Tag: meatless

Tofu Teriyaki Bowls

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Servings: 4. Time to cook: 45 min.

These bowls are incredibly flavorful and you will love them. The tofu is delicious cooked on a crisper in high heat in the oven, which makes it so delicious and the teriyaki sauce is one I would use long ago for teriyaki spare ribs haha. No more of that! Now I have a new purpose for it and it suits my palate perfectly. This recipe looks complicated, but it really isn’t. First you make the sweet potatoes and if you have a double oven, make the tofu. If you don’t have a double oven, you can use one oven and put the sweet potatoes on one rack and the tofu on the other rack. Make the cauliflower rice, which takes about 15 minutes, cook the edamame and that’s it!

Teriyaki Sauce

  • 1 T. Garlic Powder
  • 1 C. Soy Sauce
  • 1 T. Dry Mustard
  • 1/2 C. Sugar
  • 1 T. Accent
  • 1 T. Corn Starch

Mix sauce together in a sauce pan and heat until thickened.  Set aside.

Sweet Potatoes

Heat oven to 425 to preheat.  Peel and cut sweet potatoes into even squares and dip in teriyaki sauce, take it out of sauce with a slotted spoon and put on a sheet cake pan with a splat mat on top.  Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes, then stir and then place in oven again for another 15 minutes.

(Option:  You can just cook the sweet potatoes without the glaze and just add it as a sauce later.  The hubs likes it that way but I like it cooked with the sauce on.  Try both and see which way you like better :). While sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare tofu.

For the Tofu

Above is the tofu that I love to buy.  It is extra firm and I find it in my local grocery store, Harmons.  Seriously,  YOU HAVE TO BUY THIS KIND OF TOFU!!  It is so much better than the other brands.  You just have to open the package and cut the desired amount you want and then rinse it, dry it off with a paper towel and it is ready to use.

Preheat oven to 425.

  • 1/2 block of tofu, cut lengthwise and then into 1″ squares
  • 3 T. Cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place cornstarch, salt and pepper in a ziplock bag and give it a good shake. Place tofu in the bag and shake, shake, shake until tofu is well coated. Place on rack roasting pan and put in oven. Cook for 10 minutes, stir, and cook for 10 more minutes until tofu is nice and golden.

Cauliflower Rice

  • 2 packages of frozen riced cauliflower (I found this at Costco)
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 3 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1/2 c. vegetable broth to prevent sticking
  • salt and pepper

Put cauliflower bag in the microwave one at a time for 3 minutes. Set aside. In a fry pan or I used a wok, on medium high heat about 1/4 c. of broth until hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is nice and translucent. Add cauliflower and cook for about 7-10 min or until it appears to be cooked through. You may need to add a little more broth to it to keep it from sticking. Add a little salt and pepper if desired.

  • 2 bags edamame. Cook frozen edamame 3 min., but make sure you poke holes in the bag with a fork (I like the Peggy’s brand from Costco. Sorry, no relation haha)

Assemble the bowls:

  1. Place cauliflower rice in bowl
  2. Place sweet potato and tofu in bowl
  3. Next put the edamame
  4. Top it off with the yummy teriyaki sauce

ENJOY!!! This is seriously one of my all time favorites! Please let me know if you try it! I always love to hear from my readers :).

Quick & Delicious Balsamic Glazed Seitan

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Can you tell I’ve been on a Seitan kick lately? Haha. I actually am really liking it for a meat alternative. This week I’m bringing you an original recipe that I made up and it turned out to be one of our favorites. I’ll definitely be making it again. It was filling, packs a lot of flavor, and I loved the texture of the seitan.

I love this seitan from Harmon’s Grocery Store (if you live in Utah), as I mentioned in my last post. It comes in chunks, which I love, but some times the chunks are a little big, so I cut those in smaller pieces.

Quick & Delicious Balsamic Glazed Seitan

Serves 4-6

  • 2 packages chunky seitan
  • 1-2 teaspoons sage
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

Take seitan out of the pack and separate. I like to cut the bigger chunks into smaller ones so they are all kind of the same size. Sprinkle it with 1-2 teaspoons sage, salt and pepper and rub the garlic into the chunks. Let sit while you make the sauce.

For the sauce:

Place all ingredients into a sauce pan and let it come to a boil until it’s thickened. This usually takes about 10 -15 minutes.

Place seitan in a skillet with about 1/2 cup sauce, stir and heat on medium high. Once sauce is absorbed into the seitan, add a little more at a time and turn heat down to medium low. Keep adding sauce and simmer until sauce is absorbed into the seitan, but yet there is a little left to use on the rice. I like to simmer it for 10-15 min. It gives it some good flavor.

