Meatless

Black Bean “Taco Meat” – A Meatless Meal!

December 27, 2012 by Denisesawyer 2 Comments

Taco Meat

I’ve got a great new meatless meal to add to your meatless Monday {or whatever day} repertoire. This has got to be one of my favorites so far!! I was absolutely BLOWN AWAY at how good this was! I would actually choose this over real taco meat – no kidding! It is really THAT. GOOD.

:: Black Bean “Taco Meat”

2 1/2 canned black beans (or cook your own dry beans)
1/4 cup of rolled oats
1/4 cup corn meal
2 cloves garlic
*Taco Seasoning (click here for the recipe)

{* Use this taco seasoning recipe but omit the oregano and the garlic since you are already adding 2 cloves}

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients and run them through the food processor until you get a crumbled bean mixture. Lightly spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray or lightly oil with olive oil. Place the bean mixture on the baking sheet and bake until it becomes crispy, about 10-15 minutes. Break it up a bit with a spatula and serve on hard or soft taco shells with all the fixings!

001

Pin It

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Meatless, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: beans, dinner, meatless, recipes, taco meat

{ 2 Comments }

Taste of Treme: Recipe for Red Beans and Rice

December 7, 2012 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

I’ve reviewed a lot of cookbooks but Taste of Treme has been one of my favorites! Sometimes I feel like the recipes in some cookbooks are just the same ol’ recipes I already know. This is not that cookbook. It is full of Cajun dishes – so far from my southern recipes it was like visiting a new culture! Taste of Treme includes Creole and Cajun recipes from Treme – a New Orleans neighborhood that was the birthplace of jazz.

The unique thing about this book is that it is filled with information about the culture of Treme and all of New Orleans. I literally read it from cover to cover THEN I went back and flagged recipes!

This recipe for Louis’s Red Beans and Rice will give you a taste of what you’ll find in the book. This was the first recipe I made from the cookbook for my family and it was a winner. I used to make red beans and rice from a packet (either Zataran’s or Lipton’s) and am thrilled that I can now make it from scratch!

:: Louis’s Red Beans and Rice

1 lb. of dried red beans
10 cups of water
1 ham bone or ham hock
2 cups holy Trinity Wit da Pope (onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic)
1 cup chopped green onions
2 bay leaves
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp of Creole Spice (there is a recipe to make your own in the book!)
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 lb. smoked sausage, cut into 1 inch pieces
4 cups hot cooked white rice
Louisiana-style hot sauce

Soak the beans at room temperature overnight in enough water to cover them. The next day, drain and rinse the beans.

In a large pot, combine the soaked beans, water, ham bone or hock, Holy Trinity Wit da Pope, green onions, bay leaves, Worcestershire, Creole Spice, and crushed red pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, then reduce the het to medium-low so that the mixture is simmering, Cook very slowly, partially covered, for 1 1/2 hours, stirring once about every 30 minutes. Add the smoked sausage and cook, partially covered, for about 1 hour longer. the beans are ready to serve when a rich natural “gravy” is formed. Serve over rice, and add hot sauce to taste to each serving.

You can purchase Taste of Treme from Amazon right now for just $14.29 (it was originally $21.95). It is a hardcover cookbook – and will be your go to for Cajun cuisine!

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Meatless, Product Reviews & Giveaways, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: cookbook, recipe, red beans and rice

{ Leave a Comment }

Recipe: PB&J Crepes

December 6, 2012 by Denisesawyer 3 Comments

Last week I was “watching” Food Network. We leave it on that channel when no one is really watching T.V. around here! Sometimes I’m half way listening and I’ll catch a recipe that really sounds good and my ears will perk up and I’ll take note. That is what happened on this particular day. Giada De Laurentiis’s “Giada at Home” was on and the show was about making food for a kid’s party. Giada made PB&J crepes. I immediately started thinking about this match up and I LOVED it.

Why? My kids love PB&J but PB&J on crepes would be even better than on bread because crepes are loaded up with eggs – unlike other breakfast treats like waffles and pancakes. So, this match up is loaded with protein between the peanut butter and the eggy crepes. Pair these babies with some fresh fruit and/or some carrot sticks and you’ve got a very healthy – kid favorite – lunch!

I decided to give them a try and they were a home run with Judah AND Eliana. Here’s how I made them:

1. I made crepes using my recipe here.

2. I spread each crepe with a little peanut butter and then with a little jelly. {Giada also ran some fresh blueberries down the middle of her crepes. This would be good too, but I didn’t have any fresh berries this time of year}.

