Veggie Pancakes

From 100 Days of Real Food

These were yummy! Tyler ate 3 and Mark had just as many and probably would have had more, but they were all gone. I made them as a side when we were having pancakes for dinner. (I needed to add something of nutritional value). It probably made about 8 pancakes. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups shredded veggies (I like to use a mix including things like sweet potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash and/or carrots…whatever you have on hand)
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon whole-wheat flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Olive oil for cooking
• I added some salt, pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder to give it some flavor.

Directions

1. Combine the shredded veggies with the eggs, flour, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
2. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. It is important that the heat is the right temperature because you want the pancakes to cook all the way through the middle by the time they are brown on the outside.
3. Once the oil has heated up add pancake size dollops of the veggie mixture into the pan. Cook for several minutes until the bottom starts to brown. Then flip and repeat.
4. Transfer cooked pancakes to a plate lined with paper towels.

Graham Crackers/Bars

I got this recipe from my friend Stacy.

These are more like graham bars and they aren't hard like crackers - they are nice and soft.  Tyler gobbles these suckers down and I don't care because they are whole wheat.  I like them too.  They are a nice snack to have around and easy to boot.

2 c whole wheat flour (I use white whole wheat flour)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c butter, melted
1/2 c honey

Mix together flour, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Separately mix the butter and honey and pour into the dry ingredients. Mix Well and drop onto a greased baking sheet or jelly roll pan. Roll out to the corners or pat into shape. Bake for 10 min at 350 degrees. Cut quickly when they come out of the oven. Place on cooling rack.

Hawaiian Haystacks - New Version!!

From Picky Palate

This was really yummy! Definitely much better than the cream of chicken soup version I've always made. The ranch dressing seasoning added the perfect flavor! 

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

32 ounces reduced sodium chicken broth

2 teaspoons of dry Ranch Dressing seasoning packet

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast (Yesterday, I put 6 chicken breasts in the crockpot with some broth, salt, and pepper. It made 5 1/2 cups of shredded chicken. Best idea ever! I basically have half of a meal already made for the next few days! Today - Hawaiian Haystacks. Tomorrow - baked chicken taquitos. The day after - balsamic chicken pasta. SO EASY!)

Steamed rice, enough for your family (I used basmati - as usual)

Whatever toppings you prefer (We do cheese, pineapple, celery, and chow mein noodles)

Place butter into a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring to melt. Slowly whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth and thick, for 1-2 minutes. Slowly whisk in chicken broth until smooth. Increase heat to high whisking until thick, about 2 minutes (more like 4-5 min). Add sour cream, Ranch seasoning, garlic salt, and cooked chicken breast. Stir and season accordingly. You may prefer additional, salt, pepper and garlic salt. (After I added everything and stirred it together I turned it to low and let it simmer. That helps it thicken up more). 

Shredded Pork Sandwiches

Recipe from My Baking Addiction

I'm giving up on remembering to take pictures. Even when I do remember they turn out very unappetizing looking. Anyway, I'm pretty sure this is a recipe Katelyn uses too, but since she hasn't posted it on here, I will. I found it on her pinterest page and tried it. YUM! We all loved it. Tyler devoured a whole sandwich, plus some on the side that he dipped in ketchup (that kid and ketchup!). I especially like that it isn't cooked in bbq sauce. It seems like the recipes that require that are way too saucy and strong. So, what are you waiting for - give it a try!

1 large Vidalia onion, sliced thin

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (4-6 lb) boneless pork butt or shoulder - I've also tried it with bone-in and it worked just fine
¾ cup cider vinegar
4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes (with Tyler in mind, I only used 1 tsp)
1 ½ teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoons dry mustard
½ teaspoon garlic salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper (same here - I just dashed some in)

Don't forget the whole wheat hamburger buns!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse pork roast under cold water and pat dry with paper towels. 

Tips: 1)My pork had a HUGE, THICK "fat cap" (and yes, it really is called that - I googled it) that I had the privilege of sawing off. I wasn't expecting that step.
2) Be careful opening your package of meat! Maybe it was just my package but I opened mine on a flat cutting board and juice/blood ran everywhere. I would try opening it on a plate or in a bowl or something to contain the flood of juice that is bound to follow.
Basically, preparing the meat for this recipe is kind of messy. Pick one spot of your kitchen to prepare this and then clean thoroughly - don't forget that sink that now has raw meat juice incubating in it. 

2. Place onions in crock-pot. In a small bowl, combine brown sugar, paprika, kosher salt and pepper; mix thoroughly. Rub mixture all over roast and place the roast on top of the onions.

3. In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, Worcestershire, red pepper flakes, sugar, mustard, garlic salt and cayenne pepper; whisk to combine. Drizzle about 1/3 of vinegar mixture over roast. Cover and refrigerate remaining vinegar mixture.

4. Cover crockpot; cook on low for 10-12 hours. Drizzle about 1/3 of reserved vinegar mixture over roast during last ½ hour of cooking.

5. Remove meat and onions; drain. Chop or shred meat and onions. Serve with remaining vinegar mixture or your favorite barbeque sauce. (We used some Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ sauce and it added the perfect amount of flavor to the sandwich. We just spread some on the bread like you would mayo or something.)

