Wednesday, September 21, 2011

LOTS of goodies!

I have a ton of meals to catch y'all up on!  So get ready for a long post.  I'll try to make it interesting.  Okay I don't really have any interesting stories but lots of photos!!!


Let's start with a review for Yves Vegan Grain Meat in a sweet chili thai sauce.  I saw this at the store and thought it sounded good enough.  I wasn't expecting much out of it as I'm pretty hard to please with this sort of thing.  It was SOOOO good.  I would eat it over and over again.  It was super easy to make and it didn't taste fake or chewy. 




The top photo is how the packaging looks.  It comes with the "meat" separate.  You heat it in some oil until it gets golden brown.  Then you add the sauce packet and cook for a few short seconds so it heats up and gets thick. 


I ate mine with quinoa, green beans and broccoli.  Perfect meal when you need something quick! 




This next recipe I bookmarked awhile ago and kind of forgot about it.  I'm glad I found it because it was delicious.  It's from vegetarian times and you can find the recipe online here.  I followed the recipe except I didn't use coconut flakes, I didn't have any lime juice and I used canned pineapple instead of fresh.  I topped this with quinoa (If you can tell I'm trying to stay away from too much pasta and rice.  I also want to make sure I'm getting enough protein and trying to make sure I have some form in every meal).  It needed some "sauce" so I topped it with sriracha and sweet chili sauce that I have in a jar (if you've never had any you need to..it's kinda of amazing).  It was the perfect spice to add with the sweetness of the pineapple.


You probably won't beleive it but I made this amazing spinach risotto in the microwave with my pasta boat!!!  Well it's not actually a pasta boat it's called pasta n more, but it comes with a recipe book and I figured what the heck let's give it a try.  It was soooo easy and it came out perfect.  Plus I didn't have to sweat over the stove forever to make this!  I made some adjustments from the original recipe, so below is what I did

2 Tablespoons of olive oil
1 cup of chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic (more if you'd like), chopped
1 cup of uncooked arborio rice
3 cups of HOT vegetable broth (so make sure to bring it to a slight boil before adding it)
1/4 teaspoon of salt
8 oz fresh spinach
2 small zucchini cut into 1inch pieces
About 1/2 lemon juice
I didn't measure but about a tablespoon of agave nectar
Dried rosemary maybe 1/2 tablespoon
Italian seasoning mabe 1/2 - 1 tablespoon
1/4 cup of vinegar (the original recipe called for 1/2 white wine, I didn't have any so I subbed this)

1.  Combine the olive oil, onion and garlic in the boat pot, place in microwave and cook on HIGH for 3 minutes
2.  Stir in the rice and broth and add salt, lemon juice, agave nectar, rosemary and italian seasoning, cover with the strainer lid and cook on HIGH For 6 minutes
3.  Uncover and stir in vinegar, zucchini, spinach and cook for about 10-15 minutes until the liquid boils off. 
4.  Serve with Parma if desired.  I also made a side of wax beans with similar seasonings as the risotto



Last but not least I had a wonderful spread a few weekends ago at my parents.  My dad BBQd a spicy chicken patty for me.  I cut it up and ate it on a roll with the fixings (lettuce, onion, tomato, pickle and BBQ sauce).  Side of corn with salt and tapatio hot sauce, potatoes with rosemary, and BBQ veggies straight from the grill.  Hopefully this isn't my last summer BBQ this year.  All the halloween decorations at the stores are making me a little depressed. I feel like I was just talking about the being excited for summer and now it's almost gone.

For now that is all...Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler!

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