portobellas with grains and greens

this is going to be a meal suggestion with lots of options. in an earlier post, i referred to myself as the vegetarian version of sandra lee, of semi-homemade fame.  sometimes i like to take short cuts...tonight's recipe made use of this wonderful wheat pilaf from a box and i'm not too proud to admit it. 

ingredients:

large portobella mushrooms (as many as you need to feed your peeps)

balsamic dressing or marinade of choice (or any marinade that suits your fancy for that matter)

any grain pilaf of choice....rice, bulgar, quinoa. homemade or boxed.  (read your labels)

1 can drained chickpeas

greens of choice sauteed in vegetable broth or use frozen

1 red onion sliced

a little more veggie broth

bragg's liquid aminos

a little goat or feta cheese if you're not a strict vegan

how to:

marinate mushrooms in dressing for a couple of hours.  boil greens in vegetable broth until nice and tender.  cook your grains according to package directions or your own recipe. add chickpeas to boiling water, along with your grain. saute onions in vegetable broth and bragg's to taste, until caramelized. bake mushrooms in 350 degree oven for about 30-40 minutes, flipping them about halfway through....or better yet, grill them.  it's still too cold for grilling in my neck of the woods.

top your mushroom with cheese (if using), grain pilaf, greens and caramelized onions.  return to oven for a few minutes.

enjoy....i served mine with citrus caramelized butternut squash...

veggies and dumplings over garlic potato/cauliflower mash

total comfort food.....

garlic potato cauliflower mash ingredients:

a head of cauliflower 

any combination of potatoes (roughly equal to the amount of cauliflower)

(you can see in the photo below that i used a handful of white potatoes and i got a little bag of tiny multi colored potatoes that i just threw in whole)  i left the skin on all of them. 

2-4 cloves of garlic

vegetable broth

how to:

boil vegetables in broth until tender.  drain off most of the liquid, reserving some for mashing.  mash by hand or briefly with an electric  hand mixer. add salt and pepper to taste.  add more of the reserved liquid or a little unsweetened almond milk if you need more liquid during mashing. 

dumpling ingredients:

1/4 cup oil (i used olive and grapeseed)

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

2 1/2 cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

how to:

combine all to form a dough. set aside for use in vegetables below.  

vegetables in savory broth ingredients:

 12-16 cups of vegetable broth 

(i used a combination of Better Than Bullion mushroom base and no chicken base....4-5 tablespoons to 12 cups of water)

vegetables of choice

carrots, celery, broccoli, peas, corn, green beans, lima beans, okra, squash, greens...frozen, canned, fresh.  as always, whatever appeals to you or what you have handy....as much as you like, just make sure you have enough broth to accommodate the dumplings)

a couple of dried bay leaves and black pepper to taste

how to:

bring broth to a boil in a large pot.  add vegetables, making sure to give the ones that require longer cooking time a head start. add bay leaves and pepper. once vegetables are nearly cooked and broth is rapidly boiling, begin dropping dumpling dough into pot by small spoonfuls.  place lid on and reduce heat slightly, maintaining a soft boil.  leave lid on and allow steam to do its magic on the dumpling for about 15-20 minute.  it's important to make sure you have plenty of liquid in your pot for this.  if you need to add more, do it before you start putting the dumplings in and make sure it is back up to a rolling boil.

ladle this yummy goodness over a bowl of the cauliflower mash . 

a couple of notes:

i doubled the dumpling recipe for my family of 6 and used most of the dough.  the amount of vegetable broth listed was enough to accomodate that amount of dumplings and still leave plenty of sauce.

meatless tacos/taco salad

YUM! another dinner idea with lots of flexibility to suit your taste.

ingredients:

taco shells, taco salad bowls or tortillas of choice

cooked beans of choice. lentils would work nicely.  i used my TruRoots Sprouted Bean Trio from Costco again. 

taco seasoning.  this can be homemade (such as this or this) or a healthy, low sodium packet.  i took the easy way out this time and used Nueva Cocina Taco Fresco Mix, found at Whole Foods Market.

tomato sauce

water

cooked brown rice

how to:

  cook your beans in water until they are soft.

drain well,  put in sauce pan with tomato sauce, water and taco seasoning.  heat till bubbly and most of the liquid has cooked off.

serve with rice in taco shells, taco salad bowls or tortillas with your favorite toppings.

topping suggestions:

lettuce, tomatoes, onions, corn, any variety of peppers, olives, avocado, guacamole, mango, salsa, cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream (if you're not shooting for vegan)


these were totally sam and bethany  (my very picky 13 and 16 year old) approved tacos. sam actually thought there was meat in his taco.  SCORE!

veggie stir fry with brown sauce

this is going to be one of THOSE recipes...you know the ones.  no real measurements and lots of options. it's stir fry....no need to be precise.  the vegetables listed are what we used this time and just a guide.  use what you have on hand.  the key is the sauce.  

