A Week of Menus - Easy, Peasy, Freezy Meals

{Grand Canyon Image from the NPS website}

Hey everyone! If you follow me on Facebook, then you know I was out of town for a couple of days. My family and I decided to go to the Grand Canyon - it was a fun trip, but a lot (!) more driving than I realized. And, since it's the first major road trip we have ever taken as a family (there were 8 of us), I think we were a little unrealistic (overly-optimistic???) on how long it would take, how few breaks we would need, how long a stop at a gas station could actually end up taking.....

But, it was fun!!

Sorry for the late-ness of these menus - we didn't actually get home until Monday night and we just finally got our rental car returned last night. And now we are ready to eat a home-cooked dinner!! But, since I am still in vacation mode, I am using some meals that are VERY fast and easy and some others that I have socked away in the freezer so that getting dinner on the table goes faster. (This is a great idea for when you KNOW you may not have time to cook next week or next month - you can just make double of some recipes that you think will freeze well, wrap them up, stick them in the freezer and in a couple of weeks, you have TONS of pre-cooked food that just needs to be defrosted during the day and then re-heated when it's dinner time!)

BUT - on to the menus (:

Monday

{Stir Fry with Noodles}

Cheese and Refried Bean "Quesadillas"

Tuesday
Bean Burritos

Wednesday
Garden Burgers and Broccoli

Thursday
Frozen Black Eyed Peas
Green Salads
Dinner Rolls

Friday
Tofu Stir Fry with Noodles
(using frozen stir-fry mixed vegetable bag)

Saturday
Dinner Out

Sunday
Pasta Dinner
Green Salad
Garlic Bread

Do you have any summer vacation plans?? Leave me a comment and let me know what they are!
More later! (:

A Week of Menu Ideas

We spent this weekend doing crafts and getting ready for Valentine's Day!!! (...I LOVE holidays!!)

This is what I have planned for dinners this week:

Monday
Big Salads

Microwave Beets

Tuesday
Microwave Beets and Pan Sauteed Carrots
Red Quinoa
White Beans

Wednesday
Baked Sweet Potatoes with
Black Bean "Salsa"
Sauteed Spinach

Stir Fry with Noodles

Thursday
Broccoli Stir Fry with Tofu

Friday
Peanut Sauce and Noodles
with Julienned Veggies

Saturday
Dinner out

Sunday
Pasta Dinner
Salads
Garlic Bread

How are you getting ready for Valentine's Day??
More later! (:

Colcannan Veggie-Style

I had this beautiful cabbage from my CSA basket - so I decided to try something where I could use up most of it at once...sometimes, things like cabbage tend to get pushed to the back of my fridge since they aren't every day staples. Whenever I find something old and no longer usable, I always feel bad - I think I should have thought of something before I let that go to waste.

I found this recipe in an old Whole Foods "magazine". Why I was saving that issue, I have noooo idea, but it was full of cabbage recipes, which worked out good for me!! I adapted it slightly to fit what I had in my cupboard, but otherwise, it's true to form.

I used tempeh here - - it's a soy bean product (read: vegetarian substitute for meat). It used to only be sold in health food stores and Whole Foods, but now I can buy it at my local Ralphs grocery store if I need to.

Colcannan Veggie-Style
1/2 head of cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 onion, diced
1 package tempeh, cubed
1/2 cup of veggie broth
2 large baking potatoes, scrubbed (but not peeled or diced)

Prick potatoes with a fork a couple of times, put in a glass baking dish, cover with a wet paper towel and add a little bit of water in the dish. Microwave on baked potato setting or for 7 - 10 minutes until a fork goes all the way through with little or no resistance.

Meanwhile, saute tempeh cubes in canola oil until browned on both sides; add in onion, let cook (stirring occasionally) until translucent, about 5 - 7 minutes, add in veggie broth, bring to a simmer and let cook for another 5 - 7 minutes, until liquid is mostly evaporated. Add in sliced cabbage and stir to combine pan ingredients and wilt cabbage.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon on top of split and baked potatoes.

Serves 3 - 4

You could add a cheesy-type sauce on top to make the whole thing more creamy. You can see how nice it looks when you DO add the sauce. However, THIS particular sauce did not come out good (boo-hoo), so I won't give you the recipe or tell you where I got it. But, I will say, add your own sauce to up the flavor of this dish.

This also makes nice, easy leftovers. If you add some fruit, you have a complete meal!

Have you ever used tempeh?
What do you make with it?


I'm linking up at these awesome parties!
More later!!

