Low Fat! Peanut Stew – HMR Diet Worthy! (a.k.a. Maafe)

One of our favorite dishes – Peanut Stew.  Usually attributed to West Africa, I have no reason to doubt that is its original home.  Fairly simple, comprised mostly of root vegetables stewed, it is flexible and easy to make vegetarian.  Basic idea is that this is a vegetable stew, with peanuts and/or peanut butter. If you keep that in mind, you are free to add or drop ingredients as you have them or are available – don’t worry about having the “right” ingredients

However, it is hard to make low fat, vegetarian or not.  Why, you ask? Have you checked out the calorie count for Peanut Butter?  Some recipes call for a full cup!  That’s 1,500 calories.  And that is way too much if you’re on a calorie restricted diet.

So, what’s the solution?  How do you make Peanut Stew low cal/low fat while still using peanut butter?

Why, it’s the perfect time for Bell Plantation PB2 PowderedPeanut Butter – which has 85% less fat than regular peanut butter.  PB2 is peanut butter protein – you get the flavor, not the fat – just reconstitute with water.  PB2 has 45 calories for 2tb, peanut butter has 190 calories for 2tb.  All of a sudden, cooking with peanut butter (or PB2) is great for low cal!    

Making it even simpler is the use of Penzey’s Sate Seasoning – Peanut stew calls for ginger, a little cayenne, a bunch of other spices.  Rather than tracking all of that down, I just use the Sate seasoning.  Buy it online or at their stores.  Penzey’s Sate seasoning includes coarse flake salt, brown sugar, garlic, white onion, coriander, purple shallots, ginger, turmeric, sweet paprika, Ancho pepper, galangal, cayenne red pepper, lemon grass, so it has everything you need.  Feel free to use it fairly heavily even if you don’t like hot – it is not that spicy.

Ingredients for the Stew

1 medium onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

2-6 garlic cloves, minced (adjust based on level of vampirism in neighborhood)

1 lb chicken thighs, diced

2  medium sweet potato, peeled diced

2  medium potatoes, diced

14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes with or without green chilies (or use fresh)

1 lb total of butternut squash or acorn squash or carrots or other root vegetable, diced

1 can garbanzo beans or other bean – I like using Black Eye Peas

8 tbs PB2

2-3 tbs Sate Seasoning -start with two and add more if you like

2 cans (small, not the big honking ones) vegetable broth (or chicken). 

For the garnish – prepare and serve on the side for people to spice as they like

·         cilantro, chopped

·         green onions, chopped

·         jalapenos, fresh, chopped

·         lime quarters

·         unsalted dry roasted peanuts

Serve with Brown Rice or for even lower calorie - cauliflower rice!

Recipe

 Brown onion and celery (and chicken, is using).  Use 1 tbs olive oil

Add garlic, cook for two minutes

Add vegetables and garbanzo beans (what ever you are using) (but not PB2), broth, spices

Cook for about 30 minutes, or until root vegetables are soft

Add PB2

Cook for five minutes

Adjust seasonings

Serve over Rice and have the garnishes on the side for people to add as they prefer.

Beans and Pasta (Pasta e fagioli)

Growing up my parents provided a wide and varied table.  No jello salad - we had things like Turkey Ballotine or risotto or a hundred other dishes that, trust me, were not common in the rural midwest.

However, one thing that was not common (or ever) was pairing pasta with beans.  Pasta e fagioli in Italian.  Which is to bad - because it took me a long time before I put the two together, and let me tell you, it is a great dish.  Inexpensive, quick, varied, vegetarian (vegan, if you like).

Now this dish can be made soup like or dry - I, because I am not a huge soup fan, always make it dry.  But anyway you do it, it is great.

Looks and Tastes Great

Basically dirt simple.  Cook beans, cook pasta, mix.  Add whatever else you want.

The above dish is a little more complicated (and not very healthy, truth be told).  But really good.

Ingredients
1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained.  You can use any white bean in it's place also
1 can diced italian (or not) tomatoes, drained
4 cloves of garlic, pealed and minced (don't use out of jar, please)
1 tbs Italian Seasoning from Penzey's
4 oz cured olives (order from Cresp, save yourself some money)
8 oz high fiber pasta
2 oz pesto (tastes great without it - if not using pesto, feel free to aggressively use fresh ground pepper)
Parmesan Cheese to taste (grate it fresh please, no jars)
Olive oil
1 lemon, quartered

Recipe
Mix beans, tomatoes, italian seasoning and garlic with olive oil (at least 1 tbs, if not 2)
Roast in 350 degree oven for at least 20 minutes on a foil lined baking sheet.  The longer you go, the more dried out and nutty the garbanzos will be.
Cook pasta in salted boiling water - DO NOT OVERCOOK.  High fiber pasta is terrible overcooked.  I mean feed it to the chickens bad.
Drain pasta, mix with pesto and a tbs olive oil
When Beans are cooked, mix with beans/tomatoes on baking sheet, plus the olives, put back in oven for 5 minutes to let flavors meld.  Add more olive oil if it needs it.
Serve with fresh Parmesan and lemon - a squeeze of lemon really adds some nice acidity to the beans and pasta, which need it as there is a lot of fat on them.

