5-Spice Fried Rice with Sweet Potatoes

 I love the flavors in Chinese 5-spice powder and this recipe from Thug Kitchen looked so good I had to try it. First I made a batch of their recipe for "Basic Big Pot of Brown Rice." You saute the dry rice in a little oil until it smells nutty. I've never done that before with brown rice. It does smell nutty! This makes four cups of rice which is what you need for the Fried Rice recipe. 

The fried rice has sweet potatoes, carrots, peas, green onions, and some arugula. 

We needed a little 'meaty' addition so I added some cooked Beyond Meat Chicken-Free Strips.

~5-Spice Fried Rice with Sweet Potatoes~

I loved the flavor of this fried rice but I guess I really tested myself and my brown rice allergy. A little while after eating a big bowl I started the usual allergic itching! Ugh!!! Disgusting! What's the deal? I can tolerate gluten but not yeast. I can tolerate bulgur wheat but not barley or brown rice. *Sigh*

Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole

This recipe from Cookin' Crunk reminded me of the cheese laden casseroles I used to make so I had to try it to see if it measured up. The only negative is some advance prep before you can eat! 

The day before I went ahead and cooked the brown rice and made the Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe. It makes 4 cups so I halved the recipe as the casserole only uses 1 cup of it. I still had some leftover soup so I froze it in 1 cup size. Hopefully, it will thaw alright and I can use it in another recipe. It will be really convenient to have on hand as I can never find vegan cream of mushroom soup at the store. 

For the cheese component you have to make the Basic Cheesy Sauce. Again, I halved the recipe since I only needed one cup. Very flavorful cheese sauce using nutritional yeast. 

 Saueeting the broccoli and onion. 

Finally, on to the casserole! Really easy to mix everything together now and put in a casserole dish. The mixture is topped with some breadcrumbs. The recipe called for whole wheat but I used some panko. 

After baking, the breadcrumbs get golden brown under the broiler. 

~ Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole ~

Yum! A very healthy, tasty substitute for my old-style broccoli cheese casserole. 

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 ~

Cauliflower Lentil Tostadas & Spanish Rice

 I love watching Jason Wrobel on "How To Live To 100" on The Cooking Channel. One episode was all about cauliflower. He made these Cauliflower Lentil Tacos but I baked up some corn tortillas and made tostadas instead.

You take a head of cauliflower and pulse it in the food processor until it is the size of rice grains. It's combined with cooked lentils and lots of other spicy ingredients to make this yummy taco/tostada/burrito filling. 

I also made Spanish Rice following the recipe in Give Them Something Better. It uses brown rice instead of white. It was kind of dry so I might add extra tomato sauce and water next time. I still like my own version of Spanish Rice better. 

Instead of the Guacamole recipe Jason uses I made the Avocado Tomato Salsa from La Dolce Vegan. Lots of lime juice and cilantro! 

Both of these recipes make alot so I froze the leftovers for a quick dinner on nights I don't want to cook.

White Beans with Swiss Chard and Rice

I decided not to participate in the Vegcookbookclub this month so I'm working on making some of the recipes I've had on my list for awhile. And, once again, I'm cleaning out my pantry, fridge and freezer. I've got lots of grains, beans and legumes I need to use up. This recipe is from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's Vegan's Daily Companion.

Sauteing chard and onions. 

The recipe calls for 5 cups of vegetable stock. I love to use this Better Than Bouillon No Chicken Base. It is a lighter, more "chickeny" flavor than the darker vegetable stocks. This is more convenient than using a carton of vegetable broth. Sometimes I don't use it all and then it just goes to waste. With this bouillon you just mix up the amount you need and store the jar in the refrigerator. I have been able to find the Vegetable flavor at my Sprouts store but for the No Chicken flavor I have to order it online. 

Swiss chard, onion, garlic, beans and rice. So easy and so delicious! The hubby gave this one a thumbs-up. 

Brown Rice 'n' Beans "Jumble-aya" ~pg. 123

VegCookbookClub July recipes from eat, drink & be vegan by Dreena Burton:

What a great one pot meal. All the ingredients I usually have in my pantry. The recipe called for file powder which I didn't have. But I didn't even miss it. The vegan Worcestershire sauce, thyme, oregano, paprika and cayenne gave this dish a smoky, spicy flavor. My rice took forever to get tender though. I added some Tabasco Chipotle Pepper Sauce for some extra hot smokiness. My hubby and I almost ate the whole pot of this!

Black Bean Soup with Kale and Rice~pg. 200

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

Loading up the slow cooker with all the yummy ingredients.

I love using the slow cooker; the delicious aroma of everything cooking all day is wonderful. Great tasting soup that I served with my "Faux Parmesan" Garlic Bread. This recipe made quite alot so I froze the leftovers in portions for future quick meals.

Happy New Year!!!

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

What a fantastic finish to an awesome month of cooking! I think I'm going to make these three recipes a tradition every new year.

Green Chili Corn Bread (pg 11):

 

The plain coconut yogurt makes this cornbread extra moist. A piece slathered with Earth Balance margarine and agave nectar is almost better than dessert!

 

Simple Garlicky Greens (pg 275):

 

Can you see the chunks of garlic? Yum! After simmering for almost 30 minutes the garlic was nice and mild. I just learned today that a 1/2 cup of cooked collard greens has 113 mg of calcium. Wow! (Read that in 'Crazy Sexy Diet' by Kris Carr.)

