Tag: Veggies

OG Scrumptious Bombdiggity Vegan Enchiladas

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This is one of my favorites!!! I think I say that about all of the recipes that I blog about haha, but I only post the very best for you. My goal is to teach you how easy cooking whole food plant-based food really is. It’s amazing the flavor you can get when combining whole food with some delicious spices and some cooking techniques that are tried and true. It’s truly one of the best decisions my husband and I have made in this life. We feel better, are heart healthy and LOVE the delicious food we make. Give this recipe a try and tell me your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!

Recently, I took dinner to my neighbor who just had a baby and this is what I made for them. They are meat eaters so I was really nervous that they wouldn’t like a dinner without meat, BUT I got a text from her the following day and she said that they LOVED IT!!! WAHOO!!! IT MADE MY DAY!

This original recipe came from my daughter which was for sweet potato black bean enchiladas, but I like to change things up a bit, so I modified it and added some ingredients to make it better :). I loved the changes and I don’t even miss the cheese that is in the original recipe. This recipe has a lot of homemade ingredients so it takes a bit of time, but I do it in stages, so one day I’ll make the pinto beans in the instant pot and then use it for another recipe, like tacos and then I’ll bake the sweet potatoes earlier in the day so they cool off a bit before putting them in this recipe. Don’t get overwhelmed with it–just take it one step at a time. Please read the whole recipe before beginning.

Vegan Cauliflower Hamburger/Sweet Potato/Pinto Bean Enchiladas

You can make a bunch of these to feed a crowd. I like making two pans–one for me and one for a neighbor or you can freeze these in the pan after assembling them but don’t add the enchilada sauce until the end of the cooking time. This helps your enchiladas stay a little crispier instead of soggy. (Put aluminum foil on them before freezing and use within a few weeks)

For the Cauliflower Hamburger:

  • 2 packs of Frozen Cauliflower Rice (I get them from Costco), cooked for 3 min in microwave to soften
  • 1 small package of white mushrooms (grated in food processor)
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1 T. Cumin
  • 2 Teaspoons Chili powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. I like to wash my hands really good and mix it up with my hands. Taste it and make sure the spices are to your liking. Add a little extra of what you want. Take a cookie sheet and put a splat mat on it. Put cauliflower mix on top of the spat mat and cook for 15 min. Remove from oven and stir it on the mat and put it back in the oven for 15 min. When it comes out it should resemble hamburger–looks a little brown and delicious. Set aside.

While hamburger is cooking, cook the sweet potatoes one at a time in the microwave–poke holes in sweet potato with a fork all over the sweet potatoes (I prob do this about 4-5 times around the potato–cook 4 minutes for a medium one or 5 minutes for a large OR I like to cook the sweet potatoes earlier in the day or the day before to prep for this meal. Here is the oven instructions for cooking sweet potatoes:

Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Poke sweet potatoes with a fork and put them on a cookie sheet with a splat mat on and bake for about 45-50 minutes until they are soft. I like to poke mine with a fork and if they are fork tender, they are done. I just have the urge here to say to you, “STICK A FORK IN IT!!!” LOL!! Set aside to let cool and then peel them and mash them with a fork. Sprinkle with cumin and chili powder and mix the spices in with a fork until it is well mixed. Taste and make sure the spice is on point to your liking.

Pinto Beans in the Instant Pot

  • 3 C. Raw Pinto Beans
  • 6 C. Vegetable Broth
  • 1/2 Onion, diced
  • 3 cloves Garlic, crushed
  • Jalapeño (optional), cut in very small dices
  • 1 T. Cumin
  • 1 -2 tea. Chili Powder
  • 2 tea. Salt
  • a few sprinkles of pepper

Rinse pinto beans and pick out the beans that are duds. Add a little of the broth to the instant pot and put on saute setting. When it is hot, add the onion, garlic and jalapeño (if using). Saute for about 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent. Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. The smell should be very fragrant and make your home smell so good! Just saute the spices for a couple of minutes and then add the beans and remaining broth. Stir well and turn off saute setting.

Put lid on instant pot and cook on regular pressure cooker setting for 55 minutes. After beans are done cooking let them sit for about 15 minutes before releasing the pressure.

Now you are ready to assemble the enchiladas.

These are the items you need to have in an assembly line to make the process streamlined:

Tortillas (I like the flour kind from Costco, but make sure you cook them well so they aren’t soggy, but you can use corn for these too if you need gluten free)

Sweet potato

Cauliflower hamburger

Pinto Beans

1 Brown Rice Package or as many as you need, cooked in microwave for 90 seconds (see picture)

32 oz. Green Enchilada Sauce, mild (I like LaVictoria or any other brand that is a favorite)

Put a bit of the enchilada sauce in the 9×13 pan–enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

In each enchilada put a little of the sweet potato mixture, a little of the cauliflower, pinto beans and brown rice and with a large spoon put a spoonful of enchilada sauce on top and roll up by tucking all of the ingredients in and roll it up.

Add rolled tortillas to pan and bake for 30 min on 400. Add remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas after 30 min and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings.

Here are a few of our favorite toppings:

Pico

Cashew Cream:

  • 1 C. cashews
  • 1 tea. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tea. lemon juice
  • 3/4 tea. salt
  • 3/4 C. water

Mix in high speed blender until well blended. This is delicious and one of my very favorite foods!!!

Avocado

Fresh tomato

Mateos Salsa (from Costco)

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s)

This is amazing Salsa!! I hope you enjoy these enchiladas. They are a lot of work, but trust me–THEY ARE AMAZING!!

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 :).

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!

Veggies Veggies Veggies

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Today’s talk is about those wonderful VEGGIES!!  In the Washington Post there was an article that caught my attention and this was the first paragraph.

“People who eat seven or more portions of fresh fruits and vegetables each day may reduce their risk of dying from a wide variety of diseases by as much as 42 percent over people who consume less than one portion, according to a new study by British researchers who tracked the eating habits of more than 65,000 people for 12 years.”

Holy cow!!  LETS EAT MORE VEGGIES, FRIENDS!!

Here are a couple of ways to cook these beauties.  The first method is roasting your veggies.  I love the roasting method and making a vegetable medley is a fav.  You just cut veggies into chucks that are fairly uniform, preheat over to 425 degrees, and place veggies on a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Drizzle with olive oil and kosher salt and pepper.  I like to rub it all around with my hands and then pop it in the preheated oven.  Depending on the size of your veggies, it will take about 15-20 min to cook.

On the right I did a mixture of carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and mushrooms and on the left is a potato mix of white potatoes and sweet potatoes.  I seasoned this with a little garlic salt, pepper and some sage and they were delish!!  LOVE roasted veggies!

The next way to get your veggies in, is to serve a salad.  I like to make a spinach salad with some homemade dressing.  Spinach is a favorite base for a salad around here but everyone likes different toppings, so I kind of make a mini salad bar.  It’s quite a pretty sight to see :).  It would be beautiful on a huge platter served at a dinner party.  Below I have some bacon, red peppers, fresh motz cheese, red onion, carrots, egg and toasted almonds.  I love avocado as well.

saladbar

SO ENJOY THOSE VEGGIES!!  Like your mama said, “They’re good for ya!”  I would love to know your favorite way to serve veggies.  Thanks for visiting :).