Turkey Tamale Pie

Yesterday I mentioned how I enjoy spending time searching for edible inspiration...err, inspiration for edibles. Either way, its fun! There is so much out there! Another one of my sources is, dun dun dun...the Rachel Ray Show. Most of my days are currently spent home bound, and a giant portion in front of the computer. Doing photo edits, developing my website, searching for recipes, watching last nights episode of the biggest loser that I missed...you get the idea. In being home, during what some would call "daytime" I have also tuned into to daytime programming from time to time. And I love watching the Rachel Ray Show for the recipes! Most of which I alter, but that's another story. Cause this recipe I followed (almost) to a T. Any excuse to use my cast-iron skillet is also something I jump at. Plus, one word: polenta! We loved it, Al of course went back for seconds. Leftovers...tons! One of the changes I made was I didn't have any beer, so deglazing the pan didn't exactly happen. And I didn't have tomato sauce I only had diced. So...anyways, we enjoyed it. Here is the way I did it, you can check out the link for what was on the show.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tbls olive oil
2 lbs ground turkey
2 hot chili peppers, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper
1 tbls ground cumin
1 tbls ground coriander
2 ancho chili peppers in adobo sauce, chopped fine
2 tbls cider vinegar
2 tbls brown sugar
2 tbls worcestershire sauce
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can chicken stock
1 cup almond breeze
1 cup polenta
1 tbls honey
1 cup shredded mozzarella

*Heat oil in a cast-iron or large skillet. Brown the turkey and then add in peppers, more peppers, onion, garlic, s&p, cumin, coriander, and chilies. Stir occasionally and cook for 10 min, until the peppers and onions are soft.
*Stir in vinegar, sugar, worcestershire sauce, and tomatoes. Simmer to thicken, 5 to 10 min.
*Preheat broiler and then in a sauce pot, bring the chicken stock and "milk" to a boil. Add in the polenta and stir in constantly for 2 or 3 mins, until it has thickened up. Add honey and mix well.
*Spread polenta over the turkey to about an inch from the edge. Top with cheese and throw under a pre-heated broiler until golden brown.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

Oh. My. Good food! So I'm not a mom yet, but I know I'm going to be one of those moms who quietly hides veggies in food unannounced to the little mouths that will eat it. That is unless they come out like their mama, aka veggie loving! This is seriously a dish that is jam packed with awesomeness. In my pursuit of all things nummy, I scour the web and the growing stack of cookbooks I have for ideas. This one caught my eye and my taste buds wanted at it! I've made stuffed peppers before, but this one takes the cake. The combination of everything in it seriously wanders close to the line of perfection. I used poblano peppers this time, I might try good old bell peppers next time...its just hard when they're so expensive. Not to mention I got some mighty good sized poblanos this week. On a spicy scale from 1-10 this ranks at a "I noticed there was something there". But we love ourselves some spice here at the Reich household. (So we topped it with a little chopped jalapeno!) We ended up with extra filling, I only had 3 peppers, so I'm freezing it to use for a burrito filling the next time we are in need of an insta-meal. And like I said before, check out all the great super foods packed into these delicious peppers...

INGREDIENTS:

4 or 5 peppers(poblano or bell)
2 tbls olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 tbls chili powder
1 tbls cumin
1 teas oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
a generous handful of spinach
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup frozen corn
1 large carrot, grated
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup shredded cheese
salt & pepper

*Heat oil in a large pot, over medium-high. Add in the onion and cook for 5 mins. Then add the chili powder, cumin, oregano, and garlic and saute for about a minute.
*Toss in the spinach and tomatoes, cook off some of the extra liquids for 5 mins. Then add in the black beans, quinoa, corn, carrots, and water. Bring to a boil then reduce to a medium to medium-low heat. Simmer for about 20 mins or until the quinoa is cooked.
*Stir in the cheese and s&p.
*Take your peppers and cut them in half from top to bottom. Strip out the seeds and ribs. Stuff with the hot quinoa mix. Place in a baking dish with tinfoil tented over the top. Put in a 375 degree oven for 30-35 mins.
*Remove tinfoil and top with a little bit of extra cheese, place back in the oven for another 5 mins. Serve and enjoy to your little hearts content!