Basil Pesto

I made a trip this weekend to the Vietnamese grocery store by my house.

This place is soooo different than walking into some place like Vons or Ralphs - - first of all, the store is HUGE - - I mean, unbelievably huge!! The fresh produce section is about twice the size of what you would find in a normal grocery store and there is just so much cool and unique stuff!! The freezer section is the same way, they have a WHOLE aisle that is just soy sauce - - all different kinds - - and they have a seafood section in the back that is all live crabs, lobster, and different kinds of fish.

There is also a jewelry store, a shoe store, an appliances store, a sushi ordering bar, a boba tea bar, a sandwich shop, a post office, an electronics store, a gift shop - - it's unreal. These little stores are more like huge booths on the periphery of the store, but they are permanent.

I went in to get some things to make Thai food at home (because I have been ordering it a lot the last couple of weeks and I figure that I could try to learn how to make it, mess it up a couple of times, buy everything again and still be spending about what I would pay to order it from a restaurant!!).

However, before I get started on trying to make that, there were a couple of other things, I couldn't help but pick up:

 
Basil - Can you believe all this basil was less than $1.50!!!!


















Garlic - All of this was less than $2 and came pre-peeled for me!!!








In light of these great finds, I decided that it was high time I make some pesto (since it freezes easy, I can keep the taste of summer in my freezer for months when I wish the clouds or rain would go away!)

Quick Pesto Recipe

1 large bunch of basil, cleaned, removed from stems, and rough chopped
2 - 3 basil cloves, crushed
3/4 - 1 cup of walnuts or pine nuts (a couple of big handfuls), rough chop
1 Tbs nutritional yeast, optional
3 Tbs. cashews, optional
olive oil

Put basil, garlic, and walnuts (and nutritional yeast and cashews, if using) in a food processor. Start mixing and slowly add in olive oil in a thin stream until desired consistency is reached. Add salt and pepper if desired.

Notes:

• The cashews and nutritional yeast (not baking yeast, nutritional yeast can be found in health food stores, Henrys, Whole Foods, or Sprouts) will give this sauce an added creaminess and means that you won't miss the cheese. You could use just cashews or just the yeast, if that's what you have on hand. Or omit both, and it's still great.
• This sauce is great - I use it on sandwiches and tofu or thinned out (with water and a little more olive oil) on salads and cooked, grilled, or raw veggies or thinned out (with pasta water) to use on regular pasta or in pasta salads.
• And because this recipe is made without cheese, it freezes great! So make a big batch, pour it into ice cube trays, let freeze, and then pop in a freezer bag to save for days when you want to taste the goodness of summer!!
• Another reason that I LOVE this recipe is that it is FORGIVING!! If you don't have basil, sub in parsley (italian or curly) or even arugula or anything dark green and thin; if you don't have pine nuts, use walnuts or cashews, or even pecans or brazil nuts. It will change the flavor a little bit, but it will still taste good (as long as you like those things; ie - if you hate parsley, don't use that, but otherwise, you are good to go!).

More later! :)

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A Week of Menus

The weather was beautiful this weekend!!! We went for a long walk, and spent Saturday with my parents - we also went to see the new Winne the Pooh movie - have you seen it? It's great for little kids and has an easy enough plot for my little one to be able to follow!!! There was no violence and no people 'not being friendly' and my Miss No-No was so interested that she stood up and hung on the chair in front of her so that she could be that much closer to the screen. It was great.
Speaking of Miss No-No, she was also helping me take pics this weekend! ;)

This is what I am planning on making this week:

Monday
Vegan Sloppy Janes (with pinto beans instead of meat)
Carrot Sticks
Sauteed Zucchini Rounds

Tuesday
"Fish" Rolls (made with spiced, mashed beans instead of fish, rolled up in whole wheat tortillas to look like sushi)
Chinese Salads, minus the chicken (from Rachael Ray)

Wednesday
Stir Fry with Noodles

Thursday
Garden Veggie Burgers (tons of veggies on the buns)
Roasted Carrot and Zucchini Sticks

Friday
Left over Bonanza

Saturday
Dinner Out

Sunday
Pasta Dinner
NY Style Italian Salads (my MILs recipe)
Garlic Bread

What are you having?

More later!! :)

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Clean Out the Fridge Soup

I love making soup! :)

Soup is easy, and forgiving. It can be served hot, warm, or even cold. I can eat it for dinner, for lunch the next day, or freeze it and serve it a week or two later for a quick dinner when I don't have time to make something.

