Father's Day Bike Dinner

Well, clearly I am behind schedule on this post. I know, I know, Father's Day is in June. It is now the end of July. Time just seems to slip away.

One night in June, Emmett wore his new goggles for dinner, gotta love three year olds. Later he asked me if we could wear our bike helmets at the table sometime. Why the heck not?!

So for Father's Day, we had a bike dinner.

We wore bike helmets...

 

Drank out of bike bottles...

 

Ate "stop lights" made out of a green grape, a piece of pineapple and a bit of red pepper. (Watermelon would have worked too but I didn't have any.)



And E decorated pizzas with the ingredients to resemble bike wheels with spokes (kind of).
(Cauliflower crust on the right, normal wheat crust on the left, both plant based. Vegan cheese can be used, I typically don't put any cheese on them and just took the cheese off of my pieces. This was a rare occasion as I was using up things in our freezer. )



M wore his helmet for just long enough for a photo and then got to ride in the seat on the back of his dad's bike for the first time! He giggled for the first 2 blocks.




 As it was a bit chaotic due to the excitement, the photos are of poor quality. We did have fun though!

Chipotle Black Bean Quinoa Soup

I had a request for a new main dish post. This was not difficult as I make something for dinner each night. Last night was no exception and so I present a Collins' creation...

Chipotle Black Bean Quinoa Soup

15 -  3/4 cup servings

Ingredients

1 large yellow onion - peeled and diced
2 large red peppers - seeded and diced
3 cloves of garlic - minced
1 teaspoon chipotle seasoning (or use a chipotle pepper in adobo sauce if you don't have small children)
1 cup orange juice
4 cups + 1 cup vegan vegetable broth
1 cube vegan vegetable bouillon cube
zest of one orange (important)
4 cups cooked black beans or two 15 oz cans , drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked quinoa
1.5 Tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground coriander
Salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Place onion and peppers in a large sauce pan and saute over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water at a time to keep the veggies from sticking.
2. Add garlic and chipotle spice or pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.
3. Add the orange juice and zest, beans and 4 cups vegetable broth, and stock cube.
4. Bring to a boil over high heat.
5. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until heated through.
6. Add 2 cups cooked quinoa and 1 cup vegetable broth and cook for 5-10 minutes more or until heated through.
7. Add oregano, coriander, and more chipotle seasoning and stir well. Add salt and pepper to taste.

The secret here is two fold; 1. do not omit the orange zest. 2. Add the herbs and spices at the end. If you add them at the beginning, the flavors will cook out and you will end up with a bland bowl of soup. Trust me. 

This was quite good with a crusty bread. I found a sugar free, vegan ciabatta baguette at Trader Joe's. I don't eat much bread but a taste with this soup was quite good.

MSPI Tomato Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe on Jujugoodnews.com.

 With a few simple modifications, it was MSPI friendly. You have to be pretty cautious of bouillon as it often contains dairy and/or soy. I found this brand at several of the natural grocery stores in town as well as on Amazon. It is a little pricy but I have used it several times with good success.

Delicious Tomato Vegetable Soup (adapted from Jujugoodnews.com)

Ingredients
1 (28 ounce) can tomato sauce (Hunt's brand is MSPI safe)
5 cups water
1 cubes vegetable bouillon (Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon with Herbs is the brand I used)
1 bay leaf
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning - Hyvee Brand
1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot red pepper sauce (I used Trader Joe's Chili Pepper Sauce - chili peppers, distilled vinegar, sugar, spices, xanthan gum. They recently added that this is made on shared equipment with wheat, eggs, soy & fish. I used it anyway as I put just a splash in and the ingredients weren't dairy or soy directly.)
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup uncooked Trader Joe's Orecchiette pasta

Directions
In a large pot, mix the tomato sauce, water, vegetable bouillon, bay leaf, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, parsley, sugar, salt, pepper, and hot red pepper sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer at least 30 minutes.
Stir in the celery, carrots, zucchini, and corn. Cover, and continue to simmer 30 minutes.
Stir pasta into the pot, and continue cooking 10 minutes, or until pasta is al dente.

We liked this. I am not sure it even needs the pasta and I might consider adding mushrooms and maybe using my immersion blender a bit next time. YUM! Ate half and put the rest in the freezer for a more tired evening. 

Black Bean Burgers

We are not vegan or vegetarian or paleo or any of those other things. We don't tend to eat much meat. I really, really don't like raw meat. It ruins the whole dining experience for me. I do best when I can put it in the crockpot and ignore it for the day.

These black bean burgers were delicious, and at least for me, they were the perfect solution to rectify a hamburger desire and keep it meat free. There is just something way less gross about mashed black beans and veggies than ground meat. Yuck.

On that note, this recipe came from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom. She has great recipes. I've been searching around on her site and have come up with a few more to try.

