Give Them Something Better

Tag: Mexican

  • Easy Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Easy Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Chipotle Notso Queso Cheese Dip

    This chipotle flavored Vegan Queso Recipe is the perfect addition to vegan nachos or tacos. It is the the perfect combination of rich and creamy, spicy and smokey. The funny thing is it started out as a kitchen disaster and turned into a great discovery!

    It was Mexican day at Emmanuel Institute and I was making my regular vegan queso recipe with a white vegan cheese and chopped jalapeños, which by the way is very good. But this time I was in a hurry and turned the heat up too high and slightly burned the cheese sauce. It was not so burnt that it had to thrown away but it defiantly had a smokey flavor.  I didn’t have time to make more cheese sauce the students would be arrive in just minutes.

    All of the sudden I had a thought! Chipotle! it has a nice smoky flavor, maybe if I add some to this sauce it could make it into an amazing vegan queso. I was right! the students nearly drank the cheese sauce they loved it so much, not a drop was left! I have made the chipotle sauce many times since, of course I don’t burn it first. I suppose it is true many great recipes are invented by accident.

    Vegan Queso Recipe (chipotle)

    Vegan Queso Recipe (Chipotle Style)

    Yield: 4 cups
    Prep Time: 10 minutes
    Cook Time: 7 minutes
    Total Time: 17 minutes

    Rich and creamy chipotle flavored vegan queso recipe made with cashews and nutritional yeast. Makes perfect vegan nachos or as a topping for tacos.

    Ingredients

    • ¾ cup cashew nuts
    • 4 cups water, divided
    • ¾ cup shredded cheese substitute
    • ¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
    • 1 teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon onion powder
    • Chipotle pepper to taste

    Instructions

      1. Using a blender, blend cashews and 2 cups of water until very, very smooth, this will take several minutes.
      2. Add the remaining ingredients except for the two cups of water, and blend again. Pour into a medium sized saucepan.
      3. Add remaining 2 cups of water to blender and blend briefly, pour into pan with cashew mixture.
      4. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a boil and thickens.
      5. Remove from heat, add pasta and stir together.
        Serve as is, or place in a casserole dish and bake at 350˚ for 30 minutes.
    © Stephanie Howard
  • Meatless Monday: Cilantro Lime Soy Curls

    Meatless Monday: Cilantro Lime Soy Curls

     

    Cilantro Lime Chicken-2

    Last week at the Meatless Monday Supper Club I shared my recipe of Cilantro Lime Soy Curls in a  healthified version of Santa Fe Salad the soy curls came out so good that I have started using them for things like tacos, burritos and fajitas. I keep thinking of new ways to use them. Funny thing is, I thought I had invented something brilliant and new. but when I did a Google search on cilantro lime chicken I found out a lot of people had the same idea.But, my recipe is healthier and cholesterol free and I and as a bonus not one chicken was harmed in the creating of it.

    What are Soy Curls?

    Butler Soy Curls are a healthy meat alternative made from just one ingredient, soy beans.  Butler uses  non GMO-soy beans to make a very meaty textured meat substitute that has very little flavor of its own but can take on any flavor you add to it. 

    Cilantro Lime soy curls

     

     

    How do you prepare Soy Curls?

    Soy curls are a dehydrated product that needs to be rehydrated by soaking in hot water or other flavorful liquid. After they are rehydrated I usually like to brown them in a skillet to add some great flavor and remove a little of the water for better texture. In this case we add Cilantro Lime Dressing to add flavor while we are sautéing. It gives them great flavor.

    Where Can you Buy Soy Curls?

    Soy Curls are made by a company called Butler that you can find at www.butlerfoods.com.

    You can also find them at local health food stores but I think the easiest place to get them is to order off Amazon. 

    Cilantro Lime Soy Curls

    Cilantro Lime Soy Curls

    Yield: 2 cups

    Cilantro lLme DressingA delcious chicken substiute with a great cilantro lime flavor that is perfect for tacos, burritos and in Salads.

    Ingredients

    • 1 ½ cups Soy Curls
    • 2 teaspoons Chicken-Style Seasoning
    • 1 recipe Cilantro lLme Dressing
    • Smoky Chipotle seasoning to taste (I used Mrs. Dash)

    Instructions

      1. Place Soy Curls in a bowl and cover with boiling water. Set aside for 10 minutes.
      2. Drain excess water and squeeze water from soy curls.
      3. Sauté soy curls in a little oil with Chicken-style seasoning until browned.
      4. Add ¼ cup Cilantro Lime Dressing and sprinkle Chipotle seasoning to taste. Continue to cook for 2 minutes.
    © Stephanie Howard
    cilantro lime soy curls

     

     

     

  • Meatless Monday – Spanish Rice

    Meatless Monday – Spanish Rice

    Spanish Rice

    In keeping with our Taco Party theme over the past few weeks, I thought you might like to make a batch of Spanish rice to make the party complete. My version is made with brown rice, which is a little un-traditional but I believe it offers more flavor and it is so much healthier too.

