Double-Post Tuesday

Besides being Taco Tuesday, it's also Double-Post Tuesday. Here are six recipes to help you through the day, including Vegetarian Skillet Chili and Apple Cider Floats. Enjoy!

SPANISH OMELET

POINTS® value | 5

Servings | 1

Preparation Time | 8 min

Cooking Time | 10 min

Ingredients

2 1/2 cup spinach, coarsely chopped (do not dry)

2 large egg(s)

2 tsp grated Parmesan cheese

1/2 tsp table salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp olive oil

Directions

In a medium saucepan, cook spinach with just the water that clings to it until just wilted, about 2 minutes. Drain well, squeezing out all liquid. Cool, then chop finely.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, cheese, salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon water.

In a small nonstick skillet, heat oil. Pour egg mixture into pan; reduce heat and cook until base is set and top is still a little creamy, about 2 minutes.

Sprinkle spinach over one half of eggs; fold omelet in half and cook until eggs are completely set, about 1 minute longer. Serve at once.

VEGETARIAN SKILLET CHILI

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “If you keep canned beans, tomatoes, onion and garlic in your pantry, you can make this dish on any weeknight without having to shop. The pickled onions aren’t strictly necessary, but they are simple to make and add a welcome tangy contrast to the beans. Pickled peppers are a fine substitute. If you have a bell pepper or jalapeño or two, chop them up and sauté them with the onions. And if you want to be fancy, grate the zest off the lime before juicing for the pickles, and stir it into the sour cream.”

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 30 minutes

This was featured in “5 Easy Meals for the Distracted Cook,” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

For the Pickled Onions:

1 lime

1 red onion or shallot, thinly sliced

Salt, as needed

Sugar, as needed

For the Chili:

Olive or grapeseed oil

1 large onion, chopped

Garlic cloves, to taste, minced

Chile powder

Dried oregano

2 (15-ounce) cans beans, drained

1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes

Salt, to taste

Fresh cilantro, diced avocado and sour cream, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Make the pickled onions: Squeeze the lime juice into a bowl and add the onion or shallot, a large pinch of salt and a small pinch of sugar. Let rest for 20 minutes while you make the chili.

Heat a large skillet, then add the oil. When hot, add the onion and sauté until softened. Add the garlic, chile powder and oregano and sauté until fragrant. Add the beans and tomatoes and a few large pinches of salt and let simmer until the tomatoes break down, about 20 minutes.

Taste and add more salt, chile and/or oregano to taste. Serve with the pickled onion and any of the garnishes you like.

EASY MUSHROOM STROGANOFF [VEGAN]

This vegan recipe comes from One Green Planet, and begins, “This simple mushroom stroganoff will never disappoint. White Button mushrooms are sautéed with onion, garlic, and a splash of white wine and savory sauces. Vegetable broth is slowly poured over the mushrooms once they are tender, followed by flour to create a gravy sauce. You have the option of either stirring the pasta into the pan or dishing out the pasta and topping it with the stroganoff. Either way you do it, a garnish of fresh herbs is a must.” Serves 4 to 6, and is dairy-free and vegan.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 pound White Button mushrooms, stems removed and sliced

1/2 large onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

Up to 1 cup of water or vegetable broth

1/2 cup white wine

A healthy splash of vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 heaping tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup vegan yogurt

Olive oil

1-2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Smoked paprika, sprinkled liberally

Roughly chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish

1 package noodles, cooked according to package instructions

Preparation

In a large pan over medium-high heat, heat a healthy splash of olive oil. Add the onion and garlic, sauté until fragrant, anywhere from 5-10 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the mushrooms and sauté. The mushrooms will brown and release a lot of liquid. At this point, cook the noodles according to their package instructions.

Add the white wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to get all the good brown bits. Next, add in the Dijon mustard and a healthy splash of Worcestershire sauce.

Allow the mixture to reduce down, scraping the pan periodically.

Spoon a minimum of 1 tablespoon or up to 2 tablespoons flour over the mushrooms. Stir the mushrooms until the flour has been incorporated into the oils/liquid/onions. Slowly add the water or vegetable broth, l at your discretion, depending on how saucy you want the stroganoff to be.

Allow for the mixture to warm through and thicken.

Add the coconut yogurt and paprika and stir until fully incorporated.

By this point, the noodles should be done. The dish can be served with the sauce ladled over the noodles, or the noodles can be added into the pan and mixed through with the mushrooms.

Garnish with parsley and more paprika.

