hopeful

I haven't posted a weekday winner in a while, but this is just the recipe for my comeback. I have loved this dinner for years, and it meets all the qualifications for a great weeknight meal - family-friendly, easy to make, quick to assemble then hands-off to cook. I wish I could tell you where I got the recipe from, but I wrote it by hand years ago into a notebook where I sometimes stick recipes and thus have no source.

This makes enough for dinner and leftovers. The photo below shows the casserole  as it looks in the first step. It's not the prettiest casserole once you dish it out and put it on a plate but, as my grandpa use to say, "it all goes to the same place."

Enjoy!

Corn Bread Casserole
Serves 8

PRINT ME!

1 8 oz. can corn, drained
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, half drained
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 c. chopped green onions
1 tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 package cornbread mix (plus one egg and some milk as directed)

• In a large bowl, mix together everything but the cornbread.
• Pour into greased 2 quart baking dish.
• Make cornbread according to package directions. Spread over the top of the bean mixture.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.
• Serve with plain yogurt or sour cream. 

Eeee, gads...I can't believe it has been an entire month since I've posted. There are several draft posts that just didn't get finished, and an ever growing list of things I want to post about...but alas, time moves quickly in this new chapter for our family. I have definitely been cooking a lot less (our new motto is "We can't be out of food, we still have eggs") but in many ways enjoying the cooking I do a whole lot more.

Anyway, enough of that. I'm back with a delicious slow cooker recipe for creamy tomato soup. The temperature outside literally dropped forty degrees between Saturday and today; we were doing yard work in short sleeves then, and it is now hovering right around freezing. When I made my grocery list last week and asked Finn if there was anything he wanted me to make, he replied, "Homemade soup and homemade bread." He got his wish for Sunday dinner (and, before we started to eat, reminded us to thank him for the great idea...), and I'm happy to share this with you today. It is a family favorite. I highly recommend throwing down the extra change for good quality canned tomatoes; I love the Muir Glen Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes.

I'll be back soon with a fantastic advent calendar I've been working on as well as a few retrospective Halloween costume details. Thanks, as always, for reading!

Creamy Tomato Soup
From More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow

PRINT ME!

NOTE: This serves 4-6. My family of 4 ate almost all of it for dinner. If you want leftovers, it doubles beautifully.

2 14 oz. cans crushed tomatoes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup broth (the recipe calls for beef, I used vegetarian)
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. dried basil
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 14 oz. can evaporated milk (to add later)
2 tbsp.  butter (to add later)

In a blender or food processor, puree tomatoes and onions then add to slow cooker OR if you have an immersion blender, do it right in the slow cooker.

Add broth, brown sugar, basil, Worcestershire, and cocoa powder. Stir. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or on high for 3 to 4. Stir in the milk and butter at the end. Cover and cook on high for fifteen minutes or until the butter melts and the soup is hot.

Enjoy!

I'm trying so hard to like mushrooms, really I am; everyone else in my family loves them, and they are in many instances a logical meat alternative. I really liked this casserole, which includes mushrooms, so perhaps I'm getting better. This isn't a super fast dish, but once you have the casserole assembled it is pretty much hands-off, so I count it as a quick weeknight meal.

I served this as a main dish with a salad for dinner. It was even tastier a few nights later as a side dish with scrambled eggs. The original recipe (which comes from Bon Appetit) calls for fresh artichokes, but I used canned to make it quicker and easier. I used the slicing side of my box grater to slice the potatoes super thin; they turned out crispy and oh-so-delicious. And I love a recipe that calls for 1/2 cup of white wine, as you are certain to have some leftover to enjoy with dinner...

Enjoy!



Artichoke, Potato and Portobello Mushroom Casserole
Serves 8

PRINT ME!

4 tbsp. olive oil
2 cans quartered artichoke hearts, sliced
2 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, very thinly sliced
4 large portobello mushroom caps, thinly sliced
6 oz. fresh goat cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 cup dry white wine

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Brush 9x13 glass baking dish with 1 tbsp. oil.

Arrange half of potatoes in dish, covering bottom completely. Top with half of artichoke hearts and half of mushrooms. Coarsely crumble half of goat cheese and sprinkle over artichokes and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and half of garlic, then 1 tbsp. Parmesan. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. oil.

Cover with remaining mushrooms, then artichoke hearts, goat cheese, garlic, 1 tbsp. Parmesan and 1 tbsp. oil.  Top with remaining potatoes. Pour wine over; drizzle with remaining oil.

Cover dish with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 400 degrees. Sprinkle top with remaining Parmesan. Bake uncovered until potatoes are tender and top is brown, about 25 minutes. Cool slightly and serve.

Oh my goodness, this was a huge winner all around...sooooo delicious. It has a lot of the same flavors as our favorite peanut sauce, but with the yummy textural addition of sweet potato and chard. I served it over quinoa with roasted plantains on the side. I had never thought of roasting plantains - I typically fry them - but they turned out super good and were so much less messy and hands-off to prepare. In this household, things that cook at high heat in the fully enclosed oven are much more easily prepared than those cooked on the stovetop, particularly if there is splashing oil involved. I roasted them at 450 for about 20-25 minutes, flipping once about halfway through.

As with so many savory dishes, this tasted even better the next day. Make a big batch and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Mmmmmm.

Roasted plantains

You put it all together...

West African Groundnut Stew
Adapted from Vegetarian Soup Cuisine

PRINT ME!

1 tbsp canola oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 red pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
2 cups water
2 cups tomato juice
1 14 oz can stewed tomatoes
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (2 cups)
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 1/2 tsp. thyme
1 1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter, preferably natural
2 cups chopped Swiss chard

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the onion, pepper, garlic, ginger, and chile and saute 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the water, tomato juice, stewed tomatoes, sweet potato, and seasonings and cook for 25 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the potato is tender.

Aggressively stir in the peanut butter. Stir in the chard and return to a gentle simmer, stirring frequently. Remove the stew from heat and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and serve with couscous or rice and roasted plantains.

I'm rolling out a new feature on this here blog. My world is suddenly structured in a way it hasn't been in a while, so I think it would be advantageous to throw in some structure to my blogging efforts as well. That said, I present to you the inaugural Weekday Winner posting!

Here's the idea:

• Every week I cook three or four dinners I haven't cooked before. This isn't changing because I've gone back to work. If anything, cooking has once again become my beloved, much anticipated, end-of-the-day hobby, and I'll be eager to try new things.
• At the end of every week, I'll share my family's favorite from the week before. 
• If you play along with me, you'll have a whole arsenal of weeknight meals at your disposal. Doesn't that sound great?

I'll say upfront that most of these will be vegetarian, since that is pretty much how we are eating these days. Most of these will be fairly kid friendly (though my kids are more adventurous than some). Most of these will be fairly easy on the budget. Most of them will take thirty minutes or less to prepare. And all of them -- I promise -- have been tested and tasted and passed the rigorous weekday winner criteria.

So...to start off the weekend, a DELICIOUS recipe for garden gazpacho that is just the thing to have in hand before heading to your Saturday morning farmer's market. I served this on my fancy soup and sandwich platters with open face egg salad sandwiches on the side...super yummy all around.

Enjoy!


Garden Gazpacho
Adapted from Vegetarian Soup Cuisine

PRINT ME!

2 large ripe tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small serrano pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups canned tomato juice
Tabasco to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and blend thoroughly. Transfer about three-quarters of the mixture to a blender or food processor; process for five seconds. Return the pureed mixture to the mixing bowl. Alternately, use an immersion blender in the original bowl, being careful to leave some chunks. Refrigerate for at least two hours. Serve in chilled bowls garnished with fresh parsley.