Kheer (Indian Pudding) Oatmeal

A new recipe from a new cookbook! OATrageous Oatmeals by Kathy Hester. 

I love steel-cut oats and I bought these organic Bob's Red Mill oats at Sprout's. 

The oats are cooked in unsweetened non-dairy milk along with raisins and cardamom (which I love!)

 It suggests topping the oats with assorted chopped nuts. I used some almonds and walnuts and sweetened it with some Bee Free Honee. 

~ Kheer (Indian Pudding) Oatmeal ~

This is so yummy and warming for a cool fall day. It made enough for left-overs. 

Scrumptious Banana-Nut Bread & Ninja Turtle Power Smoothie

One of the few recipes from La Dolce Vegan I hadn't tried yet. I have a plastic bag full of frozen overripe bananas so it was convenient to thaw one out for this yummy bread. The recipe also calls for 1/2 cup silken tofu. I opened up the aseptic package took out 1/2 cup and then used the rest in my smoothie for the morning. We were babysitting the grandsons all day and knew they loved banana bread. All of the liquid ingredients are blended up in the food processor and then added to the dry. This bread was gone in two days! Time to make some more. 

~ Scrumptious Banana-Nut Bread ~

My smoothie~Vega One powder, maca powder, coconut water, kale, frozen fruit, silken tofu, mint leaves, and powdered wheatgrass. The grandsons love smoothies and I tried to convince them this was a ninja turtle power smoothie but they wanted nothing to do with it! hehheh 

Green & Red Lentil Enchiladas

I have had the ingredients to make these enchiladas for awhile now and I finally felt well enough to try it out. The recipe is from Peas and Thank You and is fairly simple to put together. I have made many enchilada casseroles in my day and that is what I chose to do with this one. Rolling the lentil filling into each individual corn tortilla is time-consuming, messy and not necessary. I just tore the  corn tortillas in pieces and made three layers with the lentil filling and cheese and then topped it with more cheese, the green enchilada sauce and black olives. Sooo much easier and still just as delicious! 

~ Green and Red Lentil Enchilada Casserole ~

I topped the enchiladas with shredded romaine, chopped tomatoes, cilantro, green onions, and some picante sauce. This makes great left-overs; it's a keeper and the hubby agrees. 

Two quick and easy meals when I don't feel like cooking:

Bean Burritos! 

Marc's Magnificent Noodles

from The Garden of Vegan

Lots of yummy soba noodles along with spinach, garlic, miso, flax oil and green onions.

Three Quick & Easy Meals

Whew! I finally had my sinus surgery after dealing with this for seven months this time. My last surgery was 15 years ago so hopefully this will last for another 15! Recovery is not a breeze but it will be worth it in the long run. Cooking is the last thing I want to do but I'm slowly getting back into it. In the meantime, I just keep ordering cookbooks! heehee. I got Vegan Casseroles by Julie Hasson; OATrageous Oatmeals by Kathy Hester; Super Seeds by Kim Lutz; Thug Kitchen(!) and The Mystic Cookbook-the secret alchemy of food by Denise & Meadow Linn. The last has a few recipes (not all vegan) but more of our spiritual connection to food. It's dangerous when you're lying around recuperating with an ipad in your hands!  I'm still browsing through them making lists of what I want to cook first. Here are three fairly simple and quick meals to fill the belly without resorting to crappy fast food. 

~ Fast & Fresh Tomato Sauce ~

La Dolce Vegan

Such an easy pasta sauce using fresh tomatoes and a few spices. 

I love Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips. I found this recipe for Chicken-Free Salad Sandwiches in Everyday Vegan Eats.  It tastes just like I remember chicken salad should taste. 

~Chicken-Free Salad on Pita Bread ~

The hubby really liked this chicken-free salad. 

Ok, now I'm almost embarrassed to add this one. When I found out about earth balance mac & cheese I ordered some from Vegan Essentials; I got the regular and the white cheddar. This is an old standby from when my kids were little using the traditional nitrite hot dogs and kraft mac & cheese . But this version is guilt-free! And so simple it's ridiculous. Make your mac & cheese per box instructions; heat up 3 or 4 veggie hot dogs in microwave and cut in coins; mix all together and eat! 

~Guilt-Free Mac & Cheese with Veggie Dogs ~

I served my "gourmet" mac & cheese with some Dry-Sauteed Green Beans. I love these things! They taste just like the ones at P.F. Chang's. Here is the link to the recipe.