Spring Break and Life Happens

Wow~this is the longest I have gone without posting anything since I started my blog. But life happens. My mom had shoulder replacement surgery the end of April. She was home one day and then had a stroke. So it's been 3 1/2 weeks of hospitals, doctors and rehab facilities. She is home now and on the road to recovery. I am so thankful that myself and my two siblings live close by to take care of our sweet mama. Our meals have consisted of hospital cafeteria food; finding relatively healthy choices at fast food joints and not-so healthy choices!; and making quick meals using Gardein products and pasta dishes. I have just now felt like picking up a cookbook and trying some new recipes. I finally restocked my fridge, which was down to the condiments, with lots of veggies and fruit. I also had a birthday during all of this and my dear friend left me this lovely strawberry plant on my front porch. I didn't know what it was and had to ask her!

~ a cute little strawberry! ~ 

Breakfast; well, since each one was only the size of my pinky I did have something else to eat! 

It's already getting some more strawberries. I hope I get a few more before the heat takes over. We skipped right over cool spring weather and headed right into the heat of summer. 

Blueberry Hemp Cinnamon Crunch Muffins

I made these yummy muffins last month and never posted about them. I even bought another bag of hemp seeds to make them again! Lots of luscious blueberries and not too sweet. Vegan Thyme has the recipe on her blog. 

Wheat Berry Minestrone

I used the last of my wheat berries to make this delicious soup. The wheat berries give it lots of chewy, meaty texture. The recipe is on Dr. Grandma's. 

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes 

from Betty Goes Vegan

My hubby brought me a box of freshly harvested red potatoes straight from the field still covered in dirt. This is a quick and easy recipe to use them. I think they could have roasted a little longer to get more brown but they were still tasty.

Chik'n Enchiladas

This last recipe I whipped up the other night using ingredients I had in my pantry and freezer. I cooked up three Gardein Chik'n Scallopini and chopped them into pieces. I rolled them into six corn tortillas with a little Daiya cheddar sprinkled on top. Topped everything with the Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce and covered that with more Daiya cheddar. Baked for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, added a salad and had dinner ready!  

 Really handy to have in the pantry. Read the ingredients on the different flavors; some of them are not vegan. 

Chik'n Enchiladas

I topped the enchiladas with some chopped cilantro and green onions. 

I'm ready to get back in the kitchen and try some new recipes!

Pasta and Green Beans

I bought some Spinach Basil Garlic Fettucine that is handmade right here in Arizona by DeCio Pasta that I thought would be perfect with this creamy vegan alfredo sauce recipe. 

Mmm~creamy and delicious! Ingredients include artichoke hearts, peas, and Gardein Chick'n. You can find the recipe here at Meet the Shannons.

Vegan Smokey Garlic Alfredo with Chicken & Springtime Vegetables

I served the pasta with some Lemon-Broiled Green Beans from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

Veggie Lo Mein

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

~from Everyday Happy Herbivore:

This Veggie Lo Mein was so easy to throw together for a quick meal! Instead of sauteeing the veggies in just water I did add a little sesame oil to the pan. Oops; not totally oil-free! 

I bought a bag of Asian Blend veggies-green & red cabbage, broccoli slaw, carrots, kale and snap peas. I also added some sliced red bell pepper to the mix. After cooking, I tossed the veggies with spelt soba noodles and the Lo Mein sauce. 

For extra flavor I topped the Lo Mein with some Gardein Teriyaki Chik'n Strips. Yum!

Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette

VegCookbookClub January 2013 recipes from Kris Carr-Crazy Sexy Kitchen:

Now that the month is half over I'm finally sitting down to post. I did have trouble downloading my pics  so I had to get that figured out. New Year's goals:  I've been loving going to the gym and getting in shape on the Pilates reformer. Trying to get my back in shape after August's back surgery and drop those pesky pounds from laying around doing nothing while recuperating. I've also been stopping by the juice bar near the gym and getting a wheatgrass shot and a green juice 3 or 4 times a week! That wheatgrass is addictive. Since I do have a juicer (Jack LaLanne but I really want a Breville). I guess I need to try and make my own green juice. So I went to Sprouts Market today and stocked up on some organic veggies and green apples. We'll see how that turns out in the morning! 

 Asian Noodles (pg. 174) with Black Vinaigrette (pg. 226)

I love buckwheat soba noodles. The only ones I can find at the store though have egg whites in them. So I stock up on them online from Eden Organics. I substituted green cabbage for the Napa cabbage and used alfalfa instead of the other sprouts it called for. The Black Vinaigrette/Basic Asian Marinade is awesome! I used plenty of fresh ginger and garlic. Yum! I used the leftovers as a wonderful salad dressing. 

I cooked up some Gardein Chick'n Scallopini, sliced it and served it over the top of the salad. Of course mine was garnished with some hot Sambal Oelek chili paste. Wow, my mouth is drooling just writing about this salad; it's been 3 weeks since I've made it. I think I need to try this one again. :)