Sweet & Spicy Chili

While experimenting in the kitchen, I decided to ditch the tomato sauce and try something different when I eyed a can of Manwich on the shelf... So glad I did because this sweet chili is perfect for those who don't like things too spicy, but still enjoy a hearty bowl of beans.  Loved this so much, I ate it again the next day with a Grilled Daiya (cheese)!

1 can white kidney beans
1 can red kidney beans
2/3 can Manwich sloppy joe sauce
chopped onions and peppers
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp smoked paprika
cracked pepper & salt

1: Saute onions and peppers

2: Add drained beans, sloppy joe sauce, chili powder, smoked paprika (and salt & pepper to your taste)

3: Cover on low-medium heat until beans are softened, stirring occasionally

Option: Add these ingredients to a Crock-pot and simmer the afternoon away for a more flavor-infused chili

Chili Mac

A simple, quick meal that takes less than 15 minutes to make... an old family favorite! 

1/2 package penne pasta
1 can Hormel Vegetarian Chili

1: Boil pasta for about 11 minutes or until pasta is cooked to your preference
2: Drain and place back into pot and add chili
3: Cook on low for a few minutes and serve

Quinoa & Black Bean Burger

There was simply no way to make this patty look appetizing...but I promise, it was!  Super delicious and perfect with a bit of gravy or a sauce over the top!

1/2 cup quinoa (1 cup water)
1 can black beans
1 tsp olive oil
salt & cracked pepper

1: Bring 1 cup water and quinoa to a boil, then simmer covered for 10 minutes.

2: Fluff with fork, add olive oil, salt & pepper and can of drained black beans

3: Mash all together.  At this point you could add onions, peppers or anything else you might fancy

4: Fry them on medium in a pan with a bit of olive oil until lightly browned

5: Flip over VERY carefully, as these do not stay together until they have been allowed to cool a bit

6: Serve with gravy with mashed potatoes...or on a bun!

Smoked Two-Bean Burrito

Very smokey and veeeery delicious.  Pretty sure I could think of a million variations to the same ol' bean burrito!

1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1/2 chopped onion
2 tbsp McCormick Smoked Paprika

Optional: Balsamic Vinaigrette

Makes: 6 large burritos

1: Saute onions with a bit of olive oil until softened
2: Add both kinds of beans and smoked paprika and stir thoroughly

3: Cover and simmer on low for 10-15 minutes to allow smoke flavor to absorb
4: Wrap up in a tortilla and add a bit of balsamic vinaigrette if you like a little zest in your burrito!

Bean & Cheese Burritos

"How do you get your protein?"  Vegans and Vegetarians everywhere *love* that question!  Let's just eat our beans...  *wink*

1 can pinto beans
4 flour tortilla
1/2 onion
8 slices of Daiya Havarti cheese
Annie's organic balsamic vinaigrette
salt & pepper
about 1 tsp cumin

Makes 4 burritos

1: Preheat oven to 375
2: Slice up onion and saute with olive oil, salt, pepper and cumin
3: Add beans and simmer for about 5 minutes on low-medium
4: Melt two slices of Daiya Havarti on tortilla in microwave for about 30 seconds

5: Add beans

6: Add balsamic vinaigrette

7: Wrap up the burritos and bake in the oven for about 8-10 minutes, depending on how crispy you like them

8: Very delicious to eat while hot, but also looooove these reheated... just as tasty!

Note: Add more Daiya if you like them extra "cheesy" :)

Chunky Chili

Make this for the omnivores in your life and they will never know it's vegan!  My brother said it tasted like "regular chili"... I'll take that as a compliment!  ;)

1/2 package of Smart Ground Original Veggie Protein Crumbles
3 cans kidney beans
2 cans (each 14 oz) tomato sauce
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery
2 tbsp chili powder
salt & cracked pepper

Optional: Daiya Cheddar shreds to melt on top

Makes: 4 servings (or in my case, leftovers for lunch and dinner the next day too!)

1: Saute veggie protein with a bit of olive oil until thoroughly heated

2: Add chopped onions and a 2 tbsp chili powder

3: Then add 2 cans tomato sauce and chopped celery; cook on medium for about 10 minutes, until celery is a bit softened

4: Drain kidney beans and add to mix. I like to add more chili powder, but you may want to keep your chili mild.  Lots of salt and cracked pepper too!

5: Stir completely, cover and simmer for an hour on LOW.  Serve immediately with Daiya cheddar shreds and/or Premium oyster crackers

 

Alternate: After step 3, you may choose to transfer the base along with the kidney beans to a crockpot and simmer for two-three hours on LOW instead.

Spicy Bean Burritos

A quick dinner that can literally be made in five minutes.  Whenever I am in a bean phase, I could eat this four times a week!

1 can pinto beans
1/2 chopped onion
2 tbsp hot sauce
3 jalapeno & cilantro tortillas
salt & pepper
Annie's organic balsamic vinaigrette (non-organic tastes bitter, imo)

Makes: 3 medium-sized burritos

1: Saute chopped onion on medium heat, then add beans and hot sauce and cook until beans are somewhat soft

2: Warm up tortillas and spread one scoop of beans down the center of each with a strip of balsamic vinaigrette, then wrap up

3: Serve immediately.

