Double-Post Monday

Besides being Meatless Monday, it's also Double-Post Monday. Today's offerings include Slow-Cooker Bolognese and Cranberry Cream Cheese Muffins. Enjoy!

FENNEL AND TOMATO SOUP

This comes from page 28 of the January/February 2012 issue of Vegetarian Times. It begins, “Fennel and tomato pair nicely for an Italian-style tomato soup. Save fennel fronds to use as a garnish.” Serves 6 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

Note: The recipe originally calls for 2 Tbs. dry vermouth, dry white wine, or water. Since I don’t keep alcohol around the house - except for rubbing alcohol - I left the vermouth and/or white wine out of the recipe and substituted water.

Ingredients

3 Tbs. olive oil

1 large fennel bulb, diced (4 cups)

3 vegan Italian sausages, sliced into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (2 cups)

1 tsp. fennel seeds

2 Tbs. water

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 28-oz. can crushed tomatoes, preferably San Marzano

3 Tbs. chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation

Heat oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add fennel, and sauté 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in sausages and fennel seeds, and cook 5 to 7 minutes, or until fennel seeds are slightly softened and bits of sausage are stuck to bottom of pan. Add vermouth, and cook 5 to 10 seconds to deglaze pan, scraping up any brown bits. Add broth, tomatoes, and parsley; cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.

nutritional information Per 1 2/3-cup serving: Calories: 163; Protein: 6 g; Total Fat: 8 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 19 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 380 mg; Fiber: 5 g; Sugar: 2 g; Vegan

SLOPPY JOES

This is from Marian Burros in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Marian wrote, “This simple version of sloppy Joes, the classic sandwich served in school cafeterias and at kitchen counters across the country, comes together in about 20 minutes and can be made with ground beef, chicken or turkey. As the name suggests, they are messy, so serve with a fork and plenty of napkins.”

Time: 22 minutes; Yield: 6 servings

This was featured in “Eating Well”, and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/4203-sloppy-joes.

Ingredients

For the Sauce:

1 8-ounce can tomato sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1 1/2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon prepared yellow mustard

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon molasses

1 garlic clove, finely minced

1/4 teaspoon orange zest

Pinch of ground cloves

Hot sauce to taste

For the Meat

1 pound ground beef

1/2 small onion, finely chopped

6 whole-wheat hamburger buns, toasted if desired

Preparation

In a saucepan over low heat combine the sauce ingredients. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix well, and simmer while preparing the meat.

Heat a heavy nonstick or cast-iron skillet, at least 10 inches in diameter, over medium-high heat. Add the ground sirloin, and saute, stirring occasionally, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the meat is no longer pink. Turn the meat into a strainer or colander lined with paper towels, allowing the fat to drain off.

Add the onion to the pan, and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is translucent. Return the meat to the pan, and add the sauce. Heat for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and season with salt, pepper or more hot sauce, if desired. Spoon 1/2 cup of the mixture over each bun. Serve immediately.

Tip

This dish freezes well.

SLOW-COOKER BOLOGNESE

This comes from Ree Drummond on the Food Network.

Level: Easy; Total: 6 hr 45 min; Active: 45 min; Yield: 16 servings

This can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 celery stalks, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 onions, chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 cloves garlic, chopped

One 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 cup dry red wine

4 pounds ground beef

2 cups whole milk

Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 Parmesan rind, optional, plus grated Parmesan, for serving

Cooked spaghetti, for serving

Chopped fresh basil, for serving

Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Directions

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Pour in the red wine and cook until it is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Pour this mixture into a slow cooker.

Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil into the skillet, add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up any lumps, until it is nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the milk and cook until it is mostly absorbed by the meat, about 5 minutes. Add this to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and Parmesan rind if using. Add some salt. Give it a good stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.

Skim off any fat on top and check the consistency. If it is too thick, add a bit of water. If it is too thin, cook for another 30 minutes with the cover off.

Remove the rind and serve over spaghetti with lots of grated Parmesan and topped with fresh basil and parsley. Extra sauce can be frozen for later use.

