Eggroll in a Bowl (WFPBNO)

I had an extra bag of coleslaw mix in the frig. I didn't want it to go bad so I looked for a few recipes online and got the idea for this dish. I really enjoyed it with the slight spice from the chili garlic sauce and the hint of sweet from the maple syrup. You could add some tofu to this to boost the protein and make it go a little farther. Next time I make it I will do that extra step. This was pretty quick, be sure you have all of your ingredients out and prepped before you begin cooking. I think this took about 15 minutes, maybe 20 to make. 

The first step is to get your small pot of water on to boil to cook your ramen noodles. I forgot to take a picture of that. But use  your favorite block of ramen and cook according to the package directions. I used Lotus Foods organic brown rice and millet. Cook, drain, rinse and set them aside.

Let's get going...

• 1 ramen cake
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, divided
• 1 bag (16 ounce) coleslaw mix (just cabbage and carrots)
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• Garnish: sliced scallions, chopped peanuts, sriracha

Be sure you have your ramen going. Add a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot add onion, garlic, 1 tablespoon rice vinegar and ground ginger. Stir with a wooden spoon and cook until onion is translucent. Add a tablespoon of water if needed to keep it from sticking.

Add the coleslaw, soy sauce, maple syrup, chili garlic sauce and the remaining tablespoon rice vinegar. Toss all the ingredients together. Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add the ramen noodles and stir well to combine.

Remove from heat and add green onions and chopped peanuts.

Plate it up, or bowl it up.

Add a squirt of sriracha and devour.

Enjoy!!!

Thai Stir-Fry (WFPBNO)

 This meal comes together pretty quick. Be sure you have all of your ingredients prepped before you begin cooking. Feel free to substitute other veggies instead of what I have listed. You want to use up the veggies in your frig! If you don't have coconut sugar you can sub brown sugar, if you don't like heat leave out the jalapeno, I deseeded mine and it wasn't hot at all. I served this stir-fry with an Asian salad mix I bought from my local grocery store. Enjoy and have fun in the kitchen!!

• 1/2 cup sliced sweet onion
• 1 heaping tablespoon pre-minced garlic
• 1 jalapeno, thinly sliced
• 5 ounces thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 6 ounces rice noodles, wide as you can find

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• 1/2 bell pepper, sliced - I used red
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
• 2 1/2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 1 tablespoon vegan oyster sauce
• 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
• 1 teaspoon corn starch
• 2 tablespoons Thai basil
• sliced green onion, for garnish
• I also made a batch of oven baked tofu to go with this.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of water in a large non-stick skillet. Add onion, garlic and jalapeno and cook until onion is translucent. 

Add mushrooms and cook 3 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon soy sauce and the broth.

Bring to boil.

Add the pasta and press them under the water. Cook covered if you can; mine try to steam up and I had to uncover them and stir, repeatedly. Cook based on package directions for length of time.

Stir the rest of the soy sauce, molasses, oyster sauce, sugar and corn starch into a small bow. 

Add the veggies to the stir fry and give it a good stir. 

Add the mixture from the bowl to the stir-fry and stir until thickened. Add the Thai basil and green onions. Stir and then serve.

Serve, garnished with the tofu. I had a prefab Asian salad that I served on the side. 

Enjoy!!!

Chickpea Salad with Curry Peanut Dressing (WFPBNO)

I got the idea to try this from a couple of different recipes I saw online. I really like how this turned out and it's so easy to make. I've already made it twice and the leftovers are delicious. I added my baked ginger garlic tofu to this to bump up the protein content and to keep us full longer. You probably have most of these ingredients in your fridge and pantry. Go ahead and make this delicious salad during these scorching days of June. It's really nice to be able to open up the frig and have something quick and delicious ready to eat. 

For the Salad:

• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 2-3 cups shredded green cabbage (red would also be pretty)
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (keep that aquafaba for something else)
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and diced

For the Dressing:

• 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter (I buy one that only has peanuts as an ingredient)
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 clover garlic, minced (I buy pre-minced garlic)
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon yellow curry powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3 tablespoons warm water, to thin the dressing
• a few grinds of black pepper

In a large bowl, add bell pepper, carrot, cabbage, chickpeas, cilantro, green onion and jalapeno.

In a small blender or small bowl, mix the dressing ingredients. Be sure to add the water and if needed add a little more so it's the consistency you like. The leftovers will be a little looser as the water in the cabbage will release.

Pour the dressing over the salad.

Mix well. 

I chose to add mine to a small, pretty bowl for serving. I kept the tofu separate and added some to each bowl as we served the salad. Garnish with cashews or peanuts, more cilantro and the tofu if using.

Enjoy!!!!

Ginger, Soy Curl & Green Bean Stir-Fry (WFPBNO)

This stir-fry was so good and it comes together pretty quick, as most stir-fries do. If you don't have green beans are aren't a fan you could sub some broccoli. You may be able to use sliced zucchini, but it won't take long to cook so be sure not to turn it into mush. I made basmati rice to serve this stir-fry over and it was delicious! The sauce was a little loose so next time I would use 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch. I prefer a thicker sauce.

Sauce:

• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 4 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small container. Set aside.

Stir-Fry:

• 1/4 cup green onions, white and green parts, sliced
• 2 tablespoons peeled, minced fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon cheater garlic, minced
• 1 1/4 cups soy curls, broken into bite sized pieces
• 12 ounces fresh green beans, cut into 2-inch lengths
• yellow and orange (homegrown) sweet baby bells, sliced
• 3/4 cup sliced green onion tops, cut into 2-inch pieces
• Hot cooked rice

Add the soy curls to a bowl and cover with enough broth or water to totally submerge them. Let sit 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Squeeze the soy curls by hand (or press them in a colander) to drain all the liquid from them. 

Add 1 tablespoon water to a non-stick skillet, once it's hot add the 1/4 cup chopped green onions, ginger and garlic to the pan. Cook about 30 seconds.  

Add the drained soy curls and sauté for 4-5 minutes until they begin to brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Add more water to pan as needed so nothing sticks. Add the green beans and peppers, cover and cook about 3 minutes. Uncover and cook another 3 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the green onion tops and sauté for 1 minute.

Return soy curls to pan and give it a good stir.

Stir in the sauce you made ; bring to a boil. Cook 2-3 minutes untl sauce is thickened.

Serve with rice. Makes 4-6 servings.

Enjoy!!!

Cold Peanut Noodles (WFPBNO)

I made these last week to have something different. It was a very hot day and these noodles hit the spot. I served them fresh at room temperature. The pasta had been rinsed in cold water and the veggies were cold from the frig. But, the leftovers were amazing served straight out of the frig. This peanut sauce recipe is one I saw online and I left out the sesame oil. It is so much better then the store bought peanut sauces that are full of stuff we don't need! I hope you'll give these a try and leave me a comment. You obviously can substitute the pasta for whatever you have on hand or enjoy and change up the veggies some as well. Cooked shelled edamame would be delicious in this.

Peanut Sauce:

• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
• 2-3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon each - garlic powder, ground ginger, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

Whisk all the ingredients in a bowl until combined. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. The consistency should be thin enough to drizzle. If it's too thick add a teaspoon of water at a time until it's the desired consistency. Set aside.

Noodle Ingredients:

• 8 ounces pasta
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/2 English cucumber, diced
• 1- 1 1/2 cups tri-color coleslaw
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/2 cup green onions, thinly sliced
• Garnish: chopped peanuts, black sesame seeds, extra cilantro, oven baked tofu

Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside to drain well. Once totally drained add to a large bowl. 

To the bowl of pasta add the carrot, cucumber, coleslaw, cilantro, green onions.

Toss everything well to combine and then drizzle with peanut sauce and toss again.

Serve in bowls with garnishes. If you are going to make the tofu start it while the pasta water is coming to a boil.

Enjoy!!!

Chickenless Rice Bowl (WFPBNO)

This is a fairly simple dish. There are  not a lot of ingredients but the flavor was wonderful. If you don't have snow peas you could use broccoli. I came across this recipe that I had ripped out of a Cooking Light magazine back in 2012. I removed the oil, replaced the chicken with soy curls (you can buy them online) and used coconut sugar instead of white sugar. I think maple syrup would make a good substitute also. This makes 4 servings and the leftovers reheated well. One tip, be sure to string those beans before you slice them!

• 2 (3.5-ounce) bags boil-in-bag brown rice (I only used 1 and made a fresh bag for the leftovers)
• 1/4 cup lower-sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin (sweet rice wine)
• 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fat-free, low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1/2 a bag Butler Soy Curls, rehydrated in vegetable broth or chicken-less chicken broth
• 6 ounces snow peas, halved lengthwise diagonally
• 1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

Cook rice according to package directions. Rehydrate the soy curls in broth while you make the sauce. If any of the curls are really long snap them in half. Combine  soy sauce, mirin, sugar, vinegar and broth in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce h eat and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepare your snow peas and green onions and add to a bowl. While the rice and sauce cook.

Drain the soy curls and squeeze them in your hand to get all the broth out of them. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the soy curls and a little black pepper. 

You want to brown them, but be careful and don't let them burn. You're just looking for some color. Once brown remove from skillet and set aside.

Add the snow peas and onions to the skillet. Saute 2 minutes, if you need to you can add 1 tablespoon water to keep them from sticking.

Add the soy curls and sauce to the skillet. 

Cook about 2 minutes until the sauce gets a little syrupy.

Add 1/2 of the bag of rice to each plate (for 2 servings) and top with about a cup (a quarter of the skillet) of the soy curl mixture.

Enjoy!!