I love to go all out and spend hours cooking something special but sometimes you find something that is good AND easy. So I love to pass that along for a easy weeknight, long day at work, meal. I spent about 10 minutes getting this meal ready and it was a hit and after a long work day I loved that I spent so little effort.

Ingredients

• 1 Trader Joe’s Cabernet Marinated Pot Roast
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 bag of carrots, cut into chunks
• 1 bag of Yukon Gold small potatoes, cut in half (you could also use small red skin potatoes whole
• 1 sliced onion
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup red wine (or beef broth)
• 2 tablespoons of flour

Preparation

1. Layer cut up onion, carrots and potatoes in the bottom of the crock-pot.
2. Pour 1/2 cup of water over vegetables.
3. In a large skillet heat olive oil and brown roast on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).
4. Add a little red wine or beef broth (about 1/4 cup) to the pan and whisk in about a tablespoon of flour. Cook to thicken. Add to crock pot.
5. Place roast on top of vegetables and set for 5-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

I used the slow cooking method and it was super tender at 8 hours.

This is a great recipe I made up that re-heats and freezes well. We are not vegetarian but this is a great, quick vegetarian week night meal. I have served this to non-vegetarians and they love it!

Ingredients

• 1 chipotle chiles and teaspoon of adobo sauce (depending on how hot you want it.
• 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil –  for pan
• 1 sliced onion
• 3 -4 cans Enchilada Sauce (La Victoria is good or -surprisingly-Kroger fire roasted enchilada sauce)
• 1 red pepper cut into slices (you can also use yellow, orange or green)
• 1 can mild diced chilies (I like Hatch when I can find them)
• 1 package Beef-less ground beef (Trader Joe’s)
• 1 Package tortillas (I like trader Joe’s Whole wheat low carb flour tortillas)
• 1 Avocado
• 1 package of low fat shredded cheese (I like to use a combo of cheeses)

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 350.
2. Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Finely chop chile; set chile and sauce aside separately. (You can add more if you want more spice-take out seeds if you want less).
3. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and red pepper and cook until soft.
4. Add chipotle chile and green chiles.
5. Add “beef” and stir in until heated through and browned.
6. Add 1 can enchilada sauce.
7. Add cheese (you can add as much or as little as you want – I use about 1 cup).
8. Layer 1 can of enchilada sauce in a 13 x 19 pyrex dish.
9. Fill tortillas and place seam side down on the sauce – I usually get about 6-7 depending on how full you make them.
10. Pour 1-2 cans of enchilada sauce over tortillas.
11. Sprinkle with cheese.
12. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Serve with rice, refried beans or just lettuce. Top with avocado.

I ran across this recipe in Cooking Light (Dec 2004) and I make it year after year now. It is the perfect rainy day, cold weather soup. I have altered it some over the years and this is my version.

Ingredients

• 1 (7-ounce) can chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups sliced onion
• 1 red pepper cut into chunks
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• Course sea salt and pepper
• 5 medium red potatoes cut into chunks (reserve two for adding to the blended soup)
• 6 cups chicken stock
• 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can golden hominy, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup roasted Grape Tomatoes (or diced plum tomatoes)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (for topping)
• Shredded Cheese (for topping)
• Avocado slices (for topping soup)

Preparation

1. Remove 1 chile and 1 teaspoon adobo sauce from can; reserve remaining chiles and sauce for another use. Finely chop chile; set chile and sauce aside separately. (You can add more if you want more spice-take out seeds if you want less).
2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and cook slowly until caramelized, add chile, and next 7 ingredients; cook until vegetables are tender, stirring frequently. Stir in broth; bring to a low boil. Add chicken; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is tender. Remove chicken with a slotted spoon, and cool slightly. Shred chicken with 2 forks; cover and keep warm.
3. Remove pan from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Place one-third of broth mixture in a blender (or use immersion blender); process until smooth. Pour pureed broth mixture into a large bowl. Repeat procedure in two more batches with remaining broth mixture. Return pureed broth mixture to pan. Stir in the 2 remaining potatoes and hominy; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir in chicken; simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in reserved adobo sauce, tomatoes, cilantro, and salt. Serve topped with avocado and shredded cheese. This is great with cornbread.

*I have also added corn to this.

This freezes well.

I was inspired by a Blog from Lemons and Basil to make this dish. http://lemonsandbasil.com/bbq-tilapia-and-sweet-potato-tacos/. Please check out her blog. Her photos are BEAUTIFUL and her food simply wonderful and healthy. This is almost completely cobbled together from leftovers but has grown to be one of our favorites.

