Tag: vegetables

Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

Melissa King 29 Comments

I just love cold salads in the summer.  Here is Texas, it’s in the 100’s and way too hot to cook.  Salads are so easy to throw together and don’t cost a lot to make.  You can find many of my salad recipes in this post.  So I was looking for recipes on Pinterest when I came upon The Clever Carrot’s Bean Salad.  If you haven’t checked out her blog, you should.  Her recipes are great and her photos are stunning.  I LOVED this so much, that I wanted to share it with all of you.

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I am more of a baker than a cook, so I often look on Pinterest for things to make during the week.  This salad was so good, I wished I had made a double batch. I made a few alterations to use what I had on hand.

Honey Balsamic 3 Bean Salad

Honey Balsamic Bean Salad

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Prep Time 20 min

Ingredients

  • 4 cups or 2 cans of chickpeas
  • 4 cups or 2 cans of black beans
  • 2 cups green beans halved
  • 1 cup red bell peppers chopped
  • 1/4 cup red onions thinly sliced
  • 2 T chives finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Dressing

  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp raw honey or maple syrup
  • 1 tsp dijon mustard
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Drain and rinse beans if using cans. 
  2. Add all the ingredients in one large bowl. 
  3. Add the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. 
  4. Pour the dressing over the ingredients and mix well.

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Recipe Notes

Adapted from The Clever Carrot

This makes about 4 servings. It should last about 4 days in the fridge. Enjoy!

Stir Fried Quinoa

Melissa King 24 Comments

This is my husband’s go to meal to use up whatever we have in the fridge.  Well we were out of rice too so he subbed quinoa instead this time.  It came out so good!  I actually liked it better with the quinoa.  This is a great dish for vegans because quinoa is a complete plant based protein.  We added tofu to ours.  If you want to make the tofu, just cut it into cubes and bake it at 400 for about 30 minutes.  Or you could add your favorite protein and you have a great little meal.

Stir Fried Quinoa

This is a super easy meal to whip up quickly.  We almost always have a container with cooked rice or quinoa on hand to make meals last longer so the quinoa had been cooked ahead of time.  If you have never cooked quinoa, it is a 2:1 ratio.  I part quinoa to 2 parts water.  Bring to a boil and then cover, turn down and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed.

Stir Fried Quinoa

Stir Fried Quinoa

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Prep Time 10 min Cook Time 15 min

Ingredients

  • 2 cups quinoa cooked
  • 3 carrots diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 1/2 yellow onion rough chopped
  • 3 T soy sauce or bragg's aminos
  • 1 T mirin
  • 2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 T toasted sesame oil
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a sauce pan , saute veggies for 5-7 minutes in toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, mirin, salt and garlic. 
  2. Then add the quinoa and saute for another 6-7 minutes. 
  3. The veggies should still retain some crunch.  Enjoy!

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Quinoa Pesto With Vegetables

Melissa King 31 Comments

This time of year is so hectic.  That is why I like to make meals that are quick.  This dish is just that.  I make a batch of pesto and then freeze it in ice trays so that I can pop out and defrost only what I need. This meal comes together is a matter of minutes.

It’s filling and very nutritious!  Quinoa is a plant based complete protein and I just like it’s taste better than whole wheat pastas.  It is also a great option for those that are gluten free.My kids like the quinoa pasta much better too.  If you are looking to swap out white flour pasta for something healthier, this would be a great option to try first.

Quinoa Pesto With Vegetables

Quinoa Pesto With Vegetables

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Ingredients

    For the pesto

    • 1 cup fresh basil
    • 1 cup fresh parsley
    • 1/2 cup almonds (I use almonds because pine nuts are so expensive)
    • 3-4 garlic cloves rough chopped
    • 2 T nutritional yeast
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • salt to taste

    For the pasta

    • 1 pkg quinoa pasta
    • 3 cups spinach
    • 1 1/2 cups broccoli
    • 1 cup cherry tomatoes sliced

    Instructions

      For the pesto

      1. Grind the almonds up a bit in the food processor first. 
      2. Then add the basil, parsley, nutritional yeast and garlic. 
      3. As you process those, drizzle in the oil until everything is well mixed.

      For the pasta

      1. Cook pasta according to pkg instructions. 
      2. In a large sauce pan, add the broccoli with a little bit of water. 
      3. Cover and cook on medium just long enough for the broccoli to soften.  Once it has cooked, add the spinach and cover again, giving it time to wilt. 
      4. Once wilted, add the pesto and the pasta and toss together. 
      5. Turn off heat and add the tomatoes. 
      6. Serve immediately or refrigerate for later.  Hope you like it as much as we do!

