I very rarely step outside the basic tomato sauce box when it comes to pasta but this recipe’s got me thinking I should try it a little more often. I used Two Buck Chuck Cabernet from Trader Joe’s to make this red wine sauce and it was super tasty and kind of delightfully different.

You can serve this over nearly any kind of pasta or rice. I used brown rice pasta and it was delish!

Vegan Chicken Cacciatore
Recipe courtesy of Health.com

Ingredients

2 tsp olive oil
4 pieces Gardein Chick’n Scallopini
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 small yellow or green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
2 cups sliced crimini mushrooms
1/2 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups tomato basil pasta sauce
2 tbs chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions

• Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat
• Add Chick’n and sprinkle 1/2 tsp salt and pepper over chick’n
• Cook about 2 min. per side, transfer to a plate and set aside
• Combine bell pepper and mushrooms in the skillet
• Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, cook 4 min., stirring occasionally
• Add wine, cook 2 min.
• Stir in tomato sauce, heat through
• Return Chick’n to skillet, reduce heat to simmer, turning once about 4 min.
• Top with parsley and serve

Yield: Serves 4

I found this a few weeks ago from a blog that’s been burning up Pinterest of late, Skinnytaste. It’s really great when you need something yummy, quick and simple. Beef it up with Gardein Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers for dinner or have it solo for lunch. Either way, it’s pretty darn good!

Vegan Fiesta Lime Rice
Recipe courtesy of Skinnytaste

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups cooked long grain rice (I prefer brown)
3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and heated
3/4 cup frozen corn, heated
1 large tomato, diced
1 large scallion, diced fine
2-4 tbs chopped cilantro, to taste
1 tbs fresh squeezed lime juice
salt to taste

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine all ingredients
• Toss and serve

Yield: Serves 4

Admittedly, taco salad is one of those things you don’t really need a recipe for. If you want to make it vegan and healthy-ish though, it might just come in handy.

This is my variation on Isa Chandra‘s Big Fat Taco Salad from Appetite for Reduction. As usual, I fattened it up just a hair but I didn’t monkey with what I think was one of the most important parts (and what makes it possible for you to eat this without it being covered in cheese and/or sour cream), her fresh tomato salsa dressing. That stuff is aces.

Tinker as necessary and enjoy!

Vegan Taco Salad
Recipe courtesy of Appetite for Reduction

Salad Ingredients

4 cups shredded romaine lettuce
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
4 oz baked tortilla chips
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
6 0z vegan Chorizo sausage
1/2 cup diced red onion

1 cup Guacamole (fresh or store bought)

Dressing Ingredients

1 lb tomatoes (~3 average size), diced small
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs red wine vinegar
2 tsp cayenne hot sauce
freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp salt

Salad Directions

• Add a small amount of oil to a skillet and cook Chorizo over medium-high heat for about 2 min.
• Layer salad in four big bowls: lettuce, beans, salsa, Chorizo, chips, onion, guac and cilantro

Dressing Directions

• Place diced tomatoes immediately in a mixing bowl so that not much liquid escapes on your cutting board
• Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and use your hands to mash everything up well
• Let sit for 10 minutes or so to let flavors meld (while you prepare and arrange the salad works well)
• Chill remaining dressing in a tightly sealed container for up to 5 days

Yield: Serves 4

If you don’t like peanut butter cups, I don’t get you.

This recipe is courtesy of The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverstone and she offers them up as a delicious alternative to good old fashioned (non-vegan) Reese’s. They’re definitely yummy but be warned: they will not be kind to your waistline (350+ cals a pop!). If you whip up a batch of these, share the love!

Vegan Peanut Butter Cups
Recipe courtesy of The Kind Diet

Ingredients

1/2 cup Earth Balance
3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter (unsweetened/unsalted)
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (~10 graham cracker squares)
1/4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener
1 cup vegan, semi-sweet chocolate chips*
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup chopped peanuts, pecans or almonds

*I think these could use a least another 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and 1/8 cup of milk. Just my 2 cents.

Note: I read somewhere that adding some rice crispies to the peanut butter mixture makes for a yummy variation here. Just an idea.

Directions

• Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners, set aside
• Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat
• Stir in peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs and maple sugar and mix well
• Remove mixture from heat and evenly divide among the muffin cups (about 2 tbs per cup)*
• Combine the chocolate and milk in another small pan
• Stir over medium heat until the chocolate has melted
• Spoon the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture
• Top with chopped nuts and place in fridge to set at least 2 hrs before serving

*I’ve made these twice now and I firmly believe that it would be best to place these in the fridge for 15-30 min. before melting and applying the chocolate. When the pb mixture is still very warm, it’s really hard to get the chocolate to spread evenly over the top rather than pool down into the center.

