My newest favorite thing is putting a bed of fresh spinach down before noodles and sauce on spaghetti night. The spinach slowly wilts within the bowl as you’re eating it.

In a large pot bring some salted water to a boil. Add your noodles and cook according to the boxes instructions (or just get yourself a noodle tester like I have).

I didn’t make the sauce completely by myself this time around. I started by cutting some long, thin strands of onions. I cooked them in a sauce pan on medium heat with some extra virgin olive oil and some garlic that I pressed. Once they cooked for about 5 minutes, I added some organic tomato basil sauce and some crushed red pepper flakes. Let this simmer for about 10-15 minutes for the flavors to combine and so the sauce heats through.

I cook my broccoli in a small sauce pan, covered, first on high for 3 minutes and then turn the heat off completely and let cook for another 3 minutes (still covered). Remember, cooking veggies in the microwave removes 90% of their nutrients!! Always cook them on a stove top.

So when all is said and done, grab your pasta dish and start layering! First the bed of spinach, then the noodles, then the sauce and then the broccoli. I finish with some Veggie Parmesan cheese, some more crushed red pepper flakes and a little oregano.

Delicious!

On Friday my friend Kerry had some people over for her birthday.  Along with probably the best present ever, I brought black bean dip.

This was a recipe I came up with off the top of my head with whatever I had in my cabinets and fridge.  Its a simple recipe that is really, really good.

Take 2 cups of diced onions and a clove of garlic and saute them in a pan with some extra virgin olive oil.  Add 2 tablespoons chili powder, a dash of salt and 1 tablespoon cumin to the saute and cook for about 10 minutes and then take it off the heat completely.

Rinse and drain 1 can of black beans and put them in your food processor.  To the beans, add the onion mixture, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, 1 tablespoon of water and 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Blend until smooth.

For some spice, saute some chopped jalapenos with the onions.
There is no photo to go along with this post because its not the most photographic dip (as you can imagine).  If i wasnt packing it up to take somewhere else, I suppose I could have taken a nice presentation photo.  Theres always next time….

It’s been a very long and busy week so the cooking has been slacking. Tonight I got back in the swing of things with some breakfast tacos!

I scrambled some eggs, Morningstar Farms sausage crumbles, diced onion, red pepper and green pepper together in a pan. Once it was cooked, I put it on top of some whole wheat tortillas with spinach, tomatoes, Veggie Shreds cheese, smoked Tabasco and some ketchup.

Delicious!!

After our ‘freestyle dinner’ this evening, Loren and I wanted some dessert! I grabbed my Vegan Baking cookbook and got to work on a plan!

I borrowed the peanut butter cookie recipe from the book but added 2 special ingredients of my own: almond extract and chocolate shavings. Substitute the 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract to 1/4 tablespoon vanilla and 3/4 tablespoon almond extract. Add the chocolate shavings with your last bit of flour and mix with a spoon until blended.

I chose natural crunchy peanut butter for my cookies. In my household, we love the crunch.

Heres a new twist to the Rustillo Chicken Sandwich.

I cooked some Morningstar Farms buffalo ‘wings’ in the microwave for about 2 minutes.  While they were cooking I cut a large whole wheat pita in half and filled it with spinach, some veggie cheese and buffalo sauce.  Once the chicken was done I added to the pita.

Delicious! I took a bite before taking the pic. I couldn’t help it.

I say almost vegan because I use Veggie Shreds cheddar cheese in this recipe.

One of my all time favorite foods is mac n cheese.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t really work well with my lifestyle; I don’t eat big doses of dairy and I only eat whole wheat noodles.  Making your own mac and cheese at home is a good idea because you can control how much and what kinds of butter, cheese, noodles and milk are going into it.

In a large pot bring some salted water to a boil.  Cook the noodles al dente (soft but firm to the bite). Once the noodles are done, drain them and put them right back into the pot.  Add some vegan butter (your call), 1 1/2 cups soy milk and about 2 1/2 – 3 cups of the cheese.  Give the pot some medium heat to melt the cheese. You may want to add some more soy milk, it’s up to you.

In a separate pan I sauteed some diced onions until translucent. Add these when you add the milk, cheese and butter.

Season with salt, pepper and cayenne.

Do you sometimes get in the mood for some fried rice? I do because it’s delicious! I try not to eat a lot of fried or greasy foods so I use quinoa in my ‘fried’ rice.

In a pot mix 1 cup of water for every 1/2 cup of quinoa you use. Careful, these little boogers puff up and a little goes a long way. Once it has reached a rapid boil for 5 minutes, cover it and take it completely off the heat for 15 minutes. Quinoa cooks like rice. You don’t want to uncover it and stir it or mess with it at all until the 15 minutes has passed. Cooking the quinoa this way instead of leaving it on simmer is simply an energy saving method. You could turn the heat down to a simmer and cover the pot once it reaches boiling point if you’d like.

I cooked onion, green pepper, red pepper, broccoli, carrots, peas and tempeh with some extra virgin olive oil and a couple dashes of soy sauce. Cook them depending on how you like the veggies…I like them with a little crunch. Keep your eye on them until they’re your desired texture.

In a separate pan I cooked some egg whites, then chopped them up ad added it to the pan with the veggies.

Once the quinoa was done I added it as well along with some more soy sauce, salt and red pepper.

this post has been edited and is now Kimbro friendly.

Morningstar Farms chik’n patties make good sandwiches but they also make good salads!

I started the salad with a bowl of spinach. To it I added onion, green pepper, broccoli, carrots and croutons.

I cooked the patty in the microwave to save time. If I’m making a sandwich I’ll cook it in the oven because it gets crispier that way.

This evening we had brunch for dinner…brinner!  To go along with our pancake sandwiches we enjoyed some mimosas….I am currently enjoying another one.

Loren cooked some whole grain pancakes, I cooked some egg whites and Morningstar Farms sausage patties. Create your sandwich using two pancakes as the bread. To my egg whites and sausage I added veggie cheese and spinach.

For lunch today I made vegan curry tofu salad. I saw something similar at Whole Foods one day and just had to recreate it.

I cooked cubed tofu in my grill pan with some oil, curry powder, salt and pepper. In a medium size bowl I combined diced green pepper and onion, chives, sliced carrots, rasins, sliced almonds, curry powder, vegan mayo, salt and pepper.

Once the tofu is done cooking add it to the bowl and mix. I also added some cayenne pepper to up the heat.

Delicious!