Vegetarian Lentil Chili for Two

Well hello there. It's been a minute, but it's nice to be back!

Right after New Year's we started the process of installing hardwood flooring in seven
rooms of our house, so it's been total chaos around here. We've been ripping up carpet,
moving furniture, emptying closets and painting. Our house is a mess, but it's going
to be beautiful once it's all complete! I've been sharing some of the progress on my
Instagram stories and will share more here later.

Smashed Chickpea Salad Lettuce Wraps

This post is sponsored by OXO. As always, all opinions are my own.
Post may contain affiliate links.

I mentioned a few weeks back that my husband and I were trying to eat more
vegetarian meals for dinner since neither one of us are big meat eaters and we've really
enjoyed trying new recipes. Chickpeas have been the star of several of our new
vegetarian dinners. We especially liked chickpea stir-fry and garlic spinach pasta with
chickpeas. Vegetarian chili for two was also a winner!

Garlic Spinach Pasta with Chickpeas

This post is in partnership with Moms Meet. All opinions are my own.

Today I'm sharing a super easy pasta dish I make almost every week - Garlic Spinach

Pasta with Chickpeas. This meal is in my dinner rotation constantly because it's quick,

delicious and I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand.

Vegetarian Chili for Two

This post is in partnership with Le Creuset. As always, all opinions are my own.

Happy Monday sweet friends. My husband and I are just now coming down from a very
exciting weekend. Our one and only daughter, Madison, bought her very first house,
moved out of our house and got engaged! I'm still in shock over it all!

Chickpea Vegetarian Stir-Fry

I'm all about a one pot meal, especially for weeknight dinners! After a long day at work,
I would much rather go for a walk/run or catch up on Netflix instead of washing a bunch
of pots and pans!

Chickpea vegetarian stir-fry is a quick and easy meal, especially good for meatless Monday!
It is delicious served over rice or quinoa. If you meal prep, make the rice or quinoa on
Sunday and the meal will come together even faster.

Homemade Vegetable Noodle Soup

I can't even tell you how many times I have made soup since the beginning of fall because
I have made it so many times! I just love it and vegetable soup is pretty low calorie, which
works for my healthy eating diet plan.  I've been packing soup for lunch almost every day
this winter.

Veggie Quesadillas

Several months ago my boss took me out to lunch to a restaurant in Roanoke, VA
called The Village Grill.  The restaurant is owned by one of his former students, so
we thought we would stop by to say hello and grab a bite for lunch.  Unfortunately
Nathan, the owner, wasn't there at the time, but we stayed for lunch anyway and I'm
so glad we did! The service was great and the food even better!

I ordered the veggie quesadilla, which was filled with grilled squash, zucchini, mushrooms,
onions, peppers and cheddar cheese.  It was delicious!  I love zucchini, so I made a mental
note to try to recreate The Village Grill recipe at home.

Maple Roasted Vegetable Grain Bowls

This post is in partnership with OXO.  As always, all opinions are 100% my own.

Sunday meal prep is still going strong around here.  I've been doing really well with it
most of the time.  I find that when I do take the time to prep and plan on Sundays we eat
healthier meals  and I'm in a better mood since I don't have to run to the grocery store on
my way home from work.  Being prepared gives me so much more time in the evenings
to do the things I enjoy like reading, blogging or watching a movie with the family, instead
of trying to figure out what we're having for dinner and then starting from scratch to make it.

Cauliflower Rice

I tried something new for dinner tonight and we loved it!
Cauliflower Rice.
Have you heard of it?

Cauliflower rice just takes minutes to make and is a low carb alternative to
brown or white rice.  It's a delicious side dish or base for stir-fry.
My husband and I have really been trying to exercise more and eat healthier
so I decided to give it a try tonight.
He really liked it and said he prefers it over regular rice!
I don't know that I would go that far, but I did really enjoy it and will
definitely add it to our dinner menus in the future.

I used a cheese grater and grated it by hand, which only took a few
minutes, but you could also use a food processor if you prefer.

My 3-Day Juice Cleanse

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you probably know that I recently did a
juice cleanse.  I had been thinking about doing one for over a year now and finally got
up the nerve to go for it this month.  I felt my body needed a break from my Diet Coke
addiction and all of the heavy foods I consumed over the holidays.
I needed to feel like I was doing something good for my body.
I needed a reset.
Do you know what I mean?

There are several brands of juice available for cleansing, but after taste testing a few
Garden of Flavor juices at Whole Foods, I chose them for my 3-Day Cleanse.
I wanted the juice for my juice cleanse to be made from all organic fruits and vegetables.
Juicing with non-organic juice just didn't make sense to me.
Why would I want to cleanse my body with juice made with fruit and vegetables
sprayed with pesticides!

