Recipes

[Gwen29]

I saw the post regarding meatless meals and want to show that it is possible to make them interesting and usable for all. My daughter is a vegetarian and, since there are only the two of us, I cook 99.5% vegetarian but give up none of my previous recipes. I substitute various meatless substitutes for the meats in these recipes and -- to blow my own horn -- just took a casserole to a pot luck luncheon and have been inundated with requests for the recipe. I did not tell them the hamburger was Boca's crumbles. What people don't know -- you know the rest.

When it calls for you to slice the chicken, just open a package of chicken-less from Trader Joe or their Beef-less. They are delicious. Hamburger -- use the frozen crumbles -- Boca or Morning Star are what I use.

Here's the recipe for the fast and easy Ranch Beans that caused quite a stir among the ladies:

1 can black beans

1 can kidney beans

2 cans other beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 package crumbles or 1 lb. hamburger with fat drained away

1 onion chopped

1 cup barbecue sauce

garlic (optional)

I throw all the beans in a colander and rinse and drain well. Then toss all the ingredients into a dutch oven or other pan, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir occasionally so beans don't stick to the bottom. Remove cover and allow to simmer another 5 minutes to thicken. Eat.

Easy - Fast and delicious. Experiment. I copy many recipes, including those from recipe swap, and improvise with meatless substitutes. You can have fun and eat everything. And you don't have to brown the meat beforehand which cuts down on time. Hope you enjoy it.