meals and snacks

A few things that have come from my kitchen this weekend . . .

MORE granola!

I threw together another batch Saturday evening. It's amazing how quickly I go through this stuff -- I can barely keep it in the house! Great for both breakfasts and when I need a big snack to hold me over until the end of my workday. YUM!

Dinner Saturday night:

Per Dan's request, I finally broke into The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook, and made "Mushroom Potato Stroganoff." This recipe was a little bit time consuming, but not too terrible, and was AMAZING!!! Seriously -- one of the best meals I've ever made, and so flavorful, omnis would never miss the traditional beef! This could also be easily veganized, although I did not completely veganize it -- regular sour cream seemed less proceesed to me than Tofutti!

Recipe (as written -- modifications in italics):
(From The Cheese Factory Restaurant Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole milk (or soy milk)
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dried shiitake mushrooms (1/2 ounce), stems removed and discarded
1 large potato, diced into 1/4-inch cubes
1 pound white button mushrooms
4 tablespoons butter (or Earth Balance)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlilc
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup Burgundy wine (or 1/3 cup water + 1 tsp sugar + 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetarian beef-flavored powder or soy sauce
1/3 cup tomato juice
2 tablespoons (vegetarian) Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 cup sour cream (or Tofutti, or homemade)
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika

Directions:
1. Heat milk and bay leaf in small saucepan; add shiitakes. Cover and set aside for 20 minutes. Drain shiitakes; reserve milk. Mince mushrooms. Discard bay leaf.
2. Cook potatoes in a small saucepan until tender, but firm; set aside.
3. Thinly slice 1/2 pound of the mushrooms, halve 1/4 pound and quarter remaining 1/4 pound mushrooms to yield three different mushroom shapes.
4. Heat butter in a heavy-bottomed 4-quart or larger saucepan; add onion and garlic. Saute over medium-high heat until onion turns translucent. Add flour, stirring to incorporate ingredients. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer. Add wine, water, vegetarian powder, tomato juice, Worcestershire, reserved shiiake milk, salt, and pepper; stir until well-blended. Bring to a boil; add mushrooms, minced shiitakes, and cooked potatoes.
5. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes over medium heat until mushrooms are tender. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream, nutmeg, and paprika.
6. Serve over hot buttered egg noodles (or the pasta of your choice!)


Woke up this morning and made a double-batch of blueberry-lemon muffins:

Tasty and vegan! Woo! I don't typically make double-batches of muffins, but I thought I'd send a dozen home with Dan for breakfasts this week. I'll work my way throught the rest, and possibly share a couple with my coworkers, too.


Last, I baked off the lasagna I made on Wednesday night:

YUM! Dan and I each enjoyed a piece of this for lunch today.

Recipe:
Ingredients:
1/2 pound lasagna noodles, prepared
1 large jar pasta sauce (or your own homemade sauce)
15 oz ricotta
10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
2 eggs, beaten
minced garlic to taste
freshly grated nutmeg to taste

Directions:
1. Combine ricotta, spinach, artichokes, 1/2 cup mozzarella, parmesan, eggs, garlic, and nutmeg until well-blended.
2. Layer in a greased 9x13 baking dish: sauce, noodles, sauce, spinach mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella, noodles, sauce.
3. Bake covered at 350 degrees Farenheight for 45 minutes. Uncover, top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese, and bake an additional 15 minutes. Let lasagna cool 10 minutes before cutting and serving.


Busy working on a secret baking project this afternoon . . . can't post about it until the end of the month, but know that it's pretty exciting! Stay tuned.