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The Kitchen Recessionista

So, here we are, in a recession. Let's eat!

Spaghetti and Vegan Meatballs.

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vegan-spaghetti-meatballs

Is it just me, or does today feel like a Friday?

Maybe it’s because we’ve got a holiday weekend coming up – and a festive one, at that! – but all day today I’ve firmly felt in my heart that it’s actually Friday. (Note for the history books: It is, in fact, Thursday.) But never you mind what the calendar says! If the brain says it’s Friday, then let’s behave like it’s Friday. Let’s enjoy a glass of wine and a big ol’ plate of good food and get straight into the weekend spirit. (It helps that I’ve got the day off from work tomorrow! LeeLee, sadly, does not.)

So with that in mind, I made one of our favorite meals tonight: spaghetti with vegan meatballs. This is certainly not a new addition to the blog – I’ve gone over it time and time again around this place – but it is certainly beloved. And so easy to put together!

I’m currently fresh out of homemade canned sauce (though tomato season is right around the corner!), so I put together a quick marinara with a can of store-bought tomato sauce, a can of diced tomatoes, some garlic powder, minced onion, dried basil and oregano, salt, and pepper. Once it began to heat up I added a can of sliced mushrooms into the mix, because why not?

 

As the spaghetti boiled, I heated up the meatballs in a skillet, and before too long everything was cooked through and ready for our dining pleasure!

 

The sauce turned out just beautifully – if I do say so myself – and the pasta was wonderfully al dente, while the meatballs’ crispy coating gave way to a tender core with every bite. Despite going back for seconds, we’ve still got plenty left for lunch tomorrow, which isn’t a bad way to kick off the holiday weekend if you ask me!

 

Let’s hear it for Friday on Thursday!

 

:)

Vegan Red Beans and Rice With Grilled Chorizo.

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vegan-red-beans-and-rice

We were both in a Cajun mood tonight, and what better way to capitalize on such a feeling than with red beans and rice? This dish has the dual distinction of being both an incredibly easy after-work meal and one of our favorite go-tos, besides!

Just how easy, you ask? Well, let’s put it this way: While the rice cooked, I took a few minutes to re-mortar a strip in the basement laundry room that has gotten a little, shall we say, defunkitated over the years and has recently begun to leak a tad. And by the time I got done, I still had time to simmer the bean-and-tomato mixture as well as grill up the chorizo in 10 minutes flat! I do love to multitask.

(Incidentally, regarding the mortar, I chose today to embark on this project because no rain was anticipated until tomorrow. It’s been pouring for an hour now with no intention of stopping. But so it goes.)

So at any rate, as the rice cooked and the mortar dried, I heated up a can of red kidney beans and mixed them with a can of diced tomatoes with green chilies to give the pan a little kick. Then I added a generous amount of Cajun seasoning (we’re partial to Tony Chachere around here!) and let the beans simmer for about 15 minutes. As they cooked, I brought out my trusty stovetop grill pan and barbecued four Field Roast chipotle chorizo links to – dare I say! – near-perfection, with grill marks and all. Once the rice cooker clicked off, it was time to eat!

I must say, there’s not a smidgen of rice or beans left (though there are still two chipotle links, which I feel confident LeeLee will make light work of tomorrow). I don’t know what it is about red beans and rice that’s just so dang comforting; it makes us feel like we’ve come home. The buttery smooth beans, the tang of the spicy tomatoes, the rice that offsets the heat – it’s a wonderfully delicate dance that we love every single time. I can’t think of a better way to spend a surprisingly rainy Wednesday evening!

:)

Vegan French Bread Pizzas.

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vegan-french-bread-pizza

What’s better on a Tuesday night than good ol’ pizza? Especially a French bread pizza that can be made in an instant, with minimal muss or fuss?

Tonight was a Women’s World Cup night, you see, and as I type this the U.S.-Germany game is at halftime, so I must be brief. Tonight’s meal prep also needed to be brief so I could get everything in order to watch the game, and French bread pizzas were just the ticket!

