Quinoa and Carrot Salad with Spicy Red Pepper Sauce

MAKES: 2 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 c quinoa, cooked
- 1 large carrot, Julianned using a mandoline
- 1 c mixed greens

Quick and Thick Balsamic Dressing:
- 1 T balsamic vinegar
- 1.5 T olive oil
- 1 T honey
- pinch of salt

For Red Pepper Sauce:
- 3 red peppers
- 1 T olive oil
- 1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 small onion, diced
- 1/4 c vegetable broth
- 1/2 t salt
- a pinch of rosemary & thyme
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- fresh black pepper



DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium pot, cook quinoa according to package. Set aside
2) While quinoa is cooking wash peppers and place them in a prepared baking dish. Roast for 25 minutes, then turn each pepper over and roast for another 10-20 minutes. Check them after 10 mins to see if they're softened with some blackened skin.
3) Remove peppers from the oven, cover with foil and set aside for about 15 minutes. Letting the peppers steam will help the skins separate.
4) Dice onion and crush garlic and place in a saute pan with 1 T olive oil over med-high heat. Saute until onion begins to caramelize, about 10 minutes. While onions are cooking, begin removing the skins of the peppers using a fork, scoop out seeds and discard stems. Chop the roasted peppers and add them to the caramelized onions. Add a splash of water and cook another 3-5 minutes.
5) Pour onion/pepper mixture into a blender or food processor and puree the vegetables. Add the salt, rosemary, thyme and cayenne and pulse a few more times.
6) In a small bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the balsamic dressing. Set aside.
6) Spoon half of the quinoa into a bowl, top with a couple spoon fulls of the red pepper puree, top with mixed greens, carrots, then drizzle with the balsamic dressing.

You will have a good bit of red pepper puree left, which I love having on hand! I'll use the leftover tomorrow for my veggie lasagna rolls. You can use it as pizza sauce, a topping for veggies, and so much more...

Enjoy!

Wintery Roasted Root Veggie Soup

This soup is so simple, so delicious, and so warming. I got
MAKES: 6 Servings


INGREDIENTS:
- 1/2 medium butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 3 medium to large carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 leeks, using only the light green and white parts, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
- Olive oil, enough to coat the vegetables
- Salt & Pepper to taste
- Chile powder
- 7 cups vegetable stock
- 1 bay leaf



DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil.
2) Combine all the chopped and peeled veggies into a large bowl. Add the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat. Pour veggies onto the baking sheet, scraping out the remaining olive oil and seasonings and drizzling over the veggies. Lightly sprinkle the veggies with chile powder. Use as much or as little as you want.
3) Place tray in the oven and roast for 30-40 mins. Check the veggies around 30 mins to be sure they aren't burning. At this time, fill a large pot with 7 cups of vegetable stock and one bay leaf over med-high heat.
4) Once the veggies has finished roasting, remove from the oven and place in a blender in small batches, carefully pouring the pureed portions into the large pot of vegetable stock. Once all the veggies have been pureed and placed in the pot with stock, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and let simmer for 15-20 mins. Remove from heat and serve!

Comforting Homestyle Meatless "Meat Loaf"

MAKES: 6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- 1 small yellow onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2-4 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 c water
- 1 c textured vegetable protein
- 3-5 sun dried tomatoes
- 1 c organic tofu, liquid squeezed from tofu using paper towels
- 1/2 c pecans
- 3 T hemp seeds
- 1/2 c oat bran
- 1/4 c nutritional yeast
- 1 T italian seasoning
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 c parsley, minced
- Just under 1/4 cup organic tomato ketchup
- 1 T mustard
- 1 T soy sauce
- salt and pepper to taste

The Sauce:
- 1/4 c ketchup
- 1/4 c A1 steak sauce
- 2 T vean Worcestershire sauce
- 1 T brown sugar

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large saute pan, heat 1-2 T olive oil and the garlic. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Place cooked onions and garlic into a large bowl and set aside.
2) In a separate small pot, boil the water and add the TVP. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 mins, then drain the liquid and add to the large bowl of onions and garlic.
3) In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, A1, Worcestershire and brown sugar to make the sauce. Set aside.
4) In a food processor, pulse together the sun dried tomatoes, tofu, pecans and hemp seeds. Use a spatula to transfer the mixture to the large bowl of onions.
3) In a small bowl combine the oat bran, nutritional yeast, italian seasoning, thyme, salt, pepper and minced parsley. Stir with a fork and add to the large bowl of the tofu/onion mixture. Mix thoroughly. Add the ketchup, mustard and soy sauce and mix again.
4) Scraping the sides of the bowl, start to form a ball with the mixture in the center of the bowl. Transfer the ball to a small bread pan or casserole dish and press the top down just just a bit to form a loaf. Pour the small bowl of sauce over top of the loaf to cover it completely. Place in the oven, uncovered, for 1 hour. Let it cool for 10 minutes before serving.


This is definitely one of those dishes that gets better as time goes on :) I don't love leftovers, but this one I will eat for a few days. Change up your side dishes to keep the meal going for days...or try eating it as a sandwich by chopping it up a bit, mixing it with more sauce and serving on a toasted bun. Delish!

I also like to save a little of the mixture before it gets cooked to roll into balls, freeze and use as meatballs in a pasta dish later that week. So many options....

