Meatless Monday is a Thing {Recipe: Crock-Pot Vegetarian Chili with Lentils, Black Beans and Quinoa}

One of the kids finally noticed that on Mondays I usually make something vegetarian. When asked why we have to have vegetarian on a Monday again I replied, "Because it is Meatless Monday!" The response I got was, "Oh, so now that's a thing." To that I said, "Yes, yes it is." (Queue eye roll.)

We have tried to go strictly vegetarian, but not everyone in the family was happy with that. So, we compromised and have vegetarian meals 3-4 days a week. Why having vegetarian every Monday is an issue, I do not know. Kids just being kids, I guess.

This week we tried a Crock-Pot vegetarian chili. To make "Meatless Monday" go a little easier, I made the kids' favorite accompaniment to chili, Pumpkin Cornbread with Cinnamon Honey Butter.

Crock-Pot Vegetarian Chili with Lentils, Black Beans and Quinoa

Adapted from a recipe found at: http://www.colorfulrecipes.com

Ingredients for Chili: 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion, chopped 
4 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 sweet mini peppers or 1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup diced carrot
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 tablespoon coriander
3 cups diced fresh Roma tomatoes
1 6 ounce can of tomato paste
2 teaspoons Mexican oregano (regular dried oregano works as well, but the flavor is a bit different)
1-3 tablespoons of chili powder, depending on how spicy you like it. 
1 15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup dry lentils
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 cup frozen corn
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water


Toppings:

Greek yogurt 
Cheddar cheese
Diced avocados
Chopped red onion or sliced green onion
Tortilla chips


Instructions:

Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large frying pan or Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, cumin, and coriander and sauté until tender and starting to tun brown.  Add tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano, chili powder; cook for 5 more minutes. Spoon the cooked mixture into the Crock-Pot and add the remaining ingredients. Give all a good stir. Cover and cook on high for 4 1/2 hours or on low for 8 hours. Dish out servings and top with toppings of choice. For vegan chili, leave off the Greek yogurt and cheddar cheese. 

Makes 6-8 servings 

Pumpkin Cornbread 

Note: I rarely use mixes. Unfortunately our local grocery store was out organic cornmeal, so I bought Krusteaz Organic Honey Cornbread & Muffin mix instead. I would  use it again in a pinch, but prefer not to use a mix. It is more expensive and has more sugar. The Pumpkin Cornbread recipe I usually use is  from the blog Two Peas and Their Pod. 

Ingredients:

1 box Krusteaz Organic Honey Cornbread & Muffin Mix
2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil or melted butter
1 egg
1/3 cup pumpin puree
1 tablespoon molasses 
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg 

Pre-heat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Whisk together milk, oil, egg, pumpkin puree, molasses, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add cornbread mix and stir until just moistened. Spoon into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake 25-29 minutes, or until golden brown and toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes and cut into squares. Serve warm. Leftovers can be stored after completely cooled in an airtight container. 

Makes 9 servings

Cinnamon Honey Butter

Mix in a small bowl: 6 tablespoons of butter with 2 teaspoons honey and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Serve in a small decorative bowl. 

I am happy to say that everyone in the family enjoyed the vegetarian chili.

Here is to Meatless Mondays!

For the Love of Everything Harry Potter {Recipe: Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Cake}

Just when I thought we were done with Harry Potter, a new Harry Potter book comes out. When my daughter, Lili,  found out that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was coming out, the obsession with everything Harry Potter started all over again. It even prompted her to re-read all of the Harry Potter books until the new book arrived. Not that I am complaining, I am all for books like these that promote a love of reading.

Now that my daughter is all about Harry Potter again, she wanted a Harry Potter themed birthday. A friend of mine showed me a picture of a Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Cake her daughter made and knew Lili would love it. I set out to make her one and surprise her, but then realized she would have more fun making it herself. So I set her loose in the kitchen and left. If I stuck around in the while she made it I would be too tempted to interfere. I know I am biased, but I think she did a great job! The only thing she asked for my help with is figuring out how to make the Golden Snitches. I came up with using the Ferrero Rochers, but it was her idea to use the gold foil for the wings.

Harry Potter fan or not, this cake is really good!

