Quick Veggie Burrito Bowls

This recipe is delicious. It was already vegan and all the credit goes to fine folks behind Gimme Delicious Food. I made this with only one change. I cooked one bag of the Multi-Grain Medley Rice and divided it between two bowls. Here are my pics of this yummy dish, be sure to head over for the full recipe.

Lay cooked Rice Medley in bowl

Add your toppings:

Add sauce:

Enjoy!!

Crab(less) Pasta Salad

During these dog days of Summer, I love a pasta salad, you can mix up the flavors and wind up with totally different tastes in each one you make. I like that you eat them cold and can go back for lunch the next day or two and have a tasty meal with no effort. The only draw back is that the pasta does tend to absorb all the moisture and gets bigger and bigger and bigger. I saved some of the dressing so I can could refresh each serving of the leftovers.  The flavors of this salad make it a keeper and it is so simple to make. This makes a lovely light lunch or can be a side-dish at your next cookout.

• 1 pound medium pasta shells (or rotini, ziti,- whatever you have)
• 1 can Hearts of Palm, sliced into strips
• 1 can large black olives, halved or quartered
• 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
• 4-5 green onions, sliced thin, use green and white
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 cup plain (non-sweet) vegan yogurt
• 1 cup Just Mayo (or your fav vegan mayo)
• 1 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning
• 1 teaspoon celery salt
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1/2 tablespoon liquid aminos

Cook pasta according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain well.

While the pasta is cooking, in a very large bowl, mix the hearts of palm, olives, red peppers, green onions and celery.

In a small bowl, whisk together yogurt, mayo, Old Bay, celery salt, yellow mustard and liquid aminos. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. (I added extra Old Bay)

Add the cooled pasta to the bowl of veggies and toss well.

Add about 3/4 of the dressing and stir gently to coat everything.

Serve cold and enjoy!

Chick'n & Cauliflower Curry

I enjoy curry dishes, Jack doesn't. He tolerates them on occasion. If you are in the same camp as Jack then try a different dish. Just use the Search button on the right and find something non-curry. But every now a then a girl's gotta have some curry in her life. If you don't have Gardein or prefer not to use processed foods you could certainly use seitan or browned tofu in this dish.

Apparently Curries are hard to photograph well.

• 1 package Gardein Teriyaki Chick'n (save sauce for something else)
• 1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced 
• 3 garlic cloves, minced 
• 1" piece fresh ginger, minced 
• 2 bell peppers (red, yellow, orange), cut into short strips 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk 
• 1 tablespoon agave syrup
• 2 tablespoons yellow curry powder (adjust amount depending on strength of curry) 
• 2 tablespoons flour
• salt and fresh ground, to taste 
• 1 large cauliflower, cut into small florets 
• garnish: fresh cilantro, chopped garnish green onions, chopped

Cut each strip of chicken into 3 pieces. Cook in a small amount of oil until brown, set aside. Preheat non-stick deep skillet with olive oil at medium heat. Add onion, garlic, ginger, peppers and cook stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add coconut milk, agave syrup, curry powder, flour, salt, pepper and stir well.

Bring to a boil and add cauliflower. Return to boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the Chick'n pieces and cook another 5 minutes. Garnish with scallions and cilantro.

Serve the curry chick'n and cauliflower over your choice of brown rice or basmati rice.

Enjoy!

Asian Peanut Noodles with Chick'n

You know I'm a sucker for any Asian dish AND peanut sauce. I saw this recipe while surfing the web and knew it would be easy to make vegan. So here is my version. The first time I made it I used the bean sprouts - the second time I didn't have any. I really didn't miss them so don't let them keep you from making this dish. You could also just use the entire bag of broccoli slaw and call it a day. I think I'll do that next time. But I will make this again for sure.

Peanut Sauce:

• 14 ounces No Chicken - Chicken Broth
• 1/3 cup fresh peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated 
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Chick'n Mixture: 

• 1 package Gardein Teriyaki Chick'n Strips (save sauce for something else)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon Sriracha chili sauce
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids
• 1/1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 8 ounces rice noodles
• 3/4 cup green onions, chopped
• 1 1/4 cup carrots, shredded
• 1 1/4 cups broccoli slaw
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1 lime, sliced
• cilantro for garnish

Start to boil water for noodles.

Peanut Sauce: Combine 1 cup chicken broth, peanut butter, sriracha, honey, 2 tablespoons Bragg's, ginger and garlic in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally until sauce is smooth and well blended, about 5-10 minutes. Set aside.

Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

Season chick'n with salt, pepper, sriracha, lime, 3 cloves garlic, ginger and Bragg's. Set aside.

Heat a large skillet or wok until hot. Add oil and saute chick'n on high until lightly brown. Remove chick'n and set aside.

To same pan add 3 cloves crushed garlic, scallions, carrots, broccoli slaw and bean sprouts if using. Add a little salt and saute until tender crisp. About 1-2 minutes. Add chick'n to veggies. Toss well.

Toss noodles with peanut sauce.

To serve: Plate noodles and add chick'n/veggies over top. Garnish with cilantro and lime wedges.

Enjoy!!

Spanish Rice with Chorizo

I don't do a lot of cooking with boxed products. However, when they are on sale I pick up one or two to have in the pantry. Some nights when you get home, you just don't feel like spending a lot of time in the kitchen but you do want a yummy meal. This is one of those dishes.

• 1 box Zatarain's Spanish Rice
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz) fire-roasted diced tomatoes (do not drain)
• 1 tablespoon Earth Balance vegan spread
• 3 Field Roast Chorizo sausages, cut into 1/2 moons

Mix the water, tomatoes, rice mix and Earth balance in a 2-quart saucepan until well blended. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 25 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While the rice is cooking saute the sausages in a tiny bit of oil. When brown, set aside.

When the rice is ready, dump the sausages in and give it all a good stir.

Serve with hot sauce if desired.