Pinto Bean and Greens Enchilada Casserole

 From The No Meat Athlete Cookbook - Whole Food, Plant-Based Recipes to Fuel Your Workouts - and the rest of your life.  By Matt Frazier and Stepfanie Romine   2017

I made this for Calvary during a nutrition series.  Great taste, but don't believe the 10 minute prep time.  It takes that long to tear the kale apart.  I used dino kale, which is supposed to be more hearty but a little sweeter and less bitter.  The whole dish came out great.  The queso is very good, with a bit of a kick. 

Photos - 6/19/24

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

2 tsp Taco Seasoning (used Mexican blend)

3 cups cooked pinto beans, drained and rinsed

Salt and black pepper

One 16-oz jar salsa

12 corn tortillas (only used ~4)

1/2 cup Cashew Queso (see below)

Diced avocado, black olives or cilantro optional

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 390 degrees.  Coat a 9x13" baking dish with the oil

2. Layer in the onion, kale, taco seasoning and beans.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour half the salsa evenly over the beans, layer on the tortillas and top with the remaining salsa and the cashew queso.

3 Cover with an inverted baking sheet and bake, about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and the salsa is bubbly.

4. Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Slice and serve with the avocado, olives and cilantro, if desired.

CASHEW QUESO:

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup raw cashews, soaked in hot water for at least 10 minutes, then drained

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 garlic clove

1 GF chipotle chile in adobo sauce or 1 tsp chipotle chile powder or to taste

1 tsp arrowroot powder

1/4 tsp smoked paprika

3/4 cup water, plus more as needed

Salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. Process the cashews, nutritional yeast, garlic, chipotle, arrowroot powder, paprika and water in a high-speed blender until it is thick yet pourable.

2. Transfer to a medium saucepan and heat over medium until bubbly, adding additional water if necessary.  Season with salt and serve.  (The queso will thicken as it cools, but whisking in some water can help loosen it up.

3. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

For a milder Roaster Red Pepper Queso, substitute 1 roasted red bell pepper for the chipotle. 

Okra and Rice Casserole with Cajun Spice Mix - for lady docs book club

 https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/149221/cajun-spice-mix/

https://www.southernliving.com/recipes/okra-rice-casserole

Okra is delicious deep-fried, but more versatile than you think. The smaller pods are the most tender, so look for ones 3-4 inches long and refrigerate and cook within a few days. Okra "slime" naturally thickens stews and soups. The substance is released as you cut the pods, so we suggest cutting them into larger chunks, rather than thin slices. This dish is simple to make, but it packs an amazing amount of flavor from tender sautéed okra, sweet corn, Cajun spices, and buttery garlic breadcrumbs.  I made it a few days ago and froze it for Sunday book club - we’ll see how it goes! Tasted good right out of the oven.

By Southern Living Editors 

 

Published on January 8, 2019

Tried this in the wok and it came out well.  Increased the fire roasted tomatoes to 28 oz, only 2 cups of broth, added some Asian eggplant, which took a while to cook.  Left the okra whole.  Made sure to buy small ones, and all but one were edible.  The celery is really good, and used the full amount of Cajun spice, and dried fenugreek.  Didn’t use bread crumbs.  Served with ramen noodles or farro.  Overall, a better dinner than I expected.  And next day even better. 

Total Time:

 

1 hrs 10 mins

Yield:

 

Serves 8 (serving size: 1 1/2 to 2 cups)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil

• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (can use whole wheat) - used millet flour

• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion

• 1/2 cup chopped celery - essential

• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper - or not 

  Added 1 Asian eggplant

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 28 oz can diced tomatoes - preferably fire-roasted

• 3 cups vegetable broth

• 1 1/2 pounds fresh okra, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2- to 2-inch pieces

• 1 cup fresh corn kernels (from 2 ears) - 1 can drained

• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (see recipe below if you don’t have some)

• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  Added dried fenugreek

• 1/4 cup (2 oz.) salted butter, melted (used less)

• 2 garlic cloves, pressed

• 8 (1-inch-thick) French bread slices (used the Bullet to make the bread crumbs) - or panko

• 2 (8.5-oz.) pouches microwavable basmati rice (or just cook some stovetop) - used ramen noodles or farro

Directions

1. Use wok or preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Whisk together oil and flour in a Dutch oven; cook over medium-high, whisking, until mixture is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, bell pepper, and minced garlic, and cook, stirring, until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes.

2. Stir in tomatoes, broth, okra, corn, Cajun seasoning, fenugreek and pepper, and bring to a boil over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring, until slightly thickened, 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, combine melted butter and pressed garlic. Brush both sides of French bread slices with garlic butter, and bake in preheated oven until lightly golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from oven, and process in a food processor until coarsely crumbled.

4. Squeeze rice pouches to separate grains. Tear a 2-inch vent in each pouch. Microwave both pouches at the same time at HIGH for 2 minutes. (The rice will be slightly undercooked.) Spoon into prepared baking dish. Top with okra mixture and breadcrumbs.

5. Bake in preheated oven until breadcrumbs are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (it only took about 15 - so watch carefully). Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

   
   

Ingredients

• 2 ½ teaspoons paprika

• 2 teaspoons salt

• 2 teaspoons garlic powder

• 1 ¼ teaspoons dried oregano

• 1 ¼ teaspoons dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 1 teaspoon onion powder

• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes (Optional) - did use some

1. Gather all ingredients. Mix together.  Store in an airtight container

Thai Pineapple and Chicken

In my quest for simple recipes, I tried this dish in the oven, instead of sautéing the ingredients separately.  Combining the raw ingredients and adding vegetable broth for moisture allows you to toss together a salad, prepare a grain and set the table before the timer goes off on your chicken dish.  I use a vegetarian fish sauce and a sweet Thai garlic chili sauce, both pictured below and available at H Mart or Great Wall.  They combine to make just a mildly spicy sauce.  Of course, it's easy to adjust those sauces to taste, as well as to change the vegetables in the dish.  Consider using snow peas, for instance.

