Bean Pie

OMG, you guys. It rained in the desert today. That only happens like 4 times a year, so this is a pretty big day. If I were a weaker person, I would use it as an excuse to have some totally cheesy, non-vegan nachos. But only if I were a weaker person. I'm saving that particular weakness for Friday, as a celebration for keeping the children alive for another week. But I did enjoy the rain, I had a cup of tea with the last of my soy nog from Christmas, I thought I would try and read some of "The Hunger Games", but instead, planty kid 1 wanted me to read with her. So we enjoyed "Little House on the Prairie". All in all, a good rainy day. And now food is on my mind (when is food NOT on my mind?). This is a really good recipe. Remember when I confessed my closet love of cheese? Well, this recipe has cheese. You could make it with Daiya if you are really, really, committed to being a vegan, but I don't believe a little cheese is that big a deal. Bring on the hate.

Bean Pie

• 1 package of tortillas (this one had 11 in it. Weird.)
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup of chopped chilantro
• 1 cup of salsa
• 1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can of corn, drained
• Cheese 

How to make it...

• Preheat your oven to 350. 
• In a large bowl, mix the black beans, cilantro, tomatoes, and corn, and mix it all up. 

I took this before I added the corn. Just to keep you on your toes...

• The dump the salsa into the pinto beans, and mix that all up. 

Ta da!

• Now, in a round baking dish, you want to layer it, tortilla, black bean mix, cheese, tortilla, pinto beans, cheese, repeat. Got it?

It should look like this when you're done. 

• Then bake it for about 30 minutes, or until the cheese is nice and melty, and gooey and good. I mean, if you're going to do a vegan cheat by eating cheese, don't burn it for goodness sakes. 

My attempt at fancy food photography... 

Planty kids 1 and 3 loved this. Planty kid 2, the one who won't eat anything other than PB&J, and really, really, hates beans, well, she didn't want anything to do with it. But that's pretty standard. Planty Dad was in a very happy place after dinner, so much that he didn't even complain when I served him vegan brownies for desert. 

Welcome Back! (And Twice Baked Potatoes)

Well, hello there! Long time no see. But that's my fault, so I apologize. As most of you know, in addition to being a mom, vegan, and part time super hero, I'm also an Air Force wife. And that means we move. A lot. In November, we moved from Ohio to California. That's a long way. The last few months have been spent getting settled into our new place. And now we have cable. So, a lot my time has been spent watching TV. Sorry. BUT! I'm back, better than ever. And lucky you, I've been cooking up a STORM. Some recipes have been major flops (seitan stroganoff anyone?), but some have been mighty tasty (veggie pot pie is a new fave). So, first on the menu...

Twice Baked Potatoes

These are really good, and really easy. You bake the potatoes in the crock-pot. Seriously. They will be the fluffiest, juiciest, baked potatoes you have ever had. 

Here are the ingredients. The "This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese. This is a Tub of Non Dairy Spread" from Trader Joe's is a revelation. It is fantastic. You guys know I'm not a huge fan of soy. I don't eat tofu, and I don't particularly like the tofu based "cream cheese" or "sour cream". But this stuff is tapioca based, and it tastes really, really, close to actual cream cheese. I eat it on bagels, it's that close. The other thing is, I get some flack for using a boxed soup mix in this recipe. Here's my response. Bite Me. I would love to put together my own spice mixes, but reality gets in the way. I need food that is easy, fast, and healthy. This soup mix is tasty, and easy. Healthy? I think so, but it's the internet, and someone will disagree with me. Whatever. I like it. 

• However many potatoes you need. We used 5. 
• 1 tub of "TINATOCCTIATONDS" from Trader Joe's
• 1 box of Mrs. Grass Homemade Vegetable Soup Mix

How to make it:

• Wrap the potatoes in foil. I don't poke holes in mine, and they never explode. 
• Throw those bad boys in the crock pot, on high, for 6 hours. 

I love watching a robot cook my food.

• When the time is up, pull them and unwrap them. Be careful, they will be hot, hot, hot. 
• Pre-heat the oven to 350.

• Cut a small part of the skin on the top. Pull the skin off.

The picture does a better job showing what I mean than I do. 

• Scoop all the potato flesh out of the skin. 

Like so. 

• Take the flesh you just scooped, put in a bowl. 
• Add the soup mix, and the "cream cheese", to the flesh (doesn't that sound gross?), and mix it all up. 
• Then spoon the potato guts (is that better? not really...) back into the potato skins. 

• Bake the potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until they are browned on top. 

• Serve and enjoy! We ate them with oddly large broccoli, but all in all, it was a pretty tasty meal.