Veggie Chili

I'm always looking for meatless dinner options to save money and because although I do enjoy meat, I don't enjoy it every day. I have various soup, spaghetti sauce, sauce-less pasta dishes and various Indian dishes that are all meatless but I wanted another hearty recipe that is low in WW points yet fills me up for hours. Enter various experiments with chili recipes...

I use a combination of WW recipe books, the Internet and my family to decide on what ingredients I want to use, etc. This time around all were pretty uninspiring, which surprised me because chili actually is pretty simple. The problem was with the quantity of spices and variety of beans, not to mention a lot of recipes online had shortcut ingredients like salsa or ketchup. Here's the recipe I finally came up with that turns out amazing every time:

1 800 ml can of crushed tomatoes
1 800 ml can of diced tomatoes
1 400 ml can of kidney beans
1 400 ml can of pinto beans
1 400 ml can of black beans
1 400 ml can of brown beans w/ maple (drain most of the liquid out though)
1 large onion diced
4-6 cloves of garlic minced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 1/2 cups of fresh sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chili powder
1/8 cup cumin powder
1 large pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you want it hotter)
2 tbsp of red pepper flakes (or more if you want it hotter)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 package of Yves Italian Veggie Round (optional)


On medium heat, add olive oil and diced onion to a large pot. When the onion is soft, add the garlic and stir around for a minute. Add the tomatoes and wait for a simmer. Add all of the spices, stir and let simmer for a couple of minutes. During this time, rinse all of the beans thoroughly and add to the pot. Make sure only a small part of the maple sauce from the brown beans is added or else it'll be sweet instead of balanced (the sugar neutralizes the acid in the tomatoes). Stir and let simmer for a few minutes and then add the diced bell pepper and mushrooms. If using the Italian Veggie Round, add it at this point. Stir and simmer for 15-30 minutes.

Serves.. um.. a lot. Maybe 8-10? I just usually keep it in the pot in the fridge and fill plastic containers each day for our lunch.

My favourite roasted chicken recipe

This is probably one of my all time favourite meals now. I used this recipe and added fennel to it and oh my goodness, it was incredible. It's good all on its own but the first time I made it I also mashed potatoes with dill and steamed carrots on the side. As fantastic as it tastes the first day, it is even better the next day when the onion and fennel soften and caramelize further. It is so aromatic, it makes the whole house smell good. :)

Quasi Stew? I don't know...

I threw some stuff together, not entirely sure it was going to taste any good but it turned out pretty well. My partner raved about it so I'll make sure I make it again sometime soon!

4 potatoes, cubed
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced
2 pork sausages (farmer's market buy)

The potatoes were boiled and the carrots were steamed. The onions were sauteed around the sausages. I threw it all into a casserole dish, seasoned it with salt, pepper, thyme and oregano and put it in the oven for 15 min at 350F.

Tuna Casserole

When I was a little girl my parents worked different shifts - my father worked the afternoon shift and my mother worked the day shift. For as long as I can remember my father has been the cook of the house - my mother rarely cooked if my father was around. During the week though, when it was time for dinner and we were on our own, my mother would make one of three meals. Dinner was either Kraft Dinner, Rice-a-roni and some kind of meat, or tuna casserole. As a child I HATED tuna casserole. I have memories of my mother nearly having to force feed it to me. Then, years later when I was a teenager, I started really enjoying tuna and wouldn't you know it, my mother would rarely ever make it. Oh well... Anyway, I decided to forgo the Tuna Helper mix and made it from scratch the other night. Oh how I've missed homemade tuna casserole. I made enough for about four servings but it was so good we ate it all.

Pretty simple to throw together:

Pasta of choice
2 cans of tuna
1 onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
2-3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 cups milk
Salt and pepper to taste
Cheese of choice shredded over top
350F for 20 - 25 min.

Chips even the Brit likes

The other night, I had a craving for fries. Rather than go out, I decided to peel a bunch of potatoes and make my own. I have to say, homemade beats fast food any day.


This picture was a one-off on the couch before we dug in. Seasoned with sea salt, rosemary and corriander and baked in the oven with a light olive oil coating. Yummmmmm.

Pancakes

Another pancake breakfast...



Organic whole grain pancakes with pureed blueberries, raspberries, pomegranate and rhubarb. Sooooooo good.

V-Day Menu

Valentine's Day Menu courtesy of various Michael Smith recipes... Received fantastic reviews from my partner so it was well worth it. :)

Brunch - Smoked Salmon Egg Cups with Dill and Havarti and Spice Baked Fruit Salad








Dinner - Tandoori Chicken with Aloo Gobi and Balsami Rice