Slow Cooker Burrito

I have been thinking about slow cooking for a while now. Every spring summer I get to the point where I never want to touch a slow cooker again and I put it away for the summer... every fall, I start feeling the urge to slow cook again. I am not sure if it is the temperature drop or the hibernation factor and I think it is likely a bit of both... slow cooking just seems like a must.

Yes, this was done in a slow cooker... Super easy

I decided to stay away from the usual slow cooker meals and try something a little different... how about slow cook burritos? I came up with this from looking through some old cook books and I came across a few recipes that were rice and beans of some sort. Every time I saw it, I kept thinking how much I would love a burrito... So why not just cook all the filling at once and then it would be ready made meal? Seems like a good idea, so I am giving it a go.

I think the nicest thing about this dish is that I can have it as a burrito, or on its own or with nachos. It is kind of like 3 different meals packed into one recipe.

I used a lot of basic tex-mex type veggies in this dish, but as I was adding ingredients, I came across a stray Anaheim pepper in my fridge. Anaheim is such a good match with this, I needed to included it, but decided to roast it first. I have never roasted my own peppers before. It was always something I figured you needed a gas stove to do it best. However, I felt like since I was not sauteing any vegetables in advance that I needed to have this in my recipe.

Turns out, roasting peppers is so easy! I can't believe I used to buy these jarred for 3-4 times the price of doing it myself. It took little time and no effort. Next time you are using peppers, try roasting!

Roasting Peppers
15 minutes

Ingredients:

• Peppers (Anaheim, Jalapeno, Bell etc)
• 1 Tbsp Olive Oil

Set your oven to broil and put the rask to the top setting. Now, place the peppers on a cookie sheet. take the olive oil and spread and rub over the peppers.

Put it in the oven and cook about 10-15 minutes. Check them and turn them often. Once they are all blistered and/or blackened, they are ready. Remove from the oven and let cool. Once they are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off, remove the seeds and slice.

Ready to use or serve. Try them in sandwiches, stir fries and basically any dish you normally put peppers in.

Pepper - Oil it up

Roast for 10-15 minutes

Peel the skin and ready to use

So, now that we have roasted peppers, time to make some slow cooker burrito filling

Slow Cooker Burritos

5 hours, 10 minutes prep

• Dice the following:
• 1 green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1-2 ribs of celery
• 2-3 tomatoes (about a cup)
• 1 roasted anaheim pepper
• 1 can of red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 cup of rice
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/3 cup green onion chopped
• 2 tsp cilantro, chopped
• Lime juice I Used a lot... but probably a tablespoon for those that are not lime crazy

Combine everything up to the rice (Don't put the rice in yet!) Stir it and cook on high for 4- 4 1/2 hours. Stir in the rice and cook for another 45 minutes or until the rice is tender. Finally add the remaining ingredients and you are ready! 

Dump everything into your slow cooker...

Let is simmer.... and then add the rice..

let is simmer.... wait wait wait...

I think the nicest thing about this is that I didn't have to cook things really before slow cooking. I know it helps with flavour, but I really hate messing up more than one pot! When you are the dishwasher and the cook.... you look for any way to spare dirtying a pan.

As soon as it is done, you can start making your burritos... add any other ingredient you want... vegan sour cream, guac, cilantro, whatever you want. You could also use this to make chips... add some salsa, guac and vegan shredded cheese. I am seeing maybe a layered dip in my future with this filling. I think that would be amazing.. I guarantee no one will be wondering where the meat is... these rice and beans hold their own!

Scoop and serve - Could use in a layered dip, nacho, burrito or
Quesadilla filling

I made my burrito with some jalapenos and cilantro and really nothing else. The filling was so packed with flavour that I didn't even think about the fact that I didn't have any cheese. I am planning to freeze some of this off for a rainy day... Going to be great to be able to have this hidden away for a quick dinner or snack.

Cuban Stir-fry

I have decided to take a short break from all the non-dairy milks I have been blogging about. Especially now that I have an abundance of flax, rice and sunflower seed milk. I don't want to waste them!

I was looking for something really flavourful for dinner last night. I didn't want to grocery shop or get take out, so I had to make do with what I have. This combined with a serious craving for lime got me thinking... Need something complex with sweet, sour, and spicy.

This is the result.

Cuban Stir-Fry

• 1 squash, roasted and cubed
• 1 Tbsp oil (i used grape seed)
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 clover of garlic, minced
• 1-2 hot peppers (jalapeno, red, whatever you have)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili pepper
• 1-2 Tbsp of coriander seeds, crushed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup of greens (Optional, I added spinach. Collards would be good too)
• 1 can of beans, drained and rinsed (Any kind will do. I used Kidney)
• 2 Tbsp of cilantro
• 1 Lime (zest and juice)
• 1 Tbsp maple syrup

First thing you want to do is roast the squash. I used a Kobacha squash and I think that was a mistake. It was all I had in my place, so I worked with it, but I think that you would be better to use acorn or butternut. Heat your oven to 400F. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds. I sliced mine into 1" slices, but you can also just roast the halves. Brush a little oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes, but keep an eye on it.