Harry Potter-inspired Butterbeer Cake

Adapted from the recipe found at: http://www.bijouxandbits.com/2016/04/butterbeer-cake/

Ingredients for cake:

2 cups cake flour (like Swan's Down)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

3/4 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon butter flavoring 

1/2 teaspoon Foldgers Flavors Caramel Coffee Enhancer-optional

Ingredients for brown butter vanilla buttercream frosting:

3/4 cup butter, divided 

3 tablespoons flour

3/4 cup whole milk

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup brown sugar

Ingredients for caramel sauce:

1 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons water

3/4 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1 tablespoon pieces

Additional ingredients:

6 Ferrero Rocher-hazelnut chocolates in the gold wrappers

Instructions for cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9-inch round cake pan with parchment, then grease and flour it.

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, use the whisk attachment to mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Add the sugar and mix until combined.

3. Add the softened butter to the mixture on low until the texture is crumbly.

4. In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, vanilla, butter flavoring and caramel coffee enhancer. Slowly add to the flour mixture and mix on low speed until combined. 

5. While the mixer is on low, slowly incorporate the buttermilk until smooth. 

6. Pour the batter into the prepared 9-inch round cake pan and bake 25-28 minutes or until a cake tester or toothpick inserted to the center of the cake comes out clean. Be careful not to over bake or the cake will be dry!

7. Once the cake is done, let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove cake from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack. 

Instructions for the brown butter cream frosting:

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 1/4 cup butter. This can be tricky. The butter will foam and just start to brown, I recommend pulling the butter from the burner as soon as it starts to brown, whisk in the flour, then return to the heat. Once the butter starts to turn brown, it can burn very quickly. It usually continues to brown a bit more after it has been pulled from the burner. 

2. After returning the brown butter/flour mixture to burner and slowly whisk in the milk, working out any lumps. Keep whisking while bringing the mixture to a boil so it thickens. At this point, it looks almost like a choux pastry.

3. Once boiling, whisk in the vanilla extract and remove pot from heat and let cool. 

4. While the mixture is cooling, cream together 1/2 cup butter with the brown sugar. 

5. After the flour mixture is completely cool, beat it into the mixing bowl with the butter/sugar mixture. Cream both mixtures together until fluffy. 

Note: This butter cream frosting is different than anything we have ever tried before. With the mixture on the burner looking like pastry dough, my daughter thought she did something wrong. But she persisted and it turned out great." -Mother Always Told Me

Instructions for the caramel sauce:

1. Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed stainless steel (or other light colored) pot.

2. Set your other prepared ingredients and a whisk within easy reach. Caramel can burn easy, so have everything handy so you can work quickly.

3. Place the pot over medium heat and stir frequently with a spatula until the sugar has dissolved. If you see sugar crystals forming along the  sides of the pot, use a pastry brush wet in a small town of water to brush the crystals away. 

4. Once the sugar has fully dissolved, stop stirring! Swirl the entire pot gently if needed, during this next phase of cooking. 

5. Turn the heat up to medium-high and watch for the sugar to change color. This takes about 4-5 minutes, but you cannot walk away, because the color changes in an instant! Once the dissolved sugar mixture reaches a medium copper color, quickly turn off the heat, and add the butter and heavy cream, whisking constantly. Continue whisking until the mixture becomes homogeneous and all clumps dissolve. If you heed to , place the pot over a very low hear while you stir to help the caramel sauce smooth out. 

6. Transfer immediately to a heat-safe container, allow to cool. The caramel sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days. 

Instructions for making Golden Sniches:

Ferrero Rocher Golden Snitches

1. Carefully unwrap 4 of the Ferrero Rochers and flatten the gold foil. Fold one of the gold foil squares point to point forming a triangle. Cut a curve to look like a wing from one point on the end of the fold to the opposite point along the fold. Repeat with the other three pieces of gold foil using the first one as a template so they are all the same. 

2. Take two of the gold foil wing and use a clean gold tack to push through two of the corners of the wings, then push the tack with the wings into the top of one of the two remaining Ferrero Rochers; repeat with the other two gold foil wings and the last remaining Ferrero Rocher. 

