Making dinner healthier, one slow cooker at a time.
Yesterday I posted Quinoa Jambalaya with Tempeh and today we have a Mexican variation.
You can add in extra veggies, tempeh, seitan, tofu, or something yummy from Gardein if you want. Think of this as a base and see where your creativity takes you. to recipe→
Some of you let me know you’d like to have a formula for making variations of meals. Today I’m posting a Quinoa Jambalaya with Tempeh and tomorrow I’ll be posting a Mexican Quinoa with Black Beans to illustrate that.
Both use the same amount of liquid and quinoa but the spices, protein, and veggies change. You can use this quinoa stew as a base for what’s at the farmers market right now and what spices you have on hand. to recipe→
As promised, here is the ridiculously easy and tasty stew I mentioned over the weekend. I seem to be on a streak of ugly but packed-full of flavor recipes this month.
I guess the veggies that are available in January aren’t quite as flashy as some of the summer ones. That, and well, stews aren’t always pretty – but you can’t beat a one dish meal for an easy dinner.
In my its next incarnation I think I’ll add a handful or two of chopped greens to shake things up a bit.
You can really add any veggies you have on hand too. I’m all about options and using what you have on hand. Yellow lentils instead of red, potato in place of turnip and even carrot would all work just as good as the listed ingredients.
Slow Cooker Indian Spiced Chickpea Quinoa Stew
gluten-free, soy-free
serves 4 to 6
The night before: Chop veggies and store in the fridge.
In the morning: Put everything in the slow cooker and cook on low 6 to 9 hours. Taste, re-season if needed (you may not even need the salt if your bouillon is salty.)
This is a good one to make if you are going to be away from the house a little longer than usual. If your slow cooker runs hot add a little extra water if it will be cooking longer than 9 hours.
I have been an oatmeal making machine lately. In fact it’s been awhile since I’ve cooked dinner in the slow cooker. So in honor of me actually cooking dinner again, I give you a second post today. I hope you enjoy the recipe.
Feel free to leave out the olive oil to make this a fat-free dish. You can also change out different beans, seitan, or your favorite soy foods depending on what you have on hand.
Last week I was craving a stew and had some homemade chik’n seitan, leftover Gimme Lean and lots of field peas in the freezer. This is what came out of that.
I’m calling it a Cassoulet because it reminds me of one (minus the animal products of course). It’s super hearty and stands on its own, but you could serve some crusty bread and a salad to complete the meal.
If you aren’t sure what field peas are take a look at this Grist article. It has more recipes for them there as well. You can substitute black-eyed peas or any other bean you happen to have in your pantry. After all it’s your creation!
Slow Cooker Vegan Cassoulet
Serves 4
The night before: Heat the oil over medium heat then add the onion and sauté until translucent. (You can use a non-stick pan and leave out the oil if you are reducing fat and/or calories in your diet.) Add the Gimme Lean to the onion mixture in the pan. Cook until you can crumble the sausage easily with your spatula and it is browned and cooked thoroughly. Chop the celery and carrots. Store everything together in the fridge overnight.
In the morning: Add everything to the slow cooker to an oiled slow cooker. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
** I had trouble getting my frozen field peas to cook with the stew. I put everything in together the night before and they were not tender until the next night. (Yes, 24 hours later!) That’s why I’m suggesting cooking your beans before. If you are using dry or frozen beans cook them the night before. Just cover them with 2 to 3 inches of water and cook on low overnight. You can add the rest of the ingredients to the same pot in the morning, just drain off any excess water (other than the 2 cups you’ll be adding anyhow).
I keep hearing the differing opinions in the tomatoes make beans cook slower debate and right now I’m in the camp of don’t cook them together!
I brought these beans to a Festivus party this year and they were actually well received. I thought beans and kale might not go over so well on the meaty buffet. Luckily I was wrong. No one knows there is pumpkin in this because the pumpkin actually breaks down into the sauce!
This is also my dark days meal for last week. The pintos were bought dry at the Raleigh farmers market and they said they were grown locally. The pumpkin was from the Durham farmers market and was also a Halloween decoration earlier in the year. I also got the kale and the dried hot pepper blend from the Durham market.
The jerk seasoning, salt and pepper, bouillon, and port wine were not local ingredients.
Solistice Bean Stew
soy-free, gluten-free
The night before: Peel pumpkin then cut in half and remove seeds. You can clean up the seeds and toast for snacking or garnish. Chop the pumpkin into
In the morning: Add the pre-cooked pinto beans, pumpkin, water, jerk seasoning, wine and hot pepper to an oiled crock. Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours.
40 minutes before serving: If there are any chunks of pumpkin that haven’t ‘melted’ into the stew mash them with a fork. Add the kale and cook until tender (about 40 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste and add more chili or jerk seasoning if needed.
Serve over cornbread for a hearty winter meal.
Giveaway ends May 31, 2013.
See the giveaway details at Goodreads.
