Peanut Noodles

This is a vaguely Thai inspired dish that I find pretty tasty. The key, at least in my opinion, is sugar-free peanut butter. You don’t have to buy fancy organic stuff, but try to stay away from sugar.

 

Ingredients:

1.5 lbs linguine, cooked

1.5 cups soy sauce (not dark)

4 Tbs peanut butter

2 tsp chili garlic paste

1 lb carrots, cut into sticks

4 jalapenos, deseeded and cut into sticks

1 Tbs oil

Serves 4

 

Stir-fry the carrots and jalapenos in the oil until soft. Add peanut butter, soy sauce, and chili-garlic paste and stir until it forms a unified sauce. Stir in pasta and serve.

 

 

 

 

Mexican Stuffed Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• 20 plum tomatoes, halved with seeds removed
• 64 oz. of black beans
• 32 oz. refried beans
• 48 oz. corn
• 1 red pepper, finely chopped
• 1 poblano pepper, finely chopped
• 2 habanero pepper
• 1 onion
• 4 avocados
• 8 oz. cheddar/jack cheese
• 1 Tbs olive oil

Feeds 6

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Bake tomatoes for 5 minutes on a wire rack hollow side down.

Remove stem and seeds from your habaneros. Food process with onion. Heat oil, then stir-fry onion, all peppers and corn until onion is translucent. 

Mash half of your black beans and add all beans.

Mash your avocados and add them along with the cheese. This admittedly does not look that appetizing, but it tastes amazing.

Stuff tomatoes and back for 20 minutes.

 

Pad See Ew

There is a Thai restaurant across the street from me that I have been going to regularly for the past year. I finally decided I needed to learn to make some of their food myself. Here is my version of one of my favorite Thai dishes.

Ingredients:

• 2lbs Rice noodles, cooked. (The wider the better)
• 2 lbs bok choy tips (Or your favorite leafy green)
• 1.5 cups dark soy sauce
• 1.5 cups light soy sauce
• 3 Tbs brown sugar
• 54 oz. firm tofu
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 10 cloves of garlic sliced thin

Feeds 6

Mix soy sauces and brown sugar in a large bowl.

Dry the tofu by patting it with paper towels, then cut it into 1″ cubes. Heat the oil and stir-fry the tofu in batches. Place the tofu in the sauce when finished frying.

Steam the bok choy tips for five minutes.

Stir fry the garlic in the remaining oil for about 30 seconds, then add steamed bok choy. Cook until slightly wilted, then add rice noodles, tofu and sauce. Cover for five minutes, then serve immediately.

Stuffed Tomatoes with Pasta

If you do not want the pasta eliminate tomato paste (and obviously pasta) and halve all ingredients but tomatoes and bread crumbs

Ingredients:

• 10 tomatoes
• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 16 oz. spinach, torn
• 12 cloves garlic, minced
• 17 dry oz. marinated artichoke hearts, separated
• 64 oz. white beans
• 4 tsp crushed red pepper
• 1 Tbs oregano
• 3/4 lb mozzarella cheese
• 1 lb pasta
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 1/8 cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
• Salt to taste

Feeds six

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut your tomatoes in half, hollow then bake for five minutes on a wire rack with hollow side down.

Heat oil in a large saucepan or wok. Add spinach and cook until wilted, then add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in artichoke pieces, beans, spices then cheese.

Stuff tomato halves, then sprinkle breadcrumbs.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Add pasta and tomato paste to left over filling.

Jalapeno Mac and Cheese

I would just like to state that if prepared correctly this meal will NOT be spicy, as counter-intuitive as that may seem.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pasta, cooked
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1 Tbs flour
• 1 quart whole milk
• 1 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
• 2 lbs jalapenos
• 80 oz. black beans, drained
• 64 oz. diced tomatoes
• Salt to taste

Feeds 6

Preheat your oven to 500F.

Roast jalapenos on a metal baking sheet for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Put them in a large bowl and cover for 30 minutes.

Carefully remove as much of the skin, stem, and seeds as possible, then thoroughly mash.

Set aside.

Melt butter in a large pot or wok, then stir in flour.  Allow it to cook for 4 minutes, then stir in milk. When the milk is heated begin stirring the cheese in one handful at a time mixing until the cheese is melted. This will take several minutes. Finally add mashed jalapenos.

