August 25, 2012- Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Rice

Grilled Zucchini Rolls with Rice

This was a really yummy dinner to make and something we haven't tried before. It required that we slice the zucchini pretty thin and then grill it on a pan until browned. We then stuff it with a ricotta mixture which has lemon juice, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper. We also add some spinach leaves and roll it. We then warmed them on the slat pan again. We served them with a brown, red, and black barley frozen thing from Trader Joe's. I actually ended up liking this a lot more than I thought I would. I was really happy with how it turned out. They were almost bite sized and really tasty. 

August 24, 2012- Pasta Bake

Pasta Bake

We were originally just going to have pasta with tomato basil sauce but we decided to change it up and make a pasta bake. We layered pasta with sauce and some cheese and make a pasta bake. It was really tasty and easy to make. We used penne pasta and the tomato basil sauce from Trader Joe's. We also used a combination of mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. 

August 23, 2012- Baked Tofu with Rice- Vegan

Baked Tofu with Rice- Vegan

Tonight we wanted to make something simple so we marinated tofu with some soy sauce and baked it. This happens to be my favorite way to eat tofu. We served it with some basmati rice. Simple but still yummy. Easy and also a vegan meal!

August 22, 2012- Pizza My Heart

Pizza My Heart

Tonight Nick had back to school night so we needed something quick so we decided to go to Pizza My Heart for dinner. We both got a slice of mushroom pizza and split a garden salad with ranch.

August 21, 2012- Rice Noodle Stir Fry- Vegan

Rice Noodle Stir Fry- Vegan

We had a rice noodle stir fry for dinner and we used a frozen vegetable mix from Trader Joe's that had water chestnuts, mushrooms, peppers, baby corn, broccoli, and some other things. We also had some fresh asparagus and green beans that we added. We used teriyaki sauce for the sauce. 

August 20, 2012- White Lightening Chili

White Lightening Chili

This is a recipe from our Trader Joe's cookbook. It has quinoa, cannelini beans, it is supposed to have pinto beans but we used hominy, salsa, and corn. We topped it off with some cheese and we had some sliced bread and a handful of sweet potato chips.

August 19, 2012- Orange Marinated Tofu Skewers- Vegan

Orange Marinated Tofu Skewers- Vegan

This was what we had scheduled the day we went to Aqui's. It is a recipe from our Meat Free Monday's cookbook. The marinade is orange juice, orange zest, olive oil, and some herbs. We used zucchini, mushrooms, and peppers as the veggies and then tofu. We marinated it for a few hours and made skewers and baked them. We served this with Israeli couscous that we cooked in coconut milk which was really creamy tasting. 

August 18, 2012- Zesty Potato Salad- Two Ways

Zesty Potato Salad- Two Ways

We had planned a zesty potato salad that basically was steamed potatoes and raw green beans with olive oil and vinegar but we still had some pesto ranch left over so we decided to use some of that with some of the potato mixture so we had two different types of potato salad. We also had some peach salsa dip left over so we had some of that on corn tortillas. 

August 17, 2012- OIR Party

OIR Party

Tonight we had a party with friends from work so we made a plethora of food so I will post the pictures and describe what it is.

These were crescent rolls stuffed with asparagus and monterey jack cheese.

Blueberry dessert bruschetta- made with puff pastry, a cream cheese topping and fresh blueberries.

Chips and dips- pita chips, sweet potato chips, and salt and vinegar chips. A spicy peach salsa dip and a black bean hummus.

Chutney and cheese rolls.

Homemade flatbread.

Homemade soft pretzels with a homemade cheddar cheese dipping sauce.

Homemade chocolate truffle silk pie.

Spinach pinwheels made with puff pastry.

Totellini with ranch pesto.

Watermelon and cucumber salad.

August 16, 2012- Blueberry Pancakes

Blueberry Pancakes

We had something else planned but decided to make pancakes instead and had a lot of fresh blueberries so we decided to make blueberry pancakes. They tasted really yummy and now we know how to make blueberry pancakes so we will definitely be doing this again!

August 15, 2012- Artichoke Stuffed Portabellos

Artichoke Stuffed Portabellos

This is another recipe from our Trader Joe's cookbook. It used their fresh bruschetta sauce and artichokes in a can, also bread crumbs and parmesan. You combine all the ingredients and stuff the portabellos and bake them. They tasted really delicious and were super simple to make.

August 14, 2012- Aqui's

Aqui's

We didn't feel like cooking dinner tonight and I think I also forgot to buy tofu for tonight's planned dinner so we decided to go to Aqui's. We both got bean and cheese burritos which we huge so we brought home the leftovers and we shared a swirled margarita! Yum!

