This is actually from Sarah

She tried to comment directly, but was for some inexplicable reason blocked by blogger. :( Anyway, here's what she had to say:

Re: reheatable dishes, how about soups/stews/chilis? Most are easy to make and healthy and most are freezable too. I like to freeze a few portions of any big meals I make so that I don't get sick of leftovers and so that I have a ready supply of homemade food on hand for the nights when I don't feel like cooking. I've attached two recipes, one is for a vegan chili which took me forever to perfect and is the bomb. the chili is freezable, but I don't think the polenta is. The second is a veggie burger rachel and I came up with one of the times I was visiting - you may have been there? Anyhoo, for these, I only cook what I'm going to eat immediately, then I form the rest into patties and layer them between layers of wax paper and put in freezer bags to freeze. This way you can pull one out at a time, and I've successfully skillet cooked them in a very small amount of oil directly from frozen. These are probably good with whatever fixins you like, but I love them with hummus and/or lemon-tahini dressing.

Sarah’s vegan chili with green chili-corn-smoked cheddar polenta

Chili

Ingredients:

A couple T olive oil

2 medium sized onions, chopped

1 habenero and 1 jalapeno, minced seeds and all

3 cans beans (black, red, white), drained and rinsed

2 cans diced tomatoes (drain juice and reserve)

2 sweet potatoes, pre-cooked, cooled, with skins removed (I baked them the night before)

1 pkg frozen corn

1 pkg frozen spinach

½ cup bulgar wheat

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¼ cup maple syrup

3 T chili powder

2 T cumin

2 bay leaves

¼ t cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper to taste

~2 cups additional water or broth

1. cook onions and hot peppers in olive oil for 10 min
2. while onions are cooking, simmer bulgar wheat in reserved tomato juice for 10 min
3. add bulgar wheat and all other ingredients to onions, stir well, and simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, add additional water or broth as necessary. Adjust seasoning as desired

Polenta

Ingredients:

6 cups water

~ 1 t salt

2 cups bob’s red mill corn grits (or equivalent)

3 T butter

2 T honey

1 7 oz can green chilies (I drained some of juice off and added it to chili)

½ to 1 pkg frozen corn, thawed

½ cup packed grated smoked cheddar

1. Bring water and salt to a boil
2. slowly add in corn grits, stirring as you add
3. reduce heat and cook for ~ 30 min, stirring frequently
4. after 10 minutes add in butter and honey
5. after 20 minutes add in chilies and corn
6. in the last 5 minutes, stir in cheese until melted
7. spoon into a non-reactive bowl and allow to set for 10-20 minutes
8. invert onto a plate

To serve:

Cut out wedges of polenta, or just spoon out, and place in the bottom of a bowl. Top with chili, grated cheese, and sour cream. Serve immediately.

Note, using olive oil or earth balance in place of butter and omitting cheese or replacing with vegan alternative will make the polenta vegan as well.

SaRachel’s Lentil-black bean burgers

Ingredients:

½ cup green lentils, dry

2 ½ cups hot water

½ can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 small onion, chopped

2 clove garlic, minced

1 ½ tsp cumin

¼ tsp cayenne

1 T soy sauce

¾ cup breadcrumbs

2 eggs, beaten

Salt and pepper to taste

A little oil to cook the burgers in

Directions:

1. Cook lentils:
1. Combine lentils and hot water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer ~ 30 minutes until tender
2. Saute onions in a little oil for 5 min, add garlic and sauté for one more minute.
3. Add cumin and cayenne and cook for one more minute.
4. Combine lentils and black beans and mash roughly so there are still some chunks
5. Combine onion mixture with lentil-bean mixture
6. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well mixed
1. Optional embellishments

i. Sauted/steamed – carrots, greens, mushrooms

ii. Fresh basil or other herbs

7. Adjust liquid (eggs or water) or solid (breadcrumbs or black beans) as necessary for desired consistency.
8. Adjust salt/pepper/soy sauce/cumin/cayenne for desired flavor
9. Form mixture into patties
10. Heat oil in a skillet and cook each patty 2-10 minutes per side, or until browned
11. You can also freeze these between layers of wax paper