Vegetarian Hot Pot

Since it's so cold here this week, I thought a yummy soup would be good! We tried Vegetarian Hot Pot from Eating Well Mag.

While the vegetable broth simmered with garlic and ginger chunks (these were strained out later)...

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I got all the vegetables ready. Bok Choy...guess I should have turned it to the prettier side!

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This recipe cooked the stems first and then added the greens later, so they had to be separated.

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Well, I guess I actually chopped the veggies before I started simmering the broth, b/c there is the garlic and ginger! Oh well, I don't have 5 assistants like Rachael Ray! Just two little monkeys duking it out in the living room, so I'm also a referee while I'm trying to cook!

This recipe called for Shitakes. I just love how they smell when you chop them.

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Sauteeing the bok choy stems, shitakes, and red pepper flakes...

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All the ingredients simmering together. I used plain Whole Wheat noodles for this instead of the Asian noodles it called for, and I liked that better.

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I served with one of my very favorites...Spicy Asian Slaw. Can't remember if I've posted about that one before.

I thought this soup was very good, but not "knock-your-socks-off good."

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Leo tried shitakes and tofu for the first time and said they were good! A small victory.

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Chili-Cheese Black Bean Enchiladas

This is one of our all-time favorites! No one will know it's meatless and healthy unless you tell them!

First off, I got a new pan. Cause for celebration. All of my non-stick is totally kaput, and I had to have at least one good non-stick for recipes such as this one. The soy crumblers really want to stick to stainless or cast iron. So...today I found this little beauty at TJMaxx on clearance for $20! It's Emerilware, and guess what it says on the back...made by All-Clad! Love it! Please excuse the dirty stove.

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So, anyway, this is the recipe, and these are the soy crumbles that the recipe calls for. Sometimes they're hard to find.

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This recipe starts with sauteeing the onions, and then you add the garlic, spices, beans, and soy crumbles. Doesn't this look like regular ground beef? I promise, those silly meat eaters won't know the difference!

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Then you add the salsa...

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Then the ff cream cheese and the lf sharp cheddar.

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This is my enchilada assembly line...

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Each enchilada gets 1/3 cup of filling. I love this recipe b/c it tells you how much filling to put in each one.

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Things got a little chaotic around here close to serving time, so forgive me for the half-full dish. Anyway, the enchiladas turned out beatifully, and I served with green rice (rice, smart balance, green onions, cilantro, lime juice, salt, pepper).

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What's on the Menu? 1/21-1/24

Monday: Oven-fried Catfish, Broccoli, Baked Potatoes
Tuesday: Chili-Cheese Black Bean Enchiladas, Green Rice
Wednesday: Vegetarian Hot Pot, Fruit
Thursday: Luby's

Also making some Red Lentil Dal to keep on-hand this week.

Dal with Ghee, Cumin, and Mustard Seeds & Cucumber Raita w/pita chips

Since this is the last night I'm cooking this week, I decided to go out with a bang! I had a bag of yellow split peas, and soup sounded good since the cold front is coming through tonight.

I decided on a Dal Soup with a Cucumber Raita as a side.

I began by getting the soup started. This recipe calls for ghee, which I learned how to make in a Central Market cooking class, but I didn't feel like fooling with that. So I just used regular butter. I began by prepping the onion, carrots, and garlic in a food processor and sauteeing.

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Rinsed one pound of yellow split peas (Sprouts)...

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and got all the ingredients simmering. I used vegetable broth instead of chicken.

I find I'm using these spices more and more - I've come a long way! Two years ago I had no clue about most of these spices used in Indian cuisine. Oh, and I cheat and buy the prepared minced ginger.

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While the soup simmered, I worked on prepping the Raita. I began by shredding an English cucumber and placing in a colander,


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...and then I prepared all other parts of the yogurt dish. Red onions, cilantro, lime, salt, spices, etc.

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Then I drained the cucumber on paper towels.

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Then everything was ready to mix together for the Raita.

Somewhere in there I broiled pitas sprayed with cooking spray...

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Then I went back to the final step of the Dal. I toasted Cumin Seeds and Mustard Seeds. mmmm, smelled good!

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Then sauteed in a little butter until the seeds started to pop. They really did start to pop - I was surprised!

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I thought it made a pretty meal. The cucumber yogurt was yummy for dipping the pitas. The soup had a wonderful flavor, and I liked the different textures of the peas, vegetables, and mustard seeds. This was a little more work than I normally do on a weeknight, but it was fun tonight.

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