Vegan lettuce wraps

Have I mentioned that husband and I are going vegan? Sort of. And more! Vegan without any processed foods. It'll be good.
Day 1: for lunch I had spaghetti squash (found on the blog!)
Dinner was great.

I melded a number of lettuce wrap recipes because we aren't eating tofu, either. So here's what I used:
2 carrots
1/2 onion
1 celery stalk
I garlic clove
1 jalapeño
2 cups of black beans
2 cups cooked brown basmati rice
About 4T tamari (or soy sauce)
2t kosher salt
1 cup roasted cashews
Chop the veggies and sauté in 1T coconut oil. Once they're about the texture you want, add the beans, rice, tamari, and salt. Heat until most liquid is cooked off, add cashews, and serve with lettuce leaves and sliced avocado. We used green leaf. For the leftovers we'll use romaine.

It was a hit!
(it only looks like he's grimacing. He's actually smiling with a mouth full of food.)

amazing pizza

oh my gosh, this was amazing. homemade crust (aka a just-add-water pack that was on the clearance table for $0.50), garlic olive oil, leftover chicken, leftover bacon, fresh spinach, and small chunks of mozzarella.

preheat the oven to 400 with your pizza stone in it. mix the crust like it says to on the package. seriously, just add water. then i rolled it in cornmeal and rolled it out pretty darn thin on parchment paper, so i could just transfer the pizza on the paper onto the hot pizza stone. baked it for 5-8 minutes. take it out and add the toppings (this keeps the dough from staying to doughy). put it back in the oven for about 10 more minutes, until the edge gets brown and the cheese is melted.

enjoy! this smelled amazing while it was in the oven because of the garlic olive oil-- husband said this was the best pizza i've made, and we make a lot of homemade pizza!

chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes

this was one of those meals that i'm sooo glad made a ton of leftovers. because i've been eating on this rice mix for the past two days now! when husband asked if i was making anything good for dinner, and i brought out the enameled dutch oven, he got excited-- and said that anything that comes from that pot is wonderful.

and it's true.

here's to another pinterest recipe!

martha stewart's chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes:

• 1 whole chicken (3 to 4 pounds), cut into 10 pieces i used a mix of thighs, breasts, and legs. some with skin, some without


• Coarse salt and ground pepper


• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil


• 1 small yellow onion, diced medium


• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped


• 1 small green bell pepper, diced medium my yellow and orange had to go first, so i used one and a half peppers, any color you want


• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest i didn't have, so i didn't use.


• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano


• added fresh rosemary, the chopped leaves from one sprig


• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper


• 1 1/2 cups long-grain white rice


• 3 cups frozen corn (from a 16-ounce bag)


• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips


• 2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water use the chicken broth. it's worth it.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, with rack in lower third. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over high. Cook chicken, skin side down, until golden and crisp, 6 minutes. Flip chicken and cook until browned, 6 minutes. Transfer to a large plate.


2. Reduce heat to medium and add onion, garlic, and bell pepper to pot. Cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon, until onion is translucent, 4 minutes. Stir in lemon zest, oregano, cayenne, and rice and cook 1 minute.


3. Add corn, tomatoes, and broth and season with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken, skin side up, on top of rice mixture. Bring to a boil, cover pot, and place in oven. Bake until chicken is cooked through and liquid is absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Let sit 5 minutes before serving.

it makes a ton, so it's great for if you have guests over. or, if you're like me and make it just for you and one other person, then you get to eat it for lunch and dinner the next day! perfect-o!

the PW asian-inspired flank steak

here's to trying new meals and sticking to the menu plan! This is actually from LAST week, but it's worth the post. I followed the pioneer woman's flank steak recipe with asian-inspired marinade. here it is, but remember that i am not the best at measuring.

