"Ground Beef", Sweet Potato and Spinach Burritos with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce

(Scaled to make 2 servings:

Adjust ingredients to suit your family or gathering)

Set oven to 350 and get out a Pyrex glass baking dish

 Burritos

2 Flour Tortillas
1 c. Morningstar "Beef" Crumbles, thawed in microwave and mixed with 1 TBSP Taco Seasoning
1/2 c. Frozen Spinach, thawed in microwave
1 Large Sweet Potato, pierced and microwaved until soft - remove skin and mash

In a skillet sprayed with cooking spray, combine all above ingredients except flour tortillas

Once it is all heated through, spoon mixture evenly between 2 tortillas and fold and roll into burritos

Spray Pyrex glass baking dish with cooking spray and lay the folded burritos in it

Green Chile Sauce

In a measuring cup whisk together:

1/2 c. Sour Cream (we use Tofutti vegan sour cream)
4 oz. can Diced Green Chilies
Sprinkle in some salt, pepper, garlic and cumin

Pour sauce over burritos in Pyrex pan

Bake burritos at 350 for 15 min.

Serve on a bed of salad with chips and salsa/guacamole or Spanish/Mexican rice

Tomato Basil Pasta with White Beans and Spinach

 (Makes 4 generous servings)

More "Beans, Greens and  Grains" - the essential nutrient combo!  Protein, folate, fiber and more...

And, it's simple and easy to throw together with shelf stable/canned/frozen ingredients - 

Just make sure you have FRESH basil and garlic and you can't go wrong!

Ingredients:

1/2 Box Whole Wheat Pasta of choice (I used mini shells) - Cooked, drained and set aside
1 can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 Can White Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 Bag Frozen Spinach, thawed in microwave
1/4 c. FRESH Basil, torn or shredded
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic, sliced thinly
1 TBSP Olive Oil
1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp Sugar
1 TBSP Butter (We use Earth Balance)

Salt and Pepper to taste
3 TBSP Nutritional Yeast (optional)
Toasted Pine Nuts (optional) - Buy raw and toast in a dry pan, stirring frequently to prevent burning about 5 min.

Method:

In a large and deep frying pan, heat olive oil
Add sliced garlic and fry a few minutes
Add in spinach, tomatoes, beans and pasta and simmer
Add in rest of ingredients and stir to combine

*Butter adds a nice depth of flavor to the dish, but is optional

Top with toasted pine nuts, if desired, and serve with side salad, and a nice crusty bread

Coconut Curry Vegetables with Fresh Thai Basil

(Serves 4)

Ingedients:

1 Water Packed Extra Firm Tofu, drained and cut into cubes
3-4 cups Mixed Veggies of Choice - I used fresh zucchini and red pepper and frozen broccoli, carrots and edamame
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
Cornstarch
1 Can Coconut Milk (I used Light from Trader Joe's)
Vegetable Oil for Frying
Handful of FRESH Basil, chopped

In a large frying pan, heat 1 TBSP Oil
Fry tofu on all sides until slightly browned
Add in garlic, vegetables and fry 5-10 more minutes
Add in Coconut Milk
In a measuring cup, mix together ingredients for "sauce" (below)

Sauce:
 6 TBSP Soy Sauce
1 TBSP Brown Sugar
1 tsp Ground Ginger (or use fresh grated)
1 tsp Curry Powder (I use Penzey's Sweet Curry)
1 tsp Cornstarch mixed with a few TBSP COLD water
*Add in hot chile oil, Sriracha sauce or cayenne pepper to taste if you like it spicy

Add sauce to veggie/coconut milk mixture in frying pan and cook a minute or two
Turn off heat and add in some chopped basil

Top dish with chopped basil and serve with rice (we used jasmine brown rice)

10 Minute Lentil Soup

Add a side salad and crusty bread and dinner is set - Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 Can Lentils, Drained
1/2 Bag Frozen Spinach, thawed in microwave
1/2 Bag Frozen Mirepoix, (chopped carrot, onion, celery) thawed in microwave
1 Can Diced Tomatoes, undrained
1 Can Whole Potatoes, diced (or 1 can diced potatoes)
4 c. Water with 1 cube vegetable boullion disolved in it or 4 c. Vegetable Broth
2 Cloves Fresh Garlic, minced
1 TBSP Olive Oil
Dried Oregano Flakes
Salt & Pepper

Method:

In a large soup pot, heat oil
Add minced garlic and fry 1-2 min.
Add all canned and thawed veggie ingredients
Slowly add vegetable broth until desired soup thickness
Keep on stove simmering on low until ready to eat
Add salt and pepper to taste (I also sprinkled in a bit of dried oregano)

Serve!

