Picnic Pocket Roll

This is adapted from this recipe.

1 lb pizza or bread dough (I used the pizza dough recipe posted on this site)

1 Tbs olive oil

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

1/2 T each oregano, rosemary & basil, minced (I used fresh, and didn't measure)

1 lb (approx) reconstituted TVP

1 tsp salt (to taste)

3/4 c tomato sauce

1/2 lb grated mozzarella

Brown TVP with olive oil, garlic, onion, salt & herbs. Stir in tomato sauce. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. On cookie sheet greased with olive oil roll out dough into rectangle. spread cheese and meat mixture over dough. starting with long side of dough facing you, roll dough, crimping edges. Bake 10 min. reduce heat to 350 and continue baking 25 min or tilll golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 min on rack before slicing. Serve immediately OR slice and store in airtight container to serve later at room temp. Or freeze for later use.

Corndog Muffins

I saw this recipe on Heavenly Homemakers's site awhile ago, but just recently got around to trying it. It was a hit with the whole family! It's quick and easy to make AND they freeze well so I can make a big batch and freeze the extras for "grab and go" meals another day.

We're vegetarian so I use vegetarian hotdogs and hubby doesn't like anything at all sweet so I adapted the cornbread recipe to eliminate the honey. Here's how we make it:

1 c cornmeal

1 c whole wheat flour

1 t baking powder

1 t salt

2 eggs

1/4 c melted butter (generous because the honey added some moisture & I skipped it)

1 c buttermilk or milk (generous, see above)

hotdogs (4-6)

Preheat oven to 400. Grease or add paper liners to 12 muffin pans. Stir together dry ingredients. Add wet. Stir till blended. Fill each muffin pan almost full (these don't rise alot). Cut hotdogs in half or thirds so that a piece will lay in each muffin (depends on the size of your muffin pans and the size of your hotdogs). You can just lay the hotdog pieces on top of the batter in each muffin cup, which is what I did. Or, if you want the hotdog to be "hidden" inside the muffin, push it down or partially fill each muffin cup, add hotdogs, then finish filling the muffin cups. Bake about 20 min, till golden.

Maidrites

I'm not sure if DH will like this, but my parents, the girls & I all did. I had generic V-8 so used it instead of tomato juice & used dry TVP, so just guessed at how much to make. I only baked it for an hour, covered w/ foil for the first half hour & didn't stir it while it was baking (because I didn't read it closely enough, but I don't think it mattered). I also added some garlic powder. This tastes alot like the vegeburgers my mom makes but throwing it in the oven is much easier than forming into patties & frying :) I'll definitely be making this again. The original recipe said it freezes well, so if dh decides he doesn't like it, I'll make it & freeze it in smaller portions for when the girls & I are eating a meal w/o him.

Adapted from the Living on a Dime newsletter:

1 1/2 lb hamburger (or TVP)
2 slices bread
3/4 c milk
3/8 c tomato juice
1 egg
1/4 c chopped onion (or onion powder to taste)
salt to taste
Mix together & pour into 9x13 pan. Bake at 300 for 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hrs, till done. Stir frequently. Serve on buns w/ pickles & mustard, like sloppy joes.

Spinach Spaghetti

This is one of dh's favorites, I got it from his mom (and made a few changes, like whole wheat pasta)

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti, cooked & drained
2 10 oz packages frozen spinach, thawed & drained
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/2 c milk
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/4 c chopped onion
1 tsp salt
4 c shredded jack cheese
1/4 c Parmesan cheese

Combine all but 1/4 c Parmesan. Put in 9x13 casserole. Sprinkle 1/4 c Parmesan on top. Bake 45 minutes, covered. at 350.

This freezes wonderfully and is so easy & yummy!!!

Crockpot Pinto Beans

One of the meals I decided to try this week was "Pintos & Cornbread", but I was planning to be gone most of the day Thurs (the night I had this meal scheduled), so I went hunting for a crockpot version of pinto beans, and then tweaked it (because it called for lard or bacon fat & we're vegetarian), here's what I came up with:

16 oz pinto beans, picked over, soaked overnight & drained
2 T butter (not sure if we really needed this, I might leave it out, or at least cut it back next time)
1 or 2 (I don't remember) T baco bits
1 sm onion, chopped
1 Tbs fresh or 1 tsp dried oregano

Combine all with 3 c water in crockpot. Cook on high 3 hrs, turn to low & cook the rest of the day. Season with salt to taste.

