Baked Penne with Sausage & Peppers and Another Scramble

 This week I tried a couple more recipes from Peas and Thank You. 

I had picked up a package of Tofurky Italian Sausage and found this recipe for a pasta dish. A fairly simple, easy to put together meal that is yummy. 

Sauteing the sausage with red and yellow peppers and onion. 

~ Baked Penne with Sausage & Peppers ~ 

This made a huge lasagna pan of pasta; I gave some to my brother, my daughter and we still had a lot of leftovers! We ate this for a couple of meals. 

It seems like when Sunday rolls around I'm craving some tofu scramble! I think I've tried almost every scramble recipe out of my cookbooks. They all have a few variations. This particular one has some cumin which I don't normally add. I did add a handful of chopped arugula for some extra color and melted Daiya cheddar on top. 

~ Tofu Scramble ~

with hash browns and toast 

The rest of the week I filled in with some tried and true favorites:

~ Red Bean Coleslaw 

served with Gardein Crispy Tenders, baked potatoes and pickled beets. 

~ I made another batch of Zucchini Apple Bread  

for my grandsons (they love it!)

~ We ate the rest of the Tater Tot Casserole which I had frozen.

~ Massaged Kale Salad with Citrus, Black Pepper & Cheese Cauliflower and potatoes. 

Cooking This Week!

I made a few old favorite recipes this week along with a couple of new ones.

I made this yummy bread for my daughter's family; the grandsons love this. I just bought some more zucchini to make two more loaves.


~ Zucchini Apple Bread ~
Betty Goes Vegan

I had a pound of fresh organic green beans and this recipe I found here. These remind me of my favorite green beans I order at P. F. Chang's. Yum! They could use a little more heat for my taste; a sprinkle of red pepper flakes would be good. 

~ Dry-Sauteed Green Beans ~ 

I served the green beans with another long green veggie-some roasted asparagus; a loaded baked potato and Morning Star Farms BBQ Riblets. 

I've had this cookbook Peas and Thank You for about a year now and I have to admit this is the first recipe I have made out of it. Hmm~I wonder if I have too many cookbooks! It looks like there are lots of delicious recipes; so I'll be trying a few of them soon. 

This smoothie recipe sounded so tasty I had to try it.

Ingredients for smoothie ~ blackberries, lime, basil, ginger and soymilk with stevia to sweeten. It took alot of stevia to sweeten this to my taste. Kind of tart and tangy! 

~ Blackberry Basil Smash Smoothie ~ 

This made enough for two servings so I poured the rest into some popsicle molds for the grandkids. 

Another favorite recipe I like to make is the "Mock Beef & Rice Noodle Toss" from La Dolce Vegan. I have made so many variations of this using whatever veggies I have on hand. The Teriyaki Marinade really brings it all together. I usually end up using all of the marinade and thickening it with a little cornstarch for the sauce. This time I used Gardein Beefless Tips, broccoli and snow peas over quinoa. 

~ Mock Beef & (Rice Noodle) Toss ~

La Dolce Vegan

The lasagna recipe from Chloe's Kitchen is the best! This is the second time I have made this. It's so easy using no-boil lasagna noodles. My brother and his family came to visit the day after I made this. He ate the leftovers and wanted the recipe! I couldn't believe he wanted to make a vegan recipe; I was so thrilled and he wanted to make it for company!

before baking

~ Ooh-La-La Lasagna ~

Chloe's Kitchen

I was so excited to see Beyond Meat chicken at my local Sprouts. They have all the different flavors of chicken but no other products yet. I knew just what I wanted to try it in. Give Them Something Better's cookbook has so many homey, comforting, familiar recipes. I wanted to try the Chicken Stew and Easy Biscuits. 

Easy Biscuits hot from the oven.

 You use whole wheat pastry flour and make them in a muffin pan. They were flavorful but I still like light, airy cut biscuits better. The Chicken Stew tastes just like my grandma's (well, almost!) I should have put the chicken pieces in at the end of cooking because they did get a little spongy but it didn't affect the flavor at all. This makes a big pot of stew; I need to remember to start halving these recipes. 

~ Chicken Stew & Easy Biscuits ~
Give Them Something Better

Now, what to cook for this week?!!

Lentil Stew & Mess O' Greens

It's been a busy week! We welcomed a new granddaughter into the world; little baby Blake Lynn. She joins her big brothers James-3 1/2 and Max 2 1/2. Grandma is going to be busy babysitting! 

