Hawaiian Haystacks with Mushroom Gravy

Despite the random assortment of canned fruits and vegetables, I really love Hawaiian Haystacks. Somehow the combination of flavors and textures just works. It is a great meal to feed a crowd with minimal preparation too. I used to make gravy with chicken broth and diced chicken breasts, but I've since decided I prefer it meatless, so I make this gravy instead. Dave does however like his chicken so I grill up a thigh or something for him to throw in or open a can of cooked chicken. I'm also thinking about experimenting by adding garlic and onions.

Mushroom Gravy

Melt  2T butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add 8oz finely chopped mushrooms and saute until tender. Add 2 T. all-purpose flour and stir well until mushrooms are well coated. Continue to stir about 2 minutes to cook out the flour taste. Slowly add 2 cups vegetable broth (made with my favorite veggie broth concentrate, or chicken broth, or beef broth). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until thickened, stirring constantly. Thin out with more broth or milk if you want it creamier

To make a Haystack: Start with cooked rice and top with gravy and any or all of the following:

Fresh or canned pineapple (or mandarin oranges, or marachino cherries)

Fresh or canned tomatoes

Shredded cheddar cheese

Green onions

Chow mein noodles (the crispy ones you buy in the Asian aisle of the grocery store)

More mushrooms

Chopped bell pepper

Chopped celery

Slivered almonds

Anything else that sounds good...

Uncle Mike's Spaghetti Sauce

2 Medium Onions, diced
8 oz mushrooms chopped
8 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs hamburger
2 tsp oil
2 8 oz cans tomato sauce
1 can tomato puree
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8 cups water
2 cans stewed tomatoes
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp italian seasoning
1/4 tsp dried basil
1 tsp parsley flakes
2 TBS butter

in saucepot brown hamburger until well done. In a separate frying pan place oil, onions, mushrooms, and garlic. Saute for 4 minutes. Combine and cook for 5 minutes.

Combine with tomato sauce, puree, and pater. Add all of the seasonings and butter. Bring to a boil .

Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 hours.

Bean Curry

This is another from Melskitchencafe.com. Some of the commenters made it with black beans. I used dried black eyed peas because the canned ones I bought walked off somewhere. I needed 1 cup dried beans and an extra teaspoon of salt for the dry beans. We served it over naan. My boys called it macaroni and cheese soup. I have no idea why, but they ate it. That's all I ask.
Bean Curry
Printable Version
Printable Version with Picture
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger (see pictures of grating ginger here)
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
pinch cayenne, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
3/4 cup half and half
1 cup vegetable stock or chicken broth
1 can black-eyed peas, lightly drained
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; saute 5 minutes or until translucent and slightly browned. Stir in garlic and grated ginger root; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add tomato; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in turmeric, cayenne, salt, paprika, and garam masala; stir constantly for 30 seconds. Add half and half, stock, and black-eyed peas. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro. Serve immediately with rice, chapati, or naan.

Creamy Tomato Gnocchi

This recipe is from Meatless Monday. I was a little skeptical about a vegan "Cream" sauce, but was pleasantly surprised. My kids and Dave all seemed to enjoy it too, and really, there is nothing terribly unusual about it. Ground nuts give it the creamy texture.

My notes:

--I didn't have raw cashews. After much deliberating amongst me, myself, and I whether I should try roasted cashews or another raw nut I went with raw almonds. I thought it turned out to be a good choice.

--Next time I will grind the nuts up a bit before I add the other ingredients. Almonds bouncing around in tomato sauce made a big mess.

--I have never heard of chunky tomato sauce so I used crushed tomatoes.

--2 tsp. of red pepper flakes seemed like a lot for my kids based on previous red pepper experiences so I reduced it to 1/2 tsp. Next time I'll use at least 1 1/2 tsp.

