Day 41 - Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

Yum. It was raining yet again, which of course called for some comforting soup. Steven and I spent ALL DAY schooling (because we pretty much ignored Monday) so it needed to be easy, too. This is an adaptation of Mary Herr's Winter Squash and White Bean Stew Recipe in the Fix It and Forget It cookbook (which has a lot of great recipes in it!). I didn't get it started until late, so it never made it to the crockpot, but it was awesome on the stove.

Butternut Squash and White Bean Soup

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3 cups peeled butternut squash, cut into cubes
• 2 (15 oz) cans vegetable broth
• 2 (15 oz) cans white beans (great northern, or whatever), rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (10 oz) package fresh baby spinach

1. In a large pot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and cinnamon and saute until onions are translucent.
2. Add vegetable broth, squash, beans and tomatoes to pot. Simmer over low heat approximately 30 minutes. Right before you are ready to serve, add the spinach. Heat until the spinach wilts.
3. The squash and beans will start to fall apart and really thicken the soup. Yum!

This would be really good with garbanzo beans (chickpeas).

Day 32 - Vegan Jambalaya

My friend Vicki is having a bunch of people over for Super Bowl Sunday. Her husband wants to serve Jambalaya, which sounds quite yummy, but which is also loaded with meat. :)

I decided to experiment last night with a vegan version after my trip to Whole Foods. Which worked out perfectly, because my boys came home from a very cold snow campout. What better to warm them up then the spicy goodness of Jambalaya?

I started with Paula Deen's recipe, making a few adjustments to account for what I had on hand and, of course, veggie substitutes.

Whitney's Version of Paula's Jambalaya

• 2 cups long grain rice
• 6 tbsp dried onions
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground red pepper
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
• 1 (14 oz) Field's Apple Sage Sausage, sliced into 1/2-inch thick rounds
• 1 (10.5 oz) box vegan shrimp

1. In a large pot, combine rice, onion, parsley, thyme, garlic powder, black pepper, red pepper, salt, bay leaf, veggie broth, tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
2. In a medium saucepan, brown sausage. Add to rice mixture in pot.
3. When rice mixture is boiling, cover. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-25 minutes, or until rice is cooked through.
4. Add shrimp and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

This was really good. No one was able to tell that the sausage and shrimp weren't "real", and it was very nicely spicy. In fact a little too spicy for Steven, who added a dollop of sour cream* to cut the heat. I would say that it was a successful experiment!

*Steven's sour cream was not vegan, so if you want to keep it vegan and still cut the heat, either cut down the amount of red pepper, or use a vegan sour cream. :)

Sorry, no pictures...the camera was still packed from the campout...

Day 6 - Zucchini Corn Enchiladas

For whatever reason, in the middle of winter, zucchini is abundant (and cheap) at the Mexican market close to my husband's work. And since we love zucchini, he has been bringing it home for me to cook. We've already had stuffed zucchini, zucchini parmesan is on the horizon, and last night I created a zucchini enchilada dish.

Which is muy sabrosa.

Zucchini Corn Enchiladas

• 2 medium to largish zucchini
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
  
• 1/2 of a 16 oz bag frozen corn
  
• 1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles
• 12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
  
• 1 (10 oz) green chile enchilada sauce
• 1/4 cup mexican cheese mixture (optional)
  

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Shred both zucchini.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, saute onions until translucent. Add garlic, corn, and shredded zucchini. Cook until zucchini has released water and water has mostly evaporated. Stir in diced green chiles.
3. Place tortillas on a microwave safe plate and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 1 minute to soften.
4. Place a scant 1/4 cup of filling in each tortilla, rolling up. Place seam side down in 13x9 casserole pan. Sprinkle any remaining filling over the top of the rolled tortillas.
5. Pour enchilada sauce over the top of tortillas, making sure that the sauce covers all the enchiladas. If using cheese, sprinkle over the top of the enchiladas.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until enchiladas are heated through.

The cheese is really an unnecessary addition to these enchiladas. I don't even really like cheese, but my family does. This plays lip service to that want from them...but it really is an unnecessary addition. :)

And while I haven't frozen this particular recipe (I only made one), I am pretty sure that this would freeze just fine. I would have made two, but I wanted to have zucchini left for the zucchini parmesan that I am making tonight...

Day 1 - Black Bean Enchiladas

Of course it is the New Year, and things are fresh and exciting! Hopefully things will stay that way throughout the year. :)

I haven't decided what I am making for dinner yet, but I am sure it will have spinach and mushrooms as I have both of those items in the fridge. The spinach was grown locally at our local high school farm. This is near and dear to my heart, and something I am happy to support.

So as I plug in my ingredients to Google, I will leave you with a favorite vegetarian recipe of mine--Black Bean Enchiladas. I made two meals of this earlier this week and stuck one in the freezer. Yum!

Black Bean Enchiladas

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tsp ground cumin
1 cup frozen sweet corn
3/4 cup chunky salsa
1 can (15 oz) black beans
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 (10-oz) can enchilada sauce (I prefer green, but red is fine, too!)

Spray 11 x 7-inch baking dish with cooking spray. In a 10-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and cumin; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until onion is tender. Stir in corn, salsa, beans, and 1 cup of the cheese. Remove from heat.

On microwaveable plate, stack tortillas and cover with paper towel. Microwave on high 1 minute to soften. Place 1/4 cup bean mixture along center of each tortilla. Roll up tightly and place seam side down in baking dish; spoon remaining bean mixture on top. Pour enchilada sauce over enchiladas, spreading to coat all tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese.

To cook and serve now--Bake in preheated 350 degree oven 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly around edges. Garnish with toppings of your choice (olives, avocado, tomato).

To freeze and serve later--Freeze now. Do not thaw and then cook. Cover with foil and freeze. Bake from frozen in preheated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove foil and cook until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbly around edges, 10-15 minutes.

Enjoy!

So, this is the closest I could find to a picture of black
bean enchiladas. But it isn't mine. And these aren't even
corn tortillas. But it looks good, and that's what counts,
right? ;)