Bean & Corn Enchiladas (WFPBNO)

 I made these last night for dinner. The amounts I use made 4 fat enchiladas. These come together pretty quickly. I started out cooking dried pinto beans in the Inst-Pot for 30 minutes and let them natural release. I highly recommend you add seasoning to the beans (something I didn't do) and the enchiladas were good but would  have been much better if the beans  had some seasonings. I thinking next time I'd add cumin, a some chopped sweet onion, etc. I also made my own Enchilada sauce which is below, I used all of the sauce but these were really saucy. These will definitely be made again.

Enchilada Sauce:

• 1can (8 ounces) no salt added tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

Whisk tomato sauce, chili powder, cornstarch, onion, garlic powder and 1 1/2 cups cold water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat until it thickens, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

Enchilada Filling

• 1 batch of Enchilada sauce
• 2 cups pinto beans, smashed
• 1/2 cup scallion, chopped
• 3/4 cup frozen, thawed whole kernel corn
• 1/2 can (2.25 ounces) sliced black olives, drained
• 1 can (4 ounces) chopped green chilies
• 1/3 cup salsa
• 4 whole wheat tortillas
• Garnish: shredded lettuce, salsa, pickled jalapenos, etc

Measure your beans and mash with a fork.

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. 

Cover the bottom of your 8x8 baking dish with a layer of sauce.

Place a tortilla on a flat surface and add 1/4 of the filling to the center of the tortilla.

Fold the sides in and then bring the bottom of the tortilla over the filling. Roll up and place seam side down in your dish.

Cover with remaining sauce.

I had a little filling left over and top each enchilada with a dollop. Cover dish with parchment paper, then with aluminum foil.

Bake for 45 minutes. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish as desired,

Enjoy!!

Spicy Thai Peanut Ramen

If you like soup you need to make this recipe!!! This is so flavorful, if you don't like mushrooms, then just leave them out. You could also add some bok choy, spinach or whatever veggie you have hanging out in the frig. This is basically two recipes in one since I also include how to air fry the tofu to get some crispy on the outside. This soup has a slightly spicy note, a sour note from the lime juice and a creamy mouth feel due to the coconut milk. I used a brick of Lotus Foods ramen noodles cooked in a separate pot. If you add noodles to the soup they will get to soft and soak up a lot of your yummy broth. Let's make some soup!

• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1/2 jar red curry paste (I love Thai Kitchen)
• 4 cups vegetable broth, divided
• 2-3 dried Thai red chiles, broken in half and seeds shaken out
• Mushrooms, I used beech the first time and baby bellas the second time
• Tofu, air-fried in the convection oven
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 1 can full-fat coconut milk
• 1//2 cup peanut butter, smooth, natural
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoon agave syrup
• juice from 1-1/2 limes
• 1 brick ramen noodles
• Garnish: with a slice of lime and some chopped cilantro

Mix 2 tablespoons cornstarch with salt and pepper in a large bowl.

Press the tofu while you get the convection oven preheated to 400F.

Cut tofu into bite-sized cubes and toss into the flour, spices mixture to coat well.

Place tofu on a wire rack, this one is made by the Copper Chef and I use it all the time to air-fry in my convection oven. Bake for 20-25 minutes til tofu is brown on the outside.

To begin the soup add 1/4 cup water, garlic and ginger to a Dutch oven. Saute about 2 minutes.

Add the curry paste and cook another minute.

Add 3 cups of the vegetable broth and the coconut milk. Stir well and cook over low heat.

Mix the last cup of vegetable broth with the peanut butter to combine them well.

Add the broth/peanut butter to the soup pot with the chilies, soy sauce, agave and lime juice. In a small pot get the water in heating to cook your ramen in.

Remove baked tofu from oven and set aside until soup is ready to serve.

Taste broth to see if it needs any extra lime juice, soy sauce or curry paste. Simmer 8-10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Cook the ramen noodles in the hot water.

To serve add noodles to your soup bowl, add some of the tofu and pour the broth over it all. Garnish and enjoy!!

Let me know how you like the soup or what additions you made to it.

Southwest Vegetable Soup

I made this soup last week when it was so cold here. One night the low was 24!!! This easy one pot soup used last weeks Tofu Taco Crumbles and they really boasted the flavor. I will be making them more often and just changing up the flavor profile from taco, chorizo, Italian, etc. Okay, enough about the crumbles, let's make this delicious, warming soup.

• 1 batch Tofu Taco Crumbles
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (I buy pre-minced garlic)
• 1 rib celery, chopped
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 quarts vegetable broth
• 2 14-ounce cans fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 3 red potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 cups frozen corn kernels
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• fresh cilantro for garnish 

In your Dutch oven or a large pot add 1/4 cup water and onions, garlic, celery, cumin seeds and cook, stirring occasionally until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth, tomatoes, potatoes, bell pepper, tomato paste, bay leaf, oregano and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the corn and the tofu crumbles, let simmer about 4-5 minutes. 

Serve topped with cilantro.

Enjoy!!

Taco Tofu Crumbles

I have seen several recipes where people have crumbled (large crumbles) tofu, added seasoning and baked it. Then used those dried out flavored crumbles to make tacos, top salads, etc. I made these and added them to a Southwest Vegetable Soup last weekend. Oh my gosh, they were delicious on their own and made the soup seem "meaty". I didn't take a picture but will when I made them again and add them here. You can change the flavor profile and find all kinds of uses for these. 

• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne (depending on how much heat you want)
• 1 block (14 ounce) extra-firm tofu, drained (no need to press)

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Mix the soy sauce and everything else, except for the tofu in a large bowl. It will be like a dark brown paste.

Crumble the tofu into the bowl of paste. Mix well until tofu is totally coated with the paste. 

Spread the tofu in a single layer on baking sheet.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, but be sure and toss the tofu after 20 minutes. Towards the end of the cooking time keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. The smaller pieces will get darker and crispier than the larger pieces. This is okay.

Remove crumbles from oven and use for whatever dish you are making.