Serves 4

For the sauce:

• 3/4 cup low sodium chunky tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup cashews, raw
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• splash of white wine

To complete the dish:

• 1 pack gnocchi, cooked according to package instructions
• 1 cup whole cherry tomatoes
• 1/2 cup zucchini, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• basil, chopped for garnish

To make the sauce:

Combine tomato sauce, water, tomato paste, cashews, red pepper and white wine in a food professor and blend until smooth and creamy. You may need to add more water to get to the desired consistency.

To complete the dish:

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the tomatoes, zucchini and sauté for 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 3-5 minutes more, or until garlic is golden.

Pour the sauce from the food professor into the sauté pan and mix thoroughly. Turn heat down to medium low and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Add the cooked gnocchi to the pan for 3-5 minutes, or until gnocchi is heated. Remove from heat and garnish with chopped basil leaves.

Tomato Basil Pasta Sauce

This recipe is another keeper. All five members of the Heber Sullivan clan gobbled it up. The recipe came from here, but I made some slight modifications. The way I made it serves about 6.


1 T. olive oil
1/2 C. finely diced onion
2 t. minced garlic
1 can diced tomatoes
1 t. salt
1/2 t. sugar

2 C. heavy cream
dash of cayenne pepper
3 T. finely chopped fresh basil leaves

½ C. shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1/4 C. parmesan cheese

1 diced fresh tomato

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and saute until translucent (about 4 min). Add minced garlic and saute an additional minute or two. Dump in tomatoes, salt, and sugar, bring to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes. Reduce heat and stir in cream. Lightly simmer (do not let it boil) until mixture is reduced by 1/3. Remove from heat and stir in cheeses.

Pour over 12 oz hot cooked whole wheat pasta, I used rotini. (You really want to use whole wheat if you are serving this as a main dish to make it more filling. This is a great sauce to cover the texture if you aren't used to whole wheat.)

Egg and Tomato Gratin

Maybe it was because the boys had spent the afternoon swimming and were famished, but everyone in the family downed this. So despite the fact that this has eggs and, therefore, is only loosely vegetarian, it is still going in the 2009 12 meatless meals my family loves.

I've made it with scrambled and hard boiled eggs. Both were great. Serve it over toasted French bread.

Egg and Tomato Gratin (from Orangette)

Tortilla Soup

Both my mom and Aunt Cathy make this soup. I don't know whose recipe it was first, so I don't know where credit is due.

Blend until smooth:
15 oz can of tomatoes
1 clove garlic
1 medium onion
2 T. parsley

Pour tomato mixture into large saucepan and add:
4 c. chicken broth (I use low-sodium because the bacon makes it pretty salty too)
1/4 tsp sugar.

Simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with:
Crumbled bacon
diced avocado
shredded cheese
tortillas warmed in a little bit of oil (or tortilla chips)

Caprese Panini

Layer panini as follows

Slice of artisan bread (really good with La Brea Rosemary Olive Oil Loaf)
Slice of fresh mozzerella
sliced tomatoes (preferably roma)
sprinkle of fresh basil
drizzle of balsamic vinegar
Second slice of bread

Grilled chicken is also good in this sandwich.

Brush exterior with olive oil and grill on panini maker until bread is crisp and brown and cheese is melted.

Tomato Basil Soup

This is a great fast recipe. It's almost as easy as Campbell's, but a whole lot better.I only add butter if it tastes too acidic, and use dried basil in the winter. Serve with grilled cheese on whole wheat for a more filling meal (and a complete protein).

Cheese Ravioli with Tomato and Artichoke Sauce

1 (9 oz.) pkg. cheese ravioli
1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp. olive oil
½ c. chopped green onion
1 (6.5 oz.) jar marinated artichokes
3 cloves crushed garlic
½ c. seeded Kalamata olives, sliced in half
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Cook ravioli. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce. In a large nonstick skillet, heat olive oil over a med. heat. Add tomatoes, artichokes, green onions, olives, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are warmed through. Add drained ravioli to skillet and combined with sauce. You don’t need to cook it any longer, just make sure all is warm and combined. Garnish with parmesan cheese.

I suppose you'd need to serve this with whole wheat rolls or something to make it a complete protein meal.