Saturday, January 30, 2016

Spaghetti Casserole

https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/recipe-spaghetti-casserole-makeover/

Ingredients

1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti
2 eggs
3/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated and divided
1 tablespoon olive oil, + extra for greasing the casserole dish
1/2 onion, peeled and diced
1/2 green bell pepper, deseeded and diced
1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
red pepper flakes, to taste (a few firm shakes for us)
1 - 26 oz pasta sauce, or 3 cups homemade (link in notes)
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush a rectangular baking dish with olive oil and set aside.

Cook the spaghetti noodles al dente, drain, and then mix with the eggs and 1/2 cup of the Parmesan cheese. Put in the bottom of the casserole dish.

In a large saute pan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook until soft, but not brown, about 5 minutes.

Add the beef to the pan and break up the meat with a spatula. Cook until the beef is brown all the way through. Drain and discard the fat (I find putting a lid on the pan helps with this job).

Add the garlic, salt, and red pepper, and cook for 1 more minute before adding the red sauce to pan. Heat for an additional few minutes.

Pour the meat/sauce mixture on top of the noodles in the casserole dish. Top with dollops of ricotta cheese, grated mozzarella, breadcrumbs, and remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. 

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Serve warm and enjoy.

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Brown Rice Mung Bean Kitchari

http://www.veganricha.com/2015/08/brown-rice-mung-bean-kitchari-mung-bean-stew.html

This was pretty tasty.  I think I roughly tripled it, which did fit in the pressure cooker barely.  The recipe below says serves 2.  I don't remember if we used mung beans or something else.

INGREDIENTS
½ cup mung beans (dry whole green mung beans)
½ brown basmati rice
½ tsp oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
½ cup chopped red onion
2 medium tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic
1 inch ginger
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp garam masala
¼ to ½ tsp cayenne
¼ tsp black pepper
4 cups water
1 tsp lemon juice
¾ to 1¼ tsp salt

INSTRUCTIONS
Soak the beans and rice for at least 15 minutes. Soak at this step as the next few steps take 15 to 20 minutes

Blend the onions, tomato, garlic, ginger, spices with a few tbsp of water to a smooth puree and keep aside.

Start the Instant Pot (IP) on saute at normal heat.

When hot, add oil, let the oil heat up for a few seconds, then add cumin seeds. Roast the seeds for half a minute or until fragrant.

Add the puree carefully, stir and cook until the puree thickens and smells roasted. 15 to 17 minutes. Switch the saute to off.

Drain the beans and rice and add to the IP. Add water, salt, lemon juice. Mix. Add chopped veggies if you like.

Close the lid. Press Manual and adjust time for 10 minutes. (or pressure cook for 10 minutes after the pressure has released). * Brown Basmati Rice soaked for 15 minutes will cook in the 10 minute time. You might need to cook longer depending on the rice used (15 to 20 mins).

The IP will start heating, and show "On" and then count down the minutes when the pressure has reached.

Once done, let the pressure release naturally. Or if you are are in a hurry. Try the quick release after 5 to 7 minutes. * If the rice or beans are not cooked to preference, you can cook them on saute until they are tender.

Taste and adjust salt and spice. Serve hot with crackers or toasted bread.

NOTES

To make this without oil: Add the cumin seeds directly to the hot IP. Roast until they change color. Add the pureed tomato onion and continue with the steps.

To make this in a saucepan: follow all the steps in till Step 6 . Add 4.5 cups of water, Cover the saucepan and cook over medium heat for 20 minutes then reduce to medium low and cook for 20 minutes. Stir once in between. Add more water if needed and cook longer if needed.

To make this in a stove top Pressure cooker: Cook all the steps in a pressure cooker over medium heat through step 6. Add the beans, rice and water, close the lid, Pressure cook for 10 minutes once the pressure has reached.(or 1 whistle on high and 8 minutes on medium low heat)..

Sunday, January 24, 2016

Chicken Tacos

Real simple chicken tacos with fancy guac.  And queso fundido. Oh yum.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Monday, January 18, 2016

Pacific Island Seafood

One pot, pg 70.  Used shrimp.   And probably some extra sweet taters.  It took longer to cook because of the sweet taters which ended up over-cooking the shrimp.  Next time slice the taters thinner.  It was pretty good though.  We added maybe a 1/4 c. water instead of the 1/4 tbsp called for.  It seemed silly to add that little amount of water, but ours ended up rather liquidy.

Sunday, January 17, 2016

BBQ Pulled Pork

http://letnacholibre.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-best-pulled-pork-in-crockpot.html

This is tasty.  Was a bit to spicy for the kids though.  Made some simple slaw based on a whole-30 recipe to go with it.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Pepperoni Pizza & Shadow

Made some standard pizza.  Pepperoni, bell peppers and mushrooms.

And hello Shadow!

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Turkey Chili

Made some turkey chili tonight.  Was kind of a rush job but it turned out pretty well.  Could have standed to simmer a bit more to make the flavors meld.  Turkey, beans, peppers, probably some other stuff.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Baked Salmon and Veg

http://letnacholibre.blogspot.com/2015/07/baked-salmon.html

Used tomatoes and broccoli maybe.  Probably not the massive amount of butter, which is delicious but not helpful.

Friday, January 8, 2016

Three Sisters Stew

Moosewood, pg 272.  Mushrooms, beans, squash, bell pepper, corn.  Was pretty good but seemed like it was missing something.  Maybe a little spice but not sure.  We used delicata squash, but maybe acorn or something else with more flavor would have helped too.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Beef Stir-Fry with not Chinese Greens

Wok book, pg 72.  Use broccoli, sugar snap peas, added mushrooms.  Left the chili out for the kids.  Pretty tasty.