JOLLOF RICE

This is from Yewande Komolafe in the The New York Times cooking email. Yewande wrote, “A successful batch of jollof rice requires a few key ingredients (tomatoes, peppers, onions, a few herbs, spices and some stock) and a perfect sauce-to-rice ratio, so the cooked grains remain separate. I have found that the best, no-fuss way to do this is in the oven. Jollof is typically made with long-grain rice, though in Nigeria, parboiled rice is the norm. Most jollof is prepared over an open flame or on a stovetop. Missing from this oven version is the slightly smoky flavor you get from the little bits of rice that have browned on the bottom of your pan, but that’s nothing a pinch of smoked paprika can’t fix. Serve with braised goat or other stewed meats, and a side of fried plantains.”

Yield: 8 to 10 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours

This was featured in “Yewande Komolafe’s 10 Essential Nigerian Recipes” and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020288-jollof-rice.

Ingredients

For the Obe Ata:

1 (14-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices

1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped

1/2 medium red onion, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped

1 red habanero chile, stemmed

2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

For the Jollof Rice:

1/2 cup canola or other neutral oil

2 medium red onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)

3 cups parboiled long-grain rice (such as Carolina Gold or Uncle Ben’s Original), basmati or jasmine rice (about 1 1/4 pounds)

5 fresh thyme sprigs

1 fresh bay leaf

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock

Preparation

Prepare the obe ata: Working in batches if needed, combine all the obe ata ingredients except the canola oil in a blender and purée on high until smooth. The liquid from the can of tomatoes should suffice, but you can add up to 1/4 cup of water if necessary to get the purée going. (You should have about 3 cups of purée.)

Heat the 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the purée and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced by about a third of its original volume, 18 to 20 minutes. (It should make about 2 cups. Obe ata can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Prepare the rice: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the 1/2 cup canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove half the onions to a plate and set aside. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, turmeric and smoked paprika, if using, and toast, stirring occasionally, until turmeric is fragrant and tomato paste has deepened to a dark red color, about 2 minutes.

Stir in the obe ata sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. The habanero oils love to disperse in the air, so you may want to turn on your stovetop fan or open a window while simmering the obe ata. Stir in the rice, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the stock and cover with a lid. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook until rice is just tender, 35 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven and let sit, covered (no peeking) for 15 minutes. Uncover, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the reserved sautéed onions. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serve warm.

BBQ CHICKEN BURRITOS

My son and I were both on several long-forgotten emailing recipe lists. This is one of the recipes my son passed along from one of those lists.Makes 24 muffins.

Yield: 6 servings.

Ingredients

4 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

6 burrito size fat free wheat flour tortillas

3 cups shredded lettuce

1 cup shredded reduced fat sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded reduced fat Monterey Jack cheese

1 small tomato, diced

1 small avocado, diced

1/2 cup diced purple onion

1/4 cup barbecue sauce

2 tbsp. lowfat sour cream

1 tbsp. light ranch dressing

Directions

Heat grill over medium-hot coals. Grill chicken breasts for 7 minutes; turn over and grill 5 minutes longer. Brush chicken with barbecue sauce. Grill about 3 minutes and turn chicken over. Brush with more barbecue sauce and continue grilling and turning until chicken is done and generously coated with barbecue sauce.

Let chicken cool enough to handle. Slice into thin, short strips.

Warm flour tortillas according to package directions. Evenly divide chicken among flour tortillas. Top with lettuce, cheeses, tomatoes, avocados and onions. Combine barbecue sauce, sour cream and ranch dressing; dollop on burritos. Roll up.

CRANBERRY CREAM CHEESE MUFFINS

This is another one of the recipes my son passed along from one of those several long-forgotten emailing recipe lists.

Makes 24 muffins.

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

4 eggs

2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries [dust with 2 Tbl. - flour] - can substitute blueberry or raspberry

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line muffin pan with paper liners or spray with nonstick cooking spray.

In mixing bowl, beat together butter, cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each.

In separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the butter mix gradually; fold in cranberries and nuts. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or til golden and toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Let muffins stand on cooling rack for about 3 minutes before removing from the pans.