Veggie Hash and Couscous

I have been trying to make healthy changes over the past year, and one of my hardest changes is making healthy family meals.  I teeter back and forth between making meals that are healthy (that don't get eaten willingly if at all) and making meals I know they will like but feeling guilty for making less healthy fare.  It's a lose lose situation for my self esteem!  Tonight was the best night for my cooing self esteem in a long time!  Seriously!  Feel free to walk through the evening with me, or just scroll down to the recipe below :).

Kayleigh is testing to see if she has dairy allergies so this week we are doing dairy free family meals.  Anyone who knows me well will know that I LOVE dairy too much.  I have a hard time finding any meal that doesn't use cheese or milk, or something.  And the worst part, I buried myself in the basement working on laundry, and forgot the time (it was nearly 7..)so it had to be fast.

As I stared into the fridge, all I could see staring back at me were the veggies from my sweet neighbor that I didn't want to go bad...  So veggie hash was born.  Then I had to think of a fast side.  All I could remember that we have is brown rice, so I opened the freezer to grab it and hoped I could find a quick way to cook it.  But right there in the door was the couscous I bought six months ago that never got around to making.  Lucky for me I recently saw an America's test kitchen on the best way or I wouldn't have even tried it.

It started out much like other healthier meals(full of groans, complaints, and lists of what they won't eat), but then I made them try it.  It was a total hit!!!  My kids actually liked the veggies, Kayleigh even ate peppers!  So I want to remember it, and of course share too :).


Veggie Hash

Olive oil
1 red pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
2 med potatoes
1 head cauliflower plus one really small stalk of broccoli
2 tsp. garlic powder (or a couple of fresh cloves minced)
1/2 tsp. tony chacheries (this is my favorite all purpose seasoning, use any seasoning you like)
Salt and pepper to taste

I diced all of the veggies pretty small (about 1/4 inch) except the broccoli and cauliflower. I was in a hurry so I messily cut up the florets and then cut the stalk in slices.  Heat olive oil in skillet while chopping.  Mix all veggies together divide in two.  I sautéed in two batches so I could get some good brown on the veggies.  After you dump them into the pan, add garlic and other seasonings.  Honestly, the amounts I wrote above are an estimate, I just sprinkled it on till I thought it looked right.  I sautéed till I got a nice brown color on all of them, adding a little olive oil as needed.  While they sautéed I made the cous cous.


Couscous (I used ingredients I had on hand that were quick, but I used the method that America's Test Kitchen uses in their "couscous with shallots, garlic, and almonds")
1-2 Tbsp. olive oil (they used 3tbsp butter, but I had to make it dairy free)
2 cups of couscous
1 cup water
1 cup stock
2 green onions (I also added some fresh chives)
Garlic powder
salt and pepper

While sautéing the hash, start sautéing the onions in a saucepan.  Sprinkle some garlic powder on them too.   Soften them a little, then pour in the couscous (I added the chives with it).  You need to toast it, but you have to watch it close or it will burn, stir it every minute, make sure you pull the toasty brown ones up from the whole bottom of the pan allowing others to get toasted.  You might have to stir more often depending on how hot your unit is.  I had mine just below medium on a small burner.  Have your liquid and a lid ready.  I warmed my liquid a little first in the microwave, but I don't think you have to, the pan is super hot.    When the couscous is toasted, take it off the heat, pour in the liquid, and put on the lid.  Then let it sit for seven minutes.  Finally, add salt, fluff it with a fork and you are done.
You don't have to use green onion, it's just what I had on hand.  Use anything flavorful you like.  Shallots, garlic, etc...  Couscous takes on the flavor of what you cook it in.  I was out of fresh garlic, or I would have added that too!


I served the veggies over the cous cous.  I hope you like it!  We sure did!

Crock Pot Refried Beans and my homemade whole grain frozen burritos

This is the easiest, best recipe ever for refried beans!  My brother Steve, taught me how to cook beans in the crock pot years ago, and then my sister Cari told me about crock pot refried beans from pinterest.  I can't remember which recipes I started with, but I ended up changing it for my taste.  (I think one was from 100 days of real food)  It is very little more work than canned and doesn't have any unnatural ingredients or chemicals from the can. :)  I usually fill my crock pot using about 7 cups of beans, but I've included a per pound guideline below.

