~MamaBear, Arasmama, and other "whole" food bean/rice makers, begging you?!?~
PLEASE post me some recipes!!!!! I cannot, cannot, cannot get OUT of this convenience food TRAP! And I NEED to....financially, for our health.......please help? How do you go from not knowing how to cook this, soften that, make this, to making all food from whole foods, from rice, beans, etc.? We don't eat meat.....and I don't have a ton of time to cook......Do you need a ton of cook and prep time to use whole foods and make everything yourself? I am willing to PAY you, LOL, for a few easier recipes, dinners, to get me started? Tips? Help? Ideas? Argghhhh..............HELP?????????
__________________ "Custom will reconcile people to any atrocity."
George Bernard Shaw
Location: firmly planted in the postmodern pastoral economy
Posts: 12,984
I'm not the maker...just the cleaner-upper...LOL...
Dh is the chef of the family, and a mighty good one. I'm spoiled. But, I will post some of his recipes as soon as I get the chance...probably tomorrow...ok? One book we got some really good ones from is Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair.
__________________ Be realistic: Plan for a miracle. ~Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh
The statements contained herein have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
Any products mentioned are not intended to treat, cure, mitigate or prevent any disease.
Here are a few. We also eat salmon at least once a week with mashed potatoes and green beans. I buy salmon when it goes on sale at Fred Meyers for $3/pound or less. I only buy fresh caught, not farmed. I cut it into meal size peices and freeze.
polenta with spaghetti sauce
buy dried polenta in bulk, saute basil and garlic for a couple minutes, then cook with the polenta. Spread on cookie sheet and pack after you have cooked it. Cut into peices. Put spaghetti sauce with sauted veggies over top (whatever veggies you have).
Spaghetti sauce (I make a huge batch each month and freeze it in meal size portions, that way if you don't have time to cook, just defrost and pour over noodles)
Ingredients:
1/2 onion chopped
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons oil
1 small carrot grated
2 tablespoons green pepper chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon basil
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped
2 cups tomatoes coarsely chopped
1 six oz. can tomato paste
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pinch fennel
Directions:
Saute onion and garlic clove in oil *I use Olive Oil* until oinion is soft. Crush garlic with a fork.
Add carrot, green pepper, bay leaf and herbs. Stir well, then add the tomatoes, tomato paste and seasonings. Simmer 15 minutes. remove the bay leaf.
Makes 3 cups.
quiche with potato crust
Crust recipe
CRUST:
3 large potatoes, cooked and mashed
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 cup minced onion
1/4 tsp salt
smoosh into three pie pan (or 9x9 squares, whatever youhave) bake at 350 for 30 minutes for so, when they start browning. Then I mix 3 eggs, cup of soy milk, feta cheese and whatever veggies we have, toss those in, and bake on 350 for 40 minutes.
Sloppy Joi's
Ingredients:
3 cups chick peas (I buy dried and soak)
1 15 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a casserole dish. Bake, covered, 1 hour. Serve on whole wheat buns or bread.
Easy Black Bean Soup
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
15 oz can black beans, not drained
14 oz can diced tomatos, not drained
1/3 cup rice
salt and ground cayenne, to taste
Potato Leek Soup
Directions:
Saute the onion in a large pot. When it is soft and slightly browned, add the garlic and saute a minute longer. Add water, beans, tomatos, and rice. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Simmer until rice is done (at least 45 minutes for brown rice). Add salt and cayenne and puree part of soup in quisenart.
Ingredients:
8 cups water
12 cups russetpotatoes (unpeeled) - 8 cups finely diced; 4 cups chopped into cubes
3 cups (3 medium leeks) thinly sliced leeks
3 cups chopped celery
4 tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
2 tsp dill weed
1 tsp crumbled basil
1/2 tsp ground celery seed
1 cup sour cream
salt to taste
Directions:
In a 5 or 6 quart pot, bring to a boil: water, diced potatoes, leeks and celery. Simmer, covered, until potatoes are very tender and begin to dissolve, about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Add butter, cubed potatoes, garlic, dill, basil, and celery seed. Simmer, covered, until potato cubes are just tender. Turn burner to lowest heat.
In a small bowl, blend thesor cream with just enough soup broth tomake a smooth paste. Stir into soup. Season with salt to taste. Heat gently until hot but not boiling. Makes4 quarts.
