White Bean and Cumin Chili

White Bean and Cumin Chili (slightly adapted from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 4, Total Time: 9-10 hours)

Ingredients

·         1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

·         3 cloves garlic, minced

·         2 Tbsp. cooking oil

·         2 14 ½ oz. can tomatoes, undrained, cut up

·         1 12 oz. can beer or nonalcoholic beer

·         1 chipotle chile pepper in adobo sauce, chopped

·         1 Tbsp. cumin

·         1 tsp. sugar

·         ½ tsp. salt

·         2 19 oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed and drained

·         1 ½ cups coarsely chopped, seeded, and peeled acorn squash (about 12 ounces)

Directions

1.      In a 3 ½- or 4-quart slow cooker combine onion, garlic, tomatoes, beer, chipotle pepper, cumin, sugar, and salt. Stir in beans and squash.

2.      Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 9 to 10 hours or on high-heat setting for 4-1/2 to 5 hours.

I’ll start off by saying that I just realized I made a mistake on this recipe – I only added 1 can of tomatoes.  Oops!  Still worked, though.  It even ended up being about 6 servings instead of 4!  This dish was not spicy enough for my liking, so I added some additional adobo sauce and pepper to my serving – that got it right.  My husband was OK with the taste and texture, but I think that he prefers a more traditional chili.  Everything was really creamy in this meal and it was pretty filling.  One note, I used Sam Adams Winter Ale for the beer.  I know that the beer will affect the taste, so pick a beer that you like!  Even though my husband wasn’t a huge fan of this, I will make it again – a great way to add some additional vegetables to a vegetarian diet!

Peasant Pizza with Goat Cheese

Peasant Pizza with Goat Cheese (from Better Homes & Gardens, Servings: 6, Total Time: 25 minutes)

Ingredients

·         1 ready-made pizza crust

·         2 oz. fat-free cream cheese (block style), softened

·         2 oz. semisoft goat cheese or feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/4 cup)

·         1 tsp. dried basil, crushed

·         1 clove garlic, minced

·         1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

·         3 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced

·         1 small yellow, orange, or green sweet pepper, cut into thin bite-size strips

Directions

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2.      Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet.

3.      In a small mixing bowl stir together the cream cheese, goat or feta cheese, dried basil, garlic, and black pepper. Spread over the bread shell. Place the tomato slices and sweet pepper strips over the cheese mixture.

4.      Bake pizza about 12 minutes or until heated through.

This is so easy to make and very good.  I used goat cheese and yellow peppers, but may try the feta and red peppers next time I make it.  The peppers remained crisp after baking (and even upon re-heating for leftovers).  Both the peppers and the tomatoes taste very good with goat and cream cheese mixture.  My husband and I both enjoyed this pizza, finding it filling and scrumptious.  The crust had a little bit of a bite to it too, just a tad crispy.  This is a fairly healthy dish for pizza, and it is easy to reduce calories and fat by using reduced fat goat or feta cheese.  I am looking forward to trying different variations!

Moro – Wilmington, DE

(http://mororestaurant.net/menu.html)

I thought I had posted previously about Moro, but it looks like I haven't.  My husband and I visited the restaurant in Wilmington, DE to enjoy some of their wonderful food. I have never been disappointed. This time, we were seated in one of the center tables in their upstairs dining room.  It was nice, considering that we could actually sit beside each other in the booth portion of the table.  Now, onto the food!

I started with the Roasted Beets salad with warm hazelnut crusted goat cheese served over baby arugula and mixed in a light orange vinaigrette.  It was served on a rectangular, long plate.  There wasn't much arugula, but the beets were plentiful. The dressing added some sweetness to the dish and the goat cheese was delicious.  The beets added some crunchy texture to the salad.  I would definitely order this again.

As my main dish, I ordered the Small Plate Pumpkin Tortelloni, they don’t have any vegetarian Large Plates on their current menu.  The tortelloni was coated with a fried sage-30 year balsamic vinaigrette, and topped with shaved Ricotta Salata and toasted hazelnuts.  I was really excited about this dish, but ended up slightly disappointed.  The pasta was under-cooked  adding a crunchiness to the dish that I didn't really want.  The vinaigrette was good, but the bits of sage were slightly burnt.  Had the pasta not been underdone, the hazelnuts would have added their own crunch.  However, I do not think that they added any flavor to the dish.  That being said, I did clear my plate (it was small!).

For dessert, we ventured into territory unknown to me – Crème Brulee.  The Oreo Crème Brulee was served with a Butterfinger Biscotti.  We expected the usual white/caramel colored crème brulee with some pieces of Oreo in it.  What we got was a chocolate Crème Brulee – definitely a different experience with me.  I can say that I am not a huge fan of the caramelized top, but the part under the crispy coating was pretty good.  The Butterfinger biscotti was okay, I’m not a huge fan of the hard cookie, but I've been on a Butterfinger kick.  This didn't indulge my taste buds all that much.

All in all, it was a good meal and I do plan on going back to Moro.

Scary Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

Scary Skillet Shepherd’s Pie (slightly adapted from Kraft Recipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, Servings: 6) 

Ingredients

·         1 pkg.  (16 oz.) frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, peas)

·         1 pkg. Morningstar Farms Burger Crumbles

·         1 can mushroom gravy

·         4 oz. (1/2 of 8-oz. pkg.) 1/3 Less Fat Cream Cheese, cubed

·         1 cup skim milk, divided

·         1 cup water (more if needed)

·         2 cups instant potato flakes

·         ¼ cup  Grated Parmesan Cheese

Directions

1.      Cook vegetables as directed on package. Meanwhile, heat crumbles in large skillet. Stir in gravy; simmer 5 min. or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

2.      Microwave cream cheese and ¼ cup milk in medium microwaveable bowl on HIGH 30 sec.; beat with whisk until blended. Gradually whisk in remaining milk and water. Microwave 2-1/2 min. or until hot, stirring after each minute. Stir in potato flakes and Parmesan until blended. Spoon into resealable plastic bag; cut one corner off bottom of bag. (See comments below)

3.      Remove 12 peas from mixed vegetables; stir remaining vegetables into meat mixture in skillet.

4.      Squeeze potato mixture into 6 mounds on meat mixture to resemble ghosts. Add 2 of the reserved peas to each for the eyes.

A couple of notes on the recipe: you want to make sure that the potatoes are creamy, so you may need to add more water or milk (I find that they are a little dry using the above recipe) AND I found it difficult to use the resealable bag – it’s hot and it leaves part of the potatoes behind!  I find it easier to just shape them onto the crumble/veggie mixture using a spatula.

That said, I loved making this for Halloween!  It’s something a little different that my guests have enjoyed (because of the ghosts).  It’s pretty healthy when using the burger crumbles, mushroom gravy, lower fat cream cheese, and skim milk.  And I like that it has vegetables in there too – protein, veggies, and carbs in one!  I like the taste, creamy and a tad cheesy. The creaminess is really the only consistency. As a meat-eater, my husband is not a fan of this being called a Shepherd’s Pie, but he does like the taste of it, considering it has no meat.  A great way to celebrate the spooky holiday!