~*✸*~ Shared Recipe Thread ~*✸*~ « Back to Group Discussions

[babytoes]

I decided to start a recipe thread. We all have talked about doing one, and I think its a fabulous idea! 

We should make sure that when posting a recipe you have all the components so others don't get confused or miss an important ingredient. I decided to start off with a staple in our house, I usually make it two or three times a month and it's always a huge hit.

White Bean & Chicken Chili

INGREDIENTS

1 pound Chicken chopped into smallish chunks

2 cans Great Northern beans, rinsed

2 small cans chopped mild green chilies (I like the fire roasted ones)

1 small onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 jalapeño chopped (leave out the seeds for a more mild flavor)

1 or 2 cups chicken broth

1 tbs. dried Oregano

1 tsp. Cumin

1 tsp. Curry

1/2 tsp. Smoked Paprika

1/4 tsp. Cayenne pepper

1/4 cup fresh Cilantro leaves chopped

salt and pepper to taste

PROCEDURE

In a large pan, one about 3 quarts works best, on medium heat make a circle with the olive oil and dump in your chopped onion and red pepper. Cook slowly until the onion is translucent and peppers are soft, then add in the jalapeño. cook for another 2-3 minutes, being sure not to allow anything to burn. Now add in the chicken and cook through, browning all sides.  At this point add in the rinsed beans and green chiles, and add enough chicken broth to almost cover everything, stir and bring to a low simmer. Now add in the Oregano, Cumin, Curry, Smoked Paprika, and Cayenne pepper and stir it all in. You will need to let it simmer for about 20 minutes or until it starts to look thick. Taste it and season with salt and pepper, and you’re all done! We top ours with sour cream, and I put Avocados on mine.

So there you have it! This recipe is from my blog, and I have others on there I will share here. Enjoy!! Oh, and here's a picture I took and put on my blog of the final dish...

[jodieanneanton]

That looks AMAZING, babytoes!  

[Melany]

babytoes: I have a VERY similar recipe that I do in the crock pot. SO GOOD! I add the chicken whole and then shred it with some forks about 30 minutes before serving. You have to add a little extra liquid to the crock pot, but it's very easy and then your house smells delicious for hours. Sometimes, I'll thicken up the crock pot version by also whisking 1 Tbspn of corn starch or flour to about a cup of the soup liquid and pouring it back in right as I pull the chicken out to shred it. I think we will be having this tomorrow night.... Mmmm....

[cabbitdancer]

I totally messed up the cheesy chicken poblano chowder on Sunday night, or I'd be posting my recipe. It's tasty, but the cheese wound up stuck to the pan. Boo! I've never had that happen to me, so I need to figure out what I did wrong, this time.

[chocolatechip]

Yay, thanks for starting this, babytoes! The chili sounds awesome. I hope baby decides to like beans at some point in this pregnancy...

Here is a recipe for a really good, protein and calorie dense snack that is super easy to make. Thanks to my cousin, who passed it on to me, and says she got it from here: http://www.food.com/recipe/carob-balls-326962

Carob Balls

Ingredients:

1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. sesame seeds
1/2 c. honey
1/2 c. carob powder
1/2 c. crunchy almond or peanut butter
about 1/2 c. shredded coconut [I'm not a fan of coconut, so I skipped it]
 

Process:

If desired, crush sunflower and sesame seeds. [I don't]
Mix all the ingredients except coconut.
Shape into bite-sized balls.
Roll the balls in the coconut.
Refrigerate until firm - this works really well if you put them in a single layer on a cookie sheet while chilling, and then you can pile them into a storage container afterward.

 

They seem to keep best in the fridge, but should also be transportable.

Makes about 30 balls.

[writermama12]

C. chip, this snack sounds AWESOME! I am going to make some tonight!!

[spughy]

Ham & Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups (dried) mixed beans (and rice, if you like... I buy a locally put-together-for-charity bean & rice mix)

1-2 smoked pork hocks (1 if big, 2 if small)

1 diced onion

2 sticks celery, diced

2 small-med carrots, diced

bay leaves

2 large cans diced tomatoes or a pile of fresh romas, if you have them

molasses

tabasco sauce

salt to taste (you may not need any, depending on how salty your pork hocks are)

SOAK BEANS OVERNIGHT IN SALTED WATER. RINSE & DRAIN.

