Enchiladas with Black Beans and Rice

These are SO GOOD.
adapted from: http://www.motherthyme.com/2012/10/black-bean-and-rice-enchiladas-with.html

shown here served with avocado and salsa

Ingredients:

For Enchilada Sauce:
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup water
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of red pepper flakes
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

For Enchiladas:
2 cups cooked brown rice (save yourself time and buy one of those microwave pouches of already cooked rice. I bought seeds of change brown rice and quinoa with garlic).
15.5 oz. can black beans - drained and rinsed!
1 cup corn (I used some thawed frozed corn)
1/2 cup chunky salsa
2 cups Mexican cheese
1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce (recipe above)
10 6" flour tortillas (I found slightly larger tortillas - maybe 10 inch? package of 8, and the filling fit perfectly in 8 of them)


Instructions

For Enchilada Sauce:
In a small bowl wisk together tomato sauce, water, chili powder, cayenne, pepper flakes, tomato paste, garlic powder, salt and cumin until blended and set aside.
Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir in flour until flour dissolved. Gradually whisk in tomato mixture. Reduce heat to low and stir until sauce thickens, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.Makes 1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce.

For Enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray non stick cooking spray on a 9"x13" casserole dish and set aside. (I ended up using 1 9x13 pyrex dish plus another 8x8...probably because I had larger tortillas)
In a large bowl combine rice, black beans, corn, salsa, 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce and 1 1/2 cups of cheese. Stir until combined.
Divide mixture between each tortilla. Wrap each tortilla and place seam side down in casserole dish. Pour remaining enchilada sauce on top.
Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and bake for an additional 5 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.

NOTES:
To reduce the fat/calories, next time I may half the canola oil and flour (just because the sauce was VERY thick, and I think it would have been fine a little bit thinner). Also might be worth trying low fat or fat free or whole wheat tortillas, low fat cheese, or no-sodium products to make it a little healthier. I'm also wondering if reducing the salt in the sauce will make any difference.

Fettuccine Pesto Alfredo

from: http://www.bigoven.com/recipe/175049/creamy-pesto-fettucine-alfredo

Shown here served with vegetarian chicken (Quorn gruyere cutlet)

Ingredients:
1 package (1 lb) fettuccine (I used whole wheat)
1/2 cup pesto (store bought, or home made recipe here)
2 cups heavy cream
3 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 small heads broccoli (optional - or any type of vegetable you want to add)
salt and pepper to taste
italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, minced garlic to taste (optional)

Directions:
Bring water to a boil and begin cooking pasta according to package directions. Cook until just UNDER al dente.
Cut broccoli into bit-sized florets. Steam for 8 minutes and set aside.
While pasta and broccoli are cooking, make the sauce. Pour the heavy cream and veggie broth into a saucepan. Simmer over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Stir in pesto and parmesan and simmer until combined and cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus any other spices you wish (I added some italian seasoning and some garlic and onion powder, and a little bit of minced garlic).
Once sauce is to your liking, put drained pasta and sauce in the same pan. Cook pasta in the sauce for about 10 minutes or until sauce thickens - the starch in the pasta will thicken the sauce. Then, add the broccoli (or any other steamed veggies you are using) and stir well until combined. Serve with some parmesan cheese on top if you wish. We ate it with some vegetarian Quorn gruyere cutlets with some pesto on top.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles

from: http://sweetpeaskitchen.com/2011/09/pumpkin-snickerdoodles/

I made these cookies for Thanksgiving and they were AMAZING...even though I burnt the bottoms of half of them! I made the dough the night before I baked them - the dough was actually not a good consistency for rolling. But, after refrigeration, it was much better. I added slightly more pumpkin pie spice to the batter and some to the topping while cutting down on the amount of cinnamon.

Ingredients:
for cookies:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 to 1.5 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg
3/4 cup pumpkin puree

for topping:
1/4 cup sugar

1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Adjust the oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
With a hand beater/mixer, cream the butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the egg and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin puree and beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down the bowl as needed. Refrigerate dough for at least 1 hour if the consistency is too runny. You could also try adding more flour but I haven't tried this personally!
Place the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice for rolling in a shallow bowl. Roll a heaping tablespoon of dough into a 1½-inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar mixture, and place it on the prepared baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough, spacing the balls about 2 inches apart
Bake the cookies, one sheet at a time, until the edges are set and just beginning to brown but the centers are still soft and puffy, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking. (NOTE: I wouldn't recommend leaving them in for more than 10 minutes. Mine somehow burnt.) Cool the cookies on the baking sheets about 5 minutes; using a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Recipe Notes:
The dough can be made through step 3 and either covered tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen.
To freeze the cookie dough, portion into individual balls, roll in the cinnamon and sugar, and freeze on a parchment- or wax-paper-lined plate (don't let them touch or they will fuse together) until completely firm, 2 to 3 hours. When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and increase the baking time to 17 to 22 minutes.

