Lentil Stew & Mess O' Greens

It's been a busy week! We welcomed a new granddaughter into the world; little baby Blake Lynn. She joins her big brothers James-3 1/2 and Max 2 1/2. Grandma is going to be busy babysitting! 

I found this Slow-Cooked Lentil Stew recipe in the McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. So easy to add everything to the Crock Pot and let cook all day. 

Ingredients for the lentil stew. Instead of a vegetable broth it uses 5 cups of V8 juice. 

This makes a Big pot of stew! The first night I served it over some brown rice. The V8 juice gives it a nice hearty flavor. I added 4 cups of chopped spinach for some contrast and extra nutrients. 

The next night I made this recipe for Mess O' Greens from Cookin' Crunk. Collard greens, liquid smoke and turnips.These are really tasty! You let them cook for a good 35 to 40 minutes. 

The Mess O' Greens tasted great with the Lentil Stew and brown rice. I still had some stew left so I put it in the freezer. Three nights of leftovers is too much for me!

This week I also made a favorite cool salad using buckwheat soba noodles.


~ Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette ~
from Crazy Sexy Kitchen

I thawed out my previously frozen black beans and made a quick dinner along with some garlic bread.


~ Black Beans ~
from Give Them Something Better

Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder & White Bean Barley Soup

Another slow cooker day! 

From Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just For You by Kathy Hester

I'm still looking for recipes to use up all my assorted grains, etc. and this one calls for barley. The only ingredient I needed to buy was the mushrooms. I first made the bouillon powder which is a quick and easy way to substitute for vegan bouillon cubes. You use 2 Tbsp. of the seasoning mix for 1 cube.

Ingredients for the Golden Veggie Bouillon Powder. 

You just blend everything in the food processor and you're ready to go. I did notice a typo in the amount this yields: it makes 3/4 cup not 1/4 cup as is printed.

The soup recipe called for jalapeno powder, which I've never heard of, so I used my Cajun Spice blend instead. I also didn't add another 1/2 tsp. of thyme since the bouillon powder had plenty of thyme in it. The liquid smoke added after cooking really highlighted all the rich, hearty flavor of the beans, barley and mushrooms. 

White Bean Barley Soup with Faux Parmesan Garlic Bread

Potato, Greens, and Soy Curls Curry

I could get used to these slow cooker days! Another great recipe from Kathy Hester's Vegan Slow Cooking for Two or Just For You. I wanted to use up the rest of my soy curls and this was perfect. I made a commitment to myself to use up all the grains, beans, legumes and other assorted ingredients I have hanging out in my pantry before I buy anything else. The only groceries I'm going to try and buy are fresh veggies (hopefully!) 

This recipe has quite a few ingredients but goes together quickly in the morning. Lots of spices-garlic, ginger, garam masala, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, coriander and cardamom. Thirty minutes before serving you stir in a cup of minced kale, more fresh garlic and ginger, some vegan sour cream and salt. Instead of the pureed tomatoes (which I didn't have) I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It gave it some extra smoky flavor.

I had these packages of Quinoa & Brown Rice I used instead of the basmati rice. 

Yum! I added a generous helping of sriracha sauce on top for some more spice.

Lentil Quinoa Taco 'Soup'

I had good intentions to cook and blog while in Sedona this past weekend; but who can think about cooking and blogging when you have scenery like this to look at?!! (Also, no reliable internet connection)

I did make my favorite Creamy Curried Veggies since I had some of the ingredients available at the cabin. 

We're still working hard on fixing up 'the old girl'. I was cleaning out the kitchen cupboards and found a few of my late grandma's cooking utensils and I knew I had to display them:

Wow! It's a percolator coffepot; don't see those anymore! There was also this metal strainer; I like to use old stuff but I just had to replace this with a new one to use.

These really remind me of Grandma Violet. She loved to cook and bake. I can still see her scooping out sugar and flour with these measuring cups. They have a special place in the kitchen now.

This was in preparation for making this recipe at the cabin. Oops! Didn't get it done; too much to do. I even bought another Crock Pot for the cabin (okay, at last count I have five now-hehe)

cilantro, chopped tomato, shredded romaine lettuce, Daiya cheddar, chopped green onions

This recipe is from Kathy Hester's cookbook Vegan Slow Cooking for Two; she shares the recipe here on her website. It is supposed to be a filling for tacos but I checked it as it was cooking and I thought the mixture was getting too thick so I added extra water. Now we are eating taco soup! Tastes just as delicious with all the toppings on top and lots of Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce. We used warmed up rolled whole wheat flour tortillas to dip in the soup.

Lentil Quinoa Taco 'Soup'

We finished the whole pot. I love this cookbook; no leftovers!

