Sunday, January 27, 2013

Vegetarian Pozole



Ingredients:

1-2 29 oz. cans of hominy
5 cups mock chicken stock or vegetable broth
2 cups water or more for desired consistency
1-2 limes (juiced)
4-6 chicken patties (optional)
1 tsp salt
pinch of black pepper
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1 tsp Mexican oregano
1 small white onion
2 cloves pressed garlic
2 tsp cumin
1tsp masa
 1 cup pumpkin seeds
2 chile anchos (dried)
5 chiles de arbol
2 chile guajillos
1 cup cilantro
1-2 tbs vegetable oil

Garnishes:
Avocado cubed
 Radishes thinly sliced
Cabbage thinly shredded
Cilantro

Directions:
Open up the dried chiles and remove the seeds. Toast pumpkin seeds and dried chiles in oil. Once peppers have softened and the seeds are toasted, remove from pan and place in a blender or food processor with the cilantro and about 1 cup of broth. Blend until smooth and place to the side. Add another tbs of oil to the pan if necessary. Sauté onion in oil. Add pressed garlic and spices and continue to saute until the onions are soft. Add in blended chile mixture and "chicken". (I like to use fake chicken patties with the breading removed and cut them up like shredded chicken. I tried using morning star chicken strips meal starters and the texture was too gummy. This can be experimented with or left out all together.) Add hominy, broth, lime juice and water. I used one and 1/2 cans of hominy. Cook until hominy is soft and you have the desired soup consistency. Add water as necessary.

I cut up 2 avocados into cubes and added to the soup at the end. Garnish with radish and cabbage when served. This recipe yields about 1.5 quarts.

 






Monday, January 21, 2013

Cheap and Easy Dinner for 4



This recipe is so great because you can cater it to whatever you have on hand.   The onion makes it super flavorful all by itself!  Great as leftovers.  Can also be thrown on the grill.

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef substitute
1/2 Onion
1/2 bag Baby Carrots
4-5 Potatoes
Salt and Pepper to taste
Olive Oil

Some Optional Add-Ons or Substitutions:

Garlic cloves
Brussel Sprouts
Cayenne or Paprika Powder
Anything you want!

Cover a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and layer with all ingredients, ground beef substitute added last because it cooks the fastest.  Drizzle with Olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper to your liking.  Toss lightly to coat.  Bake at 400 for an hour or until potatoes are soft.
Easy!

If you would rather grill it just wrap in aluminum foil and throw on the grill until the potatoes are soft.