Ten Minute Dinner Inspired by Happy Herbivore

Uninspired to go to the grocery store, (ever had this happen to you?), and a homework filled afternoon, I got caught at dinner time with nothing in the refrigerator!  Ahh.  BUT, I looked at my emails, and read a post about this recipe:

Hawaiian BBQ Teriyaki Chickpeas

I did have a can of garbanzo beans / chickpeas, one package of Trader Joes' frozen brown rice and gluten free teriyaki sauce and salsa.  I did not have the the szechuan sauce, but I thought that might be too spicy for the girls anyways.  In my big, beautiful saute pan I put my can of drained garbanzo beans, 1/4 cup of the GF teriyaki sauce and about 1/4 cup of water.  I let this simmer for about 5 minutes.  Then I added the frozen brown rice and a tad more water.  I let this simmer for another 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, I found frozen pineapples and mangoes. I put those in a colander to let them thaw and sliced up the one cucumber left in the house.  I had a little mint and chopped that up.  I mixed the pineapple, mango, cucumber and handful of mint with the Trader Joe Salsa Verde.  This served as the salsa mix. I served the salsa on top of the brown rice and garbanzo beans.

I try not to use sugar, so I did leave out the sugar that was called for in the recipe.  With the teriyaki sauce and the frozen fruit, it was plenty sweet.

I always have certain staples in the house.  I proved to myself that with very little, I could make an interesting meal.

Results - I loved it.  Si said she would not try it, but later, finished her plate.  Ry and Chad said no thanks.  PB&J for them.  And, funny this was the first time I have seen Ry actually eat a PB&J, she usually does not like any form of nut butter!  Always changing taste buds.

Oh well.  IF you like it sweet, try this super easy dish.  Or spice it up as seen at Happy Herbivore.

Nacho Dinner

Seriously - these are VEGAN and GLUTEN FREE.   And, oh sooo good.  Thanks to my friend Amy, who suggested putting lentils on nachos, and to the amazing Nacho Cheese Dip by Happy Herbivore I made an incredible dinner this evening.

I made the Nacho Cheese Dip, leaving out cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Then put Trader Joe reduced guilt tortilla chips on a baking sheet, crumbled Trader Joe's steamed lentils on top, and poured the hot nacho cheese dip over all of it.  I put it in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.  They could have gone another 5 minutes, but I was too anxious to try them.  I served these with broccoli and Ry's favorite roasted cabbage.  Delicious.

Nacho Cheese Dip Ingredients - EASY

So over dinner...

I hate to start off negative, but I am so over dinner time drama.  I get excited to try a new recipe, work hard at making it just right and then no one (besides me) enjoys it.  Here is the dilemma- Chad and I like a lot of flavor, spices, etc. but the girls do not.  Chad does not like "sweet" tasting things, ie sweet potatoes, butternut squash, etc, but the girls and I love a sweet flavor. Or I find a dinner that the girls do like, I fix it again, and their taste has changed so they no longer will eat it.  Usually I can motivate through this in my excitement to try new recipes, but last week I threw in the towel.

Tuesday night I came home from work and had no desire to cook.  I walked down to Trader Joes and picked up regular pasta (not gluten free) and regular marinara sauce.  The problem with cooking regular pasta in our house is that gluten can be left behind in the pot.  Gluten is very sticky, so it requires a lot more scrubbing and cleaning of everything it touches so that no cross contamination happens.  But I bucked up and decided the extra cleaning was worth an easy dinner.  I told everyone I did not want to hear any whining about dinner, that they were getting pasta (with gluten) and red sauce.  The dinner took as long as it takes to boil pasta and everyone ATE without complaint.  Yes, that means I had to fix another meal for myself, but so be it.  Everyone was happy.

Wednesday I was looking at recipes and then got my friendly, daily email from Metrofresh.  They usually have at least one vegan / gluten free option, but this day they had 2 soups and 3 sides that were vegan / gluten free.  I felt obligated to support them.  So, the girls and I walked down to Metrofresh and I let them each pick out their dinner.  I brought a big bag of food home.  Everyone was happy.

Thursday- black beans, rice, frozen roasted peppers from TJs and tortillas.  Oh, and I broke down, I made a new recipe.  But this time it was a HIT.  Low Fat Vegan Nacho Cheese from the Happy Herbivore.
It was OUTSTANDING, so yummy.  I drizzled it over my bowl of black beans, rice and peppers.  Both girls enjoyed it and Chad said it was not bad.  I think I would just call it Mexican sauce or something, because "cheese" will throw you.  It did not taste like cheese to me, but it did taste delicious.  Try out that recipe!

Making a successful recipe got me back into the groove of cooking again.  Sorry girls, no take out next week.

Cornbread Casserole - Always Vegan, Gluten Free

 GREAT DINNER!

And, easy too.  Directions are below.  It is very difficult choosing new recipes, Chad does not like any entree that is even slightly "sweet", the girls do not like anything even remotely spicy.   Hum, so how do I make something that is not sweet and not spicy?  I don't.  I made this Cajun Cornbread Casserole for me and Chad.  And, for the girls, I put Trader Joes steamed lentils in a pot with the left over diced tomatoes, served with corn tortillas.  I served everyone asparagus.

Chad picked this recipe out today from my new cookbook, Everyday Happy Herbivore.  I LOVE this cookbook, and especially love this dish.  Chad finished and said "now that is what I'm talking about, this is the direction you need keep going in."  "In fact, you could make this dish once a week."  So folks, if Chad liked it THAT much, I can almost guarantee you will too.  You can change up the spices, use less if you do not like things too spicy.  The cornbread on top is unreal!

Cajun Cornbread Casserole

Everyday Happy Herbivore page 155

My adaptation:

1 – 15 oz can diced tomatoes (I used 2 cups of Pomi diced tomatoes, box at Wholefoods)

1 small onion, diced

2 celery stalks, minced

1 yellow pepper, seeded and diced (any color pepper will do)

1 TBS Cajun Seasoning (Lindsay has a recipe, I used store bought)

1 – 15oz pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup cornmeal

1 ½ tsp baking powder

pinch of salt

1 tbsp date sugar

¾ cup plant based milk (I used Wholefoods unsweetened soy)

¼ cup  organic unsweetened applesauce

·      Preheat oven to 400.  I used a 9 inch round casserole dish.

·      Put half of the tomatoes with juice into a skillet with onion, celery and pepper, sauté over high heat until onion is translucent and pepper is tender.

·      Turn heat down, add the rest of the tomatoes, pinto beans and Cajun seasoning.  Stir until combined, turn off heat.

·      In a small whisking bowl, whisk, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, optional – sprinkle a little Cajun seasoning, and sugar.  Once combined, add soy milk and applesauce.  It should be thick, but spreadable like hummus, not dry.

·      Pour bean mixture into baking dish, and then spread cornbread mixture over the top.  Bake for 30 – 25 minutes.  Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.