Pablano Chicken and Rice

Here is a super quick and really tasty dinner to enjoy. I usually just serve it as the main dish, no sides, but if you wanted to add something else, go for it! Maybe a mexican inspired salad...

2 pablano peppers

1 large onion, chopped

2 celery ribs, sliced

2 cubs veggie broth

3/4 cups uncooked rice

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 pkg veggie delight chicken (10 oz I think), cubed

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

salt/pepper to taste

1. Remove stems from peppers. Cut into thin strips lengthwise.

2. Saute onions, peppers and celery until slightly browned.

3. Stir in broth, rice and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

4. Saute veggie chicken in a pan with olive oil and cumin until browned.

5. Add chicken to rice mixture after the 15 minutes is up. Stir in the pepper flakes and cheddar cheese. Cook another 5 - 10 minutes.

Pasta from Pescia

This pasta has been one of my favorites for many years. It uses simple, fresh ingredients, which I just love! There is a little bit of prep work, but only due to the cutting of veggies. Nothing too difficult or time consuming. I have to admit, I tend not to measure, so I may actually use more veggies than this calls for. I use most of the Brussels sprouts that come in the bag, which I know is more than 2 cups. Be sure to peel away the outer layer of leaves and cut the little stem before cooking.

I served this with a side of Italian flavored tofu, sauteed until browned, and dinner bread.

3 cups thinly sliced cabbage ( I just get a small cabbage, cut it in 1/2, and use that, but measure if you want to)

2 cups Brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and cut in 1/2

3 med/large carrots, diagonally sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/3 cup veggie broth

8 small new potatoes, unpeeled, cut into quarters, cooked

2 TBS Parmesan cheese

1 TBS minced parsley

salt/pepper to taste

12 oz penne pasta, cooked

Heat cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, garlic, sage and veggie broth to boiling in a large skillet. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until cabbage is just wilted, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, uncovered, until liquid is gone and cabbage is lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

Stir cheese and parsley into veggies. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over past and toss

Beefy Potato Casserole

This is a veggie version of Shepard's Pie. My step mom used to make a great Shepard's pie back in the day, and I never found a veggie equivalent until this recipe came along. It's easy and comforting to eat. My nieces helped me cook this meal last night - sorry, I forgot the pictures!

If you wanted to lighten this recipe up a little, use less cheese and fat free milk. I used less cheese last night and it was still delicious.

3 - 4 potatoes, peeled, cubed, cooked then mashed (use milk/butter like usual)

1/4 tsp salt

1 pkg soy morningstar soy crumbles

1 small onion, minced

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

11 oz can corn, drained

10 3/4 oz can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup 2% milk

1 - 2 cups frozen peas

1. Saute onion in skillet, adding salt and pepper while stirring. Add ground soy crumbles. Cook until heated.

2. Add 1 cup cheese, corn, soup, milk and peas. Stir.

3. Pour "beef" mixture into a lightly greased 13X9 baking dish.

4. Spread mashed potatoes over the top.

5. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Add remaining cheese, and bake another 10 minutes.

Anger Cookies

I took two nights off from cooking, hence the lack of recipes posted here. Well, that would actually be three nights off because we went out to dinner with some friends last night. We ate really bad veggie burgers on Thursday night and much better veggie burgers Friday night. Thursday is my late night at work, so Jason usually cooks burgers or some other easy meal. I chose a new kind of burger to try, and they were pretty bad. Friday I was in a terrible mood - angry at the world - and did not feel like making dinner. So, we used up our easy meal again, and ate veggie burgers which were thankfully better.

As an effort to deal with my anger on Friday, I went into the kitchen to make cookies. For some reason baking seemed like an appropriate action to take - I needed to channel my negative energy into something before risking spontaneous combustion! There was cocoa powder in the pantry and dark chocolate chips waiting to be used. I found a recipe on line for double chocolate chip cookies and got started.

I am historically an awful cookie maker. Actually, if it is sweet and needs to enter into the oven, I should not try to make it. But, my anger seems to be the secret to good baking, and the cookies are fabulous! No love in these chocolate delights, but they are extra tasty!

Amy's Angry Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter at room temp

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 bag Ghiordeli 60% cocoa chocolate chips (How do you spell that?)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees

Cream butter and sugars in a bowl with mixer on high speed.

Lower to medium and add egg and vanilla.

Mix flour and remaining dry ingredients through salt with a whisk.

With mixer on low, add dry ingredients to butter mix. Beat until combined.

Add entire bag of chocolate chips.

Spoon onto a cookie sheet. Bake about 12 minutes.

Smokey Black-Eyed Pea Soup

This is a good, hearty soup. Not much else to say about it, other than we are eating it tonight. Use any fake bacon you like, but I prefer the temphe fakon bacon for this recipe.

