Tag: Vegetarian Dinner Ideas

Pepper “Steak” with Soy Curls

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Growing up, Pepper Steak was a meal we had frequently. My mom always made it with a can of cream of mushroom soup, bell peppers, soy sauce, and cut flank steak. I’ve been trying to recreate it for a few year, but I didn’t want the texture of tofu in it. I had never tried soy curls before but when I heard of them I knew they would be a perfect option for Pepper Steak. I plan to try this again with tempeh in the future, so keep an eye out for that recipe eventually.

This came together really well. It did take a little longer than I intended it to, which isn’t uncommon for me, but that’s because I wanted to make my own cream of mushroom soup. I’m going to include the instructions below for cream of mushroom soup. If you are in a time crunch or just don’t enjoy cooking, skip on past and feel free to use a can of cream of mushroom soup instead.

For the cream of mushroom soup, dice 6 mushrooms and 1/4 of an onion. Saute these in a bit of oil until the mushrooms have softened and onions are translucent. Add 2 tbsp of butter and allow it to fully melt, then add 6 tbsp flour. Stir this continuously until the mushrooms and onions sort of coagulate.

Slowly and while continuously stirring, add in 30 oz of vegetable broth. Let this simmer until it begins to thicken. Once the soup is thick, add 3/4 cup of milk and 1 tbsp of cream cheese. Allow the soup to continue simmering until the cream cheese has melted and combined. Set aside 2 cups of mushroom soup for the pepper steak and the rest can be saved for a different meal.

SKIP TO HERE IF YOU ARE USING CANNED SOUP.

Dice 2 small bell peppers. In a large pot, saute bell peppers in a small amount of sesame oil until softened. Add 6 oz of soy curls (I used Butler’s brand), 2 cups mushroom soup (or 1 can of cream of mushroom), 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, 3 tbsp soy sauce, and a good amount of pepper. Stir well to combine.

Allow this to simmer for about 10 – 15 minutes. In the meantime, make a pot of rice. Once the pepper steak has thickened a bit and rice is finished, serve and enjoy!

Pepper Steak with Soy Curls

Cream of Mushroom Soup Ingredients:

  • 6 mushrooms
  • 1/4 of an onion
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 6 tbsp flour
  • 30 oz vegetable broth
  • 3/4 cup milk
  • 1 tbsp cream cheese

Pepper Steak Ingredients:

  • 2 small bell peppers
  • sesame oil
  • 6 oz soy curls
  • 2 cups cream of mushroom soup (or 1 can of store bought cream of mushroom soup)
  • 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsp soy sauce
  • pepper

Cream of Mushroom Soup instructions:

  1. Dice 6 mushrooms and about a 1/4 of an onion. Saute the mushrooms and onions in a bit of oil until the onion is translucent.
  2. Add 2 tbsp of butter and allow it to fully melt, then add 6 tbsp flour. Stir consistently until the butter, onion, mushroom and flour combine.
  3. Slowly, and while continuously stirring, add 30 oz of vegetable broth. Let this simmer until it begins to thicken, about 10 minutes.
  4. Once the soup has thickened add 3/4 cup of milk and 1 tbsp cream cheese. Continue simmering until the cream cheese has melted and combined.
  5. Set aside 2 cups of soup for the pepper steak. The rest can be saved for a future meal itself.

Pepper Steak Instructions:

  1. Dice 2 small bell peppers. In a large pot, saute the bell peppers in a small amount of sesame oil until the peppers have softened.
  2. Add 6 oz of Butler’s Soy Curls, 2 cups mushroom soup (or 1 can of store bought), 2 tbsp hoisin sauce, 3 tbsp soy sauce, and a good amount of pepper. Stir well to combine.
  3. Allow this mixture to simmer and thicken for about 10-15 minutes. In the meantime, make a pot of rice. Once the pepper steak has thickened and rice is finished, you are ready to serve.
  4. Optional toppings: Peanuts, green onions, sesame seeds

Grilled Pizza

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Grilled pizza has been a common recipe in my family for years but I just found out that not everyone knows that you can grill pizza. Got to say this is my absolute favorite way to eat pizza. I would choose this pizza over take out any day. The crust turns out with an excellent crunch you can’t get through take out and start to finish it takes about 15 – 20 minutes.