3. I folded the crepe in half, then folded in the sides a bit {like a burrito}, and then rolled it up. Finally, I cut it in half on the bias

{I made one alteration to the directions on the crepe recipe, though. I recently received a new ceramic coated pan from Wear Ever’s Pure Living line. It is a safe alternative to non-stick – I WILL NOT use teflon. If you haven’t heard the dets on why you shouldn’t be cooking with Teflon go read about it at Healthy Child, Healthy World here. The ceramic coating is toxin-free, chemical-free, and free of PFOA, PTFE, and cadmium. Plus, ceramic is scratch resistant, and easy to clean {dishwasher safe!}.

The WearEver Pure Living pan made making crepes fool-proof (and healthier!). I was able to cook the crepes WITHOUT buttering the pan first! I just poured the batter straight in, waited until the middle was set and the bottom of the crepe was browned a bit, and then flipped the crepe over and cooked it just a minute more to brown it on the second side.

I’m telling you, this pan is worth its weight in gold! But it retails for just $24.99 – and worth every penny. My husband used it yesterday to cook an egg and said it turned out perfect and he didn’t use any butter or oil in the pan to fry it!

If your interested in seeing Giada’s original recipe that inspired this post, go here.

Pin It

Filed Under: Appetizers, Main Dishes, Meatless, Product Reviews & Giveaways, Snacks, Uncategorized, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: crepes, kids, lunch, pan, peanut butter, recipe, teflon

{ 3 Comments }

Creamy, Dreamy Pasta with Peas and Mushrooms

December 5, 2012 by Denisesawyer Leave a Comment

This pasta is so simple and has quickly made its way up the list of favorites for my family. Even my non-mushroom eating husband agreed to try it and was surprised with how well he liked it! He actually requested it again! So, if you’re not sure… I dare you to try it. It would make a great weeknight meal for your family. Just pair it with some crusty bread and you’ve got a meal!

:: Creamy Dreamy Pasta with Mushrooms & Peas

1 lb. box of baby shell pasta
1/2 cup of Fresh Parmesan
1/4 cup of half and half
1 Tbsp of butter
2 slices of turkey bacon, finely chopped
8 oz box of sliced button mushrooms
1 1/2 frozen baby peas
2 cups of chicken stock

Bring a big pot of water to a boil {add salt to your pasta water). Cook the pasta as directed on the package until almost done {al dente}.

Cook the bacon and remove from pan. Set aside to cool. Add the mushrooms along with a Tbsp of butter to the pan. Cook the mushrooms until they are cooked through. Pour in the chicken stock and peas. Make a slurry of 1 Tbsp of cornstarch and a little water add to the pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Simmer until the liquid is reduced to half and thickened.

Add the pasta to the pan along with the Parmesan and the half and half. Serve with crusty bread and more fresh Parmesan. Mmmm…

Pin It

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Meatless, Pasta, Wholesome Recipes Tagged With: easy weeknight meal, meatless meal, mushrooms, pasta

{ Leave a Comment }

Meal Planning Solution + A Fun New Lunch Idea!

September 6, 2012 by Denisesawyer 2 Comments

It has been a wild week! As most of you know by now, I have had my first week back to school – I teach second grade. My son has also started “school” {which is really a two days for tots program for 3 and 4 year olds. That means, this week I have been getting up at 5:30 to pack two lunches, and plan three more lunches for my family pack at home. I am getting pretty quick at it! I’ve been able to do all that, plus shower, get ready, and make coffee in 35 minutes … I think that is pretty impressive. But, if you are also a mom to small children you probably know how to do all that at warp speed as well.

One thing that I do that helps me pull lunches together so fast is to think about what I am going to pack the night before. Sometimes I even prep some of it the night before if I can. I also have several different lunch ideas in my toolbox so I can come up with something pretty quickly.

Some of Judah’s favorites are mini waffles {like the ones from Earth’s Best Organic} with homemade jam in between to make little waffle-wiches. I just toast up the waffles, spread a little jam on one side and the top with a second mini waffle. He also likes peanut butter and jelly roll ups – like the ones I featured in this post.

He isn’t really a fan of lunch meat or cold salads yet and since I have to pack lunches early in the morning and then refrigerate them so that his granddaddy can take him to school later, I have to come up with ideas that can be kept cold.