Melissa's Cooking!

This is my first attempt at making enchiladas. I had no idea how easy these were to make and they turned out to be really delicious. Nothing too out there, as far as how spicy they were or with any extra veggies or meat added…which leaves lots of room to experiment next time!

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• Grapeseed oil (or another high smoke-point oil such as peanut or canola oil)
• 6-8 whole wheat 12-inch tortillas
• 2 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 cup of salsa (Choose your spiciness! I used medium…)
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup of canned crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted)
• Olive oil
• 1 lb of jack cheese
• sour cream (garnish)
• cilantro (garnish)
• guacamole (garnish) Whole foods has absolutely wonderful guacamole that they make in the store there that I highly recommend.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large fry pan at high heat add 3 Tbsp of grapeseed oil. Add a tortilla to the pan. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift up the tortilla with a spatula, add another tortilla underneath. Cook for 2-3 seconds, lift again, both tortillas, and add another tortilla underneath. Repeat the process with all the tortillas, adding a little more oil if needed. This way you can brown and soften the tortillas without using a lot of fat. You do this process to develop the flavor of the tortillas. As the tortillas brown a little, remove from the pan one by one to rest on a paper towel, which absorbs any excess fat.

I used the same pan I had just used for browning the tortillas. Sauté up the chopped onion and garlic, then turn off the heat. Add 1 cup of salsa. Dissolve 3 Tbsp of tomato paste into 1 cup of water, add to pan. Add 1 cup of crushed fire roasted canned tomatoes.

Put some olive oil on the bottom of a large casserole pan. Take a tortilla, cover 2/3 of it lightly with the shredded cheese, then roll up the tortilla and place it in the casserole pan. Continue until all tortillas are filled and rolled. Add sauce to the top of the tortillas in the the casserole pan. Make sure all are covered with the sauce. If not, add a little water. Cover the whole thing with the rest of the grated cheese. Put the casserole in the oven for 10 minutes or until the cheese melts.

Garnish with cilantro, sour cream and/or guacamole. Enjoy!

This will be plenty for a family, but  if it’s just for the 2 of you, it should last for 2 dinners and a lunch, at least. 

With the sweet potatoes and apple cider stewed together with the juicy diced tomatoes and veggie broth, and with the addition of Italian sausage, it seriously tastes what Fall should taste like. A bit on the sweeter side, but again, very seasonal and delicious. I found this recipe online, made my own adjustments and it turned out to be super yummy. Needs a tad of tweaking, but what I made is quite good!

Again, like the Burger Soup, feel free to use animal sausage…but I used the Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages…which added a nice flavor to the overall soup.

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 box of Veggie Broth (4 cups)
• 1-28 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 can of black beans
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1.5 tsp of cumin
• 2 tsp of paprika
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp of pepper
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
•1 large (or 2 small) sweet potatoes chopped in small cubes)
• 2 cups apple cider

Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes…Enjoy!

Note: This is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day

This recipe is SO good on a chilly fall or winter day. It’s a slow cooker recipe so you can prepare everything early in the day, and then enjoy it hassle-free with some yummy gourmet bread in the evening. That’s what we did Sunday

So the original recipe I found called for 1 pound of lean ground beef…so if you like ground beef, by all means, use lean ground beef (but please make sure it’s from a happy cow that once roamed the open fields and was fed yummy grass and not yucky corn products, okay?) Same goes if you’d prefer to use lean ground turkey meat, which is what we used before I went total vegetarian. NOW I use Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages. I cut/dice up the sausages small enough for it to seem like burger meat. And the flavoring of the Italian sausage is simply perfect for this soup!

Also, I’ve diverted from the original recipe quite enough, that I feel like it’s almost my own, so I will give you the details of what ingredients I used instead of what they call for. I use more whole ingredients than what they suggested anyway, which is totally better for you

Ingredients include:
(Try to use organic!)
• 1 package of Field Roast Grain Meat Italian Sausages (or 1 lb of lean ground beef or turkey)
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 green bell pepper chopped
• 1 TBS of Italian seasoning
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 1/4 tsp of black pepper
• 3 cups of boiling water
• 1 – 16 oz can of italian seasoned diced tomatoes
• 1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
• 2 TBS of soy sauce (reduced-sodium)
• 1 cup of sliced celery
• 1 cup of thinly sliced carrots
• 2 cups of cooked macaroni
• 1/4 grated parmesan cheese

Crumble up your sausage or ground meat and heat it up on the stove. (Please make sure you brown the beef/turkey. This particular sausage is already precooked. I just heat it up to put heated sausage in the stew pot.) Chop up your vegetables.