Per 2-2 1/2 cups (1 lb) of dry thoroughly washed and sorted pinto Beans add
4 cups water (2 to one water to bean ratio)
1 pepper  Either 1sweet red or green pepper or a can of green chilies or a couple on anaheim peppers, or jalapeno, whatever you like.
1 onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1-2 tsp minced garlic
Salt to taste approximately a tsp? (I never measure, I just sprinkle it over, and if it needs more, I do it again)
2-4 oz cheese (I use either cheddar alone, or a mixture of cheddar and pepper jack)  When I use pepper jack cheese I sometimes lessen the three spices to about 2/3 of a tsp.  But it shouldn't be overly spicy even if you leave it in.

Add everything but salt and cheese to your crock pot.  THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.  You shouldn't ever add salt to dry beans before they are fully cooked.  Cook for 8 hrs on HIGH.  Make sure they have a creamy texture, that is when you know they are done.  If there appears to be too much water, scoop some out into a bowl and keep it in case you need to add it back in.  Some water is needed.  Blend with an immersion blender.  When I make these, with slightly less water than 2 to one water ratio, I never need to drain out the water.  Sometimes it looks a little too wet at first, but this thickens up a lot when it cools a bit.  And you don't need to pull out the vegetables either.  Just blend with an immersion blender, or regular blender.  (I'm telling you, if you don't have an immersion blender, it is worth the investment!  If you mess up and make lumpy gravy, blend out the lumps, if you make any kind of pureed soup, you just have to put it in there and blend it up, as well as for these beans.  SO much easier than blending them a little at a time.)  Then you salt it to taste, and cheese and stir it up.

I usually do about 3 lbs at a time in my big 7 qt crock pot and it fills it right up.  My favorite mixture is this:  3lbs beans, 3 large sweet red peppers, 2-3 large or 4-5 small onions( note I LOVE onion), 1 scant tbsp each of the cumin, chili powder, and paprika, 2 tbsp minced garlic (I use the big jar you keep in the fridge and it seems less potent.  Be more careful if you use fresh, maybe 3 cloves), Salt, and 1 cup pepper jack, 2 cups cheddar

Then, I make my own frozen homemade burritos with whole grain tortilla shells.  You just warm the shells a little.  (I'll share a little tip I got from todd wilbur for this below)  Then you put a strip of beans about 2 inches from the edge closest to you  across the width of the tortilla. I try and make it about 1 inch wide and about 1/2 inch thick. (I haven't actually measured)  You do not need very much.  I use about 1/4 cup, for the mission whole wheat tortillas.  It took me YEARS to realize that the reason my burritos didn't always go over well is I put WAY to many beans.  Then I realized the ones they love have so few.  This is also the reason I melt the cheese into the beans.  My kids don't like finding a layer of melted cheese.  go figure... :).  Sorry, I digress.  Back to the tutorial.  Spread the beans, only leaving about an inch or 2 on each end.  Then you fold each end with your right and left hands, pick up the side facing you with your thumbs while still holding the sides with your fingertips, and roll it over your strip of beans, continue till it is all rolled up.  I hope this makes sense.  I want to put photos, but knowing me I never will get around to it.  Comment if you want me to, and that might push me to do it :).  Anyway, this makes a really nice, uniform burrito perfect for freezing.  I fill up zip lock bags and then they are ready to go.  You can heat them in the microwave for approximately 2 minutes, or heat them in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes, but what I like to do is use my panini pan I got for Christmas last year. (any frying or grill pan would work the same though).  I cook it on medium heat browning all sides, because my family likes crunchy burritos.  I don't even use butter or oil with my panini pan, and it leaves nice grill marks all over.  But like I said, I've even used a regular flat griddle.  That works great too.  I have added butter in the past, but we like them so much this way, so why add all of that unnecessary fat?

So here is todd wilbur's awesome tortilla softening technique.  I read it years ago, so it might have evolved a little over time.  Slightly dampen a flour sack towel.  Lay it across a microwave safe plate, and place your tortillas on it.  (He does five at a time I think, But I just throw in a whole pack of ten)  Fold the sides over the tortillas wrapping them all up.  Then microwave for one minute.  (If they don't seem pliable you can go longer, of course microwaves vary)  This helps soften them up without drying them out.  This is super important for burritos so you don't have them folding or tearing.  It makes them so easy to use!

When I do three lbs of beans, they make a LOT of burritos.  I usually buy five or six bags of tortillas when I buy them, but since we usually use some of it for bean dip and other meals and I use some of the tortillas for other things too, I don't have an exact estimate of how many burritos it makes.  You can freeze refried beans, and reheat them in a little water, if you end up with leftover beans after your tortillas are gone.


