Posts filed under 'meatless'
The Poblano Pepper is quickly becoming my favorite for Mexican dishes. With just a touch of heat of more serious peppers, none of the sweetness of a bell pepper, and enough flavor to taste — the Poblano suits my purposes in the kitchen quite well. That is, no one complains about them. My son likes as much heat as possible (ever try the Habanero Doritos? — he loves them) and does not like sweet peppers at all, but my hubby doesn’t like much heat in his peppers - he prefers his tongue to stay intact. 
If you need a little “Pepper-education,” Poblanos are very dark green, glossy and have a long and irregular cone-like shape. Again, not much heat, but that yummy pepper flavor without the sweetness of a green or red bell pepper.
So I’ve been using Poblanos more and more - in salsa, beans, and soups most particularly. The Poblano Pepper Boat evolved in my kitchen one night last week. I was making fajitas for my kids, but wanted something without refined starch for hubby and I. These peppers turned out so well that I knew I had to pass it on to all of you. As a bonus, Sam took a picture so you can actually see it and don’t have to rely on your imagination.
Poblano Pepper Boats
makes 3 servings
3 Poblano peppers
1 can pinto beans
1 sweet onion
1 t. minced garlic
1 t. oil
2 T. chicken stock, broth or water
1/2 can petit diced tomatoes
1/2 t. cumin
salt and pepper
cilantro
cheddar cheese, optional
Cut the tops off and then slice the peppers lengthwise and carefully remove the innards - the “core,” seeds and white pithy parts. Lay these open-side up on a baking stone or glass pan. You can pre-bake these in a 350 oven while you prepare the filling ingredients.
For the filling, coarsely chop the onions and the tops of the peppers (you didn’t throw those out, did you?!) Heat the oil in a medium skillet - use nonstick - and add the onions, peppers, and garlic to it - saute until the onion begins to soften. Remember - this is YOUR food, not mine, so if you like it hot, add a jalapeno or whatever pepper you like. Meanwhile, drain the beans and mash - either by hand with a fork or pulse them in a handy kitchen chopper.
Add the mashed beans and the tomatoes to your onions in the skillet and let them come to a quiet bubble. After that, you will want to turn them down as low as possible. Add the cumin, salt and pepper. A dash of lime juice is a nice addition, too. Chili powder is great if you want to add a southwest flavor.
Finally, remove the empty peppers from the oven and “stuff” them with the bean filling. Top with a sprinkle of cheese and minced fresh cilantro if you want. Return to the oven for 20 minutes.
Serve with fajitas, Spanish rice, eggs, corn chips or tortillas, tostadas… you-name-it! ENJOY!
January 14th, 2008
I know my DH will be pleased that I decided to write this post. He SO loved the pizza I made last night for supper. Since we have changed our eating habits to strictly limit fatty foods, meats, dairy, and refined grains, we have begun to see pizza in a whole new light; as the high-fat, carb-filled food that it is.
But, alas, I have these things called children who are beginning to think we have totally gone off the deep end with the “health nut” diet. So, to appease and reassure them, I decided to make pizza last night.
With five hungry kids in the house, plus two adults, all of whom seem to have different opinions about pizza (and everything else), I have to make two or three pizzas anyway, so one of them became an ultra-thin-whole-wheat-crust loads-of-veggies pizza. The other was a deep-dish, loads of cheese, pepperoni and olive pizza. Only one member of the family did not eat their supper, and it was unexplainable - Peter usually really digs pizza. He was “off his feed” all day.
So, here is the recipe for the pizza we enjoyed last night - the key is in keeping the crust ultra-thin and limiting the cheese. Then use all your favorite vegetables as toppings. I wish I had taken a photo of it - this blog would be more enjoyable for all of you to read if I included more pictures! When putting the toppings on, don’t be afraid to really load it down with vegetables. I thought I had too many, but they shrink in the oven and I could have used more.
Thin Crust for pizza:
makes approximately 2 - 12 inch really thin pizzas
3/4 c. water
1 t. salt
1 t. sugar
2 T. olive oil
1 c. white flour
3/4 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 t. instant yeast
You may notice when reading the ingredients that there is very little yeast in this recipe. Of course - when making really thin pizza crust, you don’t want it to rise, just be a bit stretchy. The key to this dough is to limit how much you handle it. Kneading releases the gluten — we’re trying to achieve a low-gluten pizza crust.
Put all the ingredients in your bread machine or mixer with dough hooks. Mix only until it is well-combined, no longer. Grease a small bowl and move the dough from the machine to the bowl. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes to one hour.
Next, remove and gently knead, using as little flour and force as possible. Form your dough into a nice smooth ball and put it back into the greased bowl. After another “rising” (it doesn’t really rise, at least not noticeably) you will roll it out and prepare it for baking.
