Pasta Sauce Under Pressure

Sometimes, our weekend lunches are a compilation of what we have in the fridge left from the week. Today, I had one orange bell pepper, 8 oz of mushrooms, 1/2 a can of artichoke hearts (from our pizza earlier in the week), garlic cloves, and bunch of spinach. Adding those items to crushed tomatoes and salt-free tomato sauce along with plenty of seasonings and a touch of red wine, our lunch was DIVINE. This is what we ended up with...

2-3 garlic cloves, minced finely
1 28-oz can of organic crushed tomatoes (with or without basil)
1 15-oz can of salt-free organic tomato sauce
1 large bell pepper (red, orange, or yellow), chopped
8 oz. of mushrooms, washed and sliced
1 can of artichoke heart quarters (or chop whole ones)
3 large handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1/8-1/4 cup red wine
1/2-1 T. raw sugar (I used date sugar)
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. dried basil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper

1 lb. whole grain pasta, cooked according to package directions
Vegan parmesan cheese (optional)

Place crush garlic in your pressure cooker and cook with 2 T. of the crushed tomatoes on your saute/brown feature for one minute. Add all of the ingredients EXCEPT the pasta and parmesan. Stir all ingredients together well. It may not seem "saucy" enough, but it will create the most delicious sauce!

Secure the top on your pressure cooker and cook for 6 minutes with quick release. Cook pasta according to package directions, strain and set aside so steam evaporates.

Taste and add additional salt/pepper to the sauce if desired. The sauce can sit on warm for as long as you need it to, or serve it right away.

Serve over whole grain pasta with vegan parmesan cheese.

Weeknight Stir-Fry

Need a quick weeknight meal? If you've already batch-cooked your brown rice, just pull out a container from the freezer. Then, use previously prepped veggies and the following sauce to bring a delightful dish together in a skillet. We like to include tri-colored bell peppers, mushrooms, steamed broccoli, edamame, and shredded carrots.


Oil-Free Teriyaki Sauce for Stir-Fry
¾ cup water
3 T. soy sauce
½ t. grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. raw sugar
1 T. corn starch

Mix ingredients together in a small bowl and add to skillet after your veggies are just fork-tender. Add brown rice and gently mix together well.

Getting Your Veggies In

Sometimes, it can be challenging to get your veggies in. One can only eat so many raw carrots, cucumbers, and tomatoes! So, I like to get creative with my meals and add lots of veggies to every dish.

A particularly easy way to add veggies to your daily intake is by adding them to pasta sauce. We had some homemade marinara that we batch cooked and had frozen. Today, I chopped some cubes of eggplant, mushrooms, and spinach and steamfried those until tender. Then, I added the defrosted sauce to them and will simmer them together for a while. Then, we'll have a meal...full of veggies and flavor!

Try adding greens to your soups and sauces. They're the easiest to get in without compromising flavor. Or, be creative and come up with your own veggie add-ins!

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!

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!