Meatloaf

This is an old Betty Crocker recipe I've been making for years. It is a standard in our house.

1 1/2 pounds ground meat (beef or turkey)
3/4 cup oats
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 small onion chopped small
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup ketchup or barbecue (BBQ) sauce

Mix all ingredients except ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Spread mixture in loaf pan

and top with ketchup or BBQ sauce.

Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for one hour and about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Slice and serve.

Makes about 6-8 servings.


Veggie meatloaf: Increase salt to 1 1/2 tsp. Mix in one small green bell pepper, chopped, 1 medium carrot, shredded, and about 4-6 medium mushrooms, chopped. Omit ketchup/BBQ sauce. During the last five minutes of baking time, take it out of the oven and put tomato slices on top, then put it back in the oven to finish cooking.

Old-Fashioned Baked Beans

from the cookbook Vegan Planet, p. 292

This is a quicker version of the traditional baked bean recipe, and every bit oh, so yummy.  Serve with cornbread and some slaw.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
one 14.5 ounce can tomato puree (or tomato sauce if you can't find puree in this size can)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp molasses
1 Tbsp prepared yellow mustard
1 1/2 Tbsp tamari or other soy sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
salt and pepper
1 cup dried pinto beans, soaked overnight then cooked OR two cans of beans drained and rinsed

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Heat olive oil in medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in chili powder and cayenne.
• Add tomato puree, sugar, molasses, mustard, tamari and vinegar and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes.

• Season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Mix in beans.

• Place mixture into lightly oiled 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
• Cover and bake 20 minutes. Serve hot.

serves 4 or so

Tofu Burgers

1 package firm or medium tofu
1 onion
oil
1/2 cup wholewheat or buckwheat flour
1/2 cup cornmeal or rice flour
1 Tbsp miso

• Drain and rinse tofu a few hours ahead. Squeeze as much water out of it as possible (for tofu tips, see 'A Word About Tofu' in my Dragon Bowl post).

• Chop onion and saute in a drizzle of either olive oil or veg oil in a large, flat, preferably non-stick pan.

• (Let the onion cool at least a little bit before going on to the next step.)
• Place onion in a food processor. Crumble in tofu and add remaining ingredients.

• Turn on food processor to blend. Stop when it becomes a ball of dough. This should take less than a minute.

• Take your large, flat, preferably non-stick pan and put about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of veg or canola oil in it. Turn on the heat and let it heat up for a few minutes. (You can do this step while blending the tofu mixture.)

• Scoop out the tofu mixture and form into patties, making sure they're around 1/2 inch thick. Fry in oil, about 10 minutes on each side. They will be golden brown. mmmm.....yummy.....

• Drain on a plate lined with several layers of paper towels.
• Serve with any toppings or condiments you like. We like ketchup, mayo, and sliced tomatos.

Makes about 6-8.

Mexi-Mom

1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced (more is OK)
1 red or green bell pepper, chopped
olive oil
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup black beans, soaked overnight then cooked
      (or 1 can of canned black beans, drained and rinsed)
1 cup rice
1 Tbsp taco seasoning

Cook rice according to package directions. If there are no directions, or in other words it's just plain old rice, remember the rice cooking rule: one part rice to two parts water. Bring to a boil then simmer until the water is absorbed.

While the rice is cooking, saute the onion, garlic and bell pepper in a drizzle of olive oil in a large saute pan. When they have cooked down, add the tomatoes and beans.

When the rice is done, add it to the saute pan and mix. Season with salt and taco seasoning.

To serve: place a layer of tortilla chips on each plate. Top with above concoction. Top that with a dollop or two of sour cream and the salsa of your choice. Eat like nachos.

Pig out.

The Best Broccoli

I love this broccoli recipe.

2 heads broccoli, washed and broken up into small pieces
a few cloves of garlic (the more the better in my opinion)
olive oil
salt

Place broccoli in a pot with no more than 1/2 inch of water. Mince garlic and add to pot. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle in salt. Mix.

Cook on medium heat. Once water boils, cook about five minutes. That's it.

Stir and serve. Serve with a slotted spoon to avoid excess water.

The broccoli will be a bit crunchy, and will have turned a bright green color. If you don't like crunchy, then cook it a bit longer, but don't overcook.

The taste of this reminds me of a chinese food type of dish - something that would be a side dish in a chinese food restaurant. It is absolutely yummy, quick and easy, easy, easy.

Dragon Bowl

 

This is a recipe I've been making for a long time now. It is kid-approved and delicious, nutritious, easy to make and not expensive either.

 

1 Large Bunch of Kale (or any cookable dark leafy green), washed & chopped
3-4 Carrots, shredded
4-5 Green Onions coarsely chopped
1 block extra-firm tofu, drained & rinsed, cut into cubes (please see note about tofu at the bottom of this post)
Salad Dressing

Place kale (or other green), carrots, green onions and tofu in a large pot with a steamer basket with water, cover and steam to cook.

Cook rice of your choice. I prefer whole-grain brown organic, but use whatever you like. You can use another cooked grain if you prefer. Make the amount you'd need for everyone to have it as a side dish.

Serve in bowls: place rice in bowl and then the cooked greens, veggies & tofu on top. Drizzle with your favorite salad dressing and serve. Yumorama!

Dressing suggestion:
I have a special dressing I make from scratch just for this dish. It's called "You-Must-Make-This Dressing". I am not kidding, that's really the name. I got it from the cookbook, The Garden of Vegan and it goes perfectly with this dish. I mean perfectly. I highly recommend it.

2 stalks Green Onion, roughly chopped (I buy one bunch, save two stalks for this dressing and use the rest in the Dragon Bowl recipe)
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
4 Tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 tsp fresh Chives (from the garden, of course)
1 tsp fresh Dill (less if using dried)
1 tsp fresh Parsley (dried is OK)
1/2 cup Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.



A Word About Tofu:
Please don't let the tofu in this recipe scare you. It is really very good, filling and easy to use. I have used tofu a lot over the years and I have found that there are some things you can do to make it work better in a recipe.

What I suggest is that you get as much of the water out of it as possible before you use it. This way it will more readily absorb any flavor you may add, and the texture is better. To do this, simply drain and rinse the block of tofu, then place it in between two clean kitchen towels. Place a plate, upside down on top of it with a can of something (like a can of soup or veggies or sauce) on top of that. This will apply very gentle even pressure to the tofu, which will slowly squeeze the water out, without it loosing its shape. The towels absorb the moisture. This should be done a few hours before using the tofu. It can also be put in the fridge, or even done overnight.

Do this before making your Dragon Bowl and the results will be great!

Avalanche

We call this one Avalanche because when it's on your plate it looks like trees that were toppled by an avalanche.

1 lb. pasta, tube shape
2 ten-ounce packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed
4 eggs
2 1/2 cups plain soy milk
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 container (3-4 cups) ricotta cheese
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees
• prepare pasta according to package directions, but under cook by about a minute or two
• squeeze spinach between paper towels to remove excess moisture
• spread spinach in a large lasagna-style baking dish

• cover spinach with cooked pasta

• combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl.

• Mix thoroughly and pour over noodles.

• bake for about 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean

• let rest for about 5 minutes before serving

Try to stave off the natives. Good luck. Every time I make this it disappears FAST,