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This is a fast and easy, slightly spicy pasta dish.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
2-3 tomatoes, cut into small chunks (keep the seeds)
1-2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/3 pound small pasta shells
1 cup cooked black beans
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
Method:
1. Heat the olive oil over low heat in a medium skillet. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the garlic begins to turn golden, 2-3 minutes. Add the jalapeno and saute an additional 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, 1/2-1 tsp. salt, and pepper. Cover partially and cook until the tomatoes begin to fall apart (10-12 minutes). Stir every few minutes. Add the beans to the sauce during the last 2-3 minutes of the sauce cooking time. While the sauce cooks, cook the pasta according to package directions. Add the corn to the pasta during the last few minutes of pasta cooking time.
3. Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce. Toss to combine. Garnish with cilantro and season with additional salt if desired.
Reference:
Pasta Shells with Spicy Tomato Sauce from The Occasional Vegetarian.
My changes:
*Added onion.
*Added corn and black beans.
*Used regular vine-ripened tomatoes in place of plum tomatoes.
I love stuffed tomatoes so I'm always excited to find a new way to fix them. This is quite possibly the best one I've found so far! They incorporate a lot of my favourite flavours. Plus, they are fairly low-fat (well, 11 grams per serving according to the original recipe but it's mostly mono- and poly-unsaturated), cholesterol-free (yippee!), and pack quite the protein punch. Plus, they are full of superfoods!
This recipe would probably make enough for 2 or 3 tomatoes - I only made one tomato but the stuffing was so yummy that I ate it as a "side dish." :)
Ingredients:
1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed well (superfood!)
1/2 cup water
2-3 tomatoes (superfood!)
1/3 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed (superfood!)
1/4 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1/4 cup fresh salsa (tomatoes and hot peppers are superfoods!)
1/2 tbsp. olive oil (superfood!)
1 tbsp. finely chopped red onion (superfood!)
1/4 tsp. sea salt or other coarse salt
Freshly squeezed lime juice
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the quinoa in 1/2 cup water according to package directions (I usually give mine 15 minutes. You'll know when it's done - it goes transparent and you can see the white "germ" [I think it is] of the grain). Drain if necessary and return to the saucepan.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients to the quinoa (except the lime juice); cook and stir for 2 minutes over medium heat. Stir in the lime juice. Fill the tomatoes with the quinoa mixture and place in a baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with additional fresh lime juice.
Reference:
Based on the Bell Peppers Stuffed with Quinoa, Black Beans, and Corn recipe from the February/March 2008 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine.
I love enchiladas and usually make them with chicken but since I gave up meat for Lent, I decided to try throwing together a vegetarian version. These were really good! I might just make these for myself from now on. :)
Makes 2-3 large enchiladas (depending on how much you stuff in the tortillas! They make good left-overs!)
**I didn't take a photo because, from the outside, they looked exactly like the chicken ones I made DH! (ooh, actually, these ones didn't have the cilantro on the top... other than that, they look exactly like the linked ones ;)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup onion, chopped (red or white)
1 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/8 cup sour cream
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese
3/8 tsp. dried parsley
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 of a fresh tomato, seeded and chopped
1/4 jalapeno, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup black beans (I used the canned ones - drain and rinse)
1/4 cup corn kernels (I used frozen - just dump them in!)
1/8 cup black olives, sliced
1/8 cup bell peppers, diced
4 button mushrooms, chopped
3/4 tsp. chili powder
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
2-3 flour tortillas
1 tbsp. water
Method:
1. Heat oven the 350 degrees F.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and cook until tender. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, 1/4 cup of cheese, parsley, oregano, and black pepper. Stir until the cheese melts. Stir in canned and fresh tomato, black beans, bell peppers, olives, mushrooms, corn, jalapeno, water, and chili powder.
3. Roll even amounts of the mixture into the tortillas. Arrange in a baking dish. Cover enchiladas with enchilada sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, uncovered, in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
I found the original recipe for Black Bean and Salsa Soup on Annie's blog a couple months ago and have been wanting to try it. Unfortunately, it's just not something my husband would go for! Since I'm working from home today I decided to make it for lunch.
Really yummy and very quick to make! The only change I made from the original was to add some corn and to use regular white onion in place of the green onion.
2 servings
Ingredients:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup vegetarian vegetable broth
1/2 cup salsa (I prefer the refrigerated salsa to the jar salsa)
1/2 tsp. cumin
2/3 cup frozen corn, cooked and drained
sour cream, shredded sharp cheddar, onion as a garnish
Method:
1. Pour the beans, broth, salsa, and cumin into the bowl of a food processor (you can use a blender if you don't own a food processor). Pulse until smooth.
2. Transfer the mixture to a medium saucepan. Add the cooked corn. Cook the soup over medium heat until cooked through and thoroughly heated. Ladle into bowls and garnish with the toppings.
**As far as I can tell, this soup is vegan if you leave off the cheese and sour cream.**
Like the baked beans below, this recipe came from the October 2007 issue of Cooking Light. These were great! They freeze well (up to 1 month) so I made a whole batch and have been serving them with different things over the last few weeks. If you freeze them, heat them through in the microwave/a warm oven - they taste even better warm! Yield: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (the sharper the cheese, the better the flavour!)
