Spicy Soba Salad and a Favorite Taco Salad

Love soba noodles so I knew I wanted to try this recipe from One-Dish Vegan. 

 Edamame, cucumbers, and green onions.

 This has a spicy, sweet dressing made with tamari (Bragg's), rice vinegar, sweet Asian chili sauce, sriracha, and agave. I left out the sesame oil and sesame seeds because of my allergies. I replaced the sesame oil with a little flax oil (it's only used to toss the soba noodles in after cooking.) 

I wanted to serve this for supper so I cooked up some Gardein Chik'n Scallopini and sliced it over the top of the salad. Yum! This tastes even better the next day after it has chilled. 

~ Spicy Soba Salad with Edamame and Cucumber ~

I was craving this old stand-by taco salad we always used to eat which had hamburger and cheese in it so I just made a vegan version. 

I sauteed a bag of veggie crumbles with a little oil and some taco seasoning. That gets tossed with a head of chopped iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, green onions, sliced black olives, a can of kidney beans, and some Daiya cheddar shreds. 

Then, you crumble about a half a big bag of original Doritos corn tortilla chips and mix it in and top that with some good old Catalina dressing. Toss everything together and dig in. I even like it the next day after everything gets a little bit soggy. 

~ Catalina Taco Salad ~ 

Chili & Cornbread

What??!! It's the last two weeks in May?! I blinked and where did the month go? I've been enjoying the cool mornings we've been having; not looking forward to the scorching summer I know is quickly approaching. 

I found these chili and cornbread recipes in Vegan Diner. Lots of yummy looking recipes I need to try out of here. 

2 cans of beans; I used a can of tri-bean (kidney, pinto, and black) and a can of pinto. 

The chili recipe calls for dark cocoa powder. I had some black cocoa (it smells like oreo cookies.) The "meat" is some TVP granules. The chili only simmers for 15 minutes. I didn't think that it had enough time to develop the flavors. It was not the best chili I have made but it will do. 

~ Quick and Hearty Chili ~

The cornbread recipe has whole corn and sliced green onions in it. I've made cornbread with green chilis but never green onions. I also bought some chipotle powder; I'm not too fond of chipotle peppers which I've tried before but I think I can handle the powder. The cornbread was a little "wet" for me and I didn't really care for the green onions in it either. 

 ~ Chipotle Scallion Double Cornbread ~

Chili & Cornbread 

I garnished the chili with some chopped cilantro and topped my cornbread with Earth Balance margarine and some BeeFree Honee. 

Baked Rotini & Arugula Puttanesca

I'm still finding recipes to make out of One-Dish Vegan. This one was in the section "oven to table" which I didn't realize. It takes a little more effort to put this together. A lot of in and out of the oven adding stuff. The pasta is cooked with hot water in a covered dish in the oven and cooked for 10 minutes (that's an accident waiting to happen!) then you add tomato and arugula mix and cook for 10 minutes and then you add the bean sauce mix and olives and cook another 10 minutes. Hmmm~ would have been easier on the stove-top. 

Lots of easy pantry items for the puttanesca. 

Chopped arugula and six cloves of garlic. Yum!

Fresh chopped basil, kalamata olives, capers, and green olives. 

This makes a big pan of pasta! Before I added the bean mix I had to dump it into my big lasagna pan (another pot to wash!) 

 ~ Baked Rotini & Arugula Puttanesca ~

~The finished product~ 

tangy and spicy puttanesca. 

For the second night of leftovers with the puttanesca I made my favorite broccoli salad to go with the pasta. Broccoli Salad from Give Them Something Better. This is reminiscent of the bacon-laden broccoli salad my grandma made when I was growing up.

Time to get some more Bac-Uns! These are so much better tasting and looking than the red-dyed bits you find in the grocery store. I buy these at my Sprouts market. 

~ Broccoli Salad ~ 

French Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Chard

Second recipe from One-Dish Vegan! The only thing I don't like about this cookbook is that there are no pictures. I like to get a finished look before I dive in and make something. So far, two out of two recipes have been winners. I love making dishes that incorporate some kind of greens in them; this one has Swiss chard. 

