Drunken Veggie Fajitas

Here you can see that I used mostly sweet potatoes and onions for these fajitas. Also pictured; refried black beans, smashed avocado, and the fact that I still don't know how to work a camera in a way that results in aesthetically pleasing food.....a fact that I'm not all too concerned about to be honest.

These veggies came out very flavorful, a lot of tang from the lime, some sweetness, a little heat from the cayenne, and a bite of tequila. The marinade makes quite a bit because I had to add more lime juice and tequila after a rather unfortunate kitchen catastrophe...you will understand when you get to that part of the recipe. Still it came out rather good in my opinion. The only thing I would change is to maybe add a clove of garlic next time. Served with some corn tortillas (you can use flour if you like), black beans, Spanish rice, mashed up avocado, and some lime and cilantro sour cream this was a complete and super tasty meal that was thoroughly enjoyed.

Fajita Marinade

What you need

3/4 cups lime juice

4 tbs tequila

1 tbs bruised cilantro (press the cilantro with the back of a spoon to bruise and infuse cilantroy goodness into the marinade)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp liquid smoke

1 tbs brown sugar

more salt and cayenne to taste

What to do

Whisk together all ingredients and pour over veggies. Stir to coat. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. Using a slotted spoon transfer veggies from container to grill or frying pan and cook until done. Add salt and cayenne to taste a few minutes before veggies are fully cooked.

What I did

Whisk together all ingredients except 1/4 cup of lime juice and 1 tbs tequila. Pour over veggies in a sealable* but non airtight container you friggen idiot. Proceed to shake, and turn container upside down.....aaaaahhhhnd panic a little as you watch your marinade run all over the counter. Collect yourself, add an extra 1/4 cup lime juice and an extra tablespoon of tequila. Breath.....it's going to be ok.....dinner will be super tasty anyway.

I'm not going to tell anyone what they should or shouldn't do here, but I'm going to strongly recommend you try this recipe out by following the first of the two examples.

*Why isn't that in the dictionary? It should totally be a word, I know what it means...I should add it. Also on my list 'cilantroy', both are pretty high priority to be scrabble valid words if you ask me.

P.S. I missed you. :)

P.P.S. Formal apology, hormonal ranting, and gushy complimenting to follow.

Indian Spiced Potatoes and Peas

This is a lovely side dish, not really spicy hot, but very tasty. You may add cayenne or hot pepper if you desire a spicy dish. And yes I totally pan fried these potatoes....in oil...then I wrapped the whole lovely mess in rice paper...and I fried it some more. So clearly this is not an every day food. Really tasty, and full of healthy veg, but I am willing to wager it's not low calorie. I am ok with that. I would have loved to add some more protein to this and have made it into a full meal. Chickpeas would be nice, or perhaps some diced firm tofu? Let me know if you try it out.

What you need

2 tbs oil
2 sweet potatoes (washed, peeled, diced)
1 regular potato (washed, peeled, diced)
1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt

4 cloves of pressed garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
1 cup frozen peas

Heat the oil over medium heat and add the diced potatoes and 1/4 tsp of salt. Cook for five minutes on medium.

Add the rest of the spices and salt (from turmeric to salt) stir them in, and cook for another five minutes. At this point my potatoes were fully cooked, if yours are not then cook them a bit longer.

Add the garlic, ginger, and frozen peas. Cook for five minutes more, stirring and lowering heat if necessary to avoid burning the garlic.



I've divided the ingredients up into groups by when you add them. Let me know if this makes it easier or more confusing. I love the feedback, and I am also in total shock that people are actually following my recipes. :) It makes me super happy, but also makes me want to make it a little easier on you, the reader.....because I love you the reader. :)

Here are the potatoes and peas being used as an appetizer of sorts, rolled in rice paper, fried, and served with a dipping sauce. The sauce is a mixture of yogurt, vinegar, sugar, salt, and cilantro leaves. Not very pretty, but very tasty.

Recipe Remix and Giveaway WINNER!!!

Using a random number generator Krissie was picked as winner for my CSN giveaway! Congrats Krissie! I know you are going to have fun spending your gift card! A big thank you to everyone who entered, and thank you to CSN Stores!

I thought I might share this recipe for vegetable pancakes again as I've modified it to be egg free. I used 1/2 cup pumpkin puree to replace the eggs. It adds a bonus veggie, and still holds it's shape beautifully. With Fall nearing I thought it might be important to post as replacing egg with pumpkin would work for any latke recipes as well. Also worthy of note, you can use any sort of veggies you have lying around. For this batch I used a sweet potato, and also some spinach (love my leafy greens). Another modification that I made was to use Greek yogurt for the dipping sauce, as it it is much thicker. Hope you enjoy revisiting this recipe, we sure did!

