Hummus Casserole

This is so good wrapped in corn tortialls that have been warmed on the gas stove-top... I got this recipe from The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola.

1 recipe Confetti Hummus (see 2. below, can also use regular hummus but this was so good with Confetti Hummus)
1/2 C. water
1 carrot, shredded (about 1 C.)
1 C. cooked chopped spinach, squeezed dry
1 C. diced zucchini, unpeeled
1/4 C. chopped green onions (green parts only)
1/2 t. salt (or more to taste)
2 C. cooked brown rice

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Prepare Confetti Hummus
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 C. chopped canned artichokes, drained
1/2 chopped jarred roasted red bell peppers, drained
1/4 C. tahini
1/4 C. water
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C. fresh parsley, packed
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground cumin
Place all ingredients in a food processor/blender. Process, scraping sides of bowl often, until mixture is a smooth paste. Place in large bowl.
3. Add water, carrots, spinach, zuchinni, green onions, salt, brown rice.
4. Stir well and pour into 9x13 casserole that has been lightly rubbed with olive oil.
5. Bake covered for 20 minutes.

The cookbook suggests serving with flatbread or tortilla chips or omitting baking step altogether to use as dip for fresh veggies. You can also substitute quinoa or couscous for the brown rice.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

4 oz cream cheese (reduced fat) 1/3-1/2 cup (ish) veganaise 3 garlic cloves 3/4 (ish) of a package of fresh spinach (6 oz package) 1 1/2 (ish) cans of artichoke hearts Salt to taste 1/2 yellow onion Parmesian Blenderize cream cheese, veganaise, garlic, salt, & onion until smooth. Add spinach & artichoke hearts and blend minimally so you still have texture. Put a little parmesian on top. Bake at 350 for 20-30 min. This is my favorite dip. It's not so fatty & not so smothered in cheese.

Two-Bean Burger with Guacamole

This is so good and so easy! The recipe comes from the book The Ultimate Guide to the Daniel Fast by Kristen Feola, which has many amazing vegan recipes to build on. She also blogs here.

Burger:
1 t. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. chopped onion
1 C. canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C. canned great northern beans, rinsed and drained
2 T. flaxseed meal
1 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. cumin
1/4 t. salt

1. Mash beans in a large bowl, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole, and set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, and cook until soft and translucent.
3. Add onions to beans with flaxseed meal, garlic powder, cumin and salt.
4. Return skillet to medium heat, and add olive oil if needed to prevent burgers from sticking. Scoop out about 1/3 cup of bean mixture for each burger, and add to skillet. Flatten with spatula and cook 5 minutes on each side or until bottoms are browned and slightly crispy.

Guacamole (an easy not necessarily authentic version)
2 medium avocados, peeled, deseeded
1/2 C. chopped tomatoes, unpeeled, unseeded
1/4 C. diced red onion
1/2 medium jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro
1 T. fresh lime juice
1/2 t. salt

Mix it all together real good. Taste it and tweak it to your liking. Chill 1-2 hours if you can wait that long!

Dog Food

So Dozer has major allergies to his dog food, I think. So I'm making some organic dog food today and will tell you how it goes. Here's the recipe though:

4 cups meat (ground)
3 cups veggies (ground)
4 cups grains (rice, oats, quinoa)
1 t oil (fish or olive)

Simmer together for an hour. Make sure cooked all the way through.

Here's my take on this... We try hard not to be wasteful, but we are at times.

We have a freezer burnt old chicken & turkey in our freezer that would've probably gotten thrown away. We have veggies that we compost weekly. I'm thinking we will have enough leftover foods to make into dogfood. I've heard of people doing this, so I'm trying it.

Veggie Chili

1 28 oz can diced tomatos
4 cups vegetable broth
1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed & drained
1 15 oz can white cannellini beans, rinsed & drained
1 15 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 cup frozen baby lima beans or regular lima beans
1 cup chopped onion
1 gr bell pepper-chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T minced pickled jalapeno
2 T chili powder
2 T dried oregano
2 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1-2 t hot sauce
1/3 c couscous
1/2 c cheese
1/3 c cilantro
Salt & pepper to taste

In a slow cooker, combine all ingredients, but the couscous, cheese, and cilantro. Cover & cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Add couscous 5-10 min before serving, depending on temperature of slow cooker. Season to taste w/ salt & pepper.

This recipe is yummy & easy. I put on low all day. I skipped the cilantro, cheese, & jalapeno. I put vegan sour cream & an avocado on top. I also used beans from the bulk bins vs canned beans, but probably doesn't make a difference.

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

1.5 c whole wheat flour
1 1/4 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 T cinnamon
1 T ground Flaxseed
Pinch of sea salt
3 ripe bananas
2 egg whites
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
1/2 c raw honey
1/4 c flaxseed oil
1/3 c chopped dark chocolate

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, flaxseed, & salt.

In another bowl beat bananas until smooth. Add egg whites & beat until combined. Gradually mix in applesauce, honey, & flaxseed oil.

Mix dry ingredients into banana mixture, stir in chocolate.

Mist a 9x5" loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into pan and bake 25 min or until browned on top.

I have not tried this, but plan on making it tomorrow!

Stuffed Mushrooms

Just pulled this recipe off Sophie Uliano's email and have not tried it...

1 Large Portobello Mushrooms
2 T olive oil
2 T Worchestire Sauce
1/2 cup brown rice
1 cup water
1 T Pesto
1/2 cup goat cheese
2 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
2 sprigs of fresh basil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Remove the skins from the mushrooms, Place each mushroom in a large square of aluminum foil and top each with 1 T of olive oil and 1 T of Worchestire Sauce. Make a sealed foil packet of each and place in the oven of 20 minutes.

Meanwhile: Cook the Rice.

When the rice is done and still warm, mix in the pesto and goat cheese.

Open the foil packets and stuff each mushroom with the pesto rice. Reseal packet and place back in the oven for 10 minutes.

Top with sundried tomato and a sprig of fresh basil.