Super-Easy Mexican Bean and Corn, (Empty-The-Refrigerator) Bake

This is a lifesaver casserole on busy nights with starving kids.
Make it ahead of time and set in the fridge, then pop in the oven when you get home. Pretty much anything goes here, I LOVE how super-flexible this dish is!

Get creative (or desperate!) empty out the 'fridge, use up the leftovers, change the ingredients as you like; add vegetarian taco meat, use lentils or red beans or chili instead of black beans, leftover rice instead of corn, canned tomatoes instead of salsa, more or less or no peppers and onions and garlic. trust me, it all works.


Super-Easy Mexican Bean and Corn, (Empty-The-Refrigerator) Bake

* 1 Tablespoon oil
* 1 mild onion, chopped
* 1 clove garlic, minced (or garlic powder if you're lazy like I can be some nights)
* 1 red or green bell pepper, finely chopped
* OPTIONAL: 1 - 2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and minced
* 2 roma or other smallish tomatoes, chopped, (use their juice too!)
* 1 cup mild-to medium salsa (your choice)
* 2 15-ounce can black beans, or 3 cups home-cooked - drained
* 1 can or 1 1/2 cups fresh, corn kernels, well drained
* 8 soft corn tortillas (aprox)
* OPTIONAL: 1 cup grated vegan "cheese"

Garnish:
* 1 cup shredded lettuce
* 2 green onions, sliced
* 1 small can sliced black olives
* chopped fresh cilantro
* OPTIONAL: Vegan sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º. In a medium saucepan, sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil for 5 minutes. Add bell and jalapeno pepper and cook for 3 minutes more. Add tomatoes and juice, and salsa. Heat to bubbling then remove from heat and add beans and corn.

In an 8- by 12-inch baking dish, spread 1/3 of the bean mixture over the bottom. Top with 3 - 4 tortillas, overlapping and tearing tortillas to fit as necessary. Add another 1/3 of the bean mixture and top with remaining tortillas. Spread the last 1/3 of the bean mixture over the top. Cover the dish and refrigerate at this point, or bake for 40 minutes, or until heated through.

If it's been in the 'fridge, start the pan in a cold oven, heat to 350º and bake 1 Hr and 10 min or until hot and bubbly all the way through.

Remove from oven, uncover and top with cheese (if using - but it's very good without. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes until the cheese melts). OR top with crushed corn chips.

Top each serving with lettuce, green onions, cilantro, olives and/or sour cream to each person's preference.

VEGAN MONTH OF FOOD CRAZINESS

October is VEGAN MONTH OF FOOD BLOGGING!

(Known to my fellow vegan-foodie-Bloggers as "VeganMoFo") you can read all about it HERE, or just let me Google it for you... but it's basically a fun, but frantic month in which we all try and flood the blog world with as many vegan recipes as we possibly can.

I can't commit to a post every day, that's crazy talk. (OK, for those of you that are posting every day, more power to you!) Seriously, no one is going to read that many recipes. Second, I DON'T HAVE TIME TO BLOG THAT MUCH.

That said, I will attempt to step it up just a wee bit so that the Vegan Blogging World is not, somehow incomplete due to my lack of recipes. Ha. Hardly.

Since Paula Deen is my hero (yes, seriously, I just ignore the bacon and all) I thought I'd post some of my "veganized" Paula recipes the next few weeks. They're SO tasty and always popular with everyone who tries them, vegan or not!!

Here's one of our favorites, even if it's slightly past garden-fresh-corn season, it's still worth posting... . Her original version is here: Watermelon and Grilled-Corn Salad. Sounds bizarre, but I promise you'll love it. And amazingly enough, it was a vegan recipe to begin with (but I STILL "messed" with it because that's what I do...).

Here then is MY version for y'all to try out - (imagine me talking with Paula's lovely, gentle Southern accent...):

Watermelon and Grilled Corn Salad

4 cups seedless watermelon, cut in cubes
3 ears sweet corn, grilled and kernels cut off the cob
2 small Kirby cucumbers, seeds removed and sliced (Costco has these, cheap right now!!)
2 Tbsp fresh squeezed Lime juice
2 Tablespoons cilantro, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mint, finely chopped
salt and pepper to taste

In medium mixing bowl, toss ingredients gently. Serve chilled.

Yes, that's it!

