PLANTY OF OPTIONS

MOM’S BLACK BEAN CORN SALSA

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pounds of frozen corn

• 2 cans of black beans - drain and rinse

• 2 fresh tomatoes

• 1 bunch of cilantro

• 1 red onion - chopped

• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic

• 1/4 cup of lime juice

• 1 diced avocado

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix ingredients together in a bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips

(Recipe courtesy of Shannon Hassebrock)

MOM’S MEATLESS CHILI

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound of ground beef substitute (Shannon recommends Beyond Beef plant-based ground onion)

• Red bell pepper

• 1 can of tomato soup

There are many reasons to choose a plant-based diet. You may focus on the environmental or health benefits of cutting out meat. Maybe meat just doesn’t taste good to you. Or maybe you can’t eat a cheeseburger without imagining the sad mooing of the cow who gave its life for your lunch. Whatever your reason for choosing to eat less meat, or cutting it out of your diet entirely, doing so can be a difficult change. Making the transition to meat-free eating can be especially hard if you’re like me and have a limited cooking ability. My solution for finding plant-based meals was to call up the best cooking experts I know: my mom and grandma. Here are some of their favorite plant-based dishes.

GRANDMA’S BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

• 2 boxes chopped, frozen broccoli (or

4 heads of fresh broccoli) cooked and drained

• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup

• 2 beaten eggs

1 cup of grated sharp cheddar cheese

1 scant (slightly less than) cup of Mayo (Lu uses ½ mayo, ½ sour cream)

2 tablespoons of minced onion 1/2 teaspoon of salt (Lucine uses

GRANDMA’S CORN CASSEROLE

INGREDIENTS

• 1/4 cup of minced green chilis

• 1 medium onion

• 1/4 cup of butter

• 8 ounces of shredded sharp cheddar cheese

• 8 ounces of sour cream

• 2 eggs

• One 15 ounce can of corn with juice

• One 15 ounce can of creamed corn

• One small-sized box of Jiffy cornbread mix

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all ingredients and place in a buttered casserole pan. Cover the top of the casserole with crushed Ritz crackers. Thinly slice butter and place it on top of the crackers, then lightly dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes, or until you can poke a knife into the casserole and pull it cleanly out.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter a glass casserole pan. Sauté pepper and onion in butter. In a separate bowl, mix eggs, both cans of corn, and the cornbread mix together. In the casserole pan, layer ingredients in this order: egg/corn mix on bottom, sautéd onions and peppers, sour cream, cheese on top. Bake for 30 minutes.

(Recipe courtesy of Lucine Lane)