Breakfast for Dinner!

When it comes to breakfast, I'm a savory gal.  I quickly pass on pancakes, french toast, even cereal.  My taste buds crave salt so when it comes to making breakfast, I usually throw together some sort of grain and vegetable and top it on slice of whole grain toast.  When I entered my kitchen Sunday night to figure out something for dinner, I thought "Why not make some delicious breakfast food?"  So, I did!

I bought some fresh kale at the market on Sunday and quickly decided to use some of it up. I knew I wanted to top my creation with some egg, but decided to omit the yolk due to cholesterol reasons.

Here it is folks:

Sunday Night Breakfast for Dinner 

Ingredients

1 handful cleaned and chopped Kale

1/4 of a Red Onion, thinly sliced

1C Sweet Potato, peeled and cubed

1C Mushrooms, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1T Oil (I used coconut)

1 Egg (yolk discarded)

2 cups precooked Grains (I used Pearl Barley)

1/4C sliced Tomatoes (mine were mine heirloom)

2T Hummus (optional)

Method

-Precook your grain of choice or use some you already have on hand.

-Wrap diced sweet potatoes in a wet paper towel and soften in the microwave for quicker        cooking.

-Heat a skillet over medium high heat and add the oil to line the pan.

-Add all the vegetables minus the tomatoes.

-Cook until softened,

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Moved vegetables into the center of the pan and flatten into a circle.

-Crack the egg over top the vegetables and place a lid over the top.  

-Heat until the egg is cooked through.

-Spoon the grains onto a plate or bowl.

-Add vegetable/egg mixture over top of the grains.

-Layer the tomatoes on top of the egg.

-Add hummus on the side.

Enjoy!

Now talk about a colorful, delicious, healthy and filling Breakfast for Dinner!

Peace, Love, & Veggies!

Meatless Monday!

Let me just say, this recipe is out.of.this.world!  I stumbled across it when looking for dinner inspiration on "Meatless Monday".    In fact, there is a great website devoted just to this movement.  You can find it here.  I chose it because I had two ingredients in the refrigerator that I had been neglecting: eggplant and tempeh.  I was excited to find a recipe that included both, along with the fact that I pretty much had all the ingredients I needed on hand.  Heck yea!

The recipe below is directly from the Meatless Monday website.  I have included a link to the recipe contributor's blog so if you try it and like it, maybe you will find more ideas there :)

Here are the changes I made:

1- I did not have any mushrooms on hand so I just omitted them.

2- I only had 1 regular can of diced tomatoes (already mixed with oregano & basil) so I added more by chopping 1 fresh tomato then adding some of my favorite spaghetti sauce to made sure the sauce was the right consistency.

3-  I used whole wheat stone ground flour instead of the regular white flour.

4- I used regular spaghetti noodles because frankly, I'm sick of whole wheat noodles right now :)

5-  I used frozen spinach because I happened to have it in the freezer.  I'm not a huge fan of it and will definitely use fresh spinach the next time I make it.

6-  Because the recipe called for quite a bit of EVOO, I substituted low sodium vegetable broth when sautéing the vegetables and the spinach.

 7- I sprinkled it with nutritional yeast at the end because I wanted to make this a vegan version.  Nutritional yeast has a natural "cheesy" taste if you didn't know!

Adapted from Meatless Monday/Recipe submitted by Cook. Vegan. Lover.

Eggplant Tempeh Bolognese Napoleon

Celery, onion and mushrooms are sautéed with a white wine tomato sauce and tossed with tempeh for a meatless spin on an Italian classic. The tempeh Bolognese is stacked under sautéed spinach and crispy eggplant in this modern day Napoleon. This recipe comes to us from Lindsay of Cook. Vegan. Lover.

Serves 6

For the white wine tomato sauce:

• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper, to taste

For the tempeh Bolognese:

• 1 8oz package of tempeh, grated
• 2 carrots, diced finely
• 2 celery stalks, diced finely
• 8 ounces your favorite combination of mushrooms

For the sauteed spinach:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed
• or
• 10 ounces fresh spinach, torn bite size
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• salt and pepper

For the crispy eggplant:

• 1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup of flour
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

To complete the eggplant tempeh Bolognese Napoleon:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• or
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast*

*Found in health food stores.