*One last tip about homemade beans, they are SO MUCH better on the second day.  My family gobbles them up even on day one, but when I am tasting them, trying to make sure they are how I want them, they always seem not quite right.  But by the second day, the flavors all mesh together and they are great!  Not to mention, they are fully thickened up.

Homemade granola

I altered "meghan's granola" from allrecipes to come up with this.  My mom made the BEST granola when I was a kid, and this makes me think of that.  I have recently adjusted it trying to use as many natural ingredients as possible, but I used to make it with brown sugar instead of agave, fake maple syrup, and canola oil.  I have left out some of the nuts at different times, but for me the coconut and sunflower seeds are a must!  But it is easy to adjust for taste and always tastes good!

Ingredients

8 cups rolled oats (not the quick kind)

1 1/2 cups wheat germ

1 1/2 cups oat bran

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup finely chopped almonds

1 cup finely chopped pecans

1 cup finely chopped cashews

1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup agave

1/2 cup real maple syrup

1/2 cup honey

1 cup coconut oil

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl.  Combine the rest in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Then pour over the dry mixture and stir to coat.  Then pour it onto two cookie sheets place in a preheated 325 degree oven.  Cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring every ten minutes to prevent overbrowning the top.  When I used natural ingredients, it didn't get as crunchy at this amount of time, but I liked it the way it was.  You can cook it longer if you want it more crunchy, but watch it close, because it can burn quickly.  Or lower the temperature to 200 and cook for twice as long, still stirring at intervals so it won't burn.  By the way, it hardens more as it cools.  And one more tip, if you make it with real maple, you have to store it in the fridge, or it will mold.  I just poured it into an old ice cream bucket for storage.  The original recipe called for 2 cups raisins or cranberried, (added at the end after it is cool) but I left that out.  ENJOY!

Tater Tot Casserole

1 lb ground beef
2 lb tater tots
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 med chopped onion
steamed vegetables (optional)


Brown and drain ground beef. Mix beef, soups, and vegetables. Pour in 9x13 pan. Top with tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Christmas Wreath Cookies

These are a simple, rice krispy treat like cookie, but they were one of my favorites to both make and eat all through childhood.

1/2 cup margarine
30 large marshmallows
3 1/2 cups corn flakes
green food coloring
red hots

Just melt together margarine and marshmallows, stir in food coloring and then pour over corn flakes and stir together.  Then just spoon messy spoonfuls onto wax paper and place your red hots to make your "wreaths".  More recently, I have formed the whole batch into one or two larger wreaths instead of a bunch of little ones.

Note: it takes a LOT of food coloring to make these REALLY green...I often settle for a more pastel green, but when we were kids, I remember them always being really bright.

Special K Bars

This is another one of Grandma Jensen's recipes.  She made these for many family gatherings.

12 cups (1 12 oz box) of Special K
2 cups sugar
2 cups corn syrup (16 oz bottle)
2 cups (18 oz jar) peanut butter
2 cups peanuts
1 cup coconut
12 oz chocolate chips
10 oz butterscotch chip

Mix special K, peanuts, and coconut in a large bowl.  Heat sugar and Karo slowly to boiling, then add peanut butter  and stir till melted.  Add to special K and mix till blended.  Press into greased cookie sheet.  Melt chips and spread over the top of the bars.  Let cool and set.

Disappearing Bars

These have been a family favorite since I was a little kid.  They are basically a brown sugar brownie.   They are very simple, but SO chewy and delicious!

2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup nuts (optional, I never use them...)

The directions say melt together sugar and butter and then cool them.  I don't know if this is important and why, I would love to know... 
I usually skip the melting together and just melt the butter before mixing or even just cream the butter and sugar without melting.  I don't notice much difference except possibly that the batter is a little thicker and harder to spread out.  Beat in eggs and vanilla and then add the rest of the ingredients.  Spread as evenly as you can into a 9 by 13 pan and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.

Steve's Guatamalan Tacos

I am posting first Steve's recipe exactly how he wrote it.  Then at the bottom I am going to write how I make them!

