Category: Vegetarian

Seitan Stir Fry with Cauliflower Rice

Asian, One pot meal, Vegetarian

I don’t know if a lot of you know this, but I used to be a vegetarian; a vegan even! 13 years of vegetarianism with 3 years of those being vegan, I learned to love all veggies, fruits, and different types of fake meats (but vegan cheese was not very good at all). It has been a long time since I have been a vegetarian, but I still eat vegan and vegetarian food a lot, and it has gotten increasing better over the years. I have recently discovered a new food box company called Purple Carrot, which is 100%vegan. I decided to give it a try to cook dinners and lunches for myself when the hubby is out of town and the girls are at practice, which is a lot.

The portion is for 2 people, so I get 6 meals instead of just 3. So far, I am really loving it. It can be expensive to buy a lot of vegetarian and vegan food, especially just for myself, and then some of the vegetables and fruit end up going bad. This is so much less wasteful, because they give you just enough for the recipe. I love that it comes with a little recipe book of all the recipes (6 recipes to choose from and you select 3). That way I can always go back and try the other recipes that I did not choose.

Ingredients-  seitan cut in to strips, cauliflower rice, snap, bok choy sugar snap peas, garlic, scallion, cornstarch, , sesame oil , tamari (soy sauce), rice vinegar , turbinado sugar , and sesame seeds. It was really easy to make and so good!

Directions-

  1. Crisp up the seitan in a a bit of olive oil. Take it out of the pan.
  2. Cook the cauliflower rice for about 4-5 minutes, stirring around a bit. Put in a bowl.
  3. Add in all the sauces and veggies (cut beans in half, chop bok choy and scallions) put in seitan and mix with the cornstarch. Cook until combines and starts to thicken up.
  4. Top the cauliflower rice with the veggies and seitan. Top with sesame seeds. YUM! Vegan take-out made at home!

 

Sweet Pepper and Heirloom Tomato Pasta

Pasta, Vegetarian

Hey guys! The second week of school is off to a pretty ok start 😉 Getting back in to a routine is a blessing and a curse. Miss my summer, but I am loving my new students and the girls love their teachers. The girls are also back in cheer, which means cheer practice 3 nights a week at different times and games every Saturday at different times and sometimes different parks.

Phew! A lot of times we just end up eating some sort of breakfast for dinner but occasionally I do make/semi-home make dinner. Tonight I stopped by the store and picked up a rotisserie chicken, some Hawaiian Bread, and a bagged Caesar salad. I roasted some potatoes in the oven while Katie was at practice in time to feed Becca before she went to practice. #rotisseriechickenforthewin

Last night, I wanted PASTA! I had some cherry tomatoes and baby sweet peppers from the farmers’ market I needed to use, so I sauteed them up with some finely minced garlic. Then I added a jar of marinara with some shriveled basil I found in my fridge. I added this all to some cooked Cavatappi and added a ton of Parmesan cheese. YUM!

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Teriyaki Stir Fried Tofu and Veggies with Quinoa

Asian, grains, Vegetarian

Hey guys! Another Monday, am I right? My last one before I have to go back to school, so I made it a good one. Slept late, made french toast, watched TV,  read with my girls, baked some hand pies (recipe soon), went to Pilates, and now I am writing this and drinking wine and eating my dinner.

Anyways, tonight while the girls were at practice, I made this yummy meal for myself. Pretty simple. Just cut up all of my veggies from the farmers’ market (red pepper, asparagus, baby eggplant, rainbow chard) and stir fried them in a bit of sesame oil and soy sauce.  I added some cooked tofu and quinoa that came in one of those steam fresh microwave bags.  So easy!

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Tofu Peanut Noodles

Asian, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Pasta, Vegetarian

This is one of my favorite noodle dishes in the summer. For when you feel like eating pasta, but you are tired of regular pasta salad.

Tofu Peanut Noodles

Ingredients
1 package of your favorite Asian Noodle or 1/2 package of Linguine- any long thick noodle will do
3 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp of ginger paste or 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 package cooked tofu or you could make yours…
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Directions

Cook the noodles according to the package directions. Normally I don’t drain my noodles, but if I am using Asian noodles of some sort, I always do.

Combine the sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger together in a large bowl. Whisk until well combined. The peanut butter should completely break down to create a smooth sauce. I have never tried crunchy peanut butter, but I think it would probably add more of a crunch.

Add the noodles to the bowl with the sauce until evening combined. Cool in fridge. Top with the Tofu (you could warm the tofu up if you like, but I like it cold. I would not mix the tofu, because it will break apart, but this is purely for looks. I mix mine after I serve myself some =)

Instead of tofu, you could add some chicken or just have the noodles plain. For a little heat, you can add in your favorite hot sauce! Top with some sesame seeds,scallions, or more peanuts if you have them!

Except for the honey, it is vegan. You could replace the honey with agave.

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