After the squash is done, put the rice on if you don't have left overs so it'll be ready with the stir-fry. Prep all the vegetables and have them ready to go. Heat a large pan or wok to medium heat and add the oil. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and garlic and cook until the onions are translucent. Next add in the hot pepper, lime zest and the spices and cook another couple of minutes. Add in the squash and greens if you are using. Toss it well so it is all combined. Cook another 5-7 minutes.

Next, add the beans and stir again. Cook 5 more minutes. When everything is well combined and heated through, add the cilantro, maple syrup and the lime juice.

Serve on top of rice. Serves four.

Now, I am not sure if this is all that Cuban, but it reminded me of Cuban flavours, so that's why I have names it the Cuban stir-fry. I just love the combination of lime and maple with beans and rice. I don't know why, but it is fabulous.

If you really like spices, add more. I found it to be pretty mild.

I am going to finish off this Sunday by reading my new cook books: Colour Me Vegan and Vegan with A Vengeance. I am already diving into a few of the recipes and will have a full report soon.

Vegan Risotto, Take One, Take Two

This week, I decided to try out vegan risotto. My first time making risotto ever and from what I have read, it is not really hard to make, just takes a little TLC to get it right. I thought I had aborio rice hanging around in my cupboard for the longest time and I figured, what better time than now to give it a try!

I am going to just come out and confess now. I made a few mistakes. I did not follow a recipe. I did not use the correct rice and I did over cook it a little bit. Let's start at the beginning...

Lesson number 1 - Always, always check that you have all ingredients before you start cooking. I was sure that I had aborio rice in my cupboard. I have seen it there so many times and every time I think, I should make a risotto. Now that that time finally came, the rice was nowhere to be seen. Had I checked that I had all my ingredients before starting; I could have gone to the store, or just put this one on hold. Because I didn't, I had to make do with what I had, which was long grain brown rice. This brings me to my second lesson learned...

Lesson number 2 - If you do not have the correct rice for risotto... do not use long grain rice! I really should have done a bit of online searching on this one. I knew as I was making the decision that it did not feel right. As it turns out, you really shouldn't make risotto unless you have the correct rice. If you must make a substitution, you need a short grain rice. Long grain takes much longer to cook and it just doesn't have the gluten to get the correct texture. In the end, you'll just end up with a labor-intensive pilaf.

Lesson number 3 - Make your own broth. I thought that this one was something that would be like most recipes. yes, it is nice if you have the time to have a hearty home-made broth to use, but in a pinch a store-bought broth will be just fine. I felt that the final product was much too salty. And this is coming from a person that loooves salt. If I did this recipe again, I would definitely make my own broth.. or at the very least dilute the store bought one a little bit.

Now after all these lessons, I did come up with a decent risotto and even the botched attempt that I made was not too bad. It just wasn't risotto. I urge anyone that has not made a risotto to give it try. There is something really relaxing about turning so much attention to your food. I turned on some blues and silenced the phone and actually turned off the world around me. It was truly a nice zen moment which happens so rarely these days.

Here is the recipe:

Wild Mushroom Risotto
Serves about 6, takes about an hour

• 8 - 10 cups of vegetable broth, homemade if possible
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup of rice
• 1 small onion, chopped (I used a red one)
• 1/2 cup chopped carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup (or more) of mushrooms (I used a variety pack from the farmers market. Use what ever your faves are)
• 1/4 cup of chopped sun-dried tomato
• 2 Tbsp on nutritional yeast flakes or vegan Parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1-2 Tbsp of chipped parsley, for garnish

First get your broth on the stove and heat it over medium low heat so it is simmering. While waiting for the broth to heat, prep your veggies and have them ready. Take a large pot and heat over medium heat and add the oil. Once the pan is hot, add the onion and stir it around for a couple minutes, until it is translucent. Next add the carrot and celery and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of the mushrooms and cook until they begin to soften.

If the pan is a bit dried, add a little more oil. Now, add the rice and stir really well. Let the rice toast in the pan for about 2-3 minutes. Once the rice is well coast and a bit toasted pour 2 ladles of the vegetable broth and start stirring.

The trick to a good risotto is to keep it moving and never let the pot go dry. Continue to add a ladle or two of broth once most of it is absorbed. Continue to do this until all the broth is absorbed into the rice. When you pour the last bit of broth in, add the remainder of the mushrooms, the sun-dried tomatoes and stir until the broth is all absorbed. Test the rice and if it is still not cooked, add more broth or water and continue to stir.

Finally, add the nutritional yeast, if you are using it and the parsley and serve immediately with a good wine and some greens.

After all that stirring, you have earned it!