Adventures in Cooking: Vol. 9

Here are a few recipes I have made lately using up the last remnants of this summer's gardening bounty. 

First up, Black Bean Tostadas with Cucumber Corn Salsa. I dreamt these up when I was trying to find a way to use up some of the cucumbers I had grown.  The lime flavored salsa provides a fresh and healthy compliment to the home made tostada shells which are ten times better then any store bought tostada shells.  Overall this is a very light but satisfying meal!  Serve along side some beans or rice and you are good to go.

Next up, a taco salad I made with Marinated Veggies.  This is a very versatile recipe feel free to use any veggies you like.  I cooked the veggies and served over some mixed greens with fresh made refried beans, jack cheese, sour cream, corn salsa from Trader Joe's and avocado. 

Last but not least, Skillet White Beans, Spinach and Tomatoes over LInguine.  This is a quick meal that packs a flavorful punch.  I used fresh tomatoes instead of canned, added extra garlic and subbed feta cheese for the parmesan.  Whole wheat spaghetti was my base and I served this along with some garlic cheese toast, yum!

Adventures in Cooking: Vol. 8

It's been quite a long time since I last posted anything.  Honestly it has been a very very busy summer for me and my son.  We've had a ton of adventures outside the home so there hasn't really been much cooking.  Things are starting to whined down now and school will be back in session soon which means it's time to tighten up the budget and get back to cooking at home!

The last time I posted I announced that I was going vegan.  I tried it but I haven't quite been able to give up cheese, I just love it too much!  I did find an almond cheese that is delicious.  It could easily be used to veganize the recipes I am about to share.  Another flaw to my vegan plan has been eggs.  Since we have been dining out a lot I have found it difficult to find non-meat dishes that don't contain eggs, especially when eating breakfast out.  So, I have decided that for now I will stick with being a lacto-ovo vegetarian for simplicity sake.  Perhaps veganism is something I will pursue more in the future but for now, "Imma Vegetaaaaaaarian!"

Our garden has been very successful. We ended up with a ton of zucchini early on.  Right now we are overloaded with tomatoes, cucumbers and bell peppers.  My main cooking goal has been to utilize the delicious goodies that our garden has provided.  Here are a few recipes that I cooked up with them.

First up, Calabacitas Tacos!   This recipe made great use of our home-grown tomatoes and zucchini.  I originally got the recipe from a blog I follow called Last Night's Dinner which is full of delicious recipes, many of which I plan to make in the future.  I used fresh oregano instead of dried and the combination of it mixed with the fresh sweet corn was amazing!

Of course I still had more tomatoes and bell peppers left over so I decided to make my Veggie Pizza.  I have been making variations of this pizza for awhile now but never quite like this, I think this is my favorite so far.  The recipe utilizes a loaf of Trader Joe's Panne Rustico bread as the crust which you can pick up at your local store for about $3.  All in all it's a great tasting pizza for a fraction of the cost and calories as take-out pizza.  You can jazz this recipe up any way you want.  My son made his half of the pizza with pepperoni and cheese.  The Quattro Fromaggio cheese from Trader Joe's is my favorite for this recipe because it combines several kinds of highly flavorful cheeses that make for a tasty pizza.  You could also use just mozzerella or a mixture of italian shredded cheeses.

Last but not least is tonight's dinner, Black Bean and Corn Quesadillas. I always cook the dish before I calculate the nutrition information.  In retrospect this dish is pretty high in calories.  In the future I will probably only use one tortilla folded in half for each serving instead of the full two to save about 140 calories.  Other then that these were yummy.  The classic tomato and garlic flavor mixed with the southwestern style black beans and fresh corn were just right.  You can never go wrong with cheese right?  The gooey goodness of the melted cheese completes this dish.  These go perfect with some lime drizzled avocado.  Cilantro would have been nice too but I didn't have any.

Until next time, happy cooking!

- j

Adventures in Cooking: Vol. 7 (The Vegan Edition)

As of Monday I took the plunge into veganism eliminating the dairy and eggs from my previous decision to become lacto-ovo vegetarian.  The decision came after some research, like most of my decisions usually do, and the The Kind Diet: A Simple Guide to Feeling Great, Losing Weight, and Saving the Planet (which I of course picked up at my local library) sealed the deal.  Cooking without dairy can seem overwhelming but I can assure you it is easier then even I thought it would be.  Check out the recipes below that I either found or concocted myself.

Black Bean and Veggie Wrap
This is a very light and veggie packed lunch that I whip up while at work.  The black beans give you a protein punch and the avocado adds some healthy fat.  I wasn't even missing the cheese of a typical burrito. The more lime the better!  Add a dash of salt to the mix and you have a tasty and quick lunch that won't leave you wishing for a nap when you are done.

Vegetarian Sloppy Joe's Filling
I found this recipe on My Veggie Kitchen.  I thought I would give it a try since my son is fighting the conversion slightly so I wanted to give him something meat like.  This filling was pretty good I must say, but my son didn't care for it much.  I highly recommend cooking the bulgar first, I wished I had done so to make it more tender.  These really aren't half bad and reheat quickly on the stove, just add a little water and warm through.