Bean Salad
1 package edamame cooked and rinsed
1 can mixed beans rinsed
1 can black beans rinsed
half a big cucumber chopped
a red pepper chopped
a bunch of green onions chopped
a bunch of wild garlic chopped including leaves (or 4 big cloves regular garlic)
2 stalks celery minced
salt and pepper
1/3 cup brown rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
Directions:
Mix together and serve at room temp or cold.
Bernice's Borscht
12 ounces of peeled and chopped beets (I usually use 5-6 fair sized beets)either cut into 1/2 inch cubes or julienne style.
Olive oil
1 large onion
One large carrot chopped, sliced or julienne
3 stalks of celery, thinly sliced
6 1/2 cups of water or vegetable stock ( I use stock)
1 Large can of diced tomatoes or 5 tomatoes diced and seeded.
1 tablespoon each of vinegar and lemon juice.
1-2 Tablespoons of honey
2 tablespoons of chopped dill (I leave this out...I hate dill)
3 cups of finely shaved cabbage.
Salt and pepper
1 thin skinned potato for every person dinning.
Sour cream.
Directions:
Chop onion and sauté until soft(4-5mins)
Add beets, carrots and celery stir constantly until all oil is absorbed(3-4 minutes)
Add stock, salt, pepper, honey,dill, tomatoes, now simmer for 30 minutes.
While soup is simmering bake a whole washed potato for every person who will be dinning.
After the 30 minutes is up add cabbage now simmer until all veggies are tender.
Take a potato, split it and scoop out the inside into a bowl, top it with soup, and then a dollop of sour cream (you vegan types can eat it without, it is still super yummy!) Keep the potato skins for dipping.
we always eat out soup with freshly backed rye bread, we cut it into toast fingers and dip dip dip away!
African Beans (LOVE this one)
1.5 cups dried black eyed peas
1 onion or 2 leeks
2T oil
1 can coconut milk
1 can tomato paste
1/2 t chili powder
1/2t cumin
2 t sugar
1 t salt
black pepper to taste
Cook peas. Saute onions or leeks until soft. Add paste, milk, and seasonings, stirring until they form a smooth paste. whe peas are cooked add to paste and serve immediately. Serve over brown rice for a whole protein.
__________________
Allison
mama to Ara, Simone, and Zarin
I should add, I don't do a lot of prep work. I do buy dried beans and cook a huge batch in the crock pot, then freeze them in 1.5 cup portions (that is how much comes in a can of beans). That way I don't have to think about cooking beans in advance, just pull them out of the freezer the night before and let them defrost. I try to think about tomorrow nights dinner while cleaning up the night before.
I also make large batches of spaghetti sauce, muffins, anything that will freeze.
Thanks so much for typing out the receipes. I am doing major decluttering over here too. Went to the library and borrowed janet luhrs simple living guide (great great book), tightwad gazette (good book but a bit too radical for me....i started timing how long the lights would be off and dh thinks i'm going nuts).
i'd rather not buy anything at this time especially cookbooks.
Originally posted by griffin tightwad gazette (good book but a bit too radical for me....i started timing how long the lights would be off and dh thinks i'm going nuts).
LOL....I just got done reading it too. Some stuff is helpful but other stuff is a little to far out...but then again....maybe it will seem doable later on. I'm getting the book for reference.....
__________________
Claudia
Mama to one in heaven, and three by my side
~~~~~~
We do what we can, when we can, and let the rest go ~ Val
~~~~~~
"Simplicity is not about poverty or deprivation. It is about discovering what is "enough" in your life -- based upon thoughtful analysis of your lifestyle and values -- and discarding the rest. "
2 tbspn butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 c minced celery
1 sweet red pepper
4 cups fresh sweet corn (frozen in wintertime)
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp dried basil
1 cup stock or water
1 cup milk (any type of milk will do)
opt. 1 c red lentils added along with stock
In a medium sized saucepan begin cooking the onions in the butter over
medium low heat, stirring. After about 3-5 minutes add celery, and keep
cooking. Five minutes later add peppers and corn.
Add seasonings, stir well, and cover. Reduce heat; let it cook 5 minutes.