I made a few adaptations to this recipe to make it MSPI safe. Double check your ketchup, bread crumbs, and substitute Worcestershire Sauce for soy sauce  or use homemade "soy sauce". The boys ate theirs on sandwich flats and I ate mine without a bun but topped with lots of fresh veggies. I used spinach greens, a few red onion slices, tomatoes from our garden (yay!), and my mom's canned bread and butter pickles along with ketchup and mustard. One can never have too much ketchup, just so you know.

Oh and I was exhausted and having contractions every 7-8 minutes so photos were not on the do to list but ours ended up looking very much like Scattered Mom's so click on the link below to see photos of her results.

MSPI Black Bean Burgers adapted from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom
(Makes around 15 sliders)

Ingredients

• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup white onion, diced
• 2 15.5oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained (I realized after I got started that I only had one can of black beans so I substituted the other can for kidney beans. Turned out to be a great decision!)
• 1/2 cup sweet corn (I used frozen as I try to avoid canned)
• 3 tablespoons ketchup
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (I used HyVee brand Worcestershire Sauce as it is MSPI free and I was out of homemade "soy sauce".)
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped (or cilantro paste)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2/3 cup bread crumbs (I used organic bread crumbs from Trader Joes as they were MSPI safe. It required over 3/4 cup to get to the stick-together point.)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and onion and saute until onions are tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a large bowl mash black beans using a potato masher until desired consistency. Add in corn, ketchup, soy sauce, cumin, cilantro, salt and pepper, onion and garlic and until well combined. Fold in bread crumbs until mixture holds together. Form into patties and chill for 10-15 minutes. 
3. Heat olive oil in skillet over medium heat. Cook burgers until crispy, about 5-8 minutes per side depending on your stove top heat.

 

Tomato Basil "Cream" Pasta

This recipe comes from the Oh She Glows website. (Check out all her other stuff while you are there!)
So, yum!! It's actually a vegan recipe but lucky for me this also makes it MSPI friendly. Click here for the original recipe. I have also copied it here for convenience along with her original link.

Easy Tomato Basil Cream Pasta

Lightly adapted from Vegan Yum Yum.
Yield: 2-3 servings
Ingredients:

• 2 servings uncooked spaghetti (I used the leftover angel hair from Trader Joe's that I used in Mexican Noodle Soup from a couple of posts ago.)
• 1 large ripe tomato or two smaller tomatoes
• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tbsp tomato paste (Trader Joe's brand for me)
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3)
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 3-4 tbsp water or wine, (optional but I did use water to thin it out a bit)
• 1-2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup packed fresh basil, finely chopped

Directions:
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Chop tomato and add it to the blender/food processor (including skin and seeds). Now add the cashews, water, and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
2. Add your pasta to boiling water and cook pasta according to package directions.
3. Meanwhile, add olive oil to a large skillet and heat to low. Add the minced garlic and sauté for a few minutes being careful not to burn it.
4. Pour the sauce from the blender into the skillet, stir, and bring to a simmer. Add the salt and let it cook for 4-5 minutes, watching closely. You may add water or wine to thin out the sauce to you desired consistency, but this is not necessary.
5. Remove sauce from heat and stir in the chopped basil and pepper. Once the pasta is done cooking, rinse and drain it. Add the drained pasta back in the pot and now gradually add pasta sauce until your desired amount is achieved. Stir and serve immediately. Makes 2 servings, likely with sauce leftover.

Read more: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/05/10/easy-tomato-basil-cream-pasta/#ixzz2aUH7vXCj

This was so good. Sadly, my husband was at baseball out of town and the toddler doesn't necessarily appreciate a good sauce and asks for plain noodles with Parmesan cheese. I'm going to go with more for me? Ha. Most of it is squirreled away in the freezer for more tired days ahead and easy thaw and prep. Yay for garden tomatoes and basil in the winter time.

BLTs MSPI Style

So this may sound like an easy one but I remember very clearly after my first little one that I couldn't get it together enough to even figure things like this out. I am sure the rest of you aren't quite this paralyzed by sorting the MSPI diet restrictions out. Maybe it was the sleep deprivation, maybe it was the denial, maybe it was the screaming baby or maybe it's just me but the combination froze my brain cells and I couldn't even get something like this made. Therefore, I decided that no recipe is too basic. If nothing else, I will come back to the myself in the next few months. Wink.