Mix with pasta, beans and tomatoes, transfer to a baking dish or two and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

Potato Cauliflower Curry

I don’t know why the green beans don’t get mentioned in the title. They just don’t.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 lbs potatoes, cut into roughly 1″ chunks
• 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
• .5 lbs green beans, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 6 cloves of garlic, thinly slices
• 1Tbs cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs red chili powder
• 1 Tbs coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 cup cream
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• salt to taste

Feeds 3

Put the potatoes in a large pot of water, bring to a boil and cook for about 6 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Check regularly. Remove potatoes with a slotted spoon and add cauliflower and green beans and boil until cauliflower can be broken with a spoon, then drain.

Fry cumin seeds in oil for 2 minutes, then add onion and cook until translucent. Add garlic and spices and cook for about another minute, then add potatoes, cauliflower and green beans. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add water, cover and simmer for 20. Remove cover. Stir in cream and heat for 5 minutes.

Serve with rice and/or naan.

Black Bean Patty Melts

Ingredients:

• 32 oz. black beans
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbs cumin
• 2 eggs
• 1 loaf of bread (16 pieces)
• 1 stick of butter
• 2/4 lb cheddar cheese
• 3 jalapenos, slices (If you want it spicy)
• 3 tomatoes, sliced
• 2 avocados, sliced
• 5 tsp olive oil

Makes eight sandwhiches

Drain and mash your black beans, then mix in breadcrumbs, cumin and eggs. Form into eight patties.

Fry patties in 3 tsp olive oil for 2 minutes on each side, or until brown.

Cook jalapenos in remaining oil for five minutes.

Butter bread and layer sandwiches putting cheese on the top and bottom and grill until golden brown on both sides.

I served them with spicy roasted potatoes.

Spaghetti and Eggplant Balls

I made a pesto-tomato sauce for this, but any Italian sauce would be good.

Ingredients:

For eggplant balls:

• 2 eggplants, diced, salted for an hour and rinsed
• 1 cup bread crumbs
• 1 cup olive oil
• 3 Tbs crushed red pepper

For sauce:

• 16oz. tomato sauce
• 16oz. crushed tomatoes
• 1 cups basil
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Also

• 1.5 lbs pasta
• Parmesan cheese for serving

Feeds 4

For eggplant balls:

Fry eggplant and crushed red pepper in 1/2 cup olive oil for 30 minutes. Run through food processor, then allow to cool. Mix in bread crumbs and form into small golf-ball sized spheres.

Fry these in the rest of the olive oil flipping every two minutes.

For the sauce:

Heat tomato products. Food process basil, garlic and cheese and mix into the tomato mixture.

Mix in eggplant balls and heat for five minutes, then serve over pasta with cheese.

Avocado Pasta

This is an exceptionally easy recipe and very tasty recipe. The avocado makes a very pleasing creamy sauce.

Ingredients:

• 6 avocados
• 2 lbs pasta, cooked
• 1 Tbs lime juice (just to delay avocado browning)
• 8 tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 2 jalapenos, seeded and diced
• 32 oz. pinto beans
• 32 oz. corn
• Salt

Feeds 7

Immediately after pasta is strained add tomatoes, jalapenos and corn. Mix well and let  it sit for about a minute. Thoroughly mash avocado and mix in lime. Mix this into the pasta. Add salt to taste.

Open-Faced Italian Vegetable Sandwhiches

2 loaves of Italian bread

2 eggplants, chopped, salted for an hour and rinsed

2 red bell peppers, chopped

2 onions, halved and sliced

1 lb carrots, chopped

1 Tbs crushed red pepper

1 Tbs oregano

1/2 cup olive oil

1.5 sticks of butter, softened in microwave

5 cloves garlic

1 lb mozzarella cheese

Heat your oil then fry eggplant with your crushed red pepper and oregano for 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Add onions, red peppers, and carrots and cook for another 15 minutes.

Meanwhile run your butter and garlic through a food processor until spreadable. Cut your bread in half in the two axis which make the most sense and spread the butter mixture evenly on all eight pieces. Divide the vegetables and cheese equally onto each bread piece and broil until the cheese starts to brown.