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The Kitchen Recessionista

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

Vegan Bacon Cheeseburger Hash.

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Well, I’ve found a new cookbook that I absolutely adore, and I must share it with you posthaste!
When I was at the library a week or so ago, I stumbled upon Betty Goes Vegan, by Annie and Dan Shannon, and after thumbing through it there in the aisle, I was instantly smitten.  I happen to love everything Betty Crocker has ever done – the only trouble is, since I’ve been vegetarian for the last one-and-a-half decades, I’ve not been able to enjoy everything Ms. Crocker has to offer for quite some time!  Betty Goes Vegan does a remarkable job of veganizing all of good old Betty’s recipes – and the results are astounding.
So with that in mind, tonight I pulled out my biggest cast-iron skillet and got to work on Vegan Bacon Cheeseburger Hash.  I won’t delve into the intracacies of the recipe here – the Shannons have a book to sell! – but let me just say that the blend of ground “beef,” diced onion, diced tomato, liquid smoke, and frozen breakfast potatoes did my heart good.  It’s a Monday, things are stressful at work, and I’ve just returned from a weekend visiting family and have as usual left a bit of my heart with them; combine all of these things together and I was in desperate need of comfort food tonight!  This cheeseburger hash came in mighty handy on that front; my hunger, both physical and emotional, was quelled.  I can’t think of anything more to ask of a weekday dinner!

And to make matters even better, it only took about 20 minutes from end to end to cook.  And did I mention I got to use my beloved cast-iron skillet?  (I know I’ve already mentioned that.  I just love it so!)  I’ll definitely return to Betty Goes Vegan in short order.  Look for another test run next week sometime!

:)

The Basil Cometh.

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Friends, we have three — three! — fully functioning basil plants in the back yard at present.  Not that I’m complaining — we all love basil here at Chez Recessionista.  So although we enjoyed a round of lemon-basil pasta just recently, we trotted it back out again tonight for a curtain call, chopping down an entire half of one basil plant for the occasion.  No matter; you can hardly see the dent we made in our herb garden!  But that’s OK.  I can’t think of a better way to use up some locally sourced produce!

First, the Wonder-Cat supervised, comparing my movements with those in the cookbook she’s sitting on:

Then, as the pasta cooked, I prepared the veggies and lemon sauce:

Then, once I drained the pasta, I added it to the bowl:

And then, gloriously … we ate.

And all was right with the world!

:)

Sunday Cookout: Tucson Veggie Dogs With Grilled Green Beans and Corn.

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Now THIS is how summertime cookouts should be!
We haven’t had a Sunday cookout in awhile, due primarily to my absence the last two weekends and then Mother Nature’s Rainstorm That Wasn’t the weekend before that.  Since it’s been awhile, naturally I attacked the grill menu with renewed fervor – absence makes the heart grow fonder, and all that!  I was in the mood for veggie dogs tonight, but not just the regular fare; no, I was looking for something a bit more exciting, a bit more memorable.
I remembered a few recipes I saw over at Tablespoon.com a year or so ago that I felt sure would fit the bill, and sure enough, one of them really piqued my interest heading into the weekend.  Tucson dogs – teeming with chili beans, tomatoes, cheese, veggie bacon – would hit the spot indeed!
As for side items, our friends over at Great Country Farms took care of that with ease.   I cooked some of this week’s green beans in a foil packet with a dollop of butter and a hearty helping of chipotle seasoning – just half an hour or so on the grill was all it took!  Also in this week’s farm box were several ears of corn – the first corn of the summer for us! – so I laid each ear on a sheet of aluminum foil, nestled a pat of butter in alongside the kernels, sprinkled some garlic powder across the top, and wrapped each packet up tightly.  I grilled the corn for about 20-25 minutes, and the kernels were juicy and soft by the time dinner was ready.
For the Tucson dogs themselves, I used Lightlife’s Tofu Pups, cooked them until they had pretty grillmarks, and then dressed them up in all their finery!  We used regular hot-dog buns (the recipe above calls for a fancy French bread, but we like good old potato rolls), added a dab (or three) of Vegenaise to the bread, laid the dog in the bun, and dressed it with chili beans, Roma tomato slices, Manchego cheese crumbles, and veggie bacon crumbles – from slices we grilled to give them a nice char.  These veggie dogs were beasts, people.  They were souped-up versions of your garden-variety dogs, the Ferrari as compared to an El Camino (not that there’s anything wrong with an El Camino!).
To add to our enthusiasm, everything tasted just great!  The Tucson dogs were teeming with complementary flavors, from the spice of the chili beans to the smooth mellowness of the cheese; the green beans were crispy but well-cooked, and the chipotle powder gave them a fun little spicy kick; and the corn was very likely the sweetest we’ll enjoy all summer, juice dribbling from each kernel with every bite.  Put it all together, and this dinner was just how a Sunday cookout should be!  I’m looking forward to next weekend already.
:)

Vegan “Shrimp” With Chili Noodles.

