Veggie Lo Mein

This is just like my stir fry, but with some (whole wheat) spaghetti thrown in instead of rice. Yum! Perfect for families, just use your favorite veggies in with pasta and voila! Dinner is served.

Ingredients:
Chopped veggies! Such as...
Red Pepper
Carrots
Water Chestnuts
Zucchini
Pea Pods
Mushroom
Onion
Garlic
Spaghetti
Directions:
Boil water and cook pasta according to package directions. Stir fry veggies in oil (olive or other) for 1-2 minutes each starting with onions and garlic, then hardest veggies first. Add pasta and stir in a couple dashes of stir fry sauce, such as Trader Joe's Soyaki to taste. Enjoy!

Mocha frosting

One more frosting recipe worth sharing! This was the crowd favorite at my 40th birthday cupcake & wine tasting party! Pair with Chocolate cupcakes and you have a winner. MMMMMMM mocha.
Ingredients:
1/3 cup Butter
4 cups Confectioners Sugar
3 Tbsp Cocoa
1 tsp Instant Coffee
1 tsp Vanilla
4-5 Tbsp Water
Directions:
In a separate bowl, whisk together confectioners sugar, cocoa, and instant coffee (like Starbucks Via). Using a mixer, cream butter (room temperature), and slowly add in dry mixture on a low speed. Stir in vanilla and water to reach desired consistency at medium speed. 

cream cheese frosting

Ingredients:
1 stick Butter
8 oz Cream Cheese
1 tsp Vanilla
1 lb Confectioners Sugar
Directions:
Thaw ingredients. Works best if butter and cream cheese are room temperature! Add butter and cream cheese to bowl for mixer. Blend together. Add vanilla. Gradually add entire pound of sugar. This makes plenty of frosting! I might even try 1/2 recipe next time.

Nan-Nan's Carrot Cake

It is an honor to make this family recipe! Such a wonderful, moist, delicious carrot cake. I can't say enough good things about it. We celebrated my father-in-laws birthday and this cake made the occasion extra special. The cake is rich and full of texture. The frosting is simple and simply delicious.

Ingredients:
2 cups Sugar
1 1/2 cup Canola Oil
4 Eggs
.....
2 3/4 cup Carrots, grated
8 1/2 oz crushed Pineapple
1 cup shredded Coconut
3/4 cup Walnuts, chopped
.....
2 cups Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Salt
2 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 325. Combine sugar, eggs, oil in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix carrots, pineapple, coconut & walnuts, set aside. In another bowl, mix the remaining dry ingredients and set aside. Alternate adding carrot mixture and dry ingredients to the batter. Pour into a prepared 9x13 pan. Bake at 325 for 55 minutes. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting. Enjoy! Cherish!   

Brown Rice Salad

The perfect summer salad - lemon & honey mustard with grains, nuts & veggies. A meal in itself! A friend of mine posted this recipe on her blog, living~from~balance. I added a few touches...Yum! Did I say how much I love this recipe?!
Ingredients:

4 cups short grain Brown Rice, steamed
1 Red Pepper, diced
1 Carrot, shredded
2 Scallions, sliced
1/2 cup Cucumber, seeded and diced
1/4 cup Feta, crumbled
1 cup Peas, fresh or frozen
1/4 cup Nuts, roasted
1/4 cup Seeds, toasted
1 tsp Italian seasoning
salt & pepper
Dressing:
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
4 Tbsp Lemon juice, fresh
1 Tbsp Honey Dijon Mustard
Directions: Cook rice and let cool (I measured about 1-1/2 cups uncooked rice, to make enough for this recipe). Chop veggies and add to the cooled rice. I used roasted almonds and cashews for the nuts and roasted pumpkin seeds. Combine ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk dressing together and pour over salad. Enjoy!

Pizza-Bellas

This is quite yummy and hearty for a veg lunch! Pizza made on a Portabella mushroom "crust". I saw this idea at the gym and it is simple & easy. Kids especially like make-your-own pizza, so if they don't like mushrooms, you can easily substitute an English muffin.

Ingredients:
1 Large Portabella Mushroom
Pizza toppings:

• sauce
• cheese
• veggies
• etc.

Directions: Preheat oven to 400. Spray baking sheet with non-stick spray. Cut off mushroom stem, and place on upside down on baking sheet. Bake mushroom only for 8 minutes. Remove from heat and remove any excess liquid. Top with desired pizza toppings such as pizza sauce, cheeses, peppers and olives. Bake pizza in oven for an additional 8 minutes until cheese has melted. Cool until ready to eat! Enjoy!
  

Refreshing Quinoa Salad

A perfect Spring/Summer side dish (or lite lunch) this season! I saw Ali on an episode of The Biggest Loser making a Quinoa Salad. Fast & refreshing! I've never used Quinoa before, and it is fabulous. So simple and takes less time to cook than brown rice.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked Quinoa
1 Mango, diced
1 handful of Cilantro
1 can Black Beans, rinsed
1 Red Pepper, diced
3 Green Onions
4 Tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
3 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Tbsp fresh Lime juice

Directions:
Combine vinegar, oil, and lime juice in a small bowl, set aside. In a large bowl mix remaining ingredients. Toss in liquid mixture, Chill for 1 hour. Enjoy!

