Confetti Chili

Even when made with meat, I like my chili very veggie heavy. Here's my latest chili incarnation. Lots of veggies plus two kinds of beans makes this one look pretty colorful and festive.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 1/2 bell pepper, diced
• 1 can chili ready beans
• 1 can black beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes w/ chilis
• about 16 oz. tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup frozen corn
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• about 1.5 cups of water + 1 bouillon cube
• salt/pepper/chili powder/red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

• Brown ground beef in a large stock pot or dutch oven. Add onion, celery and carrot and saute until onion is slightly softened.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a simmer. Spices should be added per your desired heat level.
• Cover and continue to simmer for about 20-30 minutes until all veggies are softened. The celery will take the longest so if those are soft, everything else should be finished.
• Serve with a dollop of sour cream and/or a bit of shredded cheese.

Meatloaf Muffins

Yea, not at all veggie but super easy and delicious. I wanted to write down this basic recipe so I'll remember it later.

Ingredients

• 1-1.5 lbs ground meat (beef, pork, turkey, etc. or a mixture)
• 1 box stovetop stuffing (any flavor)
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup water
• spices and/or sauces to taste

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350.
• Mix meat, stuffing, eggs and water together in a big bowl with a rubber spatula (I found this to be easiest). Add any spices you like though you don't need much because there's already a good amount in the stuffing mix. You can also add a bit of BBQ, steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce, gravy or whatever else sounds good to you.
• Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray and fill each cup with the mixture. Top with additional sauce if desired.
• Bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from muffin tin.

Makes 12 meat muffins. These refrigerate and freeze well and are great for packing into lunches or for a quick dinner. They might also be good topped with cheese or mashed potatoes. I've thought about experimenting with a veggie version but I made veggie meatloaf before and it was terrible. I'm sure it can be done though. If you know of a good one I'd love to try it!

Veggie Thanksgiving

This year for Thanksgiving, I'm considering planning an all vegetarian spread for my husband and me. Sure, we'll most likely have a bit of turkey or ham at my parent's house but I'd like to see if I can put together an awesome meal at home without it. This post is the beginning of my collection of easy vegetarian/healthy holiday recipes. I hope to expand this through to Xmas as well.

• crockpot acorn squash (also gluten free)
• maple roasted Brussels sprouts
• parsnip ecrasse
• Ok pretty much all of these (check out the vegetarian section) I was going to pick out a few choice recipes but they are all worthy of bookmarking.
• roasted root veggies
• golden-crusted Brussels sprouts
• vegetarian Cornish pasty
• and maybe I'll work up my own Thanksgiving-style veggie pasties

Spinach Gouda Grilled Cheese

OK so grilled cheese does not need a recipe. I'm only posting this because it was a delicious idea that I want to remember later.

I used this Arnold Butter Split Top high fructose corn syrup-free bread
1 slice of Gouda cheese
1 small handful of fresh baby spinach
Smart Balance olive oil based "buttery spread"

I think you know what to do from here ;)

p.s. I've tried it with more cheese because I love cheese and more should be better, right? But surprisingly I find that it's too much. Restrain yourself, one slice is perfect!

Spicy Veggie Cold-Fighting Soup

I was home sick with a terrible cold this past weekend so I whipped up some soup using some of the leftover filling from last weeks Butternut Squash Pasties. It's a pretty rough recipe but it was delicious so I'll share anyway :)

Ingredients:

• about 2 cups diced fresh veggies (I used butternut squash, carrots and onion)
• 4 small diced potatoes
• 1/2 cup or so chopped cabbage
• 4 cups water
• 2 veggie bouillon cubes
• salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, rosemary, bay leaf, dried parsley (yea, I eyeballed all of this. I was apparently heavy-handed with the peppers)

Throw all of this into a crockpot and cook on high for 5 hours. I added half a can of white beans during the last 30 minutes to add some protein. Leave this out if you wish or maybe add rice or pasta instead. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Butternut Squash Pasties

ahem - Pronounced PASS-tee, has nothing to do with the burlesque adornment nor is it like glue.

The pasty is a traditional meat pie/sandwich (basically a homemade hot pocket) that originated in Cornwall, England. If you're interested in more history you can read about it here. It comes into my family by way of Escanaba, Michigan where immigrants from Cornwall and Finland settled and made them popular. My grandmother grew up there and, this past weekend, she was in town. She, my mom and I made some U.P. style pasties.