Yield: 1 dozen

If you’re anything like me or my husband, you’re probably thinking something like “Cauliflower? Meh.” And I wouldn’t blame you. However, please don’t let that stop you from trying this recipe. This stuff is so good I was seriously toying with the idea of titling this post something lame like “CaulifWOWer.”

I made this as a side but I’m tellin’ you what, the next time my husband is out of town I’m making this for dinner. Only this. It’s seriously so good it could easily stand alone ala famed comfort foods like mac and cheese or beans and rice.

Make. this. tonight.

Vegan Roasted Garlic-Parmesan Cauliflower
Recipe courtesy of ourbestbites.com

Ingredients

3 tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 head cauliflower
kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 tbs vegan Parmesan cheese

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Place olive oil and garlic in a small bowl or coffee cup and heat in the microwave for ~20 sec. set aside
• Remove stem and leaves from cauliflower and trim into large florets. Slice each floret into ~ 1/4 in slices and place on a foil lined baking sheet
• Drizzle with oil and garlic mixture and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper
• Use hands to toss to coat (add more olive oil if you need to)
• Bake 15 min. and then toss w/spatula
• Bake 10 min. and then toss w/parmesan
• Bake another 5 min. remove from oven and serve

Yield: Serves 3-4

I’m on a lemon kick this week!

I’m also still on the Pinterest train. Finding yummy looking recipes to veganize has turned out to be kind of a fun little project on that site. Anyway, we had this for dinner last night and it was quite good. Also quick and easy. Two thumbs up on both counts!

Vegan Chick’n & Lemon Orzo
Recipe inspired by Cookinghealthyforme.com

Ingredients

2-3 Gardein Chick’n Scallopini pieces
Olive oil

1 1/2 cup uncooked whole wheat orzo pasta
1/2 cup vegan sour cream
1/4 cup vegan Parmesan cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one half lemon
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, cut in half
5-8 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
2-3 lemon wedges

Directions

• Bring water for orzo to a boil and cook according to package directions
• Meanwhile, in a medium size bowl, mix together sour cream, Parmesan, garlic, olive oil, salt and lemon zest. Set aside
• Cook Gardein Chick’n breasts according to package directions while pasta finishes cooking
• When orzo is finished, drain and put back in the same pot it was cooked in. Add sour cream mixture, tomatoes and basil and mix to combine
• Place each piece of Chick’n over a bed of pasta, squeeze a lemon wedge over the entire dish and serve

Yield: Serves 2-3

This was what we had for dinner last night and it was goooood.

This recipe marks the first time I’ve actually made something I pulled from Pinterest. The original wasn’t vegan, but as you know, Gardein makes that process laughably easy.

Also worth noting: the original recipe calls for ciabatta rolls. I couldn’t find any, so I went with classic French bread, which was very good, but I think this would be even better on ciabatta – especially since the Gardein Chick’n breasts are thinner than a typical chicken breast.

Vegan Bruschetta Chick’n Sandwich
Recipe inspired by Picky Palate

Ingredients

4 pieces Gardein Chick’n Scallopini
Pinch of salt
1/8 cup balsamic vinegar
1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced
8 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
pinch of salt
1 tbs balsamic vinegar

Daiya Mozzarella style shreds
4 ciabatta rolls, or other bread of choice

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine tomatoes, basil, garlic, salt and balsamic
• Toss gently to combine. Set aside
• Preheat a grill pan over medium heat and spray with cooking spray
• Combine balsamic and olive oil in a bowl
• Place chick’n on grill, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and brush top sides with balsamic mixture
• Cook 2 min. then flip chick’n, sprinkle each with a pinch of salt and brush with balsamic mixture
• Cook 2 min and remove from heat
• Place cheese on the bottom pieces of ciabatta then layer with chick’n and spoonfuls of  bruschetta
• Top with another layer of cheese and upper pieces of bread
• Spray the same grill (on medium heat) with additional cooking spray and grill both sides of sandwiches until cheese melts and bread toasts

Yield: Serves 4

Hey Friends, I’m alive!

Sorry about the unannounced hiatus. Things got busy, yadda yadda, etc.

Anywho, I’m back and I come bearing many yummy new recipes. I got a new cookbook for Christmas, Appetite for Reduction,  and I’ve been quietly pounding away at it over the past few weeks. AFR is from the fabulous Isa Chandra Moskowitz, author of the fantastic PPK blog and many wildly popular vegan cookbooks, including the holy grail: Veganomicon.