Simmering the lentils and sweet potatoes in some vegetable broth and white wine. It smells wonderful with the garlic, onion, thyme, and wine. 

I usually never keep wine at home because I'm allergic to the sulfites. This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of white wine so I bought some Frey wine which has no added sulfites. I tried drinking a glass while I was cooking and even one glass causes me to flush and get hot! Ugh! At least I wasn't sneezing and itching. Anyway, the wine gave this dish a rich, sweet flavor that it needed. 

~ French Lentils with Sweet Potatoes and Chard ~

My Vitajuwel pitcher soaking up some sun! I have the Wellness vial which has amethyst, rose quartz, and rock quartz in it. Love drinking my water after it has been vitalized with the crystals. 

Oven Baked Fajitas

I think I saw this recipe on Facebook and wanted to try it using Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips. 

Chicken-free strips, red and green bell pepper, some red onion, and seasonings. 

A good old-fashioned white flour tortilla to hold all the goodies. 

I served the chicken-free fajitas with some homemade spanish rice. 

So yummy! The hubby said "make this again"! 

Here's the recipe:

Oven Baked Fajitas

2 pkg. (11 oz.) veg chiken strips (I used Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips; grilled or seasoned)

-I put the pkgs. in the fridge in the morning and they were slightly thawed when ready to cook. 

2 Tbsp olive oil

2 tsp chili powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp seasoned salt

1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes

1 md. onion, sliced (yellow or red onion)

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced

-Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place chiken strips in greased 9x13 pan. In small bowl, combine oil, chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, and salt. Drizzle spice mixture over chiken and stir to coat. Add tomatoes, peppers, and onions. Stir to combine. Bake, uncovered 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are done. Serve in flour tortillas. 

Almond Bulgur w/Black Beans, Tomatoes, & Kale

Hmm ~ I've had this cookbook for quite awhile now and this is the first recipe I have made out of it. Could I possibly have too many cookbooks?! Never! I have a list of recipes to try now out of this one. Have I mentioned I love one dish meals?!  The only ingredient I needed to buy was some almond butter. I try to keep peanut butter out of my pantry; too tempting with some jam and bread. 

The sauteing onion and spices smell heavenly ~ smoked paprika, black pepper, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I love all those "c" spices! 

Black beans, kale, green onions, tomatoes, and bulgur soaked in vegetable broth. 

A mixture of almond butter and lemon juice is stirred in after cooking. 

Don't forget the toasted almonds on top. The dish needs their crunchiness. Yum!

Grandma's Goulash

This isn't quite how my grandma made goulash but it was still pretty good! I found the recipe here and adapted it to a vegan version. 

The Beyond Beef Beefy Crumbles are the best veg crumbles I have tasted so far! Lots of flavor. 

Sauteing the veg crumbles with onion, garlic, and a little oil.  

Pre-cooked pasta, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, a little sugar, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper. 

I sprinkled some vegan parmesan on top and served the goulash with some mixed veggies. Easy and delicious. I think it needs to be a little saucier next time! 

Clean the Fridge Noodle Bowls

I had lots of fresh veggies I needed to use including a big bunch of bok choy and I found this Teriyaki Noodle Bowl recipe here. 

My favorite noodles-soba! I mainly used this recipe because it had a good teriyaki sauce directions with ingredients I had on hand. I did leave out the toasted sesame oil (allergic) and it was sweet and spicy. The recipe calls for a pound of frozen stir fry vegetables but I wanted to use all of my fresh veggies. I started cooking my carrots and broccoli first and then added yellow squash, green onions, bok choy, frozen green beans, and frozen edamame. 

I topped the cooked soba noodles with the stir fry and added some sliced mini peppers on the top. Of course I gave my bowl a good helping of Bragg's and Sambal Oelek HOT sauce! Delish! 

