Wild Rice Salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing

Due to an ankle injury I haven't been on my feet much lately, which means I haven't been in the kitchen much.

I thought I would chance it today because I know my brother Mike has been waiting for this recipe.

I'm glad I spent the time in the kitchen today. I've really missed it. However, as I was finishing up my ankle was letting me know that it wasn't happy. Looks like I'll be on the couch again tomorrow :(




Wild Rice Salad with Lemon Ginger Dressing

Wild Rice Salad:

3 large Garlic Cloves (minced)
1 bunch of Asparagus (cut into 3rds)
2-3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
10oz bag of Baby Bella Mushrooms
2 cups Wild Rice
1 cup Brown Rice


Lemon Ginger Dressing:

Juice of 3 Lemons
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 tsp ground Ginger
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
Dash of Salt (or to taste)

Saute garlic, mushrooms and asparagus in extra virgin olive oil. When cooked, stir in wild rice and brown rice. In a separate bowl stir ingredients for dressing together. Add to wild rice salad.

This Salad can be served hot or cold. I like to eat the leftovers cold on top of a spinach salad.

Enjoy!!

Pizza

Like most Americans I love my pizza. It has been one of the most fun to change to fit my new eating habits. I really enjoy being able to taste all of the different veggies rather than having most of the flavor covered up by mountains of cheese.


Pizza Dough
1 1/3 cups warm Water
1 packet of Active Dry Yeast
3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil (divided)
1/4 tsp salt (James actually salted his pizza because he thought this wasn't enough but I like things a lot less salty than he does)


In a large bowl add the Active Dry Yeast to the water. Let set for 5 min. until the yeast had dissolved.
Mix in flour, 2 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and salt. Knead for 10 min. I personally knead it by hand right in the bowl. After kneading, form it into a ball. I then drizzle 1 tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil over the dough turning it over once so it is completely covered. Cover with a clean dish towel and let it rise for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

 Sometimes I'll use all of the dough spread out over 1 baking sheet. This makes it more like a bread crust.

This time I divided the dough in half to make two thinner crust pizzas. I shape them by hand until they look right.

Oil a baking sheet and place shaped dough on it.

Then top them any way you like.

This time I used canned tomato sauce sprinkled with oregano, caramelized onions, mushrooms, green/yellow/red peppers and spinach. ( I don't think I'll be adding the spinach again it was kinda bitter)



 Happy Eating:)

Falafel, Pitas, and Salad

For the last week I've been in a funk. I've been uninspired and I haven't made very many dishes that have been tasty enough to share. I guess eating out so much the last month has made me really lazy in the kitchen. I think a lot of what I was feeling was because I was trying to finish up random stuff that was in my fridge. But I just went to the store so I have a whole kitchen full of stuff I'm excited to eat. I also picked up some new to me foods which include TVP (textured vegetable protein) and Bulgur (a grain). I'm very much looking forward to seeing how I like them.

While I haven't spent a lot of time in the kitchen I have spent a lot of time in our backyard. While my parents were here my dad helped me set up a nice little potted (I rent so I didn't want to put anything in the ground) garden. I have tomato plants, strawberries, zucchini, asparagus, sweet basil, lemon basil, parsley, cilantro and chives. I wanted to start small because I'm new at this but I kinda got carried away :)


James did have a request for falafel this week. I used a mix so there isn't a recipe.

For lunch the day after I made the falafel I crumbled it over a salad.

And using the left over pita I made a sandwich with beans.

Happy Eating!

Stir Fry

I was blessed this last week to have a house full of family and friends. For Easter I tried out new recipes on my family. They were all a success, but the recipes need a little tweaking before I debut them on "I Don't Miss Bacon". So be on the lookout for Wild Rice Salad with a Lemon Ginger Dressing, Slow Cooker Beans, and maybe even Carrot Cake. My unsuspecting guinea pigs favored the Wild Rice Salad so that will be the first to get the kinks worked out. (I really need to measure better when I'm creating dishes so I can recreate them)

Before all the craziness of last week happened I was able to put together a stir fry. Using what I could scrounge up in my kitchen this is what I came up with.

Stir Fry
1/2 a head of Broccoli
1/2 a head of Cabbage
1 Onion
2 Zucchinis
1 Summer Squash
4 Garlic Cloves
1/4 cup Veggie Broth
salt and pepper to taste

I chopped everything up, cooked it in veggie broth instead of oil for a lighter meal and served it over brown rice.

I added the cabbage last. This was before cabbage was added.

Is it just me or do other people also love super close ups of  food?

Not real exciting just everyday sort of  food.

