Food Friday

Need a dinner idea for this weekend?

(This one is gluten-free by the way).

My niece and my honey have been so sick this past month

so I've been eating on my own a lot  because I've been on a gluten-free diet myself,

and they have been opting for quicker, easier on the flu/cold kind of things.

But I loved this bean and rice dish that I whipped up for myself the other week...

I am a rice lover...

I'll always choose rice over pasta (so that part of a gluten allergy will be easy!)

Here I cooked up some black rice and whiles that cooked

I sauteed a whole can of Marizano tomatoes (chopped up) with celery, garlic, spinach

and white beans all in olive oil.  Once the rice was ready I put that all on top of the rice

with a smidge of Himalayan salt

and voila a healthy, pretty tasty easy meal made quickly for one.

Enjoy XO.

Food Friday

Okay so it's missing some greens but some meals are just like that aren't they!

Need an idea for this week?  Try this tasty, quick and simple plate out.

 Here we've got pan-seared button mushrooms with potatoe slices fried up as well and

a grilled cheese on Bavarian rye using Daiya cheddar cheese, tomatoes and sunflower seeds.

YUM.

Food Friday

Hows about some chicken-less fingers for dinner (we love the Gardein ones)

with a side of softly sauteed yellow bell peppers...

A nice healthy glass of cashew milk (we prefer Earth's Own 'original')

and a whole avocado with just a bit of olive oil & lemon juice drizzled on, easy & yummy...Enjoy!

Food Friday

Here is an easy food idea for this weekend...

Just grab your favorite foccacia from your local grocery shop, bring it home,

throw it in the oven to warm it up, than drizzle it with light olive oil and balsamic...

On the side make yourself a big beautiful salad of baby greens, avocado, finely chopped swiss chard,

lots of toasted nuts & seeds like cashews, sliced almonds and sunflower seeds

and drizzle over all of that a delicious mix of olive oil, salt, lemon juice and agave...YUM & Enjoy!

Mac & Cheese Soup

It's a rainy and gloomy day...
And my head doesn't hurt, ahhhhh it feels so good not to have a sore head, ha ha.
After I get my October newsletter out, I am giving myself the rest of the day off.
It's the perfect day after all to get all cozy, crack open a great book or pop on a favourite movie

and to settle in with a nice big bowl of comforting soup...

Mac and Cheese Soup



To Make:

Cook up 3 shallots, 1 big carrot & 1 celery stock, all chopped up in abit of olive oil.

Add a pinch of pepper and salt.

When cooked thoroughly blend all of this up and add to your pot.

Then you'll add 33/4 cups of vegetable soup stock

11/4 cups of milk

6 ounces of Cheddar cheese

1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese

1/4 of all-purpose flour (add when the rest of it is hot, add slowly and stir constantly till mixed in).

Add in 4 ounces of already cooked macaroni.

Heat all of this up nice & slowly and cook for maybe 10-15 minutes.

Then serve in your favourite bowls piping hot but not before

adding thick pieces of baguette & fresh tomato slices on top of the soup.

It's perhaps not all that healthy, ha ha ha but for rainy days it sure is yummy.

Enjoy & have a wonderfully snug as a happy bug cozy day...I am sure you deserve it too.

Lemony Lentil Soup

I mentioned making 'a big pot of lentil soup' in my last post.

It's one of our favourite soups EVER...

I've perfected the recipe over the years and will share it will you all here today.

It's super easy and super yummy.

Here's what you do:

First chop a large onion & 4 or 5 medium sized garlic cloves and put that into a big pot with oil,

cook over medium heat until softened (make sure not to burn them).

Then add a dash of hot pepper spice or red pepper flakes, just abit, you don't want it too hot.

Next stir in 1.5 tsp of cumin.

Next you'll want to add and stir in finely chopped parsley (I use a pretty large handful).

Add in a healthy splash of lemon juice (fresh is preferred but bottled will work fine).

Then stir in 1.5 cups of dried red lentils, stir for about 30 seconds.

Now add in 6 cups of vegetable soup stock and stir.

Now you'll want to add 2 finely chopped large sized potatoes.

3-5 peeled and chopped carrots.