Ingredients

• 1 sweet potato
• 1 avocado, sliced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Tilapia Filet (See my previous post)
• 1/2 Cup cooked rice (brown or White)
• Roasted Tomatoes (See my previous post)
• Cilantro
• Smoked Paprika
• 4 tortillas (I love the Trader Joe’s Whole Wheat low carb)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F: While the oven is preheating peel and chop sweet potato into cubes
2. Roast Sweet Potato: Place on a non-stick baking tray or one lined with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup). Drizzle with olive Oil, sprinkle with course sea salt, pepper and paprika. Roast for about 9 minutes, toss the potatoes and roast about another 9 minutes until tender and golden.
3. Assemble tacos: Heat 4 tacos about 15 seconds in the microwave. Spread layer of cooked rice, cooked tilapia, roasted tomatoes, avocado and roasted Sweet Potatoes.

Serves 2.

Since this blog is supposed to be about food AND art I thought I would share the new children’s book I wrote and illustrated for my Husband’s great nieces. Click the link below to view the book.

https://db.tt/zLU7eN0R

Ingredients

• 1 medium spaghetti squash (2 to 3 pounds)
• 2 cartons of Grape tomatoes (I always roast more than I need to use for later)
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
  
• Oregano
• course sea salt (I used french grey here)
• course ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons of butter – I used light butter

Instructions for Roasting Squash

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F: Preheat the oven while you prep the squash.
2. Slice the squash in half: Cut the spaghetti squash lengthwise from stem to tail. Spaghetti squash are really hard!
3. Scoop out the seeds: Use a large spoon to scrape out the seeds and stringy bits of flesh from inside the squash. Discard the seeds (or save them for roasting as a snack or in soup).
4. Place the squash in a roasting pan: Place the squash halves cut-side down in large pyrex dish 13 x 9.
5. Pour in a little water : Pour a little water in the pan, enough to cover the bottom, about a 1/4 inch.
6. Cook the squash: Transfer the squash to the oven and cook for 30 to 45 minutes. Smaller squash will cook more quickly than larger squash. Check the squash after 30 minutes to gauge cooking. I used a convection oven so my cooking time represents that.
7. The squash is done when tender: The squash is ready when you can easily pierce a fork through the flesh all the way to the peel.
8. Scrape out the squash: Use a fork to gently scrape the squash flesh from the peel and to separate the flesh into strands. Rake the flesh horizontally. they should look like spaghetti.

Instructions for roasting tomatoes

I love these sweet grape tomatoes (you can also use red and yellow cherry tomatoes roasted this way). They are great in a vegetable pasta sauce or in tacos. i made extra to serve with the leftover baked tilapia I made with this meal. I baked 2 Tilapia filets and saved one to use for another meal as fish tacos.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F: While the oven is preheating wash tomatoes and dry.
2. Slice the tomatoes in half: Slice lengthwise and put on a non-stick baking tray or one lined with aluminum foil (for easy cleanup)
3. Drizzle with Olive Oil: I use Trader Joe’s and i just liberally drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with the sea salt and pepper.
4. Roast in oven: For about 20 minutes. I used about half a cup for this recipe and reserved the rest for another meal. Make sure you use the oil and tomato juices.

Instructions for Squash and Tomatoes

1. In a large bowl: Place Spaghetti Squash into the bowl. Add the cheese, oregano, pepper, butter and roasted tomatoes. Mix gently to combine. Serve with Baked Tilapia or you can make this a main meal by adding other vegetables like mushrooms and Zucchini, etc.

This serves 2.

Instructions for baked Tilapia

1. 2 tilapia Filets: Sprinkle with course sea salt, 4 color pepper, smoked paprika. Drizzle with Olive oil
2. Pre-Heat Oven to 400: Bake Tilapia on non stick pan, 3-4 minute each side.The filet should be opaque.

We split the Tilapia and save one to use in tomorrows meal.

This is a quick and simple pasta sauce. I put this together because I have a lot of Sage growing in my garden and leftover greens in the refrigerator. I used this over Butternut Squash Ravioli but it would be good on any type of pasta.

