Tag Archives: dinner ideas

Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry

Posted on by
Reply

I can’t believe my Spring Break is over. I didn’t get as much done school-wise as I had hoped, but I am okay with that. I realized I hadn’t had a true break since last summer. Europe in November was awesome, but definitely not relaxing. I spent all of Christmas break/January working on internship applications, studying for the GRE and working full-time. This week I decided to focus on ME. I went to yoga almost every day, ran a few times, made fun dinners every night, read for fun (The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest), got my haircut, and just enjoyed a slower pace of life for a couple days.

I am not excited to for the rest of this semester, but only 9 weeks left. My summer is up in the air because it depends on the internship outcome. The one thing I do know is that I am going to Houston for about 2 weeks in June for my cousin’s wedding. I am flying down early in June to help her with last minute things. I’m excited to get out of Minnesota!

One of the dinners I made this week was Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry.

Tofu is one of those “scary” foods to try for the first time. I enjoy tofu, but I like my tofu to be crispy on the outside. I’ve discovered that the key to crispy tofu is to buy extra-firm tofu and then press it to draw all of the liquid out. I start by opening the tofu package and draining out the extra liquid. Then, I take the block of tofu, wrap it in 3 layers of paper towels, place it on a plate and stack heavy items on it.

The tofu is hiding underneath a slab of Silestone, my biggest cook book, and a molcajete. Let it press for about 30 minutes. When you are done the paper towels should be completely soaked and you should have liquid on your plate.

Now you can cut the tofu into pieces and use it in the following recipe.

Broccoli Cashew Teriyaki Stir Fry

*Adapted from Eat, Drink and Be Vegan by Dreena Burton
Tofu:
1 pkg extra firm tofu
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
Teriyaki Sauce:
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup water
3 1/2 tbsp honey
1-1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp molasses
5-6 medium cloves garlic
2 tsp ginger
1 tsp cornstarch
Stir Fry:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
5 cups broccoli florets (or a package of stir fry veggies)
1-2 tsp water
1 bell pepper
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup green onion, chopped
Serve with brown rice
Directions
1. In a shallow bowl, add tofu. Pour soy sauce and vinegar over tofu and marinate for 10 minutes or longer. Flip tofu once while marinating.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk all ingredients for teriyaki sauce until cornstarch is dissolved.
3. In a large frying pan or wok on high, heat 1/2-1 tbsp oil. Add tofu and saute for 4-5 minutes, then turn over and saute for another 3-4 minutes, until lightly brown on each side. Remove from pan and set aside.
4. Reduce heat to medium, add another 1/2-1 tbsp oil to wok and add broccoli and water. Toss, cover and cook 4-5 minutes, until broccoli turns bright green, then add bell pepper and saute uncovered until another 1-2 minutes have passed.

5. Add teriyaki sauce and increase heat to high. Toss to coat and let sauce come to a slow boil. As soon as sauce has reached a slow boil and has thickened, add tofu, cashews and green onions and toss to combine. Remove pan from heat and serve over brown rice.

Bean and Corn Enchiladas

Posted on by
Reply

Let me start off by saying that this is probably the best spring break weather I’ve ever had.

Gross. This has already felt like the longest winter and now it seems to be never ending. I am so sick of it! I have lots of cute new dresses that I am dying to wear. I want to wear open-toed sandals, run outside and feel the sun on my arms. Not to mention I am getting pale so a little tan would be nice. This is making the internships down South very appealing!

Anyways, on Monday night I made a delicious meal of bean & corn enchiladas. My brother proclaimed, “This is the first vegetarian thing I have eaten that actually left me satisfied.” Haha point taken. Thanks Billy.

These enchiladas are based off the chicken enchiladas that I have made before. If you want to try these with meat, just add a little chicken to the filling. Or here is the original recipe for Skinny Enchiladas.

Bean & Corn Enchiladas

Makes 8 servings

8 whole wheat tortillas

1/2 cup plain, greek yogurt (or lite sour cream is okay)

1/2 cup salsa

4 tbsp diced green chilies

2 cups kidney beans (or whatever beans you have on hand)

1 cup corn

1 jar enchilada sauce

1 package reduced fat Mexican cheese

Optional toppings: greek yogurt, guacamole, etc

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a glass casserole dish, pour half of the enchilada sauce.

3. In a small bowl, mix together green chilies, beans, and corn.

4. In another small mixing bowl mix together the salsa and yogurt.

5. Lay a tortilla flat and smear about 1 tbsp of salsa mixture, 1/4 cup of bean mixture, and a sprinkle of cheese. Roll the tortilla and lay, seam side down, in the dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

6. When all tortillas are filled and tightly packed into the glass dish, pour the rest of the enchilada sauce over the tortillas. Cover with remaining cheese.

7. Bake covered in foil for about 20 minutes then remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more.

8. Add any additional toppings.

9. Serve with a little brown rice and you’ve got a balanced meal. Enjoy!

Sloppy Joes with a Twist

Posted on by
1

My brother, sister and I have decided to exclude all meat except for fish during lent. I am sure it will be challenging. I am not so much worried about feeling “deprived” because I really don’t care for meat anyways. I am more worried about having to be prepared and plan meals ahead of time. I could live off of beans and brown rice bowls but I’m not sure my brother can. So I thought it would be beneficial to share my experience through the next 40 days and share the meals I make.

I am not a fan of fake meat products because they gross me out and are highly processed. I would rather focus on more natural foods. There are a couple of good products out there, but for the most part I am going to try to focus on making my own meals. That brings me to tonight’s recipe.

Sloppy Joe’s are a quick-go-to meal in our house. It takes relatively no time at all to brown up ground turkey and mix in BBQ sauce. I was craving BBQ today when I remembered a recipe for sloppy joe’s that substitutes lentils for the meat. I’ve known about Snobby Joe’s for a few years now. I can’t believe it took me this long to try the recipe! It’s from the cookbook, Veganomicon, The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook. I really liked this recipe. It is easy and quick, and most importantly delicious.

Snobby Joes

    1 cup uncooked lentils
    4 cups water
    1 tblsp olive oil
    1 medium yellow onion, small dice
    1 green bell pepper, small dice
    2 cloves garlic, minced
    3 tblsp chili powder
    2 tsp oregano
    1 tsp salt
    1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce
    1/4 cup tomato paste
    2-3 tblsp maple syrup
    1 tbsp prepared yellow mustard
4-6 whole grain hamburger buns
1. Pour  lentils and water into a small saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil; once the mixture is boiling, lower the heat and simmer for ~ 20 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.

2. About 10 mins before the lentils are done, preheat a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Saute the onion and pepper in the oil for about 7 minutes, until softened. Add the garlic and saute for a minute more.

3. Stir in the cooked lentils, chili powder, oregan, and salt. Add the tomato sauce and tomato paste. Cook for about 10 minutes. Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through.

4. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit on the warm burner for about 10 minutes so that the flavors can meld.

The shortcut recipe is to take a bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce and mix it with the lentils ;)
I served mine open face with spicy green beans.