Tamale Dinner, Vegetarian Menu for Lent

Tamale dinner menu for Lent
Photo by Pam Stephan

Every Lenten season, we try to stick to a vegetarian or pescaterian (fish-based) diet. Since we live in Texas, the home of barbequed beef brisket, pork roast, and traditional TexMex food, this is no easy ride.

We have tried the Daniel Diet in previous years, but decided that while my Dad lives with us, we'll modify that to keep the peace. Dad is a steak and potatoes, cheeseburger and fries, BBQ brisket and beans kind of a guy. Going for 40 days without any kind of Real Meat would be very hard for him, even with dementia.

Fortunately, Dad loves fish (so long as it is not shrimp or oysters or squid or sushi.) Fry it, bake it, broil it, smother it in sauce, and Dad will put away the fish. So we have that option through Lent, but we crave variety. I like to be creative, and that has led to us trying many foods that we may have never known about before going on this adventure.

This Tamale Dinner menu is 100% vegetarian, but don't tell my Dad that. As long as it looks and tastes pretty close to traditional TexMex, we are all happy.

Menu:

• Corn chips
• Fresh guacamole
• Traditional Style White Mountain Tamale 
• Sweet Corn Tamale (tamal de elote)
• Yellow Rice, Mahatma brand

Notes:
I use McCormick's Guacamole mix with 3 avocados.
The Traditional Tamal is drizzled with molé sauce.
Spoon some salsa and then sprinkle cheese shreds on the Corn Tamal.
Serve that yellow rice while it is hot!

Buen provecho!

Tofurky Chick'n Apple Sausage Sweet n' Sour Stir Fry

During Lent, we usually give up all types of meat, but we still enjoy fish, vegetables, fruits, and grains. I'm always looking for one-dish meals that will keep us healthy and provide enough protein. Above all, these meals must be easy to fix, so I take shortcuts but I don't skimp on flavor or color. Here's a vegetarian sausage stir-fry that uses a bottled sauce and fresh veggies over rice for a complete meal. Serve this in a soup plate to make dining easy for everybody. 

Note that all the veggies and "sausages" are precut into fork-ready chunks so that nobody will need a knife and the dish can be eaten as soon as it is served.

Meal Notes: Vegetarian, Low fat, Low cholesterol, Good source of fiber.

Ingredients: 2 cups cooked rice 8 oz. can of pineapple chunks half of a broccoli crown 2" wide section of yellow bell pepper 2" wide section of red bell pepper 8 - 10 maraschino cherries 2 links (7 oz.) Tofurky Chick'n & Apple Sausage 1 cup Kikkoman Sweet & Sour Sauce

Preparation: Cook enough rice to serve 3 - 4 people, cool and set aside in a microwave-safe bowl. Drain the pineapple and save the juice. Chop the broccoli into bite-size pieces and put these into a large microwave-safe bowl. Dice the bell pepper sections into bite-size chunks and add them to the broccoli. Put 2 tablespoons of water into the bowl of vegetables, cover, and microwave for 2 minutes. Divide each sausage link into four piece lengthwise, then chop them into bite-size bits. In a large pan, warm 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add the sausage chunks and brown slightly. Now add the pineapple chunks and 2 tablespoons of their juice to the sausage. Cook these together for a couple of minutes. Drain excess water from the bowl of vegetables, then add these to the pan of sausage and pineapple. Stir these ingredients together and continue cooking. Measure out 1 cup or so of the Sweet & Sour Sauce. Drizzle this over your sausage mixture and stir gently. Don't use a high heat, because the sauce can scorch. When the mixture comes together and all the pieces are warmed, turn off the heat. Line up the soup plates. Put a layer of cooked rice in each plate. Ladle a serving of sausage stir-fry over the rice. Add crackers, chips, or bread and serve. Enjoy!

Try an easy Baked Goodie for dessert!