Starting Again.

"I Have Not Failed.  I've Just Found 10,000 Ways that Won't Work."  Thomas Edison

I haven't blogged since January so I obviously haven’t been successful with my goals.  Like Thomas Edison, I’ve found a few more things that don’t work.  But I haven’t failed because I haven’t given up – I’m just reworking the plan.

Sometime no matter how much we want something,  
our current method just isn't going to lead to success.

My new idea – think small!  Big Ideas! Grand plans! Huge Successes! – Would all be great but those grandiose ideas have been hard to maintain so maybe small can be good too!  I’m trying little changes!  Smaller Goals!  Shorter Blog! (Even shorter sentences!)

Small Can Be Good Too

Here’s one of my goals:  Cook really delicious home-cooked foods I really like and enjoy every bite – just pack a portion of it for lunch the next day and stop eating after dinner.  Tiny change – I’ll see how it works.

And here is a really delicious meal:  Vegan Chili Cheese Sweet Potato Fries.  I know it has a lot of ingredients but the seasonings add so much flavor and the veggies add the illusion of health.  And once you get the chili in the pan, it pretty much takes care of itself.

Photo doesn't do it justice - This is REALLY YUMMY!

Smoky Mexican Seasoning “Packet”

3 TB Mild chili powder

1 TB flour

1 TB nutritional yeast (optional)

1 TB Bill’s Chick-nish seasoning (optional)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika and/or 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon each: cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend, sugar, and oregano

Ingredients - Chili 

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

1 carrot, grated (optional)

1 zucchini, grated (optional)

1-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 8-oz cans tomato sauce

1 16-oz can diced tomatoes (any flavor)

1 cup vegetable broth

1 8-oz can salsa (or 1 cup any brand)

1 cup Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese (or your favorite cheese)

Additional Ingredients:

Alexia Sweet Spicy Julienne Sweet Potato Fries (Frozen)

Additional Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese

3-4 Green Onion, chopped

Sour Cream (Your Favorite Vegan brand)

Chopped Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Pickled Jalapeño Slices (optional)

Directions

Step 1: Prepare Sweet Potato Fries

a.     Prepare Alexia Spicy Sweet Julienne Sweet Potato Fries according to package directions and to desired crispiness.

Don't crowd the pan if you like crispy fries.

Step 2:  Prepare Smoky Mexican Seasoning “Packet”

a.  In small bowl, mix chili powder, Arrowroot powder, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and/or chipotle chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend, sugar, and oregano.

Step 3: Prepare Chili

a.     Sauté onion, peppers, celery, & carrots in 1 TB of oil until just tender.

b.     Add zucchini and/or garlic. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender and lightly browned.

c.     Add 1 package Gimme Lean Smart Ground Original and seasoning “packet”.  Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

d.     Add Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes, Salsa, and Veggie Broth.

e.     Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

f.     Add 1 cup Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese, and continue cooking until Daiya is melted.

Brown the veggies - it adds lots of flavor.

Add the soy crumbles and seasoning and 
continue to sauté to allow the flavors to develop.

Add all the other ingredients 
and just allow it to bubble away - your work is done for now.

Step 4 Assemble Chili Cheese Fries

a.      Place fries on oven safe dish and top with Daiya Cheese.  Spoon chili over cheese.  Place in oven for a few minutes until cheese is melted. (This step is not necessary however, even though Daiya Cheese melts very well for a vegan cheese - it sometimes needs a little extra help with a little extra heat.)

b.      Top with Sour Cream, cilantro, jalapeño slices and green onions.