Cauliflower Rice n' Greens Black Bean Bowls

I really, really love rice and beans. Really. Sometimes I think I should have been born in Brazil because I'm just crazy about it. When I was in college, one of my roommates introduced me to her family's favorite recipe for rice and beans and I was immediately hooked. It called for rice, beans (duh), lime juice, salt and pepper, avocado, and green onions. It was simple, tasty, and really easy on my college budget. I may even admit to eating it EVERY DAY for a week or so. (Poor college student, remember?)

I still LOVE to make up this black beans and rice recipe, but nowadays I have to scale back a bit on the rice consumption. This particular recipe was born when I came home after a particularly long day to a particularly empty fridge. All I could think to make was rice and beans, then it dawned on my that cauliflower rice would be a much better alternative. After Claire posted her excellent tutorial on making cauliflower rice, I started making up a really simple cauliflower rice and greens dish and I knew it would complement the dish well. Fortunately I had a package of cauliflower rice squirreled away in the freezer and a few handfuls of leftover greens. Thank heavens for hoarding tendencies.

The recipe is really simple and perfect if you are cooking single servings. I live alone and it can be really tricky to find recipes that don't leave you sitting with gallons of leftover chili (or whatever). I don't know about you, but there are only so many days I can gag down leftovers before throwing in the towel and ordering pizza.

Veggies 101: Roasted Broccoli

I've had a thing for roasted veggies since I can remember. Something about roasting vegetables takes their flavor up a notch- more than just steaming- and I absolutely prefer most vegetables roasted (there are obviously exceptions here). Being completely honest here, one of my favorite snacks is a big plate of roasted broccoli. It's filling, nutritious and SUPER low in calories. I literally eat the stuff like candy, but without feeling regretful and guilty after like candy would.

Avocado BLT Egg Salad

Hello there! It's been a while since I have posted. The holidays kept us busy around these parts. The holidays also left us feeling also heavy. Oh goodness, I always forget how much delicious food I end up consuming between the months of October-December. Between the dinners, holiday parties, goodie-baking for friends, the list just goes on and on and the scale just went up and up and so did the head aches.

When January came around I was so ready to start feeling good again, and after a lot of contemplation I decided to give Whole 30 a whirl. While I don't feel like eating this way is sustainable, nor healthy for long periods of time (too much meat, and I think grains are a healthy part of any food table, in moderation) , I have found it to be incredibly cleansing as well as powerful when it came to defining my relationship with food.

Veggie Packed Taco Salad

When my husband and I first got married, it also happened to be the time that Taco Bell released their new green “Salsa Verde” sauce. I have always had a strange love/hate relationship with the food chain, but after that green sauce came out, it was definitely leaning towards more of a love thing.

We only went to the food chain about once every quarter, but we would always get massive amounts of the little green packages. Some to take home, and others to pour all over our iceberg lettuce topped taco-bell meals (like tostadas, hard tacos, and seven-layer burritos). Mmmmmm. Those were the days.

I has been about about two years since I’ve been to Taco Bell and the other day I was thinking about it and I got this strange craving for a ground beef taco covered in crisp iceberg lettuce and a drizzle of sour cream. There is just a distinct smell and taste that comes with that combo, and I was craving it something fierce.

The following day my sister Natalie texted me about an amazing ground beef taco filling she had created; about 10 minutes later I stumbled upon Taco Salad Skillet dinner from Budget Bytes. It was like the world of Mexican food was speaking to me, and so this dish was created.

Chipotle Sweet Potato Shepherds Pie

For a few weeks this summer my husband went to Rhode Island for his Navy Officer school. While he was gone I ventured out on some trips and ended up in Las Vegas with my parents for the last few weeks. My mom is gluten free and has a wonderful America’s Test Kitchen Gluten Free cookbook, which I frequently used. One night I was flipping through the book and saw a shepherd’s pie that looked absolutely delicious. It was a success, but as I was eating it I instantly came up with ideas to lighten and spruce it up a bit!

Simple Lime & Paprika Salmon

My husband is away for a time doing some Navy training, so that left me some time with my almost-one-year-old sidekick to do some traveling. A few weeks back I went up to Idaho to visit my sister Natalie. My mom was there visiting, and Natalie's mother-in-law was coming over for dinner. My mom was making pineapple shrimp salad (delicious!) and then we remembered last minute that there was a salmon filet that needed to be used up that night.

All three of us use the famous family marinade for salmon about 98% of the time, which requires actual time to marinade. Nat and I just looked at each other, and both said something along the lines of "don't people usually slather a bunch of mayo on their salmon and call it good?". As we ran around the kitchen trying to find a way to make a delicious, simple, quick salmon, this recipe was born. Boy, the outcome was DELICIOUS. My little goober gobbled it up, and we were all wishing there was more salmon by the end of the dinner.

Let me just tell you again. This is SUPER easy and quick. No real preparation ahead, and it's perfect if you have some fish in the freezer if you need to use it up (I usually keep at least one fillet of fish in the freezer at all times for things like this).

