Chickpea Tacos

Tonight's dinner was a quick chickpea filling made with one can of chickpeas sauteed with onions, garlic, taco spices (cumin, chili powder, oregano, paprika, onion/garlic powder) and then mashed. They were yummy on soft corn tortillas with chopped tomato, onions, salsa roja and guacamole.

Bulgur, Beans & Broccoli Burrito.

I was seriously stumped as to what I was going to whip up for dinner tonight. I wanted to eat something filling yet something that would take no time at all to make. I opened up my pantry and the first thing I saw was a container of bulgur. I've been following the 'My Veggie Kitchen' blog which recently featured some quickie meals made out of bulgur. I decided to try the beans and bulgur taco filling but use it for a burrito. I used pinto beans instead of refried beans and I also added a couple tablespoons of La Victoria taco sauce. It was the perfect filling for my whole wheat tortilla along with steamed broccoli, avocado, "sour cream" (made from Vegenaise, lime juice and taco sauce mixed together) and habanero hot sauce!

Beans on Toast, TVP Tacos and Refried Beans

Leftover Heinz beans from last night made an excellent breakfast on toast spread with Earth Balance and sprinkled with black pepper. And I didn't forget the tea.



I couldn't wait to make refried beans from scratch again and this time with black beans. The easiest way for me to do it is to put the dry beans (1 lb. plus 8 cups water) into the crockpot the night before and let them cook. This morning all I had to do was reserve about a cup or so of the cooking liquid, drain the beans and heat them with sauteed onions, garlic, liquid smoke, the bean liquid, olive oil and salt/pepper while mashing with a potato masher. Seriously perfect beans. I also made red chile sauce with the dried guajillo, new mexico and arbol chiles. For the tacos, I used textured vegetable protein. The tvp meat was sauteed with olive oil, onions, garlic and taco seasoning.

EDIT: Still cooking from my pantry!
Pantry staples used: dried black beans, dried chiles, tvp, liquid smoke, olive oil, spices, Heinz Beans, white bread
Other items: onions, garlic, lettuce, tomato
Items purchased: taco shells, Earth Balance

Cooking out of the pantry: Portobello Tacos, Refried Beans and Rice

Check out my lunch today. It was superb! Portobello tacos, rice and beans. I wanted to make refried beans from scratch weeks ago but never got around to it because I had other things in mind. This weekend seemed just right for it. The bag of pinto beans in my pantry was calling my name as well as another item from my pantry that I forgot to add to my list: a bag of dried New Mexico chiles. I have a book called "The Power of Ancient Foods" and there is a recipe for red chile sauce that I planned to make along with the refried beans. I cooked my pinto beans in the crockpot overnight so they'd be ready this morning. (My crockpot has a new name: "The Bean Machine". I don't use it for anything else anymore.) So anyway back to the beans, I sauteed some onions and garlic in olive oil, added the cooked and drained beans, mashed them up and let them simmer with salt, pepper, about a cup of the bean cooking liquid and a touch of liquid smoke. I don't think I can enjoy canned refried beans ever again! The beans were stellar, just like in a restaurant. The rice was wonderful as well. Fresh guacamole and lime wedges made it all complete.


I've never had mushroom tacos before and I'm glad I tried this. They were so meaty and juicy. The red chile sauce was really nice.

Portobello tacos recipe here.
Mexican rice recipe here.
This short video shows pretty much how I made the red chile sauce.

Pantry staples used:
dry pinto beans
dried new mexico chiles
rice
tomato sauce
corn tortillas
herbs/spices: cumin, oregano, cayenne

Items from fridge etc:
onions
garlic
cilantro

Items I needed to purchase: 2 portobello mushrooms and avocado

Cooking out of the pantry: Enchilada Casserole and Sweet Corn Cake

So, day one of cooking from my pantry! I was lazy today to look for a new recipe so I reverted back to my old standby. This time I added tvp to the filling to bulk it up a bit. To go with the casserole, I made a side dish of mexican sweet corn cake which is a recipe from The Tropical Vegan Kitchen.

Pantry staples used:
quinoa
1 can black beans
tvp
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
dried herbs/spices: cumin, oregano, new mexico chili powder
6 whole wheat flour tortillas
masa harina
cornmeal
sugar
canola oil

Other vegetables/fruits and fridge items etc:
1 red bell pepper
2 cloves garlic
1/2 onion
10 oz. frozen corn
Vegenaise
Earth Balance margarine

Ingredients I needed to purchase: none


Mmm, casserole!