This Clean Out the Fridge Soup is one of my favorites - I just saute some onions and garlic, add some broth, some spices, and whatever else I have on hand. It's different all the time, but the method is the same, and that makes it great (and easy) for me to serve something filling and healthy!

Clean Out the Fridge Soup

1/2 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
Dried spices (I always use approx. 1/2 tsp of thyme and then I will add in some bay leaves (only 1 or 2), and then maybe another 1/2 - 1 teaspoon (total) of oregano, parsley, basil, or rosemary - sometimes, I just add in italian seasoning so that I get it all in one!)
diced veggies (whatever is on hand; for this soup, I used yellow squash and one zucchini, but this method will work with mushrooms, leeks, beets, potatoes, and can be adapted to fit just about any other veggie you have on hand)
1 can of diced tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth (homemade or store bought)
1 can of beans, drained and rinsed
2 - 3 cups of fresh spinach or 1 cup of (defrosted) frozen spinach)
3/4 cup of frozen peas (or edamame, broccoli, or corn)
fresh ground pepper and salt, to taste

In a stockpot or 4 qt pan, saute diced onion in olive oil on medium heat until translucent, approximately 8 - 10 minutes. Add in garlic and cook, stirring, for approximately 30 seconds. Drop in spices and stir to combine. Add in diced veggies and stir for another few minutes (coating with spices). Add in tomatoes, stir to combine. Add broth, bring to a boil and then simmer for approximately 10 - 15 minutes (you can simmer this for up to 30 minutes, depending on how much time you have). Turn heat back up to medium and add beans, let the mix get warm again (approximately 3 - 5 minutes), and then add in spinach and peas. Let the soup cook for about 5 - 10 minutes. Add black pepper and taste. Add salt to taste.

I usually serve this with garlic bread and a small salad on the side.

What's one of your favorite go to dishes?

Find me at some of these cool linky parties this week!
More later! :)

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What's For Dinner This Week - A Week of Vegan Menus

I was stumped this week when I opened up my CSA basket - there was this large, big, something in my basket. I thought that it was turnips. I haven't eaten turnips but I have heard of them, so I started to do some "research" to see what exactly I could make with turnips (the only idea that I had was to mash them up). And that's when I discovered that I had been over-run by rutabagas!! They weren't turnips at all! I actually don't think that I had ever seen - or eaten - a rutabaga before now (well, actually, I still haven't!), but this week's menu will be FULL of rutabagas cooked different ways. So, I guess we will see how we like them best!!!

Picture from http://stephencooks.com

I was reading that a lot of people eat rutabagas boiled and mashed, but I may only be resorting to that method if I still have some left over at the end of the week. I also read that you can julienne and use them in salads (hmmm!). I will definitely be trying that.

With rutabagas on my mind and filling my crisper drawer, here's what I came up with for the week:

Monday
White Beans (with diced garlic and dried sage)
Sauteed Swiss Chard
Buttered Rutabagas
Quinoa

Tuesday
Basic Rutabaga Soup
Salad

Wednesday
Tostadas
Brown Rice
Mexican Salad

Thursday
Leftovers
Maple Glazed Rutabagas

Friday
Garden Burgers
Carrot Raisin and Pineapple Slaw

Notes:

1. I am making the Quinoa and Brown Rice for this week today (since it takes a little longer to cook, especially the brown rice, it will be helpful to make a lot now and have it ready on those nights that we are eating it). Bonus: both the quinoa and brown rice can be put in a bowl with milk and heated up to eat just like oatmeal - fast, different, and EASY.
2. Since I am cooking, I will also be making the soup tonight for Tuesday. When we get home Tuesday night, I can throw together a salad and have dinner on the table in about 15 minutes.
3. The maple glazed rutabagas look like they come together fast, but *just in case*, I will be making them the night before.
4. The carrot raisin and pineapple salad is something that I don't have a recipe for - I use a mandolin to julienne the carrots and then thrown in a handful or two of raisins and some diced or cubed (canned) pineapple - sometimes, I add a little vegan mayo, but sometimes, it's just good as is.

Have you ever eaten rutabagas?

How do you cook them?
What's the strangest-looking veggie you have ever eaten?

Thanks for all the comments on my last post about menus! I asked what you would / could do with left-over romaine lettuce and I got LOTS of good ideas!!

 In case you need some ideas check out these comments:

Coupon Chick stopped by to say that she would make romaine wraps!! (I never even thought of that, but it would be perfect!! My little one would love a new "take" on tacos.)

