Tuesday, October 02, 2012
Lentil Enchilada Casserole (Can be Vegan)
I have enjoyed trying out several of The Vegan Cajun's recipes. I always enjoyed her Pampered Chef recipes before she became vegan...and her vegan recipes are just as yummy. This one is based on a Pampered Chef recipe.
3-4 C cooked lentils (drained)
1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 T Taco Seasoning Mix (Pampered Chef's SW seasoning)
1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 C water
1/2 C salsa
12 yellow corn tortillas
1/4 C snipped cilantro
1 C shredded cheese or vegan cheese (OPT)
Combine cooked lentils, seasoning, salt, enchilada sauce, water, and salsa. Simmer for 5 -7 minutes. Cut tortillas into 1" pieces. Don't cut back on sauce...liquid will cook down.
In a microwave safe dish arrange 1/2 the tortilla pieces, top with half the lentil mixture, half of the cheese, if using and 2 T of cilantro. Top with remaining tortillas, lentil mixture and optional cheese. microwave for 5 min or until hot and bubble. Top with remaining cilantro.
I made a big dish with cheese for the family - and a small one without for me. I sprinkled nutritional yeast on top and I didn't miss the cheese.
They didn't eat much of this - too spicy for them. I'll use the mild salsa next time. I enjoyed making ONE dinner which was easily adapted for all of us instead of cooking a "main meat entree" and a "main veggie entree." No photo...oops. Visit here to see a photo.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
THAT is NOT a Sweet Little Pinch
Tuesday's are EXHAUSTING; but FULFILLING. The good thing is we are all exhausted after our morning in the PCOC rooms .... so we all take it easy together.
Yesterday, we discovered the kids could cut out things for PCOC while I read to them....win/win for us.
Stacia had the big shot today - MMR. I let them talk me into two shots. We were given a big long talk about what to worry about and what is normal...For those new to the saga she had a reaction as a tiny infant to shots, given the history of her great-grandmother being paralyzed after a shot, and the info about shots and the spectrum.... we delayed future shots...Last year the peditrician felt she was good to try shots again and we decided to go for it - one shot at a time. She's done well. They saved the MMR and she needed Hep A. So - we went for these two. She'll need the 2nd dose in 6 months....then (except for Chicken Pox) she'll be up to date with all of them until she is 11. She did GREAT today. She didn't flinch or fuss....The tech told her, "Just a sweet little pinch," and she primly informed him, "THAT is not a sweet little pinch." I forgave her cheekiness.
They offered us the option of getting the first Chicken Pox shot - but they don't have the 2nd ones in and aren't sure they'll be in when it's due... she'd have to start all over with it if it isn't here. We'll just do it in the states, I think. Maybe she'll catch Chicken Pox before the shot comes in?
Her bravery was rewarded with all the kids taking a trip to Baskin Robbins. The older two retold the story of Zander's last shot. They were in a DIFFERENT part of the clinic and could HEAR HIM SCREAMING! He was her age.
We ran a couple of errands and then it was time to come home for me to make dinner and the kids to get a bit of time romping around outside.
Dinner was Lentil Enchilada Casserole, Roasted Ratatouille , Yellow Rice, Salad and yummy Cantaloupe. I'm not sure the casserole was a hit, but I'll try it again with a milder salsa (I was glad I didn't follow my instinct to add Chilies)....recipe to follow.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Yuuki Tracks a Snake
Zander used to run with Jared. Arielle and Yuuki have been running with Zander since Jared went to college. The S girls began to run with them. They run five mornings a week.
As they were running on the paths through the rice fields on Monday, Mollie found a snake skin. For the whole 30 min run Yuuki was "dogging" Mollie. When Mollie zigged and zagged Yuuki zigged and zagged. They began to walk as they entered our subdivision. Yuuki looked up at Mollie and finally FOUND what she'd been tracking...the snake...in Mollie's hand. Before they could stop her she jumped up and bit the tail off. She was pretty proud of herself...and now we know she would fight a snake if need be.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Monday, October 01, 2012
Overnight NO KNEAD Yeast Bread
Laura, at Heavenly Homemakers, has done it again! I started the dough yesterday a.m. and popped it into the oven for Michael, Zander and Stacia to enjoy for dinner. I added a T of honey to it...and in the future I may try the technique with my favorite whole wheat bread recipe.