If you have it, a nice big handful of chopped Kale is very nice.

Add a dash of sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Stir it all up.

Now you'll want to the pot to boil...leave it boiling for 5-10 minutes,

than reduce the heat to a simmer and let the soup cook for atleast 1 hour.

Add abit of extra lemon juice to taste when your ready to serve.

There you have it.

My secret recipe that we're bonkers for, my best friend is bonkers for, my mom & dad...

pretty much anyone I've made this soup for LOVES it.

It's healthy and satisfying and feels nourishing...

ENJOY.

XO A Vegetarian Mandy

Meat-Free Balsamic 'Chicken' & Potatoes

I think it's time to share another favourite recipe.

We make this awesome dish often for dinner...
(well, my honey makes it, ha ha...it's one of his specialities)

Sauteed 'chicken' breast and mashed potatoes
with a homemade balsamic gravy

YUM..

It's really easy, meat-free, healthy and KIND.

As you can see, we always serve it with some kind of steamed veg and a nice salad on the side.

Here's how you do it:

(My Jonathan never uses recipes, so the instructions are
abit of a 'pinch-of-this-pinch-of-that' type of thing)
...

Over medium heat, cook soy chicken breast in abit of olive oil until cooked through & nicely browned.

Whiles your doing this, have some potatoes cooking to be ready for mashing.

Than make the balsamic gravy:
He usually starts with 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil (or substitute Olivina)
He heats the oil on low-medium heat (make sure the oil does not smoke).
Than he adds lots of finely chopped garlic, usually 4 or 5 good sized cloves,
cook them for a couple minutes until soft, it doesn't take long.
Than he adds freshly ground pepper, to taste (we use an organic 4 pepper corn variety).
Than he adds 2-3 tablespoons of organic flour
(you want the mixture like a paste but not a super thick paste).
Than he keeps the heat on medium and slowly stir in organic free-run milk, a 1/4 cup at a time,
(add more for a thinner gravy or less for a thicker gravy.  It's best to add abit of milk at a time and stir well before adding more because you don't want the sauce to get too thin or runny).
Than, he adds a small splash of 'Maggi' (amount depends on how salty you want it)
Finally and lastly, add & stir in organic balsamic vinegar...we usually add 2 tablespoons,
but you can add more or less depending on how strong you want the taste.

Now your done...
pour the gravy over the 'chicken' and mashed potatoes
put on your favourite music, open a bottle of wine
and ENJOY!

Happy Meat-Free Eating

XO Mandy & Jonathan

Food Friday: Meat-Free Sheperd's Pie

I've been planning on sharing some of my favourite food recipes on this blog of mine...
so finally here we go, I'll try posting a new recipe every Friday.
(except next Friday which I am taking off from blogging).

I make a mean Shepherd's Pie....and it doesn't have any meat in it.

Jonathan loves it, my dad always goes back for 2nd's and I think it's scrumptious (& guilt-free)...

Want to try it out, it's super easy to make???

You'll want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

AND

You'll want to put on your potatoes at this time.  I steam the potatoes and usually use 5-6 small ones.

THAN

-In a large pan, put 1 tbsp of olive oil...let that heat up and than...

-Add 1 large onion, finely chopped...let that cook up till the onion is nice and soft.

-Let the liquid and onions cook together for a couple minutes.

-Than add the soy ground meat (we use Yves Hamburger) and let that simmer until the 'meat' is cooked.
-Than add 1 cup of vegetable stock or a cup of water with a spoon of gravy mix.

-Than your going to add vegetables.  As much as you like. 

I usually use corn shredded from 2 corn cobs and usually 2-4 shredded carrots.

-Let the veg cook with the rest of the mixture for about 5 minutes, stirring often so nothing burns.

-Your done with the pan, wohoo....

NOW

Take a casserole dish and scoop the mixture into it, spreading it evenly.

-Spread your mashed potatoes over the mixture.

-Grate some cheese on top and sprinkle some fresh pepper and salt

THAN

Put it in the oven for 25-30 minutes and

VOILA...

Enjoy Meat-Free Shepherds Pie.

Happy & Kind Eating To You.
XO Mandy, Jonathan & The Bunnies XO