That’s it! Simple. Easy. Packed with flavor. I like serving this with rice and here I show it served with zucchini and summer squash, but I think I prefer broccoli. Enjoy :).

GNOCCHI WITH ROASTED BROCCOLINI IN WHITE WINE SAUCE

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My daughter introduced me to gnocchi in Portland. She is an amazing cook and has introduced me to a lot of different foods. Well, she is a dietician and that helps too. Gnocchi has come to be one of my favs.

The other night when I got home from work and the “What’s for dinner?” question entered my head, as my stomach was growling, I needed to make a quick dish before I smacked myself to death, I remembered I had some gnocchi in my pantry that I’ve been wanting to cook. I originally was thinking of a mushroom marinara for this dish, but at the last minute I changed my mind (definitely a woman’s prerogative haha) because when I tasted the white wine mixed with the mushroom broth and spices it tasted fantastic.

If you want to make this sauce creamy, blend up 1/2 c cashews in about 1/4 c vegetable broth in a high speed blender and add it to the dish at the end. Make sure you blend this up well so you don’t get that gross grainy texture. Another trick is to soak the cashews for 15 min in boiling water, drain it before adding it to the blender with broth. Now to the recipe…..

GNOCCHI WITH ROASTED BROCCOLINI IN WHITE WINE SAUCE

Serves: 4 but if you have big eaters I would double.

Cook Time: 30 min.

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red onion

2 c. mushrooms sliced

1 bunch broccolini or regular broccoli (see recipe below)

1 package gnocchi, prepare as directed on package and set aside

1/3 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. vegetable broth (I like to make this with the “Better than Bouillon” brand

1 T. oregano

1 T. parsley

(Or in place of oregano and parsley add 1T. Italian seasoning)

1 tsp. salt

Prepare broth. Add 1/4 c. broth to a medium size Dutch oven or large rim pan and turn heat to medium high. As soon as pan is hot, add garlic and sauté for 2 min continuously stirring until it smells fragrant.

Add onion and sauté about 5 min or until slightly translucent. If you need to add more broth here to keep it from burning, do so. Add mushrooms and sauté these for 10-15 min or until a nice liquid broth forms from the mushrooms, add white wine and keep sautéing for 7 min or so until the alcohol burns off.

Add oregano, parsley and salt. Taste the mixture to see if it is to your liking. From here you can make a the cashew cream as mentioned above or leave it out. I thought it tasted good as is, so I opted not to. Add gnocchi and roasted broccolini. Mix well and taste once again to make sure it is properly salted and spiced. Enjoy.

ROASTED BROCCOLINI

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with baking rack on the top slot of the oven.

Place as much broccolini on a baking sheet pan as you want to serve.

Sprinkle broccolini with vegetable broth and salt and pepper.

When oven is up to temperature, place broccolini in the oven and set timer for 7 min. After 7 min stir broccolini on baking sheet and put back in oven for about 4 min or until it’s cooked to your liking.

Remove from oven and serve or add to cooking dish.

Tofu & Vegetable Teriyaki Bowls

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This recipe was a keeper! We have eaten tofu for years, but now we are eating more and it’s a great source of protein for us since we have gone plant based. I used brown and white rice cooked together, but you can also use quinoa, either works great. I prefer rice with teriyaki.

Tofu & Vegetable Teriyaki Bowls

Brown & white rice cooked together

1 package Tofu, firm or extra firm, cut in half lengthwise, and cut into a checkerboard

2 carrots cut into thin slices

1/2 onion, coarsely chopped

1/2 green and red peppers, thinly sliced

1-2 c. mushrooms

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, (optional)

1 package of edamame, cooked according to package directions

sliced green onions, for garnish

Peanuts for garnish



Teriyaki Sauce:

6 tablespoons liquid aminos, or tamari

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon minced ginger

Mix teriyaki marinade together and gently toss over cut up tofu. Set aside.


Sauté the onion, peppers, carrots. Salt and pepper. Cook for approx. 7 minutes or until tender. Instead of using oil, I sautéed the veggies just a few min then added a tiny bit of water so they wouldn’t burn. It works great and much healthier.

Add tofu and teriyaki sauce to veggies. Cook approx. 5-7 min or until tofu is heated through. And that’s it! So quick and so easy!


Enjoy!

FRIEND FRIDAY GUESTS—McKelle Skirvin and Natalie Boren!!!

