Bean & Pineapple Soft Tacos

Pineapple is probably my favorite fruit.  I love fresh pineapple. I love it grilled. It's awesome on pizzas.  So why not in tacos?  

Pair the sweet pineapple with the spicy green chiles and salsa and you have a pan full of deliciousness. 

I love having leftovers in the refrigerator.  If I have something nummy and cooked, it leads to less snacking on stuff that I shouldn't eat. I made a double batch of this so we'll have it for awhile.  It freezes nicely too. 

I ate these as tacos on corn tortillas. One night I put it over brown rice with a bit of avocado. 

I also put it on corn tortillas with some garlic refried beans as tostados.  

This is day 16 of 30 Days of Vegan Recipes. Seriously, with food like this, it is not tough at all. 

Bean & Pineapple Tacos

2 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 zucchini, chopped
1 can (20 oz) pineapple tidbits, drained
2 cups salsa or a 16 oz. jar
1 can chopped green chiles
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
Toppings: lettuce, tomatoes and avocado

In a large pan, saute onion and red pepper in water until tender. Add the zucchini and cook for about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the pineapple, salsa, chiles and beans and heat through.  Stir in cilantro.  Place 1/3 cup filling on one corn tortilla.  Add toppings as desired.  




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Veggie Enchiladas with Chile Gravy

These are ugly enchiladas. I made them before and they were extremely unpretty and now I've made them again and they are downright ugly.  There was no dressing up this picture at all. I'm almost embarrassed to even include these pictures in the post.  But they are so, so, so delicious that I will risk the laughter and go ahead and post them anyways. 

I changed them up a bit, I nixed the oil and added zucchini. I think I put more spinach in them this time as well.  Corn tortillas just don't wrap well. They break, they crack and they just don't always bend right. They do make for a delicious meal though. I was glad I added this to my 30 Days of Vegan recipes.

Vegetable Enchiladas with Chile Gravy 
Adapted from Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Chile Gravy:

2 tablespoons chile powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed between fingertips

5 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup flour (I used gluten free)

2 cups vegetable

Enchiladas:

1 onion, chopped

4 packed cups fresh baby spinach

1 can corn (or about 1 1/2 cups of frozen)

1 zucchini, chopped

2 cans black beans

1/2 cup tomato sauce

10-12 (or more) corn tortillas, warmed

Chile Gravy:

In a small bowl combine all the seasonings: chile powder, cumin, paprika, black pepper, salt and oregano.

Heat a bit of water in a large skillet and quickly saute garlic 2 minutes; whisk in flour and cook a few minutes while constantly whisking/stirring. Add all the seasonings and cook 1 minute.

Pour in the vegetable broth and whisk until smooth. Turn heat up and bring to a boil: reduce heat and slowly simmer about 20-25 minutes, stirring often. Taste and season as needed. Meanwhile make the enchiladas.

Enchiladas:

Heat a bit of water (or oil) and onion and cook until translucent. Add spinach and stir until spinach starts to wilt. Remove from heat and add corn, black beans, and tomato sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9x13 deep-sided casserole pan. Warm the tortillas. Top each tortilla with a 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and place seam side down in casserole pan. This is not easy to do as the corn tortilla tend to break and crack. Do your best, it may not look pretty but it will still taste awesome. 

Pour the chile grave evenly over top. Bake 25 minutes until bubbly all over. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving. Serve with guacamole if desired.

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Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole

 

I've been a lazy cook recently.  I've been making more of the "throw a bunch of stuff in a pan and call it dinner" kind of mood.  I haven't really been in mood to create new recipe and have been sticking with some old stand by recipes.  This is a great recipe that comes together quickly and is quite versatile. I've made it several times and it's never really the same every time.

 

I love putting a zucchini in this but found that my last zucchini was not good.  Very disappointing.  So I threw a red pepper in there instead. I liked it and will probably use both next time I make it.

 

You can get creative with the cheeses as well. Cheddar and Parmesan combo is probably my favorite but I always have Colby jack in the fridge so that gets used often too.