Forks Over Knives chinese brown sauce ingredients:

1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce

1/3 cup vegetable stock

1/4 cup brown rice syrup

2 tsp grated ginger

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 tsp arrowroot powder (you could probably use cornstarch)

combine all in a med. saucepan over med. heat until thickened, about 5 minutes. 

set aside....

stir fry ingredients:

(remember, these are merely suggestions)

tofu, cubed

citrus ginger spice rub (found this in the seafood dept. at Whole Foods Market)

coconut oil

sesame oil

shredded napa cabbage

shredded red cabbage

shredded carrots

snow peas

sliced mushrooms

sliced water chestnuts

bean sprouts

yellow pepper

onion

how to:

dredge tofu cubes in spice rub.  melt coconut oil in skillet and brown tofu.  set aside. (you could also marinate the tofu for a few minutes in a a little soy sauce or forgo it altogether)

add sesame oil to large skillet or wok.  add vegetables and stir fry on med-high until they are just beginning to soften, but are still bright and a little crisp.  add tofu and combine with vegetables.  add sauce a little at a time and combine with vegetables.  the sauce should enhance the taste of the vegetables, not overwhelm them.

serve over rice or noodles of choice.

portabella mushrooms....three recipes in one

sauteed portabella mushrooms

ingredients:

4 large portabella mushrooms

vegetable broth

Bragg's Liquid Aminos

how to:

my preferred method would be to marinate the mushrooms and then grill them, however, this florida girl is freezing her bootie off in utah right now and i'd rather be warm and cozy...inside.

slice mushrooms about 1/4" thick

pour broth into large skillet to cover bottom and add liquid aminos to taste.  

place sliced mushrooms in a single layer in skillet and sear on med-high heat until golden brown on both sides, adding more broth as it cooks off.   

now...what to do with these delicious morsels....

easy pasta sauce

ingredients:

vegetable broth for sauteeing

1/2 of a medium zucchini, diced

a handful of white or mini portabella mushrooms, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

lots of fresh basil

crushed red pepper to taste

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 jar of prepared pasta sauce (read ingredients closely, some have a ridiculous amount of added sugar and salt)  

4-6 slices of the portabella mushrooms 

how to:

saute zucchini, white mushrooms, garlic basil and red pepper in broth for a few minutes

add tomatoes and sauce, heat through

scoop out a cup or so of the sauce and put in blender with the portabellas.  blend away and add back to the sauce in the pan.  

combine, heat for a while on low to allow the flavors to blend.

serve over your favorite pasta

the blended portabellas really make this sauce happy.

portabella salad

ingredients:

greens of choice

sliced red onion

chickpeas

sauteed portabellas

feta or goat cheese

balsamic dressing of choice

how to:

you know what to do. :)

i have to confess that i didn't have a red onion....which i really wanted on this salad, so i threw on a handful of dried onions.  not my first choice, but it worked.  go with the red if you have one.

potato bar

this is more of an idea, with endless possibilities, than a recipe.

last night's dinner was a potato bar...regular old idaho white and sweet potatoes with a variety of toppings to satisfy my pickiest to my most adventurous eaters. 

my plate looked like this.....

1/2 of a white potato topped with sauteed vegetables (mushrooms, onions, orange bell pepper, sauteed in vegetable broth and Bragg's Liquid Aminos)

1/2 of a sweet potato topped with chili (one can of black beans, one can of Trader Joe's Vegetarian Chili, which appears to actually be vegan and one can of diced tomatoes, seasoned with a little cumin and a little coriander.....i threw all of this in the tiny crock pot, late afternoon).  the combination of the sweet potato and the savory kick in the chili was incredible.  can't believe i never tried that before. 

simple spinach salad with dried cranberries, slivered almonds and a little feta. 

this dinner suggestion can be vegetarian or vegan depending on the toppings you use.

easy peasy, right?

veggie pesto stromboli

my spin on mama's stromboli, an old family favorite.

ingredients:

prepared whole wheat pizza dough of choice or homemade.  i use Whole Foods Market or Trader Joe's, made fresh daily, inexpensive and available in the refrigerated section.

prepared pesto or homemade

fresh, raw veggies of choice. this time around i chose spinach, mushrooms, red bell peppers and red onions.

italian style cheese of choice

how to:

roll out pizza dough into a rectangle, roughly 5" by 13"

spread pesto onto dough, edge to edge

top with vegetables and cheese

fold sides and ends in and pinch dough to seal (kinda like a giant hot pocket)

flip it over onto a baking sheet, seam side down

bake at about 350 until dough is baked and golden brown....roughly 20 mins.  

chilaquiles casserole

this is a definite keeper that i got from Eating Well and made a few minor changes to suit our personal preferences.  

here is the link to the original recipe...

chilaquiles casserole 

the changes i made were simple and certainly not necessary:

used coconut oil instead of canola

diced the zucchini instead of grating it

  added a couple of cloves of garlic to saute with the onion and zucchini

added a little cilantro to the vegetable mixture

we served ours with a little fresh, diced avocado and Trader Joe's Quinoa and Black Bean Tortilla Chips.

breakfast sandwich...fork required

compliments of my husband, chief weekend breakfast cooker in our family

so, here is your first taste of how i will be sharing recipes.  it may frustrate many of you, but hopefully, it will give you creative license in the kitchen.  i will rarely use specific proportions or cooking times...so just go with what feels right, looks right and smells right to you.

ingredients: 

2 slices of toasted bread of choice. we use a locally baked and distributed bread that is sold in our grocery stores, Jack Spratt Sprouted Wheat Bread.

diced potatoes

diced, firm tofu

diced tomato

diced red bell pepper

diced onion

slice mushrooms

canned black beans 

chopped Morning Star Breakfast Sausage

salt, pepper and cayenne pepper

how to:

saute veggies and tofu in oil of choice.  kevin used a combination of olive and coconut oils, but coconut is my preference.  to reduce fat, use as little as necessary.  the potatoes will take the longest, next the tofu,  followed by peppers and onions, mushrooms, then tomatoes.

season to preference

stir in the beans till heated through

heat the sausage product thoroughly in skillet and cut into chunks

combine all,  pile onto a slice of toast, top with another slice of toast and serve with a fork. 

enjoy!  i did!  thanks, honey.