Sweet & Spicy Red Pepper Linguine

I love the use of fresh basil and Greek yogurt with a little kick from the hot pepper sauce! The trick to this recipe is keeping it warm... toss pasta and sauce at the last minute before serving. I found this in a Costco Connection magazine. If this is too spicy for your kids, you can easily cook extra plain pasta to keep everyone happy! If your kids don't like whole wheat pasta, try mixing 1/2 white with 1/2 wheat.

Ingredients:
8 oz Whole Wheat Linguine
1-1/2 cups Marinara Sauce
4oz jar of Roasted Red Peppers
1/4 cup 2% Greek Yogurt
1 cup fresh Basil, chopped
1 tsp Hot Pepper Sauce
Salt & Pepper
6Tbsp Parmesan

Directions: Cook Pasta. In the meantime, cut red peppers into strips and simmer with marinara sauce over medium heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Place yogurt in bowl and whisk in a little bit of the marinara mixture to "temper" the yogurt (prevents curdling). Then whisk the yogurt into the sauce. Cover to KEEP WARM. Drain linguine and toss in a large bowl with the sauce, basil and hot pepper sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately. Makes 4 servings.

Cowgirl Caviar

This is hands down my favorite salsa. I had a taste of Texas Caviar at my cousin's party on the 4th of July and wouldn't leave without getting that recipe! I modified her recipe slightly with ingredients that I had in my pantry. You could really use any type of beans -  black beans, pinto beans, etc. I went with pink beans, thus the name, "cowgirl" caviar. Sweet & sassy... 

Ingredients:
15oz can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
15 oz can Pink Beans, rinsed & drained
15 oz can Corn
1/2 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded & chopped finely
1 Red Pepper, seeded & diced
1/2 Red Onion, diced
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup Rice Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder

Directions:
Mix all ingredients in large bowl. Stir to coat evenly and dissolve sugar. Refrigerate. Serve with your favorite tortilla chips. I like it even more on the second day, as the sugar and vinegar make the onions more mild and super juicy. Enjoy!

Hummus

Here is a basic hummus recipe that actually tastes good! Hummus makes a great dip, has nice bean protein, and is versitile. Try adding to your sandwich or panini. Some variations would be red pepper, pine nuts, sun dried tomato, Mediterranean spices,  etc. etc. Go wild.

Ingredients:
15oz Chickpeas
1 Garlic clove
2 TbspTahini
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cumin
1/8 tsp Cayenne
Paprika

 Directions:
Drain chickpeas. Process garlic, chickpeas, tahini and lemon juice in food processer add spices, salt. Drizzle olive oil in while processing until smooth. Sprinkle with paprika. Chill.

Stir Fry w/ baked tofu

Stir fry 101... Very basic, but a good family friendly solution (or at least some of the veggies appeal to all family members). I like to add some baked tofu and a rainbow of veggies along with a little more Trader Joe's "Soyaki". Serve with brown rice.

Ingredients:
Garlic
Onion
Red Pepper
Carrots
Broccoli
Zucchini
(additional assorted vegetables of your choice:
such as mushrooms, yellow squash, pea pods, asparagus, etc. )
Soyaki
Baked Tofu
Olive Oil

Directions:
Slice Veggies. Stir fry in a small amount of oil for a couple minutes each, starting with the hardest vegetable, and finishing with broccoli. Cover to steam. Add baked tofu and Soyaki sauce. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Baked Tofu

Baked Tofu is tasty and has lots of protein! Add to your salad, sandwiches or slice and toss in with stir fry. You can use many different marinades. I love Trader Joe's "SOYAKI" - a teriyaki sauce with ginger & sesame seeds. Marinate as much as possible (at least one hour) to develop some flavor!

Ingredients:
Firm Tofu - drained
Marinade

Directions:
Drain tofu. Slice tofu into 1/2" slices and place in baking pan. Pour in marinade, coating the slices on both sides. Cover & Marinate for an hour or more in the fridge. Preheat oven to 375. Drain excess marinade and bake 30 minutes, turning over after 15 minutes. Enjoy!

Trying tofu

O.K. I am testing a few new tofu recipes and they are pretty good... next time I will marinate the tofu overnight for more flavor! Tofu Tip: Drain the tofu first, then to get even more liquid out, I put the tofu back in the fridge with a heavy jar on top of it for the day.

Missing Chipotle

Since we moved back East, one thing I miss is going for a quick meal at Chipotle. I used to order the Vegetarian Salad... and they had the BEST tasting honey-chili salad dressing. I searched the web and came up with this salad dressing recipe. It works for me!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Red Wine
1/3 cup Honey
1 Tbsp Mrs Dash southwest chipotle
1 Tbsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1Tbsp Oregano
1-1/2 cups Olive Oil

Directions:
Add the ingredients (except oil) in a blender, mix and then slowly add the oil at the end. Enjoy!
 My "Chipotle" salad is complete with herbed rice, grilled veggies, black beans, fresh & corn salsa, a little cheese, sour cream (use greek yogurt), and guacamole. YUM!