Stuffed Bell Peppers with quinoa and black beans

We have been wanting to try Quinoa and I came across this recipe for Quinoa with black beans.  I wasn't sure what to serve with it so we decided to use it as a stuffing for some bell peppers instead and it was a Super Big Hit!

Serves 4

1 t. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 c. quinoa
1 1/2 c. vegetable broth
1 t. gr. cumin
1/8 to 1/2 t. cayenne (we used a lot less to make it less spicy)
1 can diced tomatoes (15 oz)
1 can corn (15 oz)
1 can black beans (15 oz)
1/8 c. dried cilantro or 1/4 c. fresh cilantro
4 green or red bell peppers, cut tops off and clean out the insides
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375
Place peppers in a baking dish fill 1/4 of the way with water and cover with tin foil and cook for 20-25 min.  until tender.

Heat oil in a sauce pan on med heat.  Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent.  Add quinoa, and veg broth.  Season with cumin, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 min.  Remove lid turn heat to med and add corn, beans, cilantro and tomatoes and cook simmering for 5 min. 

Remove peppers from oven, drain water, and fill each pepper with quinoa and black bean filling.  Place back in baking pan and place in the oven for 5 minutes.  Serve.

Vegetarian Philly Cheese Steaks

Serves 4

4-6 T. Earth Balance Butter

2 very large portabello's, thinly sliced
Real Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1 whole white Onion, Halved And Sliced Thick
2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Sliced Into Rings
3-6 cloves Garlic, Minced
3/4  c.Sherry, cooking sherry or port wine.
2 T Worcestershire Sauce
2 dashes Tabasco (more To Taste)
4 whole Deli Rolls (the Crustier The Better)
8 slices Cheese (Provolone, Swiss, Pepper Jack or munster cheese)

Preparation Instructions

Slice portabello's and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Heat 4 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over med - high heat. Add onions, garlic and green peppers and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until relatively soft (but not flimsy.) Remove to a clean plate. Set aside.

Melt 2 add’l tablespoons butter to the skillet. Add sliced mushrooms and stir. Pour in sherry, then add Worcestershire and Tabasco. Cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, or until liquid has reduced by about a third.   Add vegetables, stirring to combine. Cook for just a few minutes to heat everything up, adding more sherry and Worcestershire (and Tabasco) as needed. Stir in 1 tablespoons butter at the end. Keep hot.

Toast halved deli rolls in plenty of butter until golden brown and crisp. Spoon veggie mixture on the lower half of the bun, then spoon one or two tablespoons of pan sauce over the meat (it will soak into the bun.) Drizzle a little sauce on the underside of the top bun, too, for extra flavor and moisture. Top with cheese and broil for a minute or two, until the cheese is melted.

Serve immediately.

Super Yummy Vegetarian meatloaf

2 cups water

1 t salt

1 c. lentils

Boil water and cook lentils until soft.  Approximately 25 min. 

1 white onion, diced

1 c. quick-cooking oat or 1 c. bread crumbs

3/4 c. grated cheese (no cheese sauce would work or use vegan cheese)

1 egg, beaten (egg replacer)

1/4 c. tomato sauce

1/4 c. BBQ sauce (with no corn syrup or frutose)
2 T. garlic, minced

1/2 c. BBQ sauce for topping

Remove lentils from stove top and add to blender.  Blend until smooth, adding small amounts of water to a (peanut butter like consistency).  In a bowl mix onions with oats/bread crumbs, grated cheese and garlic.  Add lentils to mix and stir well incorporating all ingredients.  In small bowl mix tomato sauce with BBQ sauce and egg.  Add to lentil mix and mix well. 

Grease a loaf pan/bread pan and pour lentil mix into pan.  Pat down top to make it smooth.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 min.  Top with 1/2 c. BBQ sauce and cook an additional 10 min. 

Let cool and serve.

35 days!

So it's been 35 days since we've changed our way of eating.  No more hamburgers, no more hot dogs :)

We've been vegetarian with a few meals that include fish, so technically we're pescatarian.  We are LOVING this new way of eating!  The only complaints I can say is that it's really hard to keep the fresh vegetables and fruit from going bad too quickly.  So It seems like I'm going to shopping more often. 