Chunky Chili

I want to start out with a confession. I am sad to say the vegan diet was broke a meal short of a full week. ::sigh:: We ended up eating with family yesterday and we ended up eating....chinese. I can't bat an eye at mongolian beef without desiring all of its saucy-ness. Unashamed we dined and chatted and enjoyed ourselves. Really enjoyed ourselves, and by that I mean went back for seconds. Uffda, now that that's off my chest I can move on.

To tonights main dish, er just dish. Chili! And since the above mentioned relapse happened, I thought it appropriate to jump back in with an "almost" vegan dinner. You're probably thinking....its either vegan, or its not. This would fall under the category of vegetarian not vegan simply because the meat crumbles that I used are alas, not vegan. They contain egg product.......or something, and milk too I believe. Anyways, I just about doubled this recipe by adding in more beans and veggies and tomatoes because left over chili is as good as just made chili-if not better. So this makes a TON of chili. For reals. We found this recipe to be absolutely terrific and enjoyed every bite of our obscenely large bowls.

 INGREDIENTS:
1 tbls olive oil
3 onions, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
12 oz of vegan/vegetarian burger crumbles
1 tbls chili powder
2 tbls cumin
2 teas cayenne
2 bell peppers, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
2 cans (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups water
2 cups corn
2 cans of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
1 can of large butter beans
3/4 cup medium-grind bulger
salt and pepper

*Heat oil in a large pot, over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, crumbles, chili powder, cumin and cayenne. Cook for about 5 min until the vegetables are soft. Stir in the bell peppers and jalapeno and work that together for a minute. Then add in the tomatoes with their liquids and water. Bring it to a boil and then add the corn, beans, and bulger. Dropped the heat down to medium-low and cook uncovered for about 15-20 min. Season, if desired with s&p.

Sweet Potato Falafel

A sweet potato dish again? Yes ma'am, and I'm okay with that. What I really appreciated about tonights dinner was that I was able to prep it all this afternoon. I had a photo shoot tonight and we were heading out and would be gone until closer to seven, so I knew I wasn't going to want to make anything then. With these falafels I was able to prep it all and then go off on our way, come back, pop them in the oven for 20 minutes and plate up the rest of the dinner. Like I'm a pro or something. Uhmmm, yeah, more like not a pro tonight. Not the falafel that was great. I was trying to come up with something to serve it with, having well, not many options in the fridge. I had broccoli and cherry tomatoes that I needed to use. So I found a little salad recipe and thought, let's go for it. Well, as I told Al when he finished his meal with almost all the salad I had served him left on his plate....you can't hit 'em all out of the park. And let me tell you, that kid has never not finished something I put in front of him. It just wasn't our style. I think it may have been the rice vinegar. It was a bit too potent. After I had a few bites I was fine and was definitely a member of the clean plate club tonight. But I don't think I'll make it again....the salad that is. So falafel, yay...broccoli & tomato salad, nay.

INGREDIENTS:
(falafel)
3 medium sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed
1 1/2 teas ground cumin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 teas ground coriander
1/2 a bunch of cilantro, chopped
juice of a lemon
1 cup garbanzo bean flour
salt & pepper
olive oil
sesame seeds

*In a medium bowl, mix all ingredients up through salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour, should come out kinda sticky still. If its too moist add a little more garbanzo bean flour. Sometimes the sweet potatoes have varying water content.
* Oil a pan, and place scoops of mixture onto the pan. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Bottoms will brown, then you're good to go.

(broccoli & tomato salad)
2 large heads of broccoli, chopped
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
2 teas dijon mustard
3 tbls seasoned rice vinegar
1 tbls olive oil
2 tbls chopped fresh oregano or 2 teas dried oregano

*Steam the broccoli until just crisp-tender. Only takes a few minutes. Cool and add tomatoes.
*Place mustard in a small bowl and whisk in the vinegar and then whisk in the oil  and then the oregano.
*Pour dressing over broccoli and tomatoes, toss to coat. Season with s&p to taste.
*Chill and serve.