Posts Tagged ‘vegetables’
peanut butter chili
This should really be called “Pantry Chili with Peanut Butter” since that’s where it all started. Since payday fell on a Monday this past week and I had already exhausted my food budget, I had to be clever when it came to cooking over the weekend. I opened up my pantry and stood there, for a solid 10 minutes, trying to figure out what I could make. And then it all just came together: lots of half-opened bags of dried beans, canned tomatoes, broth, onion and garlic under the sink, and a jar of peanut butter on my counter (maybe open… with a spoon sticking out of it…).
I’ve heard of people using peanut butter in their chili before to give it a special aromatic, underlying flavor and I was always intrigued since peanut butter is my personal drug of choice. So I found a peanut butter chili recipe and converted it to be slow-cooker friendly and changed things up to use dried beans and work around the types of tomatoes and other ingredients I had on hand. I specifically added the peanut butter at the very end so the flavor would really pop and man does it ever. It’s reminiscent of African peanut stew almost. This is a really hearty chili, perfect for a Superbowl party since it fills you up but is also vegetarian-friendly (and vegan friendly if you don’t use the dairy and consider PB vegan) so you can feed the whole crowd with no worries.
butternut squash and kale baked risotto
So apparently I have a kale and/or butternut squash addiction right now. Let’s just chalk it up to winter leaving me with little to work with.
I saw this recipe for Martha’s version of baked risotto in an Everyday Food recently and was of course, intrigued. I love love love Ina’s version so much so I figured giving another spin on it a try would be fun. But of course since I’m me I basically took the ingredients from Martha’s and completely changed the method so it would result in what I imagined to be a much more creamy, well, risotto texture. A lot of the online reviews of Martha’s said the result was like baked rice with little moisture so I added more stock, changed the order of when you put it in, etc. The only thing I wish I would have done different is cut the squash much larger – mine sort of dissolved as I stirred up the rice after I pulled it out of the oven which gave a fantastic texture and flavor, but I missed the big hunks I was hoping for.
Still! This is another easy, delicious dish that can feed an army and comes together in about 45 minutes. Score!
spinach manicotti
This is my lazy way of sating my lasagna craving. I can rarely resist a cheesy-red sauce pasta desire but the idea of making a whole lasagna just for me made me groan in laziness, so I decided to take the easy way out. You still get the ricotta and parmesan flavors, the red sauce, the thick noodles, and there’s even the added health bonus of some chopped spinach, except it all comes together in about an hour.
Since the ingredients list is so small be sure to use the best of the best here. Freshly grated parm, quality ricotta, etc. I bought my marinara from a local gourmet grocer that does it fresh on site for their pizza making kits. Also, bee sure to season your cheese filling liberally – don’t be shy with the salt shaker!
beef tagine with butternut squash
One of my favorite Christmas gifts has become my subscription to Cooking Light. I always enjoyed flipping through the magazine at work but now since I’ve started to cook from it I have truly come to love it. Granted the seasoning is always underdone for me (easily fixed) and many times I stray from recipes to scale down servings or make them cheaper, but it’s full of wonderful ideas and recipes.
I know I just did another stew but I can’t help but be drawn to dishes like this when I’m trying to eat healthier and still want to feel full. At under 300 calories per serving (not including the tabbouleh) it really is a delight. This poor man’s version of Moroccan tagine is quick, cheap, and tasty. Period. I love the spicy-sweet flavor profile and as lame as it sounds, I have totally fallen in love with the Near East brand’s boxed tabbouleh salad. This came together in under 40 minutes and I see myself making this dish many times in the near future. And I hope you do, too.
kale and chickpea stew
As my friend H and I were sipping cocktails and noshing on fried goods during New Year’s Eve I brought up the subject of resolutions and how I didn’t have any. The classic “eat healthier” idea came up but we both agreed it’s hard to control that when you work in a test kitchen. I mentioned the idea of eating raw or doing a ‘detox day’ once a week and that’s where the motivation to cook this dish came from. It’s a detox dinner – packed full of vegetables, nutrients, lean protein, sits easy on the stomach and comes together quickly.
Kale and dark greens are always at the top of health food lists since they’re packed full of vitamins and nutrients and get an extra bonus for being dirt cheap so they’re also great for eating on a budget. This whole dish has a very light, yet earthy feel to it. The bacon gives it this wonderful reminiscent aroma of pork and greens but saves you the calories and heavy food guilt. Now let’s just hope I can keep this up the rest of the year…