August 13, 2012- Grilled Lentil Wraps

Grilled Lentil Wraps

Another night of lentils! This is another recipe from our Trader Joe's cookbook and was really quite a delicious recipe. These had onions, brown rice, lentils, yogurt (we used plain greek yogurt), mozzarella cheese, and spinach. You mix everything together and stuff it into a tortilla and fold it together and dry grill it meaning you don't use any oil and you dress it down and it makes a flat grilled wrap. It was really quite tasty! We had it with some sauteed swiss chard.

August 12, 2012- Lentil Haystacks- Vegan

Lentil Haystacks- Vegan

This is another recipe from our Trader Joe's cookbook. It has brown rice on the bottom and lentils cooked with tomato basil sauce. We then topped it off with fresh cucumber. It was a really simple recipe but also very tasty with different flavors in each layer. For dessert we made zucchini brownies which we really good. We made a small mistake with the frosting so it was slightly runny but they still tasted really good. Nick and I only kept a small amount and he took the rest to work and everyone loved them!

August 11, 2012- Quinoa, Red Bean and Walnut Burgers

Quinoa, Red Bean and Walnut Burgers

We hadn't made any homemade veggie burgers in a while so we decided to make one and we picked this recipe. It had a potato, quinoa, kidney beans, and walnuts. It was a yummy burger and very hearty. We sauteed mushrooms and had a slice of cheddar. We served it with a salad on the side. 

August 10, 2012- Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup

Since Nick had his CSET we wanted to have a simple dinner so we had grilled cheese and tomato soup for dinner. It is a classic and simple dinner to make. Not really much to say to describe this...

August 9, 2012- Tofu Parimigiana

Tofu Parimigiana

Nick had his CSET the next morning so he wanted a filling and protein full meal the night before. So we had tofu parmigiana. We added kidney beans into the sauce we used and used corkscrew pasta. It was really quite yummy. I always like having this for dinner. 

August 8, 2012- Grilled Veggie Wraps- Vegan

Grilled Veggie Wraps- Vegan

This was a really delicious dinner. It had grilled asparagus and zucchini and we made a paste from cannelini beans with some garlic salt and pepper and olive oil. You also add some arrugula into the wrap and we used flax and oat tortillas. You roll them up like wraps and we had them with veggie chips. They were so flavorful and delicious!

August 7, 2012- Lentil and Mixed Veggie Casserole

Lentil and Mixed Veggie Casserole

This is a meal made in the crock pot. You combine lentils and vegetable stock in the crock pot with salt and pepper. Later you add a can of cream and mushroom and mixed vegetables like cauliflower, broccoli, and carrots. It didn't turn out the greatest because the veggies didn't cook fully. It wasn't my favorite dinner...

August 6, 2012- Red Beans with Quinoa- Vegan

Red Beans with Quinoa- Vegan

This is a dinner we make quite often. You use onion and saute them in olive oil until cooked and then add kidney beans and barbecue sauce. You serve them over quinoa. It is really easy to make and is also vegan.

August 5, 2012- Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole

This was an easy dinner to make in the crock pot. It used tomato sauce, beans, taco seasoning, tomatoes, and corn tortillas. You leave it in the crock pot for a while and then it is like a casserole but a little soupier. It was actually pretty tasty. We topped ours off with some cheese and sour cream.

August 4, 2012- Pizza Cupcakes with Mia and Riley

Pizza Cupcakes with Mia and Riley

We babysat out nephew and niece, Riley and Mia and they spent the night! After all that traveling we wanted to make something that was fun and kid friendly but also easy to make. We have made these pizzas on biscuits before which I grew up eating and I saw an idea to make pizza cupcakes which I thought would be fun for the kids. You use the biscuit dough and use a cupcake pan. You take a portion of each biscuit and put it into the bottom of each cupcake and put some sauce and cheese then top it with the remainder of the biscuit. You end up with 8 little pizza cupcakes. The kids (well Riley) really liked them. Mia doesn't like sauce on her pizza!

August 3, 2012- Drive Home- Taco Bell

Drive Home- Taco Bell

Well we were driving home around dinner time and what sounded good was...Taco Bell. We don't really eat here well...ever really so we decided we wanted a bean and cheese burrito and a quesadilla. So we got a couple bean and cheese burritos, a quesadilla and I got my gordita with beans (no meat) and we hit the road.

August 2, 2012- Leftovers

Leftovers

We had been accumulating some leftovers and my mom and I went out to lunch earlier in the day so we had a feast of lots of leftover food to make sure we didn't waste anything before we left the next day. My mom took me to a delicious Mediterranean restaurant for lunch and I got an appetizer platter with hummus, grape leaves, pita bread, baba ganoush, and some other things so I brought my leftovers for Nick to try which we ended up sharing for dinner along with some leftover gnocchi and other things. It was nice to just sit around the table.

