Vegan Quinoa Chili

I simply love this dish and we eat year round - even in the hot summer time!  Why? Because it is fairly simple to make and makes a ton! I always have plenty left over for lunches the next day and then can freeze a good portion for a later dinner. So it saves me time in the long run. My kids eat it too.  They like theirs topped with cheese and I'm definitely ok with that.

Here is What You Need:

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

1 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large carrot, peeled and chopped (I forgot this in the pictures but it does add a nice bit to the chili)

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 medium zucchini, chopped

2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, drained and rinsed

1 (15 ounce) can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

3 (15 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce

2-3 tablespoons chili powder, depending on your taste (we used 1 because I can't tolerate it!)

1 tablespoon ground cumin

Salt and black pepper, to taste

Optional:  1 jalapeno pepper, diced

Here's What You Do:

1.  Prep your quinoa by combining with the water in a medium sauce pan and cooking over medium heat until the water is absorbed. This takes about 12-15 minutes. Set aside.

2.  In a large pot (very large), heat your olive oil over high heat. Then add in your onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).  Stir in your garlic, jalapenos (if using), carrots, celery, peppers and zucchini.  Cook all of these until the veggies are nice and tender which takes about 10 minutes or so.

3.  Now add in your black beans, your kidney beans, tomatoes, and tomatoes sauce.  Stir in the quinoa you cooked previously. 

4.  Add in your seasonings and then simmer on low for about 30 minutes.

Cauliflower "Fried" Rice

This is an awesome recipe a challenger shared with me in one of my recent Clean Eating Challenges.  I was skeptical at first - very skeptical.  Would this be worth having to go through getting the cauliflower in the right format. And would it really tasted like "fried" rice?  But I love trying new recipes so I went for it and the answers to those two questions are yes and no.

YES this recipe is totally worth it and not difficult at all.  

No it isn't like a big bad bowl of fried rice from your favorite Chinese restaurant but it is an awesome substitute for a fried rice dish if you are working towards a clean healthy life style.  

(There isn't anything wrong with the occasional bowl of fried rice from the restaurant but definitely not something we can do all the time so enter cauliflower!)

If you have a food processor this recipe is a piece of cake. If you don't have one - GET ONE. I resisted having a food processor for a while but I finally picked up a $30 at Target and it has opened up a world of recipes to me.  So get a little one today, come home, make this recipe.

Sweet Potato Paradise Casserole

I have been wanting to try this for a while and finally decided this week was the time to jump in and give it a whirl.  You know, it is one of those recipes I found online but kept putting it off. Well put it off no more! This thing was amazing.

Let me preface - it takes some work up front but it is one of those dishes that you can prep while your kiddos eat lunch (and watch cartoons - am I the only one who does that?). Then you can just pop it in the oven at 5:00 and be ready for dinner.  So it does take some prepping but the outcome is delicious.

Roasted Veggie Enchiladas

This is seriously one of my favorite meals.  However, it takes a little more prep than I like to do so I don't cook it as frequently as I would like.  But when I am done eating it, I remind myself that it was worth every second of work I put into it. I believe there are probably tons of ways to make this dish work for you so be creative.

I am including the link to the original recipe. You will see their creation is much more intricate than mine - I tend to simplify so I can use what I have in the pantry and minimize time in the kitchen. But do glance at the original because I am sure it is delicious!

Here's What You Need for the Simple Version:

-2 red bell peppers chopped up

-1 cauliflower chopped up

-1 small sweet potato chopped

-1 cup frozen corn kernels

-1 onion diced

-olive oil or coconut oil

-1.5 tsp cumin (I even use more because I love that flavor!)

-2 garlic cloves minced (I buy mine already minced!)

-2 cups salsa

-spinach leaves

-approximately 9 or 10 tortillas (I use whole wheat flour but the original recipes calls for corn)

Optional:  shredded cheese, sour cream, green onions

Here's What You Do:

1.  Preheat the oven to 425 and lightly grease a cookie sheet (I put aluminum foil down for less clean up).

2.  Put all of your veggies on the sheet and drizzle about 2-3 tablespoons olive oil on top and sprinkle with cumin.  Put a pinch of salt and pepper on if you'd like and then use your hands to mix it all together.  

3.  Be sure the vegetables are in a single layer and then place in the oven for 30-40 minutes until the veggies are nice and tender. Some will have brown spots - even better!

The recipe says stir the veggies every 10 minutes for even roasting but I always forget!