Raw Pad Thai Salad from thecolorfulkitchen.com

I am so excited to try this Raw Pad Thai Salad from thecolorfulkitchen.com!

Raw Pad Thai Salad  - Update: We tried it, and it's awesome! Seriously amazing. I might eat it every week in the summer time, but even in the winter, it's great!

Seth got me a veggie spiralizer for Christmas, and this salad is going to bring it out quite often!

Sweet Quinoa and Rice Salad

My parents got me a yummy Quinoa and Brown Rice blend for Christmas, and with it, I created this delicious salad!

Sweet Quinoa and Rice Salad

Ingredients:
- 1.5 cups uncooked quinoa/rice blend (or one of the two) - Cook with water or veggie stock according to directions
- 3 large handfuls of organic spinach, chopped
- 1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes,halved
- 1.5 cups frozen sweet corn, thawed (or canned)
- 1.5 cups (1 can) chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

- Avocado for serving

Sauce:
- juice of 1 lemon
- 3 Tb. Tamari or reduced sodium soy sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 Tb. apple cider vinegar
- 3 Tb. agave nectar (or honey)
- 1 Tb. of your favorite dried spices (oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, etc)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Cook Quinoa and rice according to instructions
2. While it is cooking, combine all Sauce ingredients in a bowl and stir
3. When quinoa and rice are cooked, put in a bowl for about 10 minutes. Add all other ingredients, and then pour sauce over the salad and mixed until combine.
4. Garnish with avocado. Serve warm or cold.

CHALT Sandwich

Cucumber

Hummus

Avocado

Lettuce

Tomato

Put all that on Hearty whole-grain bread

And you can add any of these delicious ingredients that you have on hand.

Pickle

Bellpepper

Olives

Veganaise or light mayonnaise

Mustard

Red onion

Sprouts

Cauliflower Leek Soup

Cauliflower Leek Soup Serves 6 Ingredients: - 1 TB olive oil - 2 TB minced garlic - 1 large head of cauliflower - 3 leeks, cut into 1 inch pieces - 7 cups veggie stock or water (and a veggie boullion cube if using water) - 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed - 1 cup cashew cream - 1 TB lemon juice - 2 TB nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store) Directions: 1. Heat the olive oil, in a large pot over medium heat, and saute the leeks, cauliflower, and garlic for about 10 minutes adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.  2. Add veggie stock/water to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.  3. Remove the soup from heat. Blend the soup with an immersion blender or hand mixer.  Mix in the cashew cream, lemon juice and nutritional yeast and continue blending until smooth. 4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Tips: -You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it! - You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit! - And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have.

Pasta Fresca a la Wagner

I should write the recipe for this down sometime, but it is just so easy to throw together with whatever veggies I have in my fridge. Tomorrow is grocery store day, so we were trying to figure out what we could eat, and we had a zucchini, a bell pepper, and onion, some green onions, some cilantro, garlic, and some whole wheat pasta. So we just sautéed veggies, added some soy sauce and other spices, mixed it all together with a cup of pasta water and a quarter cup of nutritional yeast. Garnish with avocado, and you've got dinner in 20 minutes!

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA

Our friends, Sam and Emily Barker made this amazing meal for us. You have got to try it! It is going to become a staple dinner for us :) at least during mango season. 

BLACK BEAN, AVOCADO & MANGO SALSA from http://www.thedivineaddiction.com/

INGREDIENTS

For the Salsa:

2 (16 oz.) can black beans; rinsed and drained

2 avocados; diced

2 small (or 1 large) mango; diced

½ cup red onion; small dice

Juice of 2 fresh limes

Sea salt & pepper; to taste

¼ tsp ground cumin

Fresh cilantro; chopped finely; to taste

Happy Wrap

Tonight for dinner we had what I am going to call happy wraps. Doesn't it look like it's smiling? Delicious and nutritious! And for you meat lovers out there, you can substitute chickpeas with tuna. But I would recommend having both if you're going to have tuna :-)

Ingredients:

Chickpeas drained and rinsed

Romain lettuce leaves

Sliced olives

Sliced tomato

Sliced cucumber

Hummus

Avocado

Sliced or diced red onion

Directions:

Double tube romaine leaves together, and assemble your wrap with all the toppings you like, and enjoy!

PS. John enjoyed eating raw red onion tonight for dinner. Actually he ate all of this except for the lettuce. :) I love it when dinner works out for all of us! (it doesn't always, lately)

TheColorfulKitchen.com

My friend Beth is seriously the best at finding excellent new recipes online! This week she shared 2 AMAZING recipes with us from thecolorfulkitchen.com
Delicious doesn't even cut it to describe this pasta, and have you ever thought of making cookies and brownies out of beans? Well, you should try it. It's amazing!