Sautee onions, carrots & celery until they are getting translucent. Add beans, pork hocks and bay leaves.  Add about 1 1/2 gallons of water, more or less.  Everything should be covered, but if you have a bone sticking out that's ok.   Simmer, covered, for 1 1/2 hours.  Remove pork hocks and cool until you can handle them, then pull the meat from the bones and dice it.  Test beans - if they need more cooking, put the bones back in the water and continue to simmer with beans until beans are tender.  Remove bones.  Add diced pork and tomatoes.  Salt to taste. Add molasses, a glug at a time, until the soup tastes right - hearty, but not too sweet. (This will depend on what type of molasses you have.  Since it doesn't take a lot of molasses, I don't buy a specific type for this recipe, I just use what's in the cupboard.)  Add a dash or two of tabasco sauce.

Serve and enjoy!  This recipe cans really well.  More of the beans break down so it's thicker and richer after it's had a trip through the pressure cooker (pint jars are most convenient for single-serving lunches.)
 

[writermama12]

spughy, that recipe lights my fire! I think I'll give it a try next week. c. chip, those carob ball things (minus the carob because I didn't have any) were so good, they were gone in a day! My whole family loved them. ;) For flavor I added raisins and cranberries and processed all the ingredients until they were diced into tiny pieces. I used raw honey too but I think next time I'll use liquid honey because some of them didn't seem sticky enough to hold together really well. 

[chocolatechip]

Ooh, ham & bean soup also sounds amazing! I had a couple small spoonfuls of beans with some Mexican food last night, and it seemed generally okay. Maybe I'm getting better with beans?? I hope so!

writermama, so glad you liked them! I love just how easy they are. :) I bet the dried fruit was great. My cousin ended up mailing me carob powder, because I was having trouble finding it. Probably makes it seem more dessert-like, but I do recommend trying it at some point! And yes, I do think the liquid honey helps pull it all together. I find the balls have really good structural integrity when made with both the honey and the carob powder, so if you don't add carob, maybe don't replace all of the honey with liquid, or it might end up too sticky?

[babytoes]

How about some breakfast ideas? I have been working really hard to get lots of protein in every meal, not normally something I think about. Before I got pregnant I usually skipped breakfast all together, but over the last few months I have slowly gotten into the grove of having breakfast and now I am enjoying it! I love breakfast foods anyway, and we will have breakfast for dinner quite a bit. Of course my boys always request pancakes, but I have become really good at omelets (they have not been an easy thing for me to conquer!), and this new little bitty that is so easy, and yet so yummy! 

Tomatoes and Eggs on Cinnamon Toast  

2 slices of cinnamon swirl bread (I use whole wheat)

2 eggs, fried over easy

2 slices of cheese (choose your favorite, cheddar is fantastic!)

2 slices of tomato

mayo (I am a huge fan of Vegenaise, but use whatever kind you like)

Dijon mustard

garlic powder

salt

pepper

salsa for topping

Procedure

Toss the bread into the toaster while the pan for your eggs is getting hot. Once your pan is the right temp, spray with non stick and get your egg or eggs into it (I have a little egg pan I bought from T.J. Maxx that makes the most perfect little round fried eggs.), once the eggs are in, sprinkle the top of each with garlic powder, salt and pepper. While the eggs are cooking put some mayo and mustard on each piece of toast. Then when your eggs are done (I like mine over easy with very runny yokes, but I know its not for everyone!) to your liking, place one egg on each piece of toast. top the eggs with a nice thick slice of tomato and sprinkle each one with salt and pepper. Put a bit of salsa on the tomato and your done! The mixture of sweet and savory is so delish! And this breakfast will fill you up, besides being super good for you! 

ENJOY!!

[cabbitdancer]

Oh my goodness, my mouth is watering just thinking about that recipe, babytoes! Yum!