Smokey Corn Chowder with Sweet Potatoes and Baby Spinach

This was good....really good. I started this blog not only to share, but to learn. And what have I learned? That corn stock ah-maize-ing...heehee, see how I did that? Seriously now, it is a tragedy to throw away your corn cobs before you have used them for stock. I didn't follow an exact recipe, I just threw what veggies I had (4 corn cobs, and 4 carrots) into a pot, covered them with water, added 2 bay leaves, salt, and crushed garlic, and I boiled it....forever...voila...rich flavorful broth. Feel free to use an exact recipe, if that kind of thing floats your boat.
I am certain this recipe is still good without the corn stock, but I hope you do take the time to try and make some if you get the chance. The sweetness from the fresh corn and the sweet potatoes combined with the creamy Gouda, hint of spice, and the smoke flavoring created a winning dish that everyone enjoyed. It was nice to see my kids chow down on so many different veggies without any complaints.

What you need...
oil to coat pot
1 onion peeled, washed, and diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and sliced
1 sweet potato peeled, washed, and diced
1 potato peeled, washed....and you guessed it...diced.
2 dashes red pepper
1/4 tsp Creole seasoning
1/4 tsp black pepper
5 ears worth of corn kernels
6 cups of corn (or other veggie stock)
4 tbs cornstarch
4 tbs water
1/2 cup milk
1/2 lb shredded cheese (I used Gouda, but I think smoked cheddar would be equally nice)
2 handfuls of washed baby spinach (optional)
1 tsp smoke flavoring
salt to taste

Pour enough oil to coat the bottom of a large stockpot and heat it over medium heat.

Add the onion, potatoes, carrots and Creole seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook until the onions are translucent and the potatoes and carrots are tender.

Mix together the cornstarch and water in a separate bowl

Add the corn, pepper, stock, and bring to a boil. Cook for ten minutes.

Add the cornstarch and water and cook until potatoes are done and soup is thickened.

Lower the heat, and stir in the baby spinach, cheese, and milk. Heat through.

Stir in the liquid smoke, and add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

This is my submission for September 2010 "No Croutons Required". The theme is corn. Wish me luck!

Black Bean Chipotle Burgers with Pan Fried Sweet Potatoes and BBQ Sauce...

I was inspired by Debbie. I love her blog, even though she isn't a vegetarian she frequently posts meatless recipes, and she posts the caloric content. Fabulous! This recipe for sweet potatoes and black bean burritos reminded me that...well...I love sweet potatoes and black beans. I am still kind of worn out from the trip so in figuring out how to satisfy my craving without a trip to the store I came up with this.
It's simply one of my make ahead frozen black bean burgers (you could always use your own recipe, or buy them) which I thawed and cooked in a pan on the stove. I topped it with thinly sliced and pan fried sweet potatoes, organic BBQ sauce, and served it on a whole wheat bun. It went over well with the fam. If I had thought of it ahead of time I could have grilled the sweet potatoes and burgers side by side. Which is what I will do next time I make these.....and there will be a next time!

Rockin Moroccan Stew....

....saves the day.

I think I have mentioned before the importance of freezing meals. I had a fantastic morning, followed by a not so fantastic mid morning faint/legs giving out thingie and hitting my head (on the driveway? car?). Either way now I'll never be a teen model.....sigh.

So I came in, put my feet up and my wonderful hubster brought me some juice and promised me a dinner out. Well I got to thinking, and I realized not only would I much rather save the money and have a nice meal out when we are on vacation, but also I had some of this in the freezer. It has been so long since I have made it I am not sure of all of the modifications, but I can tell you that I used sun butter in place of the peanut butter, and I most likely doubled the spices. It is one of my favorite ways to eat sweet potatoes, and that it is an excellent meal on it's own, or served with rice and chapati bread.

What a life saver! Now all I have to do is read a book, get some rest, and heat up dinner whenever the mood strikes me. Jaime Oliver said something on the season finale of "Food Revolution" that stuck with me....not of course enough for me to remember it verbatim (blame it on the head injury). It went something like this "You CAN do it, within the time and in budget".....and it was an ah-ha moment. That is exactly what I want this blog to be about. Just reaching other people and letting them know they can eat healthier, not go bankrupt, and teach their children to do the same. Simply put that's it. I'm not a super Mom by any means. I have days where I am not at my best, and don't have the energy or time to cook. By planning ahead I avoid filling my body with junk and YOU CAN do it too.

