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.

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.

Seriously, what do you REALLY eat? - Dinner

Moving on to dinner:

Nothing super fancy, as a reminder I only spent $80 for the week at the grocery store and was trying to use what I had in the pantry.

Monday:

Garbanzo Marinara with Polenta or Noodles

Sauce:

• A can of drained garbanzo beans
• 1/2 of a chopped onion
• 1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce - I use Muir Glens Portbello Mushroom

And:

• Organic Polenta
• And or Rice Noodles

 Saute onion in a hot pan with a little water, until onion turns translucent.  Add in beans and sauce.  Let mixture simmer until beans become tender.

 Meanwhile, slice polenta and heat on grill or you can heat in a saute pan.  

I knew the girls did not like polenta, so I also boiled rice pasta as I was heating the polenta and the sauce.  Multi- tasking. Although several things going on at once, I made this meal in less than 15 minutes and with 5 ingredients!

Tuesday:

 Lentils, Rice and Tomatoes with Taco Shells

(You have seen this one before!)

I used a different Trader Joe rice this time, put that in pan with Pomi tomatoes, and added half of a package of Trader Joe steamed lentils.  I did not add spices because the girls like it without.  But you could add cumin, garlic, onion, salt, pepper, etc!

 

Roasted cabbage and zucchini slicesI lightly sprayed the baking sheet with olive oil spray, placed shredded cabbage (Trader Joes has this in a bag) and zucchini slices on sheet.  Lightly sprayed oil and sprinkled salt.  I baked these at 325 for about 20 minutes.  Keep you eye on these, check every 10 minutes.  

Salad

Nothing fancy here! 

Wednesday:
This night I made a couple of things that would last a few days, soup and tofu:

I made a Butternut Squash Soup from a Whole Food recipe:
Classic Butternut Squash Soup 
SERVES 6
4 to 6 cups vegetable broth, divided
2/3 cup diced carrot (about 1 (8-inch) large carrot)
1/2 cup diced celery (about 1 (11-inch) large stalk)
2/3 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
4 cups cubed butternut squash (about 1 medium squash)
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons of the veggie broth in a large soup pot. Add carrot, celery and onion. Cook until vegetables have begun to soften and onion turns translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add butternut squash and thyme. Stir to combine with vegetables. Stir in broth and season with salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until squash is fork-tender, about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to puree soup. Alternatively, let the soup cool slightly and carefully puree in batches in a traditional blender.
Optional southwestern spin
Add a tablespoon chopped chipotles in adobo and 1 teaspoon ground cumin to carrot, celery and onion mixture. When serving, garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds and chopped fresh cilantro.

I enjoyed the soup and a salad for dinner.  Chad and the girls did not like the soup.  So fortunately I had already heated up frozen lima beans, left over cabbage and these Trader Joe mash potatoes hidden way back in our freezer.  The mash potatoes were not vegan or gluten free, so of course all three of them absolutely LOVED the potatoes.    The tofu recipe was nothing special, I pressed it, put a sauce of GF tamari, and tahini on the tofu and sprinkled nutritional yeast.  I baked the cubes in the toaster at 325 for 25 minutes. 

This is what I call a bland dinner!

Tofu 

 

 

 

 

Thursday:
Trader Joe stir fry to the rescue.  Nope not organic, I let it slide for convenience.  I sauteed the veggies with a little water and a gluten free teriyaki sauce I found at Whole Foods.  I also made rice noodles to go with the veggies.
For some reason I really wanted a veggie burger too.  I made one that I have made a thousand times before, but I did something wrong.  They were terrible, dry, and fell apart.  So, of course I ate them, but I served the girls and Chad left over lentils and rice.

My Dinner

Girls Dinner

Three Easy Dinners - That everyone ENJOYED!

 

First up: Throw It All Together Mexican Dinner

1 can of drained black beans

1/2 - 1 bag of Trader Joes' frozen roasted peppers and onions

1 bag of Trader Joes' frozen organic brown rice

1 TB Cumin

Any other spice your heart desires!

Heat about a 1/2 cup of water in a large saute pan, and add all the ingredients above.  Stir frequently to so that rice doesn't stick to the pan.  Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.  And serve!  Can serve with corn tortillas, vegan sour cream, or eat it as is.  This was one of those nights I needed a quick and easy meal, and lucky for me everyone enjoyed it!

