So roughly three weeks ago I decided to add "Meatless Mondays" to my household routine. I didn't exactly tell my husband because, well, who needs the argument, honestly? Actually, we've lived together for about 9 years so at this point I have a pretty good idea what the man will and will not eat. Making some grand announcement, "every Monday shall hereby be known as 'Meatless Monday!'" would only send visions of tofu and steamed greens into his head and I just don't want to bother him with such stress.
So I eased him (well both of us, honestly) into it with Huevos Rancheros. Now I'm pretty sure that "meatless" is supposed to include eggs too, but who's counting?
I made homemade salsa for two reasons (1) I was out of the store bought kind and (2) it just tastes better!
Quick Salsa Recipe
Directions? chop, mix, stir, enjoy!
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 small can diced green chilies
- 1 poblano, diced (I use whatever pepper happens to be lying around)
- 2-3 green onions, chopped (I sometimes use yellow onions, but I was mixing it up a bit)
- Handful of fresh chopped cilantro
- 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (secret ingredient)
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- Salt, to taste
*I do run the inversion blender through it because I only like chunky salsa when the chunks are fresh veggies, but you could leave it chunky if that's what floats your boat.
Anyway, back to the Huevos Rancheros... the layers are as follows:
1. Corn tortilla (spray with cooking spray and bake at 325 for 10-12 min, flipping at halftime)
2. Black beans (When they are from a can I rinse first then add a little chicken stock or salsa when heating).
3. Egg over easy (this is the hubby's job - he can make some good over easy eggs!).
4. A little salsa
5. A little shredded cheese
6. A little fresh, chopped cilantro
7. In addition, add a dollop of sour cream and/or avocado if that does it for you
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This week I decided that I can't just have breakfast for dinner every Monday and call it Meatless Monday. It just seemed like cheating, so I decided to make pierogies - no not from scratch - from a box that I found in the frozen food section.
I do not remember ever eating pierogies as a child. When I went to college they were featured in the dining hall at least once a week. At that time, ravenous college students would dip them in sour cream, salsa, or that ever mysterious liquid cheese product. I was pretty sure I had grown up from my liquid cheese days and I wanted something slightly more formal than just a sour cream dipping sauce, so I considered all the things that would go well with mashed potatoes (the filling) and/or pasta (the wrapping - I know, they are a guilty pleasure!). I decided to invent some sort of sour cream sauce with my inspiration coming from a stroganoff sauce.
Pierogies with Mushroom Cream Sauce
Mushroom Cream Sauce
*I just invented this and threw things in to taste so the measurements are approximate**
- 2 Tbs butter
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 of a medium onion, diced
- 2 c mushrooms, chopped
- 3/4 c light sour cream
- 1 Tbs corn starch
- 2-3 Tbs milk
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper
1. Melt butter in saucepan and saute garlic and onions until soft and just beginning to brown.
2. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook until mushrooms soften a bit.
3. Stir in sour cream. You may need more than 3/4c - that was a guess - you want enough to create a sauce around the mushrooms. Add rosemary, salt, and pepper. Simmer.
4. In a separate bowl, combine cornstarch and cold milk, stirring well. Add to sour cream mixture and raise heat to med-high or until it is gently boiling - stir continuously until sauce thickens.
5. Check for taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately. If sauce thickens too much, add a little more milk.
Basically I just spooned the sauce over the pierogies. You can cook pierogies a millions ways: boiled, baked, microwaved, fried, sauteed -- I chose to boil them for about 5 minutes, then saute in butter until they were just browned on both sides.
They were great and dear husband didn't even miss the meat!
2 comments:
PI will have to make your huevos racheros soon. I also have begun to try and not eat meat at least one night a week. Ken is a big meat eater so I need more ideas;) By the way Ken is Lithuanian and I have an awesome homemade perogie recipe and sauce, if you want it. It has meat in it though:)
Both recipes sound great. the Huevos Rancheros is a favorite of mine - I hadn't made it until recently though. We did meatless Monday too but it was just Boca burgers.
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