Now, my day didn't go exactly as planned. I put it in the crockpot, turned it on high, set the kitchen timer for 3 hrs, and left for the day, leaving dh with the instruction to turn it to low when the timer went off. I was planning to be home by 6:00 or so, to check on it, turn it back to high if needed, or off if needed, make the corn bread & serve dinner, but we got to my friend Angie's house & she invited us to stay for supper, so I called dh, told him to see if the beans seemed done & if so, turn off the crockpot (and have some if he wanted) and the girls & I stayed at Angie's till bedtime. I got home around 10pm & found the beans STILL on low, so they were well cooked (though you can't really over-cook pintos, I don't think). I let them cool & put them in the fridge, then made the corn bread & re-heated the pintos in the microwave (just put each person's plate in the microwave) for supper tonight. I made a point of calling these "pintos" not "beans" since the girls claim to not like beans & served up each plate, by putting a big serving of pintos on their plate (heating them in the microwave, then topping the beans with some shredded cheese & sour cream, and put a piece of corn bread on the plate as well. Everyone declared it a keeper, L said it was "even better than Shepherd's Pie" which is high praise from her at the moment. DH really liked the added flavor the baco bits gave it. The girls each ate 2 platefuls.

Southwest Roll-ups

I'm not sure where I found this recipe, it was printed out (from Word) in a stack of papers I was going through this weekend, so we're going to try it tonight & see what we think:

Update: The girls loved it!! (Mommy, can we have this EVERY night?) And dh agreed that it could be added to the regular rotation (which is about as much "praise" as I can get from him unless it's super unhealthy LOL). I got 5 or 6 tortillas, filled moderately full, in a 9x13 pan. Once I use up my canned beans & start making the beans from scratch I'll add more beans & salsa and make a 9x13 and a 9x9 pan. These would freeze easily as well.

Mix 2 Tbsp salsa, 1 can refried beans, and 1 c chicken - cooked & cubed (will use vegetarian equivalent).
Spoon onto tortillas, place seam side down in 9x13 pan. Baket at 350 for 20-30 minutes. Sprinkle with 1 c cheese.

Lentil Garlic & Rosemary Soup

I found this recipe awhile ago when a friend who's dd was allergic to dairy & soy was coming over for lunch. It's easy, yummy & healthy!

2 c lentils
9-10 c water
1 bulb garlic, peeled & chopped (I always have minced garlic in the fridge, so I just dump a couple spoonfuls in)
lg sprig fresh rosemary, finely chopped or 2 tsp dried
4 med carrots, diced (I usually use potatoes instead, since none of us are fond of cooked carrots)
sea salt to taste

Place lentils in lg saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer & add garlic, rosemary and carrots. Cook 20 min & add salt.

Angie's Macaroni & Cheese

This is one of the recipes my friend Angie stocked our freezer with when our twins were born. It's yummy, and easy, so I got the recipe from her once the girls were old enough for me to think about cooking and such LOL.

For an 8x8 pan: (double for 9x13)

2 c macaroni, cooked (whole wheat works fine)
2 Tbsp butter
sm onion, chopped
2 Tbsp flour (whole wheat works fine)
salt & pepper
2 c milk
2 c cheese, plus extra for top


In saucepan, saute onion in butter. Add (on med-low) flour, salt, pepper, slowly add milk. Let thicke, add cheese (on low) and melt. Pour over macaroni. Mix and put into casserole dish. Top with shredded cheese. Bake uncovered 1/2 hr at 350.

Mexican Pasta

I got this from my friend Angie (who found it in one of the little books of recipes (this one was vegetarian recipes) you often find with the magazines at checkout at grocery stores). It started out as stuffed shells, but I'm lazy so we progressed from stuffed shells, to lasagna, and now more of a "baked ziti" type thing (it can also be made into enchiladas, using flour toritillas).
8 oz cooked & drained pasta (shapes like penne or rototini work well)
2 tsp veg oil (I use olive oil)
1 med onion, chopped (1/2 c)
1 can pinto beans or black beans (or one of each if doing a double recipe). For those who make beans from scratch a can is generally about 2 c cooked beans.
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
3/4 c taco sauce
1 c shredded colby-jack cheese (or taco cheese) . . . or now that we use raw dairy, I'll probably try it with cheddar since that's what I can get raw.
1/2 c crushed corn chips
Sour cream to garnish

Heat oil in 2 qt saucepan over med heat. Cook onion in oil about 5 min, stirring frequently. Stir in beans, chili powder, cream cheese & 1/4 c taco sauce. Heat over med-low 2-3 min. stirring occasionally until cheese is melted. Heat oven to 350. Spray 8x8 pan with cooking spray. Stir mixture and pasta together and place in pan. Pour remaining taco sauce over top. Cover and bake 20 min. Sprinkle with cheese and corn chips. Bake uncovered 10 min. Garnish with sour cream.

Alpine Casserole

1 Tbsp butter
2 c diced celery
1/4 c minced onion
3 c diced (vegetarian) chicken (we generally use "Fri Chik")
2 c herb stuffing
1 c shredded cheese
1 c swiss cheese
3/4 c mayonnaise
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water

Melt butter in skillet, saute celery and onions. Combine with all remaining ingredients and place in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake covered at 350 for 45 minutes.