Today for Meatless Monday, I’m passing on one of my favorite recipes for a cold winter day.  February is an excellent time to make this dish!  Many vegetarians use meat substitute or faux meat products when making these types of dishes.  MorningStar Farms offers a product called meal starter crumbles.   This is basically a soy product and you generally add it late in the meal to give the dish, a meat like texture. 

As I've mentioned before I believe that the use of highly processed foods is just as bad for you as eating meat.  Some people are vegetarians simply because they feel as though it’s wrong to consume something that has a spirit or soul.  Some others are vegetarian for health reasons; generally speaking meat is not great for your body.  The rise of all sorts of diseases including obesity is directly related to the over-consumption of meat and meat byproducts. 

Studies related to eating processed foods are just as damning.  One of the main reasons I do not eat faux meat products is directly related to the fact that 99% of all soy products on the market today contain GMO soy.  In my opinion, not enough testing has been done to insure that the initial claims of GMO being not only unhealthy but directly related to the rise in autism, diabetes and various other diseases.  Until we can be assured of this the best way to be safe is to avoid consumption of these products.  Whenever possible I buy organics to avoid this.  Until companies like MorningStar Farms start using organic soy to create their meat substitutes I probably will never buy them. 

With that… let’s get on with the recipe.

Ingredients

2 cups dry pinto beans

2 cups dry black beans

2 cups dry red kidney beans

1 medium onion

2 20 oz. cans of crushed tomatoes (I use Organic with Basil added)

3 14.5 oz cans of vegetarian vegetable broth

3 tbsp. of butter

2 tps. of Chili powder

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sour Cream/Raw Onion/Cheese – optional toppings

*** 2 hours before you get ready to cook add all the dry beans in a large bowl and cover with water.

Process

Roughly chop the onion

Melt the butter in a large pot

Add the onion to the pot and cook until clear

Drain the water from the beans and add them to the pot

Add the broth to the pot

Add the crushed tomatoes to the pot

Add seasonings to taste

Serve

I love this recipe.  It’s great to have on a cold day.  Just be careful with the chili powder.  I like using the crushed tomatoes because it thickens the chili up and gives it a meat like consistency without the need to add any faux products.  The beans can be switched out for any other dry beans you’d like, however I would stay in the kidney bean size and type.  Lentils or Chickpeas probably wouldn't be a great substitute.

Would love to hear your take on GMOs, Processed Foods or how your Meatless Mondays are going.  Leave me a comment!

Namaste & Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(

Over the years I’ve had many grilled cheese sandwiches.  Starting with the commodity cheese my mother would get from the social services to the six cheese Tuscan grilled cheese at Mimi’s in San Diego the gamut of the grilled cheese is undoubtedly the widest of any sandwich.

From a vegetarian prospective this would be considered a Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian dish.  Meaning we do use ingredients from animal sources and would not be suitable for a Vegan.  I have found that eating processed foods, or foods with GMOs is more harmful in my opinion.  So I would be willing to eat cheese, which is an animal product, but avoid Tofu that’s non-organic, with no animal contents due to the probability of Genetic Modification.

I like to slice the bread right in the middle and get four very even slices of bread.  My local market has Organic bread available so I use this.  My basil comes from my garden.  I had four large plants this year and was able to dry and save about 3 bottles.

 Ingredients

Two types of Cheese

Butter

Bread

Basil

Garlic Salt

Process

Grate together your cheese together.

Place the skillet on a medium high burner.

Slice the Bread. (Doesn't have to be perfect)

Add a slab of the butter to the skillet.

Add two slices of bread on the buttered skillet.

Add the grated cheese to the slices of bread.

Sprinkle Basil and Garlic Salt over the grated cheese.

Cover both with additional slices.

Cook until golden brown on each side.

Serve

This is one of my favorite dishes, either eaten alone or with a nice bowl of tomato soup.

Did you make this?  Have a new idea?  Let me know.

Namaste & Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(

One of my favorite types of food is Mexican food.  I love cilantro and chilies.  The bold flavors and savory cheeses are amazing.  I like the zesty flavors without the smoking hot spices that many restaurants add to their food.

It’s also one of the easiest cuisines to make vegetarian.  This recipe is a very versatile recipe and it can be modified in several ways. Meat can be added, Shrimp or different veggies.  You can also add rice to it and roll into a burrito, deep fry as a Chimichanga or covered with some red sauce and made into a play on an enchilada.

I do some simple things with my recipes to make them a bit better for me.  First, I only use white cheeses or those without any artificial colorings.  Next, I try to buy organics whenever I can.  Not only does it ensure that the product is Non-GMO but it also takes care of the BPA that may be used in canned veggies.  

At times buying organic can be expensive, but when you weigh the costs of medical treatment and the amount of food you need to eat to be comfortably sated, I believe it’s a fair exchange.

Ingredients

1 Can Organic Re-fried Pinto Beans – I get my organic canned veggies from Harris Teeter

1 Can Organic Beans – I usually use Black Beans but I was out, so I substituted Kidneys

1 Bag Organic Corn Chips – I get these from Target, they sale Blue, White and Yellow

1 Block of Monterey Jack Cheese – You can use any cheese here

4 Tablespoons of Sour Cream

½  Jar of Enchilada Sauce

1 package of cream cheese

½ Teaspoon  Chili Powder - optional

Fresh Cilantro - optional

Fresh Jalapeno - optional

Fresh Onion - optional

Process

On medium/low heat add the package of cream cheese to the pot and melt.

Grate the about 1 ½ cups of the cheese from the block and set aside.

Add the sour cream to the cream cheese in the sauce pan.

Open the can of re-fried beans and add to the sauce pan.

Add ½ of the enchilada sauce to the sauce pan.

Add ½ the grated cheese to the sauce pan.

Once the mixture is melted, open the can of beans and add to the mixture.

If needed use the rest of the sauce to thin.

After warmed through, add the optional items to taste.

Open the bag of chips and spread on a tray.

Spoon the “dip” over the top of the chips and sprinkle with cheese.

Serve.

Sometimes when I make this I prefer instead of serving on a plate as nachos, I leave the mixture in a bowl and use a dip.

Left overs can be stored in the fridge.  I like to make Curry a lot, so I usually have left over rice.  Adding the rice to the bean mixture and rolling in a flour tortilla is a great way to maintain a meatless diet but also a way of getting the most out of your dollar. 

Did you make this?  Have a variation on the recipe?  Want to share your own? Feel free to leave it in the comments or send me a message and I’ll post it here.

Namaste & Blessed Be

Sosanna

)O(