Polenta Snacks

Polenta! I love me some polenta. It's gluten free, it's vegetarian and vegan, it's easy and it's delicious.

I've been playing around with it a bit lately. It's not homemade (stay tuned for that), I've been buying pre-made, organic polenta and slicing it into rounds. Today I'm going to share with you some of my favorite toppings. These are great for a snack and perfect as an h'orderve when you have guests. You can dress up the rounds as sweet or savory to touch on all those lovely parts of your pallet.

Another idea is to get the kids involved. Let them each pick out a topping or two and have them top a few rounds. If you make enough, it can easily be a creative dinner that they took part in making, which typically means they are more likely to eat it. Not always the case at my house but it's worth a try.

I've used polenta I bought at Trader Joe's and today I'm using Freida's, which I found at Albertsons. Both are organic. This is so simple and cheater-like, you will want to make them regularly.

You can plan out what toppings you like. Last time around I topped a few with pesto and a few with some cheese (for the husband). Next time around I'd like to add some mushroom and olive, yum!

Here was today's polenta adventure.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Start by slicing up your polenta roll. My slices are probably a little over 1/4 inch thick, but it really doesn't matter.

You will want to start by coating them with an oil of your choice. I chose olive oil today. I literally poured some olive oil on my hands and gave each round a little rub down. My dry hands could use the olive oil love anyway.

Lay your rounds out on your baking sheet and get ready to top those babies with your yummy additions.

My first tried and true topping was artichoke antipasto with a little black pepper. Some of you may not like artichoke, I feel bad for you.

Next topping, also tried and true was salsa. Salsa and corn seem to take on a natural love affair. What I tried this time that I hadn't before, was green chili salsa. I can't wait to taste it!

Now that we have some savory and some spice, let's move on to the sweet! I really enjoyed these last time around so I'm including them again. I used organic apricot jam with a sprinkle of cinnamon. They come out like an easy going, mellow dessert.

Do you see that little guy there? I just poured some honey on him and called it a day.

Time to bake these little pretties. They take about 15 minutes, but I tend to bake mine longer for two reasons. One is because I refrigerate my polenta to leave more room in my fridge so they start off cold. Second is because I like my polenta rounds a tiny bit crispy on the edges. I'd rather save the soft polenta for a creamy dish.

You can do just about anything with these. I'm dairy free, but if I wasn't, I would be dabbing on the goat cheese with rosemary or ricotta with basil. The combinations are limitless!

If you're a meat eater you can easily add meat the the show. How about some seasoned beef or ground turkey with cheese and lettuce? Little polenta tacos!

Let me know if you try your own polenta round snacks and which one's were your favorite.

Tons of love,

Caffeine and Freckles

Vegetarian Skillet Breakfast (or lunch)

Quick breakfast share!

This literally took about five minutes to prepare.

1T avocado oil

1 package of mushrooms

1 can organic fire roasted tomatoes with green chili 

1 handful of organic rainbow kale 

Garlic powder

Sea salt

In my cast iron skillet, I used avocado oil while heating the pan. I sautéed the mushrooms and added the tomatoes.

After giving them a minute to cook together, I added the kale, garlic powder, and salt.

Slice up an avocado on the side and there you go.

Enjoy!

Quick and Easy Vegetarian Lunch - Red Quinoa and Rice with Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions

This one is a bit of a cheat. Not a cheat as in a greasy or sweet sugar loaded meal, but a cheat as in not homemade. Still, in it's cheater fashion, it is healthy, so who cares?

I used two items. Costco sells packets of Rice and Red Quinoa and I had Trader Joe's frozen Fire Roasted Peppers and Onions.

Microwave the rice and quinoa and saute the peppers and onions in a pan. I added some garlic powder, Himalayan salt, black pepper, and red pepper.

Quinoa is very high in protein and is considered a complete protein packed full of amino acids (more information here), so there is really no nutritional need to add meat, but throw some in if it floats your boat! Water chestnuts would be a nice added crunch to this lunch.

Filling, healthy, and satisfying in a bout two minutes.