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
1/4 cup chopped onion (subbed for the original recipe's green onions)
1 (8 3/4 ounce) can cream-style corn
Dash of hot sauce
1 large egg, beaten
Cooking spray
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next four ingredients (through salt) in a large bowl. Combine cheese and remaining ingredients (except cooking spray) in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add the cheese mixture to the flour mixture and stir until just moistened.
3. Coat the muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide batter evenly among the cups of the muffin pan. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in cups 2 minutes on wire rack; remove from pan. The recipe says to let them cool completely but they are so yummy served warm!
Reference:
The original recipe can be found in the October 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine. Corn Bread Bites.
This is basically the filling from the black bean and corn quesadillas I made for the second round of the Platinum Chef Challenge. I thought this would make a delicious salsa.
Ingredients:
1 ear of corn or 4 servings of frozen corn
1/2 of a 15-ounce can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup of onion, chopped - you could use red, white, green, or a combo of them (I like red and white ones mixed)
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
Method:
1. If you are using fresh corn - heat the grill to medium-high heat. Remove the silk from the corn but leave the husks intact. Grill the corn for about 12 minutes or until it is tender. After allowing the corn to cool, remove the husks and scrape the kernels off the corn.
2. If using frozen corn - just cook the corn according to the package directions. Allow to cool.
3. Place the corn kernels in a non-reactive bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well to combine. Allow to stand for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flavours can mix.
Enjoy with tortilla chips.
This is entry #1 on the savoury side of the second Platinum Chef Challenge. Ingredients for this round of the challenge were cheese, corn, hot peppers, blueberries, and lemons. Enjoy this vegetarian pizza - excellent as a light lunch or dinner. I served mine with a crispy green salad. I had this for dinner last night since hubby was in class - it was yummy, but I think it was a bit bland. I would mix in some salsa or Tabasco/other hot sauce with the egg mixture to give it a bit more kick.
Enough for 6
Ingredients:
2 jalapeno peppers (use more or less depending on how hot you want it!)
Cooking spray
2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup fat-free milk
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Fresh salsa or some hot sauce to taste (I'd use about 1/2 cup medium salsa for 6 people)
6 whole wheat pita breads
2 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
Method:
1. Slice the peppers and remove the seeds. Place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and place under the broiler for about 5 minutes until they are blackened, turning occasionally. . Let them stand for 10 minutes.
2. Lower the oven temperature to 425 degrees.
3. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add the corn, onions, and garlic. Saute the corn mixture for 2 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in the milk and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes or until liquid has almost evaporated. Cool slightly.
4. Place the egg whites, egg, salt, and black pepper in a bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in the jalapenos, corn mixture, salsa or hot sauce, and cheese.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the pita breads on the sheet and spread them with the corn mixture. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes or until the topping is set. Sprinkle with cilantro just before serving. Serve with a side of fresh salsa and a green salad.
***I also think these would make a yummy brunch dish - serve them on English muffins instead of the pita bread bases.***
Reference:I used the Roasted Fresh Corn, Poblano, and Cheddar Pizza from the July 2005 issue of Cooking Light for the inspiration for this recipe. As you can see, I tweaked it quite a bit!
I've been trying to come up with something tasty that I can make for the second round of the Platinum Chef Challenge. The ingredients we have to work with are great - corn, hot peppers, and cheese on the savoury side and blueberries and citrus on the sweet side. The sweets were easy and I knew I wanted to do something Mexican for the savoury recipes, I just couldn't think of what! I was going to do an enchilada thing - maybe use my basic chicken enchilada recipe and add some corn to it but that seemed not very challenging. I just found a recipe for some quesadillas which incorporated corn so I tweaked that to my liking and came up with the following... enjoy!
These are really tasty - the jalapeno adds a nice kick - and are relatively healthy since they have several different veggies and plenty of protein from the beans (great for vegetarians).
This recipe could be used as an appetizer or you could pair it with some rice and a crispy salad to be used as a light lunch or dinner. Additionally, you could add some grilled chicken or carne asada for some extra protein. However, rice and beans are complimentary proteins so if you serve this with some rice you really wouldn't need anything else.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ear of corn or 4 servings of frozen corn (yes, I cheated and used the frozen corn! I am sure it's amazing with the "real" stuff... I'll try that next time)
1/2 (15-oz.) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup total red and white onion, chopped (you can just use one type of onion or you could sub green onions)
1 jalapeno pepper, minced and seeded1 tomato, seeded and chopped
1 tbsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
2 (10-inch) flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Monterey-jack cheese
Method: 1. Heat the grill. Remove the silk from the corn but leave the husks intact. Place the corn on a gas grill over medium-high heat and grill for about 12 minutes until the corn is tender. Turn the corn frequently during grilling. Remove the corn from the grill and allow it to cool. If you use frozen corn, just cook the corn according to package directions.
2. Remove the husks from the corn and use a sharp knife to scrape off the kernels. Place the corn kernels in a medium bowl (do this if you use frozen or fresh corn).
3. Add the beans, onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt to the corn. Spread the corn mixture evenly over half of each tortilla and sprinkle each with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Fold the tortilla over the filling.
I think the filling, without cheese, would make a wonderful salsa!
4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the quesadillas to the skillet and cook for 8 minutes, turning once.
Enjoy with rice. Other options are salsa, low-fat or fat-free sour cream, and guacamole; however, I think these have enough flavour that you don't need a lot of "extras."
Reference:
The inspiration for this recipe came from The Cooking Club of America's Cooking Pleasures Magazine.