So you begin by making your pizza dough. It’s a 1:1 ratio of self-rising flour and plain greek yogurt (whole milk or non-fat, both work). Easy to adjust if you have more or less people. We do 2 cups flour, 2 cups yogurt so that there are leftovers for lunch the next day. I usually do a heaping 2nd cup of flour because I find 2 level cups leave it a bit too sticky to work with.

Place the flour in a large bowl followed by the yogurt. Using a silicone spatula, fold the yogurt into the flour until just combine. It’s difficult to combine this without using your hands but this is about the point where it’ll be workable with your hands.

Continue combining the dough until all the yogurt is mixed in and there are no dry spots. Once it has all mixed together, sprinkle flour on your work surface and place the dough down. Roll it out until pizza ish shaped. We normally split the dough in half and make 2 separate pizzas. Also, I’ve never been able to get mine to be a circular pizza. Usually ends up looking like Australia or Ireland, which tastes just the same.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with a bit of flour and transfer the dough on to it. Bring your rolled out dough to the preheated grill. Place the dough directly on the grill, cooking for a few minutes and checking to make sure it doesn’t burn. Once the one side is cooked, flip (using a grill spatula and tongs) to cook the other side.

Once both sides are cooked, remove the crust and top with your preferred toppings. We did pizza sauce, mozzarella, teriyaki tofu, bell pepper, onion, and a sprinkle of feta. Place the pizza with toppings directly back on the grill to melt the cheese.

Key for this whole process is keeping an eye on the pizza, top and bottom, the whole time. The bottom can burn easily so just check it regularly and adjust the temperature as needed. Once the cheese has had time to melt, you are ready to serve.

Grilled Pizza

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups self-rising flour (+ a little extra for work surfaces)
  • 2 cups non-fat plain greek yogurt
  • pizza sauce
  • 2 cup bag of mozzarella cheese
  • Toppings of choice: bell pepper, onion, tofu, cherry tomatoes, other veggies, feta, black beans, whatever you prefer

Instructions:

  1. Place 2 cups of self-rising flour in a large bowl with 2 cups of non-fat plain greek yogurt. Fold these together using a silicone spatula until yogurt is well combined with the flour. Once mostly combined, use your hands to combine it the rest of the way until dough is fully formed.
  2. Sprinkle your work surface with a bit of flour and place the dough down. Separate the dough into 2. Roll out the first half of the dough using a rolling pin, sprinkling a bit of flour if there are spots that stick.
  3. Transfer dough directly onto the preheated grill. Cook on a medium low flame until the first side is cooked. Check this regularly and adjust temperature as needed to assure it does not burn. Once the first side has cooked, flip using a spatula and tongs and cook the other side.
  4. Remove from the grill and add sauce, cheese, and any desired toppings. Place the pizza directly back onto the grill. Allow this to remain on the grill until the cheese has melted, still frequently checking the bottom to assure it doesn’t burn. Once cheese has melted, time to enjoy!

Pesto Pasta with Oven Roasted Veggies

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Did you know you can make pesto out of more than basil? Pesto can be made with basil, arugula, kale, spinach, peas…as long as its bright green it should work (I mean, within reason, no cucumber pesto or zucchini pesto). My problem with basil is that it’s hard to enough on hand to make pesto whenever you want it. Frozen peas on the other hand are easy to find, super affordable, and able to keep for extended period of time.

I prepped most of this earlier in the day so that I could throw it together before dinner time but you could easily make it all at once. Start by dicing all the vegetables: 1 zucchini, 1 yellow squash, 1/2 an eggplant, and 1 onion. Place these in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Stir well to combine. Transfer the veggies to a prepared baking pan. Preheat your oven to 350 and cook for 30 minutes.

While waiting for the veggies to cook, you can prepare the pesto and pasta. Cook 4 cups of peas until defrosted. Once cooked, drain and transfer to a large food processor. Add 2 tsp garlic, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lemon and 3/4 tsp salt.

In previous posts I’ve mention that I try not to add additional salt to meals. I stand by that generally, but felt that salt was definitely necessary for the flavor in this. However, feel free to adjust to salt to your preferences. Pulse the ingredients until smooth. Set aside until veggies and pasta are done.

Using a large soup pot, cook 1 lb (a full box) of pasta as directed on the box. I used Rigatoni and cooked it just past al dente, about 15 minutes. Once the veggies are done in the oven, the pasta is cooked and drained, and pesto is made, combine all in the large pot and stir to combine. It was a decent arm work out, haha. Once it’s all mixed together, you are ready to eat! Makes a large amount, seeing as you are using a full box of pasta, so plan for a few leftovers or lunches.