Easy Cheesy Pasta - Seriously, this is going to become a weekly staple in our house!

Black Bean and Oatmeal Brownies - Add a handful of chocolate chips, and a bit extra agave, and these are excellent!



 

Chickpea Chocolate Chunk Cookies - I could eat these everyday! And I could feed to my husband and son everyday without worrying about their health!



A blog that is vegan and gluten free is a dream come true, and this site is definitely that! Check it out!!!

 

thecolorfulkitchen.com

Thai Chickpea Quinoa

Our neighbor, Beth Winder, made us DELICIOUS quinoa one night for dinner swap, and I just had to have the recipe! THIS is it. I have adapted it to our own preferences. It is an excellent way to eat quinoa. 

And HERE is why it is so healthy and wonderful to eat Quinoa.

Thai Chickpea Quinoa 

YIELD: SERVES 4

 

TOTAL TIME: 30 MINUTES

ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
1 can chickpeas
3/4 cup shredded (or finely chopped) carrots
3/4 cup shelled edamame
2/3 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or cashews)
1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro

sauce
3 TB. agave
1 TB. apple cider vinegar (or rice vinegar)
2 TB. canned coconut milk (I froze the rest in ice cube trays)
1 TB. honey (or brown sugar)
2 tsp. creamy peanut butter (it mixes in easier if it's melted, FYI)
2 tsp. garlic
1/4 cup lime juice (or lemon)

1/8-1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground ginger

Directions

Prepare quinoa according to directions, which will most likely call for 2 cups of liquid. I prefer to use low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock, so if you have that, use it!

While quinoa is cooking, combine all of the sauce ingredients together in a bowl and whisk well to combine. 

Once quinoa has absorbed all of the liquid, stir in the sauce and toss well to coat. 

Add in chickpeas, carrots, edamame and green onions, stirring to combine. 

Taste and season with a little salt and pepper if needed. 

Toss in half of the peanuts and cilantro, then serve in a large bowl, topped with remaining peanuts and cilantro. 

I like to serve this with a salad, soup or even a little sandwich!

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Cream of Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Serves 

Ingredients:
Veggies:
- 2 onions
- 4 Tb. garlic
- 2 stalk celery
- 2 cups frozen (or fresh) peas
- 5 cups cauliflower
- 5 cup broccoli

- 6 cups water or veggie stock

Seasonings:
- 1 Tb. dry oregano
- 2 tsp. dry thyme
- 2 tsp. dry basil
- 2 tsp. coriander
- 2 tsp. cumin
- 3 TB soy sauce
- 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp. brown mustard 
Finishing Touches:
- 1 large handful (about 1 1/2 cup) spinach
- 1 can chickpeas or white beans
- 1 cup nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store)
- 1 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (or to taste)

- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot on medium high heat while you rough chop your onion (but not so rough as to chop your finger :) I've learned that lesson a time or two...), then start sauteing your onion adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.

2. While onion is sauteing, rough chop all your other vegetables and add (except for spinach) to the pot. Saute for about 5 more minutes, or until onions are translucent.

3. Add water/veggie stock to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Add all the seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast, beans, cashews (that's where the "creamy" comes in!) and lemon juice. Then puree using an immersion blender (or ladle small amounts carefully into a blender).

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
-You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it!
- You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit!
- And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have. 

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Here is a creation from today that I made up between today's amazing sessions of General Conference with whatever I had available in my fridge. And as we say at our house, "It's blog-worthy!" so I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!

Cream of Vegetable Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients:
Veggies:
- 1 onion
- 2 Tb. garlic
- 1 stalk celery
- 2 cups cauliflower
- 1 cup broccoli
- 1 lb. asparagus

- 1 large handful (about 1 1/2 cup) spinach
- 5 cups water or veggie stock

Seasonings:
- 1/2 tsp. dry thyme
- 1 tsp. dry oregano
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin

Finishing Touches:
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (in the bulk section of your health food store)
- 2/3 cup cashews
- 3 Tb. lemon juice (or to taste)

- 1 tsp. salt (or to taste)
- fresh cracked pepper

Directions:
1. Heat a large pot on medium high heat while you roughly chop your onion (but not so rough as to chop your finger :) I've learned that lesson a time or two...), then start sauteing your onion adding sufficient amounts of water to keep it from sticking or burning.

2. While onion is sauteing, chop all your other vegetables and add (except for spinach) to the pot. Saute for about 5 more minutes, or until onions are translucent.

3. Add water/veggie stock and spinach to the pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat to a simmer.

4. Add all the seasonings and simmer for about 10 minutes.

5. Remove from heat, add nutritional yeast, cashews (that's where the "creamy" comes in!) and lemon juice. Then puree using an immersion blender (or ladle small amounts carefully into a blender).

6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tips:
-You can garnish the soup with anything you like really, cashews, sliced spinach, cilantro, bell peppers, avocado... you name it!
- You can use this as your main dish, as a side, as a salad dressing, as a base for another creamy soup. The sky is the limit!
- And don't be afraid of substituting other veggies. Use what you have. 

Better than Ever Black Beans and Rice a 30 Minute Meal!

I really learned how to cook after we got married when we were in college by... watching FoodNetwork. Yes, the hours I spent learning from Giada and Rachel Ray were truly beneficial. Although I don't eat many of their ingredients in my cooking anymore, I still admire their abilities and appreciate their skill in teaching the average person (me) how to cook. I especially loved Rachel's show, "30 Minute Meals." I've learned in my food/nutrition journey that in cooking from scratch with whole food, plant based ingredients, 30 minute meals are hard to come by. So, I am proud to announce, that I have come up with a healthful 30 minute meal!! Enjoy!

Ingredients
- 2 diced onions
- 3 cans black beans (including liquid - DO NOT drain)
- Optional: 1/2 cup ham for added flavor
- Optional: 1-2 cups diced mushrooms
- Optional: 1 small can green chiles
- 2 Tb garlic
- 2 Tb Soy Sauce
- 1 Tb Worcestershire Sauce
- 1 Tb apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tb oregano
- 2 Tb nutritional yeast - from the bulk section of health food store (great plant based source of B vitamins)
- 2 Tb lemon juice
- fresh cracked pepper 
(There is enough salt in the beans and soy sauce, so I don't add any)

(Cook 2 cups of rice (or another grain) in a rice cooker with as much water as needed, we love sweet brown rice - from the bulk section of health food store)

Directions
1. Start cooking the rice in the rice cooker (allow extra time for brown rice)
2. Add onions to a large, deep pan and saute on medium high heat(adding 1 Tb. water at a time to keep them from sticking) until they start to be translucent.
3. Add all other ingredients and bring to a boil. Then reduce to a simmer, and simmer until rice is ready.

Tips:
- While the beans simmer, and the rice cooks, you have time to make a quick green salad, and voila! You'll have dinner on the table in 30 minutes!

Sorry folks. No Pictures yet. I'll take some the next time I make it, which will probably be soon. I don't know if Seth has ever raved about any dinner I have made more than this one :)

Garlic Roasted Breaded Mushrooms

Perhaps I'm on a roll! I had a bunch of mushrooms left over from some soup I made the other day, and needed to use them tonight. We always keep onions and garlic around, and all the rest of the ingredients are pantry staples. It smelled so good, even before we put it in the oven! Seth said it smelled like an Italian restaurant. Mushrooms aren't Seth's favorite, but he said that this is the best way to eat mushrooms that he's tried. That's a compliment to remember :)

Garlic Roasted Breaded Mushrooms 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• • 4 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
  • 1 tsp. dried rosemary
  • 1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (or more to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 Tb. melted margarine (or you could use olive oil)
  • 1 Tb. ground flaxseed (any health food store has it usually in bulk) mixed with 3 Tb water (until egg white consistency)
  • 1/2 a medium onion (white, sweet or yellow), finely diced
  • about 5 cups baby bella (or any type) mushrooms, wiped clean
  Topping
  • 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
  • 2 Tb. nutritional yeast (any health food store has it usually in bulk)
  • 1 Tb. lemon juice
  Garnish
  • Chiffonade fresh spinach, parsley, or basil for garnish
  
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (rack in the center)

2. Then in a large bowl, combine all ingredients except onion and mushrooms. Whisk together, then add mushrooms and onions and toss until everything is coated in the dressing.

3. Pour mushrooms into a (lightly greased) large  baking dish in a single layer and roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, mix topping ingredients with a fork.

5. Stir the mushrooms, spread Panko bread crumbs over them and continue roasting until Panko is golden brown and mushrooms are tender (10-15 more minutes)

6.Garnish with fresh herbs or spinach

Tips:

1. This is a very flavorful dish. It would be excellent if you serve it over a grain like quinoa, rice or cous cous, and a green salad on the side you can make it the main dish.

2. I served this with a spaghetti squash (that we grew in our garden, whoohooo!)mixed with spaghetti sauce from a jar. It made for a pretty easy meal :)I'll post about making spaghetti squash sometime in the future.

Pineapple Stir-fry Salad

 

Pineapple Stir-fry Salad

Serves 4-6

Stir-fry Ingredients
- 2 Tb. veggie stock or water
- 1 large onion, rough diced
- 2 bell peppers, rough diced
- 4 cups broccoli (fresh or frozen), rough diced
- 1 large carrot, shredded
- 1 cup pineapple (fresh or frozen, or canned....but only if you have to)

Sauce Ingredients
- 1 Tb. garlic, minced
- 2-3 Tb. agave or honey
- 1 Tb. lemon or lime juice
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2-3 cup pineapple juice (fresh or frozen, or canned....but only if you have to) (or if you don't have juice, just increase pineapple chunks in stir-fry ingredients to 2 cups)
- 1/8-1/4 cup water (as needed to leave enough juice for the sauce)

Cous Cous
- 1.5 cups cous cous dry
- 1.5 cups water or veggie stock
- 1/2 Tb. olive oil (opt.)

Salad
- 1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
- 2 (packed) cups spinach, torn or chopped

Garnish
- 1-2 avocados
- 1/2-2/3 cup cashews or pecans, rough chopped

Directions:
1. In a large pan or wok, (with veggie stock or little water) over medium high heat, saute all veggies and pineapple chunks  until onions are translucent and other veggies are tender. Add all the Sauce Ingredients as soon as you get all the Stri-fry Ingredients into the pan.

2. In a medium sized saucepan, bring 1.5 cups water (and oil if using) to a boil; add cous cous; remove from heat and cover; let sit for 5 min. Then fluff with a fork.

3. To assemble salads split all the ingredients into 4-6 portions (in large bowls is best) (do 4 portions if this is your whole dinner, 6 if you have another side) Add them in this order:
1. salad
2. cous cous
3. stirfry
4. garnish

Tips:
- I invented this recipe just with items that I had in my fridge that needed to be eaten, and items that I always have in my pantry/fridge or freezer. So be creative and substitute with whatever you have! For example, you could use 
oranges for pineapple, 
almonds for the nuts, 
rice or quinoa for the cous cous, 
etc.
- Obviously, if you want to add meat or beans, go for it! The possibilities are endless, this is stir-fry we're talking about!

Cookie Dough Bites and BBQ Tempeh Sloppy Joes

Tonight I'm making:
 BBQ Tempeh Sloppy Joes  from www.TheGardenGrazer.com

Note: 12-28-13 - We made these, and we used those whole wheat sandwich thins that kind of seem to taste like cardboard....that might have influenced my opinion, and I may not have had the best bbq sauce, but I don't think I'll be making this one again...

And I hope I'll have time soon to also make her:

Cookie Dough Bites

Note: 12-28-13 - I haven't had time to make these yet, but my sister did and she said they reminded her of oatmeal cookie bites, so I'll have to try them, and maybe change their name.

Apple Butternut Squash Casserole

Apple Butternut Squash Casserole

Ingredients:
Casserole:
- 6 cups mashed cooked butternut squash (or sweet potato)
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 3 Tb. melted margarine
- 1/3 cup pure maple syrup (or honey)\
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tb. ground flax seed (stirred into 3 Tb. water until egg white consistency)
- 1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:
- 2 Tb. Turbinado sugar (or packed dark brown sugar)
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 1 Tb. whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 Tb. melted vegan margarine (or olive oil)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Mix all casserole ingredients together in a bowl, then spread in lightly oiled 13X9 casserole dish.
3. Mix all topping ingredients in a small bowl and sprinkle on top of casserole.
4. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 25 min. or just until golden.

1. 
   

Savory Veggie Stuffing

Pic from http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/vegan-stuffing.php

Savory Veggie Stuffing

Modified from THIS recipe

 Ingredients:

• 10 cups 1/2 inch bread cubes from 1 lb firm whole wheat or other sandwich bread
• 2 Tbsp vegan margarine
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp minced fresh garlic 
• 10 oz. (about 3 1/2 cups) diced portabella mushrooms
• 1 large finely chopped onion
• 1 large finely chopped carrot
• 2 cups finely chopped celery
• 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley or 3 Tb. dry parsley
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp dill
• 1 tsp thyme
• Optional: 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 2 - 3 cups vegetable stock 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Oil a large shallow casserole dish
2. Toast bread cubes in a large baking sheet in the oven until golden brown. Set aside in a large bowl
3. Turn oven down to 350 degrees F
4. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, and celery until soft
5. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the veggie mixture to the bowl of bread crumbs
6. Add parsley, rosemary, oregano, dill, thyme, optional salt, and pepper
7. Optional: Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil into the mixture
8. Stir until until everything is well mixed
9. Add 2 cups vegetable stock, and stir until it is absorbed. Add more stock as needed so that the mixture is moist and clumping together, but not soggy
10. Bake at 350 degrees F in a covered shallow casserole or baking dish for 25 minutes
11. Optional: Uncover and bake another 15 minutes to form a crusty top