[chocolatechip]

Ooh, that looks great! My stove is currently down to one working burner, which is cramping my cooking style a little bit, sadly... 

[writermama12]

Alright, jodie, I finally got my act together to post this awesome pie. With H. Sandy heading in & whipping the trees around, my family has been camping out inside today, playing scrabble, roasting chicken and baking pies!

Note: This pie is not super sweet, just mildly sweet. If you want a sweeter pie, add more honey or if you eat sugar, add some sugar. 

Honey-Coconut-Pumpkin Pie

Filling Ingredients: for two pies

4 c or about 1/2 small roasted sugar pumpkin

4 large eggs

1/2 c milk or water

2 c honey

3-5 tsp cinnamon

1.5 tsp sea salt

2 tsp ginger

2 tsp all spice

3 tsp corn starch

3 Tbls coconut oil

1 c shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 425. Make or use premade pie crust. I make a whole wheat  hot water pastry dough/pie crust to increase the wholesomeness and snackability of this pie so we can eat it any time of day!

Mix ingredients in a food processor or mash and blend well. 

Bake @ 425 for 10 min. then bake @ 300 for 45 min. or until lightly browned on top. Cool and enjoy with milk any time because this is a healthy sweet treat!

Edited by writermama12 - 11/14/12 at 4:23am

[jodieanneanton]

thank you, writermama!!! :)  I was really hoping I'd be able to get this recipe from you!  I'll let you know how it turns out when I make it in the next couple of weeks! :)

[cabbitdancer]

I actually took what recipes I could find online for dirty rice and blended them with my own ideas of what dirty rice should be, along with some directions for cooking sausage and rice in the crockpot and this is what I came up with. We like leftovers in our house (we have a 6 qt crockpot and it was FULL), so feel free to halve this, if you like.

CROCKPOT DIRTY RICE

4 cups of uncooked jasmine rice

6 1/2 cups of chicken broth

1 lb pork sausage

1 lb ground beef

4 T butter

2 c yellow onion, diced

1 c celery, diced

1 c green onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 lb andouille sausage (I used precooked), cut into pieces.

To taste: coarse salt, dried parsley, thyme, basil, ground cumin, ground chipotle chile, Louisiana seasoning, cayenne pepper

1. Cook the rice with the chicken broth.

2. Fry the pork sausage and the ground beef until thoroughly cooked. Drain. Remove from pan.

3. In the same pan, sautee the yellow and green onions, celery, and garlic with the butter.

4. Toss everything into the crockpot and mix it together then heat on low for about 4 hours.

Delicious!

[Melany]

Anyone have any great Thanksgiving ideas that are also Vegan? I'd like to make some items that the meat eaters will not notice is meant for the non-meat eaters. :)

Do you think the pumpkin pie recipe, above, would work with coconut milk instead of cow's milk? I've used coconut oil as the fat in my pie crusts before with great success. So, I could make it 100% vegan. Except, I'd need to figure out the eggs. Maybe bananas? 

[LightForest]

Originally Posted by Melany 

Anyone have any great Thanksgiving ideas that are also Vegan? I'd like to make some items that the meat eaters will not notice is meant for the non-meat eaters. :)

Do you think the pumpkin pie recipe, above, would work with coconut milk instead of cow's milk? I've used coconut oil as the fat in my pie crusts before with great success. So, I could make it 100% vegan. Except, I'd need to figure out the eggs. Maybe bananas? 

Ooh I've been thinking about Thanksgiving recipes for about a month already!! Yummm!!!!

If you can do a vegan mashed potatoes and gravy, that would be great. A vegan mushroom gravy, made with Bragg's aminos and some nutritional yeast, is really tasty. Mashed potatoes might need a vegan margarine and soy creamer or something like that to get them really "creamy" tasting. I've seen some great recipes for mashed potato/cauliflower that claims to be ultra creamy...

A lot of thanksgiving - type recipes can be made vegan relatively easily... Like stuffing/dressing. I always do a southern style dressing (more like a savory bread pudding) with cornbread, whole wheat bread, celery, mushrooms, carrots, and veggie stock. Then add something special like maybe roasted chestnuts. You could apply the same idea to a dryer "stuffing" type recipe. Dried cranberries would be a nice addition if you like the sweet/tart taste.

