I have a confession to make….I hate leftovers. I force myself to eat them only to not end up throwing tons of food away but if I could go through life without having to eat another leftover I would be okay. I tend to make extra food for convenience and not because I can’t wait to heat up a Tupperware of pasta and veggies that have been sitting around for 3 days. But when you can make a whole new meal out of your leftovers, it is like a used car...new to you.
This week is a short week around our house as we are heading out to Southern California on Thursday for a 4-day visit. While looking forward to that trip, I looked into my fridge to see that we had a lot of work to do in the eating department Monday-Wednesday if we didn’t want everything to spoil.
Saturday I made some veggie fajitas for a dinner at my parent’s house. Came home that night with some leftover veggies, corn tortillas, Spanish rice and some chipotle cashew sour cheese. So I figured why not mix them all together in what I am calling my Super Mexican Veggie Lasagna.
I also made these black bean brownies to go with...don't taste like black beans at all! So yummy and gluten free and vegan! (http://happyherbivore.com/recipe/vegan-blackbean-brownies/)
Super Mexican Veggie Lasagna (serves 2-3)
3 corn tortillas
1 15 oz can fire roasted tomatoes – drained and slightly mushed (or quickly pureed in food processor)
1 recipe sautéed veggies (see below)
½ cup Spanish Rice (see below)
4 tbsp recipe Chipotle Cashew Sour Cream (see below)
3/4 cup chedder style vegan cheese (I used Daiya)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In 8 inch round cake pan, spray to avoid sticking. Add a small layer of the tomatoes (about ¼ cup). Place one corn tortilla on top and cut another one to fill in the space if needed. Spread with 2 tbsp Cashew sour cream, add ¼ cup of rice, add ½ of the veggies, ½ cup of tomatoes, and top with 1/4 cup cheese. Repeat this step one more time using the remaining ingredients.
Bake in over 15-20 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. Cut into quarters, serve with shredded lettuce, fresh tomatoes, guacamole, chopped green onions and remaining chipotle sour cream. Also goes well with your favorite margarita!
Veggies
1 red onion - chopped
1 bell pepper - chopped
1 portabella mushroom - chopped
½ zucchini – chopped
Juice of 1 lime
1 tsp cumin
1 clove garlic
¼ tsp chili powder
Salt and pepper to taste
In a non-stick pan, sauté garlic and veggies together until they begin to soften. Add in lime juice, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Continue cooking until all incorporated and vegetables are soft but not mushy.
Spanish Rice
This is a recipe my mom has been making for years…little did she know she was doing something vegan. The original recipe calls for white rice but I used brown rice instead and it worked out perfectly.
1 yellow onion – chopped thin
½ green pepper – chopped thin
1 ½ cups instant brown rice
1 ½ cups water
1 15oz can tomato sauce
¼ tsp chili powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
In a large sauté pan, add the onions and peppers (use non-stock cooking spray, water, or veggie broth to keep them from sticking). Once they are translucent, add the remaining ingredients, stir and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed by the rice. Add additional salt and pepper as desired.
Chipotle Cashew Sour Cream (adapted from The Vegan Table by Colleen Partrick-Goudreau)
1 ½ cup raw cashews
¼ cup lemon juice
½ cup water
1 clove garlic
Salt to taste
1 chipotle pepper
In a container, soak cashews in water for 1-3 hours to soften them. Add to a food processor with lemon juice, and garlic and puree until mixture becomes smooth. Add small additional amounts of water to mixture to get to desired texture. I made mine to the texture of cream cheese almost. Add chipotle pepper and pulse food processor until incorporated. Salt and pepper to taste.
Makes a good topping for all things Mexican, as a dip for some low-fat tortilla chips, or a spread on a veggie burger or portabella mushroom sandwich!
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