Clairity from Hip2BMom and Pinching Abe from Making Ends Meet said that given the recent weather, they would definitely be making salads.

Tiff from & Baby Blackwell Makes Three loves a good salad, too!

And, Christina from Spilled Milkshake was just honest - she said she didn't have any new ideas for ways to use romaine lettuce!

 

Thanks guys for your input!! :)

 

Have a great week! Happy Eating!

More later! :)

 

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What's for Dinner This Week - A Week of Menus

Judging by the size of the lettuce heads that I have been getting in my CSA shares, lettuce is definitely in season right now! Because of that, we will be having more salads than usual this week - - however, I am planning on mixing it up a little bit one night - I'm going to grill heads of romaine!!

How else can you use lettuce? Besides salads and maybe (maybe!) shakes / smoothies? If you give me some ideas, you can help me use up all this surplus!!! :)

Monday
Pre-made chili over baked sweet potatoes
Make your own salad

Tuesday
Stir-Fried Rice with Tofu and mushrooms
Chinese "chicken" salad

Wednesday
Black Bean Tacos with Brown Rice
Grilled Mexican Style Salad

Thursday
Left overs

Friday
Garden Burgers or Veggie Hot Dogs

And here's my notes:

1. For "baking" sweet potatoes, I generally don't have the time to actually bake them in the oven ahead of time {sigh!}. Generally, I scrub them, microwave them until they are still somewhat firm, and then put them in the toaster oven until the rest of dinner is ready. The extra time in the oven makes them seem like they are truly baked, but shaves off TONS of time. And, the make your own salad is my little treat for my little one - I cut everything up, put it on the cutting board and she gets to decide what goes in her salad (so she "makes her own") - it's the only way I can get her to have a salad with dinner.

2. The chili I make myself, but could easily come from a can (Hormel-brand Vegetarian chili is the best canned chili I have ever used). To make the chili: saute one half of an onion until translucent, five to ten minutes, add in a clove of diced garlic, saute for another 30 seconds. Add in some ground "meat" (I use the Lean Ground brand) and saute for a few more minutes. Add in seasonings (you could use a pre-made seasoning mix, but I just make my own: throw in a bit of everything: oregano, chili powder, salt, pepper, parsley, and a little bit of flour), saute for another minute to get everything incorporated and then add in one can of diced tomatoes and one can of either pinto or chili beans. Stir to mix, cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes.

3. My Chinese "chicken" salad is a Racheal Ray recipe where I just use Boca burger chicken patties instead of meat.

4. My stir fried rice is small diced veggies sauteed for a few minutes, add in some "scrambled" tofu, cook another minute, add in brown rice, a little bit of soy sauce and stir to mix.

5. Mexican style salad just means that I add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and either cilantro or green onions to. :)

6. See my desciption of left overs and what I do with them here.

7. Friday is my "break" and I cook something easy.

8. Saturday we usually go out or are out to eat at someone else's house (not just ANYONE's house...usually my mom's or my aunt's).

9. Sunday we do a pasta dinner.

I plan my meals because it means that I can come home and get dinner on the table in less than 1/2 an hour. It also means that I don't resort to frozen, pre-made, high sodium, packaged dinners or something less than stellar for my family's nutrition.

You have the power to decide (mostly) what your family eats by virtue of being the "chef". What you put on the table is what goes into their mouths. I want my family to have well balanced meals, so that's what I work to put on to our table.

So, seriously, I need help with my lettuce surplus.

Do you have any creative ways to use up lettuce?

Thanks to all the comments from last week.

Annabean is a woman after my own heart - she is also using meal planning as a time saving tool! She says that she is not ordering out as much as a result (yayayayyay!). Leslie from the Mommy Therapy is also eating a lot of veggie meals because she has also joined a CSA! Good for you, Leslie - and good for your family, too!!! I love to get new, unusual stuff in my basket that I can't buy at the grocery store. A CSA is such an awesome opportunity to get new foods in your family's rotation, but it's also a great way to help out the environment and the local economy...but that could be a whole other post!!! Lindy, I hope your enchiladas come out good!!

Happy eating!
More later  :)

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Averie's No Bake Cookie Balls

I just discovered this wonderful website called Love Veggies & Yoga. The girl who runs it, Averie, makes all kinds of delicious things. While looking for a little sweat treat on the web, I checked into her site and found these amazing No Bake Oatmeal and Carrot Cake Bites. They are made with carrots and oats and are quick, easy, and (best of all!) delicious.

I wasn't sure if I could copy the recipe directly to my own blog page, so I just had to give you guys the link and the picture of my finished product!

