main course – ORGANIZED CHAOS

Butternut Squash Chili

September 16, 2016September 16, 2016Leave a comment

2 cans fire-roasted tomatoes with juices
1 can black beans + 1 can red kidney beans
1 Butternut squash, cubed
2 Green bell peppers, sliced
1 sweet Onion, diced
2 tsp ground Coriander
3 Tbs minced Garlic
2 tsp Oregano
2 Tbs Chili powder
1 Tbs ground Cinnamon
2 Tbs Olive oil
1 Tbs ground Cumin
1 salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
optional to add vegetable broth or water- I added about 12 oz with a vegan bullion cube

-In soup pot heat olive oil stove top on medium heat. Add in garlic and onions. Stir in all spices.
-Sauté about 5 minutes and add in sliced green peppers.
-Once veggie start to soften, pour in fire-roasted tomatoes with juices, and broth (optional). Mix all ingredients well.
-Bring chili to a simmer covered for 10 minutes, letting all flavors soak in.
-Add beans and squash. Bring chili back to a simmer and simmer covered another 20 minutes or just until squash is tender, but not mushy
-Add salt and pepper to taste
-Serve warm

Mushroom Risotto

March 11, 2016March 11, 2016Leave a comment

1 small sweet onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups coconut milk (I love the So Delicious Organic Culinary Coconut Milk)
2 cups of cooked brown rice
1 ½ cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup peas
2 tbs coconut oil
1-2 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
Salt and pepper to taste

-Cook rice according to package and set aside
-On medium heat, melt coconut oil and sauté onions and mushrooms in large pan. About 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are slightly browned.
Pour in coconut milk, and broil to a slow boil. Stir in nutritional yeast.
Add in the cooked rice and peas. Continuously stir for about 5 minutes until flavors are blended. The sauce will thicken up quickly.
Sprinkle salt and pepper to desired taste.

Mexican Pizza

October 25, 2015March 1, 2016Leave a comment

Last night was game night at our place…they ordered pizza, meat pizza.
It was a toss up for me what I felt like. I was half in the mood for pizza but I’m always craving Mexican. So the only real solution was to create a Mexican Pizza!

1 dough (I love the vegan dough Trader Joe’s has in fridge section)
1 clove garlic, minced +1 Tbs olive oil (to create a paste)
½ cup, sliced mushrooms
½ onion , thinly sliced
1 cup mixed bell pepper
½ cup corn
1/2 cup black beans
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp paprika
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Let dough rise, using extra flour if needed.
Heat olive oil in a pan, stove top- on medium heat. Sauté onions and bell peppers with spices.
Once dough is ready, press into shape of pizza you want to create on pizza stone or baking pan. (Keep in mind the thinner the dough to less bake time)
Spread garlic evenly on the pizza dough
Layer onions, bell peppers, and mushrooms
Top with corn and black beans
Bake 30-45 minutes, until top is slightly toasted.
Slice and Enjoy.

Roasted Acorn Squash with Collard Greens and Kale

October 19, 2015Leave a comment

1 bunch of Kale, chopped
1 bunch of collard greens
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbs coconut oil
1 lemon, for juice
1 acorn squash
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
dash of salt and pepper
Pomegranate seeds
Preheat oven to 400′
Slice squash in half, spray with coconut spray
Mix maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg together and brush on to squash.
Bake 30 minutes
On stove-top, start your greens. Sautee garlic in coconut oil, once browns a little (about a minute) add 1 cup of water and blanche your greens-about 3 minutes, until softened.
Turn off stove, drain any remaining water and then mix in the lemon juice.
Once your squash is done, turn the oven down to 350 degrees.
Slice and Peel your squash.
In cast iron skillet, layer your greens, then sliced squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper and more cinnamon to your taste. Add in your pomegranate seeds and bake about 10 more minutes.

….and because everyone like OutTakes…Here’s a behind the scenes for you

Butternut Squash and Fig Pizza

October 15, 2015October 15, 20151 Comment

Vegan dough (use this recipe or you cut this step by getting the pre-made vegan whole wheat dough at Trader Joes)
1 cup butternut squash cut into small pieces (1/4 inch thin)
1/2 sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1-2 cup arugula
10 figs, sliced thinly
1 Tbs olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Once dough has risen, shape into circle on pan or stone
Brush olive oil and garlic evenly around dough
Layer onion and squash over entire pizza
Add figs and top with half of the arugula
Bake 10-15 minutes, depending on thickness of dough
(Arugula will shrink when baked, so I like to top with more fresh greens and a dash of more olive oil)

Quinoa, Kale, and Roasted Veggies

October 1, 2015Leave a comment

I’m a big fan of cooking in a Cast Iron Skillet. It brings great memories of cooking at my grandma’s house growing up and I swear it makes the food taste better! The more seasoned, more flavor, and crispier your entrée. Today I went to the market with the intention of grabbing the largest selection of fall veggies I could get my hands on. It was fun, and the following recipe is what I threw together using the produce I came up with.