As you can probably deduce from the title, AFR focuses on lean, healthy and quick vegan cooking. I’ve made several drool-worthy things from it so far, including this salad. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of bean sprouts. However, I am not a fan of sprouts, as I think they taste of dirt. I replaced them with sliced mushrooms. Mushrooms lend a similarly “earthy” flavor sans hint of funky potting soil. Feel free to do it your own way.

Vegan Pad Thai Salad
Recipe courtesy of Appetite for Reduction

Ingredients

8 cups chopped romaine lettuce
4 cups sliced mushrooms (or bean sprouts, if you insist)
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1 medium carrot, peeled and grated
1 recipe Peanut-Lime Dragon Dressing (recipe below)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro
Lime wedges as garnish

Directions

• In a large mixing bowl, toss lettuce, mushrooms, red onion and carrot
• Add dressing and toss to coat
• Distribute salad among four bowls, garnish with roasted peanuts and cilantro and serve with lime wedges

Dressing Ingredients

1/4 cup roasted peanuts*
2 tbs chopped shallot
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup water
2 tbs agave nectar
2 tbs shoyu/soy sauce
1 tsp Sriracha

*Note: The next time I make this I will definitely replace half the peanuts with 2 tbs of natural peanut butter (in the first step, below). This dressing is awesome, but it doesn’t have anything in it to make it adhere to the salad. I think peanut butter would accomplish that quite nicely without adding too much extra calories and fat.

Dressing Directions

• Pulse 2 tbs of the peanuts (peanut butter!) and the shallot in a food processor, just to chop everything up well
• Add the lime juice, water, agave, shoyu and sriracha and blend until very smooth
• Add remaining 2 tbs of peanuts and pulse for a bit, just to chop them up small

Yield: Serves 4

Obviously, this meal is a little outside the seasonal boundaries (at least here in the Midwest). However, I like to sprinkle off-season recipes like this throughout the year to mix things up a bit and remind me of cozy winter nights in the searing heat of July or sunny summer days on a chilly December evening.

No matter when you serve it up, this makes for a yummy dinner.

Seared Chick’n with Avocado
Recipe inspired by Health.com

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsp blackened seasoning
4 pieces Gardein Chick’n Scallopini, partially thawed
3 tsp olive oil, divided
1 diced peeled avocado
2 tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbs fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp salt, divided
1 lime, cut into fourths
1 cup Israeli couscous
2 – 2 1/2 cups water

Directions

• Heat 2 tsp oil in a large skillet and add dry couscous
• Stir for a few minutes until each pearl is coated and lightly toasted
• Add 1/2 tsp salt and 2 cups of water and let simmer, stirring frequently until the couscous absorbs the liquid
• When all liquid is absorbed, try a pearl to see if it is cooked through, add more water as necessary
• Meanwhile, sprinkle seasoning on both sides of chick’n
• Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat
• Add chick’n to pan; cook 1 min. or until seared
• Reduce heat to medium; cook 2-3 min on each side or until lightly browned
• Combine avocado, cilantro, pepper, lime juice and salt in a medium bowl
• Place each piece of chick’n on bed of couscous. Scoop avocado mixture over each serving, squeeze one-fourth lime over entire dish and serve

Yield: Serves 4

I’m not much of a drinker but my love for champagne runs deep. So when I saw this recipe while looking for holiday punch ideas for last week’s party, I was sold immediately!

While it was a little potent for my taste (which is easily fixable by adding less rum), it was still super delicious and SO pretty – perfect for a holiday party.

Pomegranate Champagne Punch
Recipe courtesy of Epicurious

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
2 750 ml bottles chilled brut Champagne
1 1/2 cups white rum
1 1/4 cups pomegranate juice
1 large lemon, thinly sliced
Pomegranate seeds
Fresh mint leaves
1 ice block*

*I actually did something kind of interesting here. An ice block isn’t very pretty and since I was using a jar instead of a punch bowl, it wouldn’t fit anyway. Instead of just adding ice cubes (also not pretty), I froze water in jumbo muffin cups. It worked perfectly! If you’re using a punch bowl, you could use one of those pretty ice molds but this method would work there too.

Directions

• Bring 1/2 cup water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring until sugar dissolves
• Simmer 5 minutes. Cool syrup completely
• Combine Champagne, rum and pomegranate juice in bowl or jar
• Add enough syrup to sweeten to taste
• Mix in lemon slices, pomegranate seeds and mint leaves
• Add ice block to bowl and serve

Yield: Serves 12