Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream --- It's been TOO long since we've posted!!

 Life has just been pretty busy these days. I just finished my semester, taking 9 credits, and with all my other responsibilities,  I found myself completely lacking interest in posting on blogs. So hopefully this summer will bring a little more relaxation, and time for me to really get this thing going. Or perhaps, I should combine it with my other food blog?.?The other blog I post on is that of mine, family members, and friends; Our Fabulous Bites. If you read that blog, the posts I put here will all be duplicates, though I do want this blog to also be a place to find info and hopefully hear people's stories from trying a Flexitarian Diet.
I'm going to have to think about the combining thing. We shall see.

For now, here is a delicious and healthy taco recipe!!

Roasted Veggie Tacos with Avocado Cream

Filling: (All diced)

Zucchini
Onion
Mushrooms
Bell Pepper
Tomato
Potato
Corn
Black beans
Garlic, minced
(These are what we use, generally, but you can use whatever you'd like. We pretty much just go through the fridge and throw anything in that sound delicious)

Seasonings: cumin, s&p, onion powder, garlic powder, paprika...again, whatever sounds good to you.

Avocado Cream:

1 avocado

1/3 c greek yogurt

1/4 c cilantro

1 tbsp lime juice

s&p, to season

Optional Toppings:

Feta cheese

Pico de gallo

Tomatillo dressing
Extra cilantro

Rice or Couscous for added filling, makes them go further! 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Prepare all your veggies, and toss in some olive oil (or your preference of oil), add seasonings, and mix until incorporated. Lay out evenly onto a pan, and roast until veggies are tender and lightly browning.

While veggies are roasting, whip together the avocado cream. Heat up your tortillas, and assemble away! 

Enjoy eating healthy!

Avocado = your dressing

I like ranch, good ranch. That being said, we all know it's not the best choice of dressing, so it is definitely a "treat", when had. Thankfully there are a bajillion other kinds of healthier options out there, when it comes to your salad dressings. 

One of them being, the Avocado. Delicious, smooth, avocado. 

Seriously, give it a try!

One simple, but amazingly delicious way, is to simply mash avocado into the salad, squeeze some lemon juice over the top, add a little salt and pepper, and done! So quick, so flavorful, and so much healthier than your regular creamy dressings. Don't be afraid to get your hands dirty and squeeze that avocado into the lettuce. I find it somewhat satisfying. 

Below is a photo and link to another avocado dressing I made, which is also very delicious!

Zesty Avocado Cilantro Dressing

Let's Eat, Monday!

Crisp Autumn weather is officially in the air, which means lots of soups and stews! 

And here is my attempt to keep on it, with posting weekly menus.

Let me know if you cook cook any of the items!

Monday: Butternut Squash Soup, Breadsticks
Tuesday: Pesto Cavatappi, Salad
Wednesday: Pesto Tortellini Soup
Thursday: Leftover Night

Friday: Fish Tacos
Saturday: Tortilla Soup (w/beans, no chicken)

Sunday: Spaghetti, rolls

Make your own fresh spaghetti sauce!

Enjoy eating healthy!

Let's Eat, Monday!

The plan is to probably post these probably each Monday since that's when my 'weekly menu' starts. I wanted to get a few weeks put up first though, that way there are some options.

Okay so a couple things. We love green beans in this home, so you might see it often on our menus. I like to just saute them, sometimes adding red pepper flakes, almonds, garlic or onion powder. 

Also, embrace the salad. You can throw whatever your heart desires in those puppies and they can be so filling. 

Breakfast for dinner: love these nights because they make dinner very quick and easy. Sometimes we do crepes, or waffles with fruit and fresh fruit syrup, or sometimes we do omelets or scrambles with breakfast potatoes. It's great for those, "shoot we need to go grocery shopping" days :)

Monday: Tortilla soup w/o chicken (and I added diced potatoes)

Tuesday: Ginger and cilantro baked tilapia with lemon brown rice

Wednesday: Herbed couscous pilaf, green beans, salad

Thursday: Spaghetti, salad

Friday: Leftovers

Saturday: Homemade pizza

Sunday: Breakfast for dinner 

Let's Eat, Monday!

We are going to start posting dinner menu's, along with links to most of the recipes. As we get more of the recipes cooked up, and photos taken, we will add more and more links. Hopefully this will help others come up with their own weekly menus, because I know that can be a huge stress or pain for some. Once you start cooking more and more though, I think you'll find it'll get easier to plan your meals.

One of the rules we have in our weekly meal plans is to always have at least one Leftover night! I highly recommend this to everyone, because it saves time and money. Which we could all use more of.