Add stock. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes. (Longer if adding lentils)
Using a blender or food processor, puree about half the solids in some of
the soup's own liquids.
About 10 minutes before serving time add the milk. Don't actually cook the
soup any further; simply heat it gently to eating temperature. Enjoy!
Summer Minestrone
vegetable cooking spray ( I use oil instead)
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced
1 small zucchini, cubed
1 cup green beans, halved
1 cup thinly sliced or shredded cabbage
1/2 cup celery thinly sliced
1 medium onion, minced
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
2 easpoons italian seasoning
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
4 cups vegetable stock
1 can (15 ounces) no salt added stewed tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed, drained
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups penne, uncooked
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tablespoons grated pramesan or ramano cheese
1) spray cooking spray: heat over medium. Saute fresh vegetables (next 8
ingredients) until crisp-tender, 10-12 minutes. Stir in Italian
seasoning and oregano; cook 1-2 minutes more.
2) Add stock, tomatoes, beans, and water; heat to boiling. reduce heat
and simmer, covered, 10 minutes.
3) Heat soup to boiling; add pasta to saucepan. reduce heat and simmer,
uncovered, until pasta is al dente, 10-12 minutes. Stir in pepper.
This one takes a bit of prep work but i make a huge batch and freeze some.
Shepherd's Veggie Pot Pie (from 1001 Low-fat Vegetarian Recipes by Sue Spitler)
a little bit of oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced celery
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried savory leaves
1/4 -1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 cups basic vegetable stock
1 cup thinly slice cabbage
1 cup sliced carrots
1 medium potato, unpeeled, cubed
3/4 cup fresh, or frozen, peas
3/4 cup mushrooms
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup cold water
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups mashed potatoes
1) put a little oil in a pot and heat on low. Saute onion, pepper, celery and garlic for 5-8 min then add in herbs and cook 1-2 min. Stir in stock and remaining vegetables and heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender 15-20 min. While the veggies are cooking I cook my potatoes at the same time.
2) Heat vegetable mixture to boiling. Mix flour, cold water and stir into boiling mixure. Boil, stirring constantly until thickend. season to taste with salt and peeper and pour into dish.
3)Spoon or pipe potatoes on. Bake at 350 degrees until potatoes are lightly browned.
Location: firmly planted in the postmodern pastoral economy
Posts: 12,984
OK, here are some of our staples...
Spaghetti sauce...Allison already posted a recipe and I'm sure it's great, dh has his own method but does not use a written recipe...
Pizza...dh makes this with cheese we buy in bulk at Costco, and slices any kind of fresh veggies on top. Here's the recipe for the dough, we make it in our breadmachine:
2 lb recipe
1.5 c warm water
2 tbl olive oil
2 tsp salt
4.25 c bread flour (we use 2 c bread flour, 2.25 c whole wheat flour sometimes)
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp yeast
Set on dough only cycle.
If you buy the cheese preshredded in bulk and freeze it, you can put it on the pizza half frozen...just take it out a bit ahead to defrost. Dh will go wild and make 3-4 pizzas at a time and take them to work for lunch and such. He bakes them on a pizza stone ($10) at 450 for about 8-10 minutes.
Our basic bread:
2 lb recipe
1.5 c water
2 tbsp olive or canola oil
2.5 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp sea salt
2.5 c bread flour
1.5 c whole wheat flour
4 tbsp powdered milk
2.5 tsp yeast
Throw it all in the breadmachine on whole wheat cycle, light crust, or make by hand.
One of our FAVORITES from Feeding the Whole Family:
Red Lentil Soup with East Indian Spices
2 tsp ghee or butter
1 onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup dried red lentils
4 cups water
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp each cumin and mustard seeds
1/2 tsp ghee or butter
1/4 c chopped cliantro
Heat butter or ghee in a large pot. Saute onions and garlic in ghee until brown. Add spices and stir for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they break down. Wash and drain lentils. Add lentils and water to pot. Lett simmer for 45 min, stirring often. Stir in salt. Heat 1/2 tsp ghee or butter in a small skillet and fry seeds until they pop. Stir fried seeds and cilantro into finished soup.
Matt makes potatoes and spinach to go with the lentils...basmati rice and salad and we have a meal! I don't know how he does the potatoes and spinach but will ask him tonight..it's an Indian spiced dish as well.