Add your ‘meat,’ onion, garlic, bell pepper, italian seasonings, salt and pepper to slow cooker. Stir in the boiling water, tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce and soy sauce. Add celery and carrots.

Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours. (Set timer!)

About a 45 minutes before you want to eat, cook up your macaroni. Increase your stew pot heat to HIGH and stir in your cooked macaroni and Parmesan cheese. Cover and cook for 10 to 15 minutes more.

Dish some soup into your bowl, shread some more Parmesan cheese on top, serve with a side of sliced gourmet bread and enjoy! Oh, and this is plenty for a family of 4 to 6, but if it’s just the 2 of you, you will have enough for lunch and dinner the next day

This is a favorite and easy recipe to make during this awesome season of Fall. (I love Fall! I couldn’t imagine being anywhere that doesn’t get to enjoy the colorful leaves and crisp cool days…)

Anyway, in addition to random days making this, I made this dish last year for my family’s Thanksgiving dinner and for a Fall Harvest potluck we just went to over the weekend.

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you try to use all organic!)
• 1 (2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 cups couscous
• 1 1/3 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries (I used Eden Organic Dried Cranberries.)
• 1/2 cup pecans, toasted (I didn’t use in case people would be allergic to nuts.)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley (I used dried organic parsley.)

Preheat oven to 425°F. Combine butternut squash, onion, olive oil, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until squash and onion brown slightly, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Allow to cool.

Combine squash and onion mixture, veggie broth, butter and cranberries in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add couscous and cover. Take from heat and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir in pecans and parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. Fluff with a fork and serve.

There will be plenty for a family gathering or expect to have leftovers if it’s just a couple people eating.

This is a favorite of ours…I found the recipe at Whole Foods’ web site and have made it several times. Takes a little prep time, then time in the oven (to bake the pie crust). It’s very filling and nutritious with all the veggies used!

Ingredients include:
(Make sure you buy organic!!!)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup canned soybeans
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup sweet corn (from about 1 large ear)
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 1 cup chopped red bell pepper (which I didn’t use because they didn’t have an organic one at the store…)
• 1 pound baby spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
• 2 frozen prepared pie crusts, thawed (I used an organic whole wheat crust.)
• 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese (I used shredded mild chedder cheese for this pie.)
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add soybeans, carrots, onions, corn, broccoli, bell peppers, and spinach and cook until tender-crisp. Add garlic, nutmeg, salt, pepper and pecans and cook for 5 minutes, or until the flavors blend. Set vegetable mixture aside.

Line a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with one of the prepared crusts. Layer the vegetables with the cheese in the pan, beginning with the cheese and ending with the vegetables. Top with remaining crust, seal edges with a fork and trim off excess pie dough. With a sharp knife, poke vent holes in the top of the crust. Sprinkle top with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown. Set aside for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.

This lasts us each for 2 dinner nights and lunch the next day.

ALSO…although there were plenty of vegetables served within this dish, I still had a hankering for a side of…

Steamed Kale

I used (for 2 servings):
• 2 stems of kale (chopped)
• Mediterranean dressing
— Extra virgin olive oil
— lemon juice
— 1 clove of garlic minced
— salt and pepper

Prepare your steamer pot. Steam the kale for no more than 5 minutes. (Do not overcook!)
Toss with the Mediterranean dressing and enjoy!

This is a recipe that I came up with and it’s a one that we love. I’ll make this often cause it’s easy and good and nutritious! Quinoa, if you’ve never had it, is really good by itself, but adds a good texture to soups, stews and chili. Quinoa contains a balanced set of essential amino acids for humans, making it an unusually complete protein source, with it’s protein content being very high (12%–18%)…good for the vegetarians!

Ingredients I use:
• 1 cup of quinoa (I use Ancient Harvest Inca Red Quinoa)
• 2 cups of reduced sodium vegetable broth
• 1 jar of organic salsa (I use the black bean and corn salsa from Roots)
• 15oz (can) organic black beans
• 15oz (can) organic corn
• 32oz (can) organic diced tomatoes
• seasonings to include: cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper
• organic blue chips
• organic low-fat sour cream (optional)
• guacamole (I like to buy from whole foods, or you could make fresh) (optional)
• organic mix of mexican shredded cheese (optional)

First I get the quinoa cooking. I bring to a boil the veggie broth with the quinoa. Once boiling, simmer for 15 minutes, covered. (You know when the quinoa is done when the germ separates from the seed. The cooked germ looks like a tiny curl and should have a slight bite to it like al dente pasta.)

