Quick Chili (Vegan option)

Too Starvin' for tunes

 

Today was one of those days where I was thinking about food on my way home from work...thinking about food at gym and by the time I walked in door, I needed food so quickly that even the kitty food smelled good... I may be losing it!! Fortunately I had four key ingredients to make this yummy, easy, filling chili..and it took less then ten minutes...no need to eat cat food...always a plus!

One bag of Boca Crumbles

One can of diced Ro-tel tomatoes (I used can with chili peppers added)

One can of Chili Beans(drained)

One can of Black Beans  (drained)

two can fulls of water

Diced Onions

Shredded cheese (optional)

If I weren't so ravenous, I would have added cabbage, celery, kale, fresh zucchini and purple onion..however..needed... food in...my...belly.....fast. Add all of the fixin's til' your hearts content.

For those of you that don't have picky eaters in your household, simply cook in pan and serve with chopped onions on top or a spoonful of shredded cheese or tortillas. Benny is not a fan of whole beans, so I poured everything in a blender and its magical...no one will ever know what you snuck in.

...to avoid the lovely brown color, add more tomato's or use white beans instead of chili and black : )

Enjoy!!!

 

Spinach feta burger -Eminem Headlights Radio

I decided this evening if I went to Roadhouse every time I was craving their Spinach Feta burger I would be broke (they have my favorite feta burger in Kzoo...nom nom especially with onion straws the side) Although eating out would have been my preference, the dishes were well worth it.  My creation turned out lovely and I had extras for lunch all week. This should curb my craving for awhile! This recipe makes 6 burgers.

1Tablespoon of soy butter or regular

3 cloves of garlic

3 green onions

5 cups of spinach

three eggs

Tablespoon of fresh dill

8 oz. of feta

1 cup of panko

pepper and salt

olive oil (for cooking burgers-optional)

1/4 cup of fresh basil
Sautee the butter on low, add garlic, chopped onion, fresh dill and three cups of spinach. Cover the pan and let simmer

  Add two cups of fresh chopped spinach. panko, salt and pepper ( I did ten grinds. But I can never get enough pepper so add as much as you like!), crumble the feta cheese and add three eggs (I used two egg whites and one with yolk) mix well in a separate bowl. Here is where you can be creative. Add your favorite ingredients!  quinoa, black beans, cous cous, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, egg plant or zucchini. This would also be good crumbled up on top of pasta with marinara sauce.

Add all ingredients together in bowl and mix. pour a tablespoon of olive oil on skillet and pack three burgers on skillet (my burgers were 1/2 size)

cook 3-5 minutes on each side of burger depending on how crispy you would like it.

While they are cooking heat oven to 400
After flipping burgers I baked mine 8 minutes.

 

If you have leftovers or would rather not do the burger route, these are very good as appetizers as well....I rolled my leftovers into small (tablespoon full) balls and cooked for 8 minutes (flip and cook another 4)

Enjoy!! 

Orzo/Tofu soup - Cat Stevens Radio

 

So I know its a little early for soup, however two weeks ago we got a little peak at fall, the wind was blowing, the temperature had dropped....even though I knew the feeling would be short lived, I still had a mad hankering for some orzo soup....not exactly sure why orzo--have never had in soup form, but either way...I needed it bad...here's what I came up with.

What you will need:

Orzo-(usually by the noodles/rice section) I used one serving

Vegetable Broth--(I always like to have this on hand-especially in the fall winter, very helpful when you need to throw something together last minute and use up extra veggies) I used whole box

One zucchini

Cherry tomatoes (I had an assortment from the farmers market)

Batch of green onions

Handful of spinach

Fresh parmesan

Black pepper

Soy sauce (optional)

Fried tofu-also optional-(....so I had some left over fried tofu from Rice Kitchen that I wanted to use up, you can either skip this ingredient your sauté your own in a pan and then add to soup when finished)

Also, add whatever other veggies you have in your fridge, celery, onion, green pepper...I just went with what I had on hand.  

Pour your broth into pan, follow directions on orzo package, I went with the option of half way cooking it and then adding to broth. Chop your tomato, green onion. If you do go the tofu route and it is uncooked, now would be a good time to chop into cubes and sauté, I like to add soy sauce to mine with black pepper and a little bit of olive oil. Add your chopped ingredients and tofu, as well as orzo about ten minutes before you want the soup to be served.

