Huevos Burritos Jardin

The following recipe was a flash of insight that converted "What the heck do we have in the refrigerator?" to "Well, that's new." The idea of using eggs as a burrito wrap may not be original to me, but since I never saw it before, I'm claiming it. And the "jardin" comes from the multitude of chunky vegetables that give the dish its texture and personality.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped vegetables (onion, bell pepper, carrot, celery, raw spinach leaves, etc.)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 15 oz. can of tomato sauce
• 2 x 15-ounce cans of black or pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• ¼ cup prepared picante
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 6 eggs, beaten separately
• ¾ cup of shredded cojack cheese

Sauté the vegetables in the olive oil in a large pan until the onions are translucent and just browned. Remove from heat and add in the tomato sauce, beans, picante, and chili powder. Add back to the heat and stir to mix. Mash about ⅓ of the beans in the pan and stir back in to thicken the mixture. Cook on the stovetop for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens. Remove from heat.

Spray a small sauté pan with cooking spray, and cook each egg separately so they spread over the pan in a single layer and just set. Remove each egg and stack on a plate.

To make each huevos burrito, scoop about ¾ cup of bean filling into the center of each egg and roll up into a log. Place each rolled egg next to each other in a glass cooking dish. Sprinkle the top with cheese. Place under a broiler for 3-4 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.

Note: this recipe makes plenty of bean filling, so the recipe can be expanded for more eggs.

Vegetarian Thanksgiving Stuffing

One of my contributions to our family's multigenerational Thanksgiving meal is the vegetarian stuffing. Many years ago, I convinced my father-in-law that homemade stuffing was MUCH better than Pepperidge Farm's stuffing, so now I get to make it every year. I should have thought that one through it a bit more.

This recipe is not an original; rather it is cobbled together from various other recipes, some probably dating back to the invention of cornbread itself. It has served me well.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 egg or equivalent egg substitute
• ¼ cup vegetable oil (preferably canola) plus additional oil for sautéing vegetables
• 1 cup milk or milk substitute
• 7 slices oven-dried white or whole-wheat bread
• 2 cups diced celery
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
• 5-7 cups vegetarian broth
• 4-8 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
• salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Mix together milk, oil, and beaten egg, and add to dry ingredients. Mix just enough to make a moist batter. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 inch square baking pan. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until set and lightly browned. Let cornbread cool before adding it to other ingredients.

Saute celery and onion in a little oil.

In a bowl, crumble together cornbread and oven dried bread. Add sauteed vegetables and spices, and mix together. Pour in broth and butter. Bake in greased 9 x 13 inch pan for 30-45 minutes until set.