Food In Many Forms

I've commented before on the convenience of recipes that use "1 can of corn" or "1 can of beans" or "1 can of pumpkin" rather than 4 oz, 1/4 cup or 1 lb. But of course, no one is ever worried about being convenient, or using what is left over. Well,  between pumpkin risotto and enchiladas, I had a lot of perfectly good canned veggies that were left unused . I used my search engine, and found this great soup recipe  with all three of those ingredients, plus some staple foods I always carry. Suddenly, I have a hearty winter soup that is only 147 calories, 29 g of carbohydrates and 9 g of fiber per cup.  I am getting practice counting carbs and monitoring my blood sugar at the diabetes outpatient center this week, and all of a sudden finding low calorie, high carbohydrate foods that are satiating has become a big problem. However, in this case, I am going to have to go for seconds, or get some extra dessert to fulfill my goal. Extra dessert? Da...

Remember that menu I made for the week? It went out the window tonight in favor of enchiladas. I walked to the grocery store just to get sauce and taco shells, even after buying all my groceries for the week based on my "planned" menu. Oh well.  Sandra Lee has a recipe that uses the leftover components of black bean burgers to make black bean enchiladas. Well, I   didn't want black bean burgers, but I have to give Sandy Lee some credit for the idea. Ingredients: Filling: 1/4 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/2 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained, divided 1/4 cup canned corn 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes Enchiladas: 1 (10-ounce) can enchilada sauce 4 soft taco shells 1/4 cup shredded Mexican cheese Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Saute onions in a small pan until browned. Turn stove to low and add garlic, beans and corn. Cook until heated through. Stir in cilan...

I am so conflicted about the issue of beans. Canned beans are so easy and convenient , but they are more expensive and full of salt. Dried beans are supposed to be so healthy for you , but every time I cook them it take more than three hours. According to what's cooking america , "The best way [to soak beans] is to put them in cold water; bring them gently to a boil and then with saucepan off the heat, allow them to remain in the water for 1 to 2 hours only." The package had similar directions, but after an hour of soaking, and another hour of simmering, I still had crunchy beans . I had to basically boil the beans for an hour to get any effect at all, adding cups of water at a time. I think I will continue to use both dry and canned and try to make up my own directions for  soaking beans without leaving them overnight.... Ingredients: Servings:4 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, chopped 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 -3 cloves garlic 2 (14 1/2 ounce) ca...