Smoky Roasted Vegetables Cheese Sauce [dairy-free, gluten-free, vegan]

1 very small onion, chopped
1 carrot (washed and unpeeled), chopped
1 cup Butternut squash, peeled and diced (or use a cup of frozen)
a large Yukon Gold potato, peeled and chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, chopped into 4 pieces
1/2 cup orange grape tomatoes (which needed to be used up!)
3 cloves of garlic (leave in husk)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the above vegetables on a parchment paper-lined baking tray with sides.
Roast for about 25 minutes (check at 20 minutes to see if the potatoes, carrots, and squash are fork tender).

Then, add the roasted veggies to the Vitamix with:

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1 t salt
1 t liquid smoke
1/4 t chipotle pepper
1/8 t cumin
1 1/2 cups water (more if needed)

Blend until smooth and creamy!

Vegan Taco Pasta - Healthified! [oil-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan]

This delicious original recipe came from This Savory Vegan, recommended to us by our kids. We decided to make a few changes to align more with the way we cook, and it came out amazing!

Here is the modified version:

8 oz dry pasta - I used Tinkyada Organic Brown Rice Elbows
1/2 red or yellow onion, chopped FINELY
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped FINELY
1 red bell pepper, chopped FINELY
1 jalapeño, chopped FINELY
1 packet taco seasoning - I used Simply Organic Mild Taco Seasoning
6 oz soyrizo - can find this at Sprouts and Trader Joe's
1/2 cup salsa - I used Sprouts brand of organic mild salsa
1 cup water
1 t Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base (optional, not needed)
3 handfuls of organic baby spinach
1/4 cup raw cashews + 1/4 cup water - Blend in a high-speed cup blender until very smooth and creamy

Cook pasta according to package directions. When finished, drain and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, steamfry the onions, bell peppers, and jalapeño in a  few tablespoons of water in a large skillet over medium-high heat, adding more water if needed until the veggies are cooked tender. This will take about 10 minutes. Add the taco seasoning and a little more water to the skillet.

Push the veggies to one side of the skillet and add the soyrizo. Crumble with a wooden spoon and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Combine the veggies and soyrizo.

Add salsa, 1 cup of water, bouillon (if using), and the cashew cream to the pan and stir to combine. If you did not use the Better Than Bouillon, you might want to add salt to taste. Since taco seasoning usually has salt in it, you may not need to add additional salt.
Add cooked pasta to the pan and toss until coated evenly.
Serve warm!
Store leftover in an airtight container in the fridge.

Serves 4.

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

Layered Mexican Casserole

Working on dinner for the next 3 nights because I've got a BUSY schedule this week! I make this Layered Mexican Casserole just a bit different every time. You can layer it with anything you like! This time, I used previously frozen Smoky Pinto Beans I made a couple of weeks ago, roasted potatoes seasoned with PlantPure Nation cookbook Mexican seasoning (plus a little salt), fresh baby spinach, frozen corn also seasoned with the same seasoning (plus a little salt), Trader Joe's corn tortillas, my recipe for The BEST Veggie Cheeze, and Frontera Red Chili Enchilada Sauce. Again, you could layer with anything you like! It's such an easy recipe! I bake it for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, refrigerate it, and heat sections up for dinner each night in the microwave.

When layering, you want to put a cup of the enchilada sauce at the very bottom to prevent sticking. Add a layer of tortillas, slightly overlapping them. I rip mine up so I am not overlapping too much. Here is the order that I layered this casserole (from the bottom up):

enchilada sauce
layer of tortillas
1/2 of the Smoky Pinto Beans
seasoned corn
spinach
layer of tortillas
other 1/2 of Smoky Pinto Beans
enchilada sauce
roasted potatoes
The Best Veggie Cheeze
layer of tortillas
remaining enchilada sauce
remaining The Best Veggie Cheeze

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes. Make sure all layers are nice and hot before serving.


 Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

Mexican Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I found a recipe for a cauliflower pizza crust that was oil-free and sounded good. Me, being super lazy, decided to modify a few of the steps to simplify it. Thanks to Detoxinista for inspiring me with her recipe, though. I think the ingredients are genius. So here's my modified version of the crust recipe and my spin on giving it a Mexican flair:

Serves 2-3


Crust Ingredients:
1 large head of cauliflower
3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds, divided
water, ONLY IF NEEDED
1/2 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

Toppings:
1 1/2 cups of fat-free pinto beans
1 ear of fresh corn kernels (or 3/4 cup frozen and defrosted)
1 small zucchini, cut into tiny dice
1 cup of The Best Veggie Cheese (or other plant-based queso or cheeze sauce)
1 cup of Salsa Fresca (or other salsa) - divided
a handful of chopped green onions

NOTE: The cauliflower can be prepared in advance.