As the quinoa is cooking, start heating up in a larger pot, the salsa, black beans, corn and diced tomatoes. I sprinkle in the cumin, cilantro, onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, pepper…adding not too much, but just as much as I see fit. Stir together and let that heat up on medium-low heat.

Once the quinoa is done, (drain the little bit of liquid that may be leftover, and) add that to the pot of everything else. Stir together.

I serve it in a bowl with cheese on top to melt and with the blue chips on the side. Scooping the chili/cheese with the chips and dipping that all in with sour cream and/or guacamole…..YUMMMMMMMMY!!!!! I’ve made this for a family gathering before, and it was a complete hit….so easy to make and SO DELICIOUS!

If you are making this for just yourself and your significant other, you will have leftovers for the next day’s lunch and dinner…but I’m sure is plenty for a family of 4 or more

Sunday, September 20, I made Barley Soup with Seasonal Vegetables. I made this several times now and when I do this, you know it’s gotta be a good dish to make . I got this recipe out of a book, my favorite 2nd cousin got me last year, called How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, by Mark Bittman. You can use pretty much whatever vegetables that you are in the mood for, but thinking environmentally friendly-wise, use the vegetables that are in season/local.

Ingredients I used:
• 2 TBS of neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn (I didn’t have this, so I just used extra virgin olive oil…)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 TBS minced garlic
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup pearled barley
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• basil, dried or fresh chopped
• about 2 lbs of root vegetables. For my vegetables, I used
— 2 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2″ dice
— 4 stocks of celery, sliced
— 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes
— can of corn drained
— 1 zucchini, cut into cubes
— 4 carrots, diced

I used my big cooking pot. Put the oil in the pot and let it heat up over medium-high heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, sirring occasionally, until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, sprinkle with salt and pepper and cook for 1 minute more. Add the barley and cook, stirring constantly, until the barley starts to toast and stick, about 5 minutes. Stir in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Lower the heat so the liquid simmers, cover, and cook until the barley begins to soften, 10 to 15 minutes.

Turn the heat up to medium-high  and add the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer again, cover and cook until the vegetables and barley are very tender, another 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in some basil. Serve in some bowls, grab some yummy bread to dip in your soup and taste this yummy goodness!

Oh, this makes about 10 servings, so if you’re just a household of 2 like us, then be ready to eat for the next 2 days for both your lunches and dinners!

I apologize for skipping last week (week of Sept. 13).

On Sunday, I made a soup that just wasn’t that great – Bread Soup. It was ok, but I have made better. I’m sure there are better recipes out there for Bread Soup, so until I find it and make it, I think I will leave that recipe out for now.

HOWEVER, for the bread soup, I did make croutons from scratch, which was cool.
Croutons ingredients:
• yummy gourmet bread, sliced
• extra virgin olive oil
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

Basically, you heat up your oil, with the garlic, in a pan large enough for a couple/few of your slices of bread…and similar to making grilled cheese (only without the 2nd slice of bread and cheese), you leave the bread on its first side for about 5 minutes until it browns. Flip it over and wait for the other side to brown. Take it out of the pan, let it cool. (I placed on paper towels to soak some of the grease off.) And you have croutons! (Something to keep in mind though, if you’re browning a lot of bread, be sure to keep the bottom of your pan moist with more olive so you don’t burn your pan or the bread.)

Another day last week, I also made a Mexican Burrito with Eggs.
Ingredients:
• Wraps (Organic/whole wheat are what I prefer to use)
• Organic eggs
• Salsa of your choice
• Organic black beans
• Organic Cheese – Mexican mix of shredded cheese

I heated up the salsa and black beans together. (Keep in mind, when you used canned beans of any sort, ALWAYS get rid of that extra liquid in there and rinse them off well, it will help decrease the farting later )
As that was heating up, I scrambled some eggs, flavoring with salt, pepper and basil. Grabbing from another recipe, here is how I made my scrambled eggs once again.

Heat up some butter or extra virgin olive oil in your stainless steel skillet. Crack open your eggs into your skillet (watch out for broken shells!), add your seasonings and mix. As they begin cooking, stir as needed to get them good and scrambled. I prefer my eggs really cooked, but you can keep them cooking as long as needed to get them to your liking.