PS I think Katelyn makes coleslaw to go with this and I imagine that would be great! I'm just too lazy. 

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

These were yummy! Even Mark liked them (well for being meatfree)! *cue heavenly chorus* And they were super easy. Bonus! So seriously, you should try them, like now!

I got the basic idea from A Couple Cooks, Their recipe seemed very spicy and VERY oniony, so I made quite a few changes. The recipe that follows is the way I made it. If you want to see their version just click on their blog link.

Sweet potatoes (about 2 cups, diced)
1 15 oz can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1/2 medium sized red onion, diced (this may even be a bit much...just go for how oniony you want it)
1 4 oz can diced green chiles
1/2 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp chili powder
Sprinkle of salt and pepper
1 10 oz can green enchilada sauce (I don't think I used the whole can. Just pour on how much you like)
Shredded colby jack cheese
8 flour tortillas
guacamole or sour cream for toppings (I made a basic guac but added some plain yogurt to make it a bit creamier)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel and dice potato. Throw in a sauce pan, cover with water, and sprinkle in some salt. Bring to a boil and boil until tender.

Combine tender diced potatoes, black beans, diced onion, green chiles, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper in a bowl and mix.

Warm up tortillas in microwave to soften. Pour some green enchilada sauce in the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish.

Spoon some mixture into a tortilla, sprinkle on some cheese, roll up, and place in the pan seam side down. Continue until mix is all gone.

Pour some more enchilada sauce over the top of the enchiladas (as much as you like), sprinkle some cheese on top, and throw in the oven - about 20-30 minutes.

Serve with guac and/or sour cream and enjoy!

Spicy Bean Burritos

These were good and really easy and fast. Perfect meatless meal for days that you're busy.  

Spicy Bean Burritos
Adapted rom Sarah's Fares and she got it from Annie's Eats

This is my rendition:

For the bean filling:
Olive oil 
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

Sweet onion, finely chopped (about 1/4 of an onion or so)

Red pepper, finely chopped (about 1/3 or so) 
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. minced chipotle in adobo sauce and 1 T sauce from can, optional (I've tried it both ways...the chipotle def adds some heat!)
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/3- 1/2 cup water
1 (15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15-oz.) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
4-6 T. salsa (fresh is best, but use whatever you have)

For serving:
6 (9- or 10-inch) flour tortillas, warmed
shredded cheese
diced tomatoes
shredded lettuce
avocados or guacamole
brown rice
plain greek yogurt

To make the bean filling, heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and pepper. Saute for a bit until fragrant and tender. Add the garlic, chili powder, chipotle, cumin, and salt; stir, cooking just until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.  Add the beans and the water to the pan.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the mixture to simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove the skillet from the heat, stir in the salsa and the mash the mixture a bit with a spoon or fork.

Spoon about a third of a cup of the bean mixture down the center of each tortilla.  Top with lots of toppings. Yum yum! 

Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers

This was pretty good! I think it needs some polishing before I say very good though. Tyler ate it as long as it was smothered in ketchup. Mark said it tasted "healthy" which is his go to adjective for anything I make that is... wait for it ... healthy. Don't worry, he assures me healthy also means good - just not In-n-out or pizza good. He did eat two so it couldn't have been too horrible. I will make this man a health nut yet! My biggest complaint is that it needed more flavor so next time I will up the seasoning.  


Sweet Potato Veggie Burgers
From Healthy Happy Lifemakes 7-8 large patties

2 cans cannellini white beans, drained
1 large sweet potato, baked/peeled/mashed (about 2 cups)
2 Tbsp tahini (I think this may be a little much. I felt like I could taste this more than I could the sweet potato)
2 tsp maple or agave syrup
1 tsp lemon pepper seasoning OR Cajun seasoning (or another fave spice!) (I used both lemon pepper and some good ol' steak seasoning and next time I'm using more!)
1/4 cup wheat flour
optional: additional seasoning (whatever you have on hand - I used a few dashes cayenne, black pepper and a scoop of nutritional yeast) (I used powdered garlic, powdered onion, some chili powder, and nutritional yeast. I think seasoning salt would be good - maybe some cumin or something. Really I don't think you can go wrong. Like I said it definitely needs it for flavor).
salt to taste if needed

plentiful Panko crumbs
safflower oil for pan (I used olive oil)

burgers: avocado, Dijon mustard, grain buns, romaine, onion, (we also added tomato and ketchup).

Directions:

1. Bake sweet potato. Peel, place in large mixing bowl.
2. Add drained beans to mixing bowl. Mash beans and potato together.
3. Mash in seasoning, flour and any additional seasoning. Your mixture will be quite soft and moist. But you should be able to form a patty. Add more flour or a scoop of breadcrumbs - or dry rice to thicken the mixture if needed.
4. Heat 1 Tbsp safflower oil in a pan over high heat.
5. Form a patty from mixture and coat in Panko crumbs. Thick coating. Then drop the patty in the pan. Repeat until the pan is filled. Cook until browned on both sides. You could also bake. If baking, use less Panko.
6. Transfer cooked patties to paper towel. Cool for a few minutes.
7. Serve on toasted bun with lotsa toppings.