Follow instructions for cooking the cauliflower in the pressure cooker WHOLE!
Allow the cauliflower to cool in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (you can leave it right in the pressure cooker pot!).
Remove the florets from the core and place HALF in a nut milk bag or a clean towel. Squeeze out all of the excess liquid you can and place the dried cauliflower into a bowl. Do the same with the rest of the cauliflower.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Mix 2 T of the ground flaxseeds with 3 T of water in a small bowl. Then, transfer to the bowl with the cauliflower. Add the last T of ground flaxseeds, almond meal, salt, garlic powder, and oregano.
Mix together well to create the "dough." Spread the dough (1/4-inch thick) onto a baking sheet lined with a piece of parchment paper. Bake for 30 minutes. Lay another piece of parchment paper over the crust and flip over. Bake another 15 minutes on the other side.
While the crust is baking, mix 1/2 cup of salsa with the fat-free refried pinto beans to make them spreadable.
Spread them on the crust. Next, sprinkle the corn and zucchini over the top. Drizzle the veggie cheeze and salsa fresca over the top.
Bake for another 10-15 minutes.
Serve topped with green onions.

Veggie-Loaded Mexican Casserole

Makes one 13x9 casserole; serves 6 (possibly more)

READ THIS RECIPE COMPLETELY THROUGH BEFORE MAKING IT!

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please check out the recipe to make Mrs. Plant's The BEST Veggie Cheeze Sauce first to make sure you have all of the ingredients for it. That is what makes this recipe fabulous! This can be made beforehand--even the day before!

ADDITIONAL NOTE: I made the mashed pinto beans in the Instant Pot from dry, soaked beans. Add 1/4 onion, 1 garlic clove, 1/2 t cumin, 1/2 t salt, and water that goes 1-inch above the beans. Cook them on high pressure for 35 minutes with natural release. Then, drain MOST the water, leaving a little bit so you can mash them with a potato masher. These can also be made in advance.

8 corn tortillas (I use Food for Life brand of sprouted corn torillas)
3-4 cups of cooked and mashed fat-free pinto beans
3 cups frozen corn, defrosted
4 cups spinach, chopped finely
2 cups zucchini, diced (see update below)
2 cups riced cauliflower (see update below)
1 1/2 T salt-free Mexican seasoning (I used PlantPure Nation recipe with less pepper because I'm a Spice Weenie)
1 recipe of Mrs. Plant's The BEST Veggie Cheeze Sauce
2 packets of Frontera Red Chile Enchilada Sauce (or 16 oz of homemade or other brand)

Make Mrs. Plant's The BEST Veggie Cheeze Sauce. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place the zucchini and riced cauliflower together in a small bowl and mix in the Mexican seasoning to coat them. Set aside.

Update on 3-8-18:
I would put the seasoned zucchini and cauliflower rice in a microwave-safe bowl with 2-3 T of water and microwave it for 2-3 minutes before adding it to this recipe. You want to make sure they are cooked some before adding into the layers.

Create TWO layers in the following order...
1. Pour 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce on the bottom of a glass 13x9 pan. Spread evenly
2. Layer 4 of the tortillas on top of the sauce.
3. Spread 1 1/2 - 2 cups of the pinto beans on top of the tortillas.
4. Sprinkle 1/2 of the seasoned zucchini-cauliflower mix over the pinto bean layer.
5. Sprinkle 1/2 of the corn over the zucchini-cauliflower layer.
6. Sprinkle 1/2 of the chopped spinach over the corn layer.
7. Pour 1/2 of the BEST Veggie Cheeze Sauce and 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce over the spinach layer.
REPEAT Steps 2-7.

Cover with foil. Bake for around 60 minutes. If your ingredients were very cold, it may take longer to cook through. Also, you may need to place the casserole dish on a baking tray so it won't drip into your oven. Serve!

