New Year

It's a new year, 2011 to be exact and after a few months of vegetarian cooking for Tatyana, I was at a loss for new ideas.  The Internet is a great resource, but can become overwhelming to a new cook.  I rediscovered the joy of cookbooks.  Betty Crocker's Easy Everyday Vegetarian.  I checked it out from the library.  The key words besides Vegetarian were Easy and Everyday.  It has to be easy to be sustainable for me.  :)  Another frustration with the internet is that sometimes the ingredients are not readily available in the middle of the high desert of California and if there are too many steps, my mind wanders after a full day of teaching.  I found several recipes to post here and I will try them and see if they are ones that will become new favorites. 

Italian "Veggie Burger" Bake

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked orzo or rosamarina pasta (6 oz.)
4 frozen soy-protein burgers
3 cups frozen bell pepper and onion stir-fry (from 1 lb. bag)
1 can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano, undrained
1 container (7-8 oz.) plain hummus (3/4 cup)
1 cup crumbled tomato-basil feta cheese (4 oz.)
1/3 cup pitted Kalamata olives, coarsely chopped


Directions
Heat over to 350 degrees F.  Spray 8 inch square glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Cook and drain pasta.
On a large microwaveable plate, microwave burgers uncovered on High 2-3 minutes, turning once, until thawed.
Spray 12-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium-high heat until hot.  Add pepper and onion stir-fry; cook 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently, until crisp-tender.  Stir in diced tomatoes.  Cook 4-6 minutes, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat.
In medium bowl, stir pasta and hummus until coated.  In baking dish, layer half each of the pasta mixture, vegetable mixture and cheese; top with burgers.  Repeat with remaining pasta mixture, vegetable mixture and cheese.  Sprinkle olives evenly over top.  Cover tightly with foil.  Bake 35 min..  Uncover and bake 5-10 min loner or until heated through.  Let stand 5 min. before serving.

Winter Vegetable Stew

Ingredients
1 can (28 oz) Italian-style peeled whole tomatoes
4 medium red potatoes; cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 medium stalks of celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 medium carrots, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
2 medium leeks, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 can (14 oz)  vegetable broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp. dried rosemary leaves
3 T. cornstarch
3 T. cold water

Directions
Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid.  Cut up tomatoes.  In 4-5 quart slow cooker, mix tomatoes, tomato liquid and remaining ingredients except cornstarch and water.
Cover; cook on Low heat setting 8- 10 hours.
In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water; gradually stir into stew until blended.  Increase heat setting to High.  Cover; cook about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until thickened.

Tex-Mex Pinto Beans

Ingredients
1 pound dried pinto beans (2 cups) sorted, rinsed
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 1/2 cups water
1 T. chili powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper 

Directions
In a 3-4 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients.  Cover; cook on High heat setting 7-9 hours.

Serve with cornbread and coleslaw

Cuban Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients
1 lb. dried black beans
1 large onion, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 dried bay leaves
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
5 cups water
2 T. olive oil
4 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. finely chopped jalapeno chili
1 tsp. salt
3 cups cooked rice


Directions
In a 3-4 quart slow cooker, mix all ingredients except rice.  Cover; cook on High heat setting 6-8 hours.  Remove bay leaves. Serve beans over rice.

Veggie-burger with Vegetable Sauce

Cook Boca burger according to direction and serve over Chinese noodles with this Vegetable sauce.

Ingredients
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup water
2 T. stir-fry sauce

Directions
Mix vegetables, water and stir-fry sauce; heat to boiling.
Reduce heat to medium; add patties.  Cover; cook 5 minutes until patties are hot and vegetables are crisp-tender.  Serve sauce and patties over noodles.

Lemon Pepper Pasta and Asparagus

Ingredients
2 cups bow tie pasta
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 pound asparagus cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
3 T. lemon juice
1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
Fresh ground black pepper

Directions
Cook and drain pasta
Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.  Stir-fry bell pepper, asparagus, lemon peel, salt and pepper until vegetables are crisp.
Stir in lemon juice and navy beans.  Cook until beans are hot.  Add pasta and toss with vegetable mixture.  Sprinkle with pepper.