Mini "No-meat" pies

These aren't particularly pretty, or fancy, or even that healthy. But they sure are yummy! I'm hoping they will be a crowd pleaser at my NYE tomorrow :) 

Mini "No meat pies"

Ingredients:

Store bought pie crusts, I got 2 boxes, made a TON of tiny pies and used up all the filling. 

About 10 black olives

1 clove garlic

A "handful" of sun dried tomatoes

A "handful" of fresh basil

1 Can canellini white beans

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Gather your ingredients then put in a food processor.

Pulse a few times or until relatively smooth, chunks are ok. Now, it won't be pretty, but it's SO DAMN GOOD. Next time I'm just going to spread this on crackers as a kind of vegetarian pate. Fancy, huh?

 

Cut your dough into circles.

 

Fill each one up with goodness.

Close, press with a fork and bake (according to your dough's specifications)

YUM!

Now you have a mini little pie, no meat! Enjoy :)




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Asparagus, Arugula, Pesto Pizza

I lucked out! I picked up asparagus and arugula for 99 cents each, and then knew, I had to make a pizza :) 

Ingredients:

Arugula

Asparagus

Pesto (you can buy or make your own, I have a recipe here: http://greenveggiespirit.blogspot.com/2013/04/edamame-pesto.html)

 Dough (I used the whole wheat from Trader Joe's)

Cheese (optional, I used about a handful, that's all I had left in the fridge! I used a mix of parmesan and mozzarella)

Tiny bit of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Follow instructions for the dough, then spread the pesto on, top with asparagus.

 It's already so pretty! Now bake until crust is brown and your kitchen smells like heaven.

Top with Arugula. That's it!

Slice up and serve. Beautiful and green and delicious, who says being vegetarian is boring?!?! From my heart to yours, happy eating! 

 

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https://www.facebook.com/GreenVeggieSpirit

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Crispy Rosemary Parmesan Polenta

These were so easy!

Ingredients:

Polenta (I got mine already made from Trader Joe's)

Fresh Rosemary, chopped

Grated Parmesan

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pinch of Salt and Black Pepper

Heat the oil in a pan, should be enough to barely cover the bottom of the pan. Drop in polenta, then turn over after about 2 minutes and cook the other side. When done, put on some paper towels to blot off excess oil. Sprinkle on Parmesan and Rosemary, and a teeny tiny bit of salt and pepper. I suppose you could also bake these ;)

Rosemary/Brie/Sweet Potato/Cranberry Appetizer

I didn't know what to call these! I found them on Pinterest, but they were made with goat cheese aaaaaand I'm not exactly a fan :/ so I used Brie. It's delicious!

Slice up your sweet potatoes, coat with a teeny bit of olive oil, and bake at 375 for 10 minutes, turn them over, and bake for 10 more minutes. These should be sliced about 1/4 inch thick. Let them cool.

Mix your cheese (goat, brie, anything spreadable) with some chopped fresh rosemary. Spread on the little wheels, top with dried cranberries, a drizzle of (local, organic) honey, and a sprinkle of black pepper. That's it. 

Repeat.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone :)

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Kale, Mushrooms, and Cheddar...2 ways :)

I LOVE fresh vegetables, and I love them in season, on sale. But to feed 2 people, sometimes I have to get creative, or else my veggies go bad before I can use them.

I also like things I can make ahead of time, so the scarce time I do have with boyfriend, I'm not prepping food! Here are 2 simple ways to use leftover kale, mushrooms, and sharp cheddar (I LOVE the blocks from Trader Joe's, after slicing some up to eat with crackers and apples, I surprisingly still had some left!)

Ok here goes. 

Ingredients for the FILLING:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Garlic

1/2 Onion

Kale

Mushrooms

Saute the garlic and onion first, then add mushroom. When the mushrooms start getting soft add the kale, this is when I put a cover on top so the kale could steam for a couple of minutes. Watch it to make sure you don't over cook it. Should be soft but NOT mush!

So the first thing I made with this delicious mix was a Homemade Lean Pocket! 