I found this Slow-Cooked Lentil Stew recipe in the McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. So easy to add everything to the Crock Pot and let cook all day. 

Ingredients for the lentil stew. Instead of a vegetable broth it uses 5 cups of V8 juice. 

This makes a Big pot of stew! The first night I served it over some brown rice. The V8 juice gives it a nice hearty flavor. I added 4 cups of chopped spinach for some contrast and extra nutrients. 

The next night I made this recipe for Mess O' Greens from Cookin' Crunk. Collard greens, liquid smoke and turnips.These are really tasty! You let them cook for a good 35 to 40 minutes. 

The Mess O' Greens tasted great with the Lentil Stew and brown rice. I still had some stew left so I put it in the freezer. Three nights of leftovers is too much for me!

This week I also made a favorite cool salad using buckwheat soba noodles.


~ Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette ~
from Crazy Sexy Kitchen

I thawed out my previously frozen black beans and made a quick dinner along with some garlic bread.


~ Black Beans ~
from Give Them Something Better

Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles (Pancakes) and 4th of July

I was hungry this morning! I didn't have any backup pancakes or waffles in the freezer so it was time to make some more. This recipe is from Cookin' Crunk for waffles. I didn't want to mess with the waffle iron and it was much easier to make pancakes. These are yummy! Whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, and toasted pecans make these pancakes nice and hearty. Lots of extras to freeze. Of course you have to top them with Earth Balance margarine and maple syrup! 

~ Cinnamon-Pecan Pancakes ~ 

4th of July is also my brother and sister-in-law's anniversary. They had a BBQ/swim party at their house and my brother loves these cookies I make. So I brought them a big plate of cookies for their anniversary. He was so excited! I have made them countless times; they are the best gingersnaps. 

~ Triple Ginger Gingersnaps ~ 

Since it was a barbeque I brought my own veggie dog and this broccoli salad from Give Them Something Better. It's always a hit whenever I make it.

The night before the 4th of July we had a huge thunderstorm. My little chihuahua, Lily, is petrified of them. I had read about these Thundershirts for a long time but never bought one because they were kind of pricey. After the thunderstorm though I called my local Petsmart and they had them. I picked one up for her and also one of my other dogs, Penny, for her anxiety. 4th of July evening started with a bang as our neighbors decided to have their own (illegal) fireworks show. Ugh! I put the Thundershirt on Lily and it was like a miracle. She settled down beside me and went to sleep. It's like a swaddling blanket that wraps snugly around them. I wish I would have had it for the thunderstorm; but I'm prepared now. Now I just need to buy two more; one for my basset hound, JoJo,  and one for Jet, the shih-poo!

Stir-Fried Collard Greens with Soba Noodles

I'm always looking for ways to cook collard greens and this recipe in Wild About Greens is perfect. She gives you the basic recipe to cook the greens with garlic, shallots and a little apple cider vinegar. Then she lists several different variations to add in to the cooked greens. 

 Thinly sliced collard greens cooking with garlic and shallots.

I love buckwheat soba noodles and they really complement the flavor of the collard greens. After cooking the noodles I tossed them with the greens and added a little Bragg's and hoisin sauce. 

Collard Greens with Buckwheat Soba Noodles

I garnished the greens and noodles with chopped green onions and served them with Gardein Crispy Tenders. I wanted a little more heat to mine so I added some Sambal Oelek.

Chickpea Tacos and Dirty (South) Rice

I've been wanting to make these tacos for awhile now and I finally got around to doing it! Such an easy recipe with tasty results from Vegan's Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Ingredients for the chickpea tacos: mashed chickpeas, spices, lemon juice and chopped spinach. 

Cooking chickpea taco mixture.

Lots of yummy toppings: Daiya shredded cheddar, shredded cabbage, green onions, cilantro and chopped cherry tomatoes. And you can't have tacos without some hot sauce. I like chipotle habanero hot sauce! 

I was just going to make my usual spanish rice to go with my tacos and then I found this recipe for Dirty (South) Rice in Cookin' Crunk. Finally, a successful recipe from that cookbook. I'll have to try some more of them now. 

I used short brown rice so it gave it a nice chewy texture. The rice is cooked in vegetable broth and spices to give it lots of flavor, then I tossed in some chopped tomatoes and corn. 

~ Chickpea Tacos & Dirty (South) Rice ~