I put a handful of spinach at the bottom of each bowl (still crisp and not slimy when you pour soup on top).

Sprinkle with black pepper and fresh parmesan.

ENJOY!!

 

Eggplant for Angie- Its about Time!

OK, OK, I know I have been slacking like crazy!! You would think I would have time about to sit down and spend twenty minutes on a post (working lovely summer teacher hours, having no children and nannying two days a week) but in reality I have been spending so much time eating out...eating in...drinking out...drinking in...that I just couldn't force myself to open my laptop...I knew I would be forced to check my work emails and actually sit down and focus for a minute...I have however had lovely company Ms. Katie from Ohio....Ms. Ronja from Germany...Ms. Allegra's get together in Traverse City...spending time with Ms. Kali when she had an hour off and honestly, the lighting isn't that great for a laptop on a sunny beautiful day in Michigan...so yes...food blogging does seem to be easier in the cold winter months.  So here is a recipe from a month ago...its been along time coming..and I was so hot in my kitchen that I didn't take the time to make it look purty...but in the words of Dan..."mmmmm this good."

One Large Egg plant

olive oil

Goat cheese (or your favorite cheese-kiddos may prefer mozzarella, feta would be good too)

Marinara sauce (vodka or mushroom is yummy)

1/2 cup Cous cous (use pasta, orzo  or rice if you prefer)

shredded parmesan

Salt and pepper

Garlic powder

Fresh basil

Pre-heat oven to 350

Chop your egg plant and cook in a skillet with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper...I love a lot of pepper, but your welcome to take it easy...cook just long enough to add a little color to the egg plant, and flip...about four minutes on high on each side...set aside on a sheet pan.

While your are cooking your egg plant...have your rice, noodles or cous cous cooking...I like cous cous because it is less heavy...for more kid friendly you could use Annie's bunny noodles : )

While your cous cous is cooking, take your cooked egg plant and spread a thin layer of goat cheese on top. Sprinkle with garlic powder and set aside.  

On top of your goat cheese layer (or your favorite cheesy layer)  Add the cous cous...(I mixed mine with marinara ahead of time...but you can also spread it and add a spoonful of sauce on top of your noodles)

After you have your wonderful layer of eggplant,  Cheese...cous cous and marinara, add another egg plant on top and sprinkle a little fresh parmesan with a small teaspoon of sauce. Put in oven and bake for ten minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil, salt to taste and ENJOY!!!

Casa Bolero

116 Portage St.

Kalamazoo, MI 49007

(269) 382-3148

www.casabolerokzoo.com

Benny and I had a wonderful date night riding our bikes downtown Kzoo to Casa Bolero. We had wonderful service in the bar area. Our food came quickly as did our drinks (the bartender was our server and was very on top of things) I have been dreaming of these Enchiladas since I had them a couple of weeks ago (and ate them so fast I forgot to take a picture)....this time I was able to slow myself down and enjoy every bite of it. They also had tequila flights on special....so we sampled two : )

Casa Enchiladas (Mushroom)

(gluten free and vegetarian) -seasoned mushrooms with garlic mushroom cream sauce and Monterey jack cheese. Served with cilantro lime rice and tortilla chips. Mmmmmm these babies left me full and happy. Stuffed with sautéed mushrooms and a sauce that had just the perfect amount of kick. I was so full from guacamole that I was able to take one home and enjoy later.

Tableside Guacamole  (Gluten free)

Tequila Flight with tomato chaser 

Cucumber-jalapeno margarita  

Toasty Egg - Hey Ma' Radio

Toasty Egg -(aka Eggs in a Basket/Egyptian toast)  

I'm not a big breakfast fan, however B loves a Saturday and Sunday home cooked breakfast, which I am more than happy to cook...providing he does the dishes : )...I remember my dad making some form of Egyptian toast as a child...however not being a huge egg fan, I never wanted the runny yolk in the middle. Thought I would experiment using just egg whites...have to admit, it turned out much more delicious than I anticipated.  I had just bought some yummy purple fingerling potatoes , fresh baby kale and green onions from the farmers market. I also used the Salty Seed bread, which added some extra flavor-huge fan of this bread (Kismet Farm and Bakery-sold at our health food store)

Bread-a slice per person

2 Eggs or 1/2 cup of egg whites

Two tablespoons of olive oil

Handful of kale or baby spinach

1/4 cup of diced green onions

Salt and Pepper

Sprinkle of mozzarella cheese

 

Heat your skillet on low, add olive oil and cut two round holes in your bread.  

