Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Subs with Potato Salad & BBQ Beans

My parents went on a cruise recently and stayed with us right before the trip and right after. The port where their boat departed from is close to where we live. They were traveling for their 45th wedding anniversary! AWESOME! Two of their best friends went on the cruise with them, and they also came and stayed with us on the last weekend after the cruise. I served this meal to all of them, and now I'm going to share it with you! Note: There won't be too many details on the sandwich, because a sandwich can be made so so many different ways --make it your favorite way!!
Potato Salad
8 potatoes
1 purple onion
1/2 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp. horse radish sauce
2 large spoonfuls of sweet pickle relish
1 TB vinegar
2 hard boiled eggs (optional, and not included in the photos below)
dash of red and black pepper

Chop and cook the potatoes and let cool.

Chop the purple onion into really small pieces.

Mix all ingredients together really well. Chill until ready to serve!

Grandma's Barbecue Beans

1 can pinto beans

1 can navy beans

1 can great northern beans

1 pkg Griller crumbles (vegetarian ground beef substitute)

1/2 cup BBQ sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T. soy sauce

1 T. lemon juice

1 tsp. garlic salt

1 green pepper, chopped

1 onion, chopped

olive oil

Heat a pan at medium and add about 1-2 TB olive oil. Saute the onion and pepper until soft and slightly browned.

Rinse the beans.

Add the beans to the onion and pepper pan, and add all the other ingredients together. Simmer on medium-low for 10-15 minutes.

Serve with a delicious sandwich of your choice. We had Vegetarian turkey subs, which included lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives, pickles, vegetarian turkey slices, and various sliced cheeses.

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Greek!

I love Greek food! Some of my favorite Greek or Mediterranean foods to make are hummus and tabbouleh salad! We always serve hummus with black olives, kalamata olives, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, and a side dish --either tabbouleh salad or seasoned curly fries.

There are thousands of recipes out there for hummus and tabbouleh salad. I took the best ideas I could find and came up with these two recipes . . .

Hummus
2 cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup tahini
5 small cloves of garlic, (2 large)
2 TB fresh parsley
4-5 lemons, juiced
10 medium black olives
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. coriander
1/2 tsp. seasoned salt
olive oil & paprika for garnish
1/2 -1 cup water


Juice the lemons!

Add everything to a food processor except the water!

Tahini can be found at your grocery store in the health/natural foods section or near the peanut butter and jelly where they have other nut butters like almond butter, cashew butter. It is made out of sesame seeds.

Blend in the food processor until it is smooth and thoroughly combined. If it is very, very thick, add some water and continue to process the hummus, adding more water until the desired consistency is achieved.

Next, up let's make some Tabbouleh Salad! It's such a fresh, tangy flavor to serve with hummus!

Tabbouleh Salad
1 cup Bulgar wheat
1 tsp. salt
2 lemons, juiced
1 pt. cherry tomatoes
1/2 c. fresh parsley, chopped
1 TB olive oil
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped

Make the Bulgar wheat according to the package, usually you just put the wheat into boiling water, then let it sit for 10 minutes until all the water is absorbed, but double check your package.

Chop some tomatoes! Summer time tomatoes are so flavorful, juicy, and just spectacular! Chop the parsley and green pepper, and mix it together with the prepared Bulgar wheat.

Tabbouleh Salad turns out so fresh and colorful! It makes a wonderful side dish with all kinds of Greek and Mediterranean foods!

I am getting a craving for some homemade hummus! I think I'll make this for our Friday night supper! Oh, and if there are any leftovers, be sure to use them up, because the flavors combine and become even brighter after it sets overnight!

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Veggie Egg Rolls

Today's Mommy Menu has a bonus recipe! You have got to try my Veggie Egg Rolls! They are easy to make and taste really great with sweet & sour sauce!

Veggie Egg Rolls
1 head of cabbage
4 carrots
1 onion
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth (vegetarian chicken broth is available at health food stores or the natural foods section of most grocery stores)
1 small can water chest nuts
1 can bean sprouts
1 package egg roll wrappers
canola oil


Start by shredding the cabbage, carrots, and onions in a food processor. You might have to do it in two batches. Coat a large fry pan with canola oil, add all the shredded veggies and the 1/2 cup of broth. Cover and let cook for at least 5 minutes. Stir, then let cook until all the veggies are soft and fragrant, about another 5 minutes. Next, add the water chestnuts.

Add the bean sprouts. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

Turn the heat off on the filling, and take off the burner. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes. Add about 1- 1/2 inches of oil to a fry pan. (You could also use a deep fryer) Turn the heat on medium. Place an egg roll wrapper on a plate or cutting board.

Put the filling in the middle. Have a small bowl of water nearby to use for sealing the edges.

Fold the bottom up completely over the filling.