3. Enjoy the 4 unwrapped Ferrero Rochers, they are not needed for the cake. 

To assemble the cake:

1. Put a dab of frosting on your cake plate, then place the cake on top. Spread the frosting over the top and sides of the cake, then drizzle the cooled caramel sauce over the top of the cake. 
2. Carefully place the Golden Snitches on top of the cake. Once the Snitches are placed where you want them, the wings may have to be adjusted a bit. The gold foil wings are a bit delicate, so be careful.

Enjoy!

"...after all this time?"

"always."

Happy Wizarding!

With Fall Comes Pumpkin Spice and Everything Nice {Recipes: Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups and Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins}

Fall is here! The weather is a little cooler, the air smells a little sweeter and it's time to break out the pumpkin spice. Funny how my family and I are all craving something, anything pumpkin spice now that it is fall. If you would have asked any one of us if we wanted something pumpkin spice a week ago we would have said, "Eww no, it is still summer!" We are all still enjoying iced green tea, hanging out at the pool, and wanting nothing to do with a hot Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Then today hit, the first day of fall. Now everything pumpkin so sounds good.

With fall, comes school. My son was complaining that he gets hungry mid-morning and if there was anything that he could have for breakfast that would stay with him. The best thing I could come up with is oatmeal. The only problem is, he hates oatmeal. It's a texture thing, it's "mushy." After perusing Pinterest, we came up with baked oatmeal, specifically Chewy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars from 365ish Days of Pinterest. They have apple, lots of cinnamon and vanilla, and, best of all, they have a firm texture. They were a hit.

We just finished the first batch of oatmeal bars, and thinking about making a second, when both my daughter and I thought the same thing, that these would be really good made with pumpkin. This is the first sign that fall is upon us, we want something with pumpkin in it.

So here is our recipe for Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups. It is based on the the Chewy Oatmeal Breakfast Bars from http//www.365ishpins.com/chewy-oatmeal-breakfast-bars/.

Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups

The Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal Cups are pictured above. 

Ingredients:

2/3 cup pureed pumkin
1/3 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
3 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a muffin tin with liners, or use a no-stick muffin tin. 
2. Stir together all the ingredients in a large bowl and make sure the oats are evenly coated. If the coconut is solid, it can be warmed so it is a liquid. This will make it easier to distribute evenly. 
3. Using a ice cream scoop, scoop the oatmeal mixture into the muffin tin. You will have to press the oatmeal mixture evenly into the muffin liners or wells. 
4. Bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges. 
5. Cool completely in the pan.

Yields about 11. 

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

But wait, we're not done with the pumpkin stuff yet. The above recipe uses only 2/3 of a cup of pumpkin, which leaves about 1 cup of pumpkin puree left in the can. So we decided to make a batch of pumpkin muffins as well. Here is the recipe for the pumpkin muffins we made:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins

This recipe is adapted from a recipe found at: http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/09/25/recipe-whole-spelt-pumpkin-muffins-and-other-spelt-recipes/

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or melted butter, cooled
1 cup pumpkin puree
Chocolate chips and/or cinnamon sugar, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a muffin pan with liners or grease the wells of the muffin pan. If using unsweetened applesauce, the muffin liners should be sprayed with cooking spray or else the liners will be hard to remove from the muffin (we learned the hard way). 

2. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

3. In another medium mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, maple syrup, applesauce (or melted butter). 

4. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour the egg mixture into the well of the four mixture, then mix together until well combined. Be careful not to over mix or else the muffins will be tough. Stir in about 1/2-3/4 cups of chocolate chips, if desired. 

5. Divid the batter into the muffin pan so it is evenly distributed. Bake until golden brow and a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. 

6. Cool about 5 minutes in the muffin pan, then remove them. Muffins can be topped with cinnamon sugar at this point. Dip the tops of the muffins into a little melted butter (about 1/4 cup). then roll in the cinnamon sugar.  

Yields 12 muffins. 

Note: In the picture there are both chocolate chip and cinnamon sugar topped muffins. I scooped 1/2 of the muffin batter into the muffin pan to be topped with cinnamon sugar after baking and stirred in 1/2 cup dark chocolate chip in the remaining batter. Half of our family like cinnamon sugar topped muffin, the other half prefers chocolate chip. Now everyone is happy!


Enjoy! Tomorrow we may just have to get a Pumpkin Spiced Latte...

Happy 1st Day of Fall!