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Over the past few days, I’ve found myself craving the vegan “shrimp” that I’ve come to know and love recently, and tonight I could stand it no longer!  I decided to use them in an Asian-inspired dish, served atop rice noodles that I’d sautéed in a chili sauce.
The shrimp, as usual, couldn’t be easier to make.  We used Sophie’s Kitchen breaded shrimp again, and they baked up just as well as they normally do!  This time around, I tossed some spring rolls onto the baking sheet as well – may as well do double duty! 
As the shrimp cooked, I boiled some water to heat my rice noodles in.  Once the water was rolling nicely, I added the noodles, gave them a hearty stir, and prepared the sauce.  Unfortunately, I don’t have decent measurements to give you – I used equal parts chili sauce (think Sriracha) and soy sauce, then blended in some honey and rice vinegar for sweetness and tang respectively.  I whisked all of the above in a bowl and set it aside until the noodles were fully cooked and drained.
Once they were indeed drained, I put the noodles back into the pan and added the sauce, stirring to coat every strand evenly.  As I stirred, I kept the heat at Low, allowing the sauce to warm up quickly.  Within a minute or two, the noodles had a lovely reddish hue, and it was time to eat!
Now, let me tell you – this sauce was spicy.  LeeLee and I happen to enjoy spicy, however, so that was OK with us.  Also, the sauce seemed to be lacking a complexity in flavor that I was expecting; I’ll have to play around with the seasonings next time and see whether that makes a difference (I know it will, but I’m hopeful it will make a positivedifference!).  That said, we loved this meal – the shrimp paired nicely with the spicy noodles, and the spring rolls of course served as a wonderful side item!  A few more tweaks of the chili noodles and we’ll be in business!

:)

Sloppy Joes With Peas and Parslied Potatoes.

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Today’s been a rainy, gray day for the most part, and I felt like we needed something hearty to both reflect and reject such an atmosphere!  Don’t get me wrong, I do love a dreary day from time to time – but by dinnertime, it was time to perk things up.  So as soon as I got home from work, I began dicing up some potatoes from Great Country Farms and put them in a large pot to boil, turning the heat down to Medium once the water started to roll.
As the potatoes cooked – I wanted them to be just barely softened all the way through, retaining a slight crunch – I started in on the sloppy Joes.  Over the years, my recipe has gotten simpler and simpler, not that there’s anything wrong with that.  I coated a pan with cooking spray, added a package of vegetarian ground “beef,” then tossed in a drained can of sliced mushrooms and sprinkled some onion powder on top.  Once the food began to heat up, I added in a small jar of pizza sauce, mixed everything together well, and let it simmer until the potatoes and peas were done.
Speaking of peas, they were as simple as ever to make – we used canned English peas and simply sprinkled some black pepper in the pan along with them as they heated through.
After 20-25 minutes, the potatoes were finished!  I drained them well and then put them in a serving dish, tossing them with several pats of butter and two generous handfuls of parsley from the herb garden out back.
Next it was time to serve up the sloppy Joes – we used hamburger onion rolls as the base and piled the buns high with the beef mixture.  Several spoonfuls of peas on the side, and we were ready to eat!
I confess that there weren’t many leftovers from this meal; we both came to the table hungry today!  And this dinner did indeed brighten up our day and our spirits.  In fact, by the time dinner was over, the sun had even come out for a bit before dark.  Was that caused by our sloppy Joes?  I highly doubt it.  But it was a happy coincidence, anyway.

:)

Breakfast for Dinner.

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Tonight was a weird one in several ways: It was my first night back in town in more than a week, and LeeLee had to run off to a meeting immediately after work, meaning he wouldn’t be home for dinner.  But although I wouldn’t have a dinner companion, I couldn’t stand the thought of eating out again – I’d been doing that for a week straight!  I knew I needed something easy to make and filling – and fast.
You can count on good old breakfast for dinner!  I mixed up a batch of biscuits (using Bisquick, because, um, it’s quick), heated two vegetarian sausage links, and, in the last few minutes of the biscuits’ cooking process, fried an egg to accompany the meal.  (As you might be able to see from the photo, I may have left it in one minute too long; the edges got a bit crispy!  But we’re all friends here, right?)
Though this dinner is incredibly easy to make, it’s also incredibly tasty.  I like to add a pat of butter to my biscuits, and sometimes I tuck a sausage link in between the slices as well for some extra flair, because why not?
If I’d been on top of my game, I’d have enjoyed a mimosa to drink along with the meal to complete the theme.  Instead, I just had water.  Oh, well – breakfast for dinner hit the spot regardless!

:)

New Recipe: Classy Nachos.