Pour your egg whites or crack your egg in the middle of your toast. If you are using egg whites, it will spread as pictured. If you use eggs, it tends to stay more nicely in the center of your toast.

While cooking on low, sprinkle your toast with your baby spinach or kale, salt and pepper, sprinkle of cheese and green onion. Cook for 5 minutes (longer if you like crispy)

 

Flip toast and while cooking on low, add another sprinkle of cheese, green onion and another shake of salt and pepper (below) (cook for another five minutes)

Serve with a side of your favorite potato or veggie (Purple fingerling potatoes pictured here) 

ENJOY!!!! 

Green Pepper Pasta

Around the World-Red Hot Chili Peppers Radio 

Today Ben and I were craving some warm veggies with pasta. First day of spring break for me and he needed some comfort food with video games.  I wanted to try something new and I think this one turned out well. Only thing I would change...kinda went a lil' overboard on the garlic in the food processor, I forgot I had already added a tablespoon of garlic powder. This sometimes happens when I multi-task. Oh well. Still quite yummy! So if you want the green pepper taste to stand out more, add one clove instead of three. This was enough to feed four people and still have left overs!

1 zucchini

1/2 of large summer squash

1 tablespoon of soy butter

1 cup of chopped green peppers

1 tablespoon of garlic powder or two garlic cloves

1/2 cup of kale

1 cup of spinach, baby kale mix

1 tablespoon of olive oil

Pepper

Salt

Box or bag of your favorite pasta (I used Al Dente Spinach Fettuccine Noodles (comes in a bag and cooks in three minutes))

1/4 cup of fresh parmesan

1/2 cup of chopped basil leaves (If you want extra basily add two squeezes of basil paste to food processor)

In a pan add zucchini, summer squash and 1/2 cup of green pepper. Sautee with soy butter, add four grinds of black pepper. I used a peeler to cut the zucchini and summer squash into thin strands.

In a food processor, add the rest of the green pepper, two garlic gloves, kale, spinach mix and 1/4 cup of basil leaves.  Add a few shakes of salt as well.  After blending, add this mixture to veggie mixture in pan and keep on low.

 While veggies are simmering, follow the directions on your pasta. Mine required the water to boil and then only took three minutes to cook. Immediately after I poured in a cake pan with a lid. Stir well and sprinkle with parmesan.  We had a side of SaltySeed bread (purchased at local health food store), with fresh basil, roma tomato and a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese here.

Enjoy!!! 

Arcadia Brewing Company-Kalamazoo

701 East Michigan Ave.

Kalamazoo, MI

49007

www.arcadiaales.com

Oh la la, mmmmm mmmm good. Arcadia has wonderful sunshine, fresh vegetarian sides, wine, cider and flavorful beer. Perfect location for us to ride our bikes, meet friends and eat until stuffed. I love that the food is local and I can add fresh jalapenos...and even better they have free dill pickles : )....I am not much of a beer drinker, however I have been dabbling in Arcadias Deliverance and ohhhh boy does it make my taste buds happy. Cant wait to see what's on the menu next time!

So happy to see they have a cider on tap!

 Yellow and purple beet salad, with sour cream dressing, made fresh while we watched.

Pasta and Kale salad with peas.  

 Potato Salad...mmmm mmmm good!

Jalapeno Cheddar Corn bread 

Mac and Cheese- I added the fresh jalapenos and asked for a sprinkle of green onions 

Pretty sure on any sunny day this our go too spot, can't wait for the patio and outdoor area to be finished. Beautiful view of the river and perfect way to greet Kalamazoo out of towners! 

Bean Dip Galore

 No cookin' music today-head has too much going on!!!