CLEAN Enchilada Casserole

NOTE: You can use fat-free homemade or canned refried black or pinto beans instead of whole beans in this recipe.
You can also add cooked onions or mushrooms. This is a VERY versatile casserole! Just make sure to season the filling well with Mexican spices.

12 (clean) corn tortillas (I used “Food for Life” Sprouted Corn Tortilla) or 8-9 flour tortillas, cut in half or smaller pieces
2 cans/packages of (clean) enchilada sauce (I used Frontera Red Chili Enchilada Sauce)
2 cups of frozen organic corn, defrosted
6 cups of fresh organic baby spinach or 16-oz. bag of frozen, defrosted and moisture squeezed out well
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained (or pinto beans, if you prefer)
1 t. cumin powder
½ t. chili powder
½ t. coriander powder (or 2 T. fresh chopped cilantro)
1 recipe of Mexican “Oat” Cheese  or The Very Best Cheese sauce.


Directions for Making the Casserole:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Blend the 2 cans of beans in a food processor (or mash by hand) with 1 t. cumin powder, ½ t. chili powder, and ½ t. coriander powder (or 2 T fresh chopped cilantro) until very smooth. Set aside.
Make the Mexican “Oat” Cheese (recipe above).
Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 glass or metal pan.
Layer with 8 tortilla halves, overlapping if necessary.
Spread half of the blended beans onto the tortillas.
Spread 1 cup of the corn on top of the beans.
Drizzle some of the enchilada sauce and cheese sauce over the corn.
Add 3 cups of baby spinach on top of that.
Then, repeat from layering the tortilla halves.
End with a final layer of tortilla halves, plenty of enchilada sauce, and the rest of the “oat” cheese.

Final Product! It was DELICIOUS!

Cover with foil and bake for 30-35 minutes. If making ahead and refrigerating, it will take longer to bake.

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

After Baking

YouTube: Complete Meal Mexican Salad

Oil-Free Amy's Kitchen-Style Black Bean Chili

My husband loves Amy's Kitchen Organic Black Bean Chili in the can, but it contains oil. He asked me to try to recreate this chili to see if we could reproduce a very similar version with no oil. We tried to use all organic ingredients because we feel that organic food always has a richer flavor; however, you can make this with or without organic ingredients. In addition, we wanted to make this recipe in the pressure cooker for simplicity and time savings. It came out awesome!

NOTE: This recipe can ALSO be made with 6 cups of PREVIOUSLY COOKED or CANNED black beans instead and then cooked in the pressure cooker with all of the other ingredients for 8 minutes with NATURAL RELEASE. Then, use a hand blender to blend the chili or blend 2 cups of the chili in the blender, then return it back to the pot and stir well.

2 cups dried black beans, soaked in water for 8 hours or more, rinsed and drained*
1 medium onion, diced finely
3  garlic cloves, minced
1/2 red or green bell pepper, diced small
1 14-oz. can salt-free diced tomatoes
2 T. tomato paste
1 4-oz. can of chopped green chiles
1 T. chili powder
1 t. cumin powder
1/4-1/2  t. cayenne pepper
salt to taste
1/4 t. black pepper
2 t. coconut sugar or other sweetener (optional)
3 cups water (to add to the chili)

PRESSURE COOKER DIRECTIONS:
Steamfry the onions in the pressure cooker on the saute/brown feature. Add water if they begin to stick. Add the garlic, bell peppers, tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chiles, and spices/sugar, and stir together well. Add the black beans and 3 cups of water, and stir one more time. Set the pressure on high for 40 minutes with NATURAL RELEASE.

Remove 2 cups of the chili and blend in your blender until smooth. Stir the mixture back into the pot of chili to thicken it. Serve with avocado slices and fresh or dehydrated cilantro.

* To soak dry beans, place them in a large bowl covered by water that goes a minimum of 2 inches above them (but also leaving space in the bowl for the beans to expand). Soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse well before using the beans in your recipe.

Mexican Rice and Beans

Do you need a QUICK dinner? Add a nice salad or steamed greens to the side, and check off several of your Daily Dozen boxes!

2 cups brown rice
1/2 cup salsa (NOT a sweet one!)
1 cup frozen organic corn
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic power
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
3 cups water
chopped cilantro (optional)
1 can of pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 T lime juice

Add all of the ingredients except the beans and lime juice into your pressure cooker bowl. Stir to combine. Cook on high pressure for 20 minutes. Turn pressure cooker OFF. Let it naturally release. Open top and fluff rice. Stir in the beans and lime juice and cover the top for 5 minutes or so. Serve warm with steamed greens or a salad on the side.