So let's begin! I've saved all my weekly menus, so I'll try to get many of them posted in the next little while.

Monday: Spaghetti with Quick tomato sauce, Green beans
Tuesday: Fish tacos with Brown rice

Wednesday: Leftover night

Thursday: Coconut ginger veggies over rice

Friday: Summer vegetable pasta & Tomato soup

Saturday: Couscous cabbage wraps

Sunday: Pancit

We had a glitch with our other blog and lost most of our photos. So I apologize for the lack of them (it's so much nicer to have photos for a recipe!), but we're working on it! Lots of cooking to do.

Crispy Potato Tacos

Tacos are a big favorite around this house, and there are endless possibilities! We all very much enjoyed this recipe. It's super quick and easy, and the potatoes make it pretty filling, especially along with the rice. We love adobo rice added to every taco recipe we make. We did use red potatoes when we made them, so I'm not sure if that is why they didn't come out "crispy", but hey, they were still super yummy!

These are easily vegan if you omit the cheese and sour cream. But sometimes, you just want to enjoy yourself some cheese and sour cream ;)

Crispy Potato Tacos

4 medium potatoes

1 medium onion

3 garlic cloves

1 small green pepper

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tbsp safflower oil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tomato

s&p

corn tortillas

We also added mushrooms, along with our adobo rice. And as for the seasonings, we did not measure them, we just sprinkled it on to our liking.

Cut the potatoes into small cubes. Dice up the pepper, onion, and garlic, or cut them into strips. Place in a baking dish.

Add the spices and herbs, oil, s&p, and mix well. Cook at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until crispy and golden brown.

Dice up the tomato, and prep all other toppings.
Cook tortillas on the stove, or in the oven at 400 degrees for 3-5 minutes, or you could steam them as well.

When the potatoes and veggies are done, assemble your tacos, and viola!

Eat up, and enjoy!

Ultimate Cereal Bowl (Mix)

I have not always been a big cereal person, other then I distinctly remember a day my grandmother gave me a bowl of Trix with a spoon that changed color once it hit the milk, and man was I excited...that was a special treat ;) But I like to have a quick and cheap option, because let's face it, making divine crepes each day could get quite costly ;)

I also love granola with all of my heart, but don't appreciate the hit to my wallet. I seriously need to get on the train and make my one. Until then, I have this wonderful cereal recipe from Engine 2 Diet. Why is it great? Because it is packed with goodness for your body, and only goodness! And tons of fiber! It's all healthy, and it is insanely filling. We each tried eating 1/2 cups worth and could not finish. I know, 1/2 cup does not sound like much, but especially once you add all that fruit, it is plenty!

Instead of adding each cereal to your bowl in the morning, we decided to just make a gigantic batch and store it, so it's all ready to go, along with your yummy must have fruit!

Ultimate Cereal Bowl (Mix)

Old Fashioned Oats (NOT quick oats), 1/2 pound

A box of Grape Nuts

A box of Shredded Wheat

A box of Uncle Sam cereal

Ground Flax seed (needs to be ground to get the benefits)

Fresh Fruit (optional...but who are we kidding? Add some fruit!)

Throw all the cereals and oats into a huge bowl, mix it up and store in an air tight container.

When you're ready for a bowl, throw some in, sprinkle in some ground flax seed, and add all the fruit your heart desires. Berries, kiwi, bananas, mango, and nuts would be yummy too.

Go get healthy!

Jello Popcorn WITHOUT Corn Syrup!

Something I love is cooking, baking, and decorating with miss Abigail. It's a great opportunity to teach her, and I enjoy teaching about it all. While I like to teach her about how important it is that we eat correctly so our bodies can grow healthy and strong, I also believe that it's good to let yourself indulge a LITTLE here and there, and that means sometimes making good old fashioned chocolate chip cookies with eggs, butter, and sugar. When you eat healthy, you get to indulge without feeling guilty! :)

One of the special treats I like to make, especially around the holidays, is jello popcorn. However, just the site of corn syrup looks like it will clog every artery, and become a permanent resident of your stomach and glutes. No thank you. So I wanted to share this much better version of jello popcorn with you, for your sweet tooth cravings! It's wicked delicious and you'll feel much better about munching down on this then the original corn syrup version.

Jello Popcorn 

Popcorn, popped

Jello flavorings, possibilities are endless

Vanilla extract 

Honey

Salt, optional

Simpy replace the honey for the corn syrup! Yep, it's that easy.

I don't have specific measurements for our small portions, because we just pop the amount we want, and make a little 'syrup' to go on each bowl. Which means everyone can have whichever flavor they want!  If I had to guess...

