Mock Beef Stew

So this week I decided to try a crock pot vegetarian style beef stew and I was amazed at how well it went! This particular recipe makes quite a lot so you may either choose to freeze it for later, take it to a family or church function, or simply cut the recipe in half.

You will need:

2 boxes organic vegetable broth
4-5 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen peas
3 medium potatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups beef like TVP chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup McKays beef like seasoning or to taste
4 bay leaves
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. Garam Masala
Salt and pepper to taste


Combine vegetable broth and an equal amount of water in the crock pot then add all other ingredients. Place crock pot on low heat for about 10 hours or until all vegetables are tender. Serve hot with fresh baked biscuits.

I started my crock pot at 7:00 am and we did not get home to enjoy it until at least 5:30 pm, so this is an excellent recipe for those who work long hours! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies

I see cookies on the shelves that claim "gluten-free" and what are they? Not cookies! They're dry, crumbling, sometimes gritty little pufs of powder! Well here's a recipe for soft, yummy, chocolate chip cookies just like when you were a kid!

What you'll need:

3 1/4 C. gluten free flour mix
1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. egg replacer
1 C. earth balance margerine
1 C. dark brown sugar
1/2 C. granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). In a medium bowl mix together flour, xanthan gum, baking soda, salt, and egg replacer; set aside. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars; add eggs and vanilla then add dry ingredients until well mixed. Stir in the chocolate chips and drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 minutes, cookies will not turn golden brown like other cookies but will be slightly brown around the edges. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the cookie sheets. This makes about 4 1/2 dozen cookies.

Nutritional information per 1 cookie: 93 Calories, 12 Carbs, 5 Fat, and 1 Protein

Garbage

Based on the title of this post, you might be thinking I would be talking about garbage in some way. Perhaps I have a really good and easy compost idea, or a way to recycle, but alas no it is actually a recipe for a dish. This is a dish I make for my family and for many guests and family members. It is also the dish that everybody wants me to make for special occasions i.e. birthdays, family get togethers, and even auditions for Master Chef. Yeah NO WAY am I making Garbage for chef Ramsay!! I will however share this aawsome family recipe and tradition with you, my audience.

First of all I would like to say that there are innumerable possible variations to this dish. For this recipe I will use tofu prepared from my blog "How to Prepare Your Entree Tofu" following the directions for stir-fry tofu. However, you may also use a vegetarian or non vegetarian meatball recipe of your choice or vegetarian Croquettes by Cedar Lake foods (this may only be available in Michigan). The only requirement is if you're going to be brave enough to try this recipe YOU MUST be brave enough to try it the way it is supposed to be, TRUST ME!!

You will need:

1-2 blocks of prepared tofu/meatball recipe, cooked
4 jars of La Choy sweet and sour sauce
1 large white or spanish onion
1 large green pepper
1/2 - 1 whole fresh cubed pineapple
4 cups cooked brown/white rice

Salad ingredients as preferred (suggestions):

1 head romaine lettuce
1 diced tomato
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 head broccoli
2 shredded carrots
cheddar cheese, croutons, and dressing of choice for topping

This is where it gets fun. Mix together tofu/cooked meatballs, green pepper, onion, pineapple, and sweet and sour sauce in a thick casserole dish/baking pan cover and bake at 350 degrees (F) until hot and bubbly. You want the vegetables to be tendercrisp not mushy. Cook rice and prepare salad ingredients while the tofu mixture is baking.

To Serve:

Start with small amount of rice on the plate and top with tofu/meatball mixture, then finish by topping with ALL preferred salad ingredients. Anything you would usually put on a salad you will put on TOP of meat and rice including the salad dressing. NOT on the side, NOT as seperate components to one meal, ALL PILED ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER!!! Hence the name, garbage if you don't serve it this way it's NOT garbage it is simply sweet and sour tofu/meatballs over rice with a boring salad, anybody can do that.

Variations:

Use homemade sweet and sour sauce instead of store bought (I will post this recipe at some point). Use different vegetables and different sauces aiming for a different flavor like general tso's, sesame, orange, schezchuan, teriaki, etc. ALWAYS serve over rice, topped with a salad!! You may find recipes for different homemade sauces in this blog under the "Sesame Tofu" or "Vegetable Lo Mein" posts.

Sooo Good Fajitas

Ok, so I recently decided I wanted to try a whole food fajita and you wouldn't believe how rediculously easy this was! You see I've used a lot of processed veggie meats in the past and I really wanted to start getting away from this because they really aren't that healthy. This is a great recipe, I hope you enjoy it and feel free to give some feedback on this okay.

Ingredients:

Tortilla Shells (whole wheat or corn)
1 can black beans
2 C. cooked brown rice
cumin, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder; to taste
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 red pepper, cut into strips
1 green pepper, cut into strips
1 onion, cut into strips
1-2 cloves minced garlic
1 Mango Salsa Recipe (in earlier blog)

Wrap the tortillas in aluminum foil and warm in the oven on 250 degrees. Warm beans and spices (to taste) on stove top until hot. Saute olive oil, onions, garlic, green and red peppers on medium high heat until peppers are tendercrisp and onions are translucent. Tip: add garlic in the last 2-5 minutes of cooking.

Place beans over rice on the tortilla and top with saute mixture and mango salsa and enjoy!