I then modified the recipe to suit my tiny kitchen. I am not really equipped to make pastry from scratch (and anyway, this blog is all about EASY) so I substituted crescent roll dough. The result was flaky and fluffy as you'd expect from a crescent. Yummy, but not ideal for hand-held consumption as a pie crust might be.

Here's the original filling recipe (from memory)
3 lbs potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups diced carrot
2 cups diced rutabaga
2 cups diced onion
1 lb ground meat
salt and pepper
your own pie crust recipe

Mix all ingredients together. Dough should be rolled out to about 10 inch ovals and filled with the (raw) filling mixture. Fold dough over and pinch edges together. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. Makes at least 10 pasties. (actually, now that I think about it, we made 10 and still had half of the filling leftover. And we didn't use nearly 3 lbs of potatoes.)


My recipe (a work in progress)
4 smallish yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 butternut squash, peeled and diced
1/4 sweet onion, diced
1/2 lb ground beef
salt and pepper
a bit of cinnamon, nutmeg and clove
2 rolls of crescent roll dough

Note: I precooked the filling because I knew the crescent roll dough would burn if in the oven for an hour.

Cook meat in a skillet. Drain off some of the fat if there is a lot. Add the remaining ingredients to the skillet and stir to combine. Let cook for just a couple minutes. Roll out dough so that you have 8 rectangles total (made up of 2 triangles each). Place about a half cup of the filling onto on corner of each rectangle, fold over the other side and pinch the edges together. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.


My next experiment will be a vegetarian version and possibly a dessert version. Stay tuned for those recipes!

Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Curry Soup

I found this recipe at Martha Stewart's website (of all places) yesterday and I just happened to have everything I needed to make it at home already. So of course I had to try it out. I followed the recipe pretty closely except I did not make my own curry spice mix (I just used a store bought curry powder) and I added a bit of orzo pasta to bulk it up a bit. Delicious!

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1 half a sweet onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp butter
• 1 butternut squash, seeded, peeled, cubed
• 4-5 cups water + 1 bouillon cube
• 8 oz red lentils
• 1/4 cup of orzo pasta
• a dash of red pepper flakes for extra heat
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Melt butter at medium heat in a big pot or dutch oven and add salt and curry powder and stir for a minute.
• Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent. Stir in ginger powder.
• Add squash to pot, stir and let cook for about 5 min. until squash starts to soften.
• Add water and bouillon and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer for 10 min. (at this point I used my potato masher to mash some of the squash a bit.)
• Stir in lentils and orzo and simmer for 10 to 15 more min. until soft.
• Taste and add spices as desired.

Super Sunrise Juice

Here's another exceptional juice that we created. It's like eating a whole salad but with enough sweetness and tanginess to make it feel like you're just having a cocktail. It's super delicious and healthy as is but I can't say it wouldn't also be great with a splash of rum/tequila/vodka :)

Ingredients:

1 cucumber
1 head of romaine lettuce
1 whole bunch of celery
1 golden delicious apple
2 pears
2 limes
1/2 a small beet
4 large carrots

makes at least 4- 8oz. servings

OMG, a photo!

Citrus Power Juice

After we recently watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, we were inspired to jump on the juicing bandwagon. My husband had been wanting to try it for a while anyway and since they were not pushing a product other than fresh produce, we were convinced. If you haven't seen it, I recommend checking it out. Their results are amazing!

Anyway, we bought ourselves a juicer and have been making about 2 batches of juice every day. The following recipe is one that I came up with yesterday and is possibly my favorite so far.

Ingredients:
1/4 of a pineapple
2 oranges
2 limes
2 granny smith apples
4 carrots
1/2 of a large cucumber
2 stalks of celery
1 inch piece of ginger
about 2 cups of chard (or spinach or kale)
about 1/2 cup of coconut water

makes at least 4 8oz. servings

It turned out tangy and sweet like a summer cocktail and it's full of vitamin C among other things. Sometimes our juice ends up ugly brown due to the mixture of bright reds, greens, purples, oranges, etc. While the color doesn't make it any less delicious or nutritious, this one turned out particularly pretty. Just a light yellow/orange. Beautiful! Unfortunately, as you may have noticed, I'm not good about getting photos of my recipes before we devour them.

Summer Veggie Chili

I came up with this on the fly the other day. I did a super quick trip to the grocery store and wanted to get something I could combine with fresh veggies for a quick dinner. I picked up a can of kidney beans in chili gravy and a can of chili-ready diced tomatoes. I ended up kinda/sorta following the recipe on the back of the Red Gold tomatoes can (Potato Chili).