Smokey Black-Eyed Pea Soup from Cooking Light

4 - 6 slices temphe Fakon Bacon, chopped

3 cups onion, chopped

4 - 6 cloves garlic, mashed

3 cans black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained

2 cups veggie broth

1 tsp dried thyme

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1 - 2 cups arugula OR trimmed watercress

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add small amount of olive oil, then add fakon bacon, onion and garlic. Saute until just browning.

Add black eyed peas and next 5 ingredients (through pepper)

Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes.

Place 1/2 the bean mixture into a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid to allow steam to escape. Place lid on and a towel over the opening. Blend until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining bean mixture. Once blended, put all together and stir in arugula.

*** I got a bit lazy tonight and decided NOT to blend the soup. You know what? It was really tasty as is! So, if you want a smooth soup, take the time and throw it into the blender, but if you are short on time, don't worry about blending. Another note, go light on the salt. I am salt sensitive, and a little goes a long way. I did not put any where close to the amount called for, and it was at the upper end of my tolerance. ***

Pasta with Tofurkey sausage

Last nights meal was inspired by leftover ingredients. I made soup about a month ago that calls for homemade marinara sauce. The soup only requires a small portion of the sauce, leaving alot to be frozen for future use. I dug into the freezer last night, thawed out the marinara, and used it for pasta sauce. For added flavor and protein, I added some Italian style Tofurkey sausage to the sauce.

Pasta dinner is never complete without a salad, and last night I chose an arugula citrus salad. For those that of you than do not know this already, I LOVE arugula! It is my favorite green. It is full of bold flavor, with a pepper bite. I needed some arugula for another dish this week, and decided to use the rest of it for a salad - no wasted food! Blood oranges have been displayed at Whole Foods, so I bought some of those to add into the salad. I had planned to make a chicken dinner that called for avocado, but did not get to it soon enough, and I did not want the avocado to go bad, so that went into the salad too. As far as the dressing goes, I winged it, and it was good! Not overpowering, allowing the arugula and orange to take center stage. Add some dinner bread, and the meal is complete!

Arugula Citrus Salad

4 cups Baby arugula, rinsed (I don't measure, but used about 2/3 of the container)

1 blood orange, peeled and cut into bite sized sections

1 avocado, cut into small chunks

2 TBS orange juice

2 TBS white wine

1 TBS olive oil (again, didn't measure, just estimating here!)

1/2 clove garlic, thinly sliced (drain out garlic before pouring over salad)

Salt/pepper to taste

Pour dressing on salad right before serving

Marinara Sauce from Cooking Light

This makes ALOT, so have freezer containers ready to store the left over sauce.

3 TBS olive oil

3 cups yellow onions, chopped

1 TBS sugar

3 TBS minced garlic

1 tsp salt

2 tsp dried basil

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp ground pepper

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

2 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 cups veggie broth

3 (28 oz) cans no-salt added crushed tomatoes

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion to pan, saute about 4 minutes. Add sugar and next 7 ingredients, through fennel seeds. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in vinegar, cook 30 seconds. Add broth and tomatoes. Bring to a simmer, and cook over low heat for 55 minutes until sauce thickens. Stir occasionally.

(Makes 12 cups)

Pasta with Tofurkey sausage

2 Tofurkey sausage links, cut in half length wise, then chopped

5-6 cups marinara sauce

1 lb pasta ( I think Colavita brand pasta tastes much better than other brands)

Saute the sausage until browned. Add to simmering marinara sauce.

Cook pasta according to package, drain.

Pizza night

Jason is the official pizza maker, so I can provide only an ingredient list - the rest is up to you. He makes many pizzas, and one of our favorites is a Greek pizza. Super yummy! We don't get all fancy and roll out our own dough, sorry. We use Biboli thin crust and Biboli pizza sauce. Be sure to use the thin crust as it makes better pizzas than the traditional crust they also sell. (Note, I changed the pizza crust and sauce from Digorno to Biboli. Sorry!)

We actually had pizza for dinner last night, so I am officially a day behind already!

I think the chicken strips are sauted a little prior to going on the pizza. Again, I am not the chef when it comes to making pizza dinner, so you may have to experiment with this on your own. Use as much or little of the cheeses as you like. We went light on the Italian cheese last night, and it turned out delicious!

Mediterranean Pizza Ingredients

15 Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/2 - 1/3 cup Artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped marinated sundried tomatoes
3 veggie chicken patties sliced into small pieces
feta cheese
Italian cheese mix
Italian seasoning to sprinkle over the top for added flavor
olive oil
1 pizza crust
tomato sauce

Kale and Spinach Bake

My mom used to make a great spinach casserole, which may appear on here one day. This was one of the few dishes my mom could cook, bless her heart! (I just had to throw that in, I do live in North Carolina after all.) This kale spinach bake is similar but different, maybe a cousin of mom's dish. It is a great way to eat dark leafy greens, which are packed with goodness. I modified the original recipe a little bit, and will give you the original, but note my changes.

