Sunday Girl Food

One of our favorite dinners 

(when Dusty is gone- he would not consider it "dinner")

Is hot chocolate, eggs, amd toast.

But

I had warm bread

And no desire for eggs

So instead we opted for jam and cheese whiz.

Is there really anything better than warm bread on a cold day?

I think not.

Black Bean Burgers

 It was a fine afternoon 

and

I

was hungry.

We were all hungry.

but

the BBQ lights me on fire.

So BBQ burgers were out.

I decided I would actually try my hand at the whole cooking business

it has been a while.

So I looked in my pantry

I looked in my fridge

Nothing.

I had a bunch of veggie that needed using

beans in my cupboard

and hamburger buns.

This is not a recipe.

I didn't measure anything.

This was ravenous dumping.

I grabbed:

1) my food processor

2) black beans (1 can)

3) cooked oatmeal (1 cup)

4) half a thing of mushrooms

5) carrots (about 1 cup shredded)

6) Onion (half of one)

and then I processed

Oh and then I dumped in

7) a drained can of diced tomatoes

and then I decided I better add some 

8) dry oatmeal

until it got less liquidy

Then I put in the spices.

garlic powder

seasoning salt

onion powder

pepper

Cayenne pepper

Then I plopped (cause that is the sound) them

on parchment paper

and baked them in the oven

for 25 minutes 

on 425

(because that is my favourite temp because I am impatient)

(especially at lunch)

(particularly when I am hungry)

and they actually weren't too bad.

I put some tomato and lettuce and mayo and BBQ sauce on

and 

it was almost enjoyable

Dusty even admitted they were tolerable...

Meal Plan Week 2

Okay so I am a TERRIBLE meal planner. I don't plan meals. Well I do but only supper. Who plans breakfast???(well except for you terribly organized moms who I'm pretty sure do it just to make the rest of us look even more unorganized than we already are....) so in Kristin's world of meal planning we only plan supper.

Monday Night supper- Vegetable Pizza (and I must say we do pizza a lot. and this was a REALLY good one) I shoulda taken a picture but I was like, "It's pizza, who hasn't seen a pizza?!?" but I shoulda and I shoulda written it down. Maybe next week. Maybe tonight. I am hungry. and pizza is delish. Especially at night in the quiet while the kids are sleeping and I am blogging. Too bad I'm in my Jammies and feeling particularly lazy.

Tuesday Supper- Beans and Cornbread. Emphasis on the cornbread. YUM.

Wednesday- Chicken Cesar Salad

Thursday- Chicken Fried Steak, mashed potatoes, and peas and gravy.

Friday- Tomato Artichoke Pasta

Saturday- Indian (not so politically correct) Tacos (with salsa chicken instead of beef)

Sunday- Chicken Fingers with Sweet Potato Wedges and Veggies and dip.

Oh Shepard, Where Art Thou?

Not in the field with the lambs... or traditionally in North American the cow pasture.... I found him (or her) in the Lentils.

Okay but for real even if you think I'm NUTS (which most people do at some point... but if we're being honest... who isn't?) you must give this recipe a whirl. We eat Shepard's Pie a fair bit around this house. It's usually my "go-to" meal. It's easy, comforting, and delish. So I swapped out the hamburger to try to make a quick and easy meatless meal.

A Vegetable Eating Shepard's Pie

Ingredients

1 onion

3-4 small celery stalks

3 cloves of garlic

1Tbsp vegetable oil

1 Tbsp butter

Salt

Pepper

1 can of Lentils

1/4- 1/2 cup of flour

1 1/2 cups ish Stock (vegetable, chicken, beef)
(I had homemade beef stock frozen in my freezer so that's what I used)

peas

mashed potatoes

cheese

 Directions:

1) put oil and putter in a deep skillet

2) put in (diced) onions and celery and a little salt and let them cook over medium heat until cooked (they'll turn a bit translucent)

3) add garlic and let that cook for a minute or so.

4) Add in can of lentils (drained)

Let that cook for a minute or two

 5) add flour and give it a mix. The white should be gone and you're left with a goo.

 6) slowly add your stock mixing while you pour.

7)  Once it looks like a gravy then let it cook at a simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

8) Pour into casserole dish (I used a 9x13)

10) Sprinkle with peas (you could use a frozen mixed vegetable)

 11) Cover with mashed potatoes

12) cover top in grated cheese

13) put in the oven and bake at 350 for 1 hour or until the top of the potatoes gets a good crust on top

14) add a bit of Parmesan cheese and waala. Dinner.



Cajun Chick Pea "Burgers"

It's been an interesting week of meals. Dusty is still "complaining" but just in good fun. It has required a bit more thought than normal but honestly, not that much extra. Dusty and the girls and I all really enjoyed these Cajun Chick Pea "burgers". I put them with some brown rice and stirfry veggies. They were super good.


http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2009/02/crispy-cajun-chickpea-cakes.html

INGREDIENTS
Makes 12

- 1 tbsp oil

- 1/4 cup diced onion

- 1/4 cup diced green peppern (I didn't have any so I didn't add any)

- 1 celery stalk, diced

- 1 280z can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

- 1 tsp thyme (I put a clove of garlic in instead)

- 1 tsp paprika

- pinch of cayenne pepper

- 1 tsp hot sauce

- 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

- 2 tbsp flour

- 1 tbsp cornstarch

- salt and pepper to taste

- oil for frying


METHOD

1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion, green pepper, and celery for 5-7 mins, until softened. Remove from heat.

2. Place chickpeas in a food processor along with the onion mixture. Pulse until chickpeas are no longer whole, but dont process them too much. Place chickpeas in a bowl and add spices, hot sauce, and parsley. Mix well. Add flour and cornstarch and mix well. Place in the fridge for 30 mins.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan over med/med-hi heat (around 350 degrees). Shape chickpea mixture into 12 patties and fry in batches, about 2-3 mins per side, or until crispy and browned. Flip a few times if they are browning too quickly. If you have trouble forming the patties, add some more cornstarch to hold it all together.

So I just sauteed it and then mashed it together with a fork. They seemed fine. They stuck together just fine. Easy peasy and a quick alternative to meatballs....