Makeshift Meals

So today was the last Sunday of the month which means two things....

1.  I have time to actually make a meal and
2.  It's the end of the month so my grocery budget is gone.

This meant that it was time to get creative and to use up those items that are leftover from earlier in the week or  use what I have stocked up in the pantry.

I knew that I wanted to bake something sweet for dessert but I also remembered that I was out of eggs.  I did however have ground flaxseed meal so I decided to use my flaxseed as an egg substitute and make some brownies.  I had also found a mixed bag of butterscotch and white chocolate chips in the cupboard so I planned to just toss those in to my brownies.  As I started preparing my brownies I realized that I was also out of all purpose flour.  No worries, I had wheat flour and coconut flour in the cupboard so I improvised again.  I knew that the flaxseed was a valid substitute but to be honest I wasn't sure how the wheat flour/coconut flour combo would affect the taste and texture of my brownies but at this point I had nothing to lose.  So, I tossed together a quick pan and they were a success!  They weren't quite as sweet as the base recipe and were a bit crispier but they still satisfied my sweet tooth.  I love taking existing recipes and modifying them to incorporate the ingredients that I have on hand.  I also love to rename the recipes and jot them down with all of my special modifications, so here's my modified "kitchen sink" brownie recipe:

Kitchen Sink Brownies
(I cut the larger recipe in half so that I didn't have tons of leftovers so the measurements might seem a bit strange!)

5/6 cups granulated sugar
3/4 stick butter, melted
1 TBSP water
1 TBSP flaxseed meal + 3 TBSP water (egg substitute)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
3/8 cup cocoa
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup total butterscotch and white chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Grease a small square or circle baking pan.  Combine sugar, butter and water in large bowl.  Add flaxseed and water mixture and vanilla extract.  Combine both flours, cocoa and baking powder in another bowl; stir into sugar mixture.  Spread into prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle with chips.  Bake for 18-20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool completely and serve.
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Why stop with dessert?  So I carried my creativity onto dinner.  My refrigerator was really empty except for an open can of black beans, about half a can of chicken broth and some limes.  I had a great idea to make some kind of black bean dish.  After searching online I found a black bean soup recipe that used the black beans and limes but that I modified to use up some other ingredients that I also had on hand.  I took the basic recipe and added the chicken broth (in place of some of the water) as well as red and green bell peppers and some ditalini pasta.  This made for a great mexican minestrone soup that I served with garlic bread.  Yum!  Here's my modified recipe:

Southwestern Minestrone Soup

1 TBSP canola oil
1/3 cup diced green peppers
1/3 cup diced red peppers
1 small onion
1 TBSP chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 15 oz cans of black beans, rinsed
1 cup chicken broth
 2 cups water
1/2 cup salsa
juice of one lime
dash garlic powder
1 1/3 cup cooked ditalini pasta

Heat oil.  Add onions and peppers and cook 2 to 3 minutes.  Add chili powder and cumin and cook for 1 min.  Add black beans, salsa, water and chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in lime juice and garlic powder.  Puree half the black bean mixture in a blender or food processor and return to the pan.  Add pasta and serve. 

I'd love to hear about your favorite makeshift meals! :)

Dinner for One: Baked Sweet Potato and Black Bean Salsa

My husband travels a lot for business so I've had to learn to adjust not only my dinner preparation but also my shopping to plan my meals for one.  Lucky for me, he is a much pickier eater than I am so his business trips are a great excuse for me to try out some new recipes and to eat a bit healthier (my diet consists of mostly vegetables when he's on the road).  Today I tired a quick and tasty new recipe inspired by Eatingwell.com but with a few modifications to make it for just one and to incorporate the ingredients that I already had at home.  Here's the basic recipe.

Baked Sweet Potato with Black Bean Salsa

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato
1 can black beans rinsed
As much prepared salsa as you would like (you can also substitute canned or fresh tomatoes)
1 tsp cumin

Directions:

1.  Wash the sweet potato and puncture several times with a fork
2.  Microwave on high for about 10 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked all the way through
3.  Drain and rinse the black beans
4.  Mix black beans in a bowl with salsa, cumin and any other spices or vegetables that you would like
5.  Remove the sweet potato from the microwave and allow to cool 
6.  Microwave the bean mixture for 3 minutes
7.  Cut open the potato and peel if desired.  Top with salsa and serve.  

This was a great, tasty and easy to prepare dinner that I will definitely try again.  It was even better followed up by some soy ice cream :).  Enjoy and happy eating!