• 1/2 cup Soy Sauce
• 1/2 cup Cooking Sherry
• 3 Tablespoons Honey
• 2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
• 2 Tablespoons (heaping) Minced Ginger
• 3 cloves (to 5 Cloves) Minced Garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
• 1 whole Flank Steak

put everything but the steak in a shallow dish and mix well. add the flank steak, turning a few times to cover completely. i marinated it for about 3 hours, flipping it over at 1.5 hours.



i wish i'd flattened it a little in the middle. i think my steak was very thick because i had to cook it longer than she suggested (3.5-4 minutes per side? more like 5-6 minutes per side). also since i don't have a grill or grill plate, i did it in a skillet. next time i'd use the electric griddle at least. i chose not to make her "controversial optional sauce" with it (boiling the strained, leftover marinade with some water until it thickens some) only because i forgot to and dumped it down the drain. not because i'm concerned about any contamination at all.



served with steamed green beans and white rice! yes, i'd have loved to have asparagus and brown rice. but we use what we have when we're budgeting.

menu plan, week of january 9

well, scroll down and look at last week. yeah. notice that there's no posts between here and there? it's because, well, life happens. and i forget about an event on tuesday. and one on thursday. and one on saturday. so the good news is that i froze most of the meats and have food for another week! so, there's a bunch of repeats this week. but i'm pretty sure i have the events planned for, and we'll have quick meals on those days. here goes:

monday: chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes
tuesday: chris out. leftovers
wednesday: elder led. quick dinner. pita pizzas
thursday: two bean chili with butternut squash
friday: leftovers
saturday: home group. dinner at the bells.
sunday: black beans and kielbasa served over rice

menu plan. week of 1/2 to 1/8

happy new year, everyone.

here's the menu plan for this week. i hope to post some of these and how i edited the original recipe throughout the week. and of course, since it's january, everything will be a little healthier-- however i can make it. most of these recipes can be found over at my pinterest page, but i'll be making changes to them as i can to make them healthier.

monday: baked chicken topped with olives and roasted red peppers. served with salad
tuesday: crock pot roast beef
wednesday: grab something to go because of elder-led
thursday: black beans and sausage served over rice
friday: asian-inspired flank steak with veggies
saturday: chicken and rice with corn and sun-dried tomatoes
sunday: leftovers

see you soon!

beef kabobs (baked!)

i have been meaning to get an indoor grill for about two months now. but something always comes up-- moving, buying plane tickets, etc.-- so i'm trying to still find ways to enjoy fun summer foods. usually this involves turning the oven on. which heats the house up to 84 degrees. which is still better than the 101 it is outside. but still. a grill would be so much better.



so i still made kabobs, that turned out wonderfully! simple-- beef, green pepper, and onion.



served with rice pilaf and a delicious salad.

(speaking of not heating the house up, i haven't mentioned that my mom bought me a pressure cooker **squeal** and they don't heat up the house-- because they cook things in a tiny, enclosed area, and it cooks fast! yay!)

also, seeing these photos, i wish we ate dinner earlier so that i had some natural light to take the pictures with. this indoor lighting sucks.

vegan chocolate cake

so i was searching for a chocolate cake recipe that used applesauce instead of oil. i've heard about doing this but never tried it myself, so i was looking forward to it. it's actually harder than you'd think to search for this! i accidentally ran across a vegan recipe, which ended up being a lifesaver because i didn't realize we were out of eggs. you can find the recipe for it here, i won't reinvent the wheel. you can check out the details there, and trust me-- you'll want to. it's the best chocolate cake i've ever had. it's dense, but not heavy. it's sweet but not overbearing. and so moist (even two days later!) that it doesn't need icing.

not that i didn't add something. i made a chocolate glaze for it (found here), topped with some strawberries that had soaked in some sugar (for strawberry shortcake from a family dinner), and added a little bit of redi whip. yum yum.

what's that label? healthy? that's right. under 250 calories for this here amazing dessert. and worth double that in taste. for reals.

stuffed poblano peppers

i'm here, i'm alive, and i'm doing well!

i've been so busy lately, i haven't had a chance to upload and edit photos that were on my camera. but it's too hot out to do anything else, so i thought i'd go for it today! i have been cooking, i promise.

i was lucky enough to get a lot of garden veggies from my uncle when he visited-- things like tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, onions. he's got a great garden. so i chose to make stuffed poblanos since i love to have fresh foods! here's what you'll need for this meal:

1/2 diced onion

2 cloves diced garlic

1 bell pepper

1zucchini

1 can of black beans

1 cup of corn

4+ peppers

preheat the oven to 400 degrees. cook the diced onion and garlic just until the garlic starts to turn a little brown.

add the green pepper and zucchini.

add the beans and (not pictured) corn.

stuff the peppers as best as you can. if you use young peppers, it's hard to do this so that they look beautiful. it's okay. keep them together as best as you can, and stuff them as full as you can.

cook for 20 minutes, then add feta and cook for another 10 or 15 minutes.

if you only have four peppers, like i did, and they're tiny, like mine were, then you'll have leftovers. us them in burritos!

this whole thing was vegetarian and amazing. the beans make it so filling, and husband didn't even realize that it was vegetarian because it was rich and filling. it's great. make it!

meal plan, week of june 27

i have been so busy cooking and baking lately, but i bet none of you believe me, because i haven't posted ANY of it! well, it's coming. honest. i can't wait to get some of these ready to post. and there's a few that i can't wait to make again (already!)

here's the meal plan for this week*:

monday: beef kabobs
tuesday: ham pasta primavera
wednesday: baked chicken, mashed potatoes, veggie side
thursday: erica's chicken paprikash
friday: steak salad
saturday: dinner out with friends!
sunday: figure something out. maybe homemade pizzas?

*all menu items are subject to change without warning, based on acquisition of money, lack of time, longer-than-expected work hours, or differing tastes.

tilapia foil packets

wow, did i make a great dinner tonight!



know what i love? when meals are healthy and easy and delicious. this one was all three! so, all you do is spray a piece of tin foil with non-stick spray and put a piece of tilapia (or your whitefish of choice) on it. season as you wish- i used basil and italian seasoning. then top with your vegetables of choice.

did i mention it's a flexible menu? cause it is.



i topped it with carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, bell pepper, tomato, and green beans. then i topped with additional seasonings, along with salt, pepper, and garlic.


cook in a 425 oven for about 20 or 25 minutes. delicious! we served it with brown rice, but i bet couscous would be great also. yum!

peanut chicken and pasta

i made a really really delicious pseudo-thai meal recently. and it's easy. and like all my meals recently, not too bad for you.

cook some chicken up. it's usually faster if you cut it into bite-sized pieced ahead of time. for the last minute or two, add large-chopped red (and/or green) peppers.

meanwhile, cook an entire box of spaghetti noodles. linguini would probably be good also, but I wouldn't use something thin like angel hair pasta. reserve at least 1 cup of the pasta water to use in the sauce.

in the same pan that you cooked the chicken, put about 1/2 cup of peanut butter (i used creamy, but chunky would be awesome) and 5 tablespoons or so of soy sauce. i also sprinkled some dried onion, garlic powder (NOT garlic salt, the soy sauce is salty enough!), and ginger.



don't trust this picture. It's after everything above is added, and before this next step. add at least a cup of the pasta water to the sauce mixture, more if it needs to be thinned. as with most of my recipes, i didn't actually measure any of those things. i just wrote down approximately what i used.

after the sauce is warmed, mix the pasta, chicken and peppers, and sauce together and you have a delicious meal!



tip: it's even better the next day. i really think that when I make this again, i'll make it the day before and just heat up the "leftovers" for dinner!

healthy pizzas

i made two AWESOME pizzas last night.

and they're pretty healthy, too!

pizza #1:



whole wheat crust (boboli, not homemade)
light alfredo sauce
sliced zucchini
fresh mushrooms
roasted chicken
small amounts of mozzarella, romano cheeses
sprinkle bacon crumbles

pizza #2:



crust brushed with garlic olive oil
medium-rare steak
red and green peppers
fresh tomatoes
feta cheese


the hardest part of the night? picking a favorite! i thought the steak would be my fave, but they were both so amazing.

