Vegan Tofu Greens with Polenta

So before my hubby and I started eating "mostly vegan," one of our favorite meals was the Italian Sausage with Polenta found here.  Let's just be honest - we missed it.  A lot.  This week we decided to try to do it vegan style. This is not for vegan beginners.  If you just love sausage then keep making this the "regular" way (it is so good!). However, if you are trying to go for a plant based diet, this shouldn't disappoint too greatly.  I'm just being honest.  It isn't the same but it still hit the spot for us.

Here is what I did.

What you need: 

1. Pack of extra firm tofu

2.  Soy sauce

3.  Bag of spinach 

4.  Steamer bag of broccoli (I just buy this from the frozen section because it is just easier and I'm all about easy right now)

5.  1 cup yellow corn meal

6.  4 cups veggie broth

What you do:

1.  Drain the tofu and crumble it.  Pour some soy sauce (I know that is vague but I just pour until it is all covered) and stick in refrigerator to marinate about 30 minutes.

2.  Steam your broccoli bag. I guess you could buy fresh broccoli but I cheat.  

3.  Add tofu and steamed broccoli to pan.  Top with spinach leaves and cover to let them wilt.

Baked Broccoli & Rice Cups

My SIL and her sweet husband came for a visit (waaaay back in February).  We had a busy weekend planned and I was looking for vegetarian friendly recipes to meet her needs.  Can I just say I'm so glad I have someone I can bounce ideas off of as I contemplate heading more towards a vegetarian lifestyle for myself?!  I found these baked broccoli and rice cups on Pinterest - old trusty friend - and decided they were exactly what I was looking for! They had a great texture and were very filling.   Great for little ones or those on the go!

Cheesy Vegetable Chowder: Pinterest Love ♥

I have been on a freezer cooking frenzy lately.  I've been inspired, thanks to Pinterest.  And I can't advocate enough - one afternoon (or two... with a little one ;)) of cooking has given me enough food to fill my refrigerator's freezer.  We now have meals on the ready - and this month is a crazy one for us!  Follow along - I'll be posting the recipes that are in my freezer.  I hope you can find them useful for the upcoming holiday seasons!

This recipe isn't a freezer meal, but one I found while browsing.  And it was perfect for our first rainy, didn't get out of the 60's kind of day!  I've also read that you can easily adapt this to a crockpot version.  I will be keeping a close eye on this one in the coming months!

Pan-Roasted Chicken with Lemon & Bacon

I was sent this recipe and decided to give it a whirl!  And of course I couldn't follow it as-is ;)  I changed it to include... drum roll please... BACON!!... after seeing this recipe.  Oh yum.  Instead of too lemony (like some of the reviews suggested) it had a slightly lemony, slightly smokey flavor combination.  I was in love!  But know that this was not love-at-first-sight.  It took some interesting oven baking, but it ended up being worth it in the end.  And because I was flustered at the end of 3 separate cooking times (for a one pot meal!) I didn't even take a picture of the end result. Boo. It ended up being tasty and I will try the flavor combination again definitely!