APPLE CIDER FLOATS

This is from Lauren Miyashiro on Delish. The recipe begins, “You'll want to float away with these apple cider floats!”

Total Time: 10 minutes; Prep Time: 10 minutes; Level: Easy; Servings: 2

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 c. caramel sauce

1/2 c. cinnamon-sugar

2 c. apple cider, warmed

Vanilla ice cream, for serving

cinnamon sticks

Whipped cream, for serving

Apple slices

Directions

Pour caramel in a small dish. Dip the top of each mug in the caramel to rim the cup. Then dip the caramel rim in cinnamon-sugar.

Ladle apple cider into each mug then add a scoop of ice cream to each. Top with whipped cream and garnish with apple slices and cinnamon stick.

Drizzle more caramel over the whipped cream and serve immediately.

CHAI-SPICED PEAR PIE

This is from Audra, otherwise known as The Baker Chick. If you’ve followed my blog for a while, you might remember me posting quite a few recipes from Audra (although it’s been a while). Her blog rocks! If you haven’t checked it out, you really should. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

This recipe begins, “I can’t possibly let you enter Thanksgiving week without another pie recipe. As the person in charge of desserts in my family, I’m always looking to make something classic with a twist and this gorgeous pie is just that apples get all the attention in the fall, but baking with firm, sweet pears is in my opinion just as good but way more unique and impressive.

“This pear pie is tossed with warm chai spices like cardamon, cinnamon, ginger and even a crack of black pepper. The result is just a bit more kick than what you’re probably used to with apple pie, but that same warm, melt-in-your-mouth goodness just waiting for a scoop of vanilla.”

Yield: 1 9-inch pie

To view this online on Audra’s blog, click here.

Ingredients

2-3 single layers of Pie Crust (see note)

10 cups of peeled, thinly sliced pears (from about 8-10 pears depending on size, use something firm like bosc)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

3-4 twists of freshly ground black pepper (1/8 teaspoon, optional)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons butter

Instructions

Keep crust chilling in the fridge while you prep the pears.

In a large pot or dutch oven, toss together the pears, brown sugar, flour, and spices. Stir in water and dot with the butter.

Cook on medium heat, stirring frequently, tossing everything around to par-cook the pears a bit. Keep checking to see when a pear slice is "bendy" and slightly tender, but for me I cooked them for 10-15 minutes.

Allow pears to cool while you prep your dough. If you are doing a lattice or braided crust, roll some of the dough out now, form the braids, and freeze them until pie is ready to be assembled. If you are just doing a double crust- wait until the pears are mostly cool.

Roll out one layer of crust and drape over the bottom of a 9- inch pie pan leaving a bit of overhang. Pour the cooled pears into the crust and top with another sheet of pie crust, a lattice top, or the braids.

Trim and crimp edge of crust and pop the whole thing in the freezer for 10-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425.F. Place pie onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes, then reducing the heat to 350F and baking for another 45-50 minutes.. If the crust seems to be getting too dark you can drape some foil on top for the remainder of the baking.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Notes

*If you want a little extra pie dough to work with for a decorative crust, I like to have a bit extra and usually make 3 batches of crust. If you are just doing a classic top, two single layers is fine!

ITALIAN GRILLED STUFFED PEPPERS

This comes from Kraft and begins, “Discover these Italian Grilled Stuffed Peppers and bring a little bit of Italy into your kitchen! These grilled stuffed peppers are delicious!”

Prep Time: 20 minutes; Total Time: 45 minutes; Servings: 6 servings

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1-3/4 cups water, divided

1-1/2 cups instant brown rice, uncooked

2 cups frozen BOCA Veggie Ground Crumbles

1 small zucchini, chopped

1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning

1-1/2 cups OLIVO by CLASSICO Traditional Pasta Sauce, divided

1-1/2 cups KRAFT 2% Milk Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, divided

1 large each red, yellow and green pepper, cut lengthwise in half, seeded

Directions

Heat grill to medium-high heat.

Bring 1-1/2 cups water to boil in medium saucepan. Add rice; cover. Simmer 5 min. Remove from heat; let stand 5 min. Stir in crumbles, zucchini, seasoning and 1 cup each pasta sauce and cheese; spoon into peppers.

Place each filled pepper half on center of 12-inch-square sheet heavy-duty foil. Top with remaining sauce and cheese. Bring up foil sides. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the remaining water onto bottom of each foil packet. Double fold top and ends to seal packets, leaving room for heat circulation inside.

Grill 20 to 25 min. or until peppers are crisp-tender and filling is heated through (160ºF).