Easy Dough Recipe:

2 cups whole wheat flour

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

Knead until it sticks together, then I was able to make 3 pockets with these measurements. Split dough into 3 parts, flatten out, then fill with some of the veggie mix and a couple slices of that cheddar!

Bake at 400 for....about 20-25 minutes. Or until brown. 

Sure beats a "Lean Pocket" from the store! Best thing is, these are portable, and easily frozen and reheated for when you're in a hurry.

YUM

 The second thing I did with this, is I made a frittata. I spread the mixture in a baking dish and covered with 4 eggs, that I whipped beforehand. I chopped up a veggie sausage and then topped with cheese. You can put it this in the fridge until you want to put it in the oven! Here's a before...

And an after...

That's it. Enjoy. :)

 

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Cauliflower Pizza!

I have been wanting to make this for a long time, it's not vegan, but it's gluten free and actually pretty darn yummy!

Ingredients:

Cauliflower

Cheese, grated (I used mozzarella and colby jack, but parmesan would be great too)

Italian spices (I used a blend)

Garlic Powder

1 Egg

Marinara Sauce (or the sauce of your choosing)

Grate the cauliflower with a cheese grater, and microwave the crumbles for 3 minutes or until soft. 

Mix in the egg, cheese and spices.

 

It will bind together pretty easy. Form into either one giant ball or a couple of smaller ones, depending on if you want one big pizza or a few smaller ones. Press flat and bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

It will get brown and smell amazing, then take it out and add marinara and more cheese!

 Stick in the broiler for another few minutes until the cheese gets all melty and delicious.

It's not the same as traditional pizza, but it's good! Definitely worth a try, especially if you're gluten free.

Enjoy!

Cold-Season Soup

 Cold-Season Soup

FULL of awesome, immune boosting benefits. Easy to make, and CHEAP (meaning, no weird ingredients that you can only get a whole foods). You can add vegetables, take any away, but these are delicious and all have a purpose. 

Ingredients

48 Oz Vegetable broth

2 Carrots

1 Sweet potato

1 Yellow onion

1 Celery stalk bunch

1 Spinach bunch
1 can chickpeas

About a handful fresh chopped parsley

1-2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary

Juice and zest of 1 lemon

Whole Roasted Garlic Clove

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Salt

Pepper

FIRST, roast the garlic. Slice the top off the whole garlic clove, sprinkle in some olive oil, and roast at 350 for about 40 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes. 

In the meantime, chop your veggies...

That picture doesn't have the onion...oh well ;)

Chop the herbs....

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a pot, and squeeze the cooled garlic into the pot. Should jsut slide right out. Add other veggies and saute for about 5 minutes, maybe a little longer. Add the broth, chickpeas, herbs, lemon juice and lemon zest. Let simmer for another 15 minutes, or until the potatoes and carrots are soft. THEN add the spinach. 

Now if you know me, you know I HATE overcooked vegetables. Also, soggy veggies lose nutrients. 

Now you have a go-to soup for when the sniffles set in. Stay healthy, everyone :)

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Cauliflower Buffalo "Wings" with Vegan Ranch

These have been a hit with vegetarians and meat eaters alike! I have made this a couple of times and tweaked the recipe, this one is Gluten Free! 

For the Cauliflower

Preheat Oven to 450 degrees.

1.5 cups of flour (I used Rice Flour)

½ TBS each of Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Seasoning Salt

1 Cup Plain Almond Milk

1 bottle Buffalo Sauce (Frank’s Red Hot is great, I used a different brand this time but I’ve used that in the past and it works!)

Another 2  TBS of Almond Milk

1 Head Cauliflower

Mix flour and spices in a bowl.

Put almond milk in a separate bowl

Wash and dry the cauliflower, then break it up into florets.

Coat them in the almond milk, then the flour mixture.

Place in a nonstick (or lightly oiled) baking sheet, preferably not touching. Bake at 450 for 20 minutes.