Skirt steak salad

how's this for a recipe:

1) make a salad
2) add steak strips, cooked to your liking
3) eat and enjoy

but really. i made an awesome salad tonight, with romaine, cucumbers, green and red peppers, tomatoes, carrots, medium-rare steak, and feta cheese. topped it with balsamic vinaigrette, and it was a great dinner!




healthy, delicious, and filling.

menu plan, week of june 6

i planned my whole month's menu again. but to avoid seeming as prepared as i am, i'm just going to post one week at a time. if it's a novel recipe, i'll post about it this week also.

all of my meals are SUPER easy, and i'll be making the "healthy" versions if the actual meal itself isn't really healthy. for example, for the weekday enchiladas, i'll be using fat-free sour cream, and less than the recipe calls for. for the pizza? we'll use lots of leftover veggies from the enchiladas and the salad, and less cheese in both the enchiladas and on the pizzas.

sounds good!

monday: weekday enchiladas
tuesday: skirt steak salad
wednesday: homemade pizza with leftover veggies from monday and tuesday
thursday: leftovers
friday: peanut chicken with pasta and green peppers
saturday: posole
sunday: leftovers

using what you have

have you been to the kraft recipes site? it's super convenient when you're sitting on your lunch break wondering what you're going to do with the chicken that is thawing, and hoping you can use at least one of the five cans of black beans you have in your pantry. but really, who has five cans of black beans? it's one of those items i buy all the time (like canned tomatoes) but don't use often (unlike canned tomatoes). all you do is input what ingredients you have, and it brings up some recipe options.

so, i went to the site and it gave me this great idea for a mexican chicken dish over rice.

i cooked two chicken breasts that i'd cut into bite-size pieces, and added about half of a diced onion. when it's all done, i added a can of rinsed black beans, a cup of salsa (or, if you're low on salsa, some salsa mixed with the leftover rotel that's in your fridge), and about a cup of frozen corn (or a can of corn, drained. i didn't have a can).

serve over rice (which was cooking in your rice cooker the whole time you were cooking the chicken), and be prepared to enjoy a delicious supper! i like mine a little spicier, so i added some red pepper flakes. but really, other than that, i didn't add any seasonings at all. the rotel/salsa mix had just what it needed. oh, and the chicken was marinated, but i don't think that made much of a difference.

stuffed chicken with bacon

well, talk about a hint!
i was cleaning the house with my husband, and he set out a new cookbook on the stand, open to the dish he hoped i'd make next. it just happened to be this delicious meal, which is extremely unhealthy, and also one of our new favorites. quite the dilemma.



here's the quick how-to:
cut a slit in the chicken breast and fill with goat cheese (per the recipe) or brie (what i did). sprinkle the outside with italian seasoning, then wrap with two or three slices of bacon, depending on the size of the chicken, and tuck the ends under. using the dutch oven with a little oil in it, cook the chicken just until the bacon is browned, about 3-4 minutes per side.

for one of them, i turned it before the bacon was cooked, and it started to fall off. no big deal, just serve it all together once it's done with the oven cooking. 

add thick slices of tomato (grape tomatoes would be good, too), garlic, and a sprinkle of olive oil, then move the dish to the oven (350 degrees) for 30-ish minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through. serve with a side salad.



see, easy! and, well, it's BACON so your house smells amazing while it's cooking. i'd recommend serving it with some crusty bread, cause there's an amazing sauce in the pan that you'll surely want to soak up!

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Hi! I'm Scarlett, I'm new to the blog, so I guess I should tell you a little about myself, huh? I'm a vegan, (meaning I don't consume anything that is either an animal product or a by-product - dairy, honey, meat...not a part of my diet). I also LOVE LOVE LOVE food and figuring out how to take traditional recipes and making them vegan. I'm always up for being experimental and trying something creative and new in the kitchen - sometimes the flavours you should NEVER put together wind up being the absolute best!

The first recipe I want to share is my creamy mushroom gravy. This stuff is absolutely amazing; it's perfect for topping vegetables, meatloaf (or wheatloaf, in my world)...anything. It's rich and flavourful, and you won't even be able to tell that it's vegan!

My favorite way to serve this up, however, is turning it into a stroganoff. Add your favorite cut of beef, pour over noodles, and top it with a little bit of sour cream, and you've got the makings of a delicious meal! (I prefer meatless meatballs, mini rotini, and Tofutti's Better-Than-Sour-Cream.)