Pesto Pasta with Oven Roasted Veggies

Ingredients:

  • 1 zucchini
  • 1 yellow squash
  • 1/2 an eggplant
  • 1 onion
  • 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cups peas
  • 2 tsp garlic
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 1 lemon
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 lb rigatoni (1 box)

Instructions:

  1. Dice all vegetables and place them in a large bowl. Combine veggies with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil. Place this in a large baking pan and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
  2. While the veggies are cooking, proceed with cooking 4 cups of peas until defrosted. Drain the peas and place them in a large food processor with 2 tsp garlic, 3 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1/3 cup olive oil, juice from 1 lemon, and 3/4 tsp salt. Combine these until smooth. Set this aside until veggies and pasta are done.
  3. In a large soup pot, cook 1 lb of pasta as directed on the box, generally just past al dente, about 15 minutes. Drain and return to pot once finished.
  4. Once pasta, veggies and pesto are done, add all ingredients to the large soup pot. Stir until fully combined. Serve!

Black Bean and TVP Tacos with Homemade Refried Beans

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Jump to Tacos : Jump to Refried Beans

Tacos are a common staple in our house. We make them in various ways depending on the time we have on hand and what kind of ingredients and produce we have available. One of my complaints is that when we just throw it together with minimal ingredients and zero measuring is that we don’t have leftovers. Who wouldn’t want leftovers of tacos for the rest of the week or for lunch?

This recipe for Black Bean and TVP tacos is filling, flavorful and makes a ton of leftovers for a small family or plenty for each person in a bigger household. It comes together really quickly. Seriously, the rice took longer than the actual taco filling. It uses a homemade version of taco seasoning (or you could use store bought) and mostly canned goods so you can always have the stuff on hand.

I’ll be honest, no matter what I did refried beans just aren’t pretty and don’t photograph well. I wish they did because the picture doesn’t do them justice. They taste better than store bought and have none of the processed or hidden ingredients (aka lard) found in store bought.

The tacos and the refried beans come together in about the same amount of time so it doesn’t matter which you start first. I’ll start with the refried beans, but feel free to skip on if you are only making the tacos.

Refried Beans: Drain and rinse a 15 oz can of pinto beans. Place the beans in small/medium pot with 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 tbsp cumin.

Bring this to a boil. Once boiling drop the temperature to medium and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If the broth evaporates before the end of the 10 minutes, add a bit more as you will need it when you blend them. After 10 minutes, place in a glass or metal bowl and use an immersion blender to blend them to your desired consistency.

They aren’t pretty, but they taste good.

Adding a note here that you can use a blender or food processor for this also. If you use an immersion blender, make sure you do not do it in your pot. It will damage the non-stick coating.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos: Dice one bell pepper, then drain and rinse a 15 oz can of black beans and a 15 oz can of hominy. Place the bell pepper, black beans, hominy, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 1 cup of TVP, 1 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt in an extra large skillet. Stir this all until well combined. Bring to a boil and then allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.

That’s it! You’re ready to serve. Goes wonderful with raw onion on top, fresh cherry tomatoes, cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, all the toppings! We served ours on corn tortillas, but they’d go great in store bought shells or flour tortillas.

I chose tomatoes and raw onion on a corn tortilla.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos with Homemade Refried Beans

Refried Bean Ingredients:

  • 15 oz can pinto beans
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1 1/2 tbsp cumin

Taco Ingredients:

  • 1 medium bell pepper
  • 15 oz can black beans
  • 15 oz can hominy
  • 15 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup TVP
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • Optional: Corn tortillas, flour tortillas, taco shells, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, raw onion, sour cream

Refried Beans:

  1. Drain and rinse the pinto beans. In a small/medium pot, combine the beans, 1/2 cup vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast, and 1 1/2 tbsp cumin.
  2. Bring to a boil, then allow this to simmer for 10 minutes. If the liquid evaporates before the end of the 10 minutes, add a bit more.
  3. After 10 minutes, place the beans and bit of liquid in a glass or metal bowl and using an immersion blender, blend to desired consistency. You can use a food processor or blender if you do not have an immersion blender.

