veggie pot pie

I think I've eaten one singular pot pie in my entire 24 years of life. My parents never made them, I never order them while out, and I've never had the thought to make one myself, until tonight! For some reason I got a mad pot pie craving while sitting in the office today, and instead of being productive and going to the gym, I promptly came home and fulfilled my pot pie desires. I loosely based the recipe off this one from Betty Crocker, but used what I had in the cupboards, and completely vegatized it!

Stuff you need: 1. Any veggies for the inside 2. 1/2 cup Bisquick Heart Smart mix 3. 1 egg white or egg replacer 4. 1/4 cup milk or milk substitute

Start by preheating your oven to 400 degrees while you get everything else ready. For the vegetable filling, I found in my kitchen 2 carrots, 1 zucchini, 2 tomatoes, 1 cup mushrooms, and a handful of frozen corn. Sauté the veggies in a little olive oil just until they begin to soften. Sprinkle the mixture with a little salt, Italian seasoning, and anything else you think might be nice.

Meanwhile, combine the Biquick, egg white, and milk in a bowl, and whisk all the ingredients together. When the oven is preheated and the vegetables are slightly tender, place the veggies into a small casserole dish that you've lightly greased. Now pour the Bisquick mixture on top of the vegetables, and make sure everything is nicely distributed and coated in batter. Look good? Great! Pop it in the oven for 20 ish minutes, and then dig into that tasty little pot pie.

For the second pot pie of my entire life, I'm pretty pumped! The hot, juicy filling is so nice with the warm, fluffy pastry top. I skipped the soup from the original recipe, so it definitely wasn't creamy, but the tomatoes gave off juice, so the filling was still plenty moist. My only thought for next time is more spices and longer cooking time! I was so excited for my dinner and a new episode of Project Runway, that I pulled the dish out of the oven before the top was super golden. Otherwise, it was a damn tasty meal, and one that came together surprisingly quick and easy. It may have been my second pot pie, but it most certainly won't be my last :)

baked tofu part 2

Ah, what a July 4th weekend. Rockies games, BBQs, surprise birthday parties, and lunches with good friends kept me outrageously busy! When Tuesday rolled around, and I was feeling like a big, fat, slob, I knew it was time to get my exercise and eating habits back on track. After a big produce shop on Tuesday night, and a couple of healthy, home-cooked meals, I'm starting to feel like I'm getting back to normal :)

Tonight I made a second attempt at baked tofu, except this time I called the expert- my mom! She has this amazing recipe that I had to get my hands on, and I must say, it turned out exactly like I remember it. The inspiration comes from a PETA cookbook, with a little help from my mom, and a dash or two of my cooking recklessness.

Stuff you need: 1. block firm or extra firm tofu 2. soy sauce 3. lemon juice 4. garlic powder

Start by pressing the liquid out of your tofu, while you prepare your marinade. For the marinade, combine 3 tablespoons soy sauce with 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and a shake or two of garlic powder. Hint: it helps to prepare the sauce in a large bowl to make tossing the tofu easier- definitely should've thought of that before I used the cereal bowl. Ha!

Take the tofu, chop it into bite-sized cubes, and toss it in the marinade until all the pieces are thoroughly coated. Let the tofu soak for as long as you can. During this time, preheat your oven to 375 F, prepare anything else you need for your meal, and take a second to change out of your work clothes and relax.

When the oven is preheated, oil a baking sheet, and place the tofu on top. Pop it in the oven for 10 minutes, flip the tofu over, and then cook it for another 10. DONE! Omg look at that golden baked deliciousness.

I used half of the tofu in an asparagus and mushroom stir fry, and I saved the other half for a future meal.
Damn, this recipe is great. The tofu is tender in the middle, with a slightly crispy, perfectly baked outside that's just a little salty. It's great in stir fries, it's good in hearty soups, and it might be a fun addition to a fully loaded salad. Let's be honest, this baked tofu is good in everything. I'm feeling healthy, and very, very full. I'm definitely writing this one down for next time. Thanks Mom!

sesame asparagus & mushrooms

When I say sesame tonight, I don't mean the usual sesame sauce you find in restaurants- I mean sesame oil. This is one of my parents' favorite recipes, and a wonderful, simple dish that I've grown up eating, and loving. If asparagus is in season, definitely use it, cause it makes the flavor so much better!

Stuff you need: 1. a bunch of asparagus 2. a bunch of mushrooms 3. sesame oil 4. soy sauce 5. rice and/or sesame seeds (both optional)

Start by chopping up your mushrooms and asparagus- making sure to snap off the nasty ends of the asparagus before you start. Stir fry tip: prep all your ingredients before you start cooking- veggies chopped, spices measured, etc. Stir frying is such a quick method, so having everything ready to go will help make the meal faster and easier.

