Lo Mein

Today, Gary and I decided it was time to try out a Lo Mein recipe, but with our own twist. We had already tried out this recipe back in January and found it quite good, but it seemed to be missing a bit of something so we made these changes and hope they'll turn out well! 

I think one of the things I like most about Lo Mein is that most recipes don't call for onions. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I don't like onions, but it makes for a nice change not having that taste in every single recipe. 

So since there aren't any onions, we started warming our garlic and added all the veggies to the pan right away. In the picture below, you'll see our choices of veggies, as well as the tofu that we added after cooking it in a frying pan for 15-20 minutes. 

You've got your zucchini, your carrots (fave!), your red peppers, your mushrooms and your tofu!

After cooking it all up, we decided not to make the sauce from the original recipe, which we did like though, and went with a thai sauce that was SO delicious. Basically, we were lazy and didn't want to prepare a sauce from scratch, ok? Don't judge us. 

So here's the final product laid out in one of our plates. Looks and smells so good!

Lo Mein

Prep time: 10 mins / Cook time: 35 mins

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients: 

• 3-4 rounds of Asian Noodles
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced (approximately)
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1 carrot, julienned
• 1 zucchini, julienned
• 1/2 package of tofu, diced
• Sweet Red Chili Thai Sauce

Description: 

1. In a large skillet or wok, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add tofu cubes, making sure they do not overlap each other. Let cook for 20 minutes on each side, flipping every so often. Transfer cooked tofu to a bowl. 
2. In the same skillet or wok, heat remaining olive oil. Add garlic, mushrooms, bell pepper, carrot, and zucchini. Cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Stir in tofu.
3. Meanwhile, cook Asian noodles in medium saucepan, according to package instruction.
4. Stir Asian Noodles into vegetable mixture. Add thai sauce. Serve immediately. 

Rating: 9/10

We really love this recipe, be it with the pre-made sweet red chili sauce or with the homemade sauce from the original recipe. Feel free to try it out if you like a good quick & easy thai meal! 

Original sauce:

2 tbsp tamari, or soya sauce

2 tsp sugar (or less)

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp Sriracha, or more, to taste

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Easy Burrito Bowls

So one day, as Gary and I were sifting through some new recipes online, we thought to ourselves, "Burritos are amazing, why not try a little variety and make some burrito bowls?" And here is where it brought us. We found what looked like a great burrito bowl recipe, put it on the menu, and got straight to work.

The great thing about a recipe like this is that it's a quick fix meal. We had prepared the rice the previous day to save some time, and also because we thought cold fried rice would be better suited for burrito bowls than fresh warm rice.

Mmm, look at all those delicious veggies! 

Easy Burrito Bowls

Makes 6 servings

Prep time: 10 minutes / Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup uncooked rice
• 1 cup salsa
• 3 cups chopped romain lettuce
• 1 15-ounce can kernel corn, drained
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 avocado, halved, seeded, peeled and diced

Directions: 

1. In a large saucepan of 1 1 /2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; let cool and stir in salsa; set aside. (For us, this was done the previous day - chilled in the fridge overnight).
2. To assemble the bowls, divide rice mixture into serving bowls; top with lettuce, corn, black beans, tomatoes, and avocado. 
3. Serve immediately, drizzled with sauce of choice.*

*Original recipe calls for homemade chipotle sauce. We didn't have all the ingredients so we skipped out for this time. 

Rating: 7/10

I think that the lack of sauce probably diminished the rating of this recipe. Although I do love all the individual ingredients called for in the recipe, it didn't make my tastebuds jump from joy. It was fine and I enjoyed the meal as it was, but there is certainly room for improvement. 

Original recipe found at: http://damndelicious.net/2014/09/10/easy-burrito-bowls/

Vegan Cream of Brocoli Soup

One recipe Gary and I have always wanted to try is Cream of Brocoli Soup. I tried it once a few years back and it was not fantastic, so I made sure that the recipe didn't contain the same ingredients so as not to repeat in scenario. Also a bonus, this recipe is vegan-friendly! 

We got right down to it. We chopped up the veggies and got them cooking. 

Boiling the veggies in the pot - smells good already!

After it was all done cooking, it was time to start blending. Side note: this recipe makes a decent amount of soup, as you can see in the photo below, so maybe think about putting half at a time in the blender.

We served it up in some bowls and we're so excited to see how it tastes!

Gary thinks it looks like pureed trees. Yum!

