I thr
ew this together recently for dinner when it was over 100 degrees outside. Didn’t feel like a hot meal, and definitely didn’t feel like turning on the oven or spending a lot of time at the stove. The only cooking required is for the quinoa and that’s super quick, especially if you have a pressure cooker in which it quinoa takes 5 minutes at high pressure.
This is a great dish to share at a potluck, picnic, or for this coming weekend, a Labor Day BBQ. It holds up well in the fridge for a few days; the sauce/dressing soaks in quite a bit but the flavor is still there. Delicious on its own or on a bed of lettuce.
I try to have a batch of these around as often as possible. They are so flavorful and easy to make. Great to have on hand to grab when you need something quick. They don’t quite come out crunchy but they are firm, and the sauce hardens somewhat as the chickpeas cool. If you want them crunchy, I would try cooking them longer, at a higher temp or use a dehydrator.
Delectable was the word used by my sister to describe her feelings on this soup, so I figured I’d call it just that – Delectable Mushroom Soup. Much more fun than plain old Mushroom Soup. And honestly people, not to toot my own horn or anything but it really is delectable. I got lucky with this one, for sure. I had a ton of cremini and chanterelle mushrooms (thanks to Costco) and realized I’d never made a creamy mushroom soup before, and it sounded really good to me. I was hopeful the recipe would work out so I made copious notes as I went along. So glad I did. The best part? It’s EASY to make!
This soup is rich and creamy but not overly fattening. I used only 1/3 cup raw cashews which adds fat of course, but not too much. The items I used for garnish are optional and do add a small amount of fat. I grated a very small amount of Miyoko’s killer Smoked Farmhouse “cheese”, and a few drops of truffle oil on top of the fresh chives. Deliciously delectable. 🙂
These are a great addition to salads, sprinkled on top of soups, and especially with the Chickpea Curry Lettuce Wraps. Super easy to make. The only problem with these is that they are difficult to stop eating.
Roasted Brussels sprouts are really popular right now and we eat them a lot in our house. 
Wanting to change up the flavors just a bit, I decided to add some sweet (maple) and sour (lemon). I think this is my new favorite way to eat them. I made them on the same night I made Spicy Butternut Squash Soup. The soup was a bit too spicy for me and I found myself taking bites of soup and sprouts together to tame some of the heat. Ultimately I dumped my entire plate of sprouts into the soup. I may eat it this way forever. Really good.
I needed something to eat for lunch and the red lentils in the pantry got my attention. I literally threw these ingredients together without a plan, and was SO happy with the result. It’s hard to believe something this easy could be so flavorful. It was so good in fact that I included the dish in an Indian themed feast I cooked this past weekend. It was a big hit along with the Indian Spiced Cabbage, Roasted Aloo (potatoes), brown basmati rice and whole wheat flat bread. 
Red lentils are great because in addition to being extremely healthy and low-fat, they are quick-cooking. They can be used in sauces to add fiber and protein, or as the main ingredient along with a few others such as the recipe here. Unlike brown/green lentils they break down easily, blending in with whatever else is in the dish. They also end up being more yellow in color, even though they are called red and start out more of an orange color. At 140 calories per cup (dry), 0 grams of fat, 7 grams of fiber and 11 grams of protein, red lentils are a great addition to the diet.
In this dish I used two different types of curry powder, but you don’t have to. Regular curry is the yellow/orange version you see in most stores. Different brands can taste different from each other, with some more mild than others. Madras curry is another type that is similar to regular but with more spice. Berbere curry is an Ethiopian version, that has a smokier scent/flavor and is much spicier than the others. Feel free to use whatever variety you have on hand, or a combination like I’ve done here. The measurements I used result in a mild dish. As I’ve said before, I’m a spice wimp.
These muffins are a great way to enjoy the taste and texture of cornbread without all the fat and calories. Very easy to make and delicious with my Veggie Crock Pot Chili or White Bean Chili. See Notes for the gluten-free option.
I was at Costco and I saw this 2 lb container of cut up butternut squash. I had to have it. It’s not impossible certainly, but cutting that stuff yourself is sort of a pain. So, I put it in my cart along with my 8 bags of frozen mixed berries for smoothies, and immediately envisioned dinner: roasted butternut squash with herbs and balsamic vinegar, steamed broccolini and garlicky cannellini beans. Healthy, easy and super tasty, just the way I like it! 🙂
This savory, creamy gravy is delicious on anything from mashed potatoes, to stuffed squash, to tofu scramble. Since it’s so low in fat, it doesn’t have to be a once in a while treat.
Use brown rice flour to make this gluten-free.
Several years ago, I asked hubby for a bread maker. My big plan was to make lots of fresh-baked loaves of bread and never have to buy another loaf again. Ah, to be young with such lofty goals. I baked one loaf, it wasn’t great, and the unit was stored in the garage for several years. My older, and much wiser self decided to dust that bad boy off and give the whole bread-making thing another shot. SO glad I did! My amazingly wonderful friend Donna makes bread all the time and is always telling me how fun and easy it is – and how great it makes the house smell. She was so right!
I did some research and played around a bit with ingredients and ultimately came up with this whole grain treat. If you don’t have a bread maker, ask Santa or whomever to bring you one. You literally dump the ingredients in the metal “bowl”, and walk away. Definitely the lazy man’s way to make bread (though not as lazy as buying a loaf at the store!).