This recipe is wonderful cold or warm. Because I used cream cheese, I decided to bake it. If you want a cold bean dip, I would recommend using light sour cream instead of cream cheese. I combined this recipe with B’s mama’s "Mari’s Mexican Bean Dip ‘El Especial." At the bottom you will see the differences in recipes. Both cheesy, warm and delicious. Mari makes her recipe half vegetarian for me, the other half has shredded chicken, which I have heard is quite excelente if you do dabble in meat eating.

You Will Need:

One Cup of Brown Rice/Two cups water

Five green onions-chopped

One can of vegetarian refried beans

One packet of guacamole seasoning (or your own creation-garlic powder, pepper, salt etc.)

One block of low fat cream cheese

One can of Rotel tomatoes (I used tomatoes with chili’s added)

One cup of spinach

One can of black olives

Half of a green pepper

½ cup of mozzarella cheese

½ cup of cheddar cheese

Cook the rice, until tender add green onion and mix well. While rice is simmering open can of beans and spread in a baking pan or flat dish. Spread rice mixture over beans and sprinkle with half a packet of guacamole seasoning. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on rice mixture

Put a layer of spinach over rice. Microwave or warm cream cheese until soft. In a separate bowl mix cream cheese and Rotel. Spread in an even layer over spinach.

Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of cream cheese mixture. Add your favorite toppings. I used black olives and green peppers. Onions, jalapenos, corn, cilantro would all be lovely, I was working with what I had in fridge.

At this point, you can decide to eat warm or cold. I tasted it both ways and it was mmmm mmmm good. Entirely up to you. Great in tacos and burritos as well!

Bake at 350 for 20 minutes until cheese is melted. If you want a little crispy, put on broil for five minutes. Serve Warm

 

For Mari’s Bean dip: One can of Rotel tomatoes, One Bag of Mexican Cheese, Two Cans of refried Beans, One block of cream cheese. Follow the same directions above layering, beans, mixing cream cheese and Rotel and topping with a bag of shredded Mexican.

 

ENJOY!!!

Baked Brie with Mushrooms

 John Denver- Take Me Home radio 

I have to say I made this recipe a couple of weeks ago for Easter...hmmmm I guess that's more like three weeks ago...slacker!! I have been a bit un-motivated lately, but now that the sun is shining, things are slowly winding down at work...its time to take care of some recipes. 

This is a very flexible appetizer. I am not a fan of Brie with sweet fruit or syrup added...however if you are, you can substitute my salty for your sweet until your heart and sweet tooth are content.

I bought a wheel of Brie on sale at Meijer's for $6.99 (usually $10.00), I have found good deals at Sam's club as well. If you aren't a fan of mushrooms, you can make more a Mexican Brie, using Black beans, onion and green pepper. If you do want the sweet option, fill with your favorite fruit or jam.

Wheel of Brie ( I used President 16oz)

One sheet of Puff Pastry

Two cups of sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup of chopped onion

Fresh Pepper

Three Garlic cloves

One egg

Salt

Thaw Puff pastry as directed (generally two hours is enough), pre-heat oven as directed. Sautee your chopped mushrooms, onion and use a knife or garlic press to get your garlic into little bits. I love pepper, so I added about ten grinds of fresh pepper. Cook on low.

Take your Brie and slice in half length wise, generally a large bread knife works well.

Roll your puff pastry out, so that it is a large sheet. Take half of your Brie and lay cut side up on rolled out puff pastry. Take your sautéed mushrooms and onion and pile on top of brie, add more garlic or sprinkle salt at this point (optional).

Take other half of wheel and place on top of fixin's 

Carefully fold each corner of puff pastry over the wheel.  Take your egg (I used just the whites) and mix it. Lightly brush egg on top of folded puff pastry.

Bake until a golden brown on top. Wonderful with crackers, bread, or veggies. Best if served right away (On Easter I had to take to sister's house and bake some more, ended up a little bit soggier then usual and a bit more greasy)  

ENJOY!!! 