I’ve gone over this recipe before on the blog, but suffice it to say, I sliced a loaf of French bread in half crosswise, then did so again lengthwise so that there were four pizza crusts in the end. Then I spooned pizza sauce liberally atop each one and sprinkled Daiya mozzarella to coat. Then I added several Tofurky pepperoni slices as well as some sliced button mushrooms to the crusts, and then sprinkled just a touch more mozzarella on top just to keep the toppings in place. Then I baked the pizzas at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes, and voila!

As the pizzas baked, I tossed a quick salad (romaine, cherry tomatoes, fresh broccoli florets, leftover sliced mushrooms, and some mozzarella, just to name a few ingredients) and by the time the pizzas were done we were more than ready to eat! We washed our meals down with a beer – because it’s a World Cup night, so why not? And then we plunked down to watch the beginning of the game, which has been rather unruly thus far!

… and speaking of the game, it’s about to come back on. Gotta go! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!

:)

Crock-Pot Monday: Spicy Vegetarian Beef-and-Veggie Stew.

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veggie-beef-soup

Well, if it isn’t a new Crock-Pot recipe!

This morning, before work, I whipped up a new vegetable-soup ditty that includes all our favorites: Mixed vegetables, veggie-burger crumbles, and spicy tomatoes with green chilies! What could be better?

Like many of my favorite Crock-Pot recipes, this one couldn’t be easier to make: Simply place a bag of mixed vegetables (we used an asparagus-carrot-corn blend) in the crockery alongside four diced veggie-burger patties and a couple of teaspoons of dried minced onion, then add in a can of tomatoes with green chilies and top with one vegetable bouillon cube and about six cups of water (instead of the cube-and-water combo, vegetable broth would also work if you’re so inclined). Next, just flip the Crock-Pot to Low and cook all the day long!

By the time LeeLee and I got home from work tonight, the house had a wonderful aroma of homemade dinner, and after heating up a couple of garlic breadsticks to complement the stew, we dug right in! The final result was superb. The veggie burgers held up very well in the stew, and the vegetables themselves were crisp-tender for the most part (though a couple of asparagus spears were incredibly soft). The tomatoes with green chilies added a spicy kick to every spoonful, and the hue of onion provided a gentle overtone. The bouillon, meanwhile, had dissolved perfectly well into a lovely, rich broth.

The final analysis: We’ll be making this dish again! Not a bad way to kick off the week, if you ask me!

SPICY VEGETARIAN “BEEF” AND VEGGIE STEW.

Serves 4

What you’ll need:

1 bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 package of veggie burgers
1 can tomatoes with green chilies
2 tsp. dried minced onion
1 vegetable bouillon cube, broken up a bit
6 cups water

Place all of the above into a slow cooker in the order provided (water last!). Flip the dial to Low and cook for 8-10 hours.

Enjoy!

:)

Sunday Cookout: Vegetarian BLT Burgers With Asparagus and Baked Beans.

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veggie-blt-burgers

Hi, friends! I’m back from vacation and ready to roll up my sleeves and get to grilling again! There are no burn warnings here in Virginia at the moment, so I had no qualms about firing up the grill tonight. On the menu: Vegetarian BLT burgers!

First, though, I prepared the baked beans. I placed a can of barbecue beans in an aluminum grill pan, covered it tightly with foil, and cooked the pan over the grill for about 25 minutes. Five minutes in, I added a foil packet filled with fresh asparagus from Great Country Farms, which I seasoned with some Old Bay and olive oil.

Then, 10 minutes into the baked-bean cook time, I added four veggie burgers to the grill as well (one was, sadly, lost to the coals in a bad flip a few minutes later), turning them over every 5 minutes or so. Then I heated up four slices of vegetarian bacon, which require great care since they’re prone to burning and sticking. (But they are completely worth the extra eagle eyes – they’re so crispy and tasty straight from the grill!)

When the 25 minutes had elapsed, I pulled the baked beans off the grill, followed by the asparagus and veggie burgers (two of which had received a slice of cheese by this point). Then I carefully removed the bacon and toasted two buns on the grate while I got the table set. One minute on each side and they, too, were toasty brown!