Vegan Cream of Brocoli Soup

Makes 6 servings

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup celery, chopped 
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 medium yellow potato, peeled and diced
• 4 cups water
• 4 cups brocoli florets
• 1/2 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Freshly ground black pepper

Description:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook until light brown, about 5 minutes.
2. Add celery, garlic, and freshly ground black pepper; cook for 5 minutes.
3. Add potatoes and water, and raise to high heat until it comes to a boil. Return heat to medium and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. 
4. Add brocoli, cover and let simmer for 5 minutes, or until brocoli is bright green. 
5. Transfer the soup into a blender (half at a time, depending on the size of blender). Add almond milk and puree until smooth. 
6. Return the soup to the saucepan and bring to a simmer; stir in nutritional yeast and nutmeg. Add water, if needed, to adjust consistency. 

Rating: 8.5/10! 

This meal turned out really great. We all loved the consistency of it, without having to add water or anything, and the taste was just right. Definitely worth trying if you're a fan of some good ol' cream of brocoli soup. :) 

Shakshuka

While travelling, we tried a new middle eastern dish called Shakshuka, and I was a big fan. So Gary and I decided we should give it a try after I stumbled upon a recipe while browsing through Pinterest. Let's see how it all works out...

First, you have to start cooking all the veggies, and then add the tomatoes before finally cracking the eggs on top of the whole thing. I don't know if the original recipe calls for too many tomatoes, or if you were supposed to drain the can before slapping it on the stove, but generally, I found that there was too much liquid in the pan once all the ingredients had been mixed in. Here's a quick shot of what the meal started to look like after we cooked the veggies and added the eggs:

As you can see, the pan seems a bit too full, so Gary suggests to try using less tomatoes and/or omitting their juices when cooking this meal up.

We made sure to keep an eye on things as it continued to cook, but noticed that the eggs seemed to be taking a lot longer to cook that indicated in the original recipe. This may be due to the fact that there were too many veggies, thus making it more difficult for the eggs on top to obtain the heat needed to cook all the way through. But after an extra 10-15 minutes on the stove, things started to take shape and it was looking pretty good! 

Gary removed the pan from the stove and started making portions for everyone to eat. He made sure to top it all off with feta cheese and some green onions. 

Yum! Looks so good!

Unfortunately, the feta cheese may or may not have been passed date, so a certain someone said he couldn't stomach to finish eating it. I, on the other hand, thought it was absolutely delicious! We also had a guest over who said he had enjoyed the meal, although he may have just been trying to be polite. Oh well, maybe we'll get a chance to try this recipe again and change a few things to get a better result. You know, and check all the expiration dates before adding all the ingredients. 

In any case, we hope you can enjoy making this easy healthy vegetarian meal if it so does please you! 

Shakshuka

Makes 4-6 servings*

Cook time: 20-40 minutes

Ingredients: 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 yellow pepper, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can chickpeas (or beans of your choice)
• 1 can of diced tomatoes and their juices
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 4 eggs*
• 2 tbsp feta cheese
• 2 tbsp green onions

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in a large wok or pan, and add onion, pepper, and garlic; cook for 5 minutes, until softened. 
2. Add tomatoes, chickpeas (or beans of choice), cumin and paprika; cook for 5 minutes. 
3. Crack the eggs on top of the tomato mixture and cook until the whites of the eggs have set, around 10 minutes. [Side note: it took much longer for our eggs to set so make sure they are well cooked before serving!]
4. Scatter green onions and feta cheese on top of the eggs and tomatoes; serve with pita breads to dip, if desired.  

*Note: With the amount of tomato mixture, I feel like it should make 6 servings, so I reheated part of the mixture on the stove and cook 2 more eggs over it. 

Carmen's rating: 7/10 - Our tomato mixture compared to the one we found in the online recipe was very watery. I would have preferred a thick sauce to go with the eggs. 

Richard's rating: 5/10 - I think the feta cheese might have been out of date; something tasty really nasty. 

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Gary is so excited to try out this new recipe: Quinoa Enchilada Casserole! We had been stocking up on quinoa for a while and we definitely need a good recipe to use it up. So let's get to work...

We got all our ingredients out and set up on the counter and started cooking up the quinoa. Once it was all done, we went on to mixing everything together.

All the veggies and quinoa mixed together. Looks good! 

All that's left to do now is to pour it all into a baking pan, top it with some cheese, and pop it in the oven! 