Black Bean and TVP Tacos:

  1. Dice a medium bell pepper. Drain and rinse a 15 oz can of black beans and 15 oz can of hominy. Then combine bell pepper, black beans, hominy, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 1 cup of TVP, 1 cup of vegetable broth, 1 tsp garlic, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne, and 1/2 tsp salt in an extra large skillet.
  2. Bring this to a boil. Once boiling, drop the temperature and allow it to simmer for about 10 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed.
  3. Serve on choice of tortilla with refried beans and toppings of choice.

Lentil “Meat”Loaf Muffins

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I would never have considered myself a go getter. I’m more of a “is that within arm’s reach?” kind of person. I generally like to find the easy way to do things successfully. So when I am now telling to that these are easy to make, you should take my word for it because I had to make them FOUR TIMES to get them right. If I am willing to retry the same recipe FOUR FRIGGIN’ TIMES, you should assume it wasn’t that much effort.

Now, I have zero plans to eat these again in the next couple weeks because I’ve had to try them a lot, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. You totally should. They are flavorful, fast, and save well! They are very similar in flavor to my Lentil Oat Burgers.

Two recommendations: 1) Pre-make your lentils and rice earlier in the day. That way they are done and ready to go which makes this a super fast dinner. 2) Use a large food processor. If you have a smaller cup food processor, you can cut the recipe in half and it will make about 6 muffins.

So assuming you’ve pre-made your lentils (3 cups water, 1 cup brown lentils for ~20 minutes) and 2 cups rice (2 cups water, 1 cup rice for ~15 minutes), place those in a food processor and slightly blend. Add 1 1/2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp poultry seasoning, 1 tsp garlic, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 eggs, 1/4 cup bread crumbs, and a bit of pepper. Blend well. It’s fine if you see a few bits of whole rice or lentils but most of it should be “mush” for lack of a better term.

“Mush”

Prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375. Spoon lentil/rice mixture into each cup, filling to the top. Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes until cooked through. Let them sit for 5-10 minutes before removing. If you remove right away, they will likely fall apart a bit. Giving them time lets them set. Serve with BBQ sauce, ketchup or dip of choice.

Lentil “Meat”Loaf Muffins

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups of cooked brown lentils
  • 2 cups of cooked rice
  • 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp poultry seasoning
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • a little pepper

Instructions:

  1. Place cooked lentils and rice in food processor and pulse to combine a few times. Then add the rest of the ingredients, blend well.
  2. Preheat oven to 375 and prepare a muffin tin with cooking spray. Fill each tin to the top with the lentil/rice mixture.
  3. Place in the oven for 25 minutes until cooked through. Let sit for 5-10 min before eating to give it the chance to set. Serve with BBQ sauce, ketchup or condiment of choice.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

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I didn’t totally expect this recipe to turn out. Not all of them do (Grandma’s Berry Pudding, just nope). I was running late making dinner. I forgot that wild rice takes such a long time to cook. It was almost 7 pm and I told my husband we had probably 15 minutes left and both of the kids were over tired and cranky. The 3 year old had hit my husband in the head with Buzz Lightyear (an accident, he says). The soup wasn’t thickening like I wanted, the dog threw up on the carpet, and the baby wouldn’t stop fussing. Ya know, a generally normal evening.

But before Buzz hit the fan, I had just started sauteing celery, onions, carrots and mushrooms and my husband commented “Wow, that smells great already”, to which I replied “Haha, it’s just the mushrooms!”. Funny thing is though, I never liked mushrooms before becoming a vegetarian. In fact, I don’t know that I had even eaten any mushrooms before becoming a vegetarian. Excluding Campbell’s cream of mushroom soup because I don’t think that counts. However, I now see the appeal. They have an amazing amount of flavor in a small little package. If you are unsure about mushrooms or mushroom types, there’s a wonder Mushrooms 101 article on Clean & Delicious’s website.

This soup is no exception. I actually totally forgot to season it or add any spices and it turned out great. They would have been unnecessary steps and I’m all about shortening those.

Start by dicing celery, 1/2 an onion, 2 carrots, and 3 mushrooms (I used pretty big cremini mushrooms). Saute these with a bit of oil and 1/2 tsp garlic for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add 8 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling add 1 cup of wild rice (I used Lundberg, it’s wonderful). Let this simmer for about 45 minutes.

