Chipotle Lime Rice

Beginjing the new year, we have revamped our efforts to try and have meals ready to go when we need to go to work. It is much more convenient to be able to grab our lunch and go (and it it is much better for my wallet).

This recipe is full of flavor and can make a great base for many other additikns or a great side. In this particular dish we have some edamame and corn but we've said many times before that we generally just add whatever we have on hand. We in no way claim to be restaurant chefs, but cooking is something we are very passionate about. There are many people that we have talked to that "don't know how to cook" or say they "can't cook". As long as you have a few ingredients you can cook. Usually we are just throwing things together and hoping they come out well.

Here's another recipe we hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:
•1 teaspoon coconut oil
•1 cup rice short grain brown rice
•1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder
•1 1/2 to 2 cups boiling water
•1/2 cup edamame
•1/2 cup yellow corn
•zest of 1 lime

Here's what to do:
1. In either a teapot or hot water kettle bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
2. Place a heavy bottomed pan on medium heat and add the coconut oil. Once fully melted and the coconut oil is warm add the rice and stir periodically for a few minutes to toast the rice. Add the chipotle powder and stir to combine.
3. Add enough water to cover the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cover.
4. Check periodically and if neccessary add more water until the rice is almost fully cooked.
5. Stir in corn and edamame (both were frozen).
6. Remove from heat and stir in lime zest. If desired you can add mor chipotle powder.

Simple Peanut Butter Pasta

I have been a huge fan of peanut butter pasta ever since I first tried it. I have used many different variations, and usually it just happens to be whatever ingredients sound like a good fit and are in the house. : ) Here is a version of a quick and simple vegan meal.

2 packages of Nasoya noodles
4 tablespoons of peanut butter
1 tablespoon of Earth Balance buttery stick
1 tablespoon Bragg's liquid aminos
2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes

Drain and rinse the Nasoya noodles. I usually rinse them for at least a minute under hot water while they are in a colander. Heat the Earth balance and peanut butter on medium heat until melted. Add in the noodles and aminos. Cook on medium heat for another 3 minutes and then add the yeast flakes. Cook for about 2 more minutes while mixing occasionally and then enjoy! Feel free to change or add ingredients according to taste. We would usually put a lot of hot sauce in also but there wasn't any in the house. Also, Whole Foods has a delicious peanut sauce that is a great addition.

The way that I originally made peanut butter pasta many years ago was even simpler. It just included pasta, peanut butter and soy sauce. The way that we currently make it is probably much healthier because it has less sodium. (We used a LOT of soy sauce back in the day.)

The current recipe is for two dinners.

Easy Vegan Sausage Crescent Rolls

We found a package of vegan crescent rolls and I knew that I had to try to make a version of pigs in a blanket. I used to love them when I was growing up and these were absolutely delicious and SO easy to make! 

1 package of crescent rolls(hopefully your local Whole Foods or grocery store will carry some)

1 package of Tofurky sausages

1 package of Daiya cheese slices(we used Provolone & they were on sale at Whole Foods this week!)

So this was extremely simple and pretty quick. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees per the directions on the package of crescent rolls. I used 2 crescent rolls per Tofurky. Place two crescents together to make a larger triangle to wrap around the sausage. Place the sausage on the wider end of the crescent roll. Break the cheese slice in half and place both slices down the length of the sausage and roll the crescents. Bake in the oven per the instructions of the crescent roll package. Take out of the oven when golden and enjoy!

Quick Dinner

Hello,

I just wanted to share our dinner from last night because it was super simple and tasty! I was pretty hungry so I didn't even take a picture of the finished meal, but this took less than ten minutes to make and only had a few ingredients involved.

2 Tofurkey kielbasas, in half-inch slices
1 cup of kale
2 Tablespoons of nutritional yeast flakes
1 teaspoon tumeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 cup of cooked cous cous (we had some leftovers)
1 tablespoon of oil

Add the kielbasa slices and oil to a frying pan and sauté on medium-high heat for two minutes, stirring occasionally. Add in the kale and sauté for another two minutes. Toss in the rest of the ingredients and lower the heat to medium. Cook for about two or three minutes and mix together well. Serve in two bowls and enjoy!