The juice arrived on Wednesday afternoon.

Vegetable and Barley Stew

Towards the end of the week I was away at a work conference, where I indulged in too much food and definitely too many sweets!
I decided to get back on track today with this vegetable and barley stew.
It was a great way to use up some of the garden veggies in my fridge too!

This was my first time using barley in a recipe and I really liked it!
Barley is a versatile cereal grain with a rich nut-like flavor and a chewy, pasta-like consistency. 
I can't wait to try it in some other recipes.
I found it in the bulk bin at my local food co-op.

I think I'll make some zucchini muffins to go with it for lunch tomorrow!

Vegetable and Barley Stew

2 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 cup pearl barley
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 small bay leaves
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
salt & pepper, to taste
1 can petite diced tomatoes
2 small zucchini, diced
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups diced carrot

In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté 2-3 minutes, until translucent.
Add garlic and barley, cooking for about a minute.  Pour in chicken stock and spices.  Stir, cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add diced tomatoes, black beans, zucchini and carrots.  Simmer for another 15-20 minutes.  Adjust seasonings as desired.

Recipe slightly adapted from Lauren's Latest.

Vegetable and Quinoa Soup

I have made more vegetable soup this past fall/winter than I have made in my entire life.
Not kidding.
I have become a vegetable soup loving freak.
It's light, healthy and tastes fabulous on a cold day or night.

Most of the time I make this same version with mini whole wheat pasta shells, but I had leftover quinoa, so I decided to add that instead.  I'm not sure which I like more. 

I store leftovers in pint-size mason jars and then take the soup for lunch at work.
Just pop the mason jar in the microwave for 2-3 minutes and grab a spoon.
Delish!

Vegetable and Quinoa Soup

1 small onion, diced
3/4 cup celery, diced
3/4 cup carrots, sliced
4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable stock
1 can (14.5 oz) petite diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen corn
1 zucchini, diced
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
spinach leaves, torn into bite size pieces
salt and pepper
olive oil

Pour a tablespoon or so of olive oil into a large pot or dutch oven set on medium high heat.
Add onion and celery and carrots.  Saute until crisp tender; 2-3 minutes.  Add chicken or vegetable stock, 1 can of petite diced tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, corn and zucchini.  Throw in a bay leaf or two and then salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil and then simmer on medium-low for 10-20 minutes.  Add cooked quinoa and torn spinach leaves right before serving. Remove the bay leaves and salt and pepper to taste. 

Click here for great tips on cooking quinoa.

Summer Garden Pasta

Summer Garden Pasta is my go-to dinner at least once a week during the months of July and August when my fridge is full of fresh veggies from my parents beautiful garden.  It is quick and easy and oh so tasty!
Pair it with a french loaf of bread and a glass of wine for the perfect summer meal out on the deck.

Summer Garden Pasta

1/2 box Barilla Plus Penne Pasta, cooked al dente

1 Zucchini, sliced and then halved

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

1/2 cup sliced carrots

1 small onion, diced

1 cup corn, cut off of the cob

1 small green pepper, diced

1 T olive oil

fresh rosemary

sea salt and fresh ground pepper

Cook pasta until done; set aside.

Toss all of the vegetables and herbs with olive oil.  Spread them out on a baking sheet covered with foil.

Sprinkle with sea salt and fresh ground pepper.

Roast in a 400 degree oven for 18-20 minutes.

Place roasted vegetables in large serving dish.  Add pasta and toss.

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese if desired.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

My favorite way to fix veggies is to roast them in the oven.  Oven roasting really seems to bring out the flavor and it's a great way to use up those leftovers hiding out in your crisper.  I just throw them all together on a cookie sheet, toss them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
My favorite combination is zucchini, grape tomatoes, onion and green pepper.  Corn is really good too if you have it. Yum.

Did you know that Crisco now has their own line of olive oil?

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemake Program, I received these three bottles of Crisco Olive Oil to try.
I was really excited to get them because I use olive oil a lot.  And free stuff is always fun!

Since I love roasted veggies so much, I decided to try them on pizza.  What a great decision that was!
So good!  Of course I had to make half of it pepperoni for our picky teenager.  Like veggies might kill her or something :)

Oven Roasted Veggie Pizza

Assortment of fresh veggies (I used broccoli, grape tomatoes, onion and green pepper here)
Olive oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper
2 cups grated cheese (I used a combination of mozzarella and cheddar)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese
Your favorite pizza sauce
Your favorite pizza crust (I use this one a lot)

Prepare your pizza crust.
Place your veggies in a bowl and toss with olive oil.  Lay them on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with freshly ground salt and pepper.  Place them in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes or until veggies are crisp tender.  Remove from oven.
Spoon pizza sauce over crust.  Top with veggies and grated cheeses.
Bake in a 425 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly and crust is golden brown.

Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili

It's been so chilly that I have been making a lot of soup this winter, but when I spotted this vegetarian chili on My Kitchen Sink Recipes, I knew it was time to try something new.

Just a quick stop at the store to pick up some squash and I was ready. I used petit diced tomatoes because the word "stewed tomatoes" just grosses me out for some reason :)   Is that weird?

The recipe came together quickly and tasted so hearty and delicious. It will definitely be in my dinner rotation again and again. Serve it with cornbread (recipe coming soon) and you have a complete, tasty meal for a cold winter night. Let's just hope we don't have too many of these cold nights left.  Bring on spring!!

Two-Bean Vegetarian Chili

recipe from Whole Living and Kitchen Sink Recipes

1 T. olive oil

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb, butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch chunks

1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks

1/4 tsp. chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

1 can (14.5 oz) stewed tomatoes (I used Petit Diced)

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

lime wedge

In a dutch oven or large saucepan with lid, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender.  Add squash, red pepper and chili powder.  Season with salt and pepper, cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Add 1/2 cup water.  Cover and simmer until veggies are crisp-tender, about 7 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and their juice, breaking them up with a spoon.  Add chickpeas, black beans, 1/4 cup of the cilantro and 1/2 cup water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to simmer, partially cover and cook until lightly thickened about 20 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir in remaining cilantro.  Spoon into serving bowls and serve with lime wedges.

Wagon Wheel Taco Pasta Salad

I found this great recipe over at Cara's Cravings and thought it would be a nice, refreshing salad to have in the fridge for the weekend. My girlfriends and I enjoyed it by the pool on Saturday, along with some mint mojito's. My husband even liked it too. I found the wagon wheel pasta at our local Farmer's Market in the bulk food section. Sharp Shopper carries it also for my local friends.

Wagon Wheel Taco Pasta Salad

1 lb. wagon wheel pasta (I used about 3/4 lb)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 - 10 oz. package of frozen corn (I used 3 ears of fresh corn since I had it in my fridge)

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (I used one)

8 oz. shredded Mexican Blend Cheese (I only used half of this)

1 1/2 cups salsa

1/2 cup olive oil (I only used 1/4 cup)

3 T lime juice (I squeezed one lime)

1 T cumin (I only used about 1/2 this)

1-2 tsp. chili powder (I used 1 tsp)

2 garlic cloves, minced (I omitted this)

freshing ground salt & pepper

1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 avacado, diced (I omitted this)

Cook the pasta al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa and cheese. Add the cooled pasta and mix well. In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Pour over the pasta salad, add the cilantro and mix well. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Just before serving, stir in the diced avacado.

Cheesy Couscous Stuffed Green Peppers

This is a recipe I make every summer when my Mom & Dad give me lots of green peppers from their garden. Boy am I lucky to have them and their garden goodies!! Most stuffed pepper recipes call for ground meat and I am not a fan, so when I discovered this recipe many years ago I knew I had to give it a try. I am glad I did, because we all loved it, even my picky teenager. Hope you like them too.

Cheesy Couscous Stuffed Green Peppers

6 Green Peppers

1 T olive or canola oil

1/2 C chopped onion

1 C uncooked couscous

1/4 tsp ground pepper

2 gloves minced garlic

1 1/2 C chicken or vegetable broth

1 C zucchini, cubed

2 C shredded cheddar cheese

2 T fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut tops off of green peppers and boil the peppers in water for about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat and then add onions and garlic. Saute 2-3 minutes or until tender. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous, zucchini, parsley and pepper. Remove from heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir in cheddar cheese. Spoon mixture into green peppers and top with a little more cheese if you like. Bake in a casserole dish covered loosely with foil for 25-30 minutes.

Quinoa Pilaf with Pine Nuts

Since I have been making a lot of sweets lately, I decided to try a new and healthy side dish for dinner. I have never made any recipes with Quinoa, but I have heard that it is very good for you and high in protein. When cooked quinoa has a light and fluffy texture with a slightly nutty flavor and is a wonderful alternative for rice or couscous. I found this recipe on the food network and decided it would be an easy recipe to try. I am so glad that I did....Bob and I both thought it was really good and will definitely be added to the "make again" recipe pile. You can find the recipe here if you would like to try it too.