    Spanish Rice

    • 1 – 2 tablespoon oil
    • 1 small onion, diced
    • ½ bell pepper, diced
    • 1 teaspoon garlic
    • 1 cup brown rice (toasted in dry skillet)
    • 2 cups water
    • ½ -1 teaspoon salt
    1. In a medium pan with a lid, sauté onion and bell pepper in the oil.
    2. Add garlic and rice and continue to sauté for 3-4 minutes.
    3. Add water and salt, bring to a boil.
    4. Cover with tight fitting lid and reduce heat to low.
    5. Cook for 60 minutes.
  • The Taco Party Continues with Homemade Salsa and Chips

    The Taco Party Continues with Homemade Salsa and Chips

    Delicious Homemade Salsa

    When we went to Iceland last year, our host was from Mexico. We were planning the meals for a youth group and I made the mistake of suggesting that we buy salsa instead of making our own to save time. He thought that was absolutely ridiculous and volunteered himself to make salsa for our group.

    I was surprised to learn that they put chicken bouillon in their salsa. (At least they do where he is from) and it does add something to the flavor. Although he never did write down the recipe I watched him and I think this recipe comes pretty close to his

    I am also including my recipe for homemade baked tortilla chips. They are easy to make and very yummy.

    Mexican Salsa

    • 2 cans diced tomatoes, drained
    • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
    • 1 (4 oz.) can diced green chilies
    • ½ cup fresh cilantro
    • 1 cup diced white onion
    • 1 jalapeno, stemmed and seeds removed
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon chicken-style seasoning
    • 1 teaspoon. agave nectar or other sweetener (optional)
    1. Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until fairly smooth.

    Homemade Corn Tortilla Chips

    • 10 corn tortillas (Mission brand is Gluten Free)
    • Cooking spray
    • Garlic salt
    1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
    2. Spray the first tortilla with cooking spray, sprinkle with garlic salt (or just plain salt if you like) and turn over. Spray the other side and sprinkle with garlic salt again.
    3. Place a second tortilla on top of the first and rub it around a little to get some of the oil and salt to stick. Now spray and sprinkle with garlic salt.
    4. Repeat with each tortilla. Keeping tortillas in a stack, use a sharp chefs knife to cut the stack into 6 pieces just like a pizza.
    5. Spread them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet spacing so they are not touching or they will be chewy.
    6. Bake 8-12 minutes or until chips are starting to get crispy and golden brown all over. (check every 1-2 minutes after 8 minutes).
    7. Remove from oven and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.
  • It’s A Meatless Monday Taco Party!

    It’s A Meatless Monday Taco Party!

    Taco Party title 640

    Tacos are my birthday meal! They have been my favorite ever since I was a kid. So last year my birthday fell on supper club night and we had a taco party. I was shocked when I realized I had not posted about it yet!

    In fact, the only taco post I have made was more than a year ago with a homemade taco burger using bulgur wheat. So I owe you all some taco recipes!

    Like my homemade taco seasoning it tastes way better than store bought and it doesn’t have a lot of additives that I don’t really like to eat. I use it on fajita style veggies, in my chili, and of course to make taco meat! If I don’t have time to make the homemade bulgur burger I use a store bought ground meat substitute or some TVP Beef Bits. They all work great!

    But one of my favorite parts of a taco is the beans. I really love refried beans. I have a friend who moved here from Mexico and she showed me how her family makes refried beans, so I thought I would share that recipe with you too!

    Refried Beans

    • 2 cups dry beans (pinto, black, red, pink, cranberry, or combination)
    • ½ medium onion, chopped
    • ½ teaspoon garlic, minced (optional)
    • 1 tablespoon oil
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    1. Soak and cook beans overnight.
    2. Drain off soaking water. Add fresh water at least 2 inches over the beans.
    3. Add onion and garlic. Bring to boil over high heat, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 hours.
    4. Using a slotted spoon, scoop beans into a food processor or blender, reserving some of the water. Add oil and salt to blender; blend mixture until smooth, using reserved water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Depending on the size of your blender, you may need to blend the beans in two batches.

    Taco Seasoning Mix

    • 1/3 cup ground cumin
    • ¼ cup salt
    • 2 tablespoons onion powder
    • 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
    • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    1. Mix all ingredients together; store in an airtight container.

  • Meatless Monday: Chilaquiles—a Tex-Mex Inspired Meal

    Chilaquiles AThe first time I ever heard of a Chilaquile (chee-lay-kee-lay) was when I was looking through a cookbook written by some friends in Oklahoma. I didn’t know what it was, but all of the ingredients looked good. I looked it up online and found that there were hundreds of ways to make it.

    It turns out that it is usually made for breakfast and used as a way to use up old corn tortillas from the night before. I usually use store bought tortillas and make it for supper but either way it is one of my FAVORITES, and it’s super easy to make.

    I made it last night for our Meatless Monday Supper Club and they absolutely LOVED it. I knew they would and I know you will too!

    Chilaquiles

    • 4 tablespoons oil, divided
    • 1 cup onion, diced
    • 5 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 can black beans or 1 cup diced Gluten Steaks
    • 1 package (14 ounces) tofu, firm, crumbled, or 2 cups Scrambled Tofu
    • ½ small jalapeno, diced (optional)
    • 12 corn tortillas, torn into medium size pieces
    • 1 ½ cups tomatoes, diced or commercial salsa
    • ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
    1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium. Add onions and garlic; cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Add meat substitute, tofu, and jalapeno; cook 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
    2. Heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium.
    3. Drop torn tortillas into the hot oil; cook about 4 minutes, stirring often to cook evenly.
    4. When tortillas are lightly browned and crispy, add reserved tofu mixture, tomatoes, and cilantro; mix well. Serve immediately.

    Makes 6 servings.

    TIP: You can make this meal lower in fat by wrapping the filling in the tortillas instead of tearing and frying them. It’s a different dish, but it is really good.