Mexican sweet corn cake. This was really delicious and sweet.

Pinto Bean and TVP Tostadas

Something I threw together after work. I just sauteed some chopped onions, garlic and jalapeno, added shredded kale, tomato sauce, rehydrated textured vegetable protein (for that ground beefy texture), pinto beans and spices like chili powder, smoked paprika, garlic powder and cumin. So yummy.

Revamping Leftovers: Black Bean Tostadas

Mmm, looks good doesn't it? The black bean soup from the weekend got very thick overnight in the fridge so I decided to use it for these delicious tostadas. I fried up a couple of corn tortillas, topped them with the beans, added shredded lettuce, chopped red onions, sliced radishes and hot sauce. They were great!

Sunday Casserole & Oat Bran Muffins

I like to make a casserole on Sundays; something that I throw in a baking dish and pop in the oven while I go about my household duties. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know that this casserole of quinoa bean burritos is my old standby. Instead of serving them as a burrito, I just cut into the casserole and served up little squares of layered tortilla, quinoa, spinach, red peppers, corn and beans. The topping is Daiya cheese with a vegenaise/lemon juice/chili powder drizzle. The drizzle made the Daiya get all melty and cheezy.


Just out of the oven. Look at that topping!


Mmm.

Later in the day I made oat bran muffins with a recipe I found in The Vegan Family Cookbook. I haven't had a proper bran muffin since before I went vegan and what I remember was that they were dark brown, sweet, sticky and full of raisins. While good and wholesome, these muffins were not that. So I'm asking my fellow vegans, can you point me to a recipe for a bran muffin that I described? I need to go through my cookbooks...

Taco Night!

Three over-stuffed white corn taco shells filled with refried beans, soy "ground beef"*, lettuce, guacamole, salsa and a white sauce made from Vegenaise (vegan mayonnaise) mixed with lime juice and chili powder. Super yummy.

*Just wanted to note that I used Morningstar Farms Grillers Crumbles for these tacos. The package that I used was one before the company reformulated their recipe in January. Every package of this product that was made since January will now contain milk and egg which makes the product no longer vegan. This is upsetting. I will most likely switch to another brand or make my own soy ground from TVP granules from here on out.

Using up what's in your kitchen!

I had this plan to make pizzas this weekend with some vegan mozzarella that I bought but I didn't have any of the other ingredients that I needed like pizza dough and the right veggies for toppings (I was in the mood for red onions, green peppers, olives and pineapple). I am trying to save money by not going to the market every other day for stuff so I opened up my fridge and pantry and perused my stock. I had quinoa. I had black beans. I had canned tomatoes. I had fresh kale. I had fresh mushrooms. I had flour tortillas. "Burritos!" I said.

Pantry staples used:
1 can black beans
1 can diced tomatoes
tomato sauce
quinoa
flour tortillas

Other vegetables/fruits/misc. ingredients etc:
kale
onion
garlic
mushrooms
vegan mozzarella
vegenaise
lemon

Ingredients I had to purchase: none

So here they are, wet burritos (aka "enchilada style" burritos) with a delicious quinoa, black bean and kale filling, topped with tomato sauce, a bit of the vegan mozzarella and drizzled with lemon spiked vegenaise. I based the recipe off of the burrito recipe I posted on my blog several months ago. Find it here.


Looks like enchiladas and they smelled like pizza!


Insides.


I got this cookbook recently and it looks really good. There are a variety of vegetarian recipes from Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria that I can't wait to try.


I made a Tunisian Boisson aux Fraises, a refreshing strawberry drink flavored with lemon, orange flower water and sugar.

Sweet Potato Samosa and Cinco de Mayo food.

Today is my day off and I didn't want to waste a chance to cook. I had a large sweet potato to use up so I made baked samosas which were a recipe from 'Vegan Planet'. They are stuffed with mashed sweet potato, peas, onions and seasoned with curry powder and cayenne. I know this is not very "Cinco de Mayo" so I made up for it by making fresh guacamole and chipotle refried bean dip with grilled peppers and onions topped with lettuce, tomato and cool ranch sauce. The ranch is from 'You Won't Believe It's Vegan'. It has pureed tofu in it which I was very wary of at first but after adding some seasonings like taco spices, lemon juice and garlic powder it didn't taste half bad.

Here are the pics. All this food was gobbled up while watching Dodger baseball!


Samosa in a variety of sizes. They were delicious.


