using leftovers & the pantry

In Category: ‘legumes’

December 13, 2011 using leftovers & the pantry

We just returned from a magical few days at Disneyland (where we happened to eat some really delicious food! I will be posting about all the allergy-free dining options in the happiest place on earth shortly) and I haven’t been grocery shopping yet. You know what that means, don’t you? When we are going out of town, I don’t buy groceries for the week because, obviously, we won’t be home to enjoy them, and I don’t want them sitting around waiting for me in the fridge in case I miss my flight back – it could happen. So for a few days before any vacationing happens for our family, we work off of the pantry items… and then for a few days after our return. Or maybe for a week.

This is when a well-stocked pantry and freezer come in very handy… I happened to still have my turkey leftovers from Thanksgiving in the freezer, a package of unopened corn tortillas in the fridge, some boxed soups and broths, and various cans of beans, so this week’s dinners were quick fixes, super tasty, and didn’t require a grocery run. The first experiment was an enchilada-style casserole, and the second was my slow cooker version of turkey pozole.

A side note: please pardon the lack of image quality!… my camera is being shipped to me at this very moment, so the trusty iphone has provided this post’s illustrations.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole

My boys were convinced there was cheese and cream in this dish. They were even telling daddy he shouldn’t eat it, because it’d be bad for him. Boy did I fool them! I like letting them think they’re getting away with something daring while they enjoy a healthy and satisfying meal! All plates were thoroughly licked clean.

1. Prepare a 13×9″ baking dish with a thin layer of olive oil. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a blender, puree the following until smooth: 1/2 cup butternut squash soup (Pacific Foods boxed soup), the cream only portion of (1) 15 oz. can of coconut milk, 5 oz canned white beans, 3 tsp cumin, 2 tsp celery salt, 4 cloves of pressed garlic.

3. Place 6 corn tortillas on bottom of baking dish. Top tortillas with 1/2 can of diced tomatoes (I used a 15 oz. can that had green chiles added to them for a little extra flavor). Layer frozen leftover turkey pieces on top of the tomatoes (I diced the turkey before freezing). Drizzle 1/3 of the “cream” mixture over the turkey and tomatoes.

4. Add another layer of tortillas, then tomatoes, turkey, the rest of the can of whole white beans that didn’t get used up in the cream puree, 1/2 cup of frozen corn kernels, and another drizzle of 1/3 of the cream mixture.

5. With the final 2 tortillas, slice them into 1/2″ strips and layer them on top. Drizzle the remaining cream mixture on top of the tortilla strips. Sprinkle the whole pan with a little kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste.

6. Cover with foil and baked until bubbly – about 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake another 5 – 10 minutes, until slightly browned and the edges are just crispy. Serve with extra taco sauce or salsa for the adults, since this casserole is kid-friendly and not at all spicy. A mixed green salad and a fruit salad round out an easy family weeknight meal.

Turkey Pozole

The slow cooker makes this quite possibly the easiest meal I’ve ever enjoyed. Perfect for this icy almost-winter day!

1. Set your slow cooker on the lowest time/heat setting and let this simmer all day – just be sure to add extra broth as it cooks down. (I started mine at 9AM and ate my bowl of pozole – okay, my three bowls of pozole – at 7PM.)

2. You will need (1) 30 oz can of hominy, (1) 28 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, 2 Cups of diced turkey leftovers, 1 Tbsp of cumin, 1 Tbsp of dried mexican oregano, 1/2 a yellow onion – diced, 5 cloves of garlic – pressed, (1) box of chicken broth, kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste.

3. Combine everything in the slow cooker, except for the chicken broth, salt and pepper. Stir it all up. Put the lid on it for an hour. Then add about a cup of chicken broth and give it another stir. Cover it up again and check back in about an hour to add a pinch or two of salt & pepper, and then add broth until the mixture is completely covered in liquid. Put the lid back on and forget about it until you’re ready for dinner. When it’s time to eat, if the mixture is a bit thick for your liking, simply thin it out to your taste with the remaining broth.

Posted In: dinner, gluten free, kid favorites, legumes, nut free, one-pot-wednesday, soup-day saturday, soy free, winter favorites. Comments Off

November 12, 2011 taco tuesday – pumpkin & chanterelles

Around here, there is something to look forward to on each day of the week. Though Monday boasts band practice and Friday promises family movie night, that special “something” usually has to do with food on the other five days of the week. Tuesday is the day for tacos – and that excites all four of us. If the rest of the day is crummy, at least we know we’ll be enjoying a little fiesta come 5 o’clock.