Then all that was left was the assembly. We added vegan mayo to each slice of bun, then the burger, then the bacon – two slices apiece – and then a slice of tomato, lettuce, and onion. I added ketchup to my burger; LeeLee added mustard as well. And then we dug in!

I do love a BLT burger. The freshness of the romaine melds so nicely with the meaty texture of the veggie burger, and the bacon gives the whole thing a crunch that ties the sandwich together. Nothing screams summer quite like it! And the asparagus and baked beans were very worthy accompaniments, that’s for sure.

After dinner, we enjoyed a frosty beverage and sat outside on the patio, listening to my beloved Widespread Panic play live from Colorado. A cookout, a backyard Panic show – I can’t think of a better way to spend a Sunday evening!

:)

On the Road Again: Peanut-Butter and Banana Sandwiches.

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As I mentioned on Tuesday, my dad and I are traveling around Alaska this week to enjoy some national parks (and some time together). And as soon as we pulled the car into Anchorage to start our adventure, we set our sights on the nearest Fred Meyer – our old friend every time we visit the West! – and picked up provisions for the week. At the top of our list: A loaf of bread, a container of peanut butter, and a bunch of bananas.

PB&B sandwiches are a mainstay of our travel diet each and every year we travel together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! Think of it: Protein, fruit, carbs, and just a hit of sweetness in every bite. Everything’s shelf-stable, so there’s no need to carry around a cooler. A little bit goes an awfully long way. And it can be prepared in the car (the dashboard makes an excellent buffet), atop a picnic table, or on the trail (just look out for bears!), in little to no time. Also, as we discovered this week, the handle of a plastic fork makes an excellent knife when Fred Meyer is sold out of real plastic knives.

Served with some chips, it’s a lunch we can return to time and again. And believe me, we will! Time may pass, our trip locations may change from year to year, but PB&B sandwiches stay the course. I can’t think of a better traveling companion for us both.

:)

Recessionista on Holiday: Spaghetti With Mushroom Marinara.

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vacation-spaghetti

Greetings from the great state of Alaska – or the Upper 1, as my father and I have been calling it! We’re spending the week touring Anchorage and Denali as part of our third annual Daddy-Daughter Week(end) (it started as a weekend, and has grown over the years), and are enjoying our time together immensely.

Beginning today, we’ve launched a brief stint at a cabin in the shadow of Mount McKinley, and, friends, IT HAS A KITCHEN. And a grill. These two facts have made me wildly overexcited to roll up my sleeve and get to cooking!

Originally, we were going to grill out (because you know how I love to do that). But a couple of hurdles were placed in our way. First, this part of Alaska has been home to quite a few wildfires in recent weeks, and to be honest my dad and I were a bit nervous to add to the problem (who wants to be the subject of a headline like, “FATHER, DAUGHTER FROM LOWER 48 WREAK HAVOC ON VACATION”?). Second, to bring perishables to the cabin would mean we would have to 1) purchase a cooler, 2) purchase a bag of ice, 3) replace said ice at least once en route, and 4) then jettison said cooler when we were done with it after only one use. This does not seem very frugal or fun.

And thirdly, it began to rain as soon as we arrived at the cabin tonight. Which made our alternate grocery purchases of spaghetti and marinara sauce seem even more prescient!

And so it’s come to be that tonight we pulled out some pots and pans, heated some water on the stove, and cooked up a big batch of spaghetti with mushroom marinara! “Keep it simple,” my father warned, knowing my proclivity for outlandish shopping lists and menu plans. He was right. A jar of sauce later – doctored up with some sliced mushrooms for texture and fun – and a pot of cooked spaghetti at the ready, and we were ready to eat!

You know, hiking, driving, and moose-viewing takes a lot out of a family. So we chowed down with gusto tonight, each enjoying a couple of helpings before calling it quits. And we’ve got plenty left for breakfast, lunch, or dinner tomorrow! I love leftovers, even on the road.

:)