Yummy bean dip. Only things missing were jalapeno and olives.


Creamy guacamole made from 2 large avocados.


Oh and I did make something healthy. A mango, orange banana salad.

Weekend Tostadas

I was inspired to make tostadas this weekend after seeing a photo of "mexican pizzas" that someone had posted at the ppk message board. They used flour tortillas baked with refried beans and all kinds of wonderful toppings like tomatoes, olives, vegan cheddar cheese etc. But I didn't have flour tortillas! Or canned refried beans! One thing I wasn't going to do was go to the store. That was off limits. To save money, I was to use only what I have in my fridge and pantry. So with a little internet research on bean recipes (no I've never cooked my own before), I decided to make refried beans from scratch using dry salvadorean red beans that I bought on a whim one day. I also had in my fridge: corn tortillas, tomatoes, onions, olives, cilantro, cabbage, red peppers and corn.

I looked online and found a recipe here for Salvadorean Refried Beans. (It's the 4th recipe on the page.) I wanted to only make a half recipe so I soaked 1 cup of beans last night and proceeded with the recipe this morning. The only problem was, some of the beans doubled in size and some did not! That was really annoying. So I put them in a pot with cold water, brought it to a boil for a few minutes then turned the heat off, put the top on and let it soak for an hour. Then I proceeded with the recipe. It took quite a while; about an hour to cook the beans, then blend them and then slow cook again for another hour with some onions. They came out great. I wished I would have made more. 1 cup of beans is really not enough! I remedied my bean shortage with a pot of canned chickpeas that I cooked with some chili powder, onions and red peppers. I used the cabbage, red peppers and corn to make a slaw and the tomatoes, cilantro and onions to make pico de gallo.


Refried beans on top of a baked corn tortilla along with fresh pico de gallo, black olives and hot sauce. (Bake corn tortillas brushed with olive oil in a 400 degree F oven until crisp and browned.)


Cooked and mashed chickpeas with cabbage, corn and red pepper slaw, black olives and hot sauce.

Recipe for slaw:

1 bag shredded cabbage (about 6 cups)
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
1 14 oz. can sweet corn, drained
3 TB Vegenaise
1-2 tsp chili powder
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp agave syrup or sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Combine Vegenaise, chili powder, lemon juice, sugar, salt and pepper. Toss with vegetables and let chill for a while to let flavors blend.

Mini Wet Burritos

I visited my aunt today and she had made two trays of chicken and shrimp enchiladas to take home for my husband and parents. They looked really tasty when she pulled them out of the oven and I wanted some! On the way home, I started concocting an enchilada recipe in my head with the ingredients I already had at home. I only had soft taco size flour tortillas at home so actually I made mini wet burritos because enchiladas are made with corn tortillas, not flour. Inside is a mixture of quinoa, black beans, tomatoes, green peppers, corn and mexican spices. The sauce is just tomato sauce mixed with cumin and chipotle chile powder. I also drizzled some vegenaise mixed with ketchup and lime juice on top to make it festive. These were really delicious and perfect with fresh guacamole!


I only ate one of these. Very filling.

Here's the recipe for those interested:

Quinoa, Black Bean and Corn Burritos

Filling:
2 TB olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. taco seasoning or just plain chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1 14oz. can diced tomatoes, drained with juice reserved
1 14oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups water
3/4 cups quinoa
1 cup frozen corn, thawed in microwave
salt and pepper to taste

Sauce:
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder
pinch of cayenne

Drizzle:
1/4 cup vegenaise
a squirt of ketchup
a squirt of lime juice

6 soft taco size flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat olive oil in a medium sized pot and saute onion, bell pepper and garlic until they are soft. Stir in the cumin, taco seasoning and oregano and then add the drained tomatoes, black beans, water and quinoa. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium low and cover. Let simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender. Add thawed corn and mix into the quinoa mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Prepare sauce:
Mix the can of tomato sauce and the reserved tomato juice in a bowl. Season with 1/2 tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp. chipotle chili powder. Add a pinch of cayenne and stir until combined. Prepare drizzle by combining vegenaise, ketchup and lime juice in another small bowl.
Prepare burritos:
Spread a little bit of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Fill a tortilla with about 1/2 cup of the quinoa mixture. Roll the tortilla closed and place seam side down in the baking dish. Proceed with the rest of the tortillas. Pour remaining sauce on top of all the burritos. Drizzle with vegenaise/lime juice mixture. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes.

