I made a yummy concotion for dinner that we call Aztec Stew. It is a warm, comforting stew that’s good when you want something a bit richer for dinner. It ended up with that name because most of the ingredients originated in Central and South America, although not all of them.
In addition to foods you are readily familiar with, this one contains something special: Nopalitos!
Nopales are the prepared pads of the prickly pear cactus.
Daryl: Knarly, Dude! What is that thing?
Sam: I dunno. I found it in the grocery store. I thought you might know what to do with it?
Daryl: Ummm… Looks like a door stop to me!
OK, enough fun. This thing is a Jicama! (And it actually is gnarly, as you’ll see in a bit.)
Jicama, also called a Yam Bean or Mexican Turnip, is the tuberous root of a Mexican legume vine.
On Tuesday, MIL came over for dinner. She is a dessert-a-holic, so I always try to make something special for after the meal when she is here.
On the other hand, dinner was running late due to unforeseen circumstances, so I didn’t have time to make this as an ice cream. Instead I simplified the recipe, and turned the concept into a milk shake!
Happily for everyone, it turned out great!
I have always loved green beans. I will eat them hot or cold. In a soup, in a casserole, just plain… any way I can get them!
When I was a kid, I used to grab a can from the cupboard, open it and drain the liquid, rinse the beans, and pour my favorite salad dressing over them in the can and eat them for snacks.
Needless to say, canned green beans aren’t very good… but that shows you how much I love them.
Do you buy canned refried beans? A lot of people do because they can’t figure out how to make a good, homemade version. But, if you make them yourself, you can control exactly what goes in them and make a healthier version. You’ll also save money, because dried beans are a lot less expensive than canned!
I make all my beans in the crock pot. I find it much easier and they require minimal babysitting.
Saturday night we had Vegan Veggie Burritos for dinner! We used a mixture of things we made, things we had leftover on hand and things we bought at the Whole Foods food bar earlier in the day. I had the avocados and lettuce and needed to use them that day. I had already decided the night before to soak the nuts to make taco mix. I made the nut mix before going out in the morning so it would be ready by dinner.
Grilled Pineapple Guacamole Ingredients 2 avocados, chopped 1 slice grilled pineapple, chopped fine _ red onion chopped white balsamic vinegar lime juice, fresh seasoning Directions Combine all ingredients.
This is so simple to make and only takes a few seconds.
Tofu Sour Cream Equipment Required blender Ingredients 8 oz silken tofu 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon white basalmic vinegar Directions Blend in the blender until creamy and smooth Notes Make this at least an hour before you eat it so all the flavors can meld.
This week, we got new golden potatoes, corn and leeks in our Bountiful Baskets! So I decided, since it was raining on Tuesday, to make a potato leek chowder for dinner.
We roasted the corn on the grill and removed it from the cobs on Saturday. Then it was put into the freezer in 2-cup servings to use later. So for this recipe, I just pulled out and defrosted the amount I needed.
How many of you think of sweet potatoes as that sweet, marshmallow topped dish served at Thanksgiving? Or, perhaps you’ve had them baked into a pie resembling pumpkin pie? If you’re lucky, you’ve had them baked just like a regular potato, or even better, made into air fries!
They are really good for you, rich in fiber, beta carotene (the darker orange the flesh is, the more they have) and Vitamin B6.
Coleslaw is quick and easy to make… Even if you’re starting the dressing from scratch! It can be a side dish, or eaten as a snack. It’s great for picnics and tailgate parties.
But how do you make a vegan dressing? Start with a commercial Vegenaise? Not me! This is how I make vegan coleslaw dressing.
Here’s my setup.
Equipment Blender
Ingredients See recipe below.
Method Put all of the ingredients except the olive oil in the blender.
Aren’t these some of the prettiest milk bottles you’ve ever seen?
I got these at the Container Store for about $4 each. The covers are plastic lined, and they hold a quart. (You can also purchase the covers separately.) If you need a lot of them, they are also available on Amazon . A case sells for about $46, a bit of a savings. If you don’t need that many, consider going together with a friend and splitting them!
Do you eat kale ? Well, you should!
But most people either don’t know what to do with it, or don’t like it. One of the Bountiful Baskets volunteers told DH that she feeds it to her rabbits! Wow! Her rabbits are eating healthier than she is!
Kale is loaded with nutrition that your body needs. Three and a half ounces of raw kale contains 13621 IU of Vitamin A, 72 mg of Calcium, 10 mg of Magnesium and 228 mg of Potassium!
DH is crazy about falafel ! At one time, in the past, we were going to any restaurant he could find that served it, just so he could try their version.
I learned a couple of things along the way: I don’t like it when it is seasoned with cheap, yellow curry powder (aka McCormick .) I actually don’t like anything seasoned with that. I also don’t like them when they are heavy and greasy, without a kind of fluffy interior.
I’m not really a morning person. I’m SO not a morning person, my kids will tell you that breakfast, when they were young, was a big challenge! I usually skipped it for myself, or ate something that wasn’t a good idea.
We’ve all been there: Fly out of bed, get ready for work, send the kids off to school, fly out the door… maybe with a cup of coffee or soda in hand.