Black Bean and Quinoa Enchiladas

This is on the list to make sometime. I've never had quinoa but I'd like to try it. It sounds similar to rice but it is high in protein and is a complete protein. And it has other nutrients that rice and pasta do not. I plan to pick some up at Whole Foods in Ann Arbor sometime soon after a band rehearsal.

The rest of this post is taken directly from www.melisswallace.blogspot.com/2008/02/recipe.html:

Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is from South America and I like to describe it as a cross between couscous and rice. It is extremely high in protein and is in the whole grains family.

Black Bean and Quinoa Enchiladas

Prep time: ~ 40 minutes
Cook time: ~25-30 minutes

Ingredients
1 green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (15oz.) can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15oz.) can of diced tomatoes and green chilies
1/4 cup picante sauce (she uses medium)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 cups cooked quinoa
whole wheat tortillas, warmed (at least 8 or 9 6-inch tortillas- depends on how full you make the enchiladas)
1 cup salsa (she uses medium)
shredded cheese (Cheddar, fiesta mix, etc)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions
In a large nonstick skillet, saute the green pepper, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until tender.

Add the beans, tomatoes/chilies, picante sauce, cumin, chili powder, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, until heated through and mixture thickens.

Add quinoa, cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through.

Sprinkle shredded cheese onto tortilla. Spoon 1/2 cup or so (more or less depending on how full you want the enchiladas to be) into the middle of the tortilla and roll. Place in 9 X 13 pan, coated with non-stick spray. Repeat until the pan is full. Spoon salsa over the enchiladas and bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes. Remove and sprinkle top with cheese and chopped cilantro. Return to oven for 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted. Makes about 9-12 enchiladas.

Greek-like Salad I Made Up

During the summer of 2007, I had a cucumber from the neighbor’s garden to use up. Cucumber is in fatoosh and I love fatoosh. So I made up this recipe that resembles fatoosh or some sort of Greek-ish salad. I don’t recall the amounts of each ingredient. I believe I gradually added them to the chopped cucumber until it looked like a good amount of each for my tastes.

It turned out quite good. I love the way feta cheese absorbs the dressing. Yum! The salad had a pretty strong flavor but I liked it that way. Using less dressing would have toned down the flavor.

1 cucumber
Red onion
Fresh parsley
Baby carrots
Feta cheese, crumbled (I bought a container of feta flavored with peppercorns and it was an awesome ‘extra’ in the salad)

Dressing: Extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, lemon juice

Dice the cucumber, onion, carrots. Finely chop the parsley. Combine everything together along with feta. I made the dressing according to taste. I believe it was mostly olive oil and vinegar, with a little lemon juice.

Turned out yummy for my first made-up recipe!

De-lightful Tuna Casserole (Cheesy name, good food)

Tues. 3/10/09:

This turned out very good and it was super easy. Got a big thumbs-up from the folks too (they are my guinea pigs). It is from an edition of Taste of Home's 'Healthy Cooking', February 2009.

1 package (7 oz) elbow macaroni
1 can reduced-fat condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (I used canned)
1 cup (4 oz) shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese
1 cup fat-free milk
1 can (6 oz) light water-packed tuna, drained and flaked
2 tablespoons diced pimientos
3 tablespoons dried minced onion
1 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt (I omitted this)
1/3 cup crushed cornflakes (I used Cheerios b/c that's what I had)

1. Cook macaroni according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine the soup, mushrooms, cheese, milk, tuna, pimientos, onion, mustard, and salt. Drain macaroni; add to tuna mixture and mix well. Simultaneously fend off kitties who are madly begging for tuna.

2. Transfer to a 2-qt baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with cornflakes. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until bubbly.

Midwinter Minestrone from Racheal Ray

Sat. 2/28/09:

I made this last weekend and today, half-batch each time. It is more like a stew than a soup. This weekend I used fewer veggies and more pasta and beans. I also dropped out the carrots and added a can of kidney beans, and used double the garbanzo beans and half the kale. I would possibly leave out kale altogether next time.

Oh yeah -- left out the pancetta, used canned mushrooms instead of fresh, used a can of diced tomatoes instead of sundried tomatoes, and doubled the garlic (love garlic!).

Liked this a lot and so did the folks. Definitely making it again!

Here is her recipe, which I halved and modified:

2 tablespoons EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 pound sliced pancetta, diced (optional)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into small dice
3 ribs celery, cut into small dice
1 large or 2 medium red onions, cut into small dice
3 to 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (about a handful) dried porcini or mixed wild mushrooms, chopped
1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
1 15-ounce can chickpeas (I might use white northern beans next time, they seem softer)
1 small bunch purple or green kale, stems removed and leaves shredded
1 cup whole wheat fusilli or other short cut pasta
1/4 cup shredded Pecorino Romano cheese, for garnish

Place a heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the pancetta to the pan (if using) and cook until crispy, 5-6 minutes.

Add the carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bay leaves to the pan with the pancetta, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the veggies are tender, 6-7 minutes.

Add the sun-dried tomatoes, dried mushrooms, stock and 2 cups water to the pot, and bring up to a bubble.

Add the chickpeas, kale and pasta to the pot, and cook until the pasta is al dente according to package directions (the kale will be done at this point too). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Garnish the soup with the Pecorino Romano and serve.

Welcome!

Welcome to my blog! I will post recipes and other random goings-on here. I have never been much of a cook, although I've had an interest in cooking and intentions to be more of a cook for a handful of years. I have even enjoyed collecting cookbooks for the last few years, too.

Recently I've begun cooking more and really enjoying it! This will be my place to record what I make, for my own reference and for anyone else who is curious. Much of what I make will be vegetarian. I have always had vegetarian tendencies, often prefering the taste of non-meat dishes. And, raw meat is icky to deal with! And it's expensive. So considering all that, why not find interesting meatless recipes? Works better for me. Although I'm definitely not a true vegetarian. I would have trouble giving up sausage, well-done bacon, ground beef (esp. in tacos), processed lunch meat, hot dogs (woo hoo!), chicken/beef broth as ingredients, turkey on Thanksgiving, ham, and seafood.

Hope you enjoy my recipes and other ramblings.