This dish takes some time, so do not plan this dinner on a busy night. I forgot this, and to make up for it, I opted for a side dish of tater tots. Unhealthy, but tasty and easy. Since I did not get around to buying local chicken today, I used veggie chicken to make lemon pepper chicken.

Olive oil

1 small onion chopped

2 cloves garlic, mashed

1 lb kale, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 lb fresh spinach, rinsed and coarsely chopped

6 oz plain low-fat yogurt (I used fat free Greek yogurt... we'll see what happens)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 1/2 TBS all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp salt

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground pepper

1 (16 oz) 1 % cottage cheese ( I used 4% cottage cheese to make up for the fat free yogurt)

2 eggs

1 egg white

a little more grated Parmesan cheese

I added a sprinkle of mozzarella/ provolone on top too

Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over med heat. Add onion and garlic, saute about 3 minutes. Add kale and spinach, stirring well. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook 15 - 20 minutes until wilted. Stir occasionally. Don't over cook, we don't want yucky color greens with no nutrients left! Remove from heat, strain with spoon, then plop into a 2 qt. baking dish coated with oil.

Position knife blade in a food processor bowl. Add yogurt and next 8 ingredients. Process until smooth. Pour over greens, stirring gently. Sprinkle with the cheese and bake uncovered for 40 minutes at 350ish (I baked mine at 365 degrees).

Yummy! I just took a bite, and it is gooooood! Creamy, not too cheesy. Gotta go and eat my dinner.

Pictures coming soon.

Chicken pot pie

I used to make the traditional chicken pot pie recipe found on the back of the Bisquick box. It was pretty good, fairly easy, but seemed to be lacking something. One thing I found troublesome about that particular recipe, was getting the biscuit topping to cook through. The last time I made it, the Bisquick left us with a goopy, doughy surprise. Yuck! I was traumatized and decided not to make that again.

Lucky for us, Cooking Light published a different take on chicken pot pie, and this one does not require Bisquick! I tried it, and loved it. I made one modification, and that was to add a bit of cheddar cheese, simply because everything tastes better with cheese. One thing I love about this recipe is it leaves fewer dirty dishes, and that is always a bonus. It is also a one dish wonder, since you get your protein, veggies and carbs all together!

This makes enough for both of us to eat for dinner, and usually leaves enough leftovers for both us to eat the next day for lunch.

I'll post a picture later, only because my sweet cousin told me pictures were a necessity!

Ingredients:

Pillsbury refrigerated pie dough

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 pkg (~ 10 oz) veggie chicken, cubed (veggie delight works great, found at whole foods/weaver street. I ended up using Morning Star's meal starter chicken strips, cut into chunks)

1 small onion, diced

1 package mushrooms, sliced

1 1/4 cup veggie broth

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed veggies

10 1/2 oz. can cream or mushroom OR cream of celery soup

1/2 cup shredded cheddar

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

2. Cut 4 circles from pie dough. (I use a bowl so that crust fits on top) Grease baking sheet with butter/cooking spray. Place dough circles on sheet and sprinkle with salt and olive oil. Bake 10 - 12 minutes, until a golden color.

3. Heat olive oil in large pan over med - high heat. Add thyme, sage, salt and pepper. Saute onions and mushrooms until tender. Add veggie chicken, cook until just browning.

4. Add broth and soup. Add frozen veggies and cheese if you want it.

5. Simmer 10-12 minutes.

6. Serve in a bowl with the crust placed on top!

*I like the crust topping so much, that I will take the scraps, roll it into a ball, flatten it out, and make extra circles to bake. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a plastic cup or some other smooth rounded object that can be used like a rolling pin.

Country dinner

We have a meal called "country dinner" about once a week. Our country dinner is vegetarian, but has 3 parts to it - a fake meat/protein, a carb (usually mac-n-cheese or mashed potatoes) and a veggie. Sometimes I'll throw in dinner bread. Our country dinner counts as an easy meal - one that can be made without much thought or time.

Tonight we are having country dinner of temphe, mashed sweet potatoes and some kind of veggie. I still need to figure that out!

Alright, I decided on organic frozen corn, but that left the meal lacking in green. So, I added a salad of organic baby lettuces, left over roasted beats and celery. Use any dressing you like, but I chose Annies Goddess dressing.

Ingredient list"

3 - 4 large sweet potatoes

1 package tempeh

frozen or fresh veggie of your choice

Directions:

Peel, then cube sweet potatoes into 1 inch chucks

place in pot with water

bring to a boil, cook until soft

While potatoes cook, slice temphe in half, then slice those two halves in half (make thinner, not smaller) Now you should have 4 squares of skinny temphe.

Drizzle some soy sauce on the rough side of the temphe

Drain potatoes, then mash them up just like traditional mashed potatoes with milk and butter, salt and pepper.

Get your veggies going!

Heat a skillet over med-high heat. Add olive oil and a small amount of soy sauce, salt and pepper. Once heated, add the 4 pieces of temphe and saute each side until browned.

Enjoy!