Very different but SO good!!

Happy New Year

Yes, I'm a week late, but you know I love showing off family and friends at least as much as food; so here's some fun pix from the New Year's Party.

(and a great recipe. I won't leave you hanging without recipes!!).
























My middle "Sprout" blew off her friends' invitation and opted to hang with the less cool adults tonight. (Probably afraid to miss out on family gossip!) It's OK, we had more fun anyway!

This is, of course, three of my lovely sisters, and me.
























I thought the steam from the hot cider added a neat effect to this picture, though maybe it looks like smoke...which it wasn't.

And I assure you, she's drinking cranberry juice, which I suppose, doesn't sound too believeable either.















Just a few of the party goodies - vegan except the cheese plate.
Don't know if you can see them, but we had vegan:

- Chex Party Mix
-Olive Tofu Pecan Dip
- Best Vegan Ranch (can even be made RAW!)
- Gingerbread and Lemon Bundt Mini-Cakes
-Stuffed Mushrooms
-Vegan Fudge (SOOO good!! from "Shmooed Food")
- Black-Bean-Corn Salsa (recipe below)


Easiest Black-Bean-Corn-Salsa-Salad:

1 can, 14 ounces, black beans, rinsed and drained
1/1/2 cups frozen corn kernels (I like tiny white corn here)
1 small red or orange bell pepper, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 a bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped fine
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons hot sauce, just eyeball the amount
1 lime, juiced
2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
Salt and pepper
Combine all ingredients. Let stand at least 15 minutes for corn to fully defrost and flavors to combine, toss and serve. The corn will also place a quick-chill on this as it
defrosts -- no need to refrigerate!

Happy New Year


And hopefully no one will try sticking a cold beverage bottle on your neck.

Stop smirking!
It's cold!

Vegan-Cheesy Zucchini and Corn Casserole

MMMmmmm... supper last night, full of garden yumminess...

That yellow blob is a zucchini and corn casserole I stole from Paula Deen or someone over at Food Network and completely re-wrote and veganized as my own. Sorry for the disjointed recipe, I sorta scribbled it as I cooked...

Also, we had some heirloom tomatoes, and quinoa with carmelized onions.

"Cheesy" Zucchini and Corn Casserole

5 or so tender zucchini (about 8 inch long), sliced or chopped

1 lg. onion, chopped

1 lg. garlic clove, minced

1 can or 1 cup frozen or fresh corn

1/4 cup roasted green chiles (optional, I didn't have them when I took this picture but added them the next time...)

1 Tbsp. dry vegetarian "chicken-flavor" bullion-broth powder

1/4 cup water

Saute onions and garlic in several tsp. coconut oil or vegan margarine until tender-crisp.

Add zucchini and corn (and chiles if using), sprinkle with broth powder and water, cover pan and saute until zucchini and corn is tender. Check to make sure mixture stays "juicy".

SAUCE:
Make a medium cream sauce, using the juice drained from cooked zucchini.

Add soymilk to make 1 1/2 cups of liquid. Bring to boil in small sauce pan.

Mix 2 Tbsp. cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water.

Add to hot soymilk and cook, stirring with a wire whisk, until thickened. Turn heat very low.

Whisk in 1/2 cup nutritional yeast, 1/2 tsp lemon juice (or umeboshi vinegar), 1/2 tsp onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. (Add a sprinkle of turmeric if you like the yellow "cheesey" color.)

Remove from heat.

Pour sauce over zucchini mixture.

Pour in 9 X 9 casserole pan, top with bread crumbs, cracker crumbs or french-fried onions if you want. Bake 20 min at 350 until sauce is bubbly.

Individual Sweet and Smoky Chipotle Corn Custards

No. I do not cook like this all the time! This is for the "Veggie Boards IronChef Competition". (Read all about it here).

Sweet And Smoky Chipotle Corn Custards

2 Tbsp. vegan margarine

3 Tbsp. silken tofu

1 Tbsp. En-R-G Egg replacer

1 whole canned chipotle pepper (1 pepper, not one whole can!! Less if you don't have a tolerance for spices.)

1/4 cup Soy Milk

1 can of creamed-style corn (yes, most are vegan)

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp organic sugar

1 sheet pie-crust dough (I used store bought, though homemade is fine!)

Pre-heat oven to 375.

