Soup for sick hubby

Sweet hubby has been sick this weekend. That seriously almost never happens. I think it's been years since his last sniffle or cough but he's had it good this weekend, fever and all. Poor baby.

Soup is all I ever want when I'm not feeling good and I figured a hot & spicy soup would surely loosen up his congestion and help clear his head. I'd recently purchased the ingredients for a hot & spicy black eyed pea soup that I usually make for New Year's Day but figured this was a good excuse to make it early. I'll just have to be sure to buy the ingredients again before New Years rolls around.

I've had this recipe for over 20 years but I've had to adjust it since going to a plant-based diet since the original recipe calls for bacon. Even after I quit eating bacon, I still put turkey sausage in it. No more. And it's still yummy, too!

I saute some onion, chopped jalapenos and garlic in a little veggie broth...



Next I did something I've never done before. Since I didn't really want to mess with making cornbread to go with the soup, I did the next best thing and added some polenta to the soup. I just chopped up a few slices of pre-made polenta and added it in, along with a can of Rotel tomatoes. I let this heat for a few minutes to soften the polenta.






After this was heated through, I added 4 cans of black eyed peas (drained and rinsed) and 4 cups of veggie broth. I let this simmer for about 20 minutes to blend the flavors and really soften the polenta. It was yummy AND spicy! Cleared my head and I wasn't even congested!



Jennifer’s Hot & Spicy Black-eyed Pea Soup

1 large onion, chopped
2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped or 1 can Rotel tomatoes
3 Tablespoons chopped jalapenos
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 cans black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 cups veggie broth
1/2 package polenta, diced

Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos and garlic. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables are softened.

Add polenta and warm through. Add peas and veggie broth and stir well. Simmer 20-25 minutes over low heat.

Place soup into bowls and sprinkle with Daiya cheese if desired. Serve with corn bread.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Location:Home, sweet home


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Home, sweet home

Big Batch O' Chili

It may not be winter yet by the calendar but it is DEFINITELY winter here in Oklahoma this weekend. Snow, sleet & freezing rain started early enough Thursday that our boss let us go home early. Friday we woke up to a winter wonderland.




Beautiful. Peaceful. And COLD. Absolutely frickin' cold. Wow. The temps have been hovering close to single digits - the wind chill has definitely been there. And what sounds good for dinner on cold winter days? Uh, hello? Chili, of course! But chili is full of beef or venison, right? Well, not my chili! :)

I made this last winter when we had a houseful for some occasion... not sure when. When I make it now I know we'll have plenty of leftovers to enjoy over the next few days and that's okay. Like all chili, this vegan chili just gets better and better the next few days.

I didn't think to start taking pictures until I was pretty far into making this tonight but the recipe is so easy you won't need pictures for the first parts. Just start with a chopped onion, a couple of stalks of chopped celery (I chop mine pretty small because sweet hubby thinks he doesn't like celery.... sheesh), one diced red bell pepper and some veggie broth. Saute these ingredients until tender, then add a can of chopped green chiles. Next comes the spices... 2 Tablespoons chili powder, 2 teaspoons cumin, 2 teaspoons turmeric and 2 teaspoons oregano.

This is where I started taking pictures:




Then you'll want to add half a package of ground veggie crumbles. I always use Light Life Smart Ground but I've discovered recently that if you want to go gluten free you can just use reconstituted TVP instead. The Smart Ground is not gluten free but Red Mills TVP is. Because I had the Smart Ground on hand and because we don't have gluten concerns (but our next door neighbor does so this is good to know!), we just used that tonight. It chops up easily into the mix.

Next I slaved over the can opener and opened 1 can of diced tomatoes and SIX cans of beans - 2 black beans, 2 kidney beans and 2 pinto beans with jalapenos. Rinse them well and they look like this: (aren't they pretty?) :)





Add that to your chili mix and heat well. After that, you can add whatever you'd like to the top of your chili bowl. Hubby adds mustard to his. I add mustard and ketchup, sometimes chopped red onion or maybe Daiya cheese. And, of course, this is one area where we splurge and add Fritos. What is chili without fritos? Not chili. At least not in Oklahoma. We've served this to die-hard carnivores and they were none-the-wiser. :)





Stay warm, everyone!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Vegan Breakfast Tacos

It's a lazy Sunday morning for us and we don't seem to have too many of those. Oh sure, I've already washed the sheets and remade the bed and have my third load of laundry in right now but hubby and I are just sitting in the study making plans.

I'm not sure whose stomach growled first but it didn't take long before they were both making quite a racket. I started trying to think of what I could make for breakfast but since we had the garage sale last weekend and then I head to DC for a meeting on Sunday, grocery shopping has been neglected for a while. I wasn't sure we had enough ingredients on hand to make much.

My first thought was pumpkin pancakes but alas, no applesauce. Hmmm, what next? I saw that we had some tortillas so I instantly went to the idea of breakfast burritos but eggs are out of the question. Hmm, maybe tacos instead?

I steamed a sweet potato in the microwave. Mashed sweet potato, like refried beans, can make a great base for tacos because the other ingredients tend to stick to it and not roll out onto your plate every time you take a bite. So after steaming it I mashed it up, added half a packet of leftover taco seasoning (low sodium, of course!) and a splash of almond milk to give it a creamier texture. Not a bad start...




Then I steamed some greens. I had just a little bit of kale left so I added some spinach and some collard greens and steamed them together in the microwave for about 2 minutes. And, since we think nearly everything tastes better with cilantro, I cut up about a little fresh cilantro and added that to the steamed greens. Doesn't look too appetizing laid out like this but oh, they're so good and so good for you!




I opened and rinsed a can of black beans and then started assembling the tacos. On top of the greens I spooned on a little salsa and sprinkled on some nutritional yeast. I wish I'd had some quacamole or avocado to add but not this time. Maybe next.

Hubby doesn't like corn tortillas so luckily I had some whole wheat tortillas as well. However, after assembling them I have decided I'll only use the whole wheat next time... the corn tortillas just didn't hold up as well. Here is the assembly process...
















And here is what the corn tortilla tacos looked like... they just didn't hold up. Oh well, they still tasted great!



So I may have made this as a form of breakfast tacos but really they'd be good any time of the day. Still, not a bad breakfast on a lazy Sunday. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tater Tot Taco Bake - Hubby's new favorite

"Okay, Honey... THIS is my favorite thing you cook."

That's what I hear from my sweet hubby quite often.  Not just when I cook the same thing as the last time he said that, mind you.  He says it a lot.  Suffice it to say he really likes my cooking.  However, I'm not sure I've ever seen him light up the way he does whenever he finds out that I've made Tater Tot Taco Bake.  I really do believe it's his favorite.  His REAL favorite.  And that's what we're having tonight.  Can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out.  :)

I can definitely tell I'm way out of the blogging habit.  I didn't even stop to think about taking a picture tonight until I was ready to put dinner in the oven.  Sigh.  I'll do better, I promise.  I know a picture is worth a thousand words, especially where food it concerned.  Next time I make it, I'll blog again with more pictures than words.  How's that for a deal?  :)

This was something my new daughter (first husband's daughter he never knew about who found me on Facebook a couple of years ago -- long story... another time.) posted on Facebook awhile back that was NOT vegan.  I just substituted a few things here and there and voila, vegan magic had occurred!

Here's what it looked like right before going into the oven tonight...

And here's the recipe... so easy and so good.

TATOR TOT TACO BAKE

1 package veggie protein crumbles
1 small onion (diced)
1 garlic clove (minced)
1 small can sliced black olives (which I never have)
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 can corn
1 can diced green chilies
1 can black beans (drained and rinsed)
1 bag shredded Daiya cheese (optional)

½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 package frozen tater tots
1 can red enchilada sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Heat a skillet to medium high heat. Add veggie crumbles, garlic, and onion and cook until onions are translucent. Add taco seasoning mix, green chilies, corn, cilantro and black beans to the ground crumbles. Cook until heated through.

In a large bowl combine mixture, ¾ of the cheese, and all of the tater tots. Stir well to combine.

Pour about 1/3 of the enchilada sauce into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Add the tater tot mixture to the baking dish and lightly pat the mixture down into a solid, even layer. Pour the remaining enchilada sauce over the tater tot mixture.

Place into the oven and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. During the last few minutes of baking, top the casserole with the remaining cheese and the sliced black olives. Return to the oven and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

A Year Later...

Wow... I can't believe it's been almost a year since I posted anything to this blog.  That's just crazy.  When we first started eating a plant-based diet nearly 16 months ago, I had to completely change how I cooked, what I cooked, how I shopped, where I shopped... everthing was different.  I bought things I'd never even heard of before we started eating this way.... things like tempeh and nutritional yeast.  Now they're staples that are kept stocked.  Yep, there have been lots of changes.

I've found some great recipes and I still hunt for new ones all the time.  I've adjusted a lot of old favorite recipes that included meat and found ways to make them without meat - and found they're just as good.  It's been an interesting ride to say the least.  That was the main reason I wanted to start this blog to begin with... I knew if I was looking for recipes and help in eating a healthier, plant-based diet, there were surely others, too.  Then, after just 4 months of blogging fairly regularly, I just got used to cooking this way and stopped blogging.  Well, I'm going to try to make up for that now... we'll see how I do.  :)

It was fun to look back through my posts, look at the pictures and recipes and, I admit, find some things I haven't made in awhile.  It was a good reminder.  I think in my search for new recipes, sometimes I forget how good something was and don't make it again.  I'll have to look through those again... maybe if I only post the recipes we really loved, it will be a good resource for me.  Yeah, that's it... that's the tickets.  :)

So... after a long wait... here's my first post for 2013, only 10 months late.  Hope it's worth the wait!

I love squash but sweet hubby isn't such a fan.  I think it's a texture thing more than a taste thing really -- just like it is with onions, mushrooms and tomatoes, all of which he claims to not like but all of which I cook with on an almost daily basis.  I've found that if I cut them up into small enough pieces, he doesn't complain and, in fact, he regularly tells me how much he loves the dishes I make with those things he doesn't like.  Win-win.

I had a gorgeous spaghetti squash that I'd been wanting to use and I ran across a recipe I hadn't made yet.  It called for spaghetti squash, pasta, chickpeas and one of hubby's favorites -- roasted Brussels sprouts.  I figured it was definitely worth a try and boy, am I glad I did.  It was so, so good.

I cut the spaghetti squash in half (it wasn't very big) and steamed the two halves in Ziploc steamer bags in the microwave.  Then I used a fork to shred the squash. Since I didn't need all the squash for the recipe, I just put a little salt and pepper on the remainder and had it as a snack while I was cooking everything else. Bonus! :)





While the squash was steaming, I put some Brussels sprouts in to roast. When you do this, be sure to save all the loose leaves because they carmelize so well and get so crunchy... it's like eating candy.




I also put the whole wheat spaghetti on to boil. About 4-6 oz. is all... it's not the main portion of the meal like pasta tends to be but it adds a heartiness.

Once the squash is steamed, the sprouts are roasted and the spaghetti is cooked and drained, I sauteed some onion and garlic in a little veggie broth then added some fresh basil and about 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give it a kick. (We like the kick. :))

Once the onions are ready, stir in the spaghetti, the spaghetti squash, the Brussels sprouts and a can of drained chickpeas.

This is where I decided to do something that wasn't in the recipe. I decided to make a cashew cheese sauce that I normally make for a soup and man, oh man, was it ever a great idea! 1 cup of water, 3/4 cup of raw cashews, 1/2 cup nutritional yeast blended together in the Vitamix. This just send the recipe over the top on the awesome chart!

Once I plated this up I topped it with the crispy sprouts leaves but it would be really good to top it with slivered almonds, too. Yummo!




Served with some crusty multi-grain bread and it was delicious!



Here's the actual recipe... which I never follow completely. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Spaghetti Squash with Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Chickpeas

• 1 small-medium spaghetti squash
• 1 pound Brussels sprouts
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 15 ounces chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 2 teaspoons fresh basil
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (or to taste)
• salt and black pepper, to taste
• slivered almonds, optional

Preheat oven to 400. Cut squash in half, remove seeds and use steamer bags or place in baking dish and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 10 minutes and set aside until cool enough to handle. Once it’s cool, scrape the strands of squash out with a fork. Put the squash into a bowl and set aside.

While the squash is cooking, prepare the Brussels sprouts. Trim and discard the ends and cut the sprouts in half (quarter larger sprouts). Place on a baking sheet and spray quickly (2 seconds) with olive oil. When the squash has almost finished cooking, put the sprouts into the oven and bake for about 25 minutes, stirring halfway through. Remove them when they are brown but are not burning (they will finish cooking in the skillet in the next step).

In a large, deep, non-stick skillet, cook the onions on medium-high heat until they become golden, about 5-6 minutes. Add the Brussels sprouts, garlic, and vegetable broth and cover tightly. Cook for 3-5 minutes, adding more broth or water if skillet becomes dry. Add the chickpeas, basil, and red pepper flakes. Stir in the spaghetti squash, and toss gently to mix. Cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve topped with slivered almonds, if desired.

Mexican Lasagna

I made this last night but we had an interesting night and I never got around to blogging about it.... so I'm trying to make up for it tonight. The interesting night consisted of finding out my heathen daughter is going to have a baby and get married (hopefully not in that order). It was a surprise to say the least. Blogging about my wonderful cooking was the last thing on my mind as you can imagine. :)

Heathen daughter and her intended are not following a plant-based diet so I wanted to make something that I think most anyone would love - plant-based or not. Mexican Lasagna to the rescue! :)

I've probably made this dish more times in the last 4 months, since we started our plant-based journey, than any other dish. We all just love it. Heathen son told me I could make it every single week and he'd be fine with that. I haven't done that yet but I do always try to keep the ingredients on hand just in case we get a craving for it.

It seems that food with a Mexican flare works really well on a plant-based diet. We can throw together some black beans, corn, cilantro, cumin and chili powder - roll it up in a whole wheat tortilla and we're good. This isn't quite that easy but it's not too far off.

I start off with the usual -- sauteed onions and bell peppers in some veggie broth. I also added some garlic and a grilled hatch green chili I got from the Farmers' Market last weekend.



Then I added some TVP (textured vegetable protein) crumbles, chili powder and cumin along with a can of drained and rinsed black beans and some fresh cilantro. I intended to add some corn but forgot. Oh well, next time. Now this would have been great rolled up in a tortilla, too, but I had other plans for it.



I thinly spread some fat free refried beans on 6 corn tortillas to cover the bottom of a 9x13 glass baking dish. You really have to do this one tortilla at a time. If you laid them in the dish first and then tried to spread the beans on them it could get ugly.



I added a layer of half the veggie bean mixture to cover the tortillas.


Then add another layer of tortillas with the refried beans.



Then add the rest of the veggie bean mixture, top it with a cup of your favorite salsa (I really like Pace's Texas White Bean Salsa -- yummy!). You can add chopped tomatoes, too, if you like. Sweet hubby doesn't like tomatoes so I only put it on half. Your baking pan is going to be really full and heavy!



Finally, add one last layer of tortillas (you'll need 18 in all), top it with a can of red enchilada sauce, cover it with foil and bake it at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.


I served this with some brown rice mixed with a little salsa and dinner was complete. It served 5 of us for dinner and there was plenty left over for heathen son and sweet hubby to have some for lunch today, too.

Give it a try. You'll see! :)

- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, Sweet Home

Pot Pie Appreciation

We had some wonderfully cooler days this weekend -- even hit freezing overnight. The days were so sunny and wonderful though it was hard to complain too much. Perfect October weather, I'd say.

Even though it's still fairly warm this evening, this time of year puts us in the mood for cooler weather food. I've already posted a blog on my attempt at making veggie pot pies (a very successful attempt at that!).

Since heathen son is thinking of spending Thanksgiving with his Aunt Karen and Uncle Jeff in Hanna -- and since they don't eat a plant based diet -- he was thinking I could teach him how to make the pot pies and then he could cook for them while he was there and, at the same time, ensure that he would be able to eat, too. Pretty good planning for an 18 year old boy, I thought.

Then his sweet girlfriend called and asked if he'd like to go out to dinner with her and he jumped at the offer, leaving me to make pot pies by myself. :) Oh well... I still love it that he thought about it and we have a few more weeks before Thanksgiving so maybe he'll get another chance. We'll see.

The pot pies are still in the oven but I think they're going to be just as good as they were last time. If you like this kind of hearty comfort food (and who on earth doesn't?), I definitely urge you to give it a try.

I made two separate pot pies again this time -- one adapting my usual chicken pot pie recipe using LightLife's chicken style veggies strips. Here's a picture of the filling while I was waiting for it to thicken up after adding the whole wheat flour.


The other is a veggie pot pie and this time I used broccoli, peas, carrots, potatoes and one of my new favorites -- delicata squash. I can't wait to try that one! It was so pretty putting it together, too. Here's all the veggies before I added the veggie broth and whole wheat flour.




Once the fillings thickened up I just poured them into the waiting pie shells, topped them both with freshly blended bread crumbs and a little paprika and put them in a 400 degree over for 35 minutes. They should be ready to come out in about 5 minutes... just in time for dinner. :) Yum!



Here's the full recipe (I only made one veggie pot pie so I halfed this one) in case you want to give it a try:

Makes two pies, 12 or more servings
• 8 medium potatoes
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 3 cups diced vegetables of your choice
(choose 3 or 4 from among cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, leeks, peas, corn kernels, zucchini, yellow summer squash, mushrooms, kale, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour or 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose seasoning blend (such as Spike or Mrs. Dash)
• 1 teaspoon dried tarragon
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• Two 9-inch prepared good-quality whole wheat pie crusts
• 1 cup fine whole grain bread crumbs
• Paprika for topping
Cook or microwave the potatoes in their skins until done. Dice half of them and mash the other four coarsely. Set aside until needed.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Saute the onion in a little veggie broth over medium heat until golden. Add the vegetables of your choice, layering quicker-cooking vegetables like peas, corn, and zucchini over longer cooking ones like cauliflower, broccoli, etc.. Add a bit of broth; cover and cook until the vegetables are tender but not overdone, about 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the flour into the skillet, then pour in the stock. Add the nutritional yeast. Cook for a minute or two, stirring constantly. until the liquid thickens. Stir in both the diced and mashed potatoes. Heat through gently. Stir in the seasoning blend, thyme, and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Pour the mixture into the pie crust and pat in.
Sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly over each pie, then top with a sprinkling of paprika. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Let the pies stand at room temperature for 10 minutes or so, then cut into wedges and serve.

- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, Sweet Home

Breakfast Casserole

Obviously I don't normally have the time to cook anything for breakfast. On this cold, somewhat lazy (we were up before 6:30) Saturday morning, however, I had time.

So, when the heathen son mentioned he was hungry for something hot and oatmeal wasn't going to cut it, I told him I'd see what I could come up with. I mentioned that I'd seen a lot of recipes for tofu scrambles but they'd never really appealed to me. None of us are big tofu fans so I'm sure that's the reason. I told him I had some frozen hashbrowns so perhaps I could do something with those. His eyes lit up. Then he said it would be great if I had some of the "Gimme Lean" vegan sausage and I could make some kind of breakfast casserole with that and the hashbrowns. That's when I told him I DID have some of the Gimme Lean. You should have seen his eyes then. It was pretty cute. :)

So off to the kitchen we went.

First thing I did was saute some red onions in a little veggie broth...



I'm still amazed at how easy it is to cook without using oil.

Then I added the sliced Gimme Lean sausage...



And chopped it up in the pan as it cooked...



I added a little garlic and some fennel seeds to give it even more of a sausage flavor but I didn't add any other spices.

I steamed a couple of cups of broccoli florets and made sure the frozen hashbrowns were separated instead of in clumps. Added that to the sausage onion mixture...



Then I put it all in a 9x13 glass baking dish I'd lightly sprayed with Pam and topped it with a layer of bread crumbs. The bread crumbs came about because I'd accidentally left some bread we'd had at dinner in the oven overnight. It was so hard the next morning when I discovered it that I almost threw it away but then it dawned on me I could throw it in the blender and get some really good bread crumbs. Worked like a charm!



I cooked it in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes and this is what it looked like when it came out.




Sweet hubby and heathen son both declared this a big winner. Hubby said he'd like it for breakfast, lunch or dinner - he didn't care which. We all had two good size servings and there's still a bit left so it makes a good batch.



Now I'm thinking I could substitute squash for the broccoli next time and that would be yummy... or I could substitute brown rice for the hashbrowns and have a really good broccoli rice casserole. Maybe add a little daiya cheese (which we use only sparingly) even. Oh, the possibilities. :)

Who knew a plant-based diet would be so versatile? :)

- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, Sweet Home

Super Soup!

It was 70 degrees when we left the house this morning but, within a couple of hours, the temps had dropped down into the 50s. Fall made its official arrival a few weeks ago but our weather just caught on. And that can only mean one thing --- soup for dinner! Hooray! :)

My wonderful next door neighbor shared this recipe recently. First she brought a small sample (which I scarfed down in no time) and then I had to twist her arm to share the recipe. Well, I didn't twist too hard. And, of course, I didn't actually follow the recipe so it has my own twist. :)

I've got to admit I've eaten quite a few things in the last few months since we switched to a plant-based diet that had never even been in my house before. Some I've liked... some not so much. For instance, none of us even care if we ever see another parsnip. :) This recipe called for millet and we've all decided that millet is A-OK with us. However, I was out of millet today (I did use it the first time I made this soup though!), I did have some quinoa and I was sure that would do in a pinch. I was right! And while I've had cauliflower many times, I'd never had it in soup before so that was new as well.

Like most all of the recipes I've been making lately, this one starts with saute-ing (how DO you spell that?) some chopped up veggies. As usual, I had some bell peppers and onions chopped up but I also had some leeks from a recipe I made earlier this week (that was a first, too!). I used the leeks in place of the onions this time even though I had some already chopped - I was afraid both might have been too much.

I cooked 2 cups of quinoa (the recipe called for one cup of grain but I went ahead and made two cups -- will save some for something I make this weekend) in 3 cups of water for 15 minutes.

While the quinoa was cooking I chopped up a full head of cauliflower along with 3 stalks of celery. I sauteed the leeks, celery, bell pepper and a chopped carrot for about 5 minutes in a little veggie broth. The veggie broth I used this time was darker than the stuff I usually use so I was afraid the soup would turn out a funny color but it really didn't. The recipe called for water but I like veggie broth better.






To the sauteed veggies I added 1 teaspoon each of basil, thyme and celery seed. Then I added the cauliflower and 6 cups of veggie broth. I let this simmer for about 20 minutes. Once the quinoa was cooked, I added that, too.

Next comes the surprising part -- the creamy soup base. Not using milk or cream or half & half, you'd think it would be hard to create a creamy soup but this stuff makes it easy!

Put 2 tablespoons of white miso, 3/4 cup of raw cashews, 1/2 cup of nutritional yeast and 1 cup of water in your blender and blend until smooth. Voila! The best vegan creamy soup base you can imagine. Add this to your soup and simmer for another 10 minutes. This is a thick, creamy, amazing soup that you'll just love!

The BEST dinner for cool fall evening. :) Yummo!



- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, Sweet Home

Making Up For Lost Time

I was shocked to look at my blog this afternoon and realize it's been almost three weeks since I've posted anything! Yikes! How did that happen? Well, let's see... first it was the twins' birthday (darling grandbabies) and a trip to Kansas City for their party and then it was a week-long trip to the beach with two of my bestest friends and then a mad week back at home trying to get caught up on everything that hadn't been done at home -- like laundry and groceries and cooking. :)

I have been doing a fair share of cooking lately, including on our trip to the beach. I convinced the girls to let me cook for them that week so they could see what kind of plant-based meals the boys and I have been enjoying. I was delighted that they agreed because it also guaranteed that everything I ate was something I knew I could have without any worries. Plus I loved making my friends feel pampered and taken care of, too. I think we all enjoyed it.

I thought I'd start with dinner last night and work my way backwards... a lot of the stuff I've made recently is stuff I've already posted about because they've become our favorite dishes. Last night, I tried something completely new that had ingredients I'd never even had in my house before!Stuffed Delicata Squash with Kale, Chickpeas and Leeks. Yum!

Until a friend gave me this recipe, I didn't know what a delicata squash even was. When I saw the picture of it I realized I'd recently seen it in the store but just didn't know what it was. Of course I looked in the stores for it (Crest, Sprouts and Whole Foods) once I got the recipe and couldn't find it anywhere! Sigh... I was incredibly happy to find it yesterday morning at the Edmond Farmers Market. I'm sure I acted ridiculous but the farmer was really nice about it. :)



The recipe is pretty easy. Take 2 Delicata Squash and wash them really well (because the skin is soft and edible). Slice them in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds and gooey stuff. Spray the cut side lightly with Pam and place cut side down in a glass baking dish. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.






While the squash is roasting, wash the leeks and kale well. Leeks were another item I'd never had in my house before. I've heard of them and knew what they were, I was just always a little intimidated by them. They're pretty big and I wasn't at all sure what to do with them or which parts you discard, if any. Now I find out they're really just like big, mild onions. I don't honestly know if I'll use them all that much because I like onions and they're a whole lot cheaper -- but in the spirit of trying something completely new, I went with the leeks. :)

I sliced the leeks right down to the tougher green part and discarded that. Then I used my handy Vidalia Onion Chopper from Bed, Bath & Beyond to dice them up. I just love that thing - it's got to be one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. :)

I sauteed the leeks with a couple cloves of minced garlic in some veggie broth for a few minutes until the leeks were tender. Then I added one bunch of kale that had been stemmed and roughly chopped, one can of drained and rinsed chickpeas and about a tablespoon of sage. I LOVE sage. If you don't like it as much as I do, scale it back until you're happy with it or leave it out completely.



I cooked all of this about 5 minutes and that's when the timer went off on the squash. I got them out of the oven, flipped them over using some tongs and filled them with the kale,chickpea mixture. I put this back in the oven for about 10 minutes.



I made some whole wheat pasta as a side dish and added a little red pepper hummus and almond milk to it to give it an almost macaroni and cheese like appearance. It was delicous.

the Delicata squash has an almost sweet flavor that goes really well with the savory kale and chickpea mixture. It was yummy.

Let's see... what are some of the other yummy dishes I've made lately? I know I've taken some pictures...

Oh yeah... Cajun Cornbread Casserole one night. This is a spicy mixture of onions, bell peppers and beans (the recipe called for kidney beans but I only had black beans, pinto beans and chickpeas so I did the combo thing instead) with lots of Cajun seasoning. Then you mix corn meal, applesauce, baking powder and almond milk to make the cornbread and bake that on top. So good!






I made a really delicious sweet potato and red potato soup before I left for Alabama. I cooked 3 sweet potatoes and 3 red potatoes in the microwave. I sauteed some onion, fennel seeds and garlic in a little veggie broth and then added some reconstituted TVP crumbles. I added the potatoes and about 6 cups of veggie broth and let it all simmer for about 20 minutes. Then I added quite a bit of chopped kale and cooked until it was all wilted. Delish!


I also made the Curried Sweet Potato Casserole right before I left because I knew the boys could eat on the leftovers for awhile. This uses sweet potato tater tots as the topping on the casserole. It's so good. Mixture of sweet peas and chick peas with a spicy curry sauce that's so filling. Good cool weather food for sure.


While we were at the beach I made a Mexican Lasagna one night, Mushroom Stroganoff one night and Asparagus Chickpea Casserole one night. Didn't take any pictures of the food but did get this great shot that shows what a good time we had:



Ahhhhhhh.... :)

- Posted by Jennifer

Location:Home, Sweet Home