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“These aren’t just nachos,” I said to LeeLee on the phone as he drove home from work.  “These are classy nachos.”
I know I needn’t justify my choice in menu items tonight; dinners come in all shapes and sizes, as well as various levels of complexity.  But often, the word “nachos” in our house means chips, beans, and cheese – that’s that, simple enough.  Tonight, however, I decided to go a few steps further.  Tonight, I decided to make our nachos classy.
Now, before I go any further, let me just state that this is yet another way to keep up with the conga line of squash that is parading through our home at the moment.  About 15 minutes before serving, I diced up a yellow squash (courtesy of Great Country Farms) and put the pieces in a pan on medium heat – I sprayed said pan with cooking spray first, I should add – and once the squash was becoming translucent, I added a bag of vegetarian burger crumbles, seasoning the mixture with adobo seasoning.  Once the crumbles were heated through and nicely browned, I took them off the heat and prepared my nachos!
First, I laid down a layer of tortilla chips on each of our plates.  Then I spooned a hearty dose of refried beans atop the chips.  Next came the “beef” and squash mixture, and then about half a cup of Mexican blend cheese.  Finally, I topped each plate with sliced black olives and sliced jalapeno peppers, and then it was time to heat everything up.
So into the microwave our plates went, one after the other, for about 90 seconds each.  When the microwave beeped, the cheese was melted and the beans were heated up, and we dug in to eat!
I have to say, I’m a sucker for nachos.  And these were perhaps the best I’ve ever made at home.  They were hearty, filling, flavorful – and classy!  As advertised.
CLASSY NACHOS
Serves two (or more)
What you’ll need:
1 summer squash, diced
1 bag vegetarian burger crumbles
Adobo seasoning, to taste
1 bag tortilla chips
1 can vegetarian refried beans
1 2-cup bag of shredded Mexican cheese
1 small can sliced black olives
1 jar sliced jalapenos
Salsa, guacamole, sour cream, and/or hot sauce, to taste
Coat a nonstick pan with cooking spray and heat it to Medium.  Add the squash and cook until just translucent.  Next, add the burger crumbles and adobo seasoning, and cook until fully heated through.
Assemble your nachos by placing the tortilla chips atop a dinner plate and topping them with the refried beans, bean and squash mixture, half a cup of cheese, olives, and jalapenos.  Cook in the microwave for 1-2 minutes and serve with any assortment of side items (some of my favorites are listed above).
Enjoy!

:)

Lemon-Basil Pasta With Garlic Bread.

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Now, if this isn’t the quintessential summertime meal, I don’t know what is!
I’m not gonna lie – it’s been a bit of a rough day.  Work and home events (with a $650 mechanic bill as the cherry on top!) today have conspired to cast a pall over Chez Recessionista today, so I knew that what LeeLee and I needed was a bright and cheerful meal, and fast.  (A glass of white wine didn’t hurt, either.)  Enter: Lemon-basil pasta!
I know I’ve written about this dish before, but indulge me for a moment, if you please, in this my hour of need. :)  I can’t get over how such a simple, quick-cooking dinner can taste so good!  But this one hits the spot, each and every time.
Tonight, as the penne cooked, I added a quarter-cup of olive oil, a tablespoon (plus a splash) of white balsamic vinegar, the juice of two lemons, a carton of grape tomatoes, about 20 leaves of chopped basil, a block of cubed Gruyere cheese, salt, and pepper to a serving dish and combined them all well.  Once the pasta drained, I tossed it with the oil-and-lemon mixture, plunked a slice of toasted garlic bread on each of our plates, and dug in!
I’m telling you what, this may have been a stressful day, but by the end of this dinner we were both more relaxed, laughing and carrying on as per normal.  That’s the magic of the lemon-basil pasta, friends.  (And maybe the glass of wine.)  It’s a curative remedy for whatever ails you!

:)

Sunday Cook-In: “Pepperoni” Pizza With Salad.

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Instead of my usual grilled mini-pizzas, tonight I wanted to try to bake a full-sized pie over the coals, but Ma Nature gave us a head-fake.  As soon as the dough had finished rising, here came the rain, little drizzles and showers sprinkling down in the back yard.
I gave it a few minutes to sort itself out.  No dice.  So after much deliberation, LeeLee and I decided to simply bake the pizza in the oven.  And AS SOON AS I PUT THE PAN IN THE OVEN, the sky cleared and the sun came out.
Oh, Ma Nature.  You can be so fickle.
On the plus side, the pizza was great – we used the dough recipe I’ve blogged about before, and topped it with sauce, whole basil and Cuban oregano leaves, mozzarella cheese, veggie pepperoni, and chopped bell pepper.  We paired it with a side salad teeming with great veggies, including a cucumber from last week’s Great Country Farms box, and in tandem they made a great meal!
So maybe we didn’t have the cookout of our dreams, and maybe I didn’t get a chance to give my new grilled-pizza concept a try.  Oh, well.  The end result was great!

:)