Dinner 1/3/10

Gobi Matar (cauliflower and pea curry), Brown Rice, strawberries and oranges by Heather

Gobi Matar-- $12
(I tweaked this a bit, left out the chiles and potatoes, added carrots)

Brown Rice-- $3

Strawberries and Oranges--$6

Total Cost-- $21 (my record!!)

Corn Chowder, Kalamata Olive Hummous, and Veggies

from Holly and Chris

Corn Chowder - gluten free

• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 1/2 large yellow onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 large carrot, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 1/2 celery stalk, chopped (about 1/3 cup)
• 3 ears of sweet corn, kernels removed from the cobs (about 2 cups), cobs reserved
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 1/2 cups milk, fat-free milk
• 1 medium Red potato, or Russet, peeled and diced
• 1/4 red bell pepper, chopped (about 1/4 cup)
• Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the bacon strip (skip this step for vegetarian option, just add more butter) and fry until the bacon renders its fat, but doesn't begin to brown, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 4 or 5 more minutes.

Break the corn cobs in half and add them to the saucepan. Add the milk and bay leaf. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a bare simmer. Cover the pot and cook for 30 minutes. Make sure the heat is as low as can be and still maintain a gentle simmer (on our stove we had to use the "warm" setting) to prevent scalding the milk on the bottom of the pan.

Discard the cobs, the bacon strip, and the bay leaf. Raise the heat, add the potatoes, red pepper, 1 teaspoon of salt, fresh ground pepper to taste, bring to a simmer and reduce the heat to maintain a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are almost fork tender.

Raise the heat, add the corn kernels and the thyme. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Kalamata Olive Hummous

Garbonzo beans - soaked and cooked with sage, oregano, and thyme

Tahini

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice

Garlic

Cumin

Salt

Kalamata Olives

Total Cost = $ 15 (for 5 families)

Mushroom Polenta Pie topped with Tomato Wine Sauce and Spinach Salad with Italian Tomato Basil Dressing

from Holly and Chris

these are lowfat recipes from the Moosewood low-fat cookbook

Mushroom Polenta Pie

3 c. water

1 c. cornmeal

1/2 t salt

3 t EVOO

1 large onion, chopped

1 large garlic clove, pressed

3 c. sliced mushrooms

4 c. stemmed and chopped Swiss chard leaves

S&P

grated Pecorino

Bring 2 c. water to boil in med saucepan. While the water heats, stir the remaining cup of water into the cornmeal. When the water boils, whisk the wet cornmeal into it. Add the salt and 1 t oil, cover, and simmer on very low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Remove from heat. Prepare a 7x12 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread the polenta evenly over the bottom.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Warm the remaining 2 t of oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and garlic and saute on med heat until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until they are tender and have released their juices, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Swiss chard, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and cook stirring often, for 2 to 3 minutes, until chard is just wilted.

Spread the sauteed vegetables evenly over the polenta and top with Pecorino. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until sizzling hot. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Tomato Wine Sauce

2 t EVOO

1 c finely chopped onion

2 med garlic cloves, pressed

1/4 t salt

2 t ground fennel

2 t italian seasoning

1/3 c red wine

3 c canned tomatoes (28 oz)

S&P

In a saucepan, warm the EVOO. Add the onions and garlic, sprinkle with the salt, cover, and saute on very low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the onions are beginning to soften. Add the fennel, italian seasoning and cook for another minute. Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Whirl the tomatoes in a blender until just pureed and add to the pan. Cover the sauce and simmer gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add S&P to taste.

Spinach Salad with Italian Tomato Basil Dressing

Sorry about the spinach it wasn't great for the salad...but I really loved the dressing.

6 sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)

1 tomato, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/4 c loosely paced, coarsely chopped basil

1/4 c water

2 T basalmic vinegar

1/4 t salt

Cover the sun-dried tomatoes with boiling water in a heatproof bowl and set aside. Combine the chopped fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, water, vinegar, and salt in a blender or food processor. Add softened sun-dried tomatoes to other ingredients and blend until smooth. Covered and refrigerated this dressing will keep for about a week.

Total Cost = $37

Christmas Dinner 12/20/09

Vegetarian Tamales, Borracho Beans, Homemade salsa, chips, biscotti by Heather and Ernest


I wanted to do a Mexican Christmas dinner for everyone before the holidays, unfortunately I didn't have the time to make the tamales myself :(... hope you all enjoyed it!


Vegetarian Tamales-- $20 (Mr. Natural, I thought they were great)
Borracho Beans--$4
Chips and Salsa--$6
Biscotti and pumpkin muffins--$3


Total--$33
Happy Holidays!!!

Dinner 12/13/09

Ginger-tempeh pasta salad, celery and carrots, pear-apple crisp by Ernest and Heather

Ginger-tempeh pasta salad-- $30 (tempeh is kinda pricey, ern made this from the wheatsville recipe!)

carrots and celery w/ ranch--$5

pear-apple crisp-- $5 (I halved the butter and left out the brown sugar)

Total for 5 meals-- $40

Quesadillas, Spanish Rice, and PB Choc. Chip Banana Muffins

Quesadillas

• Cook-at-home tortillas from Costco
• Homemade Refried Pinto Beans
• Shredded Mexican Cheese Mix
• Baby Portabello Mushrooms
• Spinach

Mango Pico de Gallo

Dice/Chop all, toss together with lime juice

• 2 large mangos
• about 4 roma tomatoes
• 3/4 purple onion
• Cilantro
• Lime Juice

Spanish Rice

I used vegetable broth, and added carrots and peas.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup w/ avocado & Salad w/oven-roasted tomatoes and goat cheese

This soup totally rocked my world, I hope you all liked it, too. I thought that the soup was sort of meal by itself with the chops and avocado, so hope it was enough for everyone.

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

I added some sauteed tofu corn, and carrots to make it a little heartier.

Served with tortilla chip strips, avocado and lime juice.

Salad

Artisan Greens

Goat Cheese

Oven-Roasted tomatoes (done the same way as in the recipe for the soup)

Pumpkin Soup, Corn and Couscous Salad, and Bread

From Chris and Holly

Jamaican Pumpkin Soup in the CrockPot

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/10/day-299.html

Corn and Couscous Salad

Martha Stewart

1 t curry powder

2 t coarse-grained mustard

1 T plus 1 t white wine vinegar

3 T EVOO

3/4 c. couscous

1 c. boiling water

1 onion

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 fresh red chili, minced

3 c. corn

1/4 c. finely chopped cilantro

In a med bowl, whisk together curry powder, mustard, and vinegar. Season with S&P. While whisking, drizzle in 2 T EVOO, whisk until emulsified.

Place couscous in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover with a plate and let steam for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Heat remaining oil in large skillet over med-high. Cook onion until softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and chili, cook about 2 min. Add corn and cook until tender, about 2 min.

Stir corn mixture into couscous. Add curry vinaigrette and cilantro and season with S&P. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Seed Bread from Central Market

Total cost = $28 (for 5 families)

Dinner 12/6/09

Vegan Pesto Pasta, Spinach Salad with blue cheese, pears, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette, bread by Heather

Pesto Pasta-- $12

I de-veganed it with some feta at the end, it needed something!

Spinach salad w/ blue cheese, pears, walnuts, and balsamic vinaigrette-- $9

Bread-- $3

Total for 5 families-- $24!!