The Veggies Strike Back! I have some new favorite recipes.

This week I think I liked every recipe I have tried. But there are a couple that are now my favorites! I made Chorizo Tacos with my TVP Chorizo. This week I also made Curried Cranberry Couscous, with a few tweaks. Japanese-Style Braised Tofu thanks to a good friend. Pineapple Cashew Quinoa Curry Bowl and the best recipe, Jalapeno Popper Pasta.  And Black-Bean and Quinoa burgers.

Chorizo Tacos

The Chorizo Tacos were very simple.  I used the TVP Chorizo I had premade and frozen. I took it out the night before, but you could use it right out of the freezer also.  I added a little oil to the pan and heated the chorizo up a little.

 Just need meat, shells, lettuce, cheese, onions, taco sauce and some re-fried beans.

 I made my own refried beans.  I took a cam of black beans, added some garlic, onion and taco sauce.  Heated it up and used a potato masher to smooth them out.

 Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 20-30 seconds.  Top with some beans and a little cheese.

 In a hard shell, add chorizo, taco sauce, onions, cheese and some lettuce.

 This is just like Taco John's Taco Brovo.  Only better.

Can just be a taco, hard or soft shell.

Curried Cranberry Couscous Pilaf. 

 Do you know how hard it is to find cranberries in May/June?  Impossible.  So I did a few changes to this recipe. It isn't exactly the same recipe, but pretty close.

  I used Whole Cranberry sauce in place of the cranberries.  I also added some golden raisins.  I had planned on adding some pecans also. But was distracted by the great smells of this dish.  Next time I will add pecans.

 I prepped all my ingredients.  And started the couscous.  Pearl Couscous is bigger then the usually couscous.

Garnished with a little parsley.  I'm thinking next time maybe some mint.














Japanese-Style Braised Tofu
This is now one of my favorite recipes!  It was really flavorful and nice and light.  It made for a great spring/summer dinner.  And it was pretty good next day as leftovers. Thanks Isabelle for the great recommendation!

 Miso paste it turns out is harder to find than I expected.  I went to three stores, but I was happy to find a ginger miso, so I used that. I also found some white miso paste, so I will be having this again with that one to compare.

 Really, this is simple to make.

 Mine turned out kind of dark, but the miso I used was also a darker miso.

To reheat, I heated the tofu in a storage container for a couple minutes or until hot.  Then placed fresh spinach leaves and returned the lid.  Let stand for a minute and enjoy.

Pineapple, Cashew, Quinoa, Pineapple Curry Bowl

 This is a simple recipe, with a big name and big flavors.  It also has lots of texture.

 Diced up all the veggies at once and began to saute them.

 I started the quinoa first thing because I hate to wait.

With the veggies and spices this dish smells so good.

I will be making this again.  Lots of protein in here with the quinoa and tofu.

Jalapeno Popper Pasta

This taste just like a jalapeno popper.  Next time I make this I plan on making some chicken flavor seitan to add to it.  Or maybe some bacon alternative.

As usuall, I added more garlic.  And I used 3 jalapenos.  I also used pepper cheese to add more heat.

The toasting of the breadcrumbs we done first.  Because I was scared  I would burn them.  I didn't, so this worked well.

I cooked the peppers and onions together.

I started the noodles first thing. I used whatever I had on hand.

The sauce will thinken a bit when the pasta is added..

I'm wasn't sure about the breadcrumbs, but they do make the dish.

I have tried another burger recipe.  Black Bean and Qunioa burgers with Baked Zucchini Fries. 

The burgers were pretty good.  And I followed the recipe totally.  The mix was very loose, so it was hard to make the patty.  I would ether let them sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  But I used my Tupperware burger makers, but with a little difference than normal.

Pampered Chef has this great Manual Food Processor.  It's perfect to mince onions and garlic.  I was feeling lazy and wanted to make sure they were finely chopped for the burgers.  So I used it.  It's also great for cracker crumbs.




 Cooking the onions and half the beans at first seamed odd.  But then you but that in the food processor.  I used my big one for this.  Since I wanted the mixture to be smooth.

 The fries are great for a side.  And healthy.  I didn't have Parmesan cheese, so I used Nutritional Yeast Seasoning since in vegan recipes that is what is used.

Just slice up the zucchini and run through the egg bath and breadcrumb mixture.

Bake and enjoy.  I served them with a side of pasta sauce for dipping.

 I formed the burgers right on the greased pan using the burger smasher and ring.  After I pressed, I just had to twist the smasher and lift up so the mixture didn't stick. The recipe says 8 burgers, 1/2 of mixture.  but I got 4 and a thick 5th.

 The fries turned out perfect!

I also topped the burger with a little pasta sauce.  All was very good.