Vegan Quinoa Surprise

This simple dinner is full of protein, iron, and plenty of flavor! 

Ingredients: 

1/2 cup quinoa 

1 low sodium 8 oz can v-8 juice

1/2 cup water

1 cup spinach

1/4 cup broccoli shreds 

1/4 cup shredded carrots 

1 small red onion

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp Tumeric

1 tsp Cumin

Directions: 

Combine quinoa, v-8 juice, and water in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a vigorous boil, then lower heat to simmer, covered, until quinoa is still tender, white spiral-like threads appear around each grain.

Saute onion, garlic, tumeric, and cumin. Add to quinoa along with carrots, broccli shreds, and spinach. Cover sauce pan to let spinach wilt. Serve in bowl with bread.

Serves 2

 

Vegan Easter

Happy Easter everyone! I hope your day is filled with many blessings! I will be enjoying baked sweet potatoes, spinach salad, and baked carrots at todays feast. But what would any holiday be eithout dessert?! So vegan chocolate chip cookies will also grace the table. Many often ask if I enjoy the holiday treats or am stick with a salad. The truth of the matter is that I find new favorites and treats to enjoy just like everyone. Animal product free doesn't mean taste free. God bless you and yours on this day! 

Super Easy Soup

One of my favorite things to do with left over's is to make a big pot of soup. This is an incredibly easy recipe that can be tweeked to your liking. 

Ingrediants:

1 box low sodium vegetable broth

1/2 chopped red onion

2 cloves garlic

1 Tbs parsley

1 small can low sodium v8 vegetable juice 

1 bag frozen mixed vegatables

1/2 cup pearl barley

Salt to taste

Directions: 

Saute chopped red onion in a large sauce pan until tender. Add minced garlic , parsley, frozen vegetable mix, box of vegetable broth, can if v8 juice, and pearl barley. Feel free to add any left over vegatables that may be lying around in the fridge. 

Bring soup to a boil, then set to simmer for an hour. 

Oatmeal Pear Muffin

These muffins are sweet and filling, the perfect start to your day! 

Ingredients: 

1 whole pear chopped

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon chia seeds

3/4 cup almond milk

1/4 cup cooking oil

Directions: 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Take 1 tablespoon chia seeds and soak in 1/3 cup water for 15 minutes and set aside. Use non stick cooking spray on regular size cupcake pan. 

Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon,  baking powder, salt milk, cooking oil, and pear into mixing bowl. Gently fold mixture together and disperse evenly into cupcake pan. 

Bake for 18 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on muffin rack. 

One Pan Pasta Perfection

Most of my cooking is done on the weekend. I work an 8am-5pm job and honestly am too drained when I get home to even begin to think about what to make for dinner. Usually on Sunday's I will make a big pan of something, or a pot of soup and eat the leftovers throughout the week. When i don't feel like leftovers my go to dinner is this one pan spicy pasta. The original recipe by fellow blogger Baker By Nature is not vegan, so I did what any resourceful vegan would do...I substituted the bejeezes out of it! So here it is, a quick and easy one pan spicy pasta that even the most drained person can make after a long days work! It can also be frozen in individual serving size to be thawed and heated at a later date.


One Pan Spicy Pasta

Serves: 4       Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 a box of your favorite pasta
• 1 Can crushed tomatoes with chili peppers
• 2 Tablespoons Franks Red Hot Sauce
• 4 Cloves minced garlic
• 1/2 Red bell pepper
• 1/2 Yellow bell pepper
• 1/2 Orange bell pepper
• 1 Cup Raw spinach
• 1 Tablespoon Salt
• 1 Teaspoon Cumin
• 1 Teaspoon Tumeric
• 1/4 Teaspoon ground oregano
• Pepper to taste
• 2 Cups low sodium vegetable juice (can substitute for water, or veggie stock)
• 1/4 Cup water

Directions:

1.  In a LARGE saucepan saute the peppers and garlic for 3-5 minutes.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients except the pasta and bring to a boil.
3. Once the mixture is boiling add the pasta and continuously stir until pasta is cooked, and the sauce is nearly evaporated. (mine took about 10 minutes.) It may seem like a lot of liquid but the pasta will soak up the majority of it.

This dish is creamy without the use of any dairy!

Tofu-Tastic Stir Fry

    I was never a big fan of tofu until recently. It seemed very intimidating, I mean there's silken, firm, extra firm!? Not until reading a great article on the logistics of tofu did I begin to appreciate the benefits and  all the different foods that can be made with it! There are literally hundreds of recipes from desserts or dinners that use the different types of tofu. Yesterday I made a stir fry using extra firm tofu that was AMAZING! The original recipe is from a great group of friends who wanted to make sure I was able to eat at a dinner get together. Below you will see how I made this simple dish. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have!

Tofu Stir Fry

   Time: 45 minutes    Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• Extra Firm Tofu
• 2 Bell Peppers Diced (any type that you like)
• 1 Cup Frozen Broccoli
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 1 cup cooked rice (I followed the directions on the package for cooking and substituted 1 cup of water for 1 cup v8 veggie juice)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• Soy Sauce (to taste)

Directions:

• Start by cooking the rice on your stove-top or rice cooker (the rice will take longer to cook so it's better to start it while your getting ready to saute the onion)
• Open packacge of extra firm tofu draining the water (yes the tofu is in water) and dice into bite size cubes.
• In a LARGE non-stick pan drizzle olive oil and saute the onion and garlic together for 5 minutes
• Drain tofu again and throw cubes into pan and let them cook in the mixture for 2-3 minutes
• Put bell peppers in pan to saute for 2-4 minutes then add the frozen broccoli 
• Add cumin, tumeric, and soy sauce to saute mixture
• Combine cooked rice in sauce pan with the stir fry
• Add a little bit more soy sauce to finished product.
• Stir and serve!

Garlic Spinach Pasta

With cold and flu season here getting extra vitamins and antioxidants is a must and this recipe has you covered! It's creamy with a boost of garlic that can help combat illness and vampires alike ;)

Garlic Spinach Pasta

Ingredients:

• 10 Ounces of Whole Wheat Pasta
• 1Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1/4 Cup Minced Garlic
• 1 Cup Spinach
• 2 Cups Vegetable Stock
• 3 Tablespoons All Purpose Flour
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 1 Tablespoon Onion Powder

Directions 

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook pasta for 7-10 minutes.
2. Coat a saucepan with the olive oil and sauté the garlic and spices until fragrant, add a 1/2 cup of the vegetable stock, then add the flour and stir vigorously on high heat to create the thickness.
3. Once the flour is not clumpy add in the rest of the vegetable stock and whilt in the spinach.
4. Once the spinach is wilted add the rest of the vegetable stock. 
5. Add the pasta to the sauce and mix well.