1T honey

1t flavoring

Few drops of vanilla

Pinch of salt

Soup bowl size of popped popcorn  

You can just use the standard recipe for a large batch of this stuff, follow the instructions and just replace the same amount of honey for the corn syrup.

For small portions, all you do is squeeze some honey in a bowl, add a little vanilla, a pinch of salt (if you'd like a bit of salty touch to your sweetness), and of course your flavoring. 

Microwave for 15 seconds, then pour over your popcorn! Viola!

Treat yourself a dessert now and again!

Pancit

Pancit is a Filipino dish, courtesy our brother in law, which is as common as a burger and fries here in the states, just much, much better for you. You can really mess around with the ingredients here, and customize it to your liking. It is very delicious, and filling!

Pancit

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 onion, sliced thin

1/2 cup shrimp, chicken, tofu, ...(optional)

1/2 cabbage, sliced thin

1 celery stalk, sliced thin

bean sprouts (optional)

soy sauce

1 can broth (14oz)

1- 8oz pkg rice sticks (in the Asian section and are clear looking)

cilantro

lemon or lime, sliced

s&p to taste

Soak rice sticks in water to soften.

In a large frying pan, saute garlic and onion, then add your protein (if using). Add cabbage, carrots, and celery, and half of the broth. Simmer until veggies are crisp (al dente).

In a wok, saute the drained rice sticks. Add 1/4 cup or less of soy sauce to give color. Using 1/2 of the veggie mixture, mix with the noodles.

Cook about 10 more minutes on low heat. 

On a big platter, pour and spread noodle mixture and top with the rest of the veggies. S&P to taste. Top with cilantro, and place citrus wedges on side (I think the citrus is a must!).

Pesto & Tortellini Soup

I know, I know...it's the middle of summer, and we're posting a soup recipe. But it's so mighty delicious! I've been craving it for a while and finally decided that I don't care that's it's 90+ degrees outside, I want myself some of this soup! Very yummy, and filling. So go cook it up and try some!

Pesto Tortellini Soup

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 medium carrot, julienne

1/2 c. onion, chopped

1/2 c. celery, chopped

2 tbsp. butter (or you could use oil, water, broth...it's for sauteing your veggies)

6 c. water

2 tbsp. chicken or vegetable base (or bouillon)

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

2.5 c. tortellini

1 tbsp. fresh parsley, chopped (of which you will notice I completely forgot to add)

1/4 tsp. pepper

Pesto

Fresh parmesan cheese, shredded

Saute veggies over medium-low heat for 10 minutes, constantly stirring.

Stir in water and base/bouillon, then heat to a boil.

Stir in pasta and beans, then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in parsley and pepper

Add a dollop of pesto and parmesan to each bowl.

Couscous & Veggie Cabbage Wraps

We love lettuce wraps around here. But as of last week, our new love is cabbage wraps! 

Let us review: Lettuce wraps...delicious, especially with that buttery Boston lettuce. Sadly, it's a bit more expensive. So there is Iceberg; a great cheap option, however the leaves don't hold together well, and you're left with juice running down the side of your arm.

Cue in, steamed cabbage. It's dirt cheap, yummy, and it holds together beautifully. Win, win, win. Plus it adds a good firm crunch to each bite. 

Seriously these are scrumdidliumptious, my friends. Mega flavorful, juicy, crunchy, sweet, spicy, and savory. Make some, tonight, and tell me about it. Or come on over and we'll make some! 

One note: the above photo shows cilantro on top. Being the lover of cilantro that I am, I tend to add it to many dishes. This was the first time it didn't work. It wasn't gross, but it wasn't as delightful as I had hoped it would be. So I would leave that off next time.
Onto the recipe:

Couscous & Veggie Cabbage Wraps

Filling:

Oil for sauteing

Water chestnut, diced

Mushrooms, diced

Carrots, cut to matchsticks

Onions, diced

Bamboo, diced

Garlic, minced

Any other veggies you like

Couscous, made to your liking (we just cooked it up basic with some broth, since there are many other flavors going on in this dish)

Cabbage leaves, steamed

Special Sauce:

1/4 c sugar

1/2 c water

2 T soy sauce

2 T rice wine vinegar

2 T ketchup

1 T lemon juice

1/8 t sesame oil

1 T hot mustard

1-2 t garlic and red chile paste

Mix the sugar and water together. Then add all other ingredients, mix well, and keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Stir Fry Sauce:

2 T soy sauce

2 T brown sugar

1/2 t rice wine vinegar

Add all ingredients together, mix well. Place to side while sauteing veggies.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan. Saute your veggies along with garlic for a few minutes, until slightly soft, but not too soft because you want some crunch. Mix in couscous, then Stir Fry sauce.

