Great Black Eyed Peas

This recipe comes to you from the cookbook "Taste and See: American Orthodox Cooking"

This is one of two Lenten recipe books that I own.  It is one that I go to for quick and super easy meals when in a pinch.  Most of the time I have the things in my pantry so I do not have to stress over making dinner at the 11th hour.

Great Black-Eyed Peas

black-eyed peas (I used 2 cans, rinsed and drained)
chopped tomatoes, 1 can
onion, I used 1/2 chopped

Put black-eyed peas, tomato, and onion into sauce pan and simmer.  I simmered mine for about 20 minutes.  I also added garlic powder, pepper, and a little salt.

In the meantime, I cooked some basmati rice so I could serve the peas over something.

I was not sure how this was going to taste but it came out really yummy, serve a salad on the side and dinner is served.

Oh and it tastes better the next day :-)

Ever wonder....

where in the world can I eat out when I need to eat vegan????

Often I find myself during a fast or on a fasting day with an urge to eat out.  What do I eat besides a salad or steamed veggies and rice???  I would love pizza but most of it has real cheese (so at times even I succumb to the real deal when I shouldn't). 

Along comes the new pizza place zpizza....ever heard of them???  check out their website

www.zpizza.com

This is a for sure item for those who need to eat or are choosing to eat vegan.

This is their Berkeley Vegan:  Ingredients are daiya cheese shreds, gardein crumbles, marinara sauce, zucchini, tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, and bell peppers.

Plus any pizza on the menu can be altered for those with a vegan lifestyle.  Enjoy...we did

Pasta, Chickpeas, and Pesto

Just a few simple ingredients and dinner or lunch is served.

Box of pasta...choose any kind you like, we had ziti.
Can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained.
Store bought pesto.

Cook pasta according to directions (as much as needed for your family), when cooked and drained add in chickpeas, add as much pesto as you like and stir.  Serve with mozzarella cheese or any kind you like.

Quick, easy, and super yummy!!!

Butternut Squash Ravioli

recipe by Giada DeLaurentiis adapted by Me

I don't know why but I have been craving butternut squash.  There is something warm and comforting about fresh butternut squash.  Top it with lasagna noodles and OMG instant satisfaction.

Found this recipe on foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 cups whole milk
• Pinch nutmeg
• 3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
• 12 no-boil lasagna noodles
• 2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

I did not use the cookies in the puree, instead I used cinnamon.  Also I did not use basil and let me just say I could have eaten most of the lasagna myself.  It was so good and a definite keeper recipe.

Birthday Party was saved!!!

So as we are in Lent and the boys have a friend with dairy and nut allergies I found myself in a pickle. How can I have yummy cupcakes that are safe for their little buddy and yet taste yummy? Well thanks to a good mommy friend we used a fantastic packaged product.

Cherrybrook Kitchen has awesome mixes for those that are restricted to certain diets for health reasons or for those who eat a certain way by choice.  I made the yellow and chocolate mix as well as the vanilla and chocolate icings.  YUMMY!!!  The texture was a little different but the taste was awesome!!!  I did add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to both mixes but I often do that with other cake mixes so nothing out of the ordinary.  Taking a page out of Sandra Lee's Semi-homemade book.

I totally recommend this product and let me know if you try it and how you like it.

Lunchtime Tip...Eureka!!

I have been researching a lot of new recipes lately. Seems like my kiddos are in a funk, granted I love PB&J but they need more variety. Well when hubby and I got married we got a mini food processor. I have only used it a handful of times. After seeing recipes for different meat salads I thought hmmm....idea.

Why not process the chicken or ham salads in the mini food processor? It makes it smooth and creamy and more appealing to my kiddos. The boys took turns pushing the button. (what a great way for kids to be involved in meal time)


Today I made them chicken salad.

1 can of chicken
1 tbsp sweet relish (one that I canned myself)
1 to 2 tbsp mayo
pepper and curry powder to taste

Puree to your liking.

This was wonderful. Easy on their palate as there was not a lot of chewing and they got to use my cool snowman spreaders to put the salad on crackers.

Next up, leftover filling and wonton wrappers. Yumm-oh!!!

"Beef" Stew Recipe Review

If you have ever started researching vegan foods you will find there are products on the market that are meat replacers.  Recently I found a product called gardein.  I was super excited to try the "beef" stew recipe so last week I bought all that we needed for the recipe in hopes for success.

Here is the recipe:

Gardein Beefless Stew

Ingredients:
gardein beefless tips - 1 package
vegetable oil - 3 tbsp
pearl onions - 10 oz package
garlic, minced - 2 cloves
celery stalks, thinly sliced - 2
carrots, 1/2 inch dice - 2
dried thyme - 1/2 tsp
dried rosemary - 1/2 tsp
flour - 3 tbsp
vegan "beef" stock - 3 cups
dry red wine - 1 cup
medium potatoes, 1/2 inch dice - 2
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Heat oil in a large saucepan on medium high heat, add beefless tips and brown on all sides. Remove from saucepan and set aside. 

Add pearl onions, garlic and celery to saucepan and cook for 3 minutes. Add carrots, thyme, and rosemary and continue to cook for 3 minutes.

Sprinkle in flour, then slowly add broth and wine while stirring.

Add potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Add beefless tips back in and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

VERDICT - Thumbs down if you include the meat :-(

I was very pleased with the beef flavor that came from the vegan beef stock.  The stew itself without the meat is very appealing to the palate and would satisfy any meat eaters craving in a no meat world.  The vegan beef stock is a product I am likely to use over and over in dishes where I want the taste but can't have the real thing.

I do have a few more gardein products that I will need to try as they were already purchased although now I'm a little apprehensive.