Tonight was taco night!

I dig taco nights. It's always a quick thing. Stir fry some soy crumbles with taco seasoning, heat up some beans, chop some lettuce and heat up the taco shells and in less than 15-20 minutes, we've got tacos for dinner. We had store bought fresh guacamole and taco sauce to top them off. I served them with a Southwestern Pasta Salad that I prepared earlier today. It's a low fat recipe that I found in a book called 'Pasta and Vegetables: Low Fat Recipes That Work'. I found this book at a bargain book shop for $1! I can't wait to get more into it. It features a bunch of low fat recipes for delicious vegetarian pasta sauces and pasta dishes. Several recipes contain dairy but that can be easily remedied by using plain soymilk instead of milk or cream and vegan cheese or vegan parmesan. The authors claim that these recipes will help you lose weight. Awesome!

Veggie Enchiladas with Smoky Chipotle Sauce + Coconut Cardamom Carrot Rice Pudding

I like cooking on the weekends as I get to spend more time with my food instead of plopping everything in a pot to be done with it. Today I wanted to make enchiladas and use up all the wonderful produce I got yesterday. These are chock full of red potatoes, cauliflower, red and green peppers, onions and zucchini and covered in a smoky chipotle enchilada sauce. Recipe at end of post.


A boatload of veggies!


Here they are cooked and ready to fill tortillas.


Out of the oven in all it's sauciness.


On my plate, halfway devoured.


Smoky Chipotle Enchilada Sauce

1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 TB chili powder
1-2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1 14 oz. can crushed roasted tomatoes
3/4 cup water
1 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in some oil until onions get soft. Add spices and stir. Add tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Enchilada Filling

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped into small pieces
1 cup frozen corn
1 1/2 cup cauliflower, chopped
4-5 small red potatoes, chopped into small cubes
3/4 cup water
corn tortillas

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan on high heat and add the onion, red and green peppers and zucchini. Saute for about 5 minutes or until vegetables get soft. Add frozen corn and continue to cook. Onions will start to brown. Remove all vegetables from pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add a little olive oil on medium high heat and add in the cauliflower and potatoes. Saute for a few minutes and then add 3/4 cup water. Cover and let cook for about 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Stir occassionally to keep them from sticking to the pot. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Add first batch of vegetables to the cauliflower and potatoes. Stir to combine and season with additional salt and pepper to taste.

4. Put a layer of sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Steam tortillas and roll up enchiladas with about 2 heaping TB of filling. Place seam side down in baking dish and cover with sauce. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake additional 5 minutes.


Dessert was Vegan Planet's Coconut Cardamom Rice Pudding with grated carrot added to it. It is so delicious both warm or cold.

Another way to use Boca Chik'n Patties.

I do like Boca Chik'n patties that you can find in your grocer's freezer. They're so easy to just heat up and make a sandwich. Well today instead of making chik'n sandwiches, I used them to make enchiladas.


First I pan fry the patties until they are browned on both sides.


I then chop up the patties into cubes and add them to sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and spinach and a little enchilada sauce.


All rolled up and ready to be sauced! (Enchilada sauce recipe at the end of this post.)


30 minutes later, we have bubbly enchiladas out of the oven.


Served with a lightly dressed salad on top. Mmm...! I learned to eat them this way from the eat'n veg'n blog.

Easy Enchilada Sauce

1 small onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz. can stewed tomatoes, blended in a blender until smooth
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 TB chili powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in a little oil. Add the chili powder, oregano, cumin. Stir to coat onions. Add blended stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce and water. Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Chipotle Black Bean Burrito

We're watching the Dodger game on tv. Go Dodgers! My boyfriend is #30. (just kidding. but god, he's cute!) My husband was going to order a pizza and asked me if I wanted a veggie with no cheese. I declined. I was in the mood for a burrito. I would have rather gone out to Chipotle to get one but because I'm short of funds, I had to make my own. Luckily I had all the ingredients on hand.


I like to add this stuff to canned black beans to give them that smoky flavor.


Black beans simmering with a shot of chipotle powder and some ground cumin. Mmm...


Sauteed some peppers and onions. Burned them a little...


Homemade pico de gallo and jasmine rice skimpily dressed with lime juice and a few shreds of cilantro.


Assembly. I'm usually a big fan of white flour tortillas but I only had the whole grain variety this time. Boo. Well, at least I'm getting my fiber.


Yump. Don't worry, I poured all kinds of hot sauce in there!