What We Ate Last Week #20
Life has been busy with our son graduating from college, moving all of his stuff back into our house, and then heading off for the summer for the jungles of Central America (Mayan archaeology project). I should now be back posting regularly again.
Monday: *New Recipe* Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant Stew
This was a meal I created using Stonehouse27 tomato & chilies sauce. It was amazingly delicious! Recipe coming with review of this brand soon.
Tuesday: *New recipe* Quiche with spinach and tomato
I used a healthy crustless quiche recipe, but with a prepared frozen crust (since my husband didn't feel that a quiche could be "crustless"). It was mostly a disaster, although the flavor wasn't bad. We certainly won't repeat this one.
Wednesday: *Pescatarian meal* Mango, papaya, & avocado salad served on mixed greens. I used salad shrimp in this, although I have made it in the past with baked tofu. It's a delicious recipe that I will likely share in the future (the tofu version of course).
Thursday: Bread, fruit, and cheese. This is a favorite celebration dinner at our house - based on a meal that my husband and I used to get at a college pub back many, many years ago when we were dating.
Friday: Spaghetti and meatless meatballs (Veggie Patch brand).
Saturday:
Enchiladas - our son wanted to try these after seeing the recipe on my blog!
Sunday: *New Recipe* Vindaloo
Another recipe I created using a Stonehouse 27 sauce. Not quite the success of the others.
See Previous Week Menu
Give Them a Try! - Beets
There are few vegetables that I disliked as a kid, so I remember thinking beets were OK, yet I never made them as an adult until recently. (I think perhaps my husband had a less positive childhood memory and that influenced my choice.)
A while ago, Seneca foods sent me a couple of jars of pickled beets to try.
I used the whole beets in a roasted vegetable recipe and the sliced beets in a salad. (Note, I did rinse them first to reduce sodium.) They were quite delicious, and convinced me that beets are something I want to regularly include in our diet.
These jarred beets, available at most supermarkets in the canned food area, or
online
, are an easy way to give beets a try.
You also may want to look for Melissa's peeled baby red beets in the produce area of your grocery store (Super Target carries it in my neighborhood). They are steamed and ready to eat as a snack, or to add to a salad, or to use in a cooked dish.
Of course, you can also pick up fresh beets at your grocery store or farmer's market. They are a bit more work to prepare, but are also delicious. (Look for golden beets too.) Plus, if you get beets with the greens still attached, they are good to eat too (and very nutritious).
When roasting prepared beet products, you don't need to cook them very long, so either add them later in cooking or roast with other fast cooking veggies.
Will you give beets a try? Or do you already eat them?
Recipe: Curried Tofu Salad
This recipe uses the tofu salad by serving it over greens, but you can also stuff it in a pita with some lettuce for a delicious sandwich.
1/2 package extra firm tofu, pressed and drained, cut into small chunks, misted with olive oil, and baked at 375 degrees for 20 min and cooled. (See
here for full tofu directions) - usually I make this the day before.
Mix with:
1/2 c plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 Tbsp mayo (or equivalent)
1 tsp curry powder
1 cup halved red grapes
freshly ground pepper
(if you have it, you can add in some thinly sliced celery too)
Place in fridge until ready to use.
Toss:
1 package mixed greens
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
Put the greens on plates and scoop the tofu salad into center.
Serve with bread or pita/tortilla wedges.
What We Ate Last Week #19
No pics this week. Sorry about that!
Monday: dinner out at a local Italian restaurant (spinach roll, yum!)
Tuesday: *Pescatarian Meal* Fish tacos (which could easily be made with baked tofu strips) - tortillas, fish, coleslaw mix, avocado, and (vegetarian) ranch dressing served with a can of no-salt added black beans cooked up with diced onions and peppers
Wednesday: Sausage (Field Roast brand), potatoes, and cabbage fry up (recipe in
previous post)
Thursday:
Quesadillas
Friday: Fired up the grill! Hamburgers (
Franklin Farms brand), corn-on-the-cob, and squash. We recently bought a
non-stick grilling grid
which makes cooking veggies on the grill much easier!
Saturday: Scrambled eggs mixed with bell peppers and the rest of the sausage, toast, and fruit salad
Sunday: PBB&J sandwiches with baby carrots and
Popchips
after lunch out at CPK (I tried their new roasted vegetable salad, and I can highly recommend it).
See Previous Week Menu
Review: Field Roast Grain Sausage + Recipe
Have you tried these sausages? I will go out on a limb and say they are the best tasting sausages I have ever had. Notice that I didn't say "best tasting
vegetarian sausages" - nope, best sausages ever!
I'm also a big fan of the Field Roast Celebration roast, which has become our new tradition for Christmas dinner. And here is a quick tip - cook a variety of veggies in your crock pot and add the celebration roast for the last 30 - 45 minutes to heat. It will be much juicier than the suggested cooking method on the package. I'll try to remember to post my recipe in the fall.
The only wish I have is for the company to reduce the amount of salt they use in their retail products. I'm sure they would taste just as awesome with half the salt, and then I would feel comfortable eating them more often than just as an occasional treat.
So here is a quick recipe with the apple sage sausages. It's reminiscent of the eastern European dishes I grew up eating.
Sausage, Potatoes, and Cabbage Fry Up
For 2 servings:
2 Field Roast Apple Sage Sausages (don't forget to remove casing), sliced
2 medium potatoes (or equivalent of smaller potatoes), cubed or sliced and boiled until tender
1 very small head cabbage, sliced (or about 1/2 - 2/3 of a bag of coleslaw mix)
1/2 med onion sliced (I like using a sweet onion, but that is optional)
2 Tbsp canola oil, divided
Freshly ground pepper
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in wok or non-stick skillet on med high. Cook onion, add cabbage and some pepper to taste (I like lots), and cook until both are ready to eat and hopefully, a bit browned. Remove to serving bowl.
Heat other Tbsp of oil and add sliced sausage and potatoes. Cook until heated and browned a bit. You can also add pepper for these.
Stir together in serving bowl. Salt if desired.
Traditionally this type of recipe would use butter rather than canola oil. Some of my family will make similar dishes using half oil and half butter to get the flavor and browning of butter but still keep it a bit healthier.