Happy Eating :)

Burgers

Hamburgers were one of my favorite things. I didn't realize this until I stopped eating them. Now thinking back they have been a huge part of my diet. When going out to eat they were usually what I ordered. If I didn't feel like cooking, fast food burgers would be what I wanted.  Not to mention all the ones I made at home.

I don't miss the meat but I still like the package they come in. The bun, lettuce, tomato, onion, etc. So instead of ground hamburger or ground turkey I have veggie burgers and portabella mushroom burgers. I also have some ideas for my own version of a veggie burger (I'll keep you posted). I don't eat them as often because I'm having so much fun exploring other food, but some days I just want a burger.

Portabellas drizzled with olive oil, garlic powder and parsley.

Portabella burger with cucumbers, lettuce, and mustard.

Veggie burger (Boca Original Vegan) with lettuce, tomato, and mustard.

Happy Eating!

Black Bean Tacos

Yesterday when James and I were talking about what to have for dinner, I decided I really wanted tacos. I started creating a taco in my head so I would know what to get at the store. I thought black beans would make a great "meat" and that I could just pick up a taco spice flavor packet for the seasoning. Put it in a shell with some onions, lettuce and tomato and that would be it.

Every time I have made tacos in the past, I have used a flavor packet.



However this time I checked the ingredients list (as I always do now) and found out that it has milk in it.

Ok, new plan. I make my own.

This is what I came up with. It was awesome! I will defiantly be making it again.


Black Bean Tacos

2 cans Black Beans (rinsed and drained)
1 1/2 cups Veggie Broth
1 small can Diced Green Chillies
6 Garlic Cloves diced
1/4 large Onion diced
2 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Black Pepper

Add everything to a pan bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is gone. Stirring occasionally. (I forgot to time it but it was about 30 mins.)

Add to taco shells and top with your favorites. I had mine with lettuce, onion and tomato. James had his with onion, tomato, and sour cream. I had also bought taco sauce but I forgot to use it. I didn't notice until I was cleaning up after dinner. Oh well, it was probably better with out it :)

Happy Eating!

Tofu Scramble

Tofu Scrambles are my answer when I have no idea what I want to eat or when my husband and I are having a big breakfast together. I used to love scrambled eggs and Tofu Scrambles are enough like scrambled eggs, I don't care that James is eating eggs in front of me. All tho the last time I tried to eat eggs it had been 3 months since I had eaten meat or dairy and they were totally gross. So I have no problem sticking with my tofu ;)

Again, like my Roasted Veggies, I don't really have a recipe. I use whatever veggies I have (I do make sure they always have potatoes in them). Cook up the veggies, add the tofu, a little salt, a lot of pepper and voilà there you have it!







first I added 7 garlic cloves and 1/2  a large onion



next was asparagus and broccoli

zucchini and summer squash

mushrooms

cook until almost done

crumble firm tofu and stir in

here I added potatoes that I had roasted the day before, but I didn't like it this way.
I normally add them after the onions and cook them til almost done before adding the other veggies.

Happy Eating :)

Roasted Veggies

I love roasted veggies. They are nummy and the bonus is they can be served hot, warm or cold. Which makes it a perfect dish when going to BBQs, picnics or other peoples houses. It seems anytime I serve them, or take them somewhere people always ask me for the recipe. I have to say I don't really use a recipe tho. I use whatever veggies I have or that look good at the store. Toss them in olive oil, black pepper, and some herb. The herb I use most is dried basil, but I have used parsley or oregano. Cook them in the oven at 350 for about 30mins and you're good to go.

This year I'm starting a herb garden and I'm looking forward to having fresh herbs to use when I make my veggies!!

uncooked

cooked

I ate them with leftover 3 bean salad

Yum!!





 

 Happy Eating :)






Three Bean Salad

As a kid, Three Bean Salad never looked very appealing to me. Over the last year I've been trying things that I had never really thought about trying before. Today was the day for the beans!

I made the salad last night so it had time to marinate before my lunch today. I was quite surprised at how good it was. The onions and celery were nice and  crispy, the beans were soft and chewy. My favorite part was the onions. When I was mixing the salad together I thought it looked like I had added too many, but now I'm glad I did!!

Three Bean Salad

1 can Garbanzo Beans
1 can Kidney Beans
1 1/2 cups frozen Green Beans (or 1 can)
1 medium Onion (I used a large onion, but it was a lot of onion)
2 stalks Celery
2/3 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1/3 cup Olive Oil
3-6 cloves Garlic (I love garlic)
1 Tbsp Black Pepper (and I love black pepper)


I thawed the frozen green beans under running water and rinsed and drained the canned beans. Add to a large bowl. Slice onion, chop celery, dice garlic and add to beans. Add vinegar, oil and black pepper.
Stir.

Super simple :)

Cover and let it marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours stirring occasionally.

Happy Eating!