Hashbrown Casserole

Vegetarian

Mmm... Breakfast... I was wondering what to do with the giant bag of hashbrowns in the freezer. This recipe is a mash-up of a couple of other ones I found, but they all called for butter and corn flakes. I have neither so I winged it. 

1 (2lb) Pkg frozen hashbrowns, thawed
8 oz Sour cream
1 Small onion- Diced
1 Can cream of mushroom
2 Cups grated cheddar- divided in half
1/4 Cup milk
1/4 tsp minced dried garlic
Pepper to taste
Bacon salt to taste
1/2 tsp Chili powder, paprika, cajun seasoning- equal parts

Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix all ingredients, reserving 1 cup of cheese. Spray casserole dish well with cooking spray and drizzle some olive oil in the bottom. This will stick if you do not grease the pan well. Pour mixture into dish and spread cheese on top. Sprinkle pepper and a little more spice mix on the cheese. Bake for 35 minutes to an hour- depending on size of pan. Deeper dish will require more cook time.

Chipotle Hummus and Rosemary Tortilla Crisps

Vegetarian

I am eating this right now and it's fucking yummy! I made the hummus and realized I wanted something to eat it with (other than a spoon, which was my original plan). Found our Milagro Tortillas and magic happened.

Hummus Recipe


2 Cans Garbanzo beans (drained, reserve juice)
1 1/2 Tbsp Fresh lemon juice
2-3 Chipotle peppers- minced (save the adobo sauce)
3 Tbsp Tahini (you can find it near the peanut butter, it's basically sesame butter)
1 1/2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil
2-4 Cloves garlic- minced
1/4 tsp Fresh rosemary- super-fine minced, almost microscopic
Salt- to taste

In a small pan, heat rosemary, garlic in olive oil just until fragrant. Set aside.

Drain garbanzo beans and place in food processor. Add all other ingredients, along with a bit of the adobo sauce from the peppers for extra smoky heat. Pulse until creamy, adding juice from garbanzo beans as needed to keep mixture moist. Don't make it too runny!


Rosemary Tortilla Crisps

Tortillas- Any kind. I've done these with wheat ones and they were great
Super-fine minced rosemary, just a pinch
Sea salt

Mix rosemary and salt. Slice tortillas into eighths and place in a single layer on a cookie sheet that's been sprayed with cooking spray. Lightly spray the top of the slices with the cooking spray and sprinkle with rosemary salt. Bake at 350° for 8-11 minutes until brown like in the pic. Enjoy!

Shepherd's Pie

Flexitarian

I realized yesterday that I have never made a shepherd's pie before. I also remembered that I'm trying to stop eating red meat. So I looked around and found this recipe. I love Natalie's Killer Cuisine and I figured I could switch this great recipe up and make it flexitarian. I am making the carnivorous version tonight though. Did I mention I am a bad vegetarian?

Here is the recipe with a few of my own tweaks:

Meat (or not) Filling
1/2 lb Ground beef*
1/2 lb Ground Polish sausage*
1/2 tsp Minced dried garlic
1/2 tsp Minced dried onion
1/2 tsp Dried parsley
1/2 tsp Ground cumin
1/4 tsp Dried dill
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Strips bacon (omit for Flex)
1 Carrot- diced
1/2 Onion- diced
2 Cloves garlic- diced
1 Small can mushroom stems and pieces (can use fresh too)
*Substitute with Boca veggie crumbles for Flex

Potatoes
Whatever potatoes you prefer for mashing. I used red potatoes.
Mashed potato flavoring packet
Milk
Shredded cheese- I used fresh Parm


Brown the ground meats (or Boca) with the dried garlic and onion, parsley, cumin, dill, S&P. Remove from pan and set aside.

Fry bacon in pan until crispy and drain on paper towel. Skip the bacon and use olive oil for the veggies and add some vegan bacon salt for Flex.

Cook the diced carrot, onion, and garlic in the bacon grease for 3 minutes. Add the mushroom pieces and cook for another bit, until tender. Meanwhile, chop the bacon. Mix with the meat and add the finished veggies.

Boil potatoes until you can poke through them with a knife very easily then drain and mash. I used a mashed potato garlic and butter flavor seasoning packet, but if you want to do them another way, go for it!

Place the meat mixture in the bottom of a baking dish and cover with potatoes and sprinkle cheese on top.
Bake at 350° for 15 minutes.

Broke-Ass Beans

Flexitarian


We are super broke right now. I'm talking down-to-change-with-no-income broke. One good thing to always have around is dried beans. I just happen to have about four pounds laying around. You know what that means? Time for beans!


I figured it out, if you already have all the dried spices, this meal would cost less than $10 if you had to buy the rest of the stuff, including olive oil. And unless you are feeding a literal army, it should feed a small family with leftovers for soup tomorrow.

Bean Spice Mix
(All ingredients are dried spices)
1 Tbsp Cilantro
1/2 Tbsp Parsley
1/2 Tbsp Ground White Pepper
1/2 Tbsp Sea Salt
1/2 Tbsp Cumin
1/2 Tbsp Chili Powder
1/3 tsp Basil
1/4 tsp Sage
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Cayenne
1/4 tsp Tumeric
1/4 tsp Thyme


Pepper Mix
2 Jalapeno Peppers- Chopped or Minced (seeded or not)
1/2 Tbsp Chile Pequins (optional)
5 Cloves Garlic- Chopped or Minced
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke
1 Tbsp Olive Oil or Butter


Broth
1 Sliced Onion
1 Ham Bone (optional)
1 1/2 to 2 lbs Dried Pinto Beans
1 Can HEB Brand Petite Diced Tomatoes- Either Chipotle or Green Chile flavor
Bullion Cubes, Vegetable broth, or whatever you use to make broth
Optional Not-So-Broke ingredient- 1 can of beer or a couple of shots of tequila. Substitute proportionate amount of water for beer.


Directions
Sort and rinse dried beans and either soak over night or do a "quick prime". To quick prime, add beans to boiling water and boil for 5 minutes, give or take. Once they start to float, set aside for an hour while you prep the rest of the ingredients.


Get all the ingredients for the spice mix together and mix. Set dry ingredients aside. 


Finely chop or mince the peppers from the pepper mix ingredients, or cheat and use a mini food processor with a splash of olive oil so your fingernails don't burn. Warm olive oil or butter in small pan and add peppers and liquid smoke. Saute until soft. Add garlic and a splash of water and cover. Once the garlic renders a bit, remove from heat and set aside.


Cut the onion in half and slice. Drain beans, add water to about 2 inches above beans, less if you are using veggie broth. Return to high heat and add broth ingredients, pepper mix, and bean spice mix. Boil rapidly for 20-30 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer (covered) for 2 hours, stirring and tasting broth occasionally. Serve when beans are soft. If you see water running low and you are not near the end of cook time, add some more water and taste. If the broth is bland, try adding bullion cubes, chili powder, or salt. The trick to these beans is a good, strong broth.