Whats for dinner?

[administrator]

We seem to be on the same food menu each week and sometimes i get bored.  We pretty much eat rice or rice noodle dishes, so i'm looking for some recipes that are reasonably healthy since dd has to eat it too.  any help would be great. oh and we eat egg and milk products.

TIA.

[kokonutmama]

Have you tried making your own pizza?  You can do fun variations and put as much cheeze on as you want (or none) so it's not all greesy and gross.  I do mine with half whole wheat flour and a little extra gluten for texture.  Of course, I have a bread machine to knead the dough so it's a little easier...

A nice bean salad maybe?  I almost said soup but I know it's super hot there now.

[jnezmama02]

You know I'm not a veg. However, I do cook a few veg. things and these are some of my fav. & easiest things to fix of all time (DH hates them, of course, so I usually eat them for lunch).  The first is for soup; I realize it's summertime there, but this might come in handy in the winter or even if you're cold sitting in the AC. lol!  The second is more of an American "southwest" recipe. I'm not sure how many of the ingredients I included are hard to find in Australia. Let me know if any of the ingredients or measurements need explanation. 

OK, I just read Adrienne's post when I was previewing mine...she mentioned the 2 things I'm listing...soup & bean salad. lol!!

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Tomato Veggie Soup
6 oz  Tomato Paste (1 small can)
1 cup Tomato Sauce (1 small can)
2 cups Vegetable Stock
1-2 cups water (depends on how thick you want soup)
2 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Celery Powder
2 tsp Pepper
2 tsp Salt
24oz Frozen or Fresh Veggies of choice, uncooked (I usually buy 2 12oz bags of frozen "soup" veggies which has carrots, potatoes, butter/lima beans, green beans, onions, celery, corn & peas).

Mix tomato paste, tomato sauce, vegetable stock, water and spices in crockpot or large stockpot with a whisk. Mix in uncooked veggies. Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or on low 6-8 hours.

*NOTE*: Do not use canned veggies as they will be too soggy.  However, canned beans like Kidney beans do fine. I usually add a can of these in there in addition to the veggies & use only 1 cup water to get more of a stew.

---------

Red and Black Bean Salad
1 can black beans
1 can kidney beans
1 can corn with red and green peppers
3 green onions (1/2 cup chopped)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1. Pour both cans of beans into a colander to drain.  Pour the corn on top of the beans. Rinse the vegetables well with cool tap water. Drain well. Pour the beans and corn into a 3-quart or larger bowl.

2. Finely chop the green onions, using all of the whites and enough green tops to make 1/2 cup. Add them to the bowl.

3. Pour the olive oil into a 2-cup glass measure.  Whisk in the vinegar, garlic powder, cumin, salt and black pepper.  Pour the dressing over the bean mixture and stir until well-coated.  Serve at once or chill until ready to serve. 

*Note*: This is great as a side dish or a salad to take to a pot-luck. I often eat a big bowl of this for lunch w/ some tortilla chips & salsa.

[administrator]

we have a bread maker and i used to make our own bread but i got lazy.  so i might give the pizza a try.  only thing is that dh pretty much insists on store bought pizza which is fatty and no good for dd.  we used to make our own pizza but when  our local pizza place only charges $5. for a pizza its hard to ignore.  i think i'll try a bean salad. i'd love it but i don't know about dh.  I love soups and even though its hot where we are i'd love some suggestions.

thanks

[administrator]

Hope, i like the sound of those recipes but is tomato sauce the stuff you put on chips(fries) or the tuff use with pasta?
and green onions, are they the ones with long tube grass like tops?  i think some countries call them schallots.

[jnezmama02]

Hope, i like the sound of those recipes but is tomato sauce the stuff you put on chips(fries) or the tuff use with pasta?
and green onions, are they the ones with long tube grass like tops?  i think some countries call them schallots.

Tomato sauce in the US is neither ketchup (I guess what you call tomato sauce) nor is it a prepared pasta sauce. Here, it's is a base ingredient used in a lot of  cooking; it's the base ingredient for most prepared pasta sauce. It's basically tomato paste, water & spices blended together.  I found a link to clarify: http://www.redgold.com/products/redgold_sauce_puree.html

If you can't find an equivalent product in Aus., you could just put in another can of tomato paste w/ another cup of water and some additional garlic and onion powder. OR, you just skip the tomato paste, tomato sauce & water altogether and put in a couple cans of tomato soup.

Yes, green onions are the onions w/ white on bottom and long green tubes on top. It's sometimes called a scallion. A shallot is something completely different here.  Here's a link to verify we're talking about he same thing:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_onion

If you can't find any, you could use whatever onion you have on hand & it will turn out fine. 

HTH!

[kokonutmama]

I got this one off the internet.  I didn't make it exactly as this recipe says, but I hardly do anything strictly "by-the-book." believe it or not I did have some dulse laying around so I threw it in there.  It was super duper yummy oh liscious!! 



Winter Squash Stew
Ingredients (use vegan versions):
Winter squash - something orange, about 2 to 3 cups, peeled, seeded and cubed (about 1" cubes)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed with a garlic press
2 cups cooked or canned beans - pinto, black, red, aduki, or such
1 can diced green chilies (or fresh chiles roasted, seeded and chopped)
1 can diced tomatoes, or two fresh tomatoes. chopped
2 tablespoon dulse flakes (a kind of seaweed), or whole dulse cut with scissors.
1/2 cup sea palm (another seaweed) - cut with scissors and soak in 2 cups hot water for 20 min
Black pepper
2 tablespoon olive oil
Directions:


Optional:
Ingredients (use vegan versions):

2 carrots, sliced
4 red potatoes, cubes
1 red pepper, sliced (or you can use roasted red pepper)
1 dried red pepper (ancho or pasilla or such)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can corn, or kernals from 1 or two fresh ears
There are many possible additions and variations - try some!
Directions:

Serves 6-8.

