Chickpea Crockpot Pie with Biscuit Topping

Just made a new vegan recipe today in the crockpot.  It turned out very nicely, although my prep time took a good bit longer than the 10 minutes noted in the recipe!!  New recipes always take longer to make, as I keep re-reading the ingredients and directions to make sure I'm not missing anything.  Still, that doesn't stop me from making some often-times disastrous mistakes!

If you are interested, here is the link to the recipe:  Chickpea Crockpot Pie with Biscuit Topping.  I changed a few things, as usual - no celery (Fred is not a fan), and subbed frozen corn for the green peas.  Probably could have added frozen green beans, but I didn't have any.  Oh, well.

Recent New Recipes

This past week I tried several new recipes.  Some were keepers, some were not so hot, or were not worth the long preparation time.

The non-keeper of the week was for Red Quinoa and Sweet Potato Croquettes.  I had made another flop of a recipe with red quinoa previously, and had frozen the leftover quinoa, so I thought this would be a great way to use the leftovers.  Well, these little "burgers" were lacking in flavor, and took WAY too long to prepare, even though my quinoa was already cooked.

The first keeper recipe was Polenta and Beans from FitSugar.

This was very tasty, even though my polenta rounds didn't get as crispy as these in the author's picture. I really liked that this recipe came together very quickly.

The second keeper recipe was a conglomeration of several recipes for Spanakoritzo - Greek Spinach with Rice.  My recipe was closest to the one on this website:  White Hot Oven.  The changes I made were that I used white basmati rice instead of long grain white rice; added a green onion, chopped, added 1/2 tsp dried dill weed, and used a 5.6 oz package of organic baby spinach; did not use any lemon juice. This was delicious!  If you wanted to lower the carb content, you could use half as much rice as called for.  

The last new recipe was for Key Lime Ice "Cream" from this website:  Laura's Gluten Free Pantry.  As usual, I made a few changes - for one of the cans of coconut milk, I used Lite Coconut Milk.  Since I couldn't find Key Limes, I used 2 large regular limes.  Now, Fred didn't like this as much as I did - only because he's not a fan of tart things.  I thought it was fabulous!

Jalapeno, Bell Pepper, and Bean Salad

My husband found another tasty looking recipe for us to try on Facebook.  I adapted the recipe a bit to suit our taste buds.  The original recipe called for 3/4 cup of sugar in the dressing, which involved cooking the dressing in a pan on the stove top until the sugar dissolved.  Why add more empty calories and one extra step to the preparation, when it tastes quite fine without the sugar?


Jalapeno, Bell Pepper and Bean Salad

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can sweet corn, drained and rinsed
1 jalapenos, minced
1 red onion, diced (optional, I will leave this out next time)
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 orange bell pepper, diced
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup organic canola oil
1 tsp black pepper
3/4 cup organic apple cider vinegar

Mix all ingredients together and let sit in fridge several hours or overnight.  One serving is equal to about one cup.  Makes about 8 cups.

Jalapeno, Bell Pepper, and Bean Salad

Makes a HUGE bowl!

Look at all those veggies!

Very Chocolatey Brownies

In honor of Caitlyn, who is leaving the Library and moving far, far away, on Wednesday I baked my first recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (which Caitlyn gave me).  A copy of this book is available through the Washington County Library System or Carrie's personal library :-).

Holy moly!  These are VERRRRRY Chocolatey Brownies!  Delicious, if you love chocolate.  My husbands' response to tasting them was "Yuck, these taste like you dumped a can of cocoa in them."  He's not so far from the truth, as they call for 3/4 of a cup of cocoa!

This is a definite repeat recipe, although I have not calculated the nutrition facts yet - that may make them a once-in-a-while treat.  The good thing about them, is they are oil-free, egg-free, and dairy-free!  Yes!  But not sugar-free!

With a little coconut ice cream...

Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

My sister, Dina, was just here for a visit, along with one of her twin sons, Christopher, who is in the Marines.  He is shipping out to serve a term in Okinawa, Japan very soon.  We will miss him greatly while he's gone, but hopefully, my sister and I will get to take a LONG trip to visit him in a year or so.  Plus there's also Skype!