And here is the finished product: 

Time to serve it up with a side salad. Can't wait to get munching!

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

Make 6 servings

Prep time: 10 mins / Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup quinoa
• 3/4 cup salsa, more if desired (original recipe calls for enchilada sauce)
• 1/2 cup corn kernels, canned or frozen
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese (although we went with 1 & 1/2 cup mozzarella instead)
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 roma tomato, diced (optional)
• 1 avocado, peeled and pitted (optional)

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan of 2 cups water, cook quinoa according to package instructions; set aside. 
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil an 8x8 or 2 quart baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. 
3. In a large bowl, combine quinoa, salsa, corn, black beans, cumin and chili powder; season with pepper, to taste. Stir in 1/2 cup cheddar cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (or half of your shredded mozzarella if only using one kind of cheese).
4. Spread quinoa mixture into the prepared baking dish. Top with remaining cheese. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and cheeses have melted, about 15 minutes. 
5. Serve immediately, garnished with avocado and tomato, if desired.

Rating: 9/10! 

We really enjoyed this meal, especially given the good combination of spices that didn't feel like too much, nor too little. This is definitely a great meal that is easy to make and delicious to boot!

Eggplant Parmesan

It was a rushed night, but Gary and I managed to cook up a new recipe we found on Pinterest for Eggplant Parmesan! Because of the rush though, we didn't really have much time for pictures, not to mention that we had to ask the man of the house to finish up.

So here's how it all went down. We started by mincing the garlic and heating it up, adding the diced tomatoes (didn't use enough, I think) and fresh basil - Yes, we bought fresh basil this week! While it was cooking, we sliced the eggplant and - oh crap, we're out of eggs!! At this point, everything was already on the go and we couldn't very well just leave the house (home alone this afternoon) so we texted Mr. Man and asked if he could pick up a dozen eggs on his way home. To kill some time after everything was ready, except the eggs, I asked Gary to help me shovel in the backyard to get the car out of the snow from Saturday's storm, but he wasn't too excited by the idea. I went outside by myself and came back in to continue our cooking adventure once the man got home with the eggs.

Now that we had all the ingredients, we started dipping the eggplant slices into flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/cheese mixture. These need to be baked by themselves first, so we threw them in and put the timer on. But at this point, I was running out of time so I passed on the cooking responsibility to my main man. Gary tried to be patient with him, and I think it all turned out quite well! Here is the final result:

"This vegetarien thing ain't so bad when your girlfriend is an amazing cook" - Richard's words, not mine!

Eggplant Parmesan

Makes 4-6 servings

Total time: Approximately 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 1 large eggplant, sliced
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 28-ounce can diced tomatoes with their juices (or more, depending how much sauce you would like)
• 1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped (or less, depending how much sauce you end up with - eyeball it)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3/4 cup breadcrumbs - we used cornflake crumbs instead, tasted great!
• 1/8 cup Parmesan cheese + 1/2 cup more for toppings 
• 1/4 cup flour, or more if needed
• 2 eggs, beaten, or more if needed
• Olive oil or non-stick spray for bottom of pan

Directions:

1. Slice eggplant 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch thick rounds. 
2. Heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the minced garlic and gently cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant. Add the tomatoes and their juices. Increase heat to bring to a simmer, then lower heat to maintain a very low simmer for 15 minutes, uncovered. Add pepper to taste. Add the basil and remove from heat. 
3. Combine the breadcrumbs with 1/8 cup of Parmesan cheese and place in a shallow bowl or rimmed dish. Set up your station so that you have flour in one shallow bowl, beaten eggs in another, and breadcrumbs/Parmesan mixture in the third, in that order. 
4. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spread olive oil or non stick spray onto two baking sheets. Working one at a time, dredge the eggplant slices first in flour, then in eggs, and lastly in breadcrumb and cheese mixture. Place on oiled pan. Drizzle a little oil over each breaded eggplant slice.
5. Place both baking sheets in oven and cook for 18 to 20 minutes. Turn over slices half-way through (if you don't forget), and remove from oven once browned. 
6. Spread a small amount of the tomato-basil sauce onto the bottom of a casserole dish. Place half of the eggplant rounds in the dish in a single layer, covering the sauce in the bottom of the pan. Layer half of the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese onto these slices, followed by half of the remaining tomato-basil sauce. Cover these with the second half of the eggplant slices, and cover again with remaining cheese and sauce. 
7. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving. 

Original recipe found at: Simply Recipes