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Easy Meals

Broccoli and Cheese Pizza

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I found the inspiration for this recipe on Healthy Happy Life a vegan food blog. I seem to spend a disproportionate amount of time on vegan food blogs for someone is not even remotely vegan in my eating habits.

Gordie has been a little suspicious of green food lately (except edamame which he loves), so he was not particularly impressed by this choice. But I think it might lure in some reluctant broccoli eaters.

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Broccoli and Cheese Pizza
 
Ingredients
  • broccoli
  • shredded cheese
  • cream cheese (regular or any kind of savoury flavoring)
  • olive oil
  • garlic
  • whole wheat pitas
Instructions
  1. Spread a thin layer of olive oil on the pita. Add thin slices of garlic. I used about a clove per pita.
  2. Add thin slices of broccoli. For mine I used the whole ‘tree’ but for Gordie’s I used little bits of the florets (pictured on the right).
  3. Add little splotches of cream cheese (about 1 tbsp total) around the pita.
  4. Top with shredded cheese.
  5. Bake for about 5 minutes. I used the toaