refried bean pizza

This one was really tasty. I had a pre-made up pizza crust that I used. In a skillet I heated up one chopped up yellow onion in some olive oil until brown. Then I added 1 can refried beans, 1 jar salsa, and some taco seasoning. Once the mixture was warmed and cooked through I spread it on to the crust. The only thing I would do different next time is make two pizzas with this amount of beans (even though it was one can it was a thick mixture on top of the crust). Once spread over the crust I topped it with some diaya mozzarella and cheddar. Then on top of this I spread out one chopped green bell pepper and several diced tomatoes. I baked it for 10 minutes at 350 and then served with some tofutti sour cream.

simple Meatless Monday wrap

This was super simple and super tasty. I had a package of gardein chipolte lime chicken tenders that I cooked according to the package. THen it was just a matter of assembling it in a wrap- I had a spinach flavored wrap, I first put some mayo on it. Then I placed some sliced tomatoes and cucumbers. On top of this went the chicken, then some spinach, and finally some peanut sauce. THe hardest part was wrapping it up and not making a mess. But it was DELICIOUS!!

Hoisin sauce??

I must have bought this little jar of Hoisin sauce in my pantry before for a specific recipe and then never made it. I have been going through my pantry trying to use up all the things sitting in there and I found this jar of Hoisin sauce. I then googled several recipes with it and made this one based on a combo of several:

I basically took two packages of TJ's beefless strips and 2 small bags of fresh broccoli florets. I cooked the broccoli in a wok with a small amount of sunflower oil first. Before this I mixed together the jar of hoisin along with 2 TBsp sesame oil, 1 cup mirin, 9 TBsp soy sauce, 6 TBsp vinegar, 6 TBsp brown sugar, 1 small jar tomato paste, 2 TBsp garlic, and 3 TBsp ginger powder. I then put the TJ's beefless strips in it and let it marinade for 30 minutes. Once the broccoli was cooked in the oil I added this whole mixture and cooked in the wok for another 5 minutes. I then served over rice. It made a lot of food, but that was goal as it will be my lunch for my 5 day work week this week. :)

red pepper topped burger

sometimes I like really simple meals, like making a veggie burger that just has a really good topping. This veggie burger had some mayo on the roll and the topping was chopped up roasted red peppers and spinach. I basically chopped up one jar of the roasted red pepper, 2 cups spinach, and mixed them with 1 TBsp cumin and 2 TBsp lemon juice.

Vegan Chicken and Waffles!!!!

This meal was SUPER tasty. I stole the recipe from meettheshannons.com. http://www.meettheshannons.com/vegan-mexican-chicken-waffles/ Basically I bought premade freezer section vegan waffles and cooked them up in the toaster. For the chicken, I bought a package of TJs chickenless chicken, and in a skillet fried it up with 1 shot of rum, 1 TBsp lime juice, 1 tsp lemon rind pepper, 1 tsp hot sauce, 1 TBsp brags, 2 tsp olive oil, 1 clove garlic, and 2 tsp yeast. (I mixed all the ingredeints together in a bowl first then added to the skillet with the vegan chicken). As you can see, Mark and I loaded ours with toppings- on top of the waffles first we spread guacomole like you normally would spread butter, then goes the chicken, then some premade fresh pico de gallo salsa from TJs, then some sliced olives, and finally some vegan daiya pepperjack cheese. DELICIOUS!

Gardein Calamari sliders vegan style

I bought these frozen gardein mini sliders a while ago, they have been sitting in my freezer waiting for me to use them. Then I also had these vegan calamari rings that I needed to use. So I ended up cooking both according to the box instructions, assembled, added a tomato slice, and made some caribbean/cajun creamy sauce to go with them. It was quite tasty. For the sauce I mixed 1 cup veganaise, 1 TBsp of a pre-mixed carribean spice, and 1/4 cup ketchup. I ended up reusing the sauce as a dip for things later in the week too.

thai tofu salad

This salad was interesting, I am not going to make it again the same but maybe a variation. I mixed together one bag of romaine lettuce, 1 bag of freeze dried green peas (from Target), 1 package sliced mangoes, 2 peeled and sliced cucumbers, and 1 bag shredded carrots together for the salad. The tofu took a little time- I chopped up one block of extra firm protein tofu from TJs and first dipped it in potato starch, then in peanut meal (both which I had bought from a local asian store) and then fried them in some coconut oil. The tofu was really good, just took a while to make. For the dressing: blenderize 1 TBsp ginger powder, 1 TBsp garlic cloves, 1 TBsp asian chili sauce, 1/2 cup sunflower oil, 1 TBsp coconut milk, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 TBsp red wine vinegar, 2 TBsp soy sauce, 2 TBsp dried cilantro, 2 TBsp peanut butter, 3 TBsp lime juice. I might remake the tofu or the dressing for future salads, but the romaine was a little blah.

Easy Italian Night

This was literally a throw it all together quick meal: I bought premade gnocchi from Target that happened to be vegan, Trader Joe's meatless vegan meatballs, a vegan pesto sauce from Whole Foods, and the rest was just assembly. Cook the meatballs in a saucepan with marinara sauce, then place meatballs on a ht dog bun, top with Daiya cheese, and cook at 425 for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted. Cook the gnocchi as directed, and then I just coated it with the pesto sauce, which ended up being a bit spicy but good.

Tofu scramble tacos!!

This recipe I made makes an insane amount of tacos- the reason I made this much food was that I was working the next 8 days in a row after making it, so I had 6 days of lunch after making dinner that night for Mark and I. Basically I pan fried a package of diced red potatoes (about 8 small ones) in some olive oil. Then once they were browned I added the tofu- I took two full packages of extra firm tofu (again, feel free to half or quarter this recipe to make smaller quantities) and crumbled the tofu as I stirred it in with the potatoes. I stirred in 2 TBsp paprika and 1 TBsp onion powder while cooking this mixture. Then I added in the remaining veggies, which was 2 TBsp garlic, 1 cup frozen corn, 1 bag spinach, and 1 can black beans (it barely fit in the wok). Once everything was cooked through I took some of the mixture and placed it in a soft taco shell, topped with freshly sliced avocado and some salsa. Very messy but very tasty. The leftovers were less messy as I placed them in a flat, short tupperware container and ate them with utensils (and a little added vegan sour cream) instead of my hands.