Bordeaux-Crowne Plaza Lansing West

925 S Creyts Rd. (Inside Crowne Plaza Lansing West)

Lansing Charter Township, MI 48917

517-323-4190

http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/194/1025468/restaurant/Lansing/Lansing/Bordeaux-Lansing-Charter-Township

My office mate Steffany and I had the opportunity to attend an Autism conference in Lansing, unfortunately our room was not ready, however the staff gave us two free drink vouchers which we were forced to take. Starving from sitting down all day we ordered an appetizer and partook in some cocktails while we waited for our room. We had wonderful service, checked into our room an hour later and then wandered back down for happy hour and dinner and office-mates sis in law to join us. Bordeaux offered a drink special -last nights was a berry margarita....went quite well with the beer cheese and pretzel basket (so hungry I forgot to take a picture..oopsies)  The restaurant was quite busy due to two other conferences, this added some entertainment to our evening and a much later bedtime then planned. Service continued to be excellent, food was good, pretty flowers on tables and drink specials were yummy.



Grilled Greek Flatbread $8

Tomato, red onion, olives, feta cheese, pepperoncini, artichoke hearts, and Greek Dressing on the side. I loved the huge chunks of artichoke and all of the feta. Enough for my full meal, but would also be great as a split appetizer.  

Baked Polenta- Wyclef Jean Radio

I love polenta...super easy, gluten free vegetarian option. You can use it as an appetizer, for breakfast with eggs or as a main meal piled high with veggies.  This recipe is the appetizer version. Polenta can be found at Meijer's usually in the pasta aisle. Less then four dollars for one roll or you can make your own at home. I have not tried the homemade version, but I imagine it is pretty simple and tastes like grits...mmmmmm mmmmm do I love some cheesy grits.  

One roll of Polenta sliced (about 20 pieces)

One cup of sliced mushrooms

Two roma tomatoes sliced

Rondele cheese (I used artichoke)

1/3 cup of feta cheese

1/3 cup of shredded parmesan

Salt and Pepper and garlic powder

Olive oil spray

Pre-heat oven to 350. To make my polenta less mushy I used a griddle, to crisp up a little prior to baking. You can do either way. If you do not have a griddle, you can use a skillet with a little bit of olive oil. Slice the polenta, one roll gave me about twenty pieces. Spray a skillet or pan with olive oil. Add the polenta and sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder. Repeat after flipping. After you have crisped your polenta to a nice golden yellow on either side. Lay on a cookie sheet.

Take a small amount of rondele cheese and add a small teaspoon side dollop to each polenta. Place one sliced roma tomato on top of the rondele cheese.

Add a sliced mushroom on top of tomato and sprinkle with feta and parmesan.  

 

 Bake at 350 for fifteen minutes. If you did not crisp your polenta before, you can bake at a higher temperature or broil for the last 5 minutes.  

ENJOY!!!

Green Pepper Puff Pastry Rolls

Prison Bound-Social Distortion

This is one of my favorite appetizers to make. I try to always have some puff pastry in my fridge to make yummy cheesy snackers. This method is quicker then doing individual biscuits, but it still yummy. You can also switch green pepper out for whatever your favorite veggie is. You can pack these little bites of warm goodness full of whatever your heart desires.


1 1/2 blocks of cream cheese.
1 diced green pepper (or your favorite veggie)
10 shakes of garlic powder
1/3 cup of shredded Swiss cheese
1/3 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 cup of white chopped onion
Pepper and Salt
1/4 cup of egg whites


Pre-heat oven to 400. Make sure you have thawed your puff pastry for at least two hours prior to using. Package comes with two sheets, prior to thawing, put one sheet in zip lock bag and stick back in freezer if you aren't using right away. It does not freeze well once thawed. Add cream cheese to bowl, mix in green pepper, onion, garlic powder, as well as egg whites. Set aside.
Roll out one sheet of puff pastry, I don't have a roller, so I tossed and turned it until it was perfect size for my pan. Sprinkle parmesan and Swiss cheese on sheet of pastry. I added pepper and salt here as well.




Spread cream cheese mixture on puff pastry sheet, making sure to cover all areas.  

Starting closest to you, roll puff pastry, it will stretch as you roll it. Once rolled into a lovely cheese filled log, spray cookie sheet or parchment paper. Cut log into 1/2 inch wheels and lay cut side down on pan. Bake for 20 minutes, making sure not to burn bottoms. Mine were a little crispy here, but still turned out nice. My batch baked at least 20 rolls. This is the quicker version. Generally I cut individual squares and make pouches. Takes a little more time, but works well if you are adding extra veggies, like artichoke, spinach and asparagus. More recipes coming soon : )

ENJOY!!!