Inspired by Katie Lasserre

Smoky Mexican Soup

As I am working on designing new recipes that do not contain flours or sugars, I am finding that I definitely have to be more creative. However, it's a challenge that I'm really enjoying!

Soup is filling and hearty. Dr. Fuhrman's new book, THE END OF HEART DISEASE, recommends a bean and veggie soup daily. So, I was inspired to make this one for this week's lunches. Hubby approved!

1 yellow onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 15-oz can of fire-roasted tomatoes
1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes
4 cups veggie broth
2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 cups cooked red kidney beans (or 1 can rinsed and drained)
1 can of hominy, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen corn
1 small can of green chiles
1 T. cumin powder
1 t. coriander powder
1 t. liquid smoke
1 t. salt
1/2 t. chili powder

Pressure Cooker Instructions:
In your electric pressure cooker, steamfry onions  with a bit of broth or water for about 6 minutes on the BROWN or SAUTÉ setting. Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add all of the rest of the ingredients, stir to combine, and set the pressure manually to 5 minutes with QUICK RELEASE. 

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required. 

Mexican Cornbread Dinner - Under Pressure!

Whenever I make a "one-pot" meal, I try to make sure it's well-balanced. That means, including whole grains, beans, greens, and veggies.

This idea came to me after planning a dinner party for this weekend, which included oil-free corn bread. I wondered if I could "bake" my corn bread in the pressure cooker RIGHT ON TOP OF the dish, and what do you know??? It worked beautifully! I completed the test kitchen run around 9:30 in the evening, and my husband had already brushed his teeth. I coaxed him into tasting the new dish, and he ended up eating half of a HUGE portion! It is SO easy to make and DELICIOUS!

1 large onion, chopped finely
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 28-oz can or two 15-oz. cans of fire-roasted chopped tomatoes, including the liquid
1 T. lime juice
2 cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups of frozen corn
1 4-oz. can of green chiles, including the liquid
3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 1/2  t. cumin
½-1 t. chili powder (based on your spiciness level)
3/4 t. salt
3 dashes of Liquid Smoke

Corn Bread Layer:
1 cup of whole wheat, whole wheat pastry, or spelt flour
1 cup of cornmeal (fine ground)
1 T. baking powder
pinch of salt
1 cup unsweetened, non-dairy milk
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

In a large bowl, add the onion, garlic, tomatoes, black beans, lime juice, corn, green chiles, spinach, cumin, chili powder, salt, and liquid smoke. Stir well to combine.

Whisk together the dry ingredients for the corn bread layer in a medium-sized bowl. Add in the non-dairy milk, maple syrup, and applesauce. Stir together to combine. Pour the cornbread mixture over the other mixture in the pressure cooker, spreading level.

Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes with quick release (slowly turning the valve so the liquid doesn’t spray out). Turn off the pressure cooker and LEAVE THE TOP ON for 10 more minutes. Open the top and serve.

Layered Mexican Casserole

I wanted to make a Mexican dish this week and opted for an adapted version of Jeanne Schumacher's Mexican Lasagna. Since we have a homemade Salsa Fresca recipe that we love, we opted to use that throughout the casserole. Also, I chose to use black beans and pinto beans because those are our favorites in a Mexican dish. Instead of the corn salsa, I did go ahead and use a bag of frozen, organic corn (which I mixed with cumin, chili powder, and about 1/4 cup of my salsa). For the "greens" layer, I just used organic baby spinach. In addition, I wanted to top the casserole with some of Del Sroufe's tofu sour cream (1 chilled container of Mori-Nu Lite silken tofu, 1 T red wine vinegar, and 1 T. lemon juice blended until smooth) mixed with about 3 T. of my salsa and also some of our Cashew Queso, which is a family-and-friends favorite! OH-EM-GEE! This dish was fabulous and EASY!!! This will be our dinner for the next 2-3 nights, and I'm OK with that!

Chickenless Taquitos

NOTE: If you are using the tiny pieces of soy curls that are in the bottom of the bag to make the filling, don't soak them in water. Just place them in a skillet with about 1/2 cup of water or so and the seasonings and warm them over medium heat. If you're using full-sized soy curls, follow the instructions, below.