Cousin Carol's Carrot Salad

A few months ago my sister was in town visiting and we went to visit a cousin who live nearby. I got really excited when she insisted on lunch because she is a great cook and, of course, we were not disappointed.

She served the most delicious carrot salad and I simply could not get enough of it. In that past I've avoided carrot salads because they usually include pineapple and/or raisins and, frankly, I do not care for that combination. This one, though. This one was different. My sister and I both downed double servings. Even my 2-year-old nephew seemed to really enjoy it (although if I'm being honest, he may have been more motivated by the lemon San Pellegrino we were bribing him with. . .). Only the thinnest barrier of social propriety kept me from grabbing the serving bowl and shoveling the rest of it in my mouth Cookie Monster style.

After the gentlest of prodding, Carol graciously passed along her recipe, which was mostly an ingredient list because she just eyeballs it (told you - great cook!). I have been tinkering around for awhile and came up with a slightly modified version that I love. I've found that it the trick is to let it sit for at least a few hours or, even better, overnight. Be warned that this recipe makes a lot of salad, but there are worse things.

The best thing about this recipe? It is so easy. The salad goes particularly well alongside sandwiches (grilled cheese and egg salad are my favorites) or cooked fish. Or straight from the mixing bowl, Cookie Monster style. No judgement here.

Brown Rice and Arugula Salad + Mason Jar Salad

I have a a darling little boy who is ten months old. When he was born last summer my little sister, Layne, came to help out and spend a few days with us. The afternoon we all came home from the hospital I walked into my house and my table was set beautifully with this scrumptious looking salad. It may be all of the positive feelings associated with this salad, but it is definitely one of my favorite salads in America. This is technically Layne's recipe, but since she is off gallivanting around Jerusalem for the summer, I am going to share it with you. It really is incredibly simple, I could hardly call it a recipe, more of an ingredient assembly, if you will.

Baked Brown Rice

It's no big secret that I am slightly obsessed with America's Test Kitchen. Every month or so I pick up a different ATK book from the library, and almost every cookbook they have released has this amazing brown rice recipe. It was a dream come true because I love brown rice. It has the nuttiness and heartiness that plain white rice lacks, but it seemed the brown rice NEVER turned out correctly. I tried the rice cooker, stove top, and boiling, but it always seemed to fail me, until I came across this recipe. I give you my word that it will turn out every time.

Yes, you may notice that brown rice is not a veggie-based recipe, nor does it have any veggies in it. I have a recipe coming up on Friday that needs this recipe, so go ahead and bake your rice and have it prepped for the recipe coming Friday!

Veggie Stuffed Twice-Baked Potatoes

I have a shameless love affair with most anything that is potato based. Add in a bit of cheese (my favorite food and word), and I'm done for. I blame it on my Idaho roots. Having said that, I rarely enjoy twice-baked potatoes. It's sad, really. I always want to like them, but I can't get past the gloopy, fatty mess of a filling that typically bears little resemblance to an actual potato.

A few years ago my mother passed along a recipe for twice-baked potatoes, but ones that actually looked pretty good. The recipe included lots of vegetables and I liked the idea of combining a vegetable-herb sauce with the potato flesh (that word just sounds so gross to me every time I type it). However, something about the recipe just wasn't quite right. It did not have quite enough veggies and there was a shocking lack of dairy.

After a lot of tinkering I hit on a combination of vegetables and mushrooms that was just perfect. I also mixed sour cream with the potato innards (is that word better?) because sour cream is everyone's favorite part of a baked potato, right? I added a dusting of paprika - 'cause it's pretty - and of course, I had to top it off with cheese. Potatoes and cheese - I think it's the law or something.

Lemon "Poppy Seed" Pancake

Hi there, pancake lovers. So this post is a bit of a cheat; there are no vegetables in this pancake. I know, I know. But trust me, you'll thank me after you try these.

This pancake follows the same base recipe as my other heath-ful pancakes recipes (Green Monstah and Butternut Pecan Pancakes). Oats, quinoa, almond milk, banana, egg, and some sort of flavor enhancer. This time, it is a massive hit of tart lemon. For the "poppy seed", I use chia seeds, which add a nice boost of Omega 3's. These, as are most of my oat/quinoa based pancakes, are highly customizable. Try using poppy seeds, chia seed, broken up fresh raspberry (my son's personal favorite), or blueberries.

Sweet Potato Hummus

I have found when is comes to hummus people fall into two categories: they love it or hate it. I personally love this delicious dip in all flavors, but my husband is more of a hummus hater. Then entered in  the Sweet Potato Hummus. I adapted a recipe from my sister-in-law Jana and created a flavorful combo of garbanzo beans and sweet potato flavored with lime and a few spices. It has a lot of flavor and more kick then the classic hummus. All the hummus haters I have introduced this have liked this veggie-packed version. If you're a hummus hater, just give this sweet potato hummus a try. I think you'll like it. Happy dipping!

Prep and bake red sweet potato: give it a few pokes with a fork and toss it in the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour. (Remember, it will mostly likely be called a "yam" or "jewel yam" at the grocery store.)

