Vegetable Puffs

Another Meatless Monday has come and gone! 

I wanted something different this week that was not going to be a production, and considering how much we have been going out to eat, I definitely wanted to kick up the healthy factor!  What I really loved about making this dinner was all of the beautiful and rich colored foods that go into it - it was a real pick me up for a gloomy day!  This recipe makes 6 thick slices if you are serving them along side something else, but if you are eating them on their own, I would say it makes 3 generous servings.

I was also beyond excited at the grocery store when I came across two new products that helped this dish along - Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cooking Cream and Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Roll Dough!   So with that being said, let's get to the recipe and pictures!

Vegetable Puffs
Yields 6 hearty slices

Ingredients 
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 broccoli crown, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 small onion, peeled and diced
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
6 ounces of spinach leaves
10 ounce container of Philly Cooking Cream in the Italian Herb and Cheese Flavor
2 rolls of Pillsbury Seamless Crescent Dough

To Prepare the Puffs
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  
2. Pour the bell peppers, broccoli, carrots, onions, and black beans into a large skilled over medium heat. 
3. After approximately 10 minutes of cooking, add the spinach.  It will look like A LOT of food, but the spinach will cook down quite a bit! 

4. Cook for approximately 10 more minutes, being sure to stir it often. 
5. Add the cooking cream, and coat the veggies completely.

6. Shut the vegetables off. 
7. Spread out one of the crescent dough sheets on a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

8. Spoon the vegetable mixture onto the dough, being sure to leave a one inch border. 

9. After all of the vegetables or spooned on, fold the dough up onto the veggies to create an edge or barrier.

10. Place the other dough sheet on top of the vegetables, and tuck and pinch it under the puff. 

11. Bake the puff at 350 degrees until it is a deep golden brown color!

 

Layered Enchilada Bake and a Special Delivery

I had mentioned in last night's post, that Monday night we had dinner at my grandmom's.  We had such a delicious dinner, and I just had to share the recipe with all of you!  It was a recipe she got from a Kraft magazine. 

Layered Enchilada Bake
Yields 8 servings


Ingredients 
1 pound lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chunky salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained, rinsed
1/4 cup zesty Italian dressing
2 tbsp taco seasoning mix
6 flour tortillas
1 cup sour cream
1 package (8 ounces) Mexican style four cheese

To Prepare the Enchilada Bake
1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Brown meat with onions in large skillet on medium-high heat, and then drain off the liquid.
3. Stir in the salsa, beans, dressing, and seasoning mix.
4. Arrange 3 tortillas on the bottom or a 13x9 inch baking dish.
5. Cover the tortillas with layers of half the meat mixture, half of the sour cream, and half of the cheese. Repeat this step with the remaining ingredients and cover with foil.
6. Bake for 30 minutes and then cook uncovered for 10 minutes or until the casserole is heated through and the cheese is melted.

My grandmom served ours with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, guacamole, and jalapenos for topping our slice of casserole!

The official photo from the Kraft magazine...it looked this great at Grandmom's, too!

Late yesterday afternoon, I also got a special package in the mail from Panera Bread - yes, my book and gift card arrived after mucho waiting and impatience!  I am super excited to treat my family to dinner at Panera over the weekend!  The book I won is beautiful and I cannot wait to start working my way through all of the delicious recipes!  It is Artisan Bread by Eric W. Kastel.  The instructions are well written and the photos are beautiful!  My salivary glands go nuts whenever I thumb through the book!  I am CERTAIN I will have lots of bread pictures for all of you guys in the coming months! 

Poop Soup

On Wednesday, after our "huge" snow storm, I was craving soup!  It was as if I knew what was coming when I was at the grocery store the Sunday before and picked up a bag of dried, mixed beans!  When I was a little girl, my mom used to make a red soup called Poop Soup, which is more commonly refer to as Navy Bean Soup.  It used to be a treat we would only indulge in a few times a year, but we all looked forward to it with our mouths drooling.  The two day process was torture!

When I came across the dry bean mix in the grocery store, I realized that it had been years since we had it, and I could not resist the temptation.  When snow arrived on the weather forecast, it was destiny!  I just want to mention, that if you do not want to go through the process of soaking beans, you can always mix wet canned beans that have been drained instead.  This will also cut your process down from 2 days to 1!  I have also included the recipe for my great grandmom's dumpling recipe, which I make with this. 


Poop Soup
Yields 10 large servings...aka enough to feed the entire state of Rhode Island.  There is enough with this amount of ingredients to reserve half and freeze it for another day!

Ingredients 
1 lb 13 oz bag of dried bean mix (Again, you can replace this with canned beans that have been strained for a shorter prep time!)
56 oz of tomato puree
1 pound of diced ham (You can replace this with a pork butt or kielbasa.  Normally we do use a pork butt.)
Salt and Pepper to taste

To Prepare the Soup 
1. The night before you make the soup, place your dried beans in a strainer and wash them with cool water.

2. Place them in a large bowl with plenty of water and leave them to soak over night.  Even though you have washed the beans, the water will still turn colors because of the beans reconstituting.

