Healthy Guacamole

At this point you may be getting the impression that I'm starting a food blog. No worries, every post won't be about food. However, food is an important part of life and we all like to see what other people are eating and enjoying with their families. Well, if you're anything like me you do. I, myself, get in a rut from time to time and get weary of eating the same dishes over and over again. It's then that I go searching the net for new ideas.

I'm not a real avocado lover, but I know they're good for me. So, the way I go about getting those added nutrients in my diet is by making a healthy Guacamole Dip. Unfortunately, sometimes what you find in the store and even in some homemade recipes, are dips loaded with additives and bad fats from oils or sour cream. Tasty though it may be, good for the heart and waistline they're not!

This particular recipe comes from my Country Life Vegetarian Cookbook. I've taken the liberty of adding a couple of extra ingredients. For me, their recipe just lacked that extra punch of flavor that I needed. Feel free to experiment with the ingredients to suite your own taste, but try to avoid ingredients that are high in bad fats.

One of my favorite methods for enjoying this dip is by simply spreading it over toasted whole wheat bread. Mmm, mmmm! Other ideas (besides the usual tortilla chips) are using it as a spread on a sandwich or in a burrito wrap.

GUACAMOLE

2 c. mashed avocado (approx. 2 medium avocados)
1 t. garlic powder
1 1/2 t. onion powder
1 t. salt
1 - 1 1/2 T. lemon juice
3/4 c. finely chopped tomatoes
*1/8 t. cumin
*pinch or more of cayenne pepper

Scoop out avocados into bowl, mash well. Add remaining ingredients and mix together. Chill.

YIELD: 2 3/4 cups
Ingredients marked with an asterisk are my own special touch.

Picture borrowed from: CountryLiving

Southwestern Beans & Rice

I thought I'd share this recipe that I'm taking to Potluck tomorrow for church. The recipe comes from my Light and Tasty cookbook from Taste of Home. I've made it before and one gentleman in particular, always compliments me on it. I usually add some soy cheddar shreds and I'm even considering throwing in some multi grain Penne Pasta today. I may find that it'll need some added water if I go ahead with the pasta.

Southwestern Beans and Rice

1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
2 1/2c. water
1 c. uncooked long grain rice
1/2 t. ground cumin
1/8 t. ground turmeric
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (10 ounces) diced tomatoes and green chilies, undrained
1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn, thawed

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the green pepper, onion and garlic in oil for 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, rice, cumin and turmeric; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until rice is tender. Add beans, tomatoes and corn; heat through.

YIELD: 8 servings

Nutritional Analysis: One serving (3/4 cup) equals 198 calories, 3 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 1 mg cholesterol, 339 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 7 g protein.


Photo borrowed from: Knorr

New Recipe

My husband is (IMO) not typical when it comes to things he likes to eat for breakfast. The rest of us are completely satisfied with the normal fare of fruit, pancakes, waffles, French toast, hot/cold cereal, toast and the like. My sweet man however, prefers big dinner type breakfasts that will carry him through for 5-6 hrs at a time. He has told me that pancakes and similar meals just don't do that for him. One of his favorite breakfasts consist of scrambled tofu, fried potatoes and toast. Actually, any meal that has potatoes of some kind is a winner for him. Thankfully, we all like that too!

Being that we are vegetarian (leaning more toward vegan) it has been rather difficult for me to come up with a dish that hits that special spot for my sweetie. The other day I found a recipe and was very hopeful that I'd be able to add this one to our regular menu plan. As I read through the ingredients it had brown rice AND potatoes. Two dishes he loves... this one had potential!

I quickly printed it out and set out to make breakfast. We were sitting there enjoying each other's company, eating away, and the next thing I hear from sweetie is: "I like this, this is really good!" Then the children chimed in with similar sentiments. That was music to my ears! Needless to say, I'll be fixing this dish again, and regularly.

HURRY-UP HEARTY HASH

2 C. cooked brown rice
1/2 C. sauteed onions
1/2 C. chopped celery
1/4 C. brewers yeast flakes
2 C. shredded raw potatoes, unpeeled
2 T. oil
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. garlic powder (optional)
2 T. soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos

Wash the potatoes well and remove any spots. Shred on a medium shredder. Combine all ingredients. Stir well enough to mix. Place into a lightly oiled skillet on medium heat. Cover and let cook until nicely browned, about 10 minutes. Scrape from the bottom of skillet and turn. Cover and let cook 10 minutes longer. Stir and reduce heat, let cook an additional 5 minutes. Serve.

Servings: 6

Sunday's Hog Roast/Family Reunion

Photo Courtesy of: FulcrumGallery

This past Sunday we journeyed three hours from home to go to my husband's Aunt Mayme Ruth's farm for her annual Hog Roast. This is always a big event where, not just family, but area neighbors and church goers are invited to attend too. I took vegetarian dishes of course. Things that would go over well with the meat eaters. Surprisingly, my huge bowl of potato salad was the only one there. I also took a pasta salad, a big pot of green beans with garden potatoes mixed in, and a bit of chunky applesauce. There was so much food, no one could have possibly tasted everything.

September 23rd was chosen this year because it was Aunt Mayme Ruth's 89th birthday. You wouldn't know it to watch her though. She's always right in the middle of all the activity and can keep up with the best of'em.

There were games of horseshoes, football and a few rounds of volleyball going on. Of course, if you're a Colts fan, you might have been seen indoors from time to time catching a glimpse to see what the score was. The littlest ones among us had fun jumping in the inflatable bounce house nearby. As for me, I just had a wonderful time laughing and visiting with all of my husband's cousins and catching up on the events of each other's lives since we gathered together last year.

Something that always catches my attention is the closeness of Aunt Mayme Ruth's daughters. She has five girls, (two boys) and they are just the best of friends. For the most part, they all live nearby to one another and from our talks I found that they do a lot of things for, and with each other. I've never once seen a negative look or heard a negative word between any of them. That's a wonderful example and exactly how it should be! :)

Thanks for everything `Aunt Mayme Ruth, Nancy, Ellen, Faye, Louann, Molly, David and Garrell!`

My favorite dish served that day:
(made by my mother in-law)

SWEET AND SOUR "BURGER" LOAF

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 stick margarine
1 c. chopped onion
4. c. dried, herb stuffing mix
1 1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c soy cheddar cheese
4 eggs (may substitute with soft tofu)
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. sage
1 20 oz. Can Worthington Veg. Burger (may sub. with Morn. Star Veggie Crumbles)

Saute' onions in margarine. Add to remaining ingredients and mix throughly. Place in greased 2qt. baking dish.

GLAZE:
1/2 c. catsup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. hot water

Mix all ingredients together and pour over top of loaf, spreading evenly. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.