Guatamalan Tacos

Black beans
Water
Cabbage
Cucumber
Tomato
Limes
Onion
Salt
Oil
Corn Tortillas

Okay, I know, I don’t have amounts. That’s mainly due to the fact that the amounts will vary based on how much you want to make. I usually use a whole bag of beans, a head of cabbage 3 to 4 cucumbers, half an onion, 4 or 5 tomatoes, and 3 or 4 limes when I make this for the family. To start, cook the beans in a 2 to 1 ratio of beans to water just like rice. Don’t drain the beans when they are done. In a large skillet/frying pan put a small amount of oil, enough to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the onion to the oil. This should be cut into strips, but left relatively large. When the onion has started to soften, but before it’s completely done, add the bean/water mixture. Be careful when adding the beans as the oil will be hot. Mash the beans and let them simmer down to a thicker consistency. Add salt to taste. In a separate bowl, combine shredded cabbage, sliced cucumber (I usually quarter the slices as well so that they fit in the tacos better), and diced tomato. Add the juice from the limes, and mix everything well. Prepare the tortillas by frying them in a small amount of oil. Take the tortillas, and put a small amount of beans in the bottom, then top with the salad mixture. If you like, you can top with pico de gallo, or you can also add chicken or beef, but these are great just vegetarian style as well.
 
Now for my little differences...
 
I have my own black bean method that I will include at the bottom.  I never use ANY oil.  I also try to minimize or eliminate the oil when heating the corn tortillas.  My favorite tortillas are Mission white corn tortillas.  I have just heated these on a pan with little or no oil or cooking spray and they taste great.  Then I use cabbage, cucumbers, tomatoes and limes, as well as some chopped cilantro.  I put them all in separate bowls.  The lime I put thin slices in a bowl so I can squeeze a little lime juice over the top of my taco.  I do it this way so everyone can take what they want and then if there are left overs they don't get all wilty.  I put a little beans at the bottom then I pile it as high as I can with the vegetables and one squeeze of lime.  I also add a little taco sauce to the top.(my mouth is watering at the thought!)  When I make tacos for jay and the kids (they don't so much like these) I have used a tablespoon or so of meat instead of the beans and that is AWESOME too.)  These are my favorite low fat/calorie meal.  I use a lot less meat and no cheese or sour cream like I would use on a typical taco.  And two corn tortillas are about the same calories as one whole wheat tortilla.  And once they are stuffed with all of the vegetables they really are so flavorful and satisfying.
 
For my black bean method, click here...

Grandma Jensen’s Goulash

1 lb. Hamburger
1 can tomato juice
1 onion
1 ¼ cup dry elbow macaroni



Brown hamburger and onion. Pour in tomato juice. Cook macaroni separately and add at the end. Salt and pepper to taste.

“homemade” hamburger pizza

I loaf Rhodes bread dough
About ½ can hunts garlic and herb spaghetti sauce
½ -1 lb hamburger
1 onion chopped
1 lb grated mozzarella cheese (or however much you like)

Cook hamburger and onion. Roll out bread dough to fit in a rectangle cookie sheet. Spread Sauce then hamburger on the dough. Cover with cheese and bake at 425 for about 20 minutes till cheese is just a little brown on top.

Our other most popular homemade pizza is Chicken bbq:
Chicken BBQ Pizza

1 lb bread dough
1lb or more shredded mozzarella
1-2 chicken breasts
Bulls Eye Bbq sauce
(optional other toppings: onions, cilantro, pineapple, or bacon)

Stuffed Mushrooms

This is my FAVORITE new years eve food.  My family has made them for our New Years' party for as long as I can remember.

1 roll of Jimmy Dean Sausage (I think its a pound?)
1 8 oz pkg of cream cheese or neufchatel cheese
2-3 lbs of mushrooms

Cook sausage.  Meanwhile, wash mushrooms and remove stems.  Lay in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  After sausage is cooked and drained, mix with the cream cheese and fill mushroom caps with mixture.  Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes.  Then, hope you get one, because they will go fast!!

Broccoli cheese soup

This is my new favorite soup!  I love it and its easy to make.  I have used two methods, I will list both.

3 lbs of broccoli (I just use the 3 lb bag of costco broccoli crowns usually)
1 square butter
1 onion (or 2, I love onion!)
1 cup flour, or half cup corn starch
2 lbs of Velveeta cheese
milk
Salt and pepper to taste.

#1  Steam broccoli till it is falling apart.  In separate large pan melt butter and saute onion.  Add 1 cup flour and stir till smooth.  Slowly add milk and whisk till it boils.(About 7 cups)  You can salt and pepper to taste while it is heating.   After it thickens, you can add your broccoli and cheese.  When the cheese is melted, it is ready to serve.