A couple of notes here:
1) I used a greased piece of parchment paper to roll this out on and then moved the pizza (including the parchment) to a preheated stone to bake. This made rolling out easier and less fussy because I didn’t have to worry about being able to slide the crust off of a cutting board and onto the stone. I simply lifted the parchment and carried it to the hot pizza stone.
2) The dough rolled out really nicely with just a little bit of flour and my rolling pin. I read a hint that you can cover the dough with plastic wrap and roll it out that way to even further limit the use of flour.
During the second rising, prepare your toppings and sauce. For toppings, I get out all the veggies I like, line up some empty bowls, and start slicing. Here’s what I used:
1) Thinly sliced sweet onion
2) Thinly sliced green pepper
3) sliced mushrooms
4) green olives
5) black olives
other possibilities: hot peppers, red peppers, black beans, tomatoes, chopped spinach
Sauce:
1 can tomato paste (6 oz.)
4 oz. water
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. minced garlic, optional
Hint: The basic Italian herbs are Rosemary, Oregano, and Basil. For pizza sauce, I like to go heavy on the Oregano and often don’t even use the rosemary. For pasta sauce, I like to go heavier on the Basil and add some sugar.
Combine all of the sauce ingredients with a whisk. You can add a can of diced tomatoes if you like chunks, but it will make enough to cover 4 pizzas, so double the herbs and be prepared to use the leftover sauce.
Cheese: Hey, it’s not a pizza without cheese. I used about 3 oz. of low-fat mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of low-fat Parmesan. That’s for both pizzas. It really was fine with just this small amount of cheese.
Now that your toppings and sauce are ready, you can focus on the crust again. Heat the oven to 450 and put your pizza stones in. If you don’t have a pizza stone, for heaven’s sake, go get one. Or two. They are worth every penny.
Cut the dough in half and place on the aforementioned greased parchment paper. Roll it out. Mine gave me no trouble at all and I got it really thin - probably 1/8 or 1/16 of an inch. Top with sauce, tons of veggies, and just a sprinkle of cheese. Repeat with the other crust.
Take the pizza stones out of the oven (unless you have a peel, in which case I am really jealous. I think a pizza peel will be on next year’s Christmas list), place the topped pizzas on it, and return to the oven.
At the high heat of 450, it will only take about 10 minutes to bake.
Remove, slice — heck, you can figure out the rest!
ENJOY!
January 10th, 2008
A healthy alternative to the all-American hamburger….
A creative way to replace meat with vegetables….
A method of reducing fat and calories in your diet….
The black bean burger may not be perfect to a true beef-lover, but it does make a tasty sandwich if you are in the mood for one. The recipe I decided to try is a Chili’s knockoff. I’ve never had the Chili’s Black Bean Burger, but have heard that it’s quite delicious. In our new-and-improved diet, we are very happy eating mainly fruits and vegetables with a few whole grains and the occasional meat thrown in.
For the first try on the Black Bean Burgers, I decided I wanted to grill them. Typically, grilling is our favorite method of cooking almost everything and I wanted the first attempt to be as great-tasting as possible. When I formed the patties, I could tell that they were going to fall right through the grate, so I decided they were going to have to be laid on a piece of foil. A small bit of butter on the shiny side of the foil, then I placed the patty on top. The butter, or a little cooking spray is absolutely necessary, since the beans will definitely stick to the foil otherwise. After the meal, I decided that grilling is probably not the best cooking method for these patties, but simply frying in the pan (in a bit of oil) would be best.
Black Bean Burgers
makes 3 or 4 (if small-ish)
1 can black beans, drained
2 t. cajun seasoning
1/2 medium onion
2 t. minced garlic
3/4 c. bread crumbs
1 egg
1 t. oil for frying
Drain the black beans, rinse quickly and let the water drain out. I use a fine strainer for this. While they are draining, put the onion and garlic in your food chopper and pulse until finely chopped. Add most of the beans, reserving a few out. (Mash these gently with a fork so that you have some large bean pieces for texture’s sake.) Pulse some more until you have bean paste.
Now place this in a medium-sized bowl and combine the paste with the slightly mashed beans. Add the seasoning, bread crumbs and egg and toss until well-combined with a fork.
Heat the oil in a skillet over medium and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. (I grilled mine, so I’m not sure how well they will hold up in a skillet — you may have to flip very gently.)
I hope everyone looking to eat healthier in 2008 is willing to try one of these! I served mine on whole wheat buns with a lettuce leaf, sliced avocado (a good replacement for mayonnaise) and a green salad on the side.
So, my open-minded friends, try having a black bean burger sometime soon!
January 5th, 2008
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