So, yesterday with my husband out coaching baseball (again) I made BLTs for E and I. Well, he eats, bread, bacon, lettuce, and fruit separate and I eat a sandwich. :)

MSPI BLT
* Four slices toasted bread
      - I used Rudi's 100% whole wheat sandwich flats that I bought at Natural Grocer's. Their products are all allergen free. I also keep Trader Joe's Sprouted Wheat Bread in my fridge, also MSPI safe.
* 1 tomato sliced
* 4 strips of Trader Joe's peppered turkey bacon or Peddler's bacon cooked.
     - Double check labels on bacon as it may contain cassein, neither of these brands do. We so rarely buy bacon that I really had to double check this.
* Lettuce or spinach of any variety
* Soy Free Vegenaise
     - This is a mayo type replacement. It's actually pretty darn good. It ingredients include: (vegan, gluten free, dairy free) Expeller-Pressed Hi-Oleic Safflower Oil, Filtered Water, Brown Rice Syrup, Apple Cider Vinegar, Pea Protein, Sea Salt, Mustard Flour, Lemon Juice Concentrate. Really, nothing crazy! I buy this at Natural Grocer here in town. I am sure that it is sold at Whole Foods as well, we just don't have one yet. I have also seen the original version at our local grocery store in the Health Food section but they don't care the Soy Free.

See easy! This would make two sandwiches. Served with fruit, raw veggies, or Stacey's multigrain Pita chips, it is a great quick lunch or dinner. Enjoy!

Mexican Noodle Soup

Yes, it is summer. Yes, we usually save the soups for winter but this just sounded too good.

Mexican Noodle Soup from PETA's website. Yeah, PETA has recipes. I stumbled across this one on Pinterest. A little strange but delicious.

I used my new Ninja for this. I absolutely love that thing! A smidge pricy but so very worth it. It took about 6 seconds to puree the top four ingredients perfectly. Happy sigh. It is the little things. Gonna be good for baby food. And it can go in the dishwasher. Yes!

Mexican Noodle Soup
4–6 large tomatoes, cut into large cubes
1 medium white onion, cut into large cubes
1 clove garlic
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil)
1 16 oz.-pkg. cut fideo or 1 16 oz.-pkg. angel hair pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces (I acutally ended up only using half of a package and that seemed to be more than enough. If one used more I think more broth would have to be added.)
32 oz. vegetable broth (Trader Joe's brand is MSPI safe)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 Tbsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. oregano
2 Tbsp. cumin
Chili flakes, chopped serrano chilies, or diced jalapeños, to taste (optional)
Cilantro, and sliced avocado, for garnish (optional)

• In a blender, purée the tomatoes, onions, garlic, and oil. Transfer to a large pot and cook over medium heat.
• Add the noodles, broth, salt, pepper, oregano, and cumin. For a spicier soup, add the chili flakes, serrano chilies, or jalapeños. Cook for approximately 12 to 15 minutes, then simmer until the noodles are tender.
• Garnish with optional toppings, as desired.

Makes 10 to 12 servings

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Another meal to double and freeze half of for later!

I found this recipe on the The Mexican Kitchen website. It happened to be MSPI safe with a few double checks of ingredients. Yay!

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
1 medium onion, sliced
1 cup water
1 (1 1/4 ounce) packages taco seasoning mix (I used Trader Joes Brand and only half a package)
1 (16 ounce) jars taco sauce  (I used Old Ortega - MSPI safe)
1 (7 ounce) cans diced green chilies (I used 1/2 a can to keep a toddler happy)
1 package taco shell ( 12) (There was a brand at Natural Grocer that was safe but check your ingredients list)
shredded lettuce
chopped tomato
shredded cheddar cheese  (I used a tiny sprinkle of Daiya for mine. The boys had regular cheese)
sour cream (omitted)

Directions

Place beef and onion in slow cooker. Combine water and seasoning mix in small bowl.
Pour over beef and onion.
Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or until tender.
Shred beef with two forks.
Place beef in large bowl.
Stir in taco sauce and chiles.
Fill warmed taco shells with beef mixture.
Top with lettuce, tomato,cheese, and sour cream.

These were awesome and I really didn't have enough to freeze. Super fast and easy. I will be making them again in the next week or two to freeze for later.

Pizza!

Good news! Trader Joe's (sorry for those of you that don't have one close) has MSPI friendly pizza dough and pizza sauce. I am a much bigger fan of making from scratch but I remember with clarity that this will not be an option in a month so I have been playing with "easier" alternatives.

I was going to make pizza cups from MSPI Mama's website. However, I had a toddler with a high fever and my time was needed elsewhere. I am looking forward to making these at some point and freezing them for later.

But... tonight... it was pizza in plain old pizza shape.

Super easy.

MSPI pizza -

Trader Joe's pizza crust (refrigerated in bag)
1 jar of Trader Joe's pizza sauce
1/2 green pepper
Handful of mushrooms
1/8 cup diced onion
Daiya mozzarella "cheese" shreds

* (I did use regular shredded pizza cheese on the boys half. I am working them into this MSPI thing slowly.)

Went from this...

to this.

Apparently when you are two years old pizza, a Wendy's frosty, a little ibuprofen and Chuck the Truck helps. We make pizza occasionally but the other three are certainly not regular guests at our house if we can help it. ;)