Melt margarine and set aside.

Blend all other ingredients except corn in food processor. Stir in corn and 1/2 of margarine.

Cut pie pastry dough into square that will fit custard cups or ramekins (I used 1-cup size straight-sided bowls, you might want to go smaller).

Press into cup, trim top evenly (I used scissors) and brush with melted margarine. Fill almost full with custard. Tap cup on counter to help ingredients settle and top of filling smooth out.

Bake for 35 - 40 min. until custard is set and cup is browned. (Less if the cup is smaller).

If it starts to brown too much, cover them with foil. Bake until custard is set up and not "jiggly".

Remove from oven.

Let cool for 15 min or until you can handle them. Remove from pan and set on baking sheet.

Pop back in the oven for 10 minutes or so to brown crust if needed (Or yours may brown OK, I had a non-stick pan so mine was pale and anaemic... I also tied a little bit of corn husk around as a decoration and because I was afraid it would collapse.

Let stand 5 min and serve.

Makes 2 (well, sorta 2 and a 1/2, I had a little filling left over).

<-- This is the canned chipotle I used.

Maple-Roasted Corn and Pecan Salad with Cornbread Croutons and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Well, the title's a mouthful, but I promise the actual salad is better.

Insanely good actually.

I know we just did the whole maple-roasted thing a few days ago, but evidently those flavors are a hit with my family...

My daughter thought up this combination, to tell the truth. She baked cornbread the other night, and then was stumped with what to do with the (slightly bland) leftovers...

"Mom, what would happen if...." and this beautiful salad was born.

Corn kernels, cornbread cubes and pecans roasted with a little maple syrup and Earth Balance until crunchy.

All of this on a salad of baby greens and pomegranate seeds. And dressed with a Pomegranate Dressing. The corn gets crunchy with an incredible caramelized flavor and the 'bland' cornbread really perks up!

If I sound like a restaurant advertisement, it's because I really AM trying to convince you how WONDERFUL these flavors are!!

I am SOOO making this again next week for Thanksgiving!!

Maple-Roasted Corn and Pecan Salad with

Cornbread Croutons and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

1/2 cup frozen white sweet corn kernels (not thawed)

1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans (or pecan halves look prettier - I used pecans hand-picked from my friend Froggy's Grandma's tree which of course make them even MORE wonderful!)

1/2 cup very dry cubed cornbread that has sat out overnight or been slightly dried in a warm oven (or regular bread would work too)

1 Tbsp. real maple syrup

1 tsp. melted Earth Balance or other vegan margerine (not the "light" style)

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1 or 2 bags baby salad greens (depending on how much toppings-to-salad greens ratio you like)

Dressing (see below)

Place corn, pecans and croutons in a bowl.

Mix maple syrup with Earth Balance and drizzle over, tossing lightly (I used my hands) and coating everything evenly.

The croutons should not be soaked, just evenly coated. You may not need all the maple syrup mixture.

Pour corn mixture into a shallow baking dish or cookie sheet and spread in a single layer.

Place in 400 degree oven for 5 minutes, stir, then check every two or three minutes until things start to brown but not burn! Not everything will brown evenly or at the same rate, that's OK!

Remove from oven and spread on a plate to cool.

Make dressing.

Put baby greens in a bowl or platter.

Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and top with maple roasted corn, pecans and croutons.

Pomegranate Vinaigrette:

3 Tbsp pomegranate juice

2 Tbsp champagne or rice-wine vinegar

2 Tbsp. maple syrup

2 Tbsp. very finely chopped sweet onion

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbsp pomagranate seeds

Wisk all ingredients, except pomagranate seeds, together. Add seeds and pour over salad.

Corn and "Dirty Squash"

Is this the MOST un-inspiring photo EVER?

Yeah, well, we're still enjoying fresh garden corn (from my Mom's garden) so I wanted to get a picture of that!

Last night for supper, I sauteed some chunks of yellow/green summer squash in a little sesame oil, garlic and tamari. No recipe. But yummy!

My youngest Sprout looked at the vegetables skeptically and said
"Mom, everything on my plate is yellow and the squash looks... DIRTY!"

Well, I admit I didn't go for a lot of color variety today. I even had yellow corn muffins on the side that I forgot to take a picture of!! Regardless of the "dirty" look to the squash, everything disappeared quickly.