Fold the edges up, making sure that the corners are not bulging out, but are sealed nicely.

Use small dabs of water along the edges, and roll up completely. Check the oil by dripping a drop of water in. If it pops and hisses, it's ready.

Place seam side down into the oil. Cook each side for about 2-3 minutes. As you cook these, the time needed to fry them will be less and less, because the oil will get hotter and hotter.

Watch them to see how golden they are getting. The filling is already cooked, so you are mostly just browning the exterior.

Serve with some yummy Stir Fry!

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Stir Fry

Today's Mommy Menu is for my friend, Jennifer! This is a yummy way to use tofu, and of course includes lots of veggies, too! Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Stir Fry

1 onion chopped
olive oil
1 bag frozen California Vegetables (you can use fresh, too --carrots, broccoli, cauliflower)
3 carrots, sliced (optional . . . the frozen veggie mix never has enough carrots for my taste)
1 package rice noodles (angle hair pasta works, too)
1 package firm or extra firm tofu
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. seasoned salt
10 dashes soy sauce

Pour about 1-2 TB of olive oil into a large, hot fry pan. Add the chopped onion.

Chop the tofu into 1 inch by 1/4 inch cubes. Once the onions have begun to soften, add the tofu and cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Shake the garlic and onion powder and seasoned salt onto the tofu.Next, steam the frozen veggies for 2 minutes to defrost. If you plan to use the extra 3 carrots, chop them and steam them until tender (4-5 minutes). Place your rice noodles into hot water, let sit for 10 minutes. Drain. Add the noodles to the fry pan. Drizzle with olive oil and pour 5 shakes of soy sauce onto the noodles. Mix in, and use the edge of a spatula to cut through the noodles, making them smaller segments, and helping to combine them with the tofu and onions. Add all of the steamed veggies. Pour 5 more dashes of soy sauce over the veggies, and combine everything together. Allow the stir fry to cook for about 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. Check the flavor at this point, and add a little more soy sauce, seasoned salt, or regular salt. If it seems a little dry, you could also drizzle in a dash or two of olive oil.

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Vegetable Curry & Mango Lassi

Vegetable Curry and Mango Lassi

* Disclaimer, I'm not from India or any other country where curry is commonly served, but I LOVE it, so I made up this recipe based on what my family and I have enjoyed at the homes of friends and eating out at Indian food restaurants.

5 potatoes, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 can Fri Chik (vegetarian chicken of your choice), chopped

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can garbanzo beans

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. curry (yellow kind found in any grocery store, Walmart, etc.)

1 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. salt

In a medium sauce pan, cook the chopped potatoes until soft. Saute the onion and celery on medium until soft. Add tomatoes, garbanzo beans, and spices. Simmer medium/low for 5-10 minutes. Add the vegetarian chicken and cooked potatoes, and continue to simmer 5-10 more minutes or until ready to serve.

Chop the onion and celery . . .

Cook up 1-2 cups of basmati rice to serve with this curry.

Add the tomatoes and garbanzo beans to the sauted items.

Add the cooked potatoes and vegetarian chicken and continue to simmer on low/medium.

Mango Lassi
1 30 oz can of mango pulp

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

2 cups of ice

Whiz in the blender until smooth. Enjoy!

Monday: Mommy Menu ~ Vegetarian Fajitas

Monday Menus are the number one reason I wanted to start this blog! I LOVE to cook and I love to take photos! It's fun taking photos of food and watching how it changes as it is prepared, cooked, combined, and finally served! I love blogging about my faith, our family travels, and Mommy stuff, too, but there's something really fun about sharing my recipes!

This blog post isn't going to include the "serve" picture...oops! I forgot to take one! Probably because this is one of the absolute favorite meals ever at our house! Once I place that sizzling pan of Vegetarian Fajitas on the table, it's over! We're grabbing the tortilla wraps, filling them up, topping them with sour cream, cheese, and salsa and . . . YUM! It's done! I usually make some fresh guacamole to go with it,too! And, raspberry lemonade! My mouth is watering just thinking about it! Definitely a favorite meal! Here's how it can be come one of your favorites, too!

Vegetarian Fajitas
1 of each, green, orange, and yellow peppers --sliced

1 onion, sliced
1 bag of Morning Star Chik 'n Strips (available at Walmart and just about any grocery store in the frozen section)

olive oil

Fajita tortilla wraps

Slice the peppers and onions. Place them in 1-2 TB of olive oil in a medium non-stick frying pan. Cook the peppers and onions for about 4-5 minutes, covered. Stir, then add the package of Chik 'n Strips. Cook for another 3-4 minutes, then stir and fry until edges of peppers, onions, and Chik 'n Strips get a little golden.

Serve in fajita wraps with your favorite toppings! Chips and salsa or guacamole are a great side dish!