One-Pot Chickpeas and Rice

My sister sent me this recipe years ago, and I finally made it last night. It is easy and delicious, so of course my toddler won't touch it.

1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 can chopped tomatoes, or 6oz fresh tomatoes, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 1/2 cups white basmati or jasmine rice
1 Tbsp yellow curry powder
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
lots of black pepper
1 1/4 cup water

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan (with a lid!) over medium-high heat. Sauté onion and garlic for 5 minutes. Add curry powder and cook a few minutes more.
Add water, tomatoes with juice, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil.
Add drained chickpeas and rice. Cover and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
Taste test. If the rice is not done, add another 1/4 cup of water and re-cover to simmer 5 more minutes.

Lentil Loaf

My sister was disappointed by all the "flaxseed and almond flour BS" in the lentil loaf recipes she found on Pinterest, so we went back to Mom's recipe cards to get the "old-fashioned hippie" version.

1 c dry lentils (2 c cooked)
1  13-ounce can evaporated milk
1/4 c oil
2 eggs
2 c oatmeal or extremely dry bread crumbs (we prefer oatmeal)
1/2 to 1 c chopped walnuts
1 minced onion
1 c minced celery
1 c grated carrot
1 tsp sage
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350F.
Prepare dry lentils by cooking them in 2 cups water over medium heat for 30-40 minutes. Combine cooked lentils with all ingredients and stir together thoroughly.
Divide into two loaf pans or 24 muffin cups.
Bake 1 hour. Serve hot with ketchup or BBQ sauce. Also makes good leftovers or cold sandwich filling.

Falafel

These are tasty! From Laurel's Kitchen.

1 medium potato, cooked & mashed
1 medium-large onion, finely chopped
1 large bunch parsley or coriander
2 T oil
4 c (2 cans) ground chick peas
1/4 c sesame seed meal
1 T yogurt
1/8 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne
1 t paprika
juice of 1 lemon

Preheat oven to 350F. Sauté onions in oil until soft. Stir in parsley/coriander and cook briefly. Add to ground chick peas. Mix well with potato, sesame seed meal, yogurt, spices, and lemon juice. Form into balls or patties using 2T each. Bake on greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes on each side.

Makes 30. 65 cal & <2 g fat each.

Taco Bake

1 c shredded cheddar cheese
1 c shredded lettuce
1 1/2 c chopped tomatoes
1 3/4 all-purpose flour
1 package quick-rise or dry yeast
1 T sugar
2 t finely chopped onion
3/4 t salt
1/3 c warm water (120-130F)
2 T oil
1/2 c crushed corn chips
 Mexican Beans (replaces 1 lb taco-seasoned ground beef)

Preheat oven to 375F. In medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, onion, and salt. Mix well. Add warm water and oil. Mix by hand until almost smooth. Stir in corn chips and enough remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spread in well-greased 10-inch pie dish, forming a ridge around the edge. Cover, let rise in a warm place 10 minutes for quick-rise yeast or 20 minutes for active dry yeast. Spread beans over dough. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until edges of dough are crisp and light golden brown. Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Bean Soup

This is a simple crock-pot soup that I made for Father's Day last year. We were meeting up for a winery tour in the morning, and then everyone came to my house for lunch, so I needed something that could take care of itself for a while. The times below are how our day went, but I'm sure it would be fine with cooking longer in part 1 and shorter in part 2.

2 c mixed dried bean
2 potatoes, cubed
2 quarts water
1 c uncooked macaroni
1 can Rotel tomatoes w/ green chilis
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt, pepper, basil, oregano

Part One: Rinse the beans. Put beans, potato pieces, and water in crock pot. Cook on High for 3 hours.
Part Two: Sauté the onion and garlic in oil until onions are soft. Add the onion and garlic, tomatoes, and macaroni noodles to the crock pot. Salt and spice to taste. (It needs more salt than I expected - canned beans have a lot of salt, while dry beans have none.) Cook on High for 1 hour.

Mexican Beans

My mom created this recipe. It's awesome with rice or Cornbread, and we use it as the base for tacos and taco salad. For some reason, the version that I have written down is for a massive batch, and calls for a gigantic can of beans, the one as big as your head. Scale away.

img via: off the (meat) hook

6lb 12oz canned kidney beans (3-pound coffee size)
1 t garlic powder
1 1/2 t oregano
3 t cumin

Combine over medium heat. Stir/mash occasionally to prevent sticking. It can stay over low heat for a while and will continue to thicken.

Louisiana Style Red Beans & Rice

From Skinny Vegetarian Entrees.