Second: Broccoli and Red Pepper Stir Fry

I made this last night and again EVERYONE liked it.  I am on a roll.  This is another super easy meal.  I used one head of broccoli and half a bag of the Trader Joes' frozen peppers and onions mentioned above.  I also threw in a handful of cashew nuts (Chad really liked this) and a handful of fresh red peppers.  

I did NOT have garlic or vegan Worcestershire sauce mentioned in the recipe, but we enjoyed it none the less.  

Click here to see the previous post with the recipe and picture.

Third: Spicy Orange Greens, Beans, Purple Potatoes and Asparagus!

This looks more complicated than it really was.  It does take longer than the recipes above, but again all three of my eaters loved it!

First up, peel and slice purple potatoes and onions.  Spray a little olive oil spray on baking pan, heat oven to 350.  Place potatoes and onions on pan, lightly spray olive oil and sprinkle salt on top.  (Go light on oil spray and salt).  Bake for 25 minutes, check on them half way through.  At the end I turned the broiler on for about 3 minutes.  Roasting veggies is not an exact science, or at least I havent found the perfect formula yet.  I always check on my veggies and adjust as needed.

As potatoes and onions are roasting - throw some asparagus in boiling water until the turn bright green.  Drain and set aside.  Pour a little gluten free Tamari over asparagus (or Braggs Amino Acids).

Add pepper if desired.

Now - Spicy Greens!  You can use any greens you would like, even broccoli.  I used a big bag of spinach.  It is amazing how spinach cooks down.  I stuffed my saute pan with spinach.  First start with the sauce.  The recipe is from Happy Herbivore and found here.  

1/3 cup water 

2 tbsp GF Tamari

2 tbsp minced fresh ginger (I didnt have fresh ginger, that would be preferred, I sprinkled about 1/2 TB dried ginger in the sauce)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (I left out, served the girls, then added flakes to mine and Chad's)

1 tbsp orange marmalade or jam (I used apricot preserves)

Whisk sauce together, and pour in saute pan.  After it heats, throw in spinach or other greens, coat well, turning with tongs,  then I added in a can of drained white beans (optional).  Simmer until greens are soft and bright green.  Serve immediately.

Broccoli and Red Pepper Stir Fry

Broccoli and Red Pepper Stir Fry

Everyday Happy Herbivore page 134

I was going to double the recipe, because it was for 2, but I forgot and followed her directions.  I used more veggies than she called for, so it probably was not as saucy as it should have been, but I liked it!

My adaptation:

2 cups of water

2 TBS low sodium tamari

2 TBS nutritional yeast

2 TBS dijon mustard

1/2  tsp onion powder

1/2  tsp ground ginger

1/2  tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce (Lindsay has a recipe for this, I may leave out)

2 heads of broccoli, chopped into florets

1 tsp cornstarch

2 bell peppers, seeded and sliced

cooked brown rice (I used one and a half bags of TJ's frozen organic brown rice)

·      In a small bowl, whisk water with tamari, nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, spices and vegan Worcestershire sauce

·      Pour half into skillet and bring to a boil

·      Add broccoli and cook over high heat for a few minutes, until the broccoli turns bright green and the sauce has mostly cooked off

·      Whisk cornstarch into remaining broth until well combined, then pour over broccoli

·      Add bell peppers and continue to cook over high heat until broccoli is dark green, peppers are tender, but still crisp and the sauce has reduced but is not completely evaporated

·      Serve over rice - I actually added the rice into the stir fry to give the rice flavor.

RESULT - Chad had two helpings (With his grilled chicken breast).  I LOVED it, I do wish I had prepared tofu or a big salad to go with it.  The girls ate a huge snack, so they did not eat much dinner.

Roasted cabbage?

Roasted cabbage?  I read about it and thought I would give it a try tonight.  I realized we had a few things in the refrigerator that needed to be eaten, Chad was working late, so it became leftover night.  I chopped up the cabbage, spread it on my new baking sheet, sprayed a VERY light coat of olive oil over the cabbage, and sprinkled a little salt.  I baked the cabbage at 400 for 20 minutes, stirring the cabbage at 10 minutes.  It was DELICIOUS.  Ry, ate half a head of cabbage!  I only chopped up half the head so I had to cut up the other half and bake it.  She actually waited for me to do that.  

Left over quinoa, lentils and Glen Muir Portobello Tomato Sauce was all thrown into a pan, heated and served.  

Blueberries for dessert.

Ry LOVED this one pot, easy, dinner...