Carolina Barbecue Soy Curls

I love this new cookbook from Kathy Hester. The recipes make smaller portion sizes which is perfect for me and the hubby. And I LOVE my baby Crock Pot! It's a 2 quart size; now I have four Crock Pots! This was so easy to throw everything in and let cook all day. I had some Butler Soy Curls that were getting ready to expire so I thought I would try this recipe.  Instead of the cayenne pepper, I used some of my Cajun Spice seasoning. 

BBQ Soy Curl Sandwich
The flavors are sweet and spicy and the soy curls give it just the right texture of a BBQ sandwich. I spooned a little more of the simmering juice on top of mine. Hubby really liked this one; next time I'll double the recipe!

Slow-Cooker Lentil Sloppy Joes

I must be training my hubby right because he found this recipe in the newspaper the other day. He said, "hey, lentil sloppy joes, here's a recipe for you!" Hee, hee! It was in the health section of the Arizona Republic. The author also has a website here and the recipe is listed there. Great meal to make on a HOT 115 degree day. No heating up the kitchen!

The lentils after cooking for about five hours.

Lentil Sloppy Joes with sweet potato fries and broccoli.

The lentil mixture would be just as tasty over rice or quinoa.

I went shopping at my local Sprouts market and came home with these:

I haven't tried hemp seeds yet; they're kind of nutty tasting. 

I think I'll sprinkle some on my spinach salad.

A juicy organic non-GMO pineapple! 

I like making Pineapple Ginger Mint Smoothies.

Chick'n and Dumplings

Had to post one more recipe from The Vegan Slow Cooker for the VegCookbookClub .

 

Wow! All I can say is I feel like I'm back on the farm at my Grandma's house sitting down to eat her chicken and dumplings. Yummy! I do remember though getting a chicken bone every once in awhile in my bowl. Yuch! No chicken bones here. I used store-bought chicken flavored seitan. Instead of the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary I used my  Poultry Seasoning .

Texas-Style Tofu Taco Filling

VegCookBook Club The Vegan Slow Cooker:

 

I marinated the tofu in lime juice and garlic the night before then mixed it with the rest of the ingredients the next morning. It smelled yummy cooking all day. Kathy's recipe suggested using hard corn taco shells but I used soft tortillas. I can see why she suggested the hard corn ones-these little tacos needed some crunch. The filling could have been a little spicier but it didn't stop me from eating two of them! I piled Daiya cheddar shreds, tomato, green onions, cilantro, shredded spinach and picante sauce on top and dug in. If I make these again I'll add some crunchy veggies or use hard corn tortillas.  

Before folding and eating!

Southern-Style Green Beans

Finishing up the month of September with a few more from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester. October's cookbook is Chloe's Kitchen. Can't wait to try out some of her recipes! Join in the fun here at the VegCookBook Club.  My local Sprouts market is getting more and more organic vegetables and they had these lovely green beans.

I like my green beans either roasted or cooked really well. I don't like crunchy beans. These need to cook at least 2 hours to get rid of that bitter green crunchiness.  Anyway, this recipe has liquid smoke and cajun seasoning in it. Mmm mmm~ they tasted just like my grandma used to make (of course she used bacon in hers). Who needs the bacon? The liquid smoke and cajun spice makes these pig free and delicious! My hubby really liked them. He was eating them with his fingers out of the slow cooker. Now I have two ways to cook green beans-roast and slow cook!

Tapioca Pudding for Two

Dessert! VegCookBook Club. The Vegan Slow Cooker:

Definitely adding this one to my 'make again' list! I love tapioca and haven't had any since going vegan. I put mine in the small slow cooker in the morning and then it was chilled and ready to eat after dinner. I sprinkled some nutmeg on top-yum! My hubby and I finished it off; well it did only make enough for two, right?! Next time I might try a different kind of milk-maybe rice or almond instead of soy to give it a whiter appearance and less soy taste.

Sweet Potato and Chard Dal

More recipes from this month's cookbook for the VegCookBook Club. The Vegan Slow Cooker~

 

I love Swiss Chard; this is an easy way to get those greens! I had two slow cookers going today. Dessert in the 1 1/2 qt. size and dinner in the larger one.

 

I served my Sweet Potato and Chard Dal over brown rice. I had some brussels sprouts I needed to cook so I made my favorite b.r. recipe from La Dolce Vegan ~ "Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts" . The dal  had a great creamy texture but I like mine a little spicier so I added some sriracha sauce on top.

Chorizo and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

Made my first recipe out of The Vegan Slow Cooker tonight. It's this month's cookbook chosen by the vegcookbookclub.

 

 

 

I cooked my casserole for 2 hours on high and it was done. Then I just had to add some Daiya cheddar shreds on top. I turned the slow cooker on warm and let the cheddar melt.

 

 

I served the casserole with some leftover spanish rice I had made the night before and some fresh, cool green salad. The casserole was rather spicy because of the soyrizo and the enchilada sauce I used. I added some vegan sour cream on top to cool things off a little bit after I took the pic. I like spicy food but my poor hubby might have trouble with this one! I think this will taste even better tomorrow.