When your prep work is done, heat a little sesame oil in the wok over medium heat. When the wok is warmed, throw in the asparagus and cook for a few minutes. Next, add in your mushrooms and cook for a few minutes longer. When your vegetables are to your preferred tenderness, add more sesame oil and a little soy sauce, and call it a night. Feel free to add more spices to your liking, but the simple flavors of this dish are what make it so great.

When your veggies are ready, toss some sesame seeds on top, and serve the concoction over rice, or noodles, or just by itself since it tastes so good!

It's a quick meal with fantastic flavors. When it's asparagus season, nothing beats this recipe. It's been a staple at my parents' home, and now it's becoming a staple at mine :)

stir fry & simply asia sauce

Stir fry is one of those go-to , meals that I know I can always fall back on for a quick, healthy, and always delicious dinner. Tonight was that night, however, instead of throwing a little of this and that into the wok, I decided to try one of the stir fry sauces from Simply Asia, and I must say, it turned out pretty good.

Stuff you need: 1. Vegetables 2. Simply Asia stir fry sauce- or your own homemade sauce 3.Rice or noodles- totally optional 4. A splash of canola oil 5. Anything else you'd like to throw in- garlic, ginger, spices, etc.

Start by chopping up all your vegetables. After a quick trip to the store, I found myself with onion, carrots, broccoli, red cabbage, red bell pepper, and some left over mushrooms from the other night. Stir fry tip #1: chop all the ingredients to around the same size so everything cooks evenly. Aren't the colors beautiful?

When all your veggies are prepped, throw a splash of canola oil into your wok and heat it up on high (you can also use a skillet with some olive oil, if you'd rather). If you're adding garlic, ginger, or hot peppers, I would start by throwing those in the wok. If not, then just start cooking up your vegetables! Stir fry tip #2: put the ingredients into the wok from hardest to softest, once again, to help everything cook evenly. I started out with the carrots and worked my way up to the cabbage. When everything is cooked to your preferred tenderness, squeeze in that sauce packet, or start adding various sauces and spices until it tastes just the way you like it.

I used Simply Asia's General Tsao's sauce, and it was pretty good. It had nice flavor, and it made this speedy meal even faster to prepare. Unfortunately, the sodium content is pretty high, so I think that next time I'll stick to making my own concotion. If you're tight on time, these stir fry sauces are a great option, but I definitely wouldn't make a habit out of it.

I heated up a little rice from the weekend, spooned my colorful mixture on top, and dug in! Seriously, I love stir fry. It always makes me feel healthy, and it's a great kitchen sink recipe cause you can throw pretty much anything in it- fresh vegetables, tofu, nuts, pineapple, mango, seitan, frozen vegetables, rice, noodles, you name it. Not only was this a delicious dinner, but the leftovers will be just as good tomorrow for lunch :)

mushroom spinach lasagna

So this one time in college, my roommates had some kind of dinner function to attend. Unfortunately, they decided to excessively day-drink, and when the time came to prepare said meal, they all looked to me (who was not totally sober herself). In a panic, I called my mom and said I'm have to make lasagna! How do I do it?! Mom said that there was no way I could pull off a complicated meal like that in such a short period of time, especially since I had never made lasagna before in my life. Let me tell you. Not only was it DELICIOUS, but it was easy, and ever since then, it has totally become a staple in my household.

Since one of my favorite people in the world was in town today from NYC, I thought it only appropriate to make some veggie lasagna, open up a bottle of wine, and catch up on life. I love this recipe because people always think you went to all this effort to make a fancy meal, when it's actually crazy easy.

Stuff you need: 1. No-boil lasagna noodles 2. Lotsa sauce (always get more than you think you need) 3.Mozzarella or Italian style shredded cheese 3. Ricotta cheese 4. Veggies for the inside

While your oven is preheating, sauté your vegetables, boca crumbles, or whatever else you'd like for filling in a skillet with some olive oil and seasoning- I used mushrooms and fresh spinach for this particular version.

When the filling is browned up and looking good, you can start assembling your lasagna in a nice big casserole dish-

Layer 1: sauce.

Layer 2: noodles

Layer 3: more sauce!

Layer 4: shredded cheese, big plops of ricotta, and all those yummy sautéed veggies

Now rinse wash and repeat. Go back to layer 1 of sauce and keep stacking up everything until your casserole dish is full! On the top most part, just do sauce, noodles, sauce, shredded cheese. Cover with foil, pop in the oven, and in about an hour you have yourself a saucy, cheesy, gooey, TASTY meal.

Now crack open that second bottle of wine and dig in!