Stuffing and Black Friday

Ok. I've been SO busy at work getting ready for Black Friday - doors open at 4am, and I have to be there at 3am! I met a couple of guys two sundays ago when I was out watching sunday football, but I don't think I'll go out with either of them. One seemed real nice, a professional hypnotist - stop smoking, weight loss, etc - he was a Colts fan, which isn't too bad.

And then last weekend,on Saturday, I had to be at work at 6am, because we opened at 7am, and my car wouldn't start. It's an '87 Honda Civic with 233,845 miles on it. I managed to get to work by 6:43, and it turned out to be the starter. So, $368 later . . . . But, the girl I got a ride with on Sunday has a cousin she's going to introduce me to. So we'll see how any of that turns out.

And now food . . . I made pizza last we talked, and then beans & rice. Both are very low budget. And I'll give ya the recipes, later. Today, it's stuffing. After all, Tofurkey Day is (almost) tomorrow. Stuffing is super easy from scratch.

9 cups bread cubes (one bag)
2 cups vegetable stock (or, 1.5 cup veggie stock and 1/2 cup white wine)
8 oz mushrooms, sliced
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp basil
1tsp oregano
1tsp cayenne pepper
1 bay leaf, crumbled
S&P

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a skillet, saute onions, mushrooms and garlic. Add spices towards the end of this.
In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, veggie stock and sauteed veggies.
Spoon into a casserole dish. Bake for about 20min, or until somewhat firm & crisp on top. Don't overbake - it'll be dry.

{Vegetable stock:
Everytime you use a vegetable - onion, pepper, mushroom, etc, even potato peelings - instead of throwing the parts you cut off, scoop out, or de-stem into the trash of compost, save them in a gallon freezer bag. When you get a full bag, start boiling your largest pot full of water. I have a pasta pot, about 6qt with a strainer that pulls out, that I use. Then, thaw your bag of veggie parts out, sautee it in batches, and add to the pot of boiling water. When all the veggies are in, turn the pot down to simmer and set the kitchen timer for 30 minutes. Add whatever spices and herbs you'd like. In 30 minutes, check the broth. You're looking for a nice clear brown liquid. Strain the veggies out and then freeze the broth in batches (its easier to use later this way.}

Very simple. And you should always have veggie stock in your freezer ready for use!

More later - enjoy Black Friday.

in any case . . .
slainte . . . .
Mulu :>)

Busy week!

It's been a busy week! A friend from out of town came to visit, and we hit the town a couple of nights! Unfortunately, he had to return home and I had to go back to work. :>( But . . . I was running around all day at work today, but I don't think I got anything accomplished. It' taken me almost two hours to figure out what I want to fix for dinner, only to decide that I don't want to take the time to make the pizza (from scratch) tonight. So . .. . it looks like pizza from scratch tomorrow night. And recipe tomorrow.

I do want to comment that a local grocery store seems to be shrinking it's veggie section. It's getting harder and harder to find soy cheese - of any brand - and they put that organic cheese in the 'health' section! It's worse when they put meat in the 'health' section because it's organic. People just don't get it!

In any case . . . I'm just rambling . . .

Slainte . . . .

Mulu :>)

Staples

Ok. It's been a lean month - I'm broke till payday (friday) which meant no grocery shopping today. Next tuesday (hopefully!) But, since I need some leftovers to bring with for lunch at work, I had to scrape some things together from what I had in the fridge. I had two 8ounce containers of baby portabellos, soy milk, a 7oz bag of Veggie Shreds Cheddar Cheese, oleo, soy chorizo, and, of course, [tho not in the fridge] six boxes of pasta.

A quick note about pasta: Pasta is pasta. Keep an eye out for the sales - 10 for $10, 3 for $5 - and then stock up. Also, pay attention to the net ounces. But only the 16oz boxes, that way you're really getting the best value for your dollar.

One of my ol' standbys is [a vegan version of] mac-n-cheese. 99.9% of the time, I use a block cheese ~ Soya Kaas usually. But, since I don't have any right now - and it's getting harder to find, btw, which makes no sense considering veggie and healthy eating continues to grow in popularity . . . I had to use the shredded cheese. Rarely do I ever make just plain mac-n-cheese, so . . .

Here goes : tonight's mac-n-cheese:
1 8oz package of baby portabellos, diced
1/2 12oz tube of soy chorizo (Yves, Melissa's,and there's a third brand I've found. they're all good)
2 tbsp oleo
1 7oz bag Veggie Shreds (tonight happened to be cheddar. When I use block cheese, it's approximately 1/3 of the block, diced)
1 to 2 cups soy milk
1 16oz box of pasta (tonight was ziti)

Boil water for the pasta. Then cook according to the instructions.
In a large iron skillet, melt 2 tbsp oleo over med-high heat. Add the diced mushrooms, sautee. Add half of a 12oz tube of soy chorizo. Mix well. Add the soy milk. Add the shredded (or diced) soy cheese. Mix together. Stir periodically. If if starts to boil, turn heat down. If it is too thick for taste, then add more soy milk, slowly, mixing well.

Once the pasta is cooked and drained, and the cheese mixture is melted, combine the two well. I usually get one meal and 3 or 4 leftover meals out of this.

Variations to try are half a medium red onion, diced and sauteed with the mushrooms. Also, instead of chorizo, a can of diced tomatoes. Rotel (tho smaller cans) is a good brand to try.

Well, that's all I have for now. I might have a date this weekend. We'll see. . . .

in any case . .

Slainte . . .

Mulu :>}