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

Yes, I'm a setter-outer when it comes to my ingredients.

3T olive oil
1/2c minced onion (I use red, but whatever floats your boat)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I found a fabulous roasted garlic in a glass jar; works great!)
1 1/2c chopped white mushrooms 
2T soy sauce (low sodium is an awesome substitute for the regular)
1t dried thume
1/4t salt
1/4t black pepper
1 1/2 c vegetable stock (I have fallen in love with Better than Bouillon!)
1/4 c plain soy milk (Westsoy is a good brand to start with, if you're not a soy person)
2T nutritional yeast (found in the bulk foods section of most supermarkets)
2T corn starch 

• Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion and stir, cooking until it's soft and just beginning to get translucent (about 3-5 minutes). 

• Add garlic and mushrooms, and heat until softened, stirring often. I usually wind up adding a little more oil at this time, just to keep things nice and juicy. When soft, stir in the soy sauce, thyme, salt and pepper.

• Pour your veggie/spice mixture to a blender, add vegetable stock, soy milk, nutritional yeast, and cornstarch. Blend on high until your gravy is smooth and creamy. It will be pretty thin at this point, but don't worry! The gravy-consistency is brought on in the next step.

•  Pour the gravy back into the saucepan, bring to a boil. Stir constantly, making sure it doesn't stick! After it just barely starts to boil, reduce the heat and simmer the gravy. It will thicken up in a few minutes.

• Add meat and noodles for a delicious stroganoff, or simply pour over your favorite vegetables!

Enjoy!

Recipe inspired by Vegan on the Cheap, by Robin Robbertson

[menu plan] week of feb 07

i have a new favorite website. have you been to $5 Dinners? it's great. cheap, easy meals. and if you don't use their recipes, at least you'll get some ideas for what you want to make.

i've been really slacking in the meal planning department lately. and i'm sick of going to the store every day, not knowing what i'm going to make for dinner that night, and then buying something easy, not so healthy, and not so cheap. so i've made a weekly meal plan today, and will stop by the store on the way home today to get food for the whole week. i'm so excited.

here's the meals. i still have no idea what order i'm going to make them in, but i imagine things like the pilaf will wait til the end of the week, because it's not so much fresh produce in it. the ingredients can sit around for a little bit.


mushroom quinoa pilaf
sloppy joes with mac-n-cheese
croissant hot dogs with pasta salad
cashew chicken
tacos with mexican rice

homemade oatmeal packets

maybe it's a winter thing, maybe it's because of the convenience, but i'm really in love with instant oatmeal packets lately. well, good thing my wonderful mother-in-law brought us a few boxes of quaker... but we're almost out! well, my mom sent me some recipes for homemade oatmeal packets, and i figured it was finally time to make those. super convenient, nice to keep in my desk drawer for days when i forget breakfast, and healthy, this is the perfect breakfast.



here's the basic "recipe" for the bags:
using a 1/4 cup scoop, put 1.5 scoops of oatmeal into snack-size baggies.
add 1T ground up oatmeal (finely ground in the food processor)
add a pinch of salt, and about 1/2 T sugar

then, pick your flavor! the possibilities are endless. i made the following:

blueberries and cream:
about 2 dozen dried blueberries and 1T of non-dairy creamer

apples and cinnamon;
about 2T of chopped, dried apples, and some sprinkles of cinnamon

AND dessert oatmeal:
1T non-dairy creamer, 1.5T chocolate chips, and a touch of cinnamon

i can't wait to try these! you cook them just like you'll cook those store-bought oatmeal packets. add enough water to get it the thickness you want, and microwave for a few minutes. i'll let you know how they are, but you should try them also.

**EDIT**
i tried one today for the first time. in the words of tony the tiger, they're great! i added about a half cup of water (more of less depending on how you like the texture of your oatmeal), and it did need more sweetener. add a full tablespoon when you make them, or plan on seasoning it with sugar after you make it. i was surprised that it only needed to microwave it for about 2 minutes, seeing as i didn't use the quick-cook oats. what a convenient breakfast!