Fake-Bacon Blue Cheese Apple Dinner Pie

I made this based off of this recipe.

Ingredients:

6-8 slices vegetarian "bacon"
1 (6.5 oz.) package Hodgson Mill cornbread mix (or similar vegetarian-friendly cornbread/muffin mix)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground flaxseed meal
4-5 Tbsp. water
1/4 cup rice milk
4 oz. blue cheese crumbles
1 large Golden Delicious apple (cored and thinly sliced)
2 Tbsp. safflower oil


To Make:

Brush the bottom of a skillet with part of the oil (just enough to coat the bottom). Place over medium heat. Once heated, place "bacon" in a single layer and cook for 3 minutes, flipping each slice halfway through. Chop into good sized pieces and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a small bowl, mix flaxseed meal with 2 Tbsp. of water. Let sit for a minute. In the meantime, combine the cornbread mix, flour, and chili powder. Stir in the milk and flaxseed mixture. Add 1-2 Tbsp. of water as needed if mixture is too dry when combined. Knead dough until it comes together in one large ball. Grease a 12" pizza pan. Fill pan with dough, flattening it to about 1/2" thickness all around.

Sprinkle about half of the cheese in the middle of the dough, leaving about an inch between the cheese and the edge of the pan. Place the apple slices on top of the cheese in the same manner. Fold the edge of the dough up over the filling. Brush apples and dough with the remainder of the oil.

Place in middle of oven and cook for 10 minutes. When done, remove and cover with the "bacon" and the remainder of the cheese. Return to oven for an additional 7 minutes. Remove and cut into quarters. Serve fresh. Top each slice with fresh thyme or another similar garnish, if desired.

Lentil Apple Chili

I haven't posted in awhile, mostly because I got seriously out of the habit of cooking for a bit. I've been experimenting lately, however, and I decided that I needed to share some more original recipes. I got the idea of combining apples and lentils from a co-worker, and I was in the mood for spicy, so lentil chili was born.

Lentil Apple Chili

2 cups lentils
6 cups water
1 bay leaf
sea salt & black pepper (to taste; I used about 1/4 tsp of each)
1 can tomato paste
1 tbsp butter
dash of red pepper flakes (no, really)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 green apple
1 tbsp chopped ginger (I used crystalized)
1 lb ground beef
1 oz. chili seasoning (I used a brand called Simply Organic, but any packet of chili seasoning will do)

Put the lentils, bay leaf, and salt & pepper in a 2 quart sauce pan with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.

As the lentils are simmering, heat the butter and the red pepper flakes in a frying pan on medium heat. Add the ginger, apples, cinnamon, and a dash of black pepper. Mix well. Cook until the apples are slightly tender (about 5 minutes). Remove from the pan.

With the frying pan still on medium heat, add the ground beef. Cook until browned. Drain the grease and remove from the pan.

Once the lentils have simmered for 20 minutes, add the chili seasonings and tomato paste. Stir until thoroughly dissolved. Add the ground beef and the apple mixture. Stir until combined. Return to a simmer and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve alone or over steamed rice.

Mushroom And Bacon Quiche.

I would probably make this recipe once a week if I could. It's great for a get together, and delicious straight out of the fridge the next morning (it's like pizza, that way).

Mushroom & Bacon Quiche:

Crust -

• 1 and 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons shortening
• 3 to 4 tablespoons cold water

Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Cut the butter and shortening into the flour with a pastry blender or two knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add three tablespoons water and mix with a fork and then you fingertips until the dough can be gathered into a ball. If the dough is very crumbly, sprinkle a few drops of water over the dough, adding only enough to make the dough stick together. Wrap the dough in wax paper and chill in the refrigerator one hour before rolling out.

Roll the chilled dough out on a floured board and fit it into a nine to ten inch quiche tin or nine inch pie plate. Cover the pastry with a sheet of aluminum foil, pressing it firmly around the sides and over the edges of the pastry. Fill with uncooked rice or dry beans (to weigh down the crust) and bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 7 minutes. Carefully remove the rice or beans and aluminum foil (I find this most easily done by just removing everything in the foil). Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and continue baking 5 minutes more. The crust should not brown but should be only partially baked. Let the pastry cool before filling and baking the quiche or pie.



Custard -
(you'll really only need about half of this, so feel free to halve the recipe)

• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of cayenne pepper
• Pinch of nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)

Beat all of the ingredients together with a wire whisk until blended (you can set this aside until you're ready to pour it into the crust, but give it another good whisk right before you do).



Filling -

• 1/2 lb. bacon
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• About 1/2 recipe of custard (above)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the bacon until crisp; drain and crumble. Wash the mushrooms, dry thoroughly and slice thinly. Heat the butter and cook the mushrooms over moderately high heat until the liquid given off by the mushrooms has evaporated. Season with salt, pepper, and parsley. Add the bacon and spread the mixture over the bottom of the pastry shell. Pour the custard mixture over the filling (I suggest to about 1/2 inch below the top of the crust). Bake in the preheated 375 degree oven for 40 minutes until the custard is set, puffed, and nicely browned.


NOTES:

You don't have to do everything in this order, but I would definitely suggest doing the crust, first. If you want, you can do the bacon after you put the crust in the fridge, just to get that part out of the way.

Quick Chicken À La King.

I decided to post this recipe first, because I absolutely adore this one. It's quick, simple, relatively inexpensive, delicious, and very flexible. I get dinner for about four days with this recipe, but it'll also feed several people very well for one meal.

Quick Chicken À La King -

You'll need:

• 1 tablespoon butter (feel free to substitute w/ margarine)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• 1/2 cup fresh sliced mushrooms
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 can (10.75 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup milk (I suggest 2% or whole)
• 1 and 1/2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR turkey (see notes for more info)
• 4 cups hot cooked regular long-grain white rice (see notes for more info)

Heat the butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes; cook until garlic is slightly brown and aromatic. Add the mushrooms and cook until they're tender and have soaked up most of the butter. Add the salt and ground black pepper at this point to suit your own taste. Add the soup, milk, and chicken. Mix until milk and soup are well combined and heat through. If you want to, add more salt and/or ground black pepper before serving.

You can serve this by putting rice in a bowl and spooning the sauce over the top of the rice, or you can mix the sauce and the rice together, but I definitely suggest the first option.




NOTES:

I don't use canned chicken for this recipe, but, if you're in a hurry, it's a viable option.

A couple of medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts (fresh or frozen) are best for this recipe (although I used a decent sized roasted turkey breast when I last made this recipe, which was absolutely delicious).

I suggest sautéing the chicken (whole or cubed) in a skillet with some butter or olive oil for about five minutes. If you're reluctant to sauté, however, you can bake the chicken in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. It's done when it's lightly browned on the outside, no longer pink in the middle, and the juices run clear.

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If you must, use a rice cooker, but I use the following recipe.

Put 1 and 1/2 cups rice, 1 tablespoon of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper into a medium saucepan with 3 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and stir. Replace the cover, let stand 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

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If you want to add some green to the recipe, I suggest chopping up a decent sized green bell pepper and cooking that along with the mushrooms.