Really quite a good dish.  Not diet friendly.  If you skip the parm, it's vegan.  Of course this is a fine dish to put sausage or chicken or shrimp in also

Black Bean and Sweet Potato and Sweet Corn Chili

When I first started cooking, more was always better.  Two spices?  No, lets add four!  Hmmm, doesn't taste right - lets make it six!  Needless to say, my cooking was not that good.

As time goes by (no, not that time going by) I leaned that sometimes, often, less is more. Fewer spices, fewer ingredients, make for a better meal.

Well, this recipe is a throwback to the bad old days - more more more!

Black Beans are one of our favorites - but as with many things, the same dish over and over is boring.  So with a limited amount of time and a dog walk to get in, I went for the old stand by - Black Bean Chili. But of course, black beans are not enough - we need more, More, MORE!

So in went the sweet potato.  Nope, not enough.  Lets add some tomato.  Not enough.  Fresh frozen sweet corn!

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGG - more more more - onion powder, garlic powder, chili con carne seasoning, cumin, lime zest, vegetable stock, braggs aminos - more, More, MORE!

Tasted pretty good.  Served it over brown rice.  To be honest, I started with this recipe - but then the beserker took over.

Ingredients

2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 sweet potatoes, pealed and diced 1/2 inch size
1 lb frozen sweet corn (our own)
1 can diced tomatoes, drained.  Feel free to use those mixed with green chiles if you like heat
1 tbs chile con carne seasoning (Penzey's)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 lime, zested (no juice)
1 tsp cumin
1/2 square baking chocolate or 1 tsp cocoa
1 can vegetable stock (you might need more - add enough to cover all ingredients)
1 tbs Braggs Aminos
1 chipotle in adobe sauce if you like it hot.  Dice it small.  Skip if you don't like heat (wimp)

Recipe

Toss all in pot.
Bring to low boil, reduce heat to medium
Walk dog
Cook till sweet potatoes are done (at least 30 minutes)
Serve with whatever- rice, pasta, chips, potatoes, sour cream, cheese.

That's it - dirt simple, and pretty good.  The key to remember is, chili needs time to cook for the flavors to meld.  It might me "cooked" and ready to eat in 10 minutes, but it will taste better after cooking for 30, even better after 45 minutes or an hour.  Just don't let it dry out completely.  And don't worry about the canned beans - they won't fall apart if cooked for an hour.

Fish Taco's - Why Don't You Make Them?

I mean really - how easy can you get?  You really just want to have some ground up mystery meat stuffed in a piece of bread?  No I say - especially with Tilapia available year round, and usually inexpensive.

So tonight's dinner - Tilapia Tacos with grilled onions and peppers, corn with black beans  and a salad of lettuce, tomato, sour cream and guacamole.

The other advantage is that this is about the only way I actually like fish, and everyone else in the family is usually wining at me for more fish.  So.....Fish Tacos

Served on whole grain tortilla, this is a very healthy and very delicious meal - one you don't have to feel like you deprived yourself in order to have a good meal.  No, this is not real Mexican food.  But is good.
Ingredients

Corn and Beans
1 lb frozen corn - a great use of your own corn
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped
1/2 lime

Salad
Lettuce
Avocado or 1/2 cup Guacamole
1 tomato
1/2 cup sour cream

Fish Tacos
1 lb Tilapia fillets (cut fillets in half the long way so each filet gives you two pieces)
2 tbs Chicken Taco Seasoning from Penzeys
1/2 lime
1 Pepper - yellow, red, green or orange, sliced thin
1 Onion - sliced thin
1/4 cup Cilantro
4 large whole wheat tortillas or 8 small ones
shredded cheese if you like

Recipe

This is a three pan dance.  Start the corn and beans in first pan, then lower temp and hold.  Make and place salad on plates.  Cook Onions and Peppers in one pan, Tilapia in the other, then assemble plates and serve (see above picture)

Corn and Beans
Heat Corn and Beans
Before serving stir in juice of 1/2 lime and cilantro
Serve.  If you like more spice, 1/2 tsp of cumin would be fine.