To make the white wine tomato sauce:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Heat the olive oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion to the pot and sauté for 5-7 minutes, or until soft.  Stir in the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds more, or until the garlic begins to become fragrant.

Add the Italian seasoning and white wine and cook 3 more minutes, or until all ingredients are well incorporated and bubbling. Add the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper to taste.

My Bolognese simmering

To make the tempeh Bolognese:

Toss the grated tempeh with the carrots, celery and mushrooms in a medium bowl. Stir the tempeh veggie mixture into the white wine tomato sauce. Place the tomato sauce tempeh mixture in an oven-proof casserole dish.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.

To make the sautéed spinach:

Place the garlic and olive oil into a cold pan. Heat for 2-4 minutes, or until the garlic is warmed.

Add the spinach to the pan and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss together until the spinach is warmed through and well coated in the spices.

Sautéing my eggplant

To make the crispy eggplant and pasta:

Toss the eggplant with 1 tablespoon of the salt, place in a colander and let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse the eggplant and drain to remove the eggplant’s bitterness.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook the pasta according to package directions.

Mix the flour together with 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.

Pat the eggplant dry with a towel. Dredge the eggplant slices in the flour mixture to coat.

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Cook the eggplant for about 2-4 minutes per side, or until crispy. Place on a bed of paper towels to rest.

To complete the eggplant tempeh Bolognese Napoleon:

Serve the spaghetti into equal portions, top with Bolognese, then spinach and lastly the crispy eggplant. Sprinkle each portion with equal amounts parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast and enjoy.

TaDa!  So amazing!

So, speaking of Meatless Monday, do any of you ever try it?  Even if you're not 100% vegetarian, you should give it a go once a week for your health.  Wo knows, you may end up learning about a new ingredient or a new cooking technique that you love!
Please share!
Peace, Love, & Veggies

Spring Break in Food

Spring Break... how I love thee!

My husband and I have had the most laid back spring break to date!  We have had no real set plans and have been taking things day by day.  And when I say that, I mean I've been eating like a maniac, trying all the restaurants I've A- been missing out on or B- oldies I haven't been to in a while.  In the middle of all this, I've been making some yummy breakfasts to start the days off.

We first hit up a Vegetarian restaurant down in Chandler, AZ that I stumbled upon while reading another blog.  It's called the Pomegranate Cafe and they are a veg restaurant but meals can be made vegan or gluten free as well.  I was quietly hoping that I wouldn't like the place because it's pretty far from my house but you can guess how that went!  I'll be back sooner than later I'm sure!  Here's what we had:

RAW Arizona Roll (gf) 
nori seaweed, almond spread, avocado & seasonal veggies
Served with sweet chile sauce & orange miso slaw with sunflower sprouts.

Southwestern Mac'n Cheese
quinoa macaroni, house jalapeño cheese sauce, seasonal veggies & cornbread


The food was really tasty!  I chose the rolls because I wasn't too hungry at the time and I was looking for something light and refreshing.  These definitely hit the mark!  My husband ordered the Mac & Cheese in which he didn't at first notice that he was eating a vegan cheese sauce.  When I told him he said he didn't care because it was great!  He looooved the chunky cornbread as well!


Now when it comes to breakfast, I'm a savory gal.  I've been slowly cutting back on my egg intake because of cholesterol and other reasons.  Instead I've been trying to get my good fat in at breakfast time by using a little avocado instead!

Two slices of good whole grain bread, smeared with 1/2T  hummus & topped with 1/3 smashed avocado, 1/2 chopped and seeded tomato, 1 clove minced garlic, 1T. minced red onion and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Top with sea salt and pepper.

1 small chopped purple potato, diced yellow squash, sliced red onion, 4 chopped asparagus spears, broccoli florets all sauteed together with EVOO and S&P.  Serve with a side of whole grain toast, smeared with avocado and topped with fresh diced tomatoes, and S&P.