Cook until fork tender, about 1 hour, and set aside until cooled. (You can easily cook the sweet potato a day or two in advance.)

Start the hummus by putting two minced garlic cloves and 1 can of rinsed and drained garbanzo beans into a food processor.

 

Pulse for 10 seconds or just enough to chop up the garbanzo beans but still leaves some texture.

 

Add 1/4 cup tahini, which is sesame seed paste and can be found by the other nut butters in your grocery store. If you're lucky you'll have a toddler-aged sous chef that can pour it right on the center of the blade for you. :)

Add 1/4 cup lime juice, either fresh or bottled. I used a mix of both because I didn't have enough fresh limes on hand. Add the salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Don't be scared off by the cayenne - it just adds a nice undertone of flavor but it does not pack any heat in the hummus. Pulse 3-4 times, or until just combined

 

Now for the sweet potato. You can either peel the sweet potato and mash in a bowl, or if it is soft enough I just cut it open and scoop it out into the food processor. Use one whole sweet potato, or around 2 cups. Add the sweet potato to the food processor and process until combined. Make sure you don't over process it; you still want the hummus to have texture.

Tip: if you don't like garbanzo beans, or need to avoid them for some reason feel free to leave them out. Just replace them with 2 additional cups of sweet potato. It has much more pureed and smooth texture, while I prefer the classic hummus texture - but it is still delicious and a great dip or condiment.

Serve at room temperature or chilled. We love this with fresh veggies, pita bread, or our favorite crackers. This is also divine spread on whole wheat tortilla or pita and filled with your favorite protein and veggies. My 2-year-old prefers it on a spoon straight from the bowl!

Sweet Potato Hummus
Serves 8-10

2 cups mashed sweet potato
1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
  
Cook the sweet potato for 1 hour at 400 degrees. When fork tender, set aside until cook. Combine the minced garlic and garbanzo beans to a food processor. Pulse for 10 seconds or just enough for the garbanzo beans to be chopped but still has some texture. Add the tahini, lime juice, salt, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Pulse just until combined. Add the mashed sweet potato and process until combined. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Potato and Quinoa Stew

This is the last entry for soup month! We hope you've enjoyed making and eating these soups as much as we've enjoyed creating them for you. We're finishing things off with one of my absolute favorite soups (for making and eating!): Quinoa and Potato Stew.

A few years ago I checked out Love Soup by Anna Thomas from the library. I love soup and I'm vegetarian, so I was intrigued by this cookbook: 160 vegetarian soup recipes (hooray) plus it boasted a James Beard Foundation award winner sticker (extra bonus). Boy was I ever happy I took that book home. I cooked my way through it for weeks. Friends and family members started complaining of "soup fatigue", but I was undaunted. The recipes were outstanding! I kept that library book an embarrassingly long time. I exhausted all of my renewals and returned it to the library, only to check it out and exhaust all of my renewals again. I think I repeated this process 3 or 4 times. A family member caught wind of this ridiculousness and finally bought the book for me, likely out of pity and a bit of disbelief.

In my defense, this recipes in this book really are outstanding. There are several recipes for different types of broth and they are really delicious. I particularly liked the dark vegetable broth (it makes an amazing, if time consuming, French onion soup!). The recipes are grouped by season, which I really like, and all of the recipes I made (which was an awful lot!) were really terrific with loads and loads of flavor. My only bad experience was with the persimmon soup, but I probably should have seen that one coming. :)

One of my absolute favorites is the Quinoa Stew with Potatoes, Spinach, and Chard recipe. The quinoa and potatoes make for a really hearty, stew-like consistency and the flavors are really lovely. I've made this so many times that I've lost count, and it is always a crowd pleaser. Even people who normally give quinoa and hearty greens the side eye end up loving this soup. Over the years I've played around with it a bit. My version barely alters the original, mostly just reducing it to make a more manageable amount of soup (the original recipe makes A LOT of soup!) and adding zucchini to up the veggie count. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Butternut Squash Curry

Starting in about mid July, you will quickly see if you even take a glance at Pinterest, that Fall is just about everyone and their mom's favorite season. Pumpkin. Changing leaves. Sweaters.Boots. Yes, we have heard a million and one reasons why Fall is the best time of the year. I enjoy fall, but I am not oddly obsessed with it. I do, however enjoy Fall harvest vegetables, especially butternut squash. Hands down my favorite squash on planet earth. I have a few butternut squash recipes for you, but today I am starting out with Butternut Squash Curry, because who doesn't love a good curry?

Sweet Potato Muffins - 2 ways

 I love myself a good muffin but they are usually just a disguised cupcake for breakfast. While they are delicious, muffins have a lot of sugar, especially since my husbands favorite muffins are double chocolate chip. :) I found this recipe and fell in love. Absolutely zero white sugar and a veggie! Also this recipe has an option for gluten-free and dairy-free if that is something your family needs. Now don't let that scare you off! They are truly delicious, just enjoy eating a delicious muffin with an added bonus of knowing they are good for you!