Enchiladas

These enchiladas are still being experimented with. They originated as a recipe from a guild mate, but I've made significant changes since then. We used to make these with chicken but have begun substituting tofu instead. I like it better with the tofu, honestly, but then I've never been a huge fan of meat, so...*shrug*

2 cooked chicken breasts or 1 block firm or extra firm tofu (can use 1/2 or whole block)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 small cans enchilada sauce
3-4 cups shredded cheese (cheddar and jack)
1 pack 8-10" flour tortillas
1 can chopped green chiles
~1.5 cups of softened cream cheese + sour cream (whatever ratio works)
Oregano
Cumin
Minced garlic
Red pepper
Black pepper
Salt or seasoned salt
Basil
Coriander
Oil

If using tofu: Freeze and thaw the tofu ahead of time to give it a meatier texture. Drain, squeeze out any extra water, and dry.

Prep: Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

1) Pour oil in large skillet. Brown tofu, if necessary.
2) Add chicken (if using), chiles, and onions. Cook until onions soften.
3) Add all spices, mix well. Sautee for a few more minutes.
4) Pour skillet mixture into a bowl with the softened cream cheese and sour cream. Add a cup to a cup and a half of the shredded cheese and mix.
5) Taste the mixture and adjust spices as necessary. Mixture will gain heat as spices and chiles cook in the oven.
6) Fill the tortillas, roll them up, and place them in the baking dish seam-side down. Spread any leftover filling on top. Pour enchilada sauce over entire dish and top with shredded cheese.
7) Spray a piece of tinfoil with cooking spray and cover the dish. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until cheese is melted and gooey.

Nom nom.

(Experiment in the future with adding chili paste or rooster sauce. Try to find better chiles than crappy kroger cans.)

Indonesian Tofu in a thin brown sauce

This recipe doesn't really have a name. It's a random recipe my Indonesian sister-in-law showed me when teaching me how to make tofu the Indonesian way. She doesn't cook using measurements, so this is just a list of ingredients for the most part. I recreated it tonight and it came out pretty much the same as hers, so I'm pretty proud!

Extra firm tofu (cubed, not drained)
1 shallot (or onion)
coriander powder
coconut milk (~1/4-1/5 can?)
vegetable stock (~1/2-3/4 cup)
~ 1 tsp chili paste with holy basil leaf (can sub with sambal oelek + basil puree)
diced or pureed tomatoes (1/4 can?)
minced garlic
lemongrass paste
tumeric
sugar (optional)

I can't remember exactly how she did it, so here's how I did it:

1) Heat oil in a high sided skillet, add cubed tofu. Don't touch it until it's firm, then flip it over.

2) Once tofu is mostly browned, add onions/shallots and cook until brown.

3) Add broth, tomatoes, chili paste (add more for desired heat), basil, lemongrass, garlic. Mix together, then add coconut milk.

4) Add tumeric and coriander. Mix in. Taste the sauce. If it's too spicy, add a little sugar.

5) Let sit so tofu can absorb flavors. This can be done on the stove at a low simmer (covered) or in the fridge overnight. If left overnight, note that it will be hotter and the spices will be more prominent.

Serve over rice or couscous. Well complemented by raisins. Total cooking time shouldn't be more than 30 minutes.

Vegetarian Gravy

Just had my first Thanksgiving as a vegetarian (which I became about 2 months ago), and other than stuffing from inside the turkey, I decided that the only other thing I would miss was GRAVY. Thus began the hunt for a decent-looking vegetarian gravy recipe. I tried this one and it turned out really well!

http://veggieoption.blogspot.com/2009/11/recipe-vegetarian-gravy.html

Vegetarian Gravy
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3/4 Cup chopped mushroom
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
2 1/2 Cup vegetable broth (I use McKay's Chicken Style Instant Broth)
2 Tbs soy sauce (or Bragg's Liquid Amino)
4-5 Tbs flour
salt and pepper to taste


1. Melt butter in a large skillet or Dutch oven and add onion.

2. Sauté onion over medium-high heat, stirring frequently until the onion is softened and browned, about 15 minutes.

3. When onions are browned and beginning to crisp, add mushrooms and garlic and sauté two minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Reduce heat to medium and add vegetable broth and soy sauce. Give everything a good stir, then add flour, one tablespoon at a time, stirring between each addition until flour is completely dissolved. Adjust seasoning and continue stirring for 8-10 minutes or until gravy reaches the desired thickness.

NOTE: This turned out rather salty. The raw potato trick helped some, but even better would be using low sodium soy sauce and broth.