Those of you who are not fans of spicy food, this is the recipe for you!  It was super easy.  I actually made it in about 10 minutes, left it on the stove for a couple of hours, then re-heated when we got home.  I served with steamed cauliflower, taco shells, and LOTS of salsa (for me and Chad).  I am happy with any dinner that Ry eats- she is our true litmus test.  But, like I said, Chad and I had to smoother ours with salsa.  Peas, rice, beans, make this a complete meal - loaded with protein.

Arroz Amarillo

Everyday Happy Herbivore page 162

My adaptation:

I used:

1and 1/2 bags of Trader Joe frozen organic brown rice

1 – 10oz bags of frozen green peas

~1/2 cup veggie broth - enough to coat the rice and peas, but not too much

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp onion powder

½ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp paprika

dash of ground ginger

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

diced tomatoes and or green onions for garnish –

In large saute pan, combine frozen rice, frozen peas, veggie broth, just enough to coat the rice and peas and all spices.  Saute over medium heat until rice and peas are cooked.  Add in black beans.  Once heated, I let this sit on the stove until we were ready for dinner.  I added a little water to re-heat.  Again, this is NOT spicy.  If you like spice, double the spices!

Garnish if desired.

BTW- Ry is taking it for lunch tomorrow!!  Score!

Yet Another Burger

 I was not going to cook this week after my marathon cooking day on Sunday. But I had three beautiful, baked sweet potatoes sitting in my refrigerator that were asking to be consumed not thrown away.  Then, I saw this recipe on Whole Foods website for a Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cake.

I once again modified it to my liking / what I had in my refrigerator:

1/2 package of my staple, Trader Joe Steamed Lentils

1 shallot, diced

1 TB chili powder

1 baked sweet potato

1 cup cooked quinoa (I used red quinoa, which has a nutty flavor and texture)

1 handful shredded carrots (I had a bag of Trader Joes brand)

1 handful of spinach

1 roasted red pepper, diced

Preheat oven to 350.  Saute shallot and carrots in a little veggie broth or water until shallot  becomes translucent.  Add lentils to pan, cook for about 5 minutes.  I put the sweet potato, spinach and chili powder in my Vitamix and blended for about 45 seconds.  Then, I added half of the lentil, carrot, shallot mixture in the Vitamix.  (It might have been better to use a food processor, as it was a lot to put in the Vitamix).  After blending, I put that mixture, with the remaining lentil mixture in a big bowl.  (I only blended half of the lentil mixture so the patties would not be too mushy.)  I  stirred all of it together then folded in the quinoa, and roasted red pepper.  After mixing well, I formed 8 patties on placed on my new Silpat and baking sheet.  Then  I put the baking sheet in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes to let the patties set.  I baked at 350 for 10 minutes, then flipped the patties over and baked for about 15 more minutes.  The taste was incredible, the durability of the burger was less than desired.  It did fall apart easily, but if you are not eating it on a bun, then it doesnt really matter.  I had mine with sweet potato fries and steamed brussel sprouts.  And, today, I had left overs for lunch, they were even good cold!  I liked the slightly sweet flavor the sweet potatoes added and the nutty texture of the quinoa.  Not to mention all the great nutrients I was getting from the carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, quinoa and peppers.  That is a complete meal!  And, the chili powder was not overwhelming, just enough spice.

On the menu this week?

I got a bee in my bonnet yesterday and decided to plan out the week's dinner and actually cook them in advance.  First up - Jeff Novick's Bean Burgers.  What I love about his recipe are the different variations.  You can use different types of beans, choose between potatoes or rice, use tomato sauce, BBQ sauce or salsa and then pick your spice.  Here is the basic recipe:

• 2 cans of beans drained (I used one can of pinto, one can of garbanzo)
• 1 cup of oats (I use GF)
• 1 cup of cooked brown rice or potatoes (I used sweet potatoes)
• 4 TB of tomato sauce, salsa, BBQ sauce, etc (I used Muir Glen's Portobello Mushroom sauce - it happened to be open in the frig)
• Spices - you pick!  I used a dash of curry and cumin.  I wish I had used a lot more, but I wanted the girls to eat these.

You can hand mash all of this together, I put my in the food processor, just be careful to not over process.  Then form them into patties, on a baking sheet.  Let set in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, then grill them, bake them, saute them in a skillet, however you prefer.  I baked mine at 350 for about 10 minutes, then froze them. I will put them on a skillet with a little spray olive oil (Jeff would not do this) and cook them when we are ready for burger night! Which I think will be tonight.