Separately, combine 1/2 a cup of cold water and 2 tbsp of cornstarch to create a slurry. Add the slurry to the soup, while stirring, and allow to simmer for about 5-10 more minutes. Serve with a side of garlic bread and salad.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

  • 2 celery stalks
  • 1/2 an onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 3 medium mushrooms
  • 1/2 tsp garlic
  • 8 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 cup wild rice
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 tbsp corn starch

Instructions:

  1. Dice celery, 1/2 an onion, 2 carrots, and 3 mushrooms. Add these to a large soup pot and saute with a bit of oil and 1/2 tsp of garlic for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent.
  2. Add 8 cups of vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 cup of wild rice. Allow this to simmer for about 45 minutes.
  3. Close to the end of the 45 minutes, combine 1/2 a cup of cold water with 2 tbsp cornstarch to create a slurry. While stirring, add the slurry to the soup. Allow this to continue simmering for about 5-10 minutes.

Stuffed Peppers in a Pot

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I know I totally promote meals that are quick to make. However, sometimes I feel like it’s okay to have a dinner take a while if it makes a lot of leftovers so you don’t have to cook as often. That saves time too. This is one of those meals. It takes longer than I wanted, but I have plenty leftover for dinner on other nights. Still a win.

Begin by dicing 1/2 an onion and 2 bell peppers. Combine these with oil and 1 tsp of garlic in a large soup pot. Saute for about 5-10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add seasonings (1 tbsp Italian seasonings, 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp chili powder), a 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, 2 cups of vegetable broth, 8 oz of tomato sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 cup of brown rice. Let this simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally so that rice doesn’t stick to the bottom. After the 45 minutes, add a drained and rinsed can of kidney beans and 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese. Once the cheese melts, it is ready to serve.

Stuffed Peppers in a Pot

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 an onion
  • 2 bell peppers
  • 1 tbsp Italian seasonings
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp garlic
  • 15 oz diced tomatoes
  • 2 cups vegetable broth
  • 8 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 15 oz kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Instructions:

  1. Dice 1/2 an onion and 2 bell peppers. Place these in a large soup pot with oil and 1 tsp of garlic. Saute for 5-10 minutes until onions are translucent.
  2. Add all seasonings, 15 oz diced tomatoes, 2 cups of broth, 8 oz tomato sauce, 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, and 1 cup of brown rice. Let this simmer for 45 minutes.
  3. After 45 minutes, add in the drained and rinsed kidney beans and 1/2 a cup of cheese. Serve after cheese has combined in.

Lentil Taco Salad

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It’s a shame there’s no stock in lentils, or like a lentil sponsor. I’d be a great lentil spokesperson. We literally use them every week in at least one way. They make excellent food for new eaters (aka my 7 month old), great in baked goods, soups, puff pastry fillings, as a meat alternative. Lentil Taco Salad is my go-to for lunch, but the recipe is for the taco flavored lentils in general. They are perfect for tacos, burritos, lentil taco salad, on a bun like a sloppy joe, serve your favorite way! .

You’re basically just making lentils, but it’s the seasonings that do all the heavy lifting. Rinse 2/3 cup of brown lentils and place it in a medium pot with 2 cups of water. Add 1 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1 1/2 tsp chili powder, 1 tsp onion powder, 1/4 tsp garlic powder, a pinch of red pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp of cayenne. Bring this all to a boil. Once boiling, drop the temp to medium so it simmers for about 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed. Voila! That’s it, now serve how you see fit!

Note to those who didn’t read the above: While this is titled Lentil Taco Salad, the recipe is only for the ingredients for the seasoned lentils as these can be used for many meals.

Lentil Taco Salad

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups water
  • 2/3 cups brown lentils (rinsed)
  • 1 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder
  • pinch of red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • Greens, taco shells, burrito, or burger bun depending on how you plan to eat it!

Instructions:

  1. Rinse the lentils, then combine in a medium pot with 2 cups of water and all other ingredients.
  2. Bring to a boil. Once boiling drop the temp to medium and allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until all water is absorbed.
  3. Serve in your preferred way: tacos, burritos, sloppy joe’s, lentil taco salad, etc.

Spicy Black Bean Burger

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We’ve probably all had the Spicy Black Bean burgers made by MorningStar Farms. They are delish, which is exactly why I wanted to recreate them. These turned out great and are easy to adjust the spice factor depending on your preferences. While they are a bit more work than throwing a frozen burger in the microwave, the flavor, size and good ingredients are worthwhile.