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      Black Bean Vegetable Soup

      Melissa King 31 Comments

      Who doesn’t like a good homemade soup on a cold winter day?  Especially if you have been out dealing with the crowds shopping this time of year.  It’s nice to kick off your shoes and curl up with a warm bowl of homemade soup.  This Black Bean Vegetable Soup is the perfect comfort food to warm you up.

      We made this soup with vegetables we had gotten in our organic co op basket.  My husband wanted to do the Mexican add on this week, so this soup has a bit of a kick.  Just a warning.  Personally, I am quite wimpy when it comes to spices. Growing up in Boston, we didn’t eat much spicy food.  So this is more a soup for my husband than for myself.  It made about 5-6 servings so you could freeze some for later if you want.  I actually do that a lot.  So here is the recipe.

      Black Bean Vegetable Soup

      Black Bean Vegetable Soup

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      Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 5 hr

      Ingredients

      • 1 onion diced
      • 4 carrots cut in circles
      • 4 celery stalks chopped
      • 5 tomatoes chopped
      • 3 cups black beans (soaked overnight and then boiled until soft)
      • 2 green peppers chopped
      • 5 cloves garlic minced
      • 2 cups corn (we used organic for all of you wondering )
      • 1 bay leaf
      • 4 cups vegetable stock
      • 1/2 T cumin
      • 1 cut up chipotle chile

      Instructions

      1. To save my eyes from burning, I usually cut the onions in the food processor .  In fact, if you want to make it easy, you can chop the veggies up the night before.
      2. Once the beans have been cooked to get a little softer, throw everything in the crock pot   and cook on low for at least 4-5 hours. 
      3. You can cook it on high for 2-3 hours if you wish.

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      Recipe Notes

      The longer it cooks the more flavor the soup will have. This should last at least a week in the fridge and up to 6 months in the freezer. That’s it.

      Slow Roasted Vegetables

      Melissa King 25 Comments

      Yesterday when we picked up our co op basket, I saw that there were 6 yams and two onions.  I thought that they may work well in the crock pot.  So I gave it a try and they turned out to be a delicious little side dish!

      Not to mention it was super simple.  I love the idea of throwing everything in a pot and walking away.  So convenient. This dish is sort of an extension of my Seasonal Roasted Vegetables.

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      Slow Roasted Vegetables

      Slow Roasted Vegetables

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      Prep Time 20 min Cook Time 4 hr

      Ingredients

      • 6 yams cut in large chunks
      • 1 onion roughly chopped
      • 3-4 large garlic cloves
      • 1/4 cup olive oil
      • 1/4 cup + 1 T balsamic vinegar
      • salt to taste

      Instructions

      1. Throw everything into the crock pot and turn on low.
      2. Cook for at least 3-4 hours

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      Recipe Notes

      They will end up with a buttery texture and a sweet tang from the balsamic. Yum!

      Easy Roasted Seasonal Vegetables

      Melissa King 1 Comment

      Who doesn’t love the fall?  We have the beautiful colors, the cooler air (although not here in Texas yet) and the delicious food!  I just love when we get a co-op basket.  To find out more about the co-op click here.  It is like Christmas morning.  You just never know what you are going to get.  This week, when I saw we got beets and parsnips, I knew I was going to roast them.  They are naturally sweet and roasting just brings out the flavor even more.  It also makes a pretty dish.

      Ours was devoured as soon as it came out of the oven! 🙂 What are some of your favorite roasted vegetables?

      Easy Roasted Seasonal Fall Vegetables

      Easy Roasted Seasonal Vegetables

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      Prep Time 4 hr Cook Time 1 hr

      Ingredients

      • 3-4 beets remove greens, peel and roughly chop
      • 1 small onion chopped
      • 3-4 parsnips peeled and cut into coin pieces
      • 3 T olive oil
      • 3 T Balsamic
      • 4 garlic cloves
      • salt and pepper to taste

      Instructions

      1. Throw everything into a zip lock bag and marinate in the fridge for at least an hour. 
      2. I think we did for about 3 hours.
      3. Preheat oven to 400 and spread the mixture onto a baking sheet. 
      4. Bake for about 45-60 minutes until veggies come out tender.

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