Having a bountiful garden this year, Dina brought me some eggplant and squash from her garden.  She also found a couple of recipes for me to try out using the eggplant.  Eggplant is an excellent source of  fiber and manganese.  It is a very good source of enzyme-catalyzing molybdenum and heart-healthy potassium.  Eggplant is also a good source of vitamin K and magnesium as well as heart-healthy copper, vitamin C, vitamin B6, folate, and niacin.  Eggplant also contains phytonutrients such as nasunin and chlorogenic acid.  (Source:  The World's Healthiest Foods)

Below is the recipe I chose, due mostly to its' simplicity!!  It turned out pretty tasty, and a little bit spicy - which we liked.  I served this dish with some buttered Naan bread.

Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta (adapted from Eating Well)

2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, (about 1 lb), cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  I did not peel my eggplant.
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans Hunts Basil, Garlic and Oregano Diced Tomatoes (I used one can tonight, but it definitely needed more liquid for sauce)
1/3 cup chopped pitted green olives
2 T. red-wine vinegar
4 tsp. capers, rinsed
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp. dried basil
12 oz pasta (We have preferred Pozza's Pasta, a local brand, for as long as I can remember!)
Parmesan cheese, to taste,

Preparation:  
1)  Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally, until just softened, about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds to one minute.  Add tomatoes, olives, vinegar, capers, pepper, crushed red pepper, and basil, and cook, stirring, 5 to 7 minutes more (while the pasta cooks).
2)  Meanwhile, cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions.  Drain and divide the pasta among six shallow bowls.  Spoon the sauce over the pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

Eggplant Pomodoro Pasta

Summer Salad

My favorite summer salad that is soooo easy to prepare is Black-Eyed Pea Salad.  The first time I ever had this salad was in Newnan, Georgia.  Each week I attended an oil painting class and once a month we would have an "Eating Meeting", where each student would bring a dish and we would paint, then eat, and then paint some more.  Donna Haynes brought this dish and I fell in love with it!  Donna is a talented painter, and she and her husband now run a Bed and Breakfast in a beautiful, historic home in Pine Mountain, Georgia called The Chipley Murrah House.  Her paintings grace the walls of the house, surrounded by Victorian style furniture and the gorgeous gardens outside.  Callaway Gardens is a short distance away.  We've been to Callaway a couple of times to see the azaleas in bloom.  One summer we went there and saw The Beach Boys in concert.  That was fun!

Black-Eyed Pea Summer Salad

1 can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 can white shoe peg corn, drained
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 tomato, chopped (can use a can of diced petite tomatoes if you don't have a fresh tomato)

Mix all ingredients and marinate in Italian dressing of your choice in the refrigerator.  The longer it marinates, the better it tastes!  Will keep for several days in the fridge.

Southern Beans & Greens

One of our favorite plant-based recipes is Southern Beans & Greens. It's relatively easy to make and doesn't take very long - maybe 30 minutes. Leftovers taste even better than when first cooked!

Southern Beans & Greens - adapted from 21DayVegan Kickstart Program - GF (Makes about four 1-cup srvngs)

Ingredients:

1 cup water

3 cups drained, cooked or canned (2 cans) black-eyed peas (or great northern beans, not good with pinto beans)  (Note:  to cook beans from dry, soak overnight covered by  2-3 inched water, then cook on low in crockpot 8-12 hrs covered in fresh water - 6 cups per 1b.)

½ tsp crushed garlic (about 2 small or 1 large)

4 cups chopped or torn kale, collards or turnip greens, center ribs removed, lightly packed

Freshly ground sea salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Green Tabasco sauce, to taste (added at plate)

Nutritional Flakes, to taste (added at plate)

Directions:

1)  Combine beans, water, and garlic in a large sauce pan (I used a big enamel pot).

2)  Place chopped greens on top of beans  and bring to a boil.

3)  Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until greens are tender, about 15-20 minutes.  

4)  Remove from heat and stir in oil, salt, and pepper.  Add Tabasco sauce at plate to taste.

Nutrition (approximate as analyzed by "MyFitnessPal" app):

Calories:  181 per cup

Fat:  1.1g

Chol:  0

Sodium:  500.2mg

Pot:  483.3mg

Carbs:  30.6g

Fiber:  11.8g

Sugars:  3.7

Protein:  13.3g

Vit A:  49%

Vit C:  22.7%

Calcium:  12.4%

Iron:  18%

Good with sliced tomato and cornbread