I love trying new dishes, especially ones with lots of flavor.  I have really been enjoying turning our older, favorites into more healthier vegetarian alternatives, and the surprising thing is that we, my family and even the kids have not missed the meat at all.

I can't wait to try more new and yummy recipes and continue to learn ways to feed my family healthy tasty meals.

Lemon Mizithra Pasta

1# spaghetti noodles, cooked al dente

4 Tablespoons of butter

2 Tablespoons Olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 c. sour cream

1 whole lemon, zested and juiced

dash of sea salt

Mizithra cheese, shredded

flat leaf parsley, chopped

lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375

On low heat in a saucepan melt butter, olive oil and garlic.  Cook until garlic is lightly browned. Turn off heat and add sour cream, lemon zest, lemon juice & salt.  Mix well.  In a large pan mix cooked noodles with lemon sauce, mix well.  Transfer to a baking pan and place in oven for 10 min, covered with tin foil.  Remove tin foil and cook 7 additional minutes.  Remove from oven top with chopped parsley and shredded mizithra cheese.  Serves 6

A Change for the better!

So we watched a documentary called Food, Inc.  on July 26th and it really changed the way we, as a family think about our food.  Granted we had been on our way to a healthier way of eating anyway, and this was just the nudge that we needed to cut out red meat and chicken completely. 

John and I have been feeling the effects of stress and getting older and in an effort to feel better and look younger, we have decided to continue with a workout plan and change our way of eating. 

So from here on out, the recipes that will be posted will be based on our new way of eating.  Mostly vegetarian but with fish occassionally.  We will not be eating chicken or red beef so no recipes will be found from here on out with these ingredients. 

I promise to still only post those recipes that my family truly loves, and hopefully your family will love them too!

Black bean Quesadilla

We have been on quest recently to find good healthy vegetarian foods that the kids will love too.  Today we came home from church and everyone requested quesadillas.  Regular quesadillas though not vegan are vegetarian, but the plain old cheese one's just didn't sound as good for me, plus how healthy is a flour tortilla with just a slab of cheese in the middle?  What's a mom to do? Come up with a healthy alternative, of course!
BLACK BEAN QUESADILLA

Makes: 6-8 quesadillas

2 cans of black beans, drained
1 handful of cilantro, chopped
3 T. sour cream
1 onion, chopped
1 can green chilis
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/2 pkg of taco seasoning, or use the taco seasoning mix found below
6-8 large flour tortillas
1 1/2- 2 c. grated mexican cheese
coconut oil

In a saucepan heat a little coconut to coat bottom of pan.  Saute onions & bell peppers until just softened (don't overcook because you'll still want a little bit of crunch), add black beans, sour cream, green chilis and taco seasoning, stir and heat until boiling.  Turn off heat and remove from stove top. 

Heat small amount of coconut oil in a frying pan, place 1 flour tortilla in pan and cook until just browned, then flip over, top 1/2 of the tortilla with 1/2 c. of black bean mixture and 1/4 c. cheese flip the other half over the tortilla to fold in half.  Cook until just browned, then flip over and brown the other side.  Cut into 3-4 triangular wedges and serve with sliced avocado.

Other ideas to use the black beans mix:

Taco filling

bean dip

(you could also puree it for the bean dip)

Enchilada filling

burrito filling

(add some tomatoes and lettuce, or not)

Taco salad topping

Vegan Chili

This is kind of a sweet chili, the kids and husband LOVED it!!

3/4 c. water
1 c. dehydrated TVP (you can sub this for 1# of cooked ground beef or turkey if like, however it would no longer be considered vegan)
1 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced or 1/2 - 1 c. of dehydrated onions, reconstituted
2 t. garlic, minced
1 large can of bushs baked beans (we used the Vegetarian style)
2 cans kidney beans
1 large or 2 small cans of tomato sauce
1 can Rotel diced tomatoes with chilies
1 pkt of chili seasoning (we used lowry's)
1/4 c. masterpiece bbq sauce.

Reconstitute TVP by boiling the water then add the tvp. Stir well, so it doesn't burn. Turn off burner. While the TVP sits, add 1 T. Olive Oil to a large sauce pan, when hot add onions and garlic. Cook until onions are translucent. Then add the Tvp, mix well to coat the TVP with onion mixture. Cook about 2 more minutes. Then add remaining ingredients. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Then serve. You can garnish with sour cream and cheese if you like.