3. The next day strain the water from the beans and start boiling them in 2 quarts of water.  Make sure there is enough water to cover the beans plus some!

The reconstituted beans will be slightly plump and a little softer.

4. Boil the beans for at least 1 hour.

5. Chop the ham and add it to the pot of water and beans.  If you are using a pork butt, I would recommend leaving it whole and adding it to the pot!

6. Right after adding the ham, add 56 ounces of tomato puree to the pan and turn it down to low heat.
7. Cook for another hour on low heat. You can salt and pepper to taste during this step, or let everyone season their own bowls!

Approximately a half hour before serving, prepare your dumplings!

Great Grandma's Dumplings
Yields approximately 2 cups of dumplings

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 tsp baking powder

To Prepare the Dumplings
1. Turn the soup up to medium heat so it is simmering and on the verge of boiling.

2. Blend all of the dry ingredients together.
3. Add the milk and gently fluff the batter together with a fork.  The dough should not completely come together.  If you force the ingredients, your dough will not rise properly in the soup!

4. Drop the dough into the soup by the spoon full.

5. Cover the pot with a lid and forget about it for about 20 minutes or until the dumplings have risen and puffed up!

Tofu and Four Bean Chili Topped with Banana and Mango

You guys have probably noticed a trend this week of me trying to trick my family into eating vegetarian dishes, and tonight was finally the night it blew up in my face.  Don't get me wrong, the chili was delicious - I had a heaping plate, my dad had 2, and my sister whined the ENTIRE time she ate her bowl of it!  My dad had no idea until my sister got suspicious and dug through the top of the trash bag to find the tofu container.  He then proceeded to act disgusted while she ate a muffin and stopped eating her chili.  They have put their feet down that vegetarian week is over, but unfortunately for them, I bought the groceries on Saturday.  They are at my and the kitchen's mercy until Friday!  I guess it wouldn't have bothered me so much if they weren't so mean about it.  I mean really...is one vegetarian dish a day that horrible?!  Nonetheless, dinner was really yummy, and I enjoyed it!

Tofu and Four Bean Chili Topped with Banana and Mango 
Yields 8 - 10 servings

To Prepare the Chili
1. Start to heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan.
2. While the oil is heating, grate your block of tofu on a cheese grater.  If you don't want to grate it, you can break it up by hand, and then break it up more when it is starting to fry. I like grating because it makes the size of the tofu consistent...there's some mild OCD at work!
3. Add the tofu to the hot oil, and fry it until it just starts to brown a little.

4. Add a hot chili seasoning packet to the tofu and cook for a little bit longer.  Remember, when you are cooking tofu, it takes on the flavor of what you are cooking it with, so the more you cook the spices into it, the less it is going to taste like tofu!

5. Once the spices and tofu have started to brown, add a can of tomato puree or sauce (approximately 30 ounces worth).
6. Add a mild chili seasoning packet to the pan and stir well! 

7. Add in 1 can of dark red kidney beans, 1 can of pink kidney beans, 1 can of black beans, and 1 can of cannellini beans.

8. Stir everything together and let it simmer over low heat.  Be sure to stir it every now and then so it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn!

9. While your chili is simmering, dice one banana, and an equal bit of mango.  Serve this on top of the chili!  For some reason these two fruits manage to compliment the red sauce really well.  If you don't want to go the route of chopping the fruit, you could buy a pineapple or mango salsa to use! 

Chili Con Carne with a Cornbread Crust

On of my favorite parts of fall is that the crock pot is in a state of constant use!  I wanted to find a way to liven up my crock pot chili, and found the perfect opportunity when I decided that I didn't want to make extra dishes by making corn muffins, but still wanted the muffins!  Because of the density of the chili, the heat of the chili, and the constant temperature (thanks to the crock pot lid), adding a crust to chili is nice and easy!  This recipe can be made the night before and heated throughout the day on low heat, but don't add the cornbread until 30 minutes before serving.  If you are making this for just a few people, you will have great left overs for a day or two for lunch or dinner too!

Chili Con Carne with Cornbread Crust 
Yields 6 generous servings

To Prepare the Chili
1. Brown 2 pounds of ground beef with a packet of McCormick's Hot Chili Seasoning.

2. While the beef is browning, add approximately 28 ounces of tomato sauce, a packet of McCormick's Mild Chili Seasoning, 1 drained can of black beans, 1 drained can of pink kidney beans, 1 drained can of red kidney beans, and 1 drained can of cannellini beans to a crock pot on medium heat (low heat if you are going to leave it on all day).

3. When the beef is browned add it to the crock pot and stir everything together.

4. The crock pot will come to a slow boil.  Be sure to stir it every now and then.
5. 30 minutes before serving, mix the cornbread mix and gently spoon it across the top of the chili and put the cover back on.  If you are not making your chili in a crock pot, you can still make a crust by finishing your chili in a casserole dish in the oven, or on very low heat on the stove top in a pan with a lid!

6. The cornbread is done when it puffs up and is firm to the touch!