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My Friend Friday Guests are VERY special guests :). THEY ARE MY DAUGHTERS 😃. This past Sunday was my birthday, not only did Nat and Kelle travel 4–5 hours to be with me for my bday weekend, but these two darling daughters cooked breakfast AND dinner for our family and it was AMAZING, so I wanted to share the recipes with you today. BUT FIRST…….. let me tell you some things about McKelle and Natalie. 

McKelle is a darling little mama to Hazel and is the wife of Garrett. She LOVES being a mom and is a natural. I’ve been so impressed with her taking on this new role. She is and always has been very scholastic in school, but took a semester off to be mama to Hazel. She has a scholarship to the University of Utah and is majoring in Dietetics (yes, my other daughter, Brianne, is a dietician too :). McKelle served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Nashville, TN and loved every second. She is a very good writer too and has a blog of her own called wholesomeeats.wordpress.com. 


Natalie is an AMAZING Aunt to her 5 neices and nephews! She is our sunshine girl and has a heart of gold and would do anything for a friend, and she has a lot of those :). She earned her cosmetology license while attending high school and did hair for a few years, but the past two years, she has gone back to school at Utah Valley University and LOVES IT! She has a desire to learn like no other, well maybe her dad ha. She worked for UVU this summer creating and teaching curriculum for a coding class to 9th graders. She is one little smartie! All of my girls are very conscientious about eating healthy and are all GREAT chefs! I’m so proud of them!


Pictured are Brianne, Natalie, McKelle and Aspen (my daughter-in-law).  They are beauties inside and outside, aren’t they?!!!! 

Now THE DELICIOUS FOOD……..

The first and most important meal of the day—BREAKFAST!!


PANCAKES (recipe is adapted from the edgyveg.com)

Serves: 2

1 cup organic, unbleached flour 

1 tbsp cane sugar

2 tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp salt

1 cup almond milk

1 tbsp vinegar

2 tbsp coconut oil

Turn your griddle to medium heat.

Combine your flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In a large glass or bowl add your almond milk with 1 tbsp of vinegar and whisk well. This will turn your regular almond milk into almond buttermilk!!!

Allow this to sit for about 5-10 minutes, then add the soy buttermilk and coconut oil to your mixture, and mix until smooth without clumps.

When your griddle is hot, grease with a tbsp of coconut oil and spoon your batter onto your cooking surface. Flip your pancakes carefully when you see that the bubbles have stopped opening and closing. Continue to cook until the other size of your pancake is cooked and remove from heat.

If you want to make PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP PANCAKES—add 1/4 c. Pumpkin to the batter. They are my personal favorite!


The next meal…….DINNER


Lentil and Cauliflower Rice Taco Filling

This recipe makes a lot, about enough for 21 tacos! It halves easily, though. Also, be sure you use mild chili powder–a combination of chiles, cumin, and other spices–and not hot pepper.

 Prep Time 30 minutes

 Cook Time 35 minutes

 Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

 Servings 7

 Calories 145 kcal

 Recipe by Susan Voisin

Ingredients

1 cup brown lentils uncooked, or 3 cups cooked lentils (we used black beans)

3 cups water

2 cloves garlic minced

1 large head cauliflower

1 large onion chopped

4 cloves garlic minced

2 tablespoons mild chili powder divided

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4-1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder or cayenne pepper to taste

Generous grating black pepper

Salt to taste

If you’re starting with uncooked lentils, rinse and drain them and place in a medium-sized saucepan with 3 cups of water, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and a little salt, if desired. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook until just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare the cauliflower “rice” by removing the leaves and bottom stem from the cauliflower. Grate the cauliflower using either a box grater or the food processor to produce rice-sized pieces. To use the food processor, cut the cauliflower into quarters and then cut or break each quarter into pieces. Process one quarter at a time, pulsing on and off, until grated. Be careful not to over-process or you’ll have cauliflower dust!

Once the cauliflower is grated, heat a very large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it begins to brown. Add the cauliflower and garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of chili powder and continue cooking until the cauliflower is tender, about 4 more minutes.

Drain the lentils well and add them to the skillet. Add the remaining chili powder and all remaining seasonings. Cook on medium until heated through and flavors are combined. Add salt to taste.

Makes about 7 cups of filling. To serve, place about 1/3 cup of filling in a small corn tortilla and garnish with lettuce, tomatoes, and any other fillings you like. Serve with salsa. We also sautéed some chicken with garlic salt and onion salt and pepper for those who would like meat. These were amazing!!

Nutrition Facts:

Lentil and Cauliflower Rice Taco Filling

Amount Per Serving (1 cup)

Calories 145

% Daily Value*

Sodium 396mg 17%

Total Carbohydrates 26.6g 9%

Dietary Fiber 12.5g 50%

Sugars 4.4g

Protein 10.1g 20%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Both of those meals were incredible and vegan! 

