Cauliflower Rice Taco Skillet

You can use rice instead of cauliflower rice but the later makes this so fast to come together. I cooked the cauliflower rice according to the package directions and then added it at the appropriate time. This was ready in under 30 minutes. I cooked it in my Dutch oven but a large skillet would work better. Here's  your next Taco Tuesday menu.

• 1 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 jalapeno, diced (optional)
• 12 ounces vegan ground beef (I used Impossible, thawed)
• 1 packet reduced sodium taco seasoning
• 12 ounces cauliflower rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 lime juiced
• Garnish: avocado, cilantro, pickled jalapenos, tortilla chips

Heat 2 tablespoons water over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, beef and taco seasoning. Stir to break up the beef.

Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently

Pour in the cooked cauliflower rice, beans and tomatoes and mix well.

Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every few minutes.  Add lime juice and serve.

Served with desired garnishes and some hot sauce.

If you are not a fan of heat you can leave the jalapeno out of the dish. 

Enjoy!

15 Bean Soup (WFPBNO)

I'm sorry these pictures don't do this recipe justice. This is so easy and super delicious as well as filling. I used the Slow Cook feature on my Instant Pot to make this soup. Also, one of the things I love about this dish is you don't have to soak the beans in advance!! I have several recipes that don't require pre-soaking of the beans and I love that they are so easy to throw together. I know the weather is really heating up; but I'll tell you, I can eat soup year round. Throw most of the ingredients in your slow cooker and when you get home in the afternoon all you have to do is add the diced tomatoes and let it cook another 30 minutes. How easy is that? Be sure to throw some of your favorite hot sauce on and a garnish before eating! Remember we eat with our eyes first.

• 1 package 15 Bean Soup mix
• 8 cups vegetable broth (if you like it real soupy you can add more)
• 1 large sweet onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 can (15 ounce) diced tomatoes
• Garnish: hot sauce and sliced scallions

In a colander rinse the beans and remove any small rocks or unwanted debris. To your slow cooker add the beans, broth, onion, and garlic. Stir well. Set slow cooker on high and cook for 6 hours. Test a couple of beans to ensure they are tender. If not cook longer. Once the beans are tender stir in the tomatoes and chili powder. Cook an additional 30 minutes so the tomatoes heat up.

This is the soup once it's removed from the slow cooker to cool before storing in the frig.

This is a delicious bowl of yummy. Serve with cornbread or serve over rice.

Enjoy!!!

Creamy Tuscan White Bean Soup

This is a very filling, easy to make soup. You probably have the ingredients in your pantry and fridge to make this delicious bowl of comfort. I served it as is but you could add some croutons, a side salad or 1/2 a sandwich with a smaller bowl of soup. I love one-pot meals with leftovers that are easy to reheat. If you made a cashew cream instead of using coconut milk this would be WFPBNO, but the oil in the coconut milk kicks it out of that category. Makes 6 large servings.

• 1/4 cup water
• 1 large sweet onion, about 1 1/2 cups, diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced (about 3/4 cup)
• 2 large stalks celery, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 tablespoons minced garlic (I buy already minced in jar)
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 (15-oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or your fav white bean)
• 1 (15-oz) can diced tomatoes
• 4 cups chopped baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk (or sub cashew cream or puree a can of white beans)

Heat the water in a large Dutch oven. Add the onion, carrots, celery and black pepper. Cook about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Add tomato paste, garlic, red pepper flakes, thyme and basil and cook about 1 minute, stirring.

Add the broth, beans and tomatoes. Scape up any bits from the bottom of the pan and bring to a simmer. 

Reduce heat and cook about 15 minutes until the veggies are tender. If you want a really creamy soup use an immersion blender and blend about 1/2 of the soup. You want some veggie pieces in there though.

Add the spinach and cover pot for about 5 minutes until it is good and wilted.

Add the vinegar and coconut milk. Taste and adjust the seasonings if needed, add more red pepper for heat, coconut milk for creaminess or spices.

Serve while nice and hot. You can garnish with croutons, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast or fresh herbs.

Enjoy!!!

Poblano Soup with Crispy Soyrizo

This is a delicious soup with lots of flavor. I did have some vegan soyrizo that I used as a garnish, although it's not in any of the pictures. If you leave out the soyrizo and cream cheese will be a WFPBNO recipe. Soup was delicious like I said, but the soyrizo added a nice heat, but a good hot sauce or an extra fresh jalapeno with the poblano peppers would increase the heat if you like spicy foods. This is also an easy recipe to halve and get 4 smallish servings. The recipe below will make 6 dinner servings.

• 2 poblano peppers, stems and seeds removed, diced
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 jalapeno, diced, seeds and membranes removed for less spice
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 12 ounces Salsa Verde
• 2 15-ounce cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes, with juice
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 6 ounces soyrizo
• 4 ounces vegan cream cheese, I used Tofutti
• 1/2 cup unsweet almond milk
• Garish, lime wedges, cilantro and above mentioned soyrizo

Add the poblano, onion, garlic, jalapeno, oregano, paprika, chili powder, cumin and a few tablespoons of water to a Dutch oven. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 5-7 minutes.

Add the salsa verde, beans, tomatoes and broth to the pot and stir. Bring to a boil, partially cover and lower heat.

Simmer about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so to be sure nothing sticks to the bottom. It should slightly reduce. You may need to turn up the heat to keep a high simmer

When the soup is ready use an immersion blender to blend about half the soup. Be sure to leave a few chunks in there. Add the vegan cream cheese, if using, and the non-dairy milk and stir well.

If using the soyrizo, cook it in a small skillet, breaking up with a wooden spoon. Cook until crispy, stirring frequently. Once soup has been added to your bowl, garnish with cilantro and soyrizo. If I had some avocado I would have added a few bite-sized cubes to this as well.

Enjoy!!!

Smothered Green Chili Burritos

These were really good but I used a little too much spinach so I'm going to adjust the amount in the following recipe for you. Lots of nice flavors going on here, wish I had a slightly larger burrito but hey, you gotta use what you have! These had a really nice flavor and the sauce was spot on. I had some frozen roasted Hatch chilies in the freezer that I used but you can sub a can of diced green chilies. This filling would also make a delicious quesadilla or taco. 

Filling:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 potato, diced (I used a russet, but a Yukon gold would be delicious)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 cups frozen spinach
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons Braggs liquid aminos
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth

Sauce:

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 ice cubed roasted Hatch chilies (or sub 1 4-ounce can diced green chilis)
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon Braggs liquid aminos
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  
  
• Flour tortillas

Saute onion in a splash of water until translucent .

Add the onions to a blender. Add remaining sauce ingredients (not the tortillas) to blender.

Blend until smooth.

Cook the other small onion in a large skillet with a splash of water until translucent.

Add the remaining filling ingredients to the skillet and cook over medium until the potatoes are soft, 10-15 minutes. Add more vegetable broth or water if the pan starts to dry out.

Once potatoes are soft remove from heat and create an assembly line to fill the tortillas.

Place burritos in a cast iron pan and brown on all sides.

Place burrito on a plate and top with cheese sauce and a generous amount of the chili sauce.

These can be garnished with whatever you enjoy. Sliced jalapenos, guac, extra cheese sauce, etc.

Enjoy!!

Mushroom & Spinach Pasta Salad (WFPBNO)

The weather has really started to heat up here in Florida. I wanted something lighter for dinner and haven't made pasta salad in a while. I had all of the ingredients to throw this pasta salad together. If you don't have fresh spinach try using a sliced zucchini. I used the mayo recipe from Dr. McDougall's Starch Solution cookbook. If you don't have vegan mayo you should make it first or while the vegetables roast. If you don't have grape tomatoes you can chop a large regular tomato. I think this recipe is very forgiving so just use the veggies you have on hand that you enjoy eating. 

                                        

Dressing:

• 1/2 cup tofu mayo
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablesoon dried dill

Mix all dressing ingredients in a mason jar. Stir well. Put in frig until needed.

Pasta Salad:

• 8 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 container grape tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 tablespoons aquafaba
• 6 ounces (almost 3 cups) Farfalle pasta
• 1 15-ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 5 ounce bag fresh spinach, lightly chopped
• Garnish: salt, pepper, nutritional yeast

Preheat toaster oven to 400F. Cover baking sheet with parchment paper. Add vegetables, garlic, Italian seasoning a couple tablespoons aquafaba to a large bowl. Toss well. Add vegetables to the baking hseet and roast 25-30 minutes.

When they are done return to your large bowl.

While the veggies roast cook pasta according to package directions. Once it's done rinse with cold water and then toss in the spinach and give it a good stir.

Add beans to the vegetables and toss. This should be cool before you add the pasta.

Add cooled pasta and spinach to the veggies and toss well.

Add the dressing you made earlier and combine well.

Garnish and serve.

Enjoy!!