This is a very free-flowing recipe. Use what you have on hand, and think "American". Also, look at the colors - does it need red? - add some red peppers. Green or yellow or orange? -Add the appropriate vegetable.

Add the vegies and condiments that were here before the Europeans, and you are bound to be on the right path. Other stuff is good too - like potatoes and black pepper, though they are not necessary. This is a dish of your own making.

Use a cast iron pot or other good stew pot.

Saute the onions in the olive oil until transparent. Add carrots shortly before the onions if you like. This would be a good time for fresh bell pepper too (optional). This is also when you would put in crisper stuff - fresh peppers or corn, etc.

Add the cubed winter squash (and potatoes if you like), and saute briefly.

Add the garlic and tomatoes, saute briefly.

Add the chopped dulse, sea palm, and liquid from soaking the sea palm.

Add the cooked beans, and any other canned veggies such as green peppers, red peppers, corn, etc.

Add the dried red pepper if chosen.

Season to taste with black pepper.

Simmer until the squash and potatoes (optional) are done. Taste and add seasoning if needed.

Don't overcook or you will have mush.

Serve with over rice if you like, or as a stew. You can stir yogurt into individual servings for a creamier sauce. (Cooking yogurt into the dish curdles the yogurt).

This dish pleases some essential wintertime part of us. I like it, and my friends like it. They take the idea home, play with it, and make it their own. It is always different, depending on what I have on hand, and how I choose to make it.

Seaweed is a fun path for exploration. You can get some kinds at your local health food store or food coop. Asian food markets are a good source for some types. I buy mine from the Mendocino Sea Vegetable folks. Lots of new tastes to work with, and trace minerals too!

[jnezmama02]

That sounds good, Adrienne. 

I also forgot to mention that my fav. meal of all time is a bean burrito. Do you guys have those there?  It's just basically, refried beans (cooked & mashed pinto beans or black beans) on a warmed, flour tortilla that's rolled up loosely. You can add all kinds of toppings, including taco sauce, shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese, onions, black olives, lettuce, tomato, guacamole, sour cream, or avacado. I usually just put cheese, taco sauce & lettuce cuz it's easiest. But, I LOVE them w/ all of the above, if I've got them in the house.

You could also add all of the above toppings on top of tortilla chips to make nachos.

Another easy thing is a cheese and onion Enchilada. I just saute some chopped onion in a little oil. Then, I add a little bit of the onion and some shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese on a corn tortilla and roll it up tightly. Then, I top all the rolled enchiladas w/ Enchilada sauce and bake for 20min, or until the cheese is melted,  in a 350 oven. I prefer it topped w/ sour cream.

As you can tell, Southwestern is my fav kind of food of all time. I'm not sure how much of this type of food you get down there...but it sure is yummy (and can be healthy or not so much, depending on how you make it). 

---

Here's another soup recipe I've made. This one is an italian bean & pasta soup.

Pasta e Fagioli
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis (though I've changed it some to make it veg....the original called for chicken broth instead of veg. broth and had pancetta, a type of italian ham added into it. But, those things aren't necessary. I've made this completely veg. for myself and thought it was absolutely yummy)

4 sprigs fresh thyme
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
5 3/4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
2 (14.5-ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup elbow macaroni
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Wrap the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaf in a piece of cheesecloth and secure closed with kitchen twine. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and butter in a heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, beans, and sachet of herbs. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to medium and simmer until the vegetables are very tender, about 10 minutes. Discard the sachet. Puree 1 cup of the bean mixture in a blender until smooth*. Before putting the puree back into the soup, add the macaroni and boil with the lid on until it is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Return the puree to the remaining soup in the saucepan and stir well. Season the soup with ground black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with some Parmesan and drizzle with extra-virgin olive oil just before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth.

[shazzy]

Mmmmm, my kind of message board 

As people who know me can testify, I love to cook!

One of my fav things to do is to boil some pasta and add a quick sauce I make with:

A small white onion
A red capsicum (bell pepper for the US peoples)
3 or 4 diced tomatoes (depending on size)
Some sun-dried tomatoes, sliced into strips
6 - 8 button mushrooms
A tspn of Pesto
A tspn of Garlic (who cares if our breath smells, it's good for us)
A little olive oil
And a little water

I start off by cooking the onion in the oil with the garlic and pesto until they start to go clear. Then I add the diced tomatoes and the sun-dried tomatoes.  Once they start to soften I add the capsicum and the mushrooms.  At this point I sometimes need to add a bit of water, depending on how much is released from the tomatoes (and whether anything is sticking to the pan).  Once it has all softened I add the cooked pasta and give it a stir.  Serve with a bit of Parmesan on top and a salad on the side if you wish.  It's a pretty rich dish, but very satisfying and comforting. 

I know some people don't like wheat, but you can get great rice pasta. 

Enjoy

[mum2maddox]

hi

megs just in case you didnt find out as i am over here... green onions are schallots and tomato  sause is our paste... more or less.

i have heaps of good veg recipes maddox loves... but as im in canada i will post them in a few days...

sars

[FionaK]

I just posted some meal ideas on the thread about protein, so wont bother reposting them here but thought I'd mention it incase you don't look over there!  Nut/rice balls and others.