Sweet Potato Black Bean Enchiladas with Homemade Chile Sauce

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This recipe is one adapted from my daughter’s recipe–shout out to Bri, who is a registered dietician and we will be hearing more from her in the near future :).  Once you have this meatless meal, my hope is that you will leave the table satisfied and not really miss it,  and this is coming from a human that LOVES MEAT!

Every time I make this, it takes me back to when my hubs and I completed the St. George Ironman in 2014 (check that off my bucket list), my other daughter, Natalie, had this made when we got home and that was after she and my son cheered their hearts out for us on the course.  After that hard day, it hit the spot!  Great memories :).

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Okay, back to business………..

This recipe looks a little intimidating to make, but it really isn’t.  You could also prep some ingredients the night before, such as the sweet potatoes and green chile sauce and even the bean mix and just throw it all together.  Remember– a recipe is just a guide, so feel free to experiment and throw your own twist to it.  Let me know how it turns out.  I love hearing from you!

Makes 6 large enchiladas

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Ingredients you will need:

IMG_5273cheese

2 c.  Sweet Potatoes, cooked, peeled and diced (I just halved mine and put it in the microwave on the “fresh vegetable” setting and it cooked it nearly perfect, but test it with a fork.  You don’t want it too mushy or too hard and then sprinkle some cumin and chili powder on sweet potatoes. Set aside.

1 Onion (half for bean mixture and half for the green chile sauce)

2 cloves Garlic (again, one for bean and one for chile)

*2 cans LaVictoria’s diced green chiles, fire roasted

2 cans black beans

Tortillas, large

(optional) Chicken Breasts, cooked

*3 c. Chicken Broth

Avocado

Cilantro

Lime

Pepper Jack Cheese, grated

Cheddar Cheese (not shown), grated

Jalapeño Pepper (optional), seeded and chopped

*If you don’t want to make the homemade green chili sauce, omit these and the cornstarch from your ingredient list and just buy the LaVictoria 32 oz. can of green chile sauce at the store.  It does make it a bit more simple to make, but I love the homemade version best.

 

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Cornstarch (not shown) Cumin, Chili Powder, Kosher Salt (if needed) I ended up not using it, but everyone’s salt buds are different :).

IMG_5297

You can use this chicken if you prefer the meat option (quick method) or if you want to use your own uncooked chicken breasts, please refer to the part in my BBQ pizza post where I demonstrate how to cut and cook the chicken or use your own favorite method of cooking it.

Some tips to prep ingredients:

How to quickly dice an onion

Use half for the black beans and half for the green chile sauce.

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How to peel garlic quickly

Before grating cheese, place in the freezer for about 15 min. and it will grate easier.

For the chile sauce:

sauteonionsforbeans

Sauté onions in olive oil until translucent

chiliesinpan

Add 2 cans of green chiles and 1 teaspoon of cumin & 1/4 teaspoon chili powderIMG_5290

Add 3 c. chicken broth and bring to boilIMG_5293

Pour about 1/2 c chicken broth in a small bowl and add 2 T. cornstarch, mix well.  This will thicken the chile sauce.

IMG_5294

Gradually add cornstarch mixture to boiling green chiles and boil until thickened and taste and season more with cumin if you like.  Set aside off heat.

For the black beans:

beansinpan

Sauté other half of onion, the minced garlic clove and minced jalapeño until onion is translucent then add 2 cans of drained, rinsed beans.

Add 1-2 tea. of cumin & 1/2-1 tea. chili powder and mix well.

mashedbeans

Slightly mash beans with a potato masher, but not too much.

Now you’re ready to put these baby’s together!!

ingredspread

THE SPREAD 🙂

Spray baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and put a little of the chile sauce on the bottom.

Assemble

swpot&bbeanontort

Put the sweet potatoes, black beans, pepper jack cheese and a small scoop of chile sauce in tortilla.  If you’re making the chicken version add small amount of  cooked chicken breast, but I promise you won’t miss it if you don’t add it :).

Rolling technique:

step1foldenchiladastep2step3step4

Put enchilada in baking pan and repeat until all the sweet potatoes are gone.

unbakedenchi

Pour remaining green chile sauce on top and add more pepper jack cheese and a bit of cheddar.  Bake for 25-30 min.

bakedenchil

AHHHHHH Delicious goodness!!

Let cool for about 5-10 min and ENJOY!!

platedenchil

Top with salsa, avocado, coarsely chopped cilantro, a lime wedge  and sour cream.

AND don’t forget your veggies:).closeupenchi

ENJOY!!