Fruit and Veggie Salad with a Kick
This is a nice salad that makes good use of the fresh fruits and vegetables abundantly available in the spring season.  I love pineapple and thought it would be great in a salad so I gave this one a shot.  I didn't care for the dressing much but then again I forgot to add the pineapple juice to the mix.  I served mine over greens, even-though the recipe didn't call for it, in an effort to get in some extra veggies.

Vegan Spicy Enchilada Casserole
Saved the best for last!  I previously posted my recipe for Chicken Enchilada Casserole, a go to dish for me in the past when trying to make my food dollar stretch.  I got a hankering for some enchiladas and decided it was time to come up with a creative way to make them vegan friendly.  Viola, this recipe was born!  The soy chorizo from Trader Joe's is the best I have had so far.  It has a nice spice to it and the enchilada sauce they sell complimented it well.  I made this stretch into 15 servings and got the seal of approval from two 12-year olds.  I even had a non-vegan friend fooled!

Happy Cooking Folks!

Adventures in Cooking: Vol 6

Recently I decided to become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, a personal decision to eat healthier with less fat and cholesterol.  At this point I am still eating dairy and eggs, man I loooove cheese, but I am planning to switch to soy dairy all together once I get used to not eating meat and poultry.  That being said my latest adventures in cooking are all meatless recipes.

Potato and Soyrizo Tacos
I love chorizo, but I hate the fat that it contains.  I was a little leary about the soyrizo but was happy to be pleasantly surprised.  These were excellent!  My son and his friend gobbled them right up eventhough I offered a ground beef taco as well. I topped mine with some Wholly Guacamole I got at Costco, soy cheese and some fresh made salsa.  The leftovers were stuffed into a burrito with some canned beans and wrapped in a wheat tortilla. 

Strawberry Romaine Salad
This is a tasty salad with an easy to make homemade dressing.  I used frozen strawberries that I thawed out before-hand.  I added the juice from the strawberries as well as a few whole strawberries to the dressing mix and liquified in the blender. I subbed a baby lettuce mix for the romaine lettuce because that's what I had on hand. All around a delicious salad.  Would have been good with some blue cheese crumbles and some walnuts.  My son wasn't too keen on this one though.  He is new to eating salad though so the fact that he gets some leafy greens in his diet makes me happy so I made him an alternative salad with his favorite fixens.

Watermelon, Blueberry Salad with Feta
This is the perfect blend of sweet and savory.  I used a feta dressing I got at Trader Joe's for $1.99 in place of the dressing created in this recipe.  The feta dressing worked perfectly with the feta that was already in the salad.  Delish!  I will definitely be making this one again!

Green Monster with Strawberries, Banana and Peanut Butter
I made this smoothie in place of the usual one I make as a means to switch things up a little.  I used a chunky peanut butter with flax seed from Trader Joe's instead of the creamy one called for in the recipe.  The color of the shake isn't all that appetizing but it is indeed a tasty breakfast treat.  My son liked it better then our usual Green Monster. Sorry no photos for this one.

Veggie Greek Wrap
Costco has a fabulous tatziki (creamy mediterranean yogurt sauce).  For about $7.00 you get a huge container of goodness.  It is great with pita chips as a veggie dip and as a salad dressing, my favorite of all.  I created this quick fix lunch with the tatziki sauce in mind.  I even made hummus myself to use in the recipe.  If I want to cut calories I ditch the hummus and tortilla and make this Greek Side Salad.

Crisp Garlic Oven Fries
I look for every opportunity I can to use my Mandoline Slicer, it's my favorite kitchen gadget!  These oven fries, more like chips actually, were a breeze to make thanks to my mandoline.  In 10 seconds flat my potato was cut into perfectly sized round discs.  These oven fries cook up great and are very good.  My son and I dipped them into some ranch dressing, who doesn't love ranch and fries right!  The spices were just right.  I paired them with a dinner salad for a complete and  light evening meal.

Adventures in Cooking: Vol. 4

The last few days I have been eating vegetarian. Here are a couple tasty recipes.

Primavera Salad a la Trader Joe's
I love LeBoulanger's Primavera salad, but it is so huge and high in calories due to the dressing they use.  Here is a lower calorie and lower fat recipe with ingredients all available from Trader Joe's.  The best part is the dressing.  At 25 calories per 2 tablespoons it doesn't get any lower in cals!  I whip up this salad at work in less then five minutes.

Eggplant, Black Beans and Zucchini
This was pretty tasty.  Reminded me of Rachel Ray's Black Bean Chili, but spicier.  I didn't have any eggplant on hand so I doubled the zucchini.  I also added some spinach to get in some more greens.  The recipe calls for a tablespoon of chili powder but I was a woosie and only used 1/2 a tablespoon.  The chili pepper gives it a great kick of flavor.