I love savory, meaty foods (even though I've been vegetarian for years and have been vegan off and on too), so I always go for the lentil/mushroom loaf, or seitan loaf. Smother it with gravy and mashed potatoes and I'm in heaven. My DH likes tofurkey or field roast (both store bought vegan "celebration loafs") over my homemade attempts, and I do admit that they are tasty and easy.

Ooh, one other idea: I love a big plate of roasted veggies (potatoes, beets, carrots, brussles sprouts, etc) with a tahini dressing.

I'll dig through my old bookmarks to find some links to vegan Thanksgiving menus that I've collected over the years - will post again when I find them.

About your pie question: I don't think I've ever attempted a vegan pumpkin pie but I assume it would need some sort of binding ingredient in place of the eggs, to help firm things up while baking?? Maybe ground flax or egg replacer powder?? I would personally replace the cow's milk with almond milk or a thicker/richer soy cream rather than coconut milk (I just find the flavor of coconut milk to be too overpowering, but that's me). When subbing for cow's milk you just want to make sure you keep the consistency really creamy and rich, not watery.

[chocolatechip]

Not on a Thanksgiving theme, but I said in the "what are you eating" thread that I would post the chicken pot pie recipe I've been making in here.  There are lots of notes because I like to keep track of changes that I make while cooking, but maybe they will help you see what kind of adjustments are easily made! I like this recipe, because I usually have the ingredients in the house (aside from phyllo dough, but that can be kept in the freezer), you don't need a crust just phyllo dough, and it's pretty easy to make.

LIGHTER CHICKEN POT PIE

Recipe from: http://www.marthastewart.com/317035/lighter-chicken-potpie

Ingredients

2 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves (12 to 14 ounces each) [dark meat is also fine]

Coarse salt and ground pepper

3 tablespoons olive oil

4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick [I used not quite as much carrot, and added a Yukon Gold potato once, and two random potatoes another time]

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk [I used 2%]

1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed [fresh peas also work]

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice [used black cherry cider vinegar once instead, and fine]

6 phyllo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 165 degrees, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool slightly; discard skin and bones. Shred meat, and set aside.

While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium. Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.

NOTE: I had time, so cooked chicken in cast iron (12”), then used cast iron to cook vegetables, and later to bake the pie in, so just used one pan. I added a bit of olive oil to chicken juices in pan, rather than 3 tbsp. Cooked potatoes and onion for a bit first, then added carrots and thyme. Also, cooking until it “thickens” is a little hard to estimate, but I would say it doesn’t actually have to thicken as much as I always expect it needs to, because it continues thickening in the oven and when you add in all the chicken and peas. So don’t worry about getting it really thick, because it can reduce the sauce too much.

Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. [I just left in cast iron]

Stack phyllo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil. Place phyllo stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so phyllo fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. [Didn’t need 20-25 minutes, only about 15, maybe because pan was already hot!] Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.

NOTE: Using one pan, and with only small burner working, took solid 45 minutes from chicken in oven to thickened sauce (oven was already preheated). Plus 15 minutes to stir in extras, and add phyllo dough to top. = 1 hour total prep before putting in oven (not all active – slicing vegetables is quick, and only takes part of time chicken is cooking). Frozen peas worked fine, still only needed 15 minutes to cook.

[writermama12]

Melany, I was vegan for many years and made this pie, adjusting things here and there. I think playing with the recipe would work well. Coconut milk sounds delicious. For eggs, many times we used ground flax and lemon juice...chia seeds and water also get gelatin-like so that could work too. Bananas maybe, but the texture might be more mushy and not hold up after cooling. Let us know what you come up with!!

[writermama12]

C. chip, that recipe sounds pretty darn good today! I am defrosting chicken and didn't know what to do with it. Now I'm making a pot pie. Thanks!! BTW, I made those snack balls again last night. They are super handy when I'm starving. This time I dusted the outsides with cinnamon and almond flour. Yum!!!