He also makes beans (seasoned with onions, garlic and a little cumin, I think), rice, shreds cheese, and marinates and grills chicken, then slices it. We keep all these "fixins" in the fridge and over the next few days make up burritos or quesadillas. There's enough variation that we can eat just that until it's gone.
Dh does most prep work on the weekend. He spends Sunday making meals for the coming week. Not all day, just an afternoon or a few hours. He makes up tons of beans and freezes some, as Allison said, or he makes a double batch of a meal and freezes one for later use. If it's a week where things are more hectic, we just eat the frozen entrees that week.
We also eat lots of salmon, unfortunately, the only kind we can get here is farmed for $4/lb. Matt grills it and we eat it with roasted potatoes and salad.
This is a fantastic vegetarian book that has lots of meal you can prepare in well under an hour (some in 15 minutes!) Most are whole food recipes and many of them are YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!! We use this book more than any other. HTH
One box of pilaf-style rice (I use fantastic)
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup cheese (any kind)
1/2-1 cup mixed veggies (your choice, I like brocc/cauli mix)
Pie Crust
Cook rice according to directions....steam veggies.
Mix rice and veggies together.
Mix eggs with milk. Pour into rice mixture. Add cheese, quickly stir. Bake 400 for 25-30 minutes.
Notes:
Rice
You could use any rice - boxed is more $, but more convient.
Milk:
soy milk is fine
Cheese: As vegan as you want to be!
Pie Crust: You can make from scrathch, or buy premade
I know you didn't ask *ME*.... but i have started eating some YUMMY stuff. I don't use convenience foods, never really have - my mom never did either. I thought i would post my most favorite salad as of late... mmmm
basically I combine:
*pasta - could be a filled pasta, or just a cool shaped pasta... I have used mushroom stuffed tortellini and also used tri colored rigatoni
*fresh spinach - I use baby spinach because the leaves are small and bite sized
*feta cheese, crumbled
*grape tomatoes - perfect size!
*black olives
then I put oil and vinegar all over it... or you could use an italian dressing
This is soooo yummy! And kind of sweet tasting. mmmm
We also eat salmon (ok, I am the only one who eats it). It is yummy on top of one of hte salads above. I also add chilcken that I had grilled and chilled and then cut into pieces.
Allison needs to post the polenta lasgne recipe - she made this for me after I had Lauren and it was ABSOLLUTELY YUMMY!
Polenta lasagna is really easy. I use the spaghetti sauce recipe I posted above. You can buy the ready made polenta when it is on sale (of course) or make your own. Slice the polenta and layer it in the pan like you are making lasagna. Layer of sauce, layer of polenta, layer of veggies (spinach and mushrooms are our favorite), layer of sauce, layer of cheese (whatever - ricotta, mozarella, feta - you can also mix 1/2 tofu, crumbled, with ricotta or mozarella), then do another of all the layers again. Bake on 350 for 45 minutes or so.
Oh girl! I AM talking to you!!!! LOL. I am talking to anyone who knows any recipes for me! I cannot, cannot, cannot keep spending all this money on groceries for crap foods....convenience food......)o: I gotta learn to cook and make things......)o: THANK YOU all for the wonderful recipes....keep 'em coming!!!! I am printing them all out!!!!! You have NO idea how much help I need. LOL. I am seriously hopeless..............
Denise, if it makes you feel any better, I was NOT a cook. I learned by asking others. I don't really like cookbooks because they usually have a million ingredients and are too labor intensive, plus who has time to test all the recipes. I ask friends what they eat, not their fancy, special meals, but their everyday, simple, few ingredient meals.
My favorite recipes links: http://www.motherspirit.net/recipesindex.html
All recipes posted by mamas. Lots are really simple. Many of the ones I posted above are from there. We need one of these at AW.
http://www.allrecipes.com
Nice search feature, has reviews. Not alternative and often not healthy, but I have gotten really good at converting recipes to healthy, cheaper alternatives. You can also search by ingredients, which is nice if you have some stuff that needs to get used.
Start small, take baby steps, you will get really good at cooking healthy dinners every night.
~MamaBear, Arasmama, and other "whole" food bean/rice makers, begging you?!?~
Military wife of a deployed soldier. 
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