3 handfuls of soy curls, soaked in water for 10 minutes, then squeezed out/drained well
3 T. of Mexican Spice seasoning (we used the recipe from the PlantPure Nation cookbook, p. 147)
1 T of Better-Than-Bouillion "No-Chicken" broth concentrate or a teaspoon or two of Trader Joe's Chickenless Seasoning
salt to taste
2 packages of corn tortillas  (we used "Food for Life" sprouted corn tortillas)
Vegan sour cream (from the PlantPure Nation cookbook, p. 144) or unsweetened soy yogurt
Hot sauce (like Cholula or Taco Bell Mild) or
Homemade Salsa Fresca
Cashew Queso (optional)

Place half of the (soaked and drained) soy curls into your high-speed blender and blend on the LOWEST speed for 6-8 seconds until shredded.  Pour the shredded curls into a bowl and stir in the taco/Mexican seasoning and the Better-Than-Bouillion No-Chicken broth concentrate well. Add salt to taste.

Prepare a baking pan with parchment paper or a silpat sheet. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Steam your tortillas EITHER over a saucepan with 2 inches of water in it topped with a baking cooling rack on top of it until they are soft OR wet each tortilla individually and microwave for 10-12 seconds. Fill with chickenless filling, roll up tightly, and place seam-side down on the tray. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn oven down to 400 degrees and flip the taquitos over. Bake for 5-10 more minutes or until crispy. Depending on how wet your filling is will depend on how long your taquitos will need to bake to be crunchy.

Serve with vegan sour cream, your favorite hot sauce or salsa, Salsa Fresca and/or Cashew Queso

Disclosure: Mrs. Plant makes use of Amazon.com affiliate links when they are available. These are products I have personally purchased and recommend based on my experience with them. Your use of these links for product purchases provides me with a commission which pays for the food and supplies I use to keep this website alive. However, your use of these links as a reader is not required.

TC in a B (Throw Crap in a Bowl) - Mexican Style!

Most of you are familiar with our family favorite dinner called TC in a B (stands for Throw Crap in a Bowl!). Tonight, I put together some previously made and batched-cooked food with some cauliflower that *needed* to be cooked!

Last weekend, I batch cooked and froze packages of brown rice. For tonight's dinner, I simply defrosted the bag and added lime juice and chopped cilantro to it.

We also made our Salsa Fresca this past weekend, so we'll us that.

Then, I cracked open a can of salt-free black bean (rinsed and drained them) and chopped two tomatoes.

Getting all of that rounded up took me about 10 minutes.

Then, I chopped my cauliflower into bit-sized pieces, added it to my pressure cooker with 2 T of taco seasoning, 1 T of whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup of water. I pressure cooked it for 0 minutes (that's right ZERO--don't set any time, just press the start button) with quick release.

When hubby got back from his run, we assembled our bowls and ate! I added a few sliced black olives and hubby added Cholula. BE CREATIVE! Come up with your own TC in a B!

Batch Cooking Comes Alive!

This past weekend, I batch cooked a few items that saved my dinner tonight!

I had previously cooked up the rest of my purple sweet potatoes from Hawaii in the pressure cooker and stored them in packages in the freezer, plus I made a batch of blended black beans (also in the pressure cooker), which I had stored in a container in the refrigerator. Thinking quickly, I chopped up three zucchini, tossed them with a mixture of cumin, chili powder, onion powder, and garlic powder and roasted them on non-stick foil in the toaster oven for about 15 minutes on 400 degrees. NO OIL! While those were cooking, I pulled whole wheat tortillas out of the freezer and quickly steamed enough for dinner, placing them in my handy-dandy tortilla keeper until needed. Then, I warmed the purple sweet potatoes and blended black beans in small bowls -- enough for each of us to make two burritos each. Finally, I chopped grape tomatoes in half and chopped up some fresh cilantro (I had purchased to make more salsa but never did). VOILA! These gorgeous burritos came together in 20 minutes because I had batch cooked in advance! A complete dinner, loaded with nutrients and fiber!

Mexi-Corn Israeli Coucous Salad

This is a great salad to make for lunches during the week or to take to a potluck. It's the perfect mix of veggies, whole grains, and beans. It will serve 4-5 people as a lunch meal or more if it's served as a side dish.

