillote - from Guy's Big Bite
Marinade:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Peppers:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, julienned
1 medium yellow pepper, cleaned, membrane removed and julienned
1 medium red pepper, cleaned, membrane removed and julienned
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Catfish:
Four 6-to 8-ounce catfish fillets, cleaned and skin removed
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons very finely sliced scallions
1 lemon, cut into wheels

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the marinade: Combine the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, thyme and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready for use.

For the peppers: Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to cook to just get a little color on the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and saute until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and reserve.
For the catfish: Take four 12- by 12-inch sheets of parchment paper and place on a clean work surface. Working with one packet at a time, begin by folding a piece of parchment paper in half to make a crease down the middle. Open it back up and spoon about 1/4  of the sauteed peppers and onions onto the middle of the parchment paper. Place a fillet of fish on top. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the marinade over the top and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika for color. Fold the parchment back over the fish to enclose. Working from one corner and around the fish to the other corner, make small folds that overlap one another so the packet gets tightly sealed. Continue to fold crease over crease until the packet is sealed. Tuck the last fold under the packet to hold in place.
Repeat with all four packets, and then place on a sheet tray and into the oven. Bake until the packets puff up completely, 10 to 12 minutes. (Or 30 if it is anything like mine. I'd check it after 12, but be prepared to need longer)

before wrapping

wrapped

To serve: Open the parchment packet tops with scissors and garnish with parsley, scallions and lemon wheels.

Black Bean Lasagna

I watch a lot of Food Network. I know, I know, you're shocked. One of the new shows that I didn't think I would like, but I have ended up loving is Trisha's Southern Kitchen, starring none other than singer Trisha Yearwood. She's fun, down to earth and her food is always incredible. When I saw her make black bean lasagna I knew I would be making it.
There is so much about this recipe I love. First, black beans. I love black beans. I could eat them all day long. Second, lasagna. Pasta, sauce and cheese in one easy to eat package? Perfect. Finally, this recipe is vegan! Vegan lasagna you say? That is crazy talk. Oh, it's not. It is delicious.
Bob was more impressed with this recipe than I was. He really liked it. So did I, but I thought there wasn't enough sauce. However, I like my lasagna covered in sauce. If you like more sauce, make the amount that is called for here. It is also a very thick sauce which is different from what I am used to, but quite yummy. Below is the recipe that I made, about half the amount. I would also have cooked it just a bit less than the 45 minutes that was called for. It was a little too crunchy on top.  All in all it was yummy. It was great for lunch this afternoon too.

Black Bean Lasagna - adapted from Trisha's Southern Kitchen

One 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoons salt, plus more for pasta
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
One 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
8 ounces lasagna noodles
1 recipe Tofu Ricotta, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, combine the everything except the lasagna noodles and the tofu ricotta. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the noodles well.

Spread 1 cup of the prepared sauce in a 8x8 baking pan. Make three layers each of noodles, sauce and Tofu Ricotta. End with the sauce and make sure the noodles are completely covered or they will dry out during baking. 
Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. Allow the dish to stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. 

Tofu Ricotta
1/4 cup raw cashews, finely ground
14 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed  (To press, drain liquid from tofu. Fold paper towels around the tofu and then set a big wrought iron skillet on top of it to press out the excess moisture. Allow to sit for about an hour to press.)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt and pepper 

Add the cashews to a food processor and grind them. Then crumble in the tofu, and add the yeast, olive oil and basil. (I do all of this in the food processor. I don't mind the smoother consistency for the lasagna and  I find that it is just simpler to do it all in the food processor.If you want it to be more of a ricotta consistency you should use a fork to mix in and break up the tofu.) Season with salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Keeps well for at least a week. Yield: about 2 1/2 cups. 

