Selective Palate

With all the work I have going on around here I have taken to simple meals quite often. But simple doesn’t have to mean blah does it?

If it wasn’t for chicken wings and bacon M could be a vegetarian so I often make meatless simple dinners. Not too long ago I was pretty strapped for time so I popped a couple baked potatoes in the oven and went back to me desk; i.e. the comfy chair and my laptop! At this point I had no idea what I was making for dinner I just knew I had baked potatoes. While finishing a few things I decided I wanted something comforting and cheesy, it’s cold around here! So I decided on baked stuffed potatoes and a simple salad.

Recipe:
2 Medium to large baked potatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream (depending on the amount of potatoes)
3-4 Strips crispy bacon broken in small pieces (omit for vegetarian or use soy bacon)
1/4 cup chives sliced
1/2 to 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (or any cheese you like)
Salt and Pepper to taste

Once the potatoes have cooled gently slice off the tops and even more gently scoop out most of the potato leaving enough of a border around the skins so they don’t fall apart. Mash up the insides and tops with the sour cream,  bacon, 2/3 of the chives, 1/3 of the cheese and season to taste. Fill potato shells with the mixture making sure to mound it nicely and top with the remaining cheese. Place back in the oven or broiler just until the cheese is melty and slightly browned on top. Garnish with the left over chives and serve up with a nice fresh salad! Easy enough; really you can put whatever you like in them just beware of too much liquid like milk,cream, or even the sour cream the last thing you want are runny or mushy potatoes!

With this snowy chilly weather this week it had me craving for something warm and comforting. I also wanted to do something meatless; meatless Tuesday anyone? With all that in mind I decided to go a little south of the border and stuff some poblano peppers with a yummy mix of brown rice, black beans and cheese! Then I baked them up until everything was all bubbly and served it with a side of avocado salad to cool everything down. It was very good, M didn’t even speak between seconds (or thirds!).

Recipe:

1 onion chopped
1 red bell  pepper chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
9 poblanos, 1 chopped, 8 cut the tops off and clean out the insides leaving the bodies intact
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can black beans, rinsed
1 or 2 chipolte peppers in adobo, chopped
1 T. cumin
1 packet of Goya Sazon (any flavor will work, I used culantro y achiote)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
hand full cilantro
1 lime zested
2 T. olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

Begin by cooking the rice per directions. Usually I make long grain brown rice with 1 cup rice to 2 1/4 cups stock or water. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and cover for 40- 45 minutes. While you have that cooking prep your veggies all about the same size chop. Pre-heat your oven to 425 and place your poblanos in a baking dish coating them with about 1 T. of the olive oil and a spinkle of salt and pepper. When the oven is ready place peppers in oven to start the cooking. Now heat a large skillet on med high heat when ready with the veggies add the remaining olive oil to the pan and swirl to coat. Add onions and peppers and saute for about 8-10 minutes. When soft add the garlic. Reduce heat and add the spices and beans, stir to combine. When the rice is ready fluff with fork and add directly to the bean mixture. Take off heat and remove the peppers from the oven (they should have been in for about 15- 20 minutes total), they should be soft and fragrant, set aside for the time being. Now add 1 cup of the cheese to the rice and bean mixture along with the chopped chiplotes, lime zest and chopped cilantro. When the peppers are cool enough to handle, stuff them with the mixture and place back in the baking dish. Top with remaining cheese and bake for another 15- 20 minutes.

And that is it.  I served these with a nice avocado and cucumber salad using the juice of the zested limes and some garlic. For M I heated up some corn, because he just LOVES corn! Altogether it was a great vegetarian dinner, perfect for Meatless Monday or Tuesday!

After all that rich food over the holidays my body is starting to revolt! When I need to “clean house”  I tend to turn to soups, more importantly vegetarian soups. I have made a few over the last few days but 1 of my favorites was a vegetarian split pea. As much as I like pork I decided to leave it out. To replace the much missed fatty, unctuous mouth feel I drizzled on a little good olive oil at the end and it seemed to do the trick. I will say that this recipe, though very tasty was not as sweet as the traditional split pea with ham.

Recipe:

1 – 2 carrots chopped
1 – 2 stalks celery chopped
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 – 2 T. olive oil
8 oz green split peas
4 cups veggie stock or water

In a sauce pan heat about 1 T. or so of the olive oil and saute the veggies except for the garlic  for about 5-8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to saute for about another 1 – 2 minutes. Add the stock or water, the thyme, bay leaves and split peas. Give a good stir and leave on medium-low heat for about 1 hour. Test and make sure the peas are soft if not cook for another 20 – 30 minutes. When soft remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs then blend until smooth. I used an immersion blender but if you have to use a regular blender do it in batches and be very careful that the liquid does not explode! Season with salt and pepper.

Finish in a bowl with a little drizzle of olive oil, a spritz of lemon juice and some course sea salt. I added a dollop of sour cream and some chopped roasted red peppers. The peppers added that missing sweetness. Healthy and tasty, you can’t beat that!