Salad
Pile it up - lettuce, tomato, avocado, guacamole, sour cream.  Sprinkle some cheese and cilantro.  Green onions over the top would be nice

Fish Tacos
Thaw and dry Tilapia.
Rub some oil (1tbs or so) on the fish, sprinkle with taco seasoning.  Let sit for 15 minutes
Heat two frying pans to medium/medium high (this is the only tricky part
In one pan put 1 tbs oil, add onions and pepper slices.  Toss till almost cooked to the way you like it, then turn off heat and hold.
In the other pan, at the same time, put 1 tbs oil, then add the Tilapia.  Cook almost all the way through, then flip.  Turn off stove - the residual heat will cook the fish through.
Arrange Taco by placing one to two filets on warmed tortilla, add onions/peppers, squirt some lime juice on top and toss with cilantro

Grand Finale
Set out four plates.
Arrange Salad, Corns and Beans, assemble one (or two) tacos per plate

White Bean (or Lentil) and Kale (or spinach) and Sausage or Shrimp or ? Soup

This is really a kind of stone soup - there are basic ingredients, but most of them can be mixed and matched, used or not.  It is by far my favorite soup, and it can be vegan, vegetarian, or chock full of meat of sordid types.  One of my favorite ways to make this is with mexican chorizo and shrimp!

The Basics
1 onion, diced
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 potato, peeled and diced
4 cloves of garlic, sliced (or minced, but not ever, ever, never pressed)
2 tbs tomato paste
1 cup white wine (or not)
4 cups stock or broth (vegetarian, beef, chicken, veal, ?)
Water (if cooking lentils in soup, you will need additional liquid
1/2 tbs cumin
1/2 tbs rosemary
salt and pepper

Additions
2 cans White Beans (cooked) or Lentils (2 cups cooked or 1 cup not, adjust time in soup if raw and add 2 cups water to recipe) or ?
1 head Kale, off stem and sliced thin, or 3 big handfuls of spinich or whatever leafy green vegetable you have
1 lb italian sausage, or kielbasa or chorizo, or polish sausage or ham or even ground beef.  Or heck, why not, all of them.
1 lb raw, shelled shrimp

Recipe

If using meat, brown (but do nothing with shrimp yet)
Add and saute onion, celery, carrot and potato (in 1 tbs olive oil if not using meat) over medium heat.  Cook till onion and celery are soft - the carrot and potato will still be fairly raw.  Add salt and pepper
Add garlic, cook for 2 minutes
Add tomato paste, cook for several minutes - you want to get the paste to turn a darker color, but not burn
Add wine - cook down to half the volume
Add stock, spinach, lentils and water (if raw), white beans.  Cook for 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.  If using cooked meat add at this time.
After 30 minutes, add lentils if  you are using lentils that are already cooked, cook until hot
If using Shrimp add and cook till done ( 5 minutes is more than enough)
Adjust seasoning
Serve - bread would be great, a salad fine.

If you need to boost the vegies even more, add some green beans.

Rice and Beans - Southwest Style (a.k.a. Spanish or Mexican rice) - Vegetarian also!

Rice and Beans are a classic combination across the world.  Cuban, Puerto Rican, Cajun, and many others.

But as far as I can tell, you can't get "spanish" rice in Spain, nor do you get (typically) rice and refried beans in Mexico (unless you are a restaurant catering to gringos)

Yet I love Rice and Refried Beans.  The only problem is most places the beans are boring (and seemingly straight out of a can) and the rice is a frighting dish too often prepared with tomato soup.  Blech.

However, I am also cognizant of time - how can I get dinner made while fitting it in with everything else that has to get done.  And finally you have the whole rice issue - it's basically like eating sugar pills - simple carbs that add nothing of value (although yes, I understand they make a complete protein when served with beans)

So here is my Rice and Beans recipe - Mexican style - fast, nutritious and delicious.  Just don't pretend this is how it is done in Mexico.  Or Spain.

Ingredients

Cooked Brown Rice (You do make extra when you make other dishes, right?  Otherwise this dish takes way to long to make), 8 ounces cooked.  Basically 2 ounces per serving - no more.
1/2 onion, white, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs Chicken Taco Seasoning (from Penzeys), in 1/4 cup water
Peas - 16 ounces.  Frozen works great.
1 fresh tomato, diced (or 2 Roma)
1 Can, Vegetarian Refried Beans
1 tbs Rojo Taco Seasoning (Penzeys again).  Or cumin and cilantro if you don't like heat
Water
Cooking Spray or oil

Obviously you will have to adjust based on how many you are serving - the above is for 4 people.  You want at least 2 ounces of peas to 1 ounce of rice.