Tofu Ricotta

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I finally felt good enough last night to make dinner. Thank goodness. It has been a pretty crappy few days.
We had Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. They were adapted from this recipe. Adapted mainly because I didn't have all the things I needed to make them and I didn't feel like going to the store. Also because I had some stuff in my fridge I wanted to use. My version is a little more suited to our tastes. You could definitely add different veggies, you may need to adjust your cooking time. Basically, the veggies should be just done. They should have a bit of a bite to them, not mushy. Below is the recipe with my adaptations.
If you have never had quinoa you're missing out. It's delicious. It's an ancient whole grain and is a fantastic source of protein. I think it has a nice nutty taste. It is one of my favorite foods and it is good for you! I think you'll love it.
Again, I cut the recipe in half because there is only two of us. Most recipes are fine being halved like that.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers - adapted from Rachel Ray's Week in a Day
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock
2 bell peppers, mixed colors, seeded and halved
11/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small firm eggplant, trimmed of half the skin, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small firm zucchini, seeded and diced
1 small firm yellow squash, seeded and diced
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried marjoram

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Bring the quinoa and stock to a boil. Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the grain looks translucent, 12 to 15 minutes. 
Drizzle the bell pepper halves with extra virgin olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Roast cut-side down until the skins begin to char and the peppers are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly, then arrange in a baking dish cut-side up. 

Meanwhile, heat 11/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, eggplant, zucchini, squash, onions and red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook partially covered to tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the herbs and stir in quinoa.
Fill the pepper halves with the quinoa and vegetable stuffing. Serve the pepper halves topped with Parmesan cheese.

I didn't add cheese to mine and it was still quite yummy. I did add a nice grind of sea salt over the top and that was really good. This has a good bit of spice, so if you don't want too much of a bite, cut back on the red pepper flakes. Aside from all the chopping this was actually a pretty simple meal and it came together pretty quickly once everything got going. I served them with just a side of steamed spinach. 
Just a note, the red peppers I had were the long and thin kind, not great for stuffing. They looked pretty, but they were kind of messy. (As you can see from the picture below)

Pizza Night

Yesterday was pizza night. I still have a stomach flu. It took me 20 minutes to eat one slice of pizza with most of the toppings off. But that is better than the saltines I had been eating. I'm hoping I'll be able to cook (and eat) tonight.

Mushroom Bourguignon

I have to apologize. This is only the third recipe in the challenge and I'm already behind.  I have a good excuse, I promise! I have the flu. Yesterday all I did was sit on the couch and drink ginger ale and eat crackers. I couldn't even think about writing a blog, nevermind cooking. The challenge rules were amended to state that if I can't look at food without feeling ill I don't have to cook. Good plan.
I'm still not feeling well, so the odds are that there won't be a recipe tonight either, but I can get this blog written for you.

The recipe from the third night of the challenge is Mushroom Bourginon. Once again this is from the smitten kitchen cookbook. Just buy it already! (I should get commission...) I don't know what the rules are about the copyrights for recipes, so if you are enjoying the recipes I make out of this book, please do buy it. If it helps the entire last third of the book is dedicated to sweets.
This was so much better than I thought it would be. It was rich and yummy and you wouldn't have known there was no meat in it. Bob was really impressed. It was so satisfying. Because there are only two of us I cut the recipe in half and it was the perfect amount. I did add quite a bit of black pepper because we like the spice, but season it to your taste. Serve it over yummy egg noodles.

Mushroom Bourguignon - the smitten kitchen cookbook
As I said, I cut the amounts in half for the two of us, it worked really well. This recipe will serve 4.

2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs softened butter (Since I am lactose intolerant I use Earth Balance margarine in place of butter)
2 lbs portobello or crimini mushrooms (I used crimini)
1 c. pearl onions peeled, thawed if frozen
1/2 carrot finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
salt and pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
1 c. full bodied red wine (I used a pinot noir)
2 tbs tomato paste
2 c vegetable stock
11/2 tbs all-purpose flour

Heat 1 tbs oil and 1tbs butter in heavy saucepan over high heat. Sear mushrooms and pearl onion just until they begin to take on some color, about 3-4 min. Remove from pan and set aside.

Lower flame to medium, add second tablespoon of olive oil. Add carrot, onion, thyme, a few pinches of salt and pepper to the pan and cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Seasons with salt and pepper.
Add wine to pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn heat all the way up and reduce it by half. This should take about 4 - 5 minutes. Stir in stock and tomato paste. Add back mushrooms and pearl onions with any juices that have collected and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature so it simmers for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms and onions are very tender.

Combine flour and remaining butter with a fork; stir this into the stew. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, simmer for 10 more minutes. If sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to a "coating" consistency. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Serve over egg noodles, dollop with sour cream, if desired and sprinkle with chives or parsley.