Brooke's Quinoa Medley

1 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1/2 cup black beans
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup olive oil
chopped red onion, tomato, red pepper and fresh basil
minced fresh garlic, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar


1: One cup of quinoa and one cup of water in saucepan and lightly salt water.
2: Bring to boil and once boiling, cover and lower heat to a simmer for 15 minutes or until quinoa has absorbed all the water and appears translucent.
3: Once cooked, pour into serving bowl and fluff with fork and allow to cool.
4: Drain black bean and corn and add 1/2 cup of each to quinoa.
5: Add chopped red onion, tomato, red pepper, fresh basil and fold into cooked quinoa.
6: In side bowl mix 1/2 cup of olive oil and minced fresh garlic, salt, pepper and add balsamic vinegar if you like (eyeball 3 tablespoons). You can also add dry italian herbs to the mix.
7: Pour wet ingredients over quinoa and gently fold in.
8: Let sit in refrigerator for an hour so it gets absorbed.

You can also double this recipe and play around with portions to fit your liking.

I recently enjoyed this dish at a family dinner and it was so delicious, I had to share.  Yum!

Spicy Burrito

 

jalapeno cilantro tortillas

1/2 red pepper and 1/2 green pepper

1/2 onion

1 can black beans
1 cup white rice
salsa

guacamole

cumin

1: Saute sliced peppers and onions

 

2: Cook beans with 2 tbsp water and enough cumin to suit your taste

3: Cook rice according to typical instruction (1 cup rice, 2 cups boiling water, reduce to low heat and cover for 20 minutes).  Add parsley and a bit of olive oil to flavor.

4: Assemble into a burrito and enjoy.


I made this to resemble Qdoba style vegetarian burritos.

Basmati Medley

Wow!  Every once in a while, I even surprise myself!  This was one of my most delicious recipes yet and and was so simple! To make it exactly as I did (recommended), you will need to shop Trader Joe's.  I'm sure you could substitute some of the ingredients...but I wouldn't!

2 cups organic vegetable broth

1 cup basmati rice medley

1 can white kidney beans

2 tbsp Earth Balance

Trader Joe's 21 Season Salute

2 pita pockets

spicy hummus

1: Traditionally, when rice is cooked over stovetop, you would use the 2:1 ratio; 2 cups water, 1 cup rice.  Instead of the water, I chose to use vegetable broth.  So add 2 cups vegetable broth and 1 cup basmati rice medley.  Also add 2 tbsp Earth Balance and 2 teaspoons of the 21 Season Salute seasoning. 

2: Bring to a boil, then immediately turn to low setting, cover and put a timer on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes if the wild rice portion of this medley is still too hard for your taste, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

3: Add kidney beans and gently stir into the rice medley being careful not to mash the beans.

4: Serve with a side of pita triangles and spicy hummus for a deliciously simple and filling dish!  Yum!

Bean Burritos

A staple in our home.  We "heart" bean burritos.  And although I view them as simple to make, they do require all of the following ingredients:

Bean Mixture

2 cans organic pinto beans (or 3 cups if making from dried beans)

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/2 cup black olives, chopped

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp Earth Balance

sweet paprika

ground cumin

cayenne pepper

salt and pepper

burrito-sized tortillas

Optional:

Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (watch the label!  Non-light is NOT Vegan!)

1: Saute onion with olive oil, adding all ingredients from the bean mixture listed above.

2: Cover and simmer on medium for about 6-7 minutes until beans are cooked thoroughly, being careful not to overcook, as the beans will get mushy.

3: Add to a tortilla along with a splash of light balsamic vinaigrette, which adds more zest than you'd think!  After you've had it, you won't want bean burritos without it!

Note: I make variations of this as well, including:

-1 can pintos with 1 can black beans

-1/2 cup Daiya melted in (for bean and cheese burritos) and baking in the oven until crisp

- adding more cumin while cooking the beans then dressing the burrito with lettuce, tomatoes and salsa for something more taco-like.

Red Bean Samosa

1 cup red beans

1/2 red onion

1 cup mashed potatoes (either from scratch or instant)

1/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

3 large tortillas, sliced in half

1 cup romaine lettuce

curry powder

1: Preheat oven to 400°F

2: Saute chopped red onion in a medium-sized pan then add red beans.

3: Cook red beans on medium heat until soft enough to mash.  At this point, also add the mashed potatoes.

4: Curry is a very tricky spice.  If you add too little, you might as well not have added any.  If you add too much, however, you'll feel like you've taken a bite of an incense stick from your local hippy shop!  My advice: add slowly, simmer for a minute, then taste.  The flavor comes out the slower you cook the beans.  You can also add peas at this point if you'd like, however, I like to reserve peas for the more traditional samosa.

5: Take the 1/2 tortilla and cut the rounded part off the top.  You'll have to maneuver the bean/potato mixture around until you're able to make a triangle envelope out of this thing.  Do some experimenting here!

6: Bake samosa on a baking sheet for approximately 6 minutes, or until lightly browned.  You can flip it over at this point if you'd like both sides browned, or just leave as is to enjoy a softer samosa.

7: Spread over a bed of romaine lettuce and enjoy with a balsamic vinaigrette or a homemade pepper vinaigrette (if you're feeling saucy).

This is also delicious with a side of roasted pepper rice. :)

Cheesy Black Bean Rice

2 cups white rice (cooked)
1 cup black beans
1/4 cup tomato sauce (optional)
1/2 cup Daiya Vegan Cheddar
1/2 yellow onion (chopped)
sweet paprika
cumin
salt & pepper 

1: Saute onion with salt and pepper in a bit of olive oil
2: Add black beans, tomato sauce (if you want it to be saucy) and enough cumin and sweet paprika to mildly flavor the beans, but not be overpowering
3: Add rice, salt and pepper.  Mix well.
4: Right before its heated to your liking, add the Daiya just until it is melted and well mixed.  Enjoy!