3 ears of corn, cooked in the husk in the microwave then cooled
1 cup of dry, whole wheat Israeli couscous
1 1/2 cups water
2 small or one large zucchini, diced very small
1 cup of organic cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped into quarters
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced very small
1/2 red bell pepper, diced very small
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup fresh lime juice
1 t. cumin powder
1/2 t. salt-free chili powder
1/2 t. Himalayan pink salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1/2 t. garlic powder

NOTE: I buy my whole wheat Israeli couscous from Vitacost.com. It's Bob's Red Mill brand.

Cook 3 ears of corn according the to link above. Let the ears cool before removing the husk.

Bring the water to a boil and add the Israeli couscous. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until most of the water is gone. Drain off any additional water. Chill in a large storage container that you will use to store the salad in the fridge.

While the couscous is cooking, chop the veggies and get all of the seasonings measured out. Cut corn kernels off the cobs into a bowl. Rinse and drain the black beans. Squeeze the lime juice.

When everything is cooled, mix the corn, beans, couscous, veggies, seasonings, and lime juice together. Chill before serving.

Not-Your-Average Salad

This is one of our favorite full-meal salads because everyone can add what they like to it! We call it Tex-Mex Salad with Oil-Free Catalina Dressing (recipe below). It can be made with lots many great toppings!

Tonight, we had Romaine lettuce, cucumbers, red and yellow bell peppers, grape tomatoes, carrots, fresh corn on the cob (cooked in the microwave IN THE HUSK for 4 minutes! See video on how to do this), black beans, and black olives. We added three Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders, chopped and placed on top just before serving.


Oil-Free Catalina-Style Dressing:
1/4 c. ketchup
2 Tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 c. minced onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce 
sprinkling of black pepper
1/4 cup water

Blend all ingredients until smooth in a blender. Add more water if you want the dressing thinner. Chill before using.

NOTE: You can double this dressing and freeze half of it for next time!

Add Gardein 7-Grain Crispy Tenders if you like!

One-Pan Mexican Quinoa

The Mrs. Plant blog brings you 100% plant-based recipes that have been tweaked to taste delicious with no oil and less/no processed ingredients. Here is a GREAT example of that. We REALLY enjoyed this recipe!


2 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, minced (optional; only if you like it spicy!)
1 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable broth
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 large zucchini, chopped into 1/4-1/2-inch cubes
1 (14.5 oz) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3/4-1 t. salt (or to taste)
1 avocado, peeled and diced (optional)
Juice of 1 lime

In a large skillet (that has a companion top), add garlic and jalapeno (if using), and cook in a small amount of veggie broth for about one minute!
Stir in quinoa, 1 cup of vegetable broth, black beans, zucchini, tomatoes, corn, chili powder, cumin, fresh cilantro; season with salt. Bring to a boil uncovered, then cover, reduce heat and simmer until quinoa is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Stir in avocado and lime juice.
Serve immediately.

Adapted from Damndelicious.net

Sweet Potato Tostadas

I love a combination of sweet and spicy, so these layered Sweet Potato Tostadas fit the bill. Also, this is a great meal to make that allows your family members or friends choose their own toppings!
Serves 4.

8-10 Corn tortillas*
2 cans of fat-free refried beans (we used Trader Joe's), warmed in microwave
4 baked sweet potatoes (these can be made ahead of time and warmed just before you eat)
Frozen organic corn, defrosted (we used Trader Joe's)
2 tomatoes, chopped
Lettuce, chopped
Salsa (we used our homemade Salsa Fresca)
Mashed avocado (optional)

* To bake your own OIL-FREE tostada shell/base, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tortillas directly on rack and bake for 13-16 minutes, until lightly brown, watching them closely so they don't burn. Test to see if they are done by pinching off the edge of one. If it's crispy, they're ready!

Mexican-Style Gorilla Salad

Summer is perfectly ripe for salad! We love to chop a bunch of veggies and fruits, add beans, and make an enormous gorilla salad for lunch or dinner. We eat use the largest mixing bowls we have in the house to create our masterpieces, and the freshest organic ingredients.

Today, we made a Mexican-Style Gorilla Salad. We included Romaine lettuce, spinach, tri-colored bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, cherry tomatoes, corn, avocado, mango, and black beans. We dressed our salads with homemade salsa fresca and nutritional yeast flakes.
It was AMAZING!!!