#2  Easy one pot method.  Melt butter in pan and saute onions.  Pour a cup or two of water in and dump in your broccoli.  Cover and steam till it is totally falling apart.  I just leave in the water and add less milk, about 5 cups.  Heat till near boiling stirring constantly.  Then make a slurry with a cup of milk and 1/2 cup of cornstarch.  I like cornstarch, because it seems less lumpy than flour when added this way.  Slowly pour into hot mixture while still stirring briskly and let it thicken and boil for a minute.   When it is thick, add your cheese.  It is ready to serve after it melts.

Jana's Salsa

2 cans black beans
1 can corn
2 tbsp italian dressing
1/2 bunch cilantro, or to taste
1/2 bunch green onion, or to taste
1 can olives
10 roma or 8 large tomatoes
4 small or 3 med avocados

Chop cilantro, green onion, tomato, and avocado.  Slice olives.  Mix it all together :).  This is a HUGE family favorite.

Chili Casserole

1 large, or 2 small cans of chili
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
1 chopped onion (or to taste, sometimes I have even forgotten to put them in and it still tastes good)
2 cups cheese, grated
Broken tortillas (I usually use whole wheat tortillas)

Original recipe:  Mix chili and soup and warm on the stove.  Line casserole dish with broken tortillas.  Layer chili, onions, cheese, tortillas, chili, onions, cheese, tortillas, cheese.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  (I often use more cheese than it calls for, I just mix the onions in with the chili mixture, and I don't heat it up.  To compensate, I usually bake it an extra 5 minutes.)

Laura's Slow Cooker Taco Soup

INGREDIENTS: 1 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 (16 ounce) can chili beans, with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid
1 (15 oz) black beans with liquid
1 (15 ounce) can whole kernel corn, with liquid
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 cups water
2 (14.5 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes
1 (4 ounce) can diced green chile peppers
1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium skillet, cook the ground beef until browned over medium heat. Drain, and set aside.  Saute onions.

Place the ground beef, onion, chili beans, kidney beans, corn, tomato sauce, water, diced tomatoes, green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix in a slow cooker. Mix to blend, and cook on Low setting for 8 hours. My sister, Laura also sometimes adds a can of rotel tomatoes. (they are tomatoes mixed with chilies. This would make the soup a bit hotter) Also, Laura uses the frozen costco super sweet corn instead of canned.
We have also recently made it without meat to save calories and it's still good.  At times you are less concerned about calories, it is delicious with a little sour cream and crunched up corn chips added when serving.

Chinese Hamburger Casserole

My mom made this when I was a kid.  I made it again today and it was a hit with the whole family!

1 lb. hamburger
1/2 cup rice
1/2 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 cans mushroom soup
1/4 tsp pepper
chow mein noodles

Brown and rinse hamburger then saute onions in same pan.  Add all remaining ingredients except chow mein noodles and mix together.  Pour into 9 by 13 pan and cover with foil.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes then remove cover and bake an additional 30 minutes.  The original recipe says to top with chow mein noodles at this point and bake an additional 10 minutes.  I just pull it out after the hour and serve it over chow mein noodles.  This prevents soggy noodles in leftovers...if there ever were any :)
Another thing I do to conserve expensive meat is use less hamburger than called for.  ( I buy five pound chubs when on sale, cut them into 8 sections, bag and freeze, then I use the sections like I would a pound...)

Ham Pocket

I had this one when I was a teenager.  My grandmother made these for her school kids.  I LOVED it.

3 lbs bread dough I either use rhodes or ask my local bakery for french bread dough, but any kind works.
1 lb ham
1 lb cheese any kind
My favorite combinations are white bread with half pepper jack half provolone or mozzarella, and wheat bread with cheddar

Roll out 1/2 of dough and place on the bottom of a cookie sheet.  Place ham and cheese (I think it works best to do two layers: ham,cheese, ham, cheese), and then roll out the other half and place on top.  Grandma rolls it big enough to go over the edge of the pan and then she rolls her rolling pin over the edge to seal the dough.  If you want more of a decorative look you can roll the bottom layer of dough over the top layer and then pinch them together kind of like a pie crust. Cut a few slits across the top of the dough so air can escape and let raise a few minutes while you preheat the oven. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes to an hour or till golden brown. (optional: spread a little egg white over the top with a pastry brush before baking and it will turn out shiny and pretty.)