August 1, 2012- Baked Gnocchi

 Baked Gnocchi

This is a recipe from our Trader Joe's cookbook which was really simple to make. It called for gnocchi, vodka sauce, peas, bread crumbs, and parmesan cheese. You basically make a casserole of the sauce, peas, and gnocchi (which you have to cook beforehand) and top it with the bread crumb and parmesan mixture. We drizzled it with a bit of olive oil and baked it and it was really quite yummy. We will definitely make this again.

July 31, 2012- Stir Fry veggies and Tofu with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Stir Fry veggies and Tofu with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce- Vegan

We wanted some good old fashion stir fry and I had a recipe for homemade teriyaki sauce from Nick's mom so we decided to make it for my mom because she loves teriyaki sauce. And she really loved this. We had lots of veggies like broccoli, carrots, zucchini, and snap peas. Nick and I had tofu and my mom and Maile had chicken with theirs. It was a yummy healthy and vegan dinner! For dessert we made salted caramel and chocolate shortbread. It was good but in my opinion was heavy on the orange zest.

July 30, 2012- Z Pizza

Z Pizza- Yum!

One of our favorite pizza places down south is called Z Pizza. I know more pizza but this pizza was so delicious. It had fresh ricotta, artichokes, garlic, parmesan, and mozzarella. It was such a delicious pizza! Yum! And very different from our easy to make TJ's pizza.

July 29, 2012- Drive to OC- Leftover Cheese Pizza

Drive to OC- Leftover Cheese Pizza

We were driving to OC for most of the day and so we just had leftover cheese pizza from the day before for dinner.

July 28, 2012- Homemade Cheese Pizza

Homemade Cheese Pizza

This is something we have made quite often. It is simple and easy to make and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. You only need Trader Joe's pizza dough, a jar of pizza sauce, and some cheese. It's as simple as that! We knew we were going on the road and this pizza is delicious cold or at room temp and gives plenty of leftovers so we made it for leftovers on the road.

July 21, 2012- Brie and Apple Croissants with Toasted Almonds

Brie and Apple Croissants with Toasted Almonds

A few weeks back Nick and I went to a little cafe and had a brie and apple croissant with toasted almonds. It was good but I thought to myself, "I could make this at home." So I did. And it was so yummy. We got small croissants so it wasn't so big and we had a salad on the side. I toasted the almonds myself because I had raw sliced almonds at home. We bought a Granny Smith apple because it contrasted well with the creamyness of the brie. It was really delicious. I can see cutting these in half and having them at a party. An easy to make and very grown up sandwich. 

July 27, 2012- Wet Burritos with Chickenless Strips

Wet Burritos with Chickenless Strips

A few weeks back I made some homemade enchilada sauce and we had the tortillas that we needed to use. We always have some beans in the cupboard so I thought of making a wet burrito for dinner. A few years ago I tried these chickenless strips that Trader Joes sells. They are packed with protein and low in fat and calories. So I bought a package and sauteed some in olive oil, lime, cumin, and chili powder. I added them along with some beans, rice, and cheese to our flax and oat tortillas and topped it off with some enchilada sauce and a little cheese and voila we had homemade wet burritos. They tasted really good and we still had some of the black bean and roasted corn couscous salad left so I added a little lime to that and we had that on the side. 

July 26, 2012- Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich- Vegan

Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Sandwich- Vegan

This was a really simple sandwich to make and consisted of only a few ingredients. This is the week of avocado and beans by the way. It had a can of chickpeas, an avocado, and some lime juice. It tasted really fresh and good and the texture was slightly chunky but also creamy. This was supposed to be vegan but we had some sliced swiss cheese that needed to get used so we use a slice of that and also a piece of romaine each. We used oat nut bread which is my favorite! We also had some grapes and I had half a bag of zesty ranch veggie chips. It was a hearty and delicious sandwich and dinner.

July 25, 2012- Roasted Chickpea Fajitas- Vegan

Roasted Chickpea Fajitas- Vegan

Nick and I have a recipe for roasted chickpea tacos but I thought that this recipe sounded really yummy and different so we decided to try this one out. You marinate the chickpeas in some various spices like cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, and bake them. They tasted really good. We also sauteed some mushrooms and had some rice to go with the fajitas. I also had some baked tofu that we added to the fajitas. I made a roasted corn and black bean couscous salad to go on the side.