First dice up 1/2 a bell pepper and 1/2 an onion. Place these in the food processor with 1/2 tsp of garlic and a 1/4 cup of corn. Pulse these a few times until they are small bits. This next part may seem unnecessary, but I really recommend it. Put the veggies into a mesh strainer and try to remove as much liquid as you can. This will help prevent the burgers from getting crumbly. You will probably be surprised how much liquid can be removed.

Place the drained and rinsed black beans in the food processor and pulse once or twice. Then combine the rest of the ingredients: the drained veggies, 1 egg, 1/2 heaping cup of bread crumbs, 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 to 1/2 a tsp of cayenne pepper (depending on spice preference), and a little salt and pepper. Combine this all relatively well. It’s okay if there are still visible beans but you want it mostly blended.

Preheat your oven to 375. Using medium handfuls, create burger shaped patties and lay them on a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper. You know I love my silpat mats. Mine are generic and they work great. There are many different brands that sell them, including Silpat. Silicone baking sheets is more work to type than silpat. Anyways, burger patties on a baking sheet then place them in the oven for 20 minutes, flipping half way. Mine made 6 burgers, though 1 I considered “kid sized”

Precooked.

Make sure you have a good spatula to flip the burgers. They do stick a little so you want something with a good edge that won’t stick (ie. plastic/silicone, not bamboo). After the 20 minutes in the oven, they are ready to serve.

Spicy Black Bean Burgers

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz can of black beans (drained and rinsed)
  • 1/2 medium bell pepper
  • 1/2 an onion
  • 1/4 cup of corn
  • 1/2 tsp garlic
  • 1 egg
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne (depending on spice preference)
  • salt and pepper (to taste)

Instructions:

  1. Dice bell pepper and onion. Place these in the food processor with 1/4 cup of corn and 1/2 tsp garlic. Pulse a few times until they are little bits. Put the veggies in a mesh strainer to remove an excess moisture.
  2. Put drained and rinsed black beans in the food processor. Pulse a few times, then add all the remaining ingredients into the food processor with the beans: the diced veggies, 1 egg, 1/2 cup of bread crumbs (heaping), 1 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 – 1/2 tsp cayenne, and a little salt and pepper. Combine these well. It’s fine if there are still some pieces of bean and veggie visible (see pic above for reference).
  3. Using medium handfuls, create burger shaped patties and place them on a prepared baking sheet (silpat mat or parchment paper). Place these in the oven at 375 for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Cauliflower Chana Masala

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One of my favorite throw together dinners on a busy night is Chana Masala by Tasty Bite. My mom first introduced this brand to me after buying it at Costco. It’s so simple. You can just throw it in the microwave, make a pot of rice and you have dinner. My only complaint was the lack of vegetables, so I set out to make my own similar recipe based off the packet.

Dice 2 potatoes, 1/2 an onion and 1/2 a head of cauliflower. Put these in a large pot with a bit of oil and 1/2 tsp garlic. Saute 5-10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of vegetable broth and continue to saute for 10 minutes until the veggies begin to soften.

Add 30 oz of tomato sauce, 1 cup of vegetable broth, 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed), 1/4 cup of tomato paste, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp ginger. Let this simmer about 45 minutes until the potatoes and cauliflower are cooked through. When there’s about 10 minutes remaining add in 1 cup of peas. Serve with naan or over rice.

Cauliflower Chana Masala

Ingredients:

  • 15 oz can of chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 2 potatoes
  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 1/2 an onion
  • 1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth (divided)
  • 1/2 tsp garlic
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 30 oz tomato sauce
  • 1 tbsp cumin
  • 2 tbsp chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 cup of frozen peas

Instructions:

  1. Dice potatoes, cauliflower and onion. Place these in a large pot with oil and 1/2 tsp garlic. Saute on medium high heat for 10 minutes. Add 1/2 cup broth to cook it down a little bit (5-10 min).
  2. Add 30 oz tomato sauce, 1 cup of broth, the drained and rinsed chickpeas, 1 tbsp cumin, 2 tbsp chili powder, 1 tsp turmeric, and 1/4 tsp ground ginger. Allow this to simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, until cauliflower and potatoes are soft. About 10 minutes before it’s done, add 1 cup of frozen peas. Serve over rice or with naan.