French Pastry Chili (Vegetarian)

N. made this chili for our first meal swap and I absolutely loved the flavor so I decided to make up another batch tonight.  I doubled the recipe as I remembered the big portions that N. had made for us all (and it was when we coined the term "slab" and "half slab" to refer to the portions of chili that we consumed given it's enormous size, especially when frozen flat in a Ziploc bag!)
I made it vegetarian as my family gobbled it up and didn't seem to notice the missing meat, so I thought I'd try it again!

Ingredients:
2 onions - chopped        
4 stalks celery - chopped          
1 red pepper - chopped               
8 whole mushrooms                  
1 shredded carrot                     
1 can tomato soup                    
1 bottle chili sauce                    
3/4 cup ketchup                        
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
 2 (19 oz) brown beans in tomato sauce
 2 tbsp vinegar
 4 tbsp molasses
 1 tsp chili powder
 1/2 tsp red/cayenne pepper
 1 can (28 oz) whole tomatoes

Fry onion, celery, mushroom, red pepper together until onions are transparent.  Add all other ingredients and cook on low heat for two hours.  Add in additional ingredients, such as chick peas, to suit preferences.  1 lb of ground beef can be added as well.

What I really liked about this chili is the sweet and spicy combination.  I generally like hot foods and this has enough spice to make it interesting, but the sweet taste really compliments the flavors.  I am not sure why it calls for whole mushrooms and tomatoes though - they seem a little big to me, might chop them up next time!  And I must confess, I was too lazy to grate a carrot so I left it out.  I didn't figure it would have a big impact on taste anyway!

Sundried Tomato Penne

This recipe made enough to split between two dishes. It wasn't as saucy as Martha Stewart's picture showed it to be, but I'm sure that's not the first time there's been a discrepancy in a Martha pic and another cook's pic!

It is very cheesy, so was kind of like a mac-n-cheese with  a white sauce. I substituted peppers for the chicken. I wished it was saucier,  but it tasted yummy. We cooked ours without having frozen it first. The cook time from frozen seems long, so keep and eye on it.

• Prep Time 35 minutes
• Total Time 1 hour
• Yield Serves 8

Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound penne rigate
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 6 cups whole milk
• 10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced
• 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces)
• 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter two shallow 2-quart baking dishes. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes short of al dente; drain pasta, and return to pot.
   
2. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.
   
3. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, melt butter over medium. Add flour and garlic; cook, whisking, 1 minute. While whisking, gradually add milk; bring to a simmer, whisking frequently. Add mushrooms and tomatoes; cook 1 minute. Off heat, gradually stir in provolone and 1/2 cup Parmesan.
   
4. Add chicken and pasta to pot; season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta mixture between baking dishes; sprinkle each with cup Parmesan.
   
5. Bake, uncovered, until top is golden and bubbling, about 25 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
   

Cook's Note

To Freeze: Prepare through step 4; let cool. Cover tightly with foil, and freeze, up to 3 months.

To Bake From Frozen: Preheat oven to 400, and bake (still covered in foil) on a rimmed baking sheet until center is hot, about 1 1/2 hours. Remove foil; bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

February Swap & Thai Meatballs

For this month's swap, we decided to meet at the movie theater and take in a show together.  This is definitely one of the advantages of swapping in February when it's 20 below zero outside, no worries about anything defrosting while we were in the theater.  We went to see "Silver Lining Playbooks" and we all really enjoyed it.  For meals this month, we swapped: hamburger soup, scallop casserole, white chili, chicken lasagna, thai pizza, butter chicken, greek shepherd's pie, burrito casserole and sun dried tomato penne - can't wait to eat it all up!

I was feeling quite indecisive about what to make for the March swap.  We've had so many great meals so far and we're all in agreement that it is perfectly okay to repeat some of the meals we've enjoyed most, but I still get that urge to be creative and try something new.  So while flipping through the Looneyspoons collection last night, I came across the Glad Thai Dings meatballs recipe.  I am sure I remember making it years ago and while I couldn't remember exactly what it tasted like or if we liked it, the picture was enough to make me want to consider it again.  Most of us love Thai food in our meal group but many thai dishes don't freeze particularly well, so I thought this might be a good way of incorporating a taste we all enjoy into something that also freezes easily.  I picked up the ingredients to make a double batch for us to try and see if it is 'swap worthy'!  They are super easy to make, just mixing up the beef and turning them into meatballs and stirring up the sauce.  We think they taste delicious!

Meatballs:
1 1/2 pounds extra lean ground beef 
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup dry bread crumbs -- unseasoned
3 tablespoons finely minced green onions
1 tablespoon minced fresh cilantro
1 egg
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger root
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 cup light coconut milk
1/3 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons light peanut butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil -- or fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon grated ginger root
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

 Preheat oven to 400F. Spray rimmed cookie sheet or large baking dish and set aside.

Meatballs: Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl (using hands works best.) Form meat mixture into 40 1-1 1/2 inch meatballs. Put on prepared pan.

Bake for 15-18 minutes until cooked through and nicely browned.

While meatballs are cooking prepare sauce. In a deep non-stick skillet, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sauce boils. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 3 minutes, stirring often. Sauce will thicken a bit. Add cooked meatballs to sauce and mix well. Serve hot.

I realized when I got home that I did not have any sesame oil or a lemon lying around so I substituted with a bit of peanut oil and a squirt of lemon juice instead!

Rockin' Moroccan Stew

This was originally made by T in one of our first meal swaps and I have been craving to make it ever since.  My family is harder to please when it comes to vegetarian meals, so I packaged this into lunch size ziplocs so I can enjoy it myself on those days when I don't have anything else prepared for lunch.  I ate two bowls today and can't wait to eat some more tomorrow!  This is yet another recipe from Looneyspoons Collection.

2 tsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup each diced celery and chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups vegetable stock
3 cups peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
1 can (19 oz) diced tomatoes, drained
1 can (19 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp each ground cumin, curry powder, ground coriander, and chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup raisins
2 tsp each peanut butter and chopped, fresh cilantro

Heat olive oil in large saucepan or pot over med-high heat. Add onions, celery, green pepper, and garlic. Cook and stir until vegetables begin to soften, about 3 minutes.
Add all remaining ingredients, except raisins, peanut butter and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes.
Stir in raisins, peanut butter and cilantro. Mix well. Simmer for 5 more minutes.

Morning Gloryous Muffins

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking sode
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground nutmeg and salt
1 cup well drained crushed pineapple
1 cup finely grated carrots
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup high quality vegetable oil
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine both flours, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Mix well and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together pineapple, carrots, applesauce, sugar, oil, egg and vanilla.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Fold in coconut, raisins and nuts.
4. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the centre of muffin comes out clean.  Cool on a wire rack.

Although I did not make these for a meal swap, I made a double batch for the freezer yesterday.  I am not much of a baker but I like having something on hand for quick breakfast ideas which does not include bread or eggs.  These are really moist and delicious - unfortunately it's hard to stop at just one! (At 238 calories per muffin, it won't be a healthy choice unless limited to one, even with all the healthy stuff in it, lol!)