Miss No-No helped me make these so you could easily make it a "family" project and revel in the fact that from start to finish the whole thing has seriously minimal clean up time!

What do you make that is quick and easy like this - - but tastes DELICIOUS?

Thanks for all the comments to my Roasted Mushroom Tacos recipe. It really is fast and easy and you should check it out if you need inspiration for what to make for dinner (and you have mushrooms in the fridge!).

Also - - Sarah from Shaklee and I are co-hosting a wonderful giveaway for natural home and beauty projects. Please stop by and enter - our entries are low, but the gift of a clean environmentally-(and family) friendly home or clean natural makeup is priceless.

More later! :)

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Roasted Mushroom Tacos

I was in the mood for quick tacos.... But since I didn't feel like really cooking....too hungry, I just wanted to grab-and-go.... I came up with this quick alternative using leftovers in the fridge.

Roasted Mushroom Tacos

3 - 4 cups of mushrooms (I used Baby Bellas), sliced

1 cup of corn (defrosted, if frozen; drained, if canned)
1/2 head shredded cabbage
1 avocado, mashed with lemon juice
8 corn tortillas, grilled or heated up
spicy taco sauce, optional
optional spices: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper

Put cleaned, sliced mushrooms in a skillet over medium with a little bit of water (1 - 2 Tablespoons). Let water soak in and then evaporate, 2 - 3 minutes, and then add a little more water, let evaporate out. Let mushrooms char a little bit, add some more water and cook until water has evaporated. Add seasonings (salt, pepper, garlic powder, cayenne powder, if desired) and continue to cook until the mushrooms are where you want them to be.

Take one corn tortilla and layer mashed avocado, some mushrooms, small bit of cabbage, and then pile corn over the top. Add taco sauce over the top.

Serves 4

I served these with just refried beans on the side. These don't look like much, but two of them were surprisingly filling!

More later! :)

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Soup Time - Indian Inspired Potato-Chard Stew

Since it is still cold here,

(I know.... it's California, but when it rains, it is cold....to us!)

we are still eating a lot of soup. And for those of you that know me, you know I LOVE my soups. This soup recipe was modified from Toni Fiore's book Totally Vegetarian. If you haven't seen this book, you should at least check it out from the library and see what's there. I have raved about Toni Fiore before - but, I do love the fact that 1) she makes killer vegan food, 2) it's fast and easy - and I usually have everything to make her dishes in my fridge - which means no special trips to the store just to try a recipe, and 3) she's Italian!! :) Not that the Italian part matters all that much, but she does put an Italian spin on A LOT of vegan dinners. The best thing about her food is that you.will.not.miss.the.meat. With my non-vegan Mr. No-No, that is something I love.

I modified this recipe slightly because I didn't want it to be too spicy for my little Miss No-No. This recipe is great because it's slightly spicy, slightly Indian-inspired, and so creamy that it's hard to believe that it is truly vegan (but, believe me, it is!). BTW - the creamy goodness comes from the coconut milk (which, I believe, would temper a pinch of cayenne a bit, if you added it for extra kick).

Toni Fiore's (slightly modified) Potato-Chard Stew

2 - 3 T olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

salt

1 medium sweet potato, cut into 2-in pieces

1/4 red pepper (raw), diced

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 T ginger, grated

1/2 t ground coriander

1/4 t turmeric

1/2 can (full fat) coconut milk

1 bunch of swiss chard (center stems removed), chopped

1/2 lime, juiced and rind grated (and reserved)

chopped cilantro, for garnish

In a saucepan heated over medium-high, add oil. Add onions and sprinkle with a little bit of salt to make them sweat. Cook, stirring constantly, until translucent, approx 7 minutes. Add potato, pepper, garlic, ginger, and spices and cook, stirring, for 1 - 2 minutes. Add coconut milk and approx 1 cup of water and boil. Immediately, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add swiss chard and cook until wilted, approx. 10 minutes. Serve soup in deep bowls with a bit of lime juice, some grated rind, and a sprinkling of cilantro or parsley.

I took this to work the next day for lunch and it was still deeeelicious! :) 

Miss No-No also found this soup to be delicious with bread to dip into it!

Thanks to everyone for their comments on my last post. Turns out that Catherine from Our Village is a Little Different likes Target, too - for all their little gifts that she can get for her little ones! :)

What are your favorite kinds of soups? What other kinds of things do you usually serve to your family when the weather is cold and rainy?

Stay warm!

More later! :)

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