Ingredients:

• 1 can chili ready kidney beans
• 1 can chili ready diced tomatoes
• 1 diced bell pepper (any color)
• 1 diced onion
• 1 small zucchini sliced into bite-sized pieces
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 1 can diced potatoes - drained
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• about 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tbsp chili powder
• about 1/2 cup water or broth

Directions:

• heat oil in a soup pot and saute onion until softened. Add peppers, zucchini and potatoes and saute until slightly browned. Add chili powder and garlic and stir to cover veggies.
• Stir in beans, tomatoes and salsa. Add a little water or broth if it seems too thick.
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until all veggies are as soft as you like them.

note: top with shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream or all of the above! It's also good served over rice or with cornbread.

Microwave Zucchini Recipes

There's a thread over on Ravelry discussing uses for zucchini which is very prevalent this time of year. I have made a lot of basic zucchini bread in the past (love it) but I was intrigued by these recipes, posted by other members. They are both dessert-type recipes and are microwaveable! That's right, no need to heat up your kitchen with the oven this sweltering-hot-time-of-the-year. I have not tried these myself yet but I plan to very soon. It seems too easy not to :)

Microwave Zucchini Crumble

• 2 2/3 cup peeled and diced zucchini ( one inch pieces) 
• 1/4 cup lemon juice 
• 3 tablespoons sugar 
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon 
• pinch nutmeg 
• 1 tablespoon flour

Topping

• 1/3 cup brown sugar 
• 1/3 cup old fashioned oats 
• 1/3 cup flour 
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

• Mix first five ingredients in a microwave safe casserole. Toss with the tablespoon of flour.
• Topping- mix first 3 ingredients together. Stir in oil, mix until crumbly. Sprinkle on top of zucchini mixture.
• Microwave for about 6 minutes or until the zucchini is tender and kinda looks like apple pie.

Microwave Zucchini bread

• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1/2 cup cooking oil 
• 1 tsp vanilla 
• 1 cup grated zucchini with peel
• 1 2/3 cup flour 
• 1 tsp cinnamon 
• 1/2 tsp baking soda 
• 1/2 tsp baking powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg 
• pinch cloves

Directions:

• Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add remaining ingredients,stir until moistened.
• Place in a greased 4 by 8 inch microwave safe loaf pan or a bunt pan.
• Microwave for about 5 minutes. Your cooking time may vary depending on your oven.

Kashi Pilaf

This isn't exactly a recipe but a recommendation. At my house we eat a lot of rice as we try to limit our wheat (and therefore, pasta) intake. Kashi makes many wonderful products including this 7 whole grain pilaf which is a mixture of whole oats, brown rice, buckwheat, sesame seeds, etc. I use it as an alternative to rice with stir-fry dishes or in soup but it can also be used as a hot breakfast with a little honey/sugar/maple syrup or in a cold salad like tabbouleh. It has a chewy/crunchy texture and I often add brown lentils to the mixture and cook it up in my rice cooker. It's full of fiber and protein and is always satisfying.

Red Beans and Rice

...the easiest way! Red beans and rice is pretty easy to begin with but I made it even easier using boxed and canned products. This can be prepared in 25 minutes with no worries about measuring or chopping or pre-soaking anything.

Ingredients:

• 1 box of Zatarain's Reduced Sodium Red Beans and Rice (because the regular stuff is full of MSG)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes with chilis
• 1/4 cup of dried TVP (optional)
• a bit of salt and pepper if needed
• 3 1/4 cups of water (as directed on rice box)
• 1 tbsp butter or margarine

Directions:

• Just follow the directions on the Zatarain's box but add the TVP in with the rice mixture.
• when about 3 - 5 minutes remain in cooking time stir in the can of tomatoes.

That's it! If you eat meat, this is good with ground beef or turkey, andouille sausage or even shrimp. If you don't, the TVP adds enough texture to fake it and add some extra protein. Serves 2 as a main entree.

Frozen Banana Cream

I've seen this idea going around the internet quite a bit lately so I gave it a try. It's kinda like ice cream but it's dairy free. It's yet another great way to use up over ripe bananas. And if you're like me, bananas are only perfect for eating for about a day and a half so they go "bad" quickly and often. So once they've passed their prime, peel, cut up into inch-long pieces and freeze them. If you're going to use them right away you can just freeze them on a cookie sheet, otherwise just pop them into a ziplock freezer bag and have them on hand for smoothies or banana ice cream!