*Note: You need a 2 qt covered dish to bake this in. I couldn't find one and tried my cast iron skillet the first time (rather dense). This is the closest I could find to a 2 qt covered dish at the BX...1.5 qt but the bread was much nicer.
INGREDIENTS:
3 C flour
1 3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp yeast
1 1/2 C water
T or so of honey (opt - I added)
Variety of spices/ herbs....
DIRECTIONS:
Stir ingredients together in the evening (or a.m. for dinner bread). No need to proof the yeast. Cover and allow dough to sit over-night on the COUNTER TOP.
 |
| It looks like this at night....cover it and go to sleep. |
Preheat oven to 450* HEATING THE BAKING DISH AT THE SAME TIME. Place the dough in the HOT baking dish.
Cover and bake for 30 - 40 minutes.
For more yummy eats, check the Recipe Tab at the top of the blog.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Sundays are for Service, Friends and Cooking....
09:30 found the whole family at the Protestant Parish Townhall meeting. Seasons bring change and today we discussed four changes coming to our chapel....a family fellowship night, small groups, AWANAS (not new but new info and a registration fee) and a family integrated RE program.
We went directly from Town Hall to Worship Service. Arielle served in the nursery. Stacia was thrilled to get to sit with Ms Marvie and Ashley....I love, love, love Michael preaching through I Peter. I am a bit concerned he won't reach his goal of finishing the book before we PCS. Today we covered I Peter 2:4-5.
We are letting each family member pick a Sunday restaurant. Today was Stacia's Sunday. She picked a place we've not been for 3 months - my favorite - Karinbas....but WOW it was hard to find something VEGAN to eat. It wasn't as hard to resist the sweet and sour chicken as I thought it would be....but I've decided I will go back and eat it at least one more time before we leave and eat the chicken - if I want. LOL I held up the show as they gave the "routine order" and I was still trying to find something that 1. was vegan and 2. didn't have shell fish, which I can't eat. Tuesday, Melissa, Jaycob and our family went to Lakeview Grill and it was easier THERE to find something. ::snort:: Anyway - I decided against the "braised vegetables with added ingredients" and went for "braised vegetables with vermicelli".....it was yummy...until I found the layer of ground up meat. ::snort:: The egg roll with some pilfered sweet and sour sauce was great.
It's been a rainy afternoon. We're supposed to get our first typhoon of the year in about an hour. While the kids played....I tried new recipes (as you may have guessed from the previous posts).
Mckenzie likes to hang out and we love having her hang out. She goes to PYOC with us too.
Yuuki was DETERMINED to stay under Arielle. ::snort::
Meanwhile I tried out three new vegan recipes, Coconut Milk Scones, Hot Fudge Lara Bars and homemade hardshell. This means I got over my fear of dates and I've got plenty of vegan snacks. I also overloaded the mini-food processor and began looking for the Bosch food processor for my very old Bosch Universal.
Just because he's home and it's fun to grab a photo. LOL
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Coconut Milk Scones - Vegan (Art of Dessert)
Makes 8-12 scones
See the original here....great photos.
Ingredients:
2 C all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1/3 C sugar (Rapadura)
1 T baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp. orange zest (opt - or use vanilla or lemon zest)
1 1/4 C canned coconut milk (cold)
1 C dried fruit (I used cranberries)
Coconut milk
Sugar
Preheat oven to 425*.
Directions:
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Pour in coconut milk. Gently mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in fruit (or chocolate chips etc).
Move dough onto a floured surface and shape into a circle about 3/4 in in thickness. Cut into 3 or 12 wedges. Place on greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Brush top with coconut milk and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown. Serve warm or store in a container after they are completely cooled.
I planned on making 1/2 with craisins and 1/2 with chocolate...but got distracted and mixed it all together. Stacia and I like them. These are not as cakey as I'd like....but then I used 100% whole wheat and that will make things dry....maybe I'll add a bit more milk next time.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
Homemade Hardshell (Vegan)
This is EASY, yummy, and I feel good knowing what's in it. I didn't have ice cream but the kids tell me it's good. I found this recipe here.
Ingredients:
1 C of chocolate chips
2 T Coconut oil
Directions: Melt the chips and oil together. 30 seconds in a microwave, heat and stir until smooth (or leave chunks like we did). Cool to room temp. Store in an airtight container.
More yummy eats on the recipe page.
Choosing Joy!
©2012 D.R.G.
~Coram Deo~
Living all of life before the face of God...
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