Crock pot Chili

Today shall be a day for cooking. I love cooking, and since I've got nothing to do but study, and play soccer later, I thought I'd cook up a storm! I made (non-vegan) french toast for breakfast. And I'm making almond nut butter cup cakes later today. I will post a recipe for that. For now...

I’m in the “get rid of food and use what you have and spend less money” mode. So I threw together this one pot chili from some leftovers and a bit of fresh vegetables.

Crock pot veggie chili

1 can red beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 large can (any heat) salsa (I used Pace brand) + a bit of leftover salsa
1 small zucchini, cut into quarter chunks
1 package fresh mushrooms (no idea what variety they were)
10 baby carrots, cut into bite sized chunks
½ package veggie crumbles (I used Yves brand)
left-over (frozen) rice
1/2 bag frozen fiesta mix (corn, black beans, onions, green and red peppers)
6 oz can tomato paste
water to allow for absorption


Dump everything into a crock pot and cook on low all day. If you’re in a hurry you can also cook it on high. Everything’s pretty much pre-cooked anyway, the flavors just need to blend together.

I want a fun-guy

Okay, so maybe I shouldn't try to make up witty titles. I had 8 oz of chanterelle mushrooms to use up, so I googled what I could do with them. I ended up making:

Chanterelle and fire roasted tomatoes over whole wheat pasta.
Ingredients
8 oz chanterelle mushrooms
1 small onion
20 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
dried basil
dried oregano
dried rosemary
splash of red cooking wine

Cut chanterelles into bite sized pieces. Place in buttered baking dish. Dice one onion over top of mushrooms. Bake covered in 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

Add all other ingredients and bake for another 15 minutes.

Serve over whole wheat pasta.

Quinoa and Chard Pilaf

I had to use up some chard in a major way. See a trend? Yes, I tend to buy too many things...

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup dry lentils + ~4c water/broth
8 oz mushrooms, chopped (I used dehydrated mixed wild mushrooms)
~1 cup water
Bunch of chard (remember it reduces when cooked)

1. Cook lentils in a pot w/ vegetable broth as directed on package \
2. Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms - mix in quinoa - cook 5 minutes in large pot
3. Add above lentils to above pot - cover and cook 20 minutes.
4. Add water as needed so mixture doesn't stick.
5. Remove from heat. Shred chard and gently mix into pot. Cover and sit for 5 minutes.

Asian inspired grilling and stir fry

So I decided to try my free George Foreman type grill for the first time (I got it probably 3 years ago). I marinated some tofu, sugar snap peas, mushrooms, and tomatoes in a mixture of soy sauce and mago chili sauce. I put them on the grill for about 20 minutes. I cooked up some spelt and had it all together. It was a real meal! Balanced and everything.

I put the leftovers (minus the tomatoes) in a wok and fried it all up. I added a small zucchini, diced, and a whole bunch of diced pistachios (finally!). I put some ginger and garlic and onion powder in and mixed it all up! I'll take that for lunch. Both incarnations are wonderful. Cherrio!