Tortilla Soup

Tasty!  Almost always a fan of Mexican food – and definitely this one!  This soup has a nice, spicy kick at the end, but not too bad for those who are not into that.  My only complaint is that the vegetables get mushy when you reheat (there were a lot of extra servings left!).  Oh well, still good!

I tweaked the recipe(http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Vegetarian-Tortilla-Soup/Detail.aspx) based on the reviews and my own preferences.  I used only 2 cans of green chiles, one 32 oz. container of vegetable broth and 14 oz. water, 2.5 T of cumin, olive oil instead of vegetable oil, frozen pepper mix (could not find one with onions), 14.5 oz. can of corn, no avocado, one jalapeno (I had one on in the fridge and I added it with the corn), taco cheese instead of cheddar cheese, and put the tortilla chips on top to add a little crunch.  Next time I plan to use petite diced tomatoes instead of crushed so that the soup is a little thicker.  I might also use fresh vegetables.

I will without a doubt be making this again!

Zucchini Cakes

I wanted to try something new for dinner last night and found this recipe for Zucchini Cakes (or "Crab Cakes", http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Connies-Zucchini-Crab-Cakes/Detail.aspx).  I've never had a crab cake before, so I'm not sure how this compares, but I really liked the taste.  My fiancée thought this was tasty too - in fact, he had about 7 of the cakes (I think that I made 11 total!

So, to make this a little healthier, I pan fried the cakes using Pam, not vegetable oil.  They still came out with a crisp crust and were moist in the middle - great texture.  I also didn't use onion only because I didn't have any on hand.  The zucchini taste was really prominent, and I couldn't really taste the Old Bay - I'll probably add more next time :-)

I served these with a Tomato Basil Morningstar Farms vegetable burger and a side of aioli (http://www.bhg.com/recipe/salads/aioli/).  It was my first time making aioli and I wasn't a huge fan of this recipe.  I will opt for a different option next time!  It tasted a little too much like oil, not enough like garlic.



P.S. - these reheat well and keep the crisp outer crust.  I had them the second night with a burger and a side of butternut squash baked in rosemary, thyme, and some pecorino romano - yum, yum!

Scrambled Tofu

I was a little skeptical while cooking this dish – I have had some “not so good” encounters with tofu.  The worst being tofu thrown into a tuna noodle casserole – not by me – I didn’t even like tuna noodle casserole in the first place! 


Anyways, this turned out surprisingly well, even with the changes I made.  Instead of turmeric, salt, and pepper, I used Cayenne Pepper, Cajun Seasoning, and Chili Powder – I like my food a bit spicy, but I didn’t use enough to make it burning hot (I have to keep my family in mind).  I used diced tomatoes with green chiles and drained them – I wanted to avoid any soupiness, especially after reading the reviews on Allrecipes (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Scrambled-Tofu/Detail.aspx).  To further combat any liquid issues, I used firm tofu instead of silken.  Since I added the green chiles, I only used 5-6 green onions (both green and white parts).  Finally, I used Mexican Taco Cheese instead of Cheddar – I have to keep it consistent with my spices!

All in all, this is a good, hearty dish that is good for breakfast or for dinner.  I think I will make this again and try different variations – it’s a great starter recipe!

Polynesian Glazed Meatballs

This is not something I would normally make because I am not a fan of pineapples, but I made this the other night because we are having a Progressive Dinner in our neighborhood and the theme is Hawaiian/Polynesian.  I was chosen / offered to make a vegetarian entrée.  I tried this recipe out as a test run and found it to be pretty good (and easy!). I wasn’t too into it when I first made it, but when I reheated it, the flavors had time time to mix and it was very tasty.  



Polynesian Glazed Meatballs (4-6 servings, about 30 minutes)
(adapted from Kraft Foods)


Ingredients
1 tsp. olive oil
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 white onion, chopped
1/4 cup barbecue sauce
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks, drained, 1/2 of liquid reserved 
12 oz. frozen Trader Joe's vegetarian meatballs
2 cups instant brown or wild rice, uncooked


Directions

1. Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add peppers and onions; cook 5 min. or until crisp-tender, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in barbecue sauce, ginger, garlic powder and reserved pineapple liquid. Add meatballs; mix lightly until evenly coated. Cook 10 min. or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally. Add pineapple and cook for additional 2 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice as directed on package.
3. Serve over rice.

Before this cooking adventure, I had only used the vegetarian meatballs with pasta and other Italian-type dishes (i.e. toppings for pizza).  They worked very well in this dish and held the Hawaiian sauce flavor. When this dish is reheated, the sauce is not runny and has a good consistency.  If you want more of a pineapple taste, you can add more reserved liquid to the meatballs; however, this may make the sauce too thin.  This dish is low in fat and is pretty good on the protein side of the nutrition scale.  When using brown or wild rice, you are also getting some healthy carbs.

Overall, tasty and would make it again for my own Hawaiian-themed dinner :-)