 

 Hoppin' John/Black-Eyed Peas and Rice (pg 274):

 

For the vegan sausages in the Hoppin' John I used Yves Meatless Breakfast Patties and just chopped them up before sauteeing. I used 2 tsp. dried parsley instead of the 1/2 cup fresh. I used 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and then added tabasco sauce to mine when it was time to eat! Nice and spicy!

 

Happy 2013!!

Green Chile Rice with Black Beans

VegCookbookClub November recipes from Forks Over Knives The Cookbook:

 

I made this quick and easy recipe the day before Thanksgiving. It has two of my favorite ingredients-cilantro and lime! I'm ashamed to admit that as a native Arizonan I have never used a fresh poblano pepper before. I was perusing all the peppers at the grocery store and found every conceivable pepper available except for a poblano. So I got on my droid and discovered that poblanos north of Mexico are usually called pasilla peppers. Wow! Learn something new every day. I should have taken a picture of it-hehe! The recipe called for a jalapeno pepper which I didn't add; I felt it was hot enough. As you can see I added Daiya cheddar shreds and then I garnished each serving with sliced green onions.  Love the fresh lime zest and the green onions added just that little extra to make this dish delicious. I've been eating the leftovers as a hearty, savory breakfast. This morning my husband even ate a big bowl of it for his breakfast!

 

 

I had to share a pic of my contribution to the family Thanksgiving dinner. Every year I'm responsible for cooking the tofurky for the herbivores and my mom cooks for the omnivores. I also made Florida Slaw from La Dolce Vegan and a gallon of Hibiscus High tea. Plenty of food for everyone!

Wendy's Lentil & Brown Rice Casserole~pg. 140

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

 

 

I've made this casserole several times. So easy-just dump everything in the dish and pop it in the oven. It does have to cook for 1 1/2 hours and needs stirring every 30 minutes but I can handle that! Intstead of the can of crushed tomatoes the recipe called for, I used a can of fire roasted diced tomatoes. It gave it an extra smoky flavor. It goes really well with the Sweet 'N' Sour Red Cabbage, steamed summer squash and garlic/nooch bread.

Chili Stir-Fry

Here's another post-surgery quick and easy meal! In the past I've either used baked potatoes or brown rice and topped it with canned chili, cheese and onions. Now I just dump it all in one pan-LOL!

Well, first I had about a pound of baby spinach that I needed to use so here is the recipe:

Chili Stir-Fry

approx. 1 lb. organic baby spinach, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic in jar, or minced fresh garlic

salt & pepper to taste

2 C. pre-cooked brown rice (I had a packet of Uncle Ben's)

1 can Amy's Organic Spicy Vegan Chili

Daiya Cheddar Shreds

chopped onion  

Saute' the spinach and garlic in olive oil until slightly wilted. Add rice, chili and salt & pepper to taste. Mix well, cover and simmer until heated through. Serve in bowl topped with Daiya cheddar and chopped onion.

   Of course I like mine even spicier so I added a little Sambal Oelek (chili paste) on top. That condiment is quickly replacing my other favorite hot topping-sriracha sauce!

I usually prefer to make fresh meals instead of opening cans and packets but I'm just thankful my pantry was well-stocked before surgery. Can't wait to start cooking up some more labor-intensive, fresh, healthy meals. Gee, I never thought I would say that!

Breakfast Brown Rice Pudding~pg. 52

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

What a wonderful, relaxing day. I enjoyed a nice, quiet day at home cooking and baking. I have this quotation from Thich Nhat Hanh's book "Savor" hanging on my kitchen wall. I like to read it before I eat:

This was a good, hearty breakfast cereal. It was a little soupy at first because I used freshly cooked brown rice. It would probably be better with cold, day old rice but it was still good. The leftovers will be better in the morning!

Festive Stuffed Butternut Squash~pg. 162

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I chose to bake this in a casserole instead of stuffing it back into the squash shells. I just peeled and cubed the squash and simmered the squash in water on the stovetop then mixed it with the rest of the ingredients. Alot easier than baking the squash in the oven and scooping out the flesh. The dish has a rather mild taste. It needs some more spices for my taste but my husband will probably like it.

I had some fresh spinach I didn't want to waste so I sauteed it with some olive oil and garlic. It went really well with the squash casserole.

Bountiful Beans & Brown Rice~pg. 146

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This is my bountiful beans and 'quinoa' instead of brown rice. I had some pre-cooked frozen quinoa I wanted to use and I love the flavor and texture. It tasted really good with the spicy bean mixture topped with some Daiya shredded cheddar. I just noticed that my quinoa has 'chicken feet' and feathers! I used my rooster bowl and that is the only kind of chicken in my kitchen :)

Day 12 Cumin-Spiced Brown Rice~page 190

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I love the flavor of cumin; using the seeds gave it extra cumin flavor! I don't particularly like the taste of fresh parsley so I used 2 tsp. dried parsley which I added with the rest of the ingredients.

I just had to show off my new red plates!  I served the Cumin Rice with Tofu Aloo Gobi (cauliflower & potato curry) from Nava Atlas' cookbook "Vegan Express." I seasoned everything with a good dash of Braggs Liquid Aminos.(I love that stuff!)