Recipe Share - Black Bean Hummus

This tasty hummus was easy to whip up, healthy, and can be used in many ways.

I used my Magic Bullet, which works great but is starting to sound like it's scraming at me. I may need to look into something new. I've made hummus a million times in it with chickpeas, it's the perfect size. I'll have to share one of those recipes soon, they are smooth and fresh without tihini or oil.

Anyway, the black bean hummus. I could spruce it up a bit but I used what I had on hand. I used it as a dip and used broken tostadas :-) I'm thinking it would be great on the side of a salad, a spread on a veggie burger (or beef), or used on a sandwhich instead of mayo. Lots of options!

So here it is!

1 15oz can black beans (I use organic)

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

Cumin

ceyanne pepper

black pepper

sea salt

water as needed
squeeze of lemon

I put everything in together (easy on the water at first) and blend! Add a little more water if it is too thick to blend fully. You're done! That's it! There is a lot more you can add to fancy it up but this is a nice basic recipe to throw together.

It was Shandee-tasted and approved! Thanks friend!

Enjoy!

Rotten Red

Recipe Share - Vegetarian - Mushroom Spinach Quinoa Bowl

Are you ready for a delicious, healthy, and simplistic plant-based lunch or dinner idea? I'm going to start sharing more. I've been coming up with the tastiest treats for myself and figure I should share the love. I've never been a huge fan of meat, sticking to mostly chicken and fish. Over the past 10 years or more I would suddenly be grossed out by meat of any kind and omit it from my diet for a while. Lately, I have had little desire for meat, so I'm focused on creating more tasty, nutrient-filled, plant-based dishes.

Quinoa! What is not to love about quinoa?! It has become a staple in my pantry, unfortunately just for me, not the rest of my family. They still dig rice, but I'd choose quinoa over rice any day. It substitutes rice perfectly all while being a super food with all kinds of super powers.

Today's lunch I tossed together based on what I had. I boiled the quinoa in vegetable broth rather than water for some extra flavor and I added turmeric for extra health benefits. Be sure to add some black pepper to help your body absorb the turmeric. I pretty much try to add turmeric to anything I can (especially soups!). It gives it a beautiful golden color and offers too much to get into.You can read about the Benefits of Turmeric here.

So! Quinoa amped up with turmeric and pepper. While those little rascals are simmering away, it's time to chop and saute your veggies. What I had today was mushrooms, red onion, garlic, and spinach. I used avocado oil, my current favorite oil for cooking. I use a lot of coconut oil for all kinds of things, but I absolutely love the avocado oil. It is great for high heat and has no flavor, but who wouldn't want some avocado flavor in your food?

I chopped the mushrooms and onions and added them with minced garlic to my heated cast iron skillet. 

After a few minutes I tossed in a few handfuls of spinach. Don't be shy! They wilt up to be small so throw those handfuls in liberally!

I topped my bowl of quinoa and veggies off with some Himalayan sea salt and added a teaspoon of pesto. Some pesto has dairy in it, so be sure to check labels if you are vegan or you stay away from dairy.

I just made the one bowl for lunch. I have enough left for another meal, plus quite a bit more of the quinoa by itself. I can pop it in the fridge and use it in a soup, salad, or another veggie dish.

Add in whatever veggies you have on hand. Let me know if you try it and what you think!

Quinoa

2 cups Vegetable Broth

1 cup Quinoa

1-2 tsp Turmeric

several cracks from the pepper grinder

Vegetable Saute

1 Tbsp Avocado Oil (or oil of your choice)

3-4 handfuls Mushrooms, chopped

1/4 Red Onion, chopped

1 Tbsp Garlic, minced

3-4 handfuls Spinach

1 tsp Pesto

dash of sea salt

Bring Vegetable Broth to a boil. Add rinsed Quinoa. Return to boil and simmer on low for 15 minutes, covered.

While Quinoa is simmering, heat a skillet with oil to medium to medium-high. Saute Mushrooms, Onion, and Garlic until onions are almost transparent. Add spinach and saute until spinach is cooked but not completely wilted.

Add quinoa to your dish and top with veggies. If you like, add your pesto and mix together along with your sea salt.