Vegan Sausage Stuffing

from: http://www.noveleats.com/holidays/vegan-stuffing/

I've made this recipe for Thanksgiving two years in a row now. I usually omit the cranberries at my sister's request and it still turns out great. As someone who hates celery I omitted that the first time, but added it in this time and it was still fine (I just chopped it into small enough pieces). I've found that I usually use more bread than called for in the recipe. I use half white bread and half wheat bread, and just keep adding it until the baking dish is full. If you want to only use one type of bread, one whole loaf should be enough.

Ingredients:

1 loaf whole wheat bread (cut into cubes - you will NOT need the whole loaf)
1 loaf white bread, (cut into cubes - you will NOT need the whole loaf)
1 pound vegetarian/vegan sausage, cut into pieces (frozen is fine) (I used one package of Tofurky Kielbasa)
1 cup onion, chopped
2 tablespoons vegan butter ( I used Earth Balance)
3/4 cup celery, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons dried sage
1 1/4 teaspoons dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
6 tablespoons melted vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1 apple, peeled and chopped into small pieces
3/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
1/3 cup minced parsley
1.5-2 cups vegetable stock

Instructions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut your bread into cubes, and put them on baking sheets on a single layer. Bake in the oven for about five to seven minutes. (Note- this time I skipped this step due to lack of time. It turned out okay, but I would recommend not skipping this for risk of too-soggy stuffing).


Gather the ingredients which you will be frying: the vegetarian or vegan sausage, onions, celery, sage, rosemary and thyme.
I chose to cut the Tofurky Kielbasa in half lengthwise, then the two pieces into half lengthwise again, then I chopped them into small pieces.
Chop onions and celery into small pieces.

Fry the vegetarian or vegan sausage and onions in two tablespoons of butter over medium heat till evenly browned, occasionally stirring. Add the celery, sage, rosemary, and thyme, and cook for about two minutes, stirring to blend. Remove from heat.
Chop your apples (small pieces) and parsley, and measure out your cranberries. Make sure the cranberries are not clumped together. You want them to mix evenly throughout the stuffing.

Place the toasted bread cubes in a large mixing bowl, then pour the vegetarian or vegan sausage mixture on top of the bread. Pour six tablespoons of melted vegan butter over the mixture, then add the apples, cranberries and parsley. Mix well.


Drizzle with about one cup of the broth until thoroughly moist but not soggy. Mix again. Transfer to a baking dish and allow to bake for about 20 minutes.

If you have added more bread cubes than the recipe calls for you may need to add a little more broth to the baking stuffing.

Butternut Squash and Spinach Stuffed Shells

from http://www.prouditaliancook.com/2009/10/butternut-squash-stuffed-shells-with.html

This recipe has been ALL over pinterest. It looked awesome and I had some squash I needed to use, so I figured I would try it. First, I multiplied the the filling ingredients by about 1.5 (because I had a REALLY big squash, and 2 cups is an awkward amount of ricotta. either you get a small container which isn't enough, or a large container which is too much. Plus, a standard package of jumbo shells will give you far more than you need for the amount of filling in the recipe.). I cooked what I could fit in my 9x13 baking dish, then used the rest of the filling and froze the rest of the uncooked ones. The recipe here has the filling ingredients modified to 1.5 (or more) times the original recipe. Also, I found the lemon to be overpowering. I also cut back on the amount of zest and lemon juice. I would maybe recommend not adding lemon juice to the sauce at all, but that's just personal opinion. However, I wouldn't suggest completely omitting the lemon - I would still add a bit of zest to the filling mixture.


Ingredients:
1 large butternut squash
olive oil
1 package jumbo stuffed shells
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
2 garlic cloves (I used the equivalent amount of jarred minced garlic)
1/2 lemon
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 egg
salt
pepper
1 stick of butter
10 or more sage leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut the butternut squash into cubes. cook until soft but not too mushy (20-30 minutes?). (This step can be done the night before and then refrigerated or frozen if you wish to store it longer. Makes the recipe much easier!)

Cook jumbo shells according to package directions.


In a bowl add ricotta, parmesan cheese, garlic, spinach (squeezed and drained), egg, salt, pepper, your cooled down roasted squash (around 3 cups), and grated lemon peel (from 1/4 to 1/2 of the lemon).

Stuff the shells with the mixture and place in a buttered/greased baking dish.

Make a sage brown butter sauce by melting 1 stick of butter in a saute pan until golden brown and bubbly.

Add at least 10 sage leaves until slightly crisp. Turn off heat and squeeze in fresh lemon juice (use only a SMALL amount and taste it as you add it).

Place your shells in a 400F oven until heated through around 20-25 minutes. When finished spoon your warm sage sauce all over and sprinkle with grated parmesan.