Quinoa and Roasted Vegetables with Tahini sauce:
1 sweet potato
1 purple potato
1 zucchini
3 carrots (I did a variety: carrot, parsnip, purple carrot)
1 onion
1 bunch of kale, de-stemmed
½ cup of frozen peas
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 Tbsp oregano
½ Tbsp thyme
½ Tbsp. cumin
Dash salt & black pepper, to taste

For the quinoa:
1 cup quinoa + 2 cups H20

Dressing:
3 Tbsp tahini
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Juice from one lemon
1 garlic clove
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
4-5 Tbs water

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Chop the carrots, zucchini, and potatoes into bite-size pieces
-Cut the onion into slivers
-Mix all veggies in cast iron skillet with olive oil and spices
-Bake 30-35 minutes until mostly cooked through
-On stove-top cook quinoa as normal (Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup quinoa, bring to a simmer for 16 minutes)
-On stove-top blanche kale, to soften
-Thaw peas
-Once veggies are mostly done roasting, stir in kale, 1 cup of quinoa, and peas and continue to cook about 5-10 more minutes.

In a separate jar, stir together ingredients for tahini sauce. Add more of less water to sauce, depending on your consistency preference.

When the entire thing is finished cooking, pour sauce on top, while warm. Enjoy

Chipotle Black Bean Burger

September 29, 2015Leave a comment

1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chopped mushrooms
2/3 cooked corn
2/3 oats + more for patties
spices: 1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp chili, dash of salt and paper, add more to your taste

-Preheat oven 375’
-Sauté onion and garlic in the olive oil, until softened. Add 2 cups of the black beans and mushrooms.
-Pulse oats in food processor, then add onion and bean mixture. Process until well combined but still has texture.

-In mixing bowl add mixture + the last cup of black beans and corn. Stir together. With your hands, form patties. Add more oats or bread crumbs to thicken up a bit or for crispier finish.

-Bake patties on baking pan for about 30 minutes, flip patties halfway through.

Serve warm with buns or on a bed of lettuce. Garnish with lettuce, tomato, avocado, cilantro

Spinach-Basil Pesto

September 15, 2015Leave a comment

-1 large handful of spinach
-Pick as much Basil as you can pull off your basil plant (I can usually fill my blender)
-2/3 cup of olive oil
-¼ cup almonds
1 tbs nutritional yeast
1 garlic clove
(add water as need to thin out sauce)

Throw all ingredients in blender.
Blend until smooth.
Use on pasta, spaghetti squash, pizza

For Spaghetti Squash
1 Spaghetti Squash
1 Tbs olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400′
Cut squash horizontally in half.
Drizzle olive oil on each half. Place on baking sheet.
Bake 40 minutes.
Once cook, let cool slightly. Then using a fork scrape the squash to pull the “noodles” out.

ENJOY!

Chipotle Soup

September 4, 2015September 4, 2015Leave a comment

2 tbs coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 onion
4 Bell peppers (I like to use one of each: red, green, yellow, orange)
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup corn
1 can lite coconut milk
1 can diced tomatoes
1 Tbs smoked chili powder

If you can handle spice, add any peppers you like for extra flavor
[In this recipe I added a bit of Poblano and Jalapeno peppers]
Topping:
Avocado
Cilantro
…more pepper

In a large soup pot sauté onions and peppers in the coconut oil until softened., about 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic and spices.
Add in coconut milk, beans, corn, and tomatoes.
Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutues, letting all the flavors marinate.

Serve, garnish with fresh cilantro and ripe avocado

For tortilla strips:

Preheat oven 400 degrees

Cut corn tortillas into strips
Spray with coconut oil
Bake about 8 minutes, until

Sweet Potato Taco

August 29, 2015Leave a comment

Flour or Corn tortillas

filling:
1 can black beans, drain and rinsed
1 tbs olive oil
½ sweet onion
2 sweet potatoes, diced into small squares
½ cup of corn, cooked
1 bunch of kale, blanched and slightly salted

chipotle sauce:
1/3 cup veganese
1-2 Tbs almond milk
1 tsp chili powder + red chili flakes
½ tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic

toppings:
avocado
cilantro
lime juice

In a skillet heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Saute the onions, until softened. Then add in diced sweet potatoes. Cook on medium heat until slightly browned and crispy. Stir in the beans and corn., enough to heat

In separate pan, blanche the kale with a dash of salt.
On a another skillet Heat your tortilla to the crisp of your desire.

Fill your tortilla with the taco filling and kale. Garnish with cilantro and avocado. Finally drizzle chipotle sauce on top!