It's that easy!!

Breakfast Cups - Sunday Brunch!

I decided to try these with tofu instead of eggs to see how they would turn out.

It's a twist on the "Ham & Egg" baked breakfast cups.  Pretty easy and tasty.  Even Little B. who is 2 liked them.

Ingredients:

1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained
Tofurky Deli Slices (I used original flavor)
1/2 c. plain soy milk
1 tsp. turmeric (for orange/yellow color)
1 tsp. granulated garlic
1 c. finely chopped frozen broccoli (I used the Ninja chopper after microwaving broccoli)
*You can sub in any chopped veggie or spinach etc.

5 TBSP Nutritional Yeast
1 tsp each salt and pepper
1/2 c. Shredded Cheese (vegan or dairy - I used dairy mozzarella)

Method:

Get out a 6 cup muffin tin
Set oven to 400 degrees

Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray
Line each cup with a slice of Tofurky
Set aside


In a blender, combine:
Tofu, soy milk, spices
Pour into a mixing bowl and fold in cheese and broccoli

Spoon mixture into Tofurky slices in the baking tin

Bake for 25-30 min.
Let cool slightly (5-10 min.) before removing tofu cups so that they firm up some as they cool

We served with fried potatoes, toast and veggie sausage

Fresh Tomato and Basil Capellini Pomodoro

 Ingredients:

16 oz. Container of Grape Tomatoes, cut into quarters
1 White Onion, finely chopped

1 handful Basil leaves, fresh chopped (3 TBSP chopped)
5-6 cloves Fresh Garlic, minced, reserving 1 TBSP minced garlic
3 TBSP Olive Oil

1 TBSP Balsamic Vinegar

1 tsp White Sugar

1/2 c. Jarred Pasta Sauce
1 tsp each Salt and Black Pepper

Angel Hair Pasta (or pasta of choice)

 

Method:

In a soup pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat

Once hot, add the chopped onion and cook until lightly browned, stirring occasionally so it doesn't burn (10-20 min. depending on pan size)

Add in chopped garlic (except for 1 TBSP you are reserving)

Add in vinegar, sugar, jarred pasta sauce, salt, pepper

Add in tomatoes

Keep on stove, stirring occasionally about 20 min.

Take sauce off stove and stir in the 1 TBSP raw chopped garlic and all of the chopped basil

Cook 1 box Angel Hair Pasta

Serve sauce over pasta

Mexican Spiced Potato Salad

We've decided to keep cooking to a minimum and make almost every night either "Salad Night" or "Veggie Burger Night" until the baby is born.  Makes things easier for quick dinners after the pool!

Tonight is "Black Bean Burger Night", so to go with that theme, I came up with this side dish recipe, which we'll serve with corn on the cob.

Ingredients:
1-2 Potatoes, scrubbed, cubed and boiled about 10 min. until just tender, not mushy - set aside to cool
1 c. Sliced Celery
1 c. Carrot, finely chopped
1/2 c. Red Onion, finely chopped
1 Med. Red Pepper, finely chopped
*I use the Ninja Master Prep for all chopping, makes things VERY easy and beats hand chopping!
http://www.ninjakitchen.com/

1 tsp Brown Mustard
1/2 c. Mayonnaise (I use Vegenaise)  http://www.followyourheart.com/products/category/vegenaise/
1/2 tsp. Vinegar (White)
1 tsp. Sugar
1/2 tsp each Salt & Black Pepper
1 TBSP Taco Seasoning

Method:
Combine all in bowl and stir
Serve room temperature or cold

Kale (not Cole) Slaw

Ingredients:

3-4 handfuls of  kale (stripped from stems), chopped in food processor
1/2 c. carrot, grated

Dressing:
2 TBSP squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon-style mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/3 c. olive oil

Whisk together all except kale and carrot
Pour over chopped kale and carrot and toss to combine.