During these 20 minutes,  Heat up the Buffalo sauce in a small pot with the 2 TBS almond milk. Drizzle the milk in so it doesn’t get all chunky.

When the cauliflower is baked, take it out of the oven and toss in the sauce. Put it back on the baking sheet and set the oven to broil, broil for another 5-7 minutes.

Vegan Ranch Dressing

1 cup Veganaise

1 TBS Apple cider Vinegar

1-2 TBS fresh chopped parsley

1 TBS Almond milk

Pinch of salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. I’m sorry I don’t have exact measurements for this.  I’m a free spirit, what can I say ;)

Serve as soon as you can (meaning, these don’t sit well overnight) with the ranch on the side and some cut up celery.

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Yum! 

Tofu-Zucchini Quesadillas

These are easy, if you are looking for a spin on your every day quesadilla and looking to add veggies into your diet, this is the recipe for you!

Ingredients:

about 1/3 of a large onion

Firm tofu

2 small or 1 large zucchinis

black pepper

seasoned salt

Whole Wheat Tortillas

Cheese of your choosing ;)

Extra Virgin olive oil

Saute the onions in the oil, cube the tofu and throw the blocks in. After about 4 minutes add the zucchini. Add spices.

Cook until zucchini softens. THEN! Make your quesadilla. Do I really need to put directions? Add cheese and veg/tofu mixture onto a tortilla, and top with another one, flip, and when cheese is melted, enjoy :)

Almost forgot, this is excellent with some salsa. 

From my heart to yours!

Grilled Mushroom and Spinach Pizza

Oh dear heavens, was this good!

Grilling a pizza is new to me, so this is my first, and dare I say successful, attempt. 

Grilled Mushroom and Spinach Pizza

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Dough (I used store bought, because it's good, and I'm lazy!)

Mushrooms, your choice of what kind

Spinach

1 clove Garlic, chopped

1/2 Onion, chopped

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Balsamic Vinegar

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt

Pepper

Fresh Thyme

Grated Mozzarella

FRESH Mozzarella! Ohhhh this stuff is heavenly

Heat a generous amount of Olive Oil over medium heat, add red pepper flakes and a shake each of salt and pepper, heat until fragrant. Remove from heat and add the chopped garlic, set aside.

In the pan, heat another generous swig of olive oil, and add onions. Heat until they soften and start to smell REALLY good. Add mushrooms! Throw in a splash of balsamic, I dare ya ;) Cook until all caramelized and delicious. Remove from heat and toss in some fresh thyme, the leaves (removed from the stem, duh!)

Get your boyfriend to start on the dough! Or do it yourself, or sucker someone else into it. Brush both sides with the garlic oil you made earlier. Heat on the grill until mostly cooked, then remove from heat. 

Put some torn fresh Mozzarella and a fistful of grated Mozzarella, and some of the onions, and return to the grill.

Once all melty, it looks done, but it's not! Remove from grill and add a handful of chopped spinach, and a drizzle of balsamic. And now, NOW, you have heaven :)

Pair with a good wine. Enjoy! 

Pancakes! (easy, and vegan!)

Who doesn't love a good pancake?! NO ONE! Well almost no one :)

Anyway, these are super simple.

Vegan Pancake

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 TBS Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1 tsp Sugar

2 TBS Vegetable oil (I used olive but I bet coconut would have been fantastic!)

1 cup Almond milk (or any other dairy free milk, rice or soy or hemp or oat or coconut...etc)

Some vegan butter for the pan, I used Earth Balance with Olive Oil

Mix together! Heat up the "butter" in a pan and pour some batter in, flip when the edges brown. Not that you need to be told how to make pancakes! 

You can add WHATEVER you want! I put some blueberries in one.

But you can add pretty much any fruit, bananas, strawberries, cranberries, lemon zest, maybe some chocolate chips, or cinnamon, or some pumpkin pie spice, the list can go on and on. Enjoy with some pure maple syrup, vegan butter, jam, orrrrr my fave, peanut butter!!

 

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Happy Saturday everyone :)