Addendum 7/8/18 - Stir fried, using chicken that had already been baked, and added after the vegetables were partially done.  Used fresh pineapple and no broth.  Very quick and delicious --

Makes 6 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 red pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 onion peeled and cut into chunks
2 cups of broccoli florets and stems
2 cups pineapple chunks, fresh or canned, but do not add the juice
juice of 1 lime
2 Tbsp vegetarian fish sauce
3-4 Tbsp Thai chili sauce  (adjust to taste)
1/2 cup low sodium vegetable broth, more as needed to keep moist

1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional)
4 cups cooked brown rice

Directions:
1) Heat oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a large casserole baking dish.  Put in all of the ingredients from the chicken down to the broth.  Toss and add more broth as needed.

2) Check at about 15 minutes and add more broth if needed to keep ingredients moist.  Continue to cook another 15 minutes.

3) Remove from the oven and allow to cool.  Add cilantro if using.  Serve over rice.

Roasted Chicken with Clementines and Arak (or Ouzo)

I was fortunate to receive a bottle of ouzo from one of my dear Greek patients.  When I was in Turkey, I enjoyed relaxing over a small glass of ouzo, turned cloudy with ice.  When I mentioned to one of my nurses, Shula, that I was so happy to be going home to have some ouzo that evening, she mentioned a recipe she had just tried using it, or arak, from "Jerusalem, A Cookbook" by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

This is a beautifully illustrated cookbook, with as much information about Jerusalem and ingredients as about the recipes themselves.  As one of the reviewers said, the authors "... thoughtfully explore the way a tapestry of cuisines comes together into the vibrant, bold and unique foodscape

of Jerusalem.  It's a volume that makes you want to cook.  It makes you want to eat.  And it makes you want to travel."  It was the winner of  the 2013 IACP Cookbook of the Year Award and the 2013 James Beard Award for Best International Cookbook.

It was given to my daughter as a gift, and we hadn't yet gotten to try it.  Other enticing recipes are roasted sweet potatoes and fresh figs, basmati and wild rice with chickpeas, currants and herbs, chicken sofrito and a few recipes with cardamom (which we brought home from Turkey) for rice pudding and another chicken dish.  Now that I'm looking through it, there are dozens of recipes I'd like to try - all with new mixes of ingredients.

This recipe for chicken with clementines and ouzo is wonderful for serving to company, as it makes a beautiful presentation.  And, as with many dishes, tastes better a day or two after preparation.

Ingredients:

6.5 Tbsp arak, ouzo or Pernod
4 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
3 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tbsp grain mustard
3 Tbsp light brown sugar
2 medium fennel bulbs
1 large chicken 2 3/4 pounds divided into 8 pieces, or same weight in skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
4 clementines, unpeeled, cut horizontally into 1/4 inch slices
1 Tbsp thyme leaves
2 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped flat-leaf parsley, to garnish

Serving suggestion -- serve over plain couscous, or alongside potatoes or roasted veggies in olive oil.

Directions:

1) Put the ouzo, olive oil, OJ, lemon juice, mustard and brown sugar in a large mixing bowl and add 2.5 tsp salt and 1.5 tsp black pepper.   Whisk well and set aside.

2) Trim the feel and cut each bulb in half lengthwise.  Cut each half into 4 wedges.  Add the fennel to the liquids, along with the chicken, clementine, thyme and fennel seeds.  Stir well, then leave to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight (or not if you're in a rush).

3) Preheat the oven to 475.  Transfer the chicken and its marinade to a baking sheet large enough to accommodate everything comfortably in a single layer (I used a broiler pan).  The chicken skin should be facing up.  Roast for 35-45 minutes until the chicken is colored and cooked through.

4) Lift the chicken, fennel and clementines from the pan and arrange on a serving plate; cover and keep warm. The recipe calls for pouring the cooking liquid into a small saucepan, on medium-high heat, and simmer until reduced by one-third to leave about 1/3 cup in the pan; then pour over the chicken.  I did not reduce it, and used some of the cooking liquid from the broiler pan on the chicken, and left the rest for guests to use as a gravy of sorts.  Use parsley around the serving dish for garnish.

Enjoy!

Egg Casserole

From The Food Network
Recipe courtesy Robert Irvine

Also see this under 'Diane's egg soufflé'  with changes -
We had this at a friend's beach house, minus the sausage.  It was excellent!

Prep Time:15 minInactive Prep Time:5 minCook Time:40 min
Level:Easy
Serves 6

Ingredients
Butter, for baking dish
1 pound Italian sweet sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
5 large eggs
3 large egg yolks
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whipping cream
2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish.

Saute sausage in medium nonstick skillet over medium heat until brown and cooked through, breaking up with back of fork into small pieces, about 10 minutes.

Add shallots and garlic and saute 3 minutes.

Add sun-dried tomatoes and 2 tablespoons parsley; stir 1 minute.

Spread sausage mixture into the prepared dish. (Can be made 1 day ahead, covered and refrigerated.)

Whisk eggs, egg yolks, half-and-half, whipping cream, 1 1/2 cups cheese, and salt in large bowl and blend well. Pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2-cup cheese and 2 tablespoons parsley.

Bake until top of the casserole is golden brown and knife inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/cda/recipe_print/0,1946,FOOD_9936_356064_RECIPE-PRINT-FULL-PAGE-FORMATTER,00.html?oc=linkback