Chipotle Sweet Potato and Caramelized Onion Un-Meatballs

I couldn't sleep last night. Among the many thoughts that danced through my head in between dreams of being a professional tap dancer, sweet potatoes were the most prevalent.....that's right produce keeps me up at night. I am not sure if it was the rain that inspired these cravings, the lingering nip of winter in the air urging me to seek out comforting carbs. Whatever it was I lay there mentally digging through my pantry and figuring out how I would prepare sweet potatoes for dinner tonight. The given recipe is how I made them. I have not tried the variations, but halfway through making the un-meatballs I realized that the dough (is that even what you would call it) could be used for other things as well.

what you need:
2 sliced onions
1/4 tsp salt
olive oil for frying
1 baked sweet potato
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup BBQ sauce
1 chipotle chili or more to taste
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (omit for vegan version)
food processor

What you need to do:
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the onions and salt. Cook until translucent with some browning.
Meanwhile in your food processor combine the sweet potato, chickpeas, BBQ sauce, chili, and process until everything is mixed together. It should be smooth and almost like a thick batter. Taste and add more chilis or Tabasco if desired at this time.
Pour mixture into a bowl and stir in onions and shredded cheese. Using an ice cream scoop form mixture into balls and bake on a cookie sheet @ 350 for 10-15 minutes. I pan fried half of these in olive oil as the kiddos need the fat. Both baking and frying produced nice results.
If you are having trouble getting them to hold together add breadcrumbs until they are the desired consistency.

I wish the pictures did these justice, they were sweet and spicy, crunchy on the outside and gooey melty on the inside. To vary this recipe a bit you could add flour and roll the batter into gnocchi, or use it as a patty for a veggie burger....I'm thinking ciabatta with garlic butter, mozzarella, and baby spring mix.

In other news, we will be having company so posts will be few and far between....even more so. I look forward to getting into a less hectic pace sometime around 2026 though. So unless the zombie apocalypse* comes to pass before then look forward to more frequent postings at that time.

* Note to Hun, talking about, and blogging about the zombie apocalypse are two different things. One, is a single sentence made in jest, the other is an ongoing obsession that interrupts daily life with disaster planning and escape routes.....don't for one second think this means I have lifted the ban.

Quick Chickpea and Potato Curry

I recently bought some Masala simmering sauce from Trader Joe's. I wanted to be blown away and I was not. Super sad face goes here--->, because I love TJ's and wanted a super quick curry for lunches.
Well with a wee bit of adjustment, adding things like fresh garlic and ginger I was able to give it a more homemade taste.

What you need
1 tbs olive oil
5 cloves garlic smashed and minced
1 onion diced
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 dash cayenne (or more to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Jar of masala simmer sauce
1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
1 potato diced
2-3 handfuls of spinach (optional)
yogurt and chopped cilantro for garnish

In a large pot heat the oil. Add the onions, garlic, ginger, potatoes, and salt, cook for two minutes. Add the spices and cook for one more minute. Add the diced tomatoes, simmer sauce and chickpeas. Simmer covered until potatoes are cooked. Add the spinach and cook for a few more minutes. Serve topped with yogurt and cilantro....or not. This is also yummy on top of rice, but then it really isn't a one pot dish.

Creamy Sweet Potato Curry with Lentils

Sweet potatoes used to really gross me out. I've had them butchered in more ways than I care to recall. However, I read in a book that they were super healthy and oh so good for women to eat, and I decided I would try them in different recipes until I liked them. I found that not only did I like sweet potatoes in sweet recipes like sweet potato casserole with pecan struessel, but I enjoyed them even more so (and could eat a surprising amount of them) when added to savory dishes like this curry. I was quite tired when I made this so while I tried to keep track of how much of this and that I was adding, I just couldn't keep my mind on the task at hand, most of these ingredients can be adjusted to taste.

2 tbs Olive oil
dash o' salt
1/4 cup curry paste (Indian style)
dash o' cayenne
5 cloves crushed garlic
1 tbs minced fresh ginger
3 cups COOKED lentils
5 roasted sweet potatoes (skins removed, and mashed)
1 can coconut milk
some veggie broth to thin

Heat the olive oil in the skillet and add the curry paste, stirring until it is evenly dispersed. Add the garlic, ginger, and dash of salt heating over medium and stirring until fragrant (about a minute to two minutes). Add cayenne and lentils and lower heat, stirring until mixed thoroughly. Stir in sweet potatoes, and coconut milk, adding broth to thin to desired consistency. Serve over brown rice.