3 c canned red beans (save canning liquid)
3 c cooked rice
1/3 c minced red onion
3 T butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 c minced scallion (greens and whites)
1/4 c minced celery leaves
1/4 t dry sage
1/4 t dry thyme
1/4 t cayenne powder

Melt butter in saucepan. Saute garlic 1 minute on low heat.
Add red onion, celery leaves, and round 1/3 cup scallions. Saute 4 minutes on medium heat.
Add sage, thyme, and cayenne. Add beans and 3/4 canning liquid. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.
Serve beans over rice, garnish with remaining scallions.

Chana Pindi and Garam Masala

My dad decided to learn to cook Indian food a while back. It works because there are a lot of vegetarian recipes from some regions, and this is one of our favorites. It comes from the Bombay Palace Cookbook.

1 packet chana masala spice or 2 rounded T garam masala
1 t garam masala
1/2 t coriander
1/2 t cumin
1/2 t paprika
1/2 t tumeric
1/4 t cayenne
2c drained chickpeas
1 piece fresh ginger, minced
2 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can tomatoes, drained
1/2 c water
1/4 c butter, melted
2 T chopped cilantro

Combine chickpeas, tomatoes, spices, and water in a skillet or wok. Save for later: butter, cilantro, half of the chana masala, and the tablespoon of garam masala.
Cover skillet and simmer 5-7 minutes to allow most of the water to evaporate.
Transfer chickpeas to serving dish. Pour melted butter over.
Sprinkle with cilantro, garam masala, and remaining chana masala.

McCormick sells a garam masala, but it's much sweeter than this blend. Bulk spices are shockingly cheap at my local Indian supermarkets, so check 'em out.
To make your own garam masala, grind together: 8 oz tumeric, 8 oz coriander, 8 oz cumin, 6 oz powdered sugar, 4 oz black peppercorns, 1 oz cardamom, 2 oz fennel seed, 2 oz mace, 1 oz whole cloves, 1 oz mustard seed, 1 oz poppy seed, 1 oz garlic powder, 1 oz fenugreek seed, and 1/2 oz cinnamon.
Store in an airtight container.

Black Bean and Rice Burritos

From Vegetarian Times.

1c brown rice (dry)
12 6-inch flour tortillas
16 oz. can black beans
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 c chopped onion
1-2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground cumin
chopped scallions
salsa

Cook the rice as directed, usually: 1 cup rice to 2 cups water, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low heat 35 minutes.
Wrap tortillas in foil and heat in oven at 200F, or microwave as directed.
Combine the black beans (with canning liquid), garlic, tomato, onion, chili powder, and cumin in a saucepan. Simmer until tomatoes are soft, usually 5-15 minutes.*
Spoon rice and beans into each tortilla. Garnish with scallions and salsa.

Per burrito: 185 calories, 0 cholesterol, 3g fat, 35g carbs, 6g protein.

*The even simpler cheater version of this is to just combine a can of drained black beans with a can of half-drained tomatoes and chilis (I usually get either Rotel or Hunt's), add some cumin and chili powder, and cook on medium heat until it's hot throughout and starts to simmer.

Black Bean Salad

This is a bean salad recipe that my mom developed when trying to replicate a salad she had at a restaurant. The amounts are pretty flexible, so play around with what you like.

15 oz. can black beans
1/2 t pressed garlic
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup minced green pepper
1 tomato
1/8 t cumin
1/2 t dry cilantro
1 T balsamic vinegar
salt and peper

Drain and rinse the black beans. Chop the tomato. Mix everything together in a bowl and let sit at least an hour before serving.

Quick Black Bean Dip

Exactly what it sounds like. Quite good!

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rised
1/2 cup mild salsa
2 T fresh lime juice (aprox 1 small lime)
2 T fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 t cumin

Throw everything in the food processor and blend until smooth. Serve with baked tortilla chips to not destroy the healthy-ness of the dip.

1/2 cup serving contains aprox: 100 calories, 5 grams fiber, 6 grams protein, zero fat

Mexican Lasagna

An interesting change from your usual Italian lasagne!

1/2 T oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 green pepper, chopped
1 T chili powder
1 t cumin
dash cayenne
1 cup corn
16 oz. kidney beans, drained
1 cup tomato sauce
6 corn tortillas
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

In oil, saute onion, garlic and green pepper for aprox 5 minutes, until soft. Add spices and cook 1 minute more. Remove from heat. Add corn, beans and tomato sauce. In a microwave-safe dish, layer tortillas, beans, and cottage cheese 2 or 3 times. Top with cheddar.

Cook, uncovered on High in the microwave 10-15 minutes, until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Serves 4. Aprox 460 calories per serving.