Black Bean, Corn, Spinach, and Sweet Potato Soup

This recipe makes a ton of soup. I like to make a lot because with soup, leftovers are always better than the original, in my opinion.


Ingredients:

3-4 cans of black beans (I use Bushes beans, with the seasoning)
1 box of frozen chopped spinach (or about four cups of fresh spinach, chopped)
1 bag of frozen corn
4 (or more, I usually add more) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced.
Salt
Pepper
Oregano
2-3 cloves of Garlic (remember, I love garlic)
1 small Onion (you can add more but this is all I can get away with in this house of onion-haters)
3-4 tbsp. Olive Oil

Directions:

1. Saute onion in olive oil until almost translucent, be sure not to burn.

2. Add garlic and let cook until golden.

3. Add black beans, spinach, and sweet potatoes

4. Fill empty cans of black beans with water, about half way to get the rest of the seasoning from the bottom of the cans and pour into pot.

5. Let cook for about 15 minutes, checking for consistency. You can add more water or vegetable broth if you like yours "soupier" at this point.

6. Continue cooking until sweet potatoes are tender.

7. Add salt, pepper, oregano and any other seasonings you wish to taste.

8. Add bag of corn and cook until soup is heated through

9. Serve. I like to serve mine over rice, with a little slab of butter between the rice and soup.

Hope you enjoy.

This really is a super easy recipe and takes not time to make. And it's soooo super yummy.

Menu Plan Monday

So, after a long break of not doing these, I've decided to get back into the swing of things, today.

So, here is my menu for the week. Everything listed is vegan, which means that everything is completely animal free. Meaning no meat, no eggs, no dairy, no fish, and no anything else that can come from an animal.

Enjoy!

Recipes to follow on some stuff, maybe.


Monday: Black bean, corn, spinach and sweet potato soup over rice.

Tuesday: Tacos

Wednesday: Spaghetti with blood sauce (marinara) and eyeballs (vegan meatballs) and green goblin bread (Rachel Ray's Green Garlic Bread Recipe.)

Thursday: Shepherd's Pie

Friday: Fajitas

Saturday: Veggie Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and the best Brussels sprouts, EVER.


And that's it for the week.

"Neatloaf" Recipe

Finally, a recipe!!

This one is a family favorite. In fact, it's so loved that if anyone in this house glances at the weekly menu board, and this is not on it, I hear about it.

As a kid, in order for me to take part in this delicious, typically ground beef concoction, I'd always have to look elsewhere. As my mom, while one of the greatest cooks there ever was, was completely unable to make a viable, not to mention edible, loaf of her own. Something about egg and mushy meat, and childhood nightmares. Her phobia for this dear concoction aside, I grew to love this fond money-saving meal that most of my friends would gripe about.

Now that I've become vegan, I've longed for the hearty warm taste this meal always left me with. When I discovered vegan crumbles, I began concocting recipe after recipe and I feel as though I have FINALLY gotten what I am after.

So without further adieu:

**NOTE: Please keep in mind that when I cook, I cook to feed an army. Make adjustments accordingly. Oh, and that these amounts are just guesses, as I am terrible at actually measuring stuff when I'm in charge.**

Ingredients:

3 Boxes of Boca Crumbles (or three bags of Greenwise Crumbles, my personal choice if you live near a Publix)

3/4 tub of firm tofu (not frozen)

1 Cup of fresh bread crumbs

1/4 cup oil

1/4 Cup of soy milk

1/2 Cup of Ketchup

2 Tbsp. A1 Sauce (Smoky Mesquite flavor)

1-3 Tbsp. minced garlic

1-2 Tsp. onion powder

Oregano to taste.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

**In an ideal world all of these items will be thawed and at room temperature. However, if you forget, or don't have time, frozen ingredients work just as well. Just use a hand mixer instead of your hands to incorporate, or my favorite, a stand mixer (just be careful, spillage is expected.)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Empty all three boxes of crumbles into a bowl.

3. Add tofu and mix.

4. After tofu is encorporated, add the rest of the ingredients, one at a time, until mixture begins to "clean" the sides of the bowl (you may need to add more soy milk or oil to achieve this) You will end up with one big clump, of not so pleasantly colored glop.

5. Transfer mixture to a loaf pan, mini loaf pans (my choice as it tends to hold the mixture together a lot better.) or baking dish and bake in oven for 45 minutes.

6. At 45 minutes, take out and baste with either A1 sauce, ketchup (my choice), or BBQ sauce.

7. Let bake for another 15 minutes for baste to caramelize.

8. Serve and enjoy!

Chef's notes:
~I make this recipe two different ways. The more traditional way, with ketchup smeared on top, with mashed potatoes, and some kind of green veggie. Also, the hearty way. Which is the loaf, on a bed of sauteed mushrooms, no baste on top, but instead slathered with gravy and served with mashed potatoes and asparagus or green beans.

~ If you decide to go the traditional loaf way with this recipe, I think it would be better to make the mixture the night before, cover it, let it freeze overnight then bake it on a lower temperature for a longer amount of time. I think it would hold together better this way. Although I have no proof, as I've never been able to test my theory in this house.

~This is great cold on bread with veganaise the next day.

