#7 Soul Bowl

See?  A different bowl!

If you've ever eaten at my house, chances are you've had this before.  It's one of my favorite quick fix comfort foods.  The cornbread recipe came from The Spot's cookbook, Recipes from the Heart by Tonya Beaudet.  If you're ever in Hermosa Beach, you must eat at this vegetarian restaurant (pickup a copy of their cookbook while you're at it!).  I make the gluten free version and it's so moist and cake-y nobody can even tell.  I love baking it in my cast iron skillet.  It adds extra iron to our diet, produces a gorgeous brown crust, and makes me feel all old fashioned and country.  Add some kidney beans, steamed greens (usually just red or rainbow chard but tonight we also had spinach and collards) and a drizzle of that Native Food's ranch we keep talking about.  I added more ranch after I took the picture...shhhh.  I promise the next meal I post will be on a plate.  Ryan was kind enough to point out that all of my meals so far have been in the same white bowl.  I forced myself to change it up tonight.  Hey, I'm just trying to make it easy for Spaceboy to figure things out ;)

#6 TV Dinner

A vegan TV dinner...what?! Hahaha!!! I think this counts as a TV dinner because most of it came out of the freezer (I'm on vacation- so I'm not on my best behavior in regards to my kitchen activity) and I watched TV while I ate it.

What you see here is Gardein's Seven Grain Crispy Tenders, Mahatma Saffron Rice, what used to be frozen green beans and the Black Creek Ranch that Michelle posted about yesterday. I cooked everything according to the directions on the packets. Towards the end of the green bean cooking process, I added earth balance, salt, and fresh ground pepper (sometimes I use cayenne instead of black pepper).

*This meal was perfectly paired with several episodes of The Wonder Years.

#5 Cauliflower Pesto Soup

Post blending

Another favorite from Appetite for Reduction!  This soup is crazy simple, fast, and yummy.  The first time I made this soup, I used my Vitamix to blend it all up.  It was delicious, but felt a little like a sauce.  Tonight I used my new cordless immersion blender (as recommended by Isa).  Same yummy flavor, amazing new texture!  It has the mouth feel of a potato leek soup and is now visually more appealing.  Not having to clean my blender is a huge bonus!  We also had a green salad with the Black Creek Ranch dressing from the Native Foods Cookbook.  This is my (and Lynzie's) go to ranch recipe.  Fast and easy, it tastes just like the dairy version.  Everybody cleaned their bowls.  Yay!

Pre-blending

#4 Tostadas!

  I made Tostadas for dinner. This is another one of my go to meals for a quick fix. If you prep the veggies while the oil is heating, everything will finish at the same time.

 I fry the tortillas but you can also spray with cooking oil and bake them. I definitely think it's worth making the shells yourself. The pre-made ones at the store are more expensive and you'll probably end up with left over shells.

I top the shells with hot, vegetarian refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, avocados and a splash of rice vinegar (the ones pictured also have chopped red onions and jalepenos) with sour cream on the side. My favorite vegan sour cream is by Follow Your Heart. It's not grainy at all (unlike some other brands).

This was a yummy dinner!!

#3 Kidney Bean & Butternut Jamba Stew

Yum!  I will definitely be making this tasty stew again.  The recipe came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.  I stuck to the recipe and went with the brown basmati rice option.  So hearty, easy, and only 370 calories for a large bowlful.  Ryan and the kids (even Max) give it a thumbs up!  I was afraid it was going to need cornbread, or a salad on the side, but it was excellent on it's own.

Meal #2: Lunch in 20 minutes!

I made meatball subs for lunch today. I baked all the meatballs in the bag and then put them in a pot with the sauce to make them extra hot. I topped the sandwiches  with a little daiya and stuck them under the broiler. It was super fast and easy!!

Those pickles from Whole Foods are so yummy on the side!!



I put the left over meatballs and sauce back into the jar and will use it for spaghetti and meatballs for lunch later this week!

Happy 2012!!!

Meal #1- Hoppin John

For our New Year's dinner, we had Hoppin' John. In the south it's traditional to eat on New Year's Day. It is thought to bring a prosperous year filled with luck. The black eyed peas (still one of my favorite legumes even with the band connotation...I hate Fergie!) are symbolic of pennies or coins. The greens (I used kale and rainbow chard) are the color of bills.

Is it cheating to post this as is, so we can get it up and running on 1/1? Can I come back and edit later? I think so. It's supposed to be rough in the beginning right?