Vegetarian Chili

My neighbor brought some of this over to us the other night, and it is really yummy! Looks easy, though I've never made it. We ate it with homemade rolls and veggie sticks with dip. It was a filling meal.


1TBSP Olive Oil

2 onions, chopped
2 minced garlic cloves
1 TBSP chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
1 28oz stewed tomatoes
1 can chopped green chili's
4 cups Vegetarian Broth
1 cup corn
15oz Kidney Beans
15oz Black Beans
salt and pepper  

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions, garlic, and cook and stir for about 5 minutes.
Add chili powder, cumin, oregano and cook 1 minute.  Add broth, tomotoes, corn chili's and both beans.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes.  Season w/ salt and pepper, if needed.

Chicken Pot Pie

(1 batch makes 2 pies)

Ingredients:
-A total of four crusts. You can buy two boxes of roll-out crusts found in the refrigerated section near the rolls/cinnamon rolls. OR you can buy one box of crusts and then two frozen crusts that are found in the freezer section near the whipped cream. The frozen ones come in pans, so they are good to use if you are bringing a meal to someone.
-3-4 Chicken Breasts, cooked (approx 2 c. or more)
-1 can Cream of Potato soup
-1 can Cream of Chicken soup
-1 lg. can (30 oz) or canned veggies - I use mixed, but you can use any kind
-3/4 c. milk

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. Mix all ingredients except crusts in a large bowl.
3. Line 2 pie pans with crusts if you didn't buy the frozen kinds.
4. Divide the mixture between the two pans. Roll out the remaining crusts over the tops of the pies. Trim excess crust and pinch crusts together. Vent tops.
5. Bake for 30 - 40 min (ours always takes a lot longer... closer to 60 min.)
*You can freeze these uncooked. Just cover with saran wrap and then foil.

Buttery Rolls

These are the rolls I made for Christmas. They're super easy if you have a bread machine, and quite a crowd pleaser. It's originally from AllRecipes.

Ingredients

• 1 cup warm milk (70 to 80 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups bread flour
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

Directions

1. In bread machine pan, place all ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water or flour if needed).
2. When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 24 portions; shape into balls. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 15 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees F for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown.

Crockpot Black Bean & Chicken Soup

Place all of the following ingredients in a 4.5 quart crockpot and cook on low for 10-12 hours or on high for 5-6 hours:

• 4 cans of black beans (or 2 cans of black beans and 2 cans of dark red kidney beans)
• 2 cups of chicken bouillon (take 2 cups of water and add 4 chicken bouillon cubes and microwave on high for 3 minutes)
• 1 cup each of the following (microwave these veggies on high for 3 minutes): Chopped carrots, chopped celery, and chopped onions
• 1 bell pepper, chopped and microwave for 1 minute
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 3 (5-7 oz.) cans of white chicken (97%-98% fat free): flake chicken
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 jar green chilies (4.5 oz)
• 28 oz. can of Italian tomatoes, chopped. Include juice

Cover with lid and cook as directed. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and salsa.

Old-Fashioned Meatballs

I know most people have a go-to meatball recipe. What I liked about this is that it stretches the ground beef by adding high-fiber bulgur. They were really good, and we were able to make 1 lb. of meat stretch to two meals. We served them one night as meatball hoagies and the next night over spaghetti. I also found this one on Eating Well.

Ingredients:
1/3 c. bulgur (found near the flour in the baking aisle)
1/2 c. hot water
4 oz. lean ground beef
4 oz. hot Italian sausage (I didn't use the sausage and just doubled the ground beef)
1 med. onion finely chopped
2 large egg whites, lightly beaten
3 cloves garlic
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1 c. fresh breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat (I just used store-bought)

Directions
1. combine bulgur and water in small bowl. Let stand until bulgur is tender and the liquid is absorbed, about 30 min.
2. Preheat oven to 350. Coat a rack with cooking spray and place it over a baking sheet lined with foil. (I just put them on the baking sheet).
3. Combine beef, sausage, onion, egg whites, garlic, oregano, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and soaked bulgur in a large bowl. Mix well. Form 1-in meatballs (about 24).
4. Bake 25 min. Blot well with paper towel.

Summer Vegetable Crepes

Found this delicious recipe on Eating Well. So delicious! And a great way to use our CSA veggies :) We did not use the sour cream sauce because I forgot about it in the fridge, and we still thought they were great! I also didn't add the chives because I forgot to buy them and they were still yummy!

Ingredients:
1/3 c. reduced fat sour cream
1/2 c. chopped fresh chives
3 T. low fat milk
2 t. lemon juice
3/4 t. salt, divided
1 T evoo
2 c. chopped zucchini
1 1/3 c. chopped green beans
1 c. fresh corn kernels (from 1 large ear) - I used frozen and it worked great
1 c. part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 c. shredded monterey jack cheese
1/4 t. freshly ground pepper
4 9-inch crepes (we found these near the strawberries in the produce section. they may also be frozen or near the refrigerated tortillas)

Directions:
1. Stir sour cream, 1/4 cup chives, milk, lemon juice and 1/4 t. salt in a small bowl until combined. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini, green beans and corn and cook, stirring until beginning to brown, 6-8 minutes. Reduce heat to low; stir in ricotta, monterey jack, the remaining 1/4 c. chives, the remaining 1/2 t. salt and pepper. Cook, stirring gently, until cheese melts. 1-2 min. Remove from heat.
3. To roll crepes, place one on a piece of parchment or wax paper (or leave it on the piece of plastic separating the crepes in the package.). Spoon 1/4 of the mixture into each crepe. Gently roll the crepe and put seam side down on a plate. Top with 2 T. of the sauce and more chives if desired. I was NOT successful at rolling them, but they were still delicious!

Baked Spaghetti

Here's an old classic. I have had so many people ask for the recipe that I'm posting it on here so I don't have to keep retyping it! If I am making to bring to a friend, I often bake it in two square pans instead of a 9x13... one for them and one for us!

Ingredients:

1 lb. spaghetti, cooked according to package instructions
2 eggs
1/2 c. milk
3 c. Mozzarella cheese, grated
1 lb of bulk sausage, cooked in a pan until brown and crumbly
32 oz of spaghetti sauce

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 400. Spray a 9x13 pan.
2. Beat eggs in large bowl. Add milk and 1 1/2 c. of cheese.
3. Add spaghetti into the egg/milk mixture. Pour into sprayed pan and bake for 15 min.
4. Turn oven down to 350. Cover spaghetti with sauce. Make sure that all of the spaghetti is covered. Add the remaining cheese and then sprinkle the sausage on top.
5. Bake for 30 min. at 350.