Ingredients:

• 2 frozen bananas
• about 2 tablespoons of peanut butter (optional)

Directions:

• Put the bananas into your food processor or blender and blend until smooth. 
• Add the peanut butter and blend until it's mixed in. You may have to scrape down the sides once or twice. 
• If it seems too thick you can add a little milk (soy, almond, rice, whatever kind you like). 
• If it's too thin you can pop it into the freezer for a bit to let it set. 
• It will set up firmer than regular ice cream but if you let it sit on the counter for a few minutes it will soften.
• It's super delicious drizzled with a little chocolate syrup :)

There are lots of things you could add to this (instead of or in addition to peanut butter) to make it extra awesome: other frozen fruit, other nut butters, chocolate syrup or cocoa powder, honey, crumbled cookies or graham crackers...

Tuna Salad Wraps

Yea, this is a bit of a departure from vegetarian but I think I'll look into a vegetarian alternative in the future. I ate this for lunch pretty much every day last week. I made up a batch of the tuna salad at the beginning of the week and assembled the wrap in a matter of minutes each day. This is, of course, a very basic and easily customizable idea. I would normally put a chopped pickle or celery in my tuna salad for crunch but the "toppings" here take care of that.

Ingredients:

• 2 pouches or cans of tuna (1 can of mashed chickpeas may be a good vegetarian alternative, I'll get back to you on that)
• a few tablespoons of hummus
• 3 hard boiled eggs, chilled
• a bit of mayo or plain yogurt (just enough to reach desired consistency)
• a handful of chopped cilantro (or your fresh herb of choice)
• a small handful of chopped pecans or walnuts or sunflower seeds
• salt and pepper to taste
• various toppings for sandwich assembly, I like sliced black olives, sliced red peppers, baby spinach, feta cheese
• flat bread or big tortillas (I used Flat Out Bread)

Directions:

• peel and dice the eggs and mix together with tuna, hummus, mayo, cilantro, nuts, salt and pepper.
• Chill (it will keep in the fridge for a few days)
• Assemble your sandwich by placing your favorite toppings and the tuna salad in the middle of the wrap and roll it up. 

Lindy Loo has a well received vegan "mock tuna salad" recipe that seems worth trying if you don't do tuna :)

Frozen No-Bake Cookies

So these may not actually have any veggies in them but they are easy and vegetarian (and possibly vegan if you use the right chocolate.) They are surprisingly healthy though and everyone needs a chocolate fix now and then. I found the recipe at Oh She Glows and tweaked just a few details. I recommend checking out her blog thoroughly, she has tons of great vegan recipes!
I had some friends over for drinks and a movie this weekend and I whipped up a batch of these in about 5 minutes before they got to my house. I popped them in the freezer and they were ready to eat in an hour (well, we might have had to "test" them after 30 minutes.)

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup peanut butter chips
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 ripe bananas
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 tsp cocoa powder
• a small handful of sunflower seeds (but use any nuts or seeds you like)

Directions:

• Melt the chocolate and peanut butter chips in the microwave. Takes about 1.5 minutes but check every 30 seconds and stir to make sure you don't burn them.
• Stir in the vanilla, cocoa and mash the bananas into the chocolate.
• Stir in the oats and seeds.
• Drop onto a baking pan lined with parchment paper or (what I did) line a muffin tin with paper liners and fill each cup 1/4 to 1/3 full.
• Freeze for at least an hour and store them in the freezer for a frosty dessert.

This is a double batch so you should end up with 12 muffin cups worth.

Curry Tempeh Stir-Fry

This recipe involves some short cuts that make it very easy. I got the recipe from the back of a Coconut Curry Tempeh box, made a few alterations and also used a prepared curry sauce. This is sort of a landmark recipe for me because I typically hate mushrooms and onions but this recipe has both and I loved it!