Homemade Pesto

This worked a lot better once I realized my Magic Bullet had both a blender blade and a food processor blade. Blending blade = fail. My verdict is MORE GARLIC. Always more garlic! I also added some extra cheese. Tastes rather "green" the day it's made, but is fantastic after that.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan-Reggiano or Romano cheese
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
3 medium sized garlic cloves, minced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

METHOD
1 Combine the basil in with the pine nuts, pulse a few times in a food processor. (If you are using walnuts instead of pine nuts and they are not already chopped, pulse them a few times first, before adding the basil.) Add the garlic, pulse a few times more.
2 Slowly add the olive oil in a constant stream while the food processor is on. Stop to scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Add the grated cheese and pulse again until blended. Add a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

Makes 1 cup.

Sausage and Lentil Soup

A tasty soup that can easily become vegetarian.

Ingredients
1 lb Italian sausage (can also use Italian turkey sausage or veggie italian sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups dry lentils
black pepper
red pepper flakes
basil
oregano
parsley
thyme


Directions
Brown sausage; drain off fat.
In a large pot combine all ingredients bring to boil.
Reduce heat,cover.
Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary, for desired consistency.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes
I originally used 1 tsp of each spice, then dumped more in after it had simmered. Final verdict is that it needed yet more! I'll try a tablespoon of each next time, with perhaps the pepper as an exception, since I use spicy italian sausage to begin with.

Curried Chick Peas and Lentils

http://www.bestrecipes.com.au/recipe/Chickpea-and-Lentil-Curry-L3748.html

It won't let me copy the text, so a link is it. Came out really nicely, despite being short one can of tomatoes. We had it as a main course, but it could also be a side dish. I added a little red pepper to the recipe, and a little extra chili powder too. Delicious. Tastes unhealthy, but totally isn't. Would be great on a pita.

Graham Cracker Crust

A basic graham cracker crust for any sort of dessert.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed

1/3 cup sugar

6 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 tsp cinnamon (I used more)

Preparation

Mix & press into a pie pan

Bake 7 minutes at 375.

Broccoli Chicken Goo Over Rice

The perfect "Oh shit, I have no food and need to make dinner" meal. Three ingredients, no time at all. So easy you could cry. You can add vegetables if you're feeling fancy or use baked or fried tofu in place of chicken.

Ingredients

Cooked chicken breast (fresh or canned) or cooked tofu

One or two cans of cream of broccoli soup

Rice (I use brown rice)

Preparation

Cook the rice.

Cook the chicken or tofu, if necessary.

In a large skillet over medium heat, combine the chicken and cream of broccoli. Heat and serve over the rice.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

A recipe I improvised one night when we forgot to thaw the meat for dinner. Since it way improvised, I unfortunately don't have exact measurements, but it's pretty easy to eyeball. You can add meats and other veggies to this for variation.

Ingredients

Three or four portabella mushroom caps

Olive Oil
Fresh Spinach
Garlic and Onion Seasoning (we use grillmates, you can probably just used dried minced garlic and onion)
Cream Cheese
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Basil Pesto

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350

Cooking the spinach
- Wash the spinach, shake once or twice to dry, and leave the excess water on the leaves.
- Sautee the spinach in olive oil with the onion and garlic seasoning in a large skillet over medium heat. Spinach is done when the leaves are kind of wilted.
- If the portabella still have the stems on them, cut them off, chop them up, and throw them in with the spinach.

Making the stuffing
- Put some cream cheese in a microwave safe bowl (I think I used about 3oz, maybe a little more) and pop it in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, just until it's softened. Stir.
- Add shredded mozzarella to thicken up the mixture. I have no idea how much I used...a few handfuls?
- Add basil pesto to taste. I used about two teaspoons.
- Add the cooked spinach. I drained off the excess olive oil, but you may want to keep it.
- Stir everything together. The mixture should be creamy, but not thin. If it seems too runny, add more shredded cheese.

Cooking the mushrooms
- Wash the mushrooms and pat dry.
- Brush the tops of the mushrooms with olive oil to prevent sticking. Set them gills-side up on a baking sheet.
- Sprinkle a little extra seasoning on the gills before filling if desired.
- Spoon the filling into the caps. This obviously works best with large caps that have a deep indentation. Be careful not to overfill shallow caps.
- Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes. About 2-3 minutes before they're done, you can add some more mozzarella on top if you want.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

I got this recipe from a guildmate on World of Warcraft. I've made a few alterations to suite my tastes. Makes tons of leftovers for my two-person family.

Ingredients
Three cans of cream of "X" soup (chicken, mushroom, etc., mix the selection to your taste)
Fresh broccoli, chopped into small pieces (as much or little as you like)
One can of green beans , drained
Plain breadcrumbs
2 cups (or more) of shredded cheddar cheese
Two or three cooked chicken breasts or cooked tofu

Preparation
Mix all the ingredients except the cheese and breadcrumbs in a large casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 425 in a pre-heated oven until it bubbles (about 20-25 min). Top with the cheese and breadcrumbs. (if you prefer the cheese browned and crispy, put it on top. If not, layer the opposite way). Put it back in the oven for a few minutes longer, until the cheese is melted.