~Perfect for kids lunches too.

yep, I'm overdue

So yeah, it's been a long, long time with nothing going on over here. And yeah, it's very safe to say that I've let this blog fall by the way-side, totally neglecting it's existence.

I promised recipes. I promised product reviews. And then, I just ended up posting my weekly menus for a few weeks, then. . . . nothing.

Well, I am back and vow to make this blog all that I wanted it to be in the beginning. With Fall upon us with the cooler temperatures, and the promise of a festive season ahead, I find myself drawn back into the kitchen to try new and rework old yummy recipes.

One of my favorite things to do is to go to the store and parooze the current recipe filled magazines. This is the best time of year for that sort of thing. Many magazines come out with "Holiday Recipe" versions full of readers favorites. Now, most of the recipes are NOT vegan but that's part of the fun I have. Coming up with vegan options. It's a lot easier than it seems.

Luckily for all of you, I get to do the hard work, and you get to enjoy the recipes as a result. All I ask is that you tell me what you think when/if you try a certain recipe listed on here. I will also do my best to write down my source for said recipe, when I can remember.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have my first magazine of the season waiting to be plowed through and folded up. I should be back soon with my findings.

Menu Plan Monday

I've again missed this thing for a couple weeks now. Things around the home front have been rather hectic. I've been busy with some spring-cleaning tasks as well as setting up a new home office. I'm afraid I have been neglecting this blog. However, the good news is that I have some awesome posts planned for the days ahead. Including a recipe, a product review, and some other handy things.

But for now, here is my menu for this week.

1. "Creamy" Pasta with Broccoli, Mushrooms, and Toficken
   
2. Black Eyed Peas, Okra, Stewed Tomatoes (I've had this on the menu for the last couple of weeks but, sadly have failed to make it.)
3. Chef Salad (vegan style, of course)
4. Tofu Cutlets, Mashed Potatoes, and Asparagus
5. Southwestern Tofu Burritos
6. Picnic Night - - Cold Cut "meat" sandwiches, Crunchy Chick Peas, Sun Chips, Fruit Salad, and maybe even Cole Slaw.
7. Something new, haven't decided yet but I think it's about time I tried a new recipe.

For more Menu Planning Monday check here.

I'm also going to experiment with some baked goods this week. I found a new boxed cake mix that is gluten and wheat free and completely vegan. It doesn't even call for eggs, so no worrying about finding the right kind of replacement. So I'm looking forward to trying that out as well as a few of my own creations. I'll keep you posted.

I think that's about it on this home front. Now that I finally have my menu done, I guess I should make a list and head off to the store, before the other boy is due home from school.

Samosa recipe and my changes.

I found an awesome site for making samosas. Including specific instructions on just how to fold the little suckers. And the best pastry (Samosa Khol) recipe ever. I'm thinking about using that recipe for other things as well. Like a yummy Pot Pie Pocket. I just won't add the Indian spice to the dough when I make it.

Now, I will admit, while looking at the three different pages of recipes and techniques, I began to feel quite overwhelmed. But it really was pretty easy. I think it ended up taking me a grand total of about an hour, which includes the setting time for the Khol. The stuffing part goes by super quick. And, I'm here to tell you that it will make way more than you'll probably need but I'm also here to say that it freezes wonderfully and makes your next attempt at samosas that much easier. I still have some stuffing sitting in my freezer.

Now for the changes I made:

For the stuffing recipe:
I cut out the Amchoor (mango powder) because, well, I've never heard of it and I couldn't find it in my local store.

I also cut out the cilantro because I can't stand the taste of the stuff.

I did add some cauliflower (about 1 1/2 cups) to the recipe.

I think I forgot to put in the cardamom. Although with the cinnamon in there, it wasn't really missed.

I also erred on the side of caution when it came to the cumin and cayenne because I'm really not a spicy kind of person.

Other than those things, I followed the recipe exactly. :~)

For the Samosa Khol Recipe:
The only thing I did differently here was to use Garam Massala instead of Ajwain in the dough because, again, I couldn't find Ajwain.

As for How to fold a Samosa:
I used the table top method to fold my samosas. I wasn't about to attempt the traditional method. I'm not that coordinated yet.

Oh, and for the oil, make sure you keep it at the temperature they say, maybe only vary it by adding ten degrees or so. It takes about 8-10 minutes for these thing to fry up but they turn out wonderfully. I was super worried about them being too greasy but they turned out light and wonderful instead.

Hope everyone enjoys.

And if you try this recipe I'd love to hear your review or the changes you made.

Menu Planning Monday

I've missed a couple weeks with being sick and all the normal crazy family stuff, but I'm back. . . . And truth be told, I've been lost without the menu planning.

Menu for the week of February 12, 2007:

Monday: Spaghetti, Garlic Bread, and Fruit Salad

Tuesday: Tuscan Beans with Sage, Sweet Potatoes, and hommade dinner rolls

Wednesday: Still haven't decided yet, but something very Valentine-y and yummy.

Thursday: Fajitas

Friday: Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, grits, fruit, veggie sausage)

Saturday: Broccoli and Tofu Stir-Fry

Sunday: Veggie Neat Loaf, Mashed Potatoes, Asparagus

For more Menu Planning Monday go here.