Last week, when we were up to our ears in pumpkins, we tried them out on taco night. We ended up with two variations of tacos, realizing the pumpkin taco “meat” might not fly with the boys. A little disguising of ingredients never hurts.

The adult version:

Pumpkin & chanterelle mushrooms browned in olive oil in a well-seasoned cast iron skillet with cumin, oregano, just a touch of dried sage, garlic, kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper. Mound the softened vegetables in warmed gf corn tortillas. Don’t forget the Cholula! Serve with sides of brown rice and black beans.

The kid version:

Add some of the browned pumpkin (lightly seasoned with the ingredients above) to the pot of black beans and, using a potato masher, smash the pumpkin and beans together. Layer a spoonful of the bean mash and a spoonful of brown rice in the middle of a warmed gf corn tortilla and roll it up tightly to form burrito rolls. For some reason the food goes down a heck of a lot easier when my kids can’t inspect it first. A burrito roll up keeps them from turning their noses up to new ingredients on the first go around. Once they are hooked, then I tell them what they’ve just enjoyed. It saves us from unnecessary dinner table drama.

Posted In: casein free, dinner, fall favorites, food, gluten free, legumes, soy free, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian.

Tags: pumpkin and chantrelle tacos, taco tuesday, vegan tacos

Comments Off

October 28, 2011 celery

Have you ever noticed how few recipes there are for celery dishes? Sure, it’s fantastic with nut butter and raisins (aka Ants on a Log), but sometimes I need a little celery variety. I was bound and determined to find a new recipe for celery this week. And wouldn’t you know it – I consulted a dozen of my favorite cookbooks and could not find one warm celery dish within their pages. Lots of salads. Salads are great. But it’s finally fall, and I want warmth!

There was also one other factor prompting me to search for a warm dish to serve up. About a year ago I began consulting with a nutritionist (she’s actually much more than that – she’s a body systems detective and an expert in natural dietary supplements and herbs, and she’s changed the way we function around here – our whole family has benefitted from her guidance!)… I was having some major digestive & other health issues and was in need of a detox and gut repair. During the course of one of our discussions, she urged me to stay away from cold foods – in fact, she recommended that everything I would eat or drink be warmed. Cold and hot foods are harder on ones system because they make the stomach contract, while warmed foods (think body temperature) are more easily digested. So for three months, everything I ate and drank was warm. Absolutely everything. And I was very glad it was not summer, the time I’m typically craving popsicles and ice cream and fruit smoothies, because those would have been out of the question.

After my three months of strict warm-foods-only eating, I found I really did prefer warmed foods when given the choice. Even when I didn’t “have” to, I still preferred a warm dish to a cold one. If you are having any digestive issues, I would encourage you to at least give it a try and see how you feel. Now mind you, I did have a lot of other precautions in place as well to help my belly: No fats, no meats beside lean turkey once a week, no grains (not even gluten free ones). Just lots and lots of fruits and veggies, shrimp, veggies, scallops (just pure protein), and more veggies. And lots of water. Warm water. I won’t sugar coat it – it was intense. I thought I’d go crazy. But when it was all said and done, my system was functioning properly again and I gained a new affinity for warmed foods.

My favorite way to warm foods is to roast them. The thought of roasted root vegetables makes me salivate. I dream about oven-caramelized fruits and slow roasted turkey. When roasting is not an option, due to time constraints, I will enjoy a quickly broiled something-or-other. And when I can’t bring myself to let the oven warm up, I’ll just toss my food of choice into a trusty cast iron skillet and warm up on the stove top.

The cast iron skillet option was the method of choice earlier this week when I created my celery dinner. Because I spent so much of my time rifling through cookbooks, searching for the elusive celery recipes, I ended up with very little time to actually prepare something before I had to get to my post-dinner meeting. Luckily, celery doesn’t need but a couple minutes in the skillet, so you can add this warm celery and white bean salad combo to your “quick, easy, and nutritious” repertoire.

Warm Celery Salad with Coriander & Canelli Beans

5 green onions – sliced at an angle, 1/4″ slices

2 Cups cooked, drained, canelli (white) beans, at room temperature (canned, ready-to-eat is fine)

Combine the onions and beans in a medium sized serving bowl and set aside.

2 Tbsp Ghee - Melt in cast iron skillet

Then add to skillet:

2 Cups celery – 1/4″ slices

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander seed

1/2 tsp garlic powder (or more, to taste)

1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Toss the celery and spices around the pan just to coat, and then let them be for a minute or two so they can brown just a bit. You’ll know they’re ready when they are fragrant.

Add the celery to the beans and onions and toss gently to avoid smashing the beans too much.

Enjoy immediately.