 

 

This is an especially easy meal if you have leftover rice in the refrigerator.  When I make rice, I always make a big batch and somehow it always seems to get used.  This time I only had about 2 cups of cooked rice rather than 3 cups. I thought about making more but you know, that lazy thing kicked in and I decided that 2 cups would do. 

 

What are some of your favorite lazy meals to make?

Broccoli Cheese Rice Casserole

2 tbsp. butter
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbsp. garlic, minced
1/4 cup flour (I used gluten free)
2 cups milk
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt and pepper
8 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded (or whatever kind you have)
1/3 cup fresh Parmesan cheese, shredded
3 cups cooked rice, I used brown
3 cups cooked broccoli florets
1 small red pepper, chopped
1 small zucchini, cut in rounds and halved

Spray a 9 x 13 in. casserole pan.    In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat, add onion and saute for about 5 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for about a minute.  Whisk in flour and cook 3 - 4 minutes, whisking constantly.  Slowly stir in milk, mustard and season with salt and pepper, bring to a simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add most of the cheddar cheese (saving about 1/3 cup for the top), add Parmesan cheese.  Stir until mostly melted, remove from heat. 

Stir in rice and broccoli florets, pour into casserole pan, sprinkle remaining 1/3 cup cheese over top.  Bake 20 - 30 minutes at 400 until bubbly and lightly golden on top. 


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Stir Fry w/ Sesame Sauce - 17 Day Diet - Day 15

 So what do you do when you have a refrigerator full of vegetables and you're doing the 17 Day Diet?  Make stir fry of course.  I think I used every vegetable I had.  I just kept chopping until the pan was full.   I love how pretty and colorful it is!  I totally need to make this more often.

Day 15 - 17 Day Diet Menu Plan

Green Chile Eggs
Banana
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Yogurt
Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wrap
Yogurt

I've been eating a lot of buffalo chicken.  I like to cook a whole bunch of chicken in the crockpot and smother it with Franks buffalo sauce.  Sometimes I'll throw a packet of ranch dressing in there.  Then I shred it, or leave it whole and have buffalo chicken in my refrigerator to eat on salad or on a lettuce wrap.

Stir Fry with Sesame Sauce Recipe

1 1/2 lbs. chicken, cut into bite size chunks

1 1/2 lbs. broccoli
1 cup pea pods, ends trimmed

1 zucchini

1 yellow summer squash

2 carrots
2 celery stalks

1 red pepper

1 large onion
1 can water chestnuts

3 green onions

Sauce:

3/4 cup soy sauce

2 tbsp. garlic,minced

3 tbsp. seasoned rice vinegar

1/4 cup splenda or other sweetener

1 tbsp. sesame oil

2 tbsp. cornstarch

3/4 tsp. red pepper

Hot sauce, optional

Chop all the veggies into bite sized chunks. Brown the chicken in a pan with a bit of cooking spray. Add celery and carrots and cook for 3 - 4 minutes. Add onions and red pepper, cook for about 2 - 3 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and the sauce and cook until veggies are done and sauce is thickened, about 6 - 8 minutes. 

 

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Broccoli & Zucchini Soup

Grandparents had attended a grand aunt's 80th birthday dinner few weeks ago. Upon returning, gramma couldn't stop raving about the simple food, especially the soup. She said it was Zucchini & Almonds soup. Today, finally i got around to making it. We decided to give it a bit of twist, and try the soup. Here is what we made,

Ingredients:

Zucchini - 1 medium- chopped roughly
Broccoli - 4-5 florets
Almonds - 5- 6
Olive oil/butter- 1 tsp
Water
Milk
Salt
Pepper
Oregano/Italian herbs

How you make it:-

1. In a pan, add a cup of water and cook the Broccoli
2. In Another pan, add some oil/butter, add the zucchini and saute till it gets cooked
3. Cool off the vegetables, add the almonds to the mixer  and blend into a fine puree
4. Pour into a pan/pot and let it boil, adding required amount of salt, pepper and herbs. After boiling a few minutes, add some milk as well.

Serve hot with some bread... Bon Apetit! 

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