July 24, 2012- All You Can Eat Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette- Vegan

All You Can Eat Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette- Vegan

Salad #9 This is another salad from vegetarian times and is the same vinaigrette we used from the July 20 recipe. The salad had a mixture of lettuce, carrots, celery, and peas. I also had Nick make some baked tofu earlier that had a light soy sauce marinade for some added protein and flavor. It had the lemon basil vinaigrette which has fresh lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon mustard, and chopped fresh basil. It is a yummy dressing and easy to make.

July 23, 2012- Creamy Avocado Pasta- Vegan

Creamy Avocado Pasta- Vegan

This pasta was so easy to make! It only required a few ingredients: pasta, an avocado, lime, olive oil, and pepper. You need a food processor or blender for the sauce. You use the avocado to make the sauce. We used some olive oil the thin out the sauce a little. It was a tangy sauce because of the lime but still a very creamy pasta because of the natural creaminess of the avocado and super fast to make!

July 22, 2012- Layered Pizza Pie

Layered Pizza Pie

Tonight we had a layered pizza pie which is a recipe we have had once before. You use refrigerated pizza crust and put it on the bottom of a pie plate then you use a mixture of pizza sauce and mushroom and put that next. Then you sprinkle some mozzarella and then a layer of frozen spinach that has been thawed and squeezed (to get the excess water out). Then you sprinkle more mozzarella. You put another layer of refrigerated pizza dough on top. You brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly grated parmsean cheese and bake it. It is a really yummy and easy dish to make.

July 20, 1012- Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette- Vegan

Salad with Lemon Basil Vinaigrette- Vegan

Salad #8. We we had been having a lot of cheesey and bread stuff so we wanted some light and healthy. We made a salad that had a mixture of lettuce, jicama, carrots, and grapes. We used a recipe for a lemon basil vinaigrette that was simple and used fresh basil and a hint of Dijon mustard. It was a really yummy salad and I really liked the vinaigrette. 

July 19, 2012- BATMAN!!!!!!!

Batman

Well we had decided over a month ago that we were going to the midnight premier of Batman. So we were going to get food at the mall where we were seeing it. We decided to go to CPK and get food there. We got a tuscan white bean hummus with pita bread and a mushroom and cheese pizza that we split. It was plenty of food and we treated ourselves to some Coldstone. Considering we got to the theater at 6:45 and didn't get home until 3:15:am I think we deserved it.

July 18, 2012- Veggie Bll Subs

Veggie Ball Subs

A while back we bought some veggie balls from Costco that are still in our freezer. They are really convenient to pop in the microwave and add to spaghetti or other meals. We had an idea to make our version of a "meatball" sub using these veggie balls. So we bought some french rolls and lathered on tomato basil sauce then used 5 veggie balls and drizzled more tomato basil and sprinkled on mozzarella cheese. OH MAN! So good. I could eat these every week they were delicious.

July 17, 2012- Carrot and Hummus Crunch on Sourdough- Vegan

Carrot and Hummus Crunch on Sourdough- Vegan

It's been a white since we had a vegan recipe and this one comes from our MFM cookbook. This was a really simple recipe to make and was really quite delicious. You take a piece of sourdough bread, spread on some hummus, you saute some carrots and onions in olive oil and put that on next. Then we added some sliced cucumber and spread some Greek yogurt on top. It was a simple meal but was really quite delicious and healthy. I think we will definitely have it again. If taking this for lunch you just make a sandwich and put another piece of bread on top. My friend Cristina came over for dinner so I roasted the asparagus we were supposed to use for the risotto and we had that on the side too. Yum!

July 16, 2012- Holders

Holders

We were supposed to have an asparagus risotto tonight but I think I took a longer than usual nap (it's summer and time to catch up on sleep) so when I woke up we didn't want to cook so we went to Holder's for pancakes. This is our favorite place to go for pancakes. So yummy! We usually get the buttermilk short stack and split it but this time we were different and got the blueberry pancakes! Yum!

July 15, 2012- Brown rice, beans, and cheese

Brown rice, beans, and cheese

Again trying not to use the oven we used the crock pot. This is one of our favorite recipes to make because it is really simple. It requires only a few ingredients: brown rice, black beans, cream of celery, vegetable broth, cheddar cheese, and some chips for dipping. We also sprinkle some lime juice on top for added flavor. It is a subtly tasty dish and quite filling. We bought some sweet potato chips from Trader Joes that are quite delicious. 

July 14, 2012- Yummy Salad with Marie's Ranch Dressing

Yummy Salad with Marie's Ranch Dressing

It has been really hot and we have been trying not to use the oven so we decided to make another salad. Yay! So salad #7 I believe. This one had lettuce (a mixture), a cucumber, homemade croutons, peas, kidney beans, cheddar cheese, and Marie's ranch dressing. This is our favorite ranch dressing. It is so yummy. So we made a big salad and we really quite satisfied with dinner :)