Roasted Butternut Squash with Spicy Pecans + Dates

This salad is a real treat! It's my attempt to recreate a similar salad from my favorite restaurant, Northstar Cafe. Rather than use beets like they do, I subbed in dates. I'm not a huge fan of beets.

MAKES: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- Cooking spray
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed (you can roast these for a little snack!) and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 T sugar
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
- 4 T honey
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3/4 C pecan halves
- 1 package mixed greens (or any lettuce you'd like to use)
- 1/2 c pitted dates
- 1/4 c champagne vinegar
- 2 T Honey Dijon Mustard
- 1 clove garlic finely chopped
- 2 T fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil


DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil. Lightly coat with cooking spray.
2) In ziplock bag, combine the sugar and 1/4 tsp salt. Set aside.
3) In a frying pan, warm 2 T of the honey over low heat. Add the cayenne, mix well. Add the pecans and stir until coated. Spread the nuts onto the baking sheet and toast in the oven until lightly browned - about 8-10 minutes. Don't let them burn! Watch closely. Remove from oven and let cook slightly, then add to the bag of sugar and salt. Shake until fully coated. Lay nuts out to cool on the baking sheet.
4) Raise the oven temp to 450 degrees F. Line another baking sheet and spray with cooking oil.
5) In a large bowl, toss the butternut squash pieces with 2T of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread the squash pieces across the baking sheet. Roast, turning several times, until tender and lightly browned. Roughly 25 mins. Remove from oven and cover with foil.
6) Prepare the vinaigrette by whisking together the vinegar, mustard, garlic, the last 2 T of honey, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and oil in a small bowl.
7) Toss the mixed greens with the desired amount of dressing. Spoon into a large bowl and top with the roasted squash, pecans and dates. Serve immediately.

Recipe was modified from this recipe on healthy green kitchen

Easy Crockpot Chili

This is a recipe I have been using for a couple year now and it has become my go-to for an effortless meal.

MAKES: 16 Servings (1 cup each)

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 large yellow onions, chopped
- 1 can (28 oz) organic diced tomatoes undrained (if you can find chili seasoned diced, get those)
- 2 cans (15.5 oz each) organic kidney beans, undrained
- 2 cans (15 oz each) organic spicy chili beans, undrained
- 1 can (15 oz) organic black beans, undrained
- 2 Tbsp vegan cane sugar
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder

DIRECTIONS:
1) cook onions over medium heat until softened.
2) pour onions, tomatoes, all beans, sugar, cumin, and chili powder into the crock pot. Stir until combined.
3) cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Oven-Roasted Spicy Chickpeas

MAKES: 3 cups

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 (15-oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed, drained and dried with a paper towel
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp sea salt

INSTRUCTIONS:
1) Heat oven to 400F
2) Mix the oil, cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper and sea salt in a small bowl until thoroughly combined.
3) Place chickpeas into a large bowl and pour the oil/spice mix to over the chickpeas. Mix until all chickpeas are coated with spices.
4) Spread chickpeas onto a large baking sheet (rimmed so they don't roll off), and bake on the center rack in the over for 30 minutes.
5) Remove from the over, allow to cool for 10-15 minutes, then place back into the over and bake for 15 minutes more. Cool before serving.

Note: the 2nd bake time ensures crispy chickpeas. If any are still soft, just pop them back in the oven.

Aloo Gobi

MAKES: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS:
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp turmeric
- 1 C water, divided
- 2 Tbsp peanut oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 small head cauliflower, cut into small pieces
- 1 russet potato, peeled and cut into small chunks
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 cups white basmati rice, cooked according to package
- 1 cup lentils, cooked according to package

DIRECTIONS:
1 - Combine the garlic, ginger, and canola oil in a small bowl. Mash and mix together with a fork to form a paste.
2 - Mix into the ginger paste: the coriander, turmeric and 1/2 cup of water. Set aside - this will be the wet masala.
3 - In a dutch oven or large pot, heat the peanut oil over med-high heat. Once heated, add the cumin seeds. Let sit for about 30 seconds then add the masala mix, carefully. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. The mix will darken and get a bit thicker. Oil will start to separate from the mix.
4 - Add the cauliflower and potatoes, stirring constantly to coat the veggies. Season with the salt and add the last 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook over medium heat for about 12-15 mins. Stir, add the cooked lentils, and increase cook time until the veggies are cooked thru. About 5 mins.
5 - Spoon rice onto a plate and top with aloo gobi. Serve immediately.


Recipe inspired by a Food Network recipe:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/cauliflower-and-potatoes-aloo-gobi-recipe/index.html

Hummus and Veggie Sandwich

MAKES: 1 sandwich

INGREDIENTS:
- 2-3 T of creamy hummus - http://foodiebylaurynbyrdy.blogspot.com/2012/08/creamy-and-super-amazing-hummus.html?m=1
- a handful of spinach
- a few roasted red peppers or sweet pimentos
- 1/4 avocado, sliced
- red onion - cut off as much as you'd like
- English cucumber - 4-6 thin slices
- sprouts - small handful
- bread of your choice - I used a hearty multigrain

DIRECTIONS:
1) spread hummus on both slices of bread then layer all ingredients shown above in any order.
2) optional: grill your sandwich in a panini press.
3) cut in half and serve immediately