December 7, 2011- Red Beans with Quinoa (Vegan)

Red Beans with Quinoa (Vegan)

This is a really yummy recipe that is really easy to make. It is red beans (kidney beans) sauteed with onion and garlic. You mix in some bbq sauce and serve it over quinoa. The quinoa is a whole grain which tastes a little nuttier than rice but also has added nutritional value in that it is a complete protein so we get lots of protein from the kidney beans and the quinoa. This is a really tastey dinner because of the sauteed onions and garlic with the added flavor of the bbq sauce. It is simple and easy and delicious. Enjoy!

December 6, 2011- Lasagna

Lasagna

So since I had class tonight Nick was in charge of dinner. All that I put on the menu was "Lasagna." So that left Nick up to decide to include whatever he wanted. I bought fresh cremini mushrooms and ricotta cheese as well as some mozzarella and parmesan. The rest was up to him. Well he decided to include spinach, carrots, and haricots verts (long, thing green beans) as well as the creminis I bought in our lasagna. It was in a smaller brownie pan and had several layers. The tomato basil sauce we use from Trader Joe's was delicious and I know he added some other seasonings to the sauce as well. It was really yummy. I love coming home to a home cooked meal prepared by my husband :)

December 5, 2011 - One Pot Taco Soup

Hey everyone, we make a awesome soup today. Becca started it in the crock pot. She chopped onion, added frozen roasted corn, a can of diced tomatoes, and pinto beans to the crock pot. We also added veggie stock to the pot. Then mix in a packet of taco seasoning, and ranch dressing. We let this simmer on low for about 3 hours then on high for the last hour. We served the soup with lime, cheddar cheese, and sour cream. We have some awesome flax seed chips that we also had with it.

December 4, 2011- Lentil Shepherd's Pie (Vegan)

Lentil Shepherd's Pie (Vegan)

This is a yummy dish that we make in the crock pot. It is a take on traditional shepherd's pie but had lentils with other veggies. It has lentils, carrots, celery, tomatoes, and onion. On top there is a mixture of regular russet potatoes and sweet potatoes. The normal recipe calls for cheddar cheese but to make it vegan we just don't put any cheddar cheese on it. It all goes in the crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours. Which on a Sunday is good. I don't remember what the setting for low is. It is a delicious and hearty dish that has a good amount of protein and flavor.

Also, when we made pie in Orange County I had one pie dough left from the pumpkin pie. So I decided that I wanted to use the pie dough up and I wanted to make a pie that didn't require a pie dough on top. So I made an apple crumble pie today. It has a caramel sauce that was drizzled on top of the mound of apples that we had to slice. It looks absolutely delicious and we can't wait to eat it! :)

December 3, 2011- Thai Pepper

Thai Pepper

So we were actually supposed to use our Groupon for K's Crepes in Cupertino but the restaurant was closed due to an event they were having so we were really bummed. We had planned to go to dinner with Nick's parents to discuss all the housing stuff we are dealing with right now. If you don't know, Nick's parents are helping us with a down payment so we can buy a townhouse or condo. So we have been viewing some properties and recently got an agent involved and spent more than 3 hours looking at properties yesterday and it was a really long day. So the crepe place was closed. And our Groupon expires on the 9th so we have to use it by Friday. Ahh! So we decided to walk across the street to Thai Pepper. Now I have been going to Thai Pepper since I was a freshman at SCU. Fond memories of pad Thai there. Nick and I always order the pad Thai (no egg, no fish sauce) and sticky rice. It was yummy comfort food. I think that pad Thai could actually be considered vegan. Not sure though. But it was yummy to say the least. No picture because we ate out...although Nick said he was going to take a picture at the crepe place. Oh well. It was delicious :) We decided we will use our Groupon for K's Crepes on Thursday, talk about waiting until the last minute!

December 2, 2011 - Zucchini Cakes with Corn (Vegan)

This is actually last nights dinner. We ate rather late, 9:00. We were out running errands and doing some Christmas shopping. Dinner was delicious though. When we got home I started dinner and Becca made a salad. Technically this is not part of dinner and it was rather spastic :) We combined peas, kidney beans, 3 cheese mix, lettuce, and this amazing ranch dressing (cheese and dressing were not vegan, but it technically was more of an appetizer and does not count for dinner, but I wanted to include it). We devoured it in a few minutes and never got a picture, oops. We normally have healthy salads with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, so we splurged tonight. So dinner starts with some chopped onion, shredded zucchini, break crumbs, flax seed, and some tartar sauce. You mix it all together in a large bowl and then shape into small patties. Then you fry them in some canola oil, for about 5 minutes on each side. We also had some corn on the cob. We just let this cook in some boiling water. After, peanut got to eat some corn off the cob too. :)

December 1, 2011- Pizza on Flat bread

Pizza on Flat bread

This is a repeat of something we had a week or two ago. Nick had class tonight and it was something easy to make that he could take to class. If you want the information on it you can go to the blog post for November 21, 2011. No picture because I already posted one on November 21. Will have fresh food posted tomorrow! Yay!