Second - This is a recipe shared by a friend from an amazing website.  If you have not heard of 101 Cookbooks, you must check out the site. 









The recipe I was inspired by is Red Lentil Soup with Lemon .  
I was feeling adventurous, so I did not follow directions very well, added a few more ingredients, and of course left out the butter.  Here is what I did:

• 2 boxes of Trader Joe's Steamed Lentils
• 1 can Trader Joe diced tomatoes
• 3 cups of water
• 1 diced onion
•  1 tablespoon turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• Handful of shredded carrots
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• Juice of three lemons, or to taste
• 1 large bunch of kale leaves, chopped

I sauteed the lentils, tomatoes, water and carrots for awhile.  Then I added all the spices in at once. Stirred, then in two batches, put the soup in the Vitamix and blended well.  There were too many lentils to put it all in at once.  I had a side bowl I used for half until all blended.  (Yes, one of those hand blenders you put in the pot would have saved me a few steps)  While the soup was in the Vitamix, I put the chopped kale (I used a ton, it cooks down to nothing) in the pan with a little water and steamed it.   You will watch it disappear!  Then, I put all soup back into the pot with the kale, added the cilantro, lemon and more water.  Keep adding water to your liking.  My soup was a little thick.  When I re-heat for dinner I will add more water.  The lemon juice gives this soup an amazing tangyness.  And, what incredible NUTRIENTS - lentils, kale, onion, tomatoes, lemon, tumeric.  Great, healthy dish for dinner and leftovers for lunch. 

Third

Sunday night dinner - Yes, I was tired of cooking at this point.  I made asparagus, sweet potato fries, and baked tofu.  Asparagus - blanched in boiling water until they turned bright green, drained and lightly poured GF Tamari sauce on top.

Sweet potatoes - I boiled them for about ten minutes, a fork could get through them but they were not mushy.  Peeled them and sliced them very thinly onto a baking sheet (my new baking sheet).  Lightly sprayed olive oil over them and sprinkled cinnamon.  On half (my half), I added cayenne pepper.  I put them in the oven at 375 for 10-15 minutes.  Keep watching them!

Tofu- sliced, pressed, coated with a little Tahini and GF Tamari.  Baked at 400 for 15 minutes, flipped them over and baked again for about 10 minutes.  When I flipped them I sprinkled a crushed nut and cornmeal mixture I had left over.

So, In conclusion, this week: 

Sunday night dinner - asparagus, tofu, sweet potato fries.  

Monday night will be veggie burgers and salad.  

Tuesday night will be the lentil soup and roasted brussel sprouts.  

Wednesday night, maybe my sweet husband will take us out? 

Thursday night, whatever veggies we have left over, Muir Glen Portobello Tomato Sauce and GF pasta.   

Lunches - leftovers, salads with beans, left over sweet potatoes I baked, black beans and rice, and smoothies of course!

Ry's New Salad and an Easy Dinner

Ry picked out cabbage when we went to the farmers market the other day.  The girls love that brussel sprouts, cabbage and lettuce all look similar.  She loves to peel the brussel sprouts apart as she eats them.  This afternoon I asked her what she would like to make with the cabbage.  And she said cole slaw.  I pulled out the veganaise (her favorite), vegan sour cream, and white balsamic vinegar (Trader Joes).  We chopped up the cabbage, chopped up some carrots, and then I asked what else would you like in your salad?  She suggested an apple, then she exclaimed, it needs a red AND a green apple.  Done!  And, brilliant I might add.  So we tossed together the chopped cabbage, carrots, green apples, red apples and then made a dressing. I did equal parts veganaise, vegan sour cream and doubled the white balsamic vinegar.  If it were up to me I would have left the veganaise out, I am not a fan, but Ry LOVES it.  And, both girls loved Ry's new creation.  This salad will be in their lunchbox tomorrow.

Moving onto a dinner that took me 5 minutes to prepare and only 25 minutes for it to cook.  My mother in-law gave me a gluten free Garden Pilaf pack the other day.  I put one cup of low sodium veggie broth, 2 cups of pured tomatoes and the pilaf.  See picture for the brands. Brought it to a boil, then simmered for 20 minutes!  Done, and the girls liked it!  (I did too.)  Meanwhile, I steamed brussel sprouts and made a dressing - one part brown rice syrup, one part tahini, two part balsamic vinegar.  After the brussel sprouts were lightly steamed, I sauted them with a little water and the sauce.  Delicious!