Ingredients

• 15 or so sage leaves, rinsed and sliced
• 1 bag of kale, rinsed
• Swiss Chard, rinsed with stems removed
• 1 bag baby spinach, rinsed with stems removed
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1/2 cup of broth ( I used the leftover broth that I had cooked Butternut squash in the night before, but any vegetable or chicken broth will do)
• Pasta of choice – I used ravioli stuffed with butternut squash

Instructions

1. Chop Sage into strips, about a 1/4 inch wide.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of butter to hot pan, when it is melted add Sage and fry until crispy.
3. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. In a large pan add Olive Oil, when oil is hot add the greens and cook until wilted.
5. Add the broth and simmer on very low heat.
6. Cook pasta according to directions
7. Spoon broth and greens over pasta.
8. Sprinkle with the crispy sage.

On the quest to make the perfect Fruit Tea for Hal, I finally created one where he said “this is it”… so i thought I would share! The spiced Chai tea bags, cinnamon and cloves gives it a wonderful flavor!

Ingredients

• 8 Cups water
• 1 cup of simple syrup (I put 1 Cup of sugar into a bowl and pour some of the boiling water into it until dissolves)
• 8 cloves
• 4 tea bags – I like to use a combination but always use some or all Black double-spice Chai Tea
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 fresh ginger slices (about 1/8 inch thick)
• 2 Cups of a combination of Orange and Pineapple (I also like Trader Joe’s Dynamo Juice)

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot add water, cloves, cinnamon stick and ginger.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Add a cup of the boiling water and pour over the sugar to make simple syrup.
4. Remove from heat and add the tea bags
5. Let steep for at least 15 minutes.
6. Add the simple syrup and juice.
7. Strain contents through a sieve and into a container.
8. Chill.

We always seem to have leftover Quinoa or rice in the fridge so I try to come with ways to use it. It is great in patties also. This recipe was adopted from a Quinoa and Greens Pie from the Vegetarian Times that someone posted. I like that version a lot but ended up making changes to one that we love. It is great by itself or a side dish. Depending on how much quinoa you have left over will determine how thick the pie ends up. You can also add different veggies, too. I have added zucchini, red peppers and asparagus.

Ingredients

• 2- 3 cups cooked quinoa (I like Trader Joe’s tricolor)
• 1 package white or baby bella mushrooms chopped
• 2 packages of Trader Joe’s Baby Spinach, Kale and Swiss chard Mix
  (or just about any other greens will work). Remove stems.
• 1 sweet Onion, thinly sliced
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup of shredded cheese (I like Fontina, but Parmesan, Cheddar
  or a mixture works great – which is what I used for this recipe)

Instructions

1. Pour about 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil into pan, add onions to hot oil and cook, stirring often, until caramelized.
2. Add chopped mushrooms, sir until cooked about 4 minutes.
3. Add greens and sauté until wilted.
4. Add cooked Quinoa, salt, pepper and stir until combined.
5. Remove from heat, cool slightly and add the eggs and 3/4 cup of the cheese. Mix well.
6. Pour mixture into a oiled pie pan. I used a deep dish for this recipe.
7. Cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top and cook for an addotional 20 minutes until mixture is set and bubbly on top.

This is another one of those recipes that I have never written down. My husband used to go to a vegetarian lunch once a month to get his vegetarian fix with Gabrielle, then when she opened a restaurant he went to Whole foods to get baked tofu… but then they stopped making it. So I tried to recreate it. I have never been a big tofu fan but I have to admit I love this. Hal eats it for breakfast in the mornings and it makes a great TLT. Tofu, lettuce and tomato on Ciabatta bread. This has become a weekly staple in our house. Even people that don’t like tofu have eaten this and enjoyed it.

Ingredients

• 1 block of Extra Firm Tofu (I love Trader Joe’s
• 3/4 Cup of low sodium Soy Sauce
• 1/4 Cup of Sesame Oil
• Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
• Emril’s seasoning

Instructions

1. Drain the tofu overnight on a paper towel. I usually change the paper towel at least twice
2. Slice into 7 pieces. About 3/8 inch thick. You can make them thinner if you want more, but reduce cooking time.
3. Put into a dish that will allow the sauce to cover the tofu at least partway
4. Combine all sauce ingredients but the Emril’s seasoning and pour over tofu slices
5. Let marinate for at least a couple of hours. You may need to turn a couple of times
6. Place on a non-stick baking sheet of foil covered sheet and sprinkle with the Emril’s seasoning
7. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes, turn sprinkle with the Emril’s seasoning and bake another 20 minutes until golden.

Refrigerate and enjoy!