"Meatloaf", Potatoes, Carrots

So sorry, you guys! I had to stick my meatloaf and potatoes in the oven again as they were undercooked. So sorry!!! And I was late dropping off. Ugh!

Once the meatloaf cooked a bit and the potatoes became softer, they were pretty yummy, in my opinion. All recipes are from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Meatloaf
makes a 6 cup loaf
2 onions
2 cups walnuts or other raw nuts
2 cups oats
2 eggs
2 TBL miso, ketchup, tahini, etc. Something to bind.
2 TBL spice (I used New Mexico Chili Spice blend)
Salt and Pepper

Whack it all together in the food processor without getting it too mushy. Cpread in greased loaf pan, cover with foil, bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 30 minutes. I think this should be baked longer covered or at a higher temp.

Baked Potatoes
Wash and rub potatoes with olive oil. Cover in salt. Bake at 425 for 1 hour.

Glazed Carrots
1 lb. carrots
2 TBL butter
1/3 cup water
salt and pepper

Put in pan, simmer with lid on for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook until most liquid is gone.

I did cook for 5 families tonight because I delivered food to Heather. Who wants to cook when they are so pregnant? Total: $28.17. Better!!

Tacos, Green Rice, and Watermelon

Tacos

2/3 c. TVP

1 Poblano

1 onion

3 garlic gloves

1 can of black beans

1 can of stewed tomatoes

1 goya azafran spice package

Salt, Pepper, Cumin, Chile Powder, Smoked Salt

Saute the onion, poblano, and garlic. Once soft, add goya packet to coat veggies. Add tomatoes with juice and turn the heat to low. Add TVP and drained beans. Add water as necessary and seasoning to taste.

Serve with avocado, grated cheese, sour cream, and whole wheat tortillas.

Green Rice

from Rachel Ray

1 c. brown rice

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 pound spinach leaves
4 scallions, coarsely chopped
2 limes, zested, juiced

1/2 cup veggie stock

Place the cilantro, spinach, scallions, lime zest, half a cup of stock in food processor and process into coarse green paste. Stir into your rice pot in the last 3 to 4 minutes of its cooking time.

Watermelon

Total Cost = $24.00

"chicken" & biscuits, corn on the cob, carrot juice

wOw! you mama's rock! cooking for four families was certainly a challenge and a learning experience for me!

"chicken" & biscuits (this recipe is for one family)

2/3 package quorn "chicken" tenders (on sale at whole foods!)
sautee frozen tenders in olive oil, s&p until browned and set aside
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2 1/2 cups no-chicken stock
place in small sauce pan and heat until hot

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6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 onion
2-3 celery stocks
3-4 garlic cloves (add towards end)

1/3 cup flour

In a large pot melt the butter and saute the onions and celery over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

Add the stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick.

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1 t salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 cup medium-diced carrots (i steam them until almost done)
1 cup peas (i like petite frozen)
fresh thyme & oregano

Add salt, pepper and the heavy cream. Add the tenders, carrots, peas, onions, and herbs. Mix well.

Place the stew in a 10 x 13 x 2-inch oval or rectangular baking dish. top with biscuits, brushed in egg wash, and bake for 15 minutes @ 375 degrees or until biscuits are done. i didn't have time to make biscuits so i used the natural ones in the tube from central market.

corn on the cob
bring pot of water to a boil add corn and cook for ~15- 20 minutes
season with butter and salt

organic carrot juice
we have a champion juicer. organic carrots from costco.

total cost $43.39

oops! i didn't really know what the budget was but looks like i went over! oh well, hope you enjoyed it! :)

Bye Bye, we'll miss you!

So we just wrapped up our last week of filling in for you guys, and I have to say, it was amazing. First of all I have cooked dinner once this week instead of 5 times which has freed up about 2 hours a day which is huge when you have 2 kids! Secondly, it has really branched us out as far as vegetarian eating... we were a bit worried when we started that we would miss our chicken that we eat almost every night, but we never once felt like we were missing anything, it was all so satisfying and delicious. It also broadened my horizons when it comes to cooking with vegetables. I usually just use the same old things, same old steamer, same old spices, and this has shown me that there are so many more things to try if I am a bit more adventurous. My favorite part was getting to try new things that we had never eaten before! We thank you ladies from the bottom of our hearts, and would love to fill in again sometime if you need us! Hopefully we'll be getting our own dinner share set up soon, and I'm sure we'll be modeling it after what ya'll have set up. Good eats!

Spinach & Grain Gratin, Moroccan Carrot Salad, & Steamed Broccoli

Sorry for any kalamata olive overload here. I didn't realize that the casserole and the carrots both had them when I planned the menu.

-Summer

Spinach and Grain Gratin, adapted from this recipe.

In place of the rice, I used a mix of brown rice, quinoa, whole oat groats, and a little millet. I replaced the pine nuts with walnuts and used parmesan cheese because that's what I had on hand.

Moroccan Baby Carrot Salad

I used regular baby carrots in this.

Steamed Broccoli

Frozen broccoli, a few chopped cloves of garlic, steamed with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper

Goat Cheese and Red Pepper Wraps, fruit salad, chips, and fresh veggies

So, I tried out the Good For Life Gluten Free tortillas for the wraps but I found they were pretty crumbly. Bummer! I hope the wraps were still good, though!

Wraps
tortillas
goat cheese
roasted red and yellow peppers
cilantro

Fruit Salad
cantaloupe, figs, plums, apples, strawberries

Fresh Veg with Ranch
Honey tomatoes
baby carrots
Ranch Dressing

Chips

Cookies

Total: $37.51. Ok, my meals are becoming expensive!! Time to cut down on the expensive ingredients.

Lentil Bake, Rosemary Sweet Potatos and salad

Ok, we'll see how this turns out. My friend said her kids love it, but it looks really really soupy in the oven right now, so I'm holding my breath.

Lentil Bake: ( I doubled this recipie, but it still doesn't look like that much...)

Mix together:

1 3/4 cups Lentils, 2 cups water, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, 1/8 tsp margoram, sage, thyme, 2 large onions-chopped, 2 cloves garlic, 2 cups canned tomatoes

Cover and Bake 30 minutes

Uncover and add 2 large chopped carrots, 1/2 cup celery. Re-cover and bake 40 minutes.

Stir in 1 green pepper-chopped, 2 Tbsp chopped parsley. Sprinkle cheese on top

Rosemary sweet potatoes:

Cut up 8 potatoes, sprinkle with salt, drizzle olive oil and rosemary, Bake covered for 45 minutes or until soft!

Salad: mixed greens with Walnuts and craisins!

Cost-

onion- 1.80

sweet potatoes- 5.00

green pepper- 1.00

celery- .50

cheese- 4.00

carrots- 1.00

tomatoes- 2.00

lentils- 1.50

spring mix- 4.00

Walnuts, craisins, spices, I have already and don't know what they cost...

Total- $20.80