Spoon filling into cabbage leave, add some Special Sauce on top, and serve. 

Simple, easy, delicious, done.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia with Tomato & Basil Couscous

All three of us really liked these dishes. We enjoyed using the cornmeal for the crust; gave it a little crunch, without feeling heavy like breading or batter. And the couscous was light and flavorful. Oh and both of these come together in minutes!! Super quick and easy.

Cornmeal Crusted Tilapia

4 tilapia fillets

1/2 c cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 tbsp fresh parsley

zest of one lemon (reserve lemon for serving)

2 tbsp oil

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. In a shallow plate, combine cornmeal, salt, pepper, parsley, and lemon zest. Dredge tilapia fillets in the cornmeal mixture. Cooke fillets 2 at a time, about 3 minutes on the first side, and 2 minutes on the second.

Sprinkle fresh lemon juice on top, or serve sliced wedges on the side.

Tomato & Basil Couscous

1 c. chicken/veggie broth

1 1/4 c. couscous

1/2 c. chopped green onions

1/2 c. diced seeded tomato

3 tbsp chopped or thinly sliced fresh basil

2 tbsp & 2 tsp oil

2 tbsp & 2 tsp red wine vinegar

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1/2 c. halved cherry tomatoes, or chopped romas (that's what we had on hand)

Bring the broth to a boil, then remove from heat and add the couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients while the couscous is sitting.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and add to the bowl.

Toss to combine all the ingredients and put in the fridge until chilled for an hour, or serve warm. We served it warm.

Vegetarian/Vegan Stuffed Peppers

When we picked up our Bountiful Baskets and received these orange beauties, I knew immediately I wanted to make stuffed peppers! Packed full of rice and veggies, we thoroughly enjoyed these babies. They make a light but filling meal, and they are wonderfully delicious and healthy. What I love about stuffed peppers is the endless options of fillings; you can really throw in what your big heart desires.

Stuffed Peppers

Large bell peppers, remove tops, ribs and seeds.

2 cups grain (we made adobo rice)

1 tsp safflower oil, whatever oil you use

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 large carrot, grated

1 medium potato, diced (we used red potato)

3 roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup corn, do yourself a favor and use fresh or frozen, not canned

a few mushrooms, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup parmesan cheese (omit to make vegan)

1 tbsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup green onion, chopped

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp hot sauce (we add more for heat)

garlic powder & cumin (we just threw it in)

s&p to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook grain per instructions. Set aside and cool.

In a large skillet, saute onion, carrot, and potato for about 10 minutes until potato and onion are soft. Add tomatoes, corn, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes and then remove from heat.

Combine grain and vegetable mixture in a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.

Sprinkle and spread some oil on the baking pan. Fill each pepper with your mixture and stand upright in the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove pan from oven and sprinkle the top of each with parmesan, if using. Bake for an additional 5-10 minutes. Bake for shorter time for firmer peppers, and longer for softer peppers. 

Serve immediately.

You could also cut the peppers in half, and lay them pepper side down, for a side dish.

Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos

These are fresh, flavorful, and delicious. It's as simple as that. And they are inexpensive, so win/win! Throw in lime, salsa, and cilantro, and you can almost guarantee I am in heaven. We always add some type of grain to our taco mixtures. It makes it more hearty and filling. We love corn tortillas around here, so if any of you have an awesome, healthy corn tortilla recipe, pass it on! And for those of you who are afraid of fish. a) you can train your brain to think otherwise; just keep trying. It's worth it. b) Tilapia is a great fish to start out with. It's pretty tasteless. I promise. So get on it, and make some of these suckers!

Cilantro Lime Tilapia Tacos

2 tilapia fillets, rinsed and patted dry 

1 tsp safflower oil (or the oil you use)

1 small onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 jalapeno peppers, chopped (remove seeds if you want less heat)

2 cups tomatoes, diced

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

3 tbsp lime juice

s&p to taste

1 medium avocado, sliced

any other toppings you desire: lettuce, salsa, cilantro, lime juice...

We also made some adobo brown rice, for extra filling. Rice, cous cous, & quinoa can be great fillers for tacos!

Heat oil in a skillet on medium. Saute onions until translucent, then add garlic and mix well.

Place tilapia in skillet and cook until flesh starts to flake. Add jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice.

Saute over medium high heat for about 5 minutes, breaking up the fish with a spoon to get it mixed well. Season with s&p.

Meanwhile, heat tortillas on a skillet on each side. No oil needed.

Serve with your filling, a couple slices of avocado, squeeze of lime (I like plenty), and some fresh cilantro.