Black and Red Lentil Chili & a Few Favs

Time to do some posting! The dreaded bronchitis/laryngitis paid me an annual visit and I'm finally on the downhill side of it. Ugh! It just wipes me out every year; and no matter what preventatives I try it still gets me. Lots of catching up to do now. 

I've been seeing a few recipes lately using black beluga lentils which I have always wanted to try. I can't find them at any of the stores I shop at so I ordered some online. 

I found this chili recipe here at fatfreevegan.com. 

Look how tiny the black lentils are compared to the red. They're so cute! 

The black lentils turn brown after cooking. Lots of spices, and fire-roasted tomatoes in this chili. I added some chopped fresh spinach at the end of cooking just until it wilted. Yummy garnished with some chopped cilantro. I made a pan of Wolffie's 'Buttermilk' Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan to eat with this hearty chili. 

Black Beluga Lentils in a jar! 

Can't wait to try some more recipes using them. 

I made a few easy favorites including:

Vegan "Sausage" Hash from La Dolce Vegan

using Field Roast Breakfast Sausage (which my local Sprouts now carries. Yay!) served with Smoky Collard Greens with Veg Bacon from Betty Goes Vegan. 

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches and Coleslaw from Give Them Something Better. 

And I made this pizza using canned pizza crust, pizza sauce; topped with crumbled veggie meatballs, sauteed zucchini and red onion, and Daiya mozzarella shreds.  

I messed up and didn't pre-cook my crust a little so I never could get the bottom of the pizza totally done. Lesson learned for next time! 

Baked Leek and Sweet Potato Gratin

I must be craving sweet potatoes because it seems like I've made a lot of recipes lately using them. I found this one here at vegetariantimes.com. I did a few minor adjustments to the recipe after reading some of the comments.* 

 I love the sweetness of cooked leeks. *I used six leeks instead of three. 

 Lots of fresh rosemary and garlic-yum! *I added 3 cups chopped spinach to the sauteed leeks and let the spinach wilt. 

 Thinly sliced sweet potatoes.

 Instead of Italian seasoned bread crumbs and Romano cheese *I used Panko bread crumbs (6 instead of 3 Tbsp), 1 tsp. of Italian seasoning, fresh chopped rosemary and 2 Tbsp. vegan parmesan. It smelled and tasted heavenly. 

 The recipe calls for using a 10" round pan; *I used a 2 qt. dish and it worked just fine. 

~ Baked Leek and Sweet Potato Gratin ~ 

I served the gratin with a green salad and some Gardein Crispy Tenders. The hubby really liked this. 

I made a long time favorite this week ~ Spinach Artichoke Pasta and served it with another favorite ~ Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Toasted Garlic from Vegan With a Vengeance.

I made a quick and easy meal last night of Lentil & Black Bean Soup which I had previously frozen and Wolffie's "Buttermilk" Cornbread from La Dolce Vegan. 

Rosemary Potatoes & Collard Greens with Vegan Sausage

I'm so glad I had a couple of Tofurky Italian sausages in the freezer so I could make this dish. I found the recipe in Wild About Greens and it has my favorite greens in it-collard! 

I pre-cooked my potatoes a little too much and they started falling apart. 

Fresh rosemary, paprika and red pepper flakes give this a just right spicy seasoning. 

 ~ Rosemary Potatoes & Collard Greens with Vegan Sausage ~

My big cup of rosemary! I just transplanted it into this giant teacup; it had outgrown the little container it was in. 

We went to a neighborhood potluck this weekend and my friend made a vegan dish just for me! A curried butternut squash and brown rice casserole. So sweet! I knew there wouldn't be much else in the way of veggie food so I made a huge green salad with lots of veggies. I also brought containers of walnuts and dried cranberries to toss in the salad. I wanted something sweet to bring so I made a double batch of "Raspberry Apple Crisp" from La Dolce Vegan. Instead of just raspberries I used frozen mixed berries. Everybody loved the crisp (crumble). All of the other desserts were heavy, rich and sugary so it was nice to have a lighter dessert to offer.

Organic apples washed and ready for the crisp!