I made many other things this week but forgot to keep track of them.  I hate to admit it but I ate and drank way more than I should have this week.  I will be getting back on track, however... starting tomorrow of course!


Hope everyone had a wonderful week!


What do you like to make for breakfast?


Peace, Love, & Veggies

Farmer's Market Love

It's spring break baby!!!  The perks of being a teacher... you have spring break forever!  My husband and I started our first day of freedom with  a yummy breakfast at First Watch then headed out to my favorite Farmer's Market here in Phoenix, Roadrunner Park Market.  I have finally made some room in the refridgerator for some new and beautiful produce and it was a great way to start the day!

Unless I'm following a recipe, I tend to throw things together and make a 1 bowl meal.  I prefer to mix things together anyways so I always love whatever I end up making.  

Today I used some fresh vegetables from my market trip and made a roasted vegetable salad with BBQ'd tofu.  It was delightful!

Roasted Veg Salad with Crispy BBQ'd Tofu

Ingredients

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3 inch matchsticks

4 brussels sprouts, quartered

1 medium beet, peeled and cubed into bite-sized pieces

6 skinny asparagus, trimmed and cut into2 inch pieces

3 cloves garlic, sliced

1 handful washed and torn green lettuce leaves

1/4 package extra firm tofu, pressed, and sliced into pieces

BBQ sauce of your choice

1/2 lemon, juiced

EVOO

S&P

Directions

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

-Wash, cut, and prepare the vegetables from carrots down to garlic.  Toss in a bowl and drizzle with some EVOO to lightly coat.  Sprinkle with S&P.

-Spread evenly on the baking sheet.  Roast for 10-15 minutes.

-Meanwhile, prepare the tofu. ***I have learned that freezing packaged tofu immediately after buying it then thawing it in the fridge lends itself better to a hearty texture, along with allowing it to better absorb marinades and sauces***

-Heat a skillet over medium heat and lightly line with EVOO.  When the pan is warmed, add the tofu and fry until crisp, flipping when necessary.

-When the tofu is crisp, drizzle with the BBQ sauce (enough to lightly coat the pieces).  Cook for 2 more minutes, then remove from heat.

-Place washed and torn lettuce leave in a bowl.

-Top with roasted vegetables then the tofu.

-Use the juice of 1/2 of a lemon to drizzle on top.

-Sprinkle with S&P.

Veggies after roasting

Tofu with BBQ sauce

Frying tofu

The Final Product!

Roasting is my favorite way to prepare vegetables.  They sweeten up, especially beets and carrots.  If you've never tried it, I highly suggest you do because you're missing out fool!!!

Earlier this week, I put my Pinterest board to good use!  You can follow my Good Veggie Eating board here!  I found an amazing looking recipe for black bean burgers with an avocado cream sauce and corn relish that I just had to try!It's from a website called Pennies on a Platter.  You can view the website and recipe here

I will definitely be making this recipe again but I will most likely change the burgers themselves.  It called for using a food processor and I found that it made the burgers kind of mushy in the middle.  I also had to add far more panko bread crumbs than the recipe called for.  The avocado cream sauce was INCREDIBLE but I am looking into "veganizing" it.  I also refused to add the jalapeno to the corn relish because I continued to burn myself for 3 consecutive days after cutting a jalapeno once!!!

Here are my photos:

Frying the bean burgers

I forgot to mention that I
made some homemade
Spanish Rice to go with!

Corn Relish

Yum!

On another note, I learned earlier this week that I, somehow, have high cholesterol.  I laughed in my doctor's face when she told me the news.  I have heart disease and high cholesterol in my family so I know it has got to be a genetic thing.  I rarely eat animal products and have cut waaaaay back on cheese, and I never drink milk and use soy or almond milk as a replacement. I also don't eat much in the terms of eggs, so I am pretty much baffled.  I have decided that I will be definitely cutting back my dairy and egg intake as a result.  My friends laugh that I will be Vegan before they know it, and maybe they're right!

Has anyone dealt with high cholesterol?.  What did you do other than take pills?  I'd love to know :)

Have a great weekend my friends.  Enjoy yourselves and your food!

Peace, Love, & Veggies