Eat it. Enjoy it. Love it.

Recipe Share - Portobello Spinach Enchiladas (Freezer Meal Friendly)

These enchiladas happened spontaneously a few weeks ago when I needed to use some left over crockpot chicken. 

I decided to make chicken enchiladas and freeze them for another night. 

I also had a ton of baby portobellos that needed to be used ASAP. There are only two veggie lovers in our house so I made one tray of chicken enchiladas and one tray of veggie enchiladas to freeze.

I used whatever I had on hand. I was skeptical about how they would turn out, but was pleasantly surprised this evening when I thawed and baked them for dinner tonight.

Here's what I used:

1 package of Baby Portobellos

Corn Tortillas 

1 can organic Black Beans

1 small can Green Chilis 

1/2 Red Onion

3 handfuls of Spinach

Cumin

Chili Powder

Smoked Paprika

Garlic powder

I probably used some turmeric 

2 small cans of Hot Enchilada Sauce

Garlic Olive Oil

I think those are all the spices I used 😳 It has been a few weeks now, I hope I'm remembering them all.

1. Start off by tossing the mushrooms with oil and garlic powder and placing them on a baking sheet.  I used garlic olive oil. I baked them at 425 degrees for 25 minutes. While they are roasting, cut your red onion into whatever size you prefer and drain and rinse your beans.

2. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the mushrooms, onion, black beans, spinach, Chilis, and seasoning. I don't measure with seasonings, so don't be shy, sprinkle it on, taste it, and add some more if you like. 

3. I try to avoid the microwave when possible, but I typically wrap the tortillas in a damp towel and nuke them for a minute or more so that they are soft and bendy for rolling. While the tortillas are getting bendy 😊, pour enough sauce in your baking dish (or disposable freezer tray) to cover the bottom of the dish/tray. 

4. Spoon about 2 large spoonfuls of the mixture into each tortilla and roll. Place each roll in the sauce covered pan. Once you pan is full, pour remaining sauce over the top to wet each enchilada.

If you are not going to freeze, add cheese and bake in the oven for 25 minutes at 350 degrees.

If you are going to freeze, I suggest adding the cheese when you are ready to cook, only because you may want to put them in before they are fully thawed, and you don't want your cheese getting too crispy.

I thawed mine by setting them on the counter for a majority of the day. Easy dinner night!

I served it with rice and I'll be sharing the left overs with a few friends for lunch tomorrow.

What's your go-to freezer meal?

-Caffeinated and Freckled 

 

Recipe Share - Indian Style Chickpeas

I LOVE Indian food. 

I throw curry into just about anything and use turmeric whenever I can to take advantage of its many health benefits.

I threw together this quick dish of chickpeas and they turned out wonderful so I thought I would share. It was the perfect hot dish on a quiet, rainy day. I have read a few similar recipes on Pinterest and decided to add my own touch.

I cheated and used some canned items. I'm sure it would taste that much more delicious with dried chickpeas and fresh tomatoes.

This way is quick and takes just one skillet. I like using my cast iron skillet to add more iron to the food. 

1 can of chickpeas

1 can of diced tomatoes

2 Tablespoons of minced garlic

2-3 handfuls of mixed power greens

Turmeric

Garam Masala

Curry Powder

Ground Cumin

Onion Powder (because I was out of onions)

Sea Salt

Pepper

1. Heat your choice of oil in a pan. I used avocado oil. Add your chickpeas, tomatoes, and garlic. Simmer and stir occasionally until blended well. (Just a few minutes)

2. Add your seasonings. I basically did a dash of each, but went heavier on the curry and turmeric. Continue to stir and heat until most of the liquid (from canned tomatoes) is gone.

3. Add your handfuls of greens and gently push them around so that they heat. As soon as they start to wilt is when I turn my heat off, so that they do not become super wilted.

That was literally it. It was ready to enjoy. 

I was thinking cilantro and ginger would be a great addition to this dish.

You can always make a larger batch, and freeze some for another day. 

Let me know if you try it!

Enjoy!

-Caffeine and Freckled