Once your eggs are done, layer the salsa/bean mix, cheese and eggs in your wrap and wah-lah!  You can serve with organic blue chips on the side, with extra salsa, guacamole and/or sour cream also on the side. YUMMMMMMMM!!!!!

I made other stuff too (such as the Kale Salad again), but these couple were the things worth mentioning that may be of interest to you readers.

This evening, I made this really delicious dish that I found, again, using the The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I have yet to go wrong with this cookbook. This book was recommended by my sister (the one studying in Seattle at Bastyr University), where the authors also attended this school. Definitely worth getting this cookbook, if you don’t buy any other cookbook.

Anyway, this dish has a great flavor and texture with the raw kale, red bell pepper, green onions and cooked wild rice all combined at the end. I typically don’t do seconds with meals, and I totally did with this one. Nice and light and very nutritious!

Wild Rice and Kale Salad ingredients include:
• 1-1/2 cups wild rice
• 3-3/4 cups water
• pinch of sea salt
• 5 curly green kale leaves, washed and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, diced small
• 1 bunch of green onions, cut into thin rounds
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (or I just squeezed a half of lemon)
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and ground pepper to taste

First place the rice, water and sea salt into a pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 55 minutes, remove from heat and let stand at least 30 minutes to cool. (Or I just started the next step after the rice was done simmering and that’s how long I let my rice cool.)

Prepare your veggies, and place the chopped kale, diced red bell pepper, sliced green onions, lemon juice, and olive oil into a large bowl and gently toss. It says to add rice and sea salt & pepper and toss again, but I preferred to keep the rice and veggies separate (as pictured). I still combined as I was eating and it tasted amazing, but just wanted the ingredients to be separate on the plate. But totally combine before serving if you so choose.

You can store the extra rice salad in a glass container in the fridge for up to 5 days. (good to know, right?)

Enjoy! I definitely did!

Wednesday, September 9, for dinner, I prepared a breakfast-for-dinner meal and it turned out quite delicious. It was a little different tasting than what we are used to, but definitely a good different taste. Typically I prefer my potatoes roasted and I think the ingredients that I prepared totally could have been roasted, but I followed the cookbook, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook where you pretty much sauté everything.

Zucchini and Potato Hash ingredients included:
• 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion, cut into half moons
• 2 or 3 medium (or 5 small) red or yellow potatoes, sliced into thin rounds
• 1 large zucchini, sliced also into thin rounds
• 1/2 bunch green kale, chopped small (although, if I were to make again, I’d chop it larger than I did)
• 1 to 2 tsp of dried thyme
• 1 garlic clove minced
• sea salt to taste
(says it serves 4, but it could be more or less depending on how much you eat, obviously)

Scrambled Eggs ingredients:
• 3 organic, cage-free eggs (or as many as you want)
• I used Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to season my eggs, but definitely use the seasonings that you prefer

First, I prepared all the vegetables to be used. For the potatoes and zucchini, I used my mandolin slicer (DEFINITELY using the hand guard at all times…), but if you don’t have one, thinly slice the vegetables using your veggie knife. Once I had all the veggies ready to go, in a large stainless steel skillet (11-inch works well), I heated the olive oil over medium heat.

Add onions and sauté for 3 minutes. Add potatoes and stir into the onions. Put a cover on the skillet and let cook for about 6 minutes. I noticed that my potatoes wanted to stick to the bottom of my skillet, so keep stirring them as much as you need to so that they don’t. They say to add any necessary water to prevent burning, which I did, and I think that helped a little.

(See below to get your eggs cooking.)

Then add the zucchini slices, kale, thyme, garlic and salt and gently mix. Put the cover back on and cook a few minutes more until the zucchini and kale are tender, stirring occasionally. Add salt as you like.

As for the eggs, you may want to start them going after you have the potatoes in the skillet. Heat up some butter or extra virgin olive oil in your stainless steel skillet. Crack open your eggs into your skillet (watch out for broken shells!), add your seasonings and mix. As they begin cooking, stir as needed to get them good and scrambled. I prefer my eggs really cooked, but you can keep them cooking as long as needed to get them to your liking.

I also toasted up some rosemary bread because I LOVE eggs and buttered toast. So after everything was done cooking, I dished out everything onto the plate and enjoyed! Again, very very yummy. Definitely worth cooking again. (Oh, and we had plenty of leftovers, enough for lunch the next day )