Recipe

Rice -

If using frozen peas, microwave about 1/2 the time on the package (your thawing them, not cooking at this time)
Heat non stick frying pan, spray with cooking spray or 1 tbs oil
Add onions - cook till just starting to brown
Add garlic, cook 2 minutes
Add rice and peas
Add Chicken Taco Seasoning that has been rehydrated as above
Cook 5 minutes.
Mix in diced tomato (your heating, not cooking the tomato)
If you turn off the heat but leave it in the pan it will hold for at least 5 minutes till your ready to serve.  Just cover with a clean dish towel

Beans -

Place beans in pan on stove, add 1/4 cup water and seasoning (either the Rojo or the cumin/cilantro).  Mix well
Heat for 5 minutes at medium heat.  Add 1/4 water (or broth) as needed to thin - the beans should be thin (think thick pancake batter), not watery or soupy

Serve next to each other, not mixed.  These are often served as a side dish, but there is no reason you could not serve this with a fresh salad dressed with guacamole and sour cream and it would be a great meal.  Or feel free to serve with carnitas or tinga or grilled chicken

Easy Cassoulet - And Healthy!

Cassoulet is a classic french dish.  It is also, made traditionally, very high in fat.  It also takes a long time to cook.  Well, I need less fat and more time, so I came up with this recipe - Easy Cassoulet - Start to finish in 45 minutes.  No, it's not traditional.  Yes, it is good.  If Meme liked it, it's close enough.

It is also easy to make vegetarian - drop the meat.  You can add a couple of tsp of soy sauce or Braggs aminos.  Some whole mushrooms can add "meatiness" to it also.  You can also always cook the meat on the side and serve it that way, although the meat juices add a lot of flavor to the dish.

Ingredients

2 (or 3) cans northern beans, drained and rinsed.  If available, I like Randall's Beans - they come in a glass jar. 

1 onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery rib, diced

1lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs – diced

Chicken sausage (left overs if you have them)

Low fat ham if no sausage, diced.  Can use Canadian bacon

1 tsp oregano and thyme (each)

1 Bay leaf

4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced

1 can chicken broth/stock

½ cup white wine, if you have it.  White vermouth works also

2-3 cups fresh spinach, if you like.  Kale is also an option

Whole wheat garlic croutons (home made) – Toast bread, peal garlic clove, cut garlic clove in half.  Rub garlic over toast.  Cut into small pieces.

Either frozen veggie or salad on the side. 

Cooking instructions

Sauté onion, carrot, celery, chicken with 1 teaspoon oil.  When beginning to brown, add garlic and spices – cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add white wine, if using.  After wine cooks off some, add beans, sausage and chicken stock.  Add fresh spinach if you are using.  Cook for ½ hour.  Add ham/Canadian bacon about 15 minutes in.  

Make low fat garlic croutons (see above)

When done, toss garlic toast croutons over cassoulet, then serve.

Serve with veggies or salad.  A green salad with a vinaigrette is very nice - the acidity pairs well with the cassoulet.

Serve

Chicken Taco's with Black Beans

Taco's.  Wonderful taco's.  And again, they can be a super diet killer.  I love me some hard shell corn tortillas - wonderful little fat and sugar bombs.  Sorry - you don't get to eat them.  At least not very often.  Fortunately, there are plenty of high fiber tortilla options these days.  I don't worry two much about the fat content - I just look for what I like the taste of that has lots of fiber.  And then I don't eat more than 2.  One if they are really big.

Ingredient List

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced small

1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, sliced thin (not a huge fan of ground chicken)

1 green or red pepper, sliced thin

1 onion sliced thin

8 oz fresh mushrooms quartered or smaller

Chicken/Veg stock

Whole wheat taco’s

1 tomato, diced

Cumin, taco seasoning, adobe seasoning

Low or no fat sour cream (8 oz container)

Lettuce, sliced thin

No fat cheese slices

Salsa

Cooking instructions

Three basic things are happening  - cooking beans, cooking chicken/veg, cook tortillas.  Start the beans first, then move on to chicken/veg once the beans are underway, then do the tortillas when everything is done and keeping warm.

1)  Beans - Mix beans, sweet potato and a little water or chicken/veg stock.  If you like, you can put in ½ teaspoon of cumin or adobe seasoning (available from Penzeys).  Cook at medium heat until sweet potatoes are soft (about 20 minutes).  Lower temp and keep warm.  If watery, you can take some out and mash, then stir back in to thicken, or serve with a slotted spoon to drain excess liquid.  Or feel free to mash all of them into more of a re-fried bean.  But please don't fry them.  And not in lard, no matter how good they taste that way.

2) Meat – brown chicken, onions, peppers and mushrooms.  Do them separately.  Use cooking spray.  When all browned, toss in pan together, along with Taco Seasoning (one packet or 4 tsp of Penzey’s seasoning)  After about a minute, mix in water according to the taco seasoning instructions.  Keep at low temp to keep warm.  Of course you can keep chicken separate if you have some vegetarians at dinner.

3) Tortillas – heat over medium heat one at a time.  Takes about 20 seconds a side.  After heated, put in foil or clean towel to keep warm

When all three are done, serve with lettuce, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, cheese.

Veg options are varied.  You can use zucchini, eggplants, potatoes, sweet corn.  You can mix sweet corn in with the beans also.