Ingredients:

• 1 package of marinated tempeh
• about 16 stalks of asparagus
• about 8 baby carrots sliced into strips
• half a white onion, diced or julienned
• about 6 shitake mushrooms sliced thinly
• 1 package of Tasty Bite Good Korma Simmer Sauce or something similar

Directions:

• Steam asparagus in the microwave for 2.5 minutes, chop into 2 inch pieces and set aside
• Prepare tempeh according to box directions. Essentially heat some olive oil in a pan, brown the tempeh slices by sauteing for 2 minutes on each side. Set aside and keep warm.
• In the same pan, heat some more oil and saute the carrots, onion and mushrooms for 8 minutes or until soft. Add asparagus and saute for another minute or so.
• Pour sauce over veggies, add a little water and simmer for 5 minutes or until sauce thickens a bit.
• Stir together with the tempeh and serve over rice or asian noodles.
• Oh and I may have added a little salt, pepper and Major Grey mango chutney

Serves 2

Asparagus

Apparently it's the time of year for asparagus. I've been seeing it blogged about a lot lately so when I saw bunches of it at the grocery store a few days ago I couldn't help but pick some up. I know this might seem silly but I didn't know how to prepare it. So I googled it and this is the first thing that came up. Turns out asparagus is practically the easiest thing to prepare ever.
Trim off the bottoms, add a little water to a glass dish, cover and microwave for 2.5 minutes. Beyond that I just drained off the water, topped with a little butter and sprinkled with some Bragg's Organic Sprinkle Seasoning, which by the way is great on just about anything! It's a salt-free combo of dried herbs and spices with so much flavor you won't miss the salt. And no, they're not paying me to say that :)

Basic Stir-Fry

Perhaps the simplest base recipe ever is the stir-fry. This is more an outline than a recipe. It's great for improvising a meal with what you have on hand. It can be vegetarian or not depending on what protein you use. A wok is ideal but a big frying pan will work too.

Ingredients:

• cubed meat(chicken/beef/pork) or 1 package diced seitan/tempeh/extra firm tofu
• diced onion and/or garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• chopped veggies (carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, peppers, zucchini, sweet potatoes, etc.)
• handful chopped nuts or seeds
• spices/soy sauce/teriaki sauce/jerk sauce/etc.
• rice/pasta/quinoa/etc.

saute onion or garlic in olive oil. add meat or tofu and fry until cooked.  Add veggies, nuts and sauce or spices and stir fry until veggies are tender.  Serve over rice or pasta.

If you use meat you may not need as much oil.  If you use tofu, dry it first and press it between two plates to squeeze out any excess moisture.  Add a little salt while frying it and a sprinkle of brown sugar will make it a little crispy.  Tofu is "cooked" when it's slightly browned. If you use dry spices (rather than some kind of sauce) you might need a bit more oil or even a little water to keep everything moist enough. The more you make this the easier it will be to know what you need.

Caramelized Tofu and Brussels Sprouts

I used to hate tofu. Well, I used to think I hated tofu until I had some properly cooked. This recipe was one that turned me around. Now I kinda can't get enough tofu. I make this dish or a variation of it at least once a month. It's delicious!

The original recipe can be found over at 101 Cookbooks which is by far my favorite veggie cooking blog. Every time I make this it's a little different. I always use a whole block of extra firm tofu and usually serve it with rice. I like to experiment with different spices too like curry and cinnamon and red pepper. Therefore I've listed some of the ingredients as rough amounts because there's really no need to be super exact with this. If the tofu or sprouts stick to the pan, add more oil. Taste periodically for spice/salt level.



Ingredients:

• 1 - 16 ounce package of extra-firm tofu cut into cubes or strips
• sea salt
• olive oil
• minced garlic
• handful of chopped pecans
• light sprinkling of brown sugar
• handful of chopped cilantro
• 1/2 to 1 lb. of Brussels sprouts chopped into strips or quarters
• (additional spices as desired)

Cook the tofu strips in large hot skillet with a bit of salt and a splash of oil. Saute until slightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and pecans, and cook for another minute. Stir in sugar. Cook for another couple of minutes and sprinkle with other spices if desired. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Set aside.
In the same pan (no need to wash), add a touch more oil, another pinch of salt, and dial the heat up to medium-high. When the pan is nice and hot stir in the shredded brussels sprouts. Cook for 2 - 3 minutes, stirring a couple times (but not too often) until you get some golden bits, and the rest of the sprouts are bright and delicious. Sprinkle with spices and toss together with the tofu. Serve with rice or quinoa or couscous for a full satisfying meal.

Serves 2 - 3 as a main, 4 as a side

Homegrown Spinach-Basil Pesto

Ever since I started growing basil (quite possibly my favorite herb) I've wanted to make my own pesto. I didn't quite have enough basil at the time to make a full batch so I used half spinach/half basil. I also didn't have pine nuts so I experimented.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups fresh spinach
• 2 cups fresh basil
• 4 cloves garlic
• handful of raw nuts (cashews, walnuts, brasil nuts, pistachios, almonds)
• 1/2 cup or so grated parmesan cheese
• enough olive oil for desired consistency

Put spinach and basil into food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add garlic, nuts and cheese and mix until well blended. Pour in oil while processing until it looks like pesto.



Originally posted at Meiby the Pug last summer. This year I've planted lots of basil, a few different kinds even, so watch for more pesto recipes!

Black Bean Brownies

I discovered this idea a few months ago when my husband started a trial wheat-free/low-sugar diet. These brownies are surprisingly delicious and much healthier than your traditional brownies. They are similar to a souffle or a mousse since the added eggs create a fluffy texture. You will need a food processor or blender for this!

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 eggs
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil (or sub in natural applesauce to cut down on fat)
• 1/2 cup Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate & Cocoa (or 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa plus an extra 1/4 cup white sugar or other substitutions)
• 1/4 cup white sugar (adjust amount to your liking - also good with brown sugar)
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly grease an 8x8 or 9x9 baking pan.
Add all ingredients to your food processor (but reserve a few walnuts to sprinkle on top) and process until smooth.
Pour into baking pan and sprinkle reserved walnuts over the top.
Bake for about 30 minutes until edges start to pull away from the pan. Let cool completely before cutting.
These are actually best kept refrigerated and served chilled.

Added note: If you are looking for a sugar-free dessert, I've heard these work well with Splenda in place of the sugar. If you try it, let me know how it is.

Veggie Chili

This is another super easy chili recipe that requires very little prep. It's also customizable, just add or subtract veggies to include your favorites.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup TVP (soaked and drained, optional)
• 1/2 cup of frozen diced onion
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 cup dried red kidney beans (soaked overnight) or 1 can, drained
• 1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight) or 1 can, drained
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
• 1 can diced tomatoes with chilis with juice
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• about 6 baby carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup or so cauliflower florets
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• a squeeze of honey
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little olive oil
• 1 cup water or broth (or more if needed)

Saute onion, garlic and tvp in olive oil until browned. Stir in all seasonings then stir in everything else except tomatoes. Simmer stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until beans are soft (if using dried). Add tomatoes and simmer another 20 minutes or so. Add extra seasonings if needed. Serve with shredded cheese, fresh cilantro and/or sour cream.
Note: adding the tomatoes later allows the beans to soften faster. If you're using canned beans it's safe to just add them with everything else and you can reduce the cooking time.

Originally posted on Meiby the Pug

White Veggie Chili

This is one of my favorite winter crockpot recipes. There is no chopping, you just throw everything into the pot in the morning and it's done by dinner time. It's easy to adjust to your liking and is great for using up leftovers


Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried navy beans (soaked overnight) or 1 can white beans, drained
• 1 1/2 cups or so frozen sweet corn 
• 2 fresh or frozen hot peppers or canned chilis
• 1 cup leftover brown and wild rice
• 1/2 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup frozen diced onion
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 cups or so broth (or water + bouillon cube)
• 1 tsp butter
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
• juice from one lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
• a little plain yogurt or sour cream

Load everything but the sour cream into the crockpot and turn it on high for 4-5 hours or low for 7-8. Add the yogurt or sour cream at the end. A sprinkling of cheese and/or fresh herbs makes a nice garnish for this one.

Originally posted on Meiby the Pug

Intro

I've assembled this blog as a place to inspire me (and hopefully you too) to cook at home and to eat more veggies. It's not necessarily a vegan or vegetarian blog but it will certainly lean that way. I plan to post my favorite recipes that feature vegetables and I will also compile a list of links to other sites that have great recipes. I also hope to have guest posts and recipes so that we can all share some inspiring and delicious healthy meals. I will also occasionally post about gardening because growing your own veggies and herbs is one of the most rewarding and inspiring ways to maximize your intake of greens.

I love vegetarian cooking but sometimes struggle to come up with full meals that are satisfying enough to call dinner. I have to admit that I'm a lazy cook and I prefer one-pot, quick meals and I especially love dishes that can be prepared ahead of time. I couldn't live without my crockpot and rice cooker. Therefore, the kind of recipes I want to feature here are those that are not complicated, require few dishes, and can be assembled in half an hour or less. If you have a great recipe that might fit that description I would love to post it here or even just link to it so that we can have access to them all in one place. Just leave me a comment here or email me at amy@strandoverfist.com to add your recipe to Max Your Greens!