Quinoa Fiesta Enchilada Bake

 So last week for Taco Tuesday, I made this Enchilada Bake using Quinoa instead of tortillas. It was so tasty and it the spot for Mexican night. I also made Chick'n Taquitos using soy curls instead of the strips this recipe uses. Oh my gosh what a delicious meal. I need to make this enchilada bake on a regular rotation. It is so easy and comes together so fast. Also, you could sub out the black beans for pintos, or use half beans and half corn kernels. Use what you have on hand. But, make these asap! This made four healthy servings.

• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 3/4 cup tri-color quinoa, rinsed and drained
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 1 cup no chicken broth (I use Better Than Bouillon)
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle adobo sauce
• 1 (4 ounce) can diced green chilies
• 3/4 cup black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 Daiya cheddar shreds
• 1 medium avocado, diced for garnish
• 1 scallion, sliced for garnish

In a medium saucepan cook the quinoa with 1 1/3 cup broth according to package directions. When done, fluff and set aside.

In a small saucepan add 2 tablespoons water and sauce the garlic about 2 minutes. Add the tomato sauce, cumin, chipotle adobe sauce. If it's too thick add 2 tablespoons water to thin it out. Bring to aboil and then turn down heat and simmer 3-4 minutes. Set aside.

In a large bowl combine the cooked quinoa, green chiles, black beans and 1/2 the cilantro. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese and mix well. 

Place in a 8x8 baking dish and spread out evenly.

Top with enchilada sauce and spread it out.

Top with the remainder of the cheese.

Cover with parchment paper and then foil. Bake in oven 20-25 minutes until it's hot and the cheese has melted. 

To serve, top with chopped avocado, scallions and cilantro. I also made the above mentioned taquitos to go with the dish. 

Enjoy! If you make this be sure to leave me a comment!!

Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl (WFPBNO)

I've been inspired by the bowls I've seen in the Forks Over Knives magazine and some I've come across online. I decided to use up some of the produce we had in the house and created this bowl. You can substitute with the things  you have in your frig and pantry. Choose a different bean for protein, kale or spinach instead of romaine, etc. This was so good and simple to prepare. The peanut balsamic dressing was delicious and will be part of our salad dressings from now on. This made 2 bowls with leftover rice and chickpeas.

Dressing:

• 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter (find one that is just peanuts)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce

Mix all the ingredients in a pint sized mason jar and shake, shake, shake it.

Per Bowl:

• 2 lettuce leaves, torn
• 1 cup brown rice, cooked
• 1/2 baked sweet potato
• 1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed & drained 
• 1/4 cup Pampered Chef Pineapple Rum Sauce
• 1/4 cup Spicy BBQ Sauce
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 avocado, sliced or cubed

Scrub your sweet potatoes and dry it. Slice in half and sprinkle with garlic seasoning (or whatever  you like). Place cut side down and cook in a preheated toaster oven at 350 until done. Mine took about 40 minutes.

Add rinsed and drained chickpeas to a small pan. I added equal parts of Pampered Chef Pineapple Rum Sauce and Spicy BBQ Sauce. Cook until heat and sauce thickens on chickpeas.

Cook rice according to package directions. You may need to start this first depending on how long it needs to cook.

To build your bowl add a cup of rice to the center of your bowl.

Place remaining ingredients around the edges. Garnish with dressing (not shown).

Enjoy!!!

Black Bean & Yellow Rice Bowls

We love yellow rice and black beans so it natural to turn these two favs into a bowl. We  have been playing around with bowls lately since they are so tasty and easy! I had some frozen ripe plantains in the freezer and baked them to go with this delicious bowl. They do have some oil in them so we don't eat them very often. I have also made this bowl with some smoky tempeh for a change of pace. I made an avocado dressing to put on the salad. If you choose not to go that route you could add cubed avocado to the bowl.

For the bowl:

• 1 box yellow rice
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
• 3/4 cup red onion, chopped
• 1 can salt free black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• Garnish: fresh cilantro

For the dressing:

• 1 medium avocado
• 3 tablespoons tahini
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• cilantro
• 1/4 cup water

Blend all the ingredients in a blender (use a small one) until combined.

Cook plantains according to package directions.

Cook rice according to package directions.

While these things are cooking prepare the black beans. Add 1-2 tablespoons water to a saucepan. Saute the jalapeno and 1 cup 1/2 cup of the red onion. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir in black beans, water, cumin and cook about 5-6 minutes until the liquid is reduced.

To make your bowl add rice, bean and plantains. Garnish with cilantro, some reserved red onion and your avocado dressing. 

Enjoy!!!

Potato Cauliflower Scramble (WFPBNO)

We love a tofu scramble for breakfast or even as a wrap for dinner. This is the first time I've added extra vegetables to my tofu scramble and it really bulked it up nicely. I had an extra baked potato in the oven from earlier in the week. This is one of those clean out the frig dishes. Use what you have!

• water, for sautéing
• 3 tablespoons dried onion flakes
• 1 cup finely chopped zucchini
• 3 cups steamed cauliflower florets, chopped after steaming
• 1 package extra-firm tofu, drained and crumbled
• about 2 cups chopped cooked potato, I used 1 medium to large russett
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 tablespoon tahini
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon kala namak (black salt)
• 3 cups steamed kale or spinach

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 tablespoons water and add the dried onion and zucchini. Cook until softened, then add cauliflower, tofu, potato, mustard, garlic powder and pepper.

Cook for 3-4 minutes, then add tahini and nutritional yeast and stir well. If needed add more water to keep from sticking. Add black salt and kale. Stir and cook until everything is hot. Serve with tempeh bacon and some hot sauce. You could also make this a burrito filling. You could also add sautéed mushrooms to this. Again, use what you have in your frig.

Enjoy!!!