VEGETARIAN ENCHILADAS

This stuff is the bomb! I'm sharing the recipe..but  reminding you that I don't usually follow a set recipe. I find a general recipe and mix it up to our liking. So....here you all go!

VEGETARIAN ENCHILADAS

• multigrain tortillas
• diced red and yellow peppers
• diced tomatoes
• chopped onion
• chopped cilantro
• shredded cheese (I used cheddar)
• green enchilada sauce
• taco seasoning, olive oil and cooking spray

Coat a pan with cooking spray, and saute the peppers and onion until tender. Add in a little taco seasoning for flavor. In a seperate pan, heat olive oil and brown both sides of each tortilla lightly. After browning, lie tortillas on paper towels to absorb as much excess oil as possible. Lightly coat a 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Place a small amount of the pepper/onion mixture in the center of a tortilla. Add a little cilantro, tomatoes and cheese, then fold tortilla over and place seam side down in your pan. Repeat until you have used all your tortillas.

Sprinkle cheese (as much or little as you like) over the top, and then pour the enchilada sauce evenly over the entire pan. Cover with aluminum foil. Spray cooking spray on the inside of your foil so the cheese doesn't stick!

Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 20 minutes, then remove foil and continue baking until heated through.

**variations:

• if you like a little kick, add in diced chilis and use pepperjack cheese
• add-in chicken
• add-in zucchini, black beans or olives
• use red enchilada sauce instead of green
• add a dollop of plain yogurt on top (instead of sour cream...you won't notice the difference!)
• cut out the browning of the tortillas, and use low-fat cheese to make it healthier

This was AMAZING!! I added chicken in 3 of the tortillas for my husband, but honestly I think he will love the veggie ones just as much. If you try this recipe, I'd love to hear your feedback!

VEGETARIAN CHILI

Last night I made what might be my all time favorite chili....EVER. It started out with a craving for chili, and since I didn't have everything I wanted, I just improvised. So, this will not be a traditional recipe, but rather just a list of everything I threw in. The amounts are up to you, depending how you like your chili!

VEGETARIAN CHILI

kidney beans

chili beans

black beans

canned tomatoes (I used the basil, onion and oregano type)

chopped celery

chopped carrots

taco seasoning (I was out of chili seasoning)

oregano

basil

onion powder (I was out of real onions, but I always prefer real onions)

worcestershire sauce (around 1/4 cup or so)

I planned on throwing in a package of morningstar "burger", but was out.

This was amazing!!!!

GET-WELL-SOON SOUP

I am under the weather. WAY under. After a miserable night of coughing, blowing my nose, nursing a sore throat, and facebooking from the comfort of my bed on my blackberry at 3am concentrating on my rest, I called in sick to work and headed to the Doctor. Diagnosis? Full blown sinus infection. I will be kind and not tell you what symptoms require a diagnosis of full-blown sinus infection.

Anyway.

I have come up with the perfect get-well-soon-recipe. It is pictured below.

Yes friends, my recipe includes a bowl of homemade vegetable soup, one glass of ice water, echinacea (which was supposed to protect me from the crud in the first place), ibuprofen, and antibiotics. Yum.
For those of you interested, here is my "recipe" for the homemade vegetable soup. Be forewarned, this is a throw-together-whatever-you-have kind of deal. That really is all I did, and it turned out to be one of the best soups EVER!!
Vegetable soup
3 32-oz containers of vegetable broth (better yet, make your own. No, I didn't. I'm sick!)
2 cups each sliced carrots, celery, onion and zuchinni
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can progresso light rice and vegetable soup
1 pkg morninstar "griller crumbles", (you can substitute a 1lb of ground beef if you wish)
2 cups peas
pepper and sea salt to taste
In large pot, combine broth, veggies, tomatoes and soup. In a seperate pan, brown your "meat", and add in to large pot. Simmer until vegetables are tender, but not mushy. Then, add in peas and simmer for about 5 minutes.
This is good with a sprinkle of parmesan on the top. Mmmmm. I feel better already!

HERE'S WHAT I THINK

I thought I would share about a few products we tried this week, as I look for alternatives to meat products.

Last weekend I made homemade italian wedding soup, and used this Gimme Lean "sausage", aka "soysauge". I LOVED it. I actually made two batches of soup, one with the soysauge for me and the other with pork sausage for Paco. He actually said he couldn't even taste the difference. The best part? This stuff has 60 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol and 7 grams of protein. The only downfall is the price...roughly about $3.50-$4.00 for a package. I will watch out for sales and coupons so I can buy more!

There have been a few of Morningstar's products that I didn't care for, but I did like this stuff. Paco (who is trying to be very supportive in my non-meat-eating venture), cooked it up for us last night and put it in a taco salad. Paco said he wasn't crazy about it, but I really didn't notice a difference and would use it again. This stuff is also pricey, close to $4.00. I thought I would try it this weekend in chili....YUM!

TEXAS CAVIAR

This is one of my favorites.....I make it at least once a week for meals or just snacking. I've come across several recipes...this is a mish-mash of all of them.

TEXAS CAVIAR

2 cans low sodium garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

2 cans low sodium black beans, drained and rinsed

1 red onion, chopped

6 vine tomatoes, diced

1 pkg frozen corn, cooked and cooled

1 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup fresh italian parsley, chopped

a few splashes of low fat italian or balsamic dressing, for moisture and flavor*

pepper to taste

*I used Kraft light balsamic vinaigrette

Mix ingredients in a bowl and enjoy. This is even better the next day! I like it with tortilla chips, or else wrapped in a whole grain tortilla with a little plain yogurt instead of sour cream.

Guess what I'm having for lunch tomorrow?

POLENTA AND MARINARA

Next up in my favorite foods line-up.....Polenta. It's just cornmeal and water. Honestly, I've only prepared this once, but I loved it! Yesterday I used Freida's basil oregano polenta, sliced it, and browned it in a little bit of olive oil and garlic. Then, I topped it with a little low-fat mozzarella.Delish! They make several different varieties of Polenta, so I'm anxious to try them all. It's also simple and inexpensive to make yourself. There are also many, ways to serve it. In fact, tonight I am preparing it again, like I did yesterday, but am topping it with some homemade marinara sauce and fresh grated parmesan. I think it will be a good change from pasta. You can usually find it in the refrigerated section of the produce department.

Speaking of homemade marinara sauce, this stuff is FANTASTIC. Way better than anything you will find in a jar, without all the preservatives. I got the original recipe out of the Biggest loser cookbook, and have tweaked it a bit to suit our tastes.FRESH MARINARA SAUCE

Olive oil spray

2 cups minced sweet onions

4 tbs freshly minced garlic

2 (28 oz) cans crushed tomatoes*

3/4 cup water

4 tbs no-salt-added tomato paste

4 tsp honey

2 tbs dried oregano

4 tsp dried basil

1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup chopped fresh italian parsley

a couple splashes of marsala

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms (I like crimini)

*I actually used seasoned diced tomatoes, because that's what I had in my pantry. It makes for a chunkier sauce, but tasted just as good.

Spray a large nonstick saucepan with the olive oil spray and place over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until just becoming tender, (should not brown) for 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and with a wooden spoon stir in the tomatoes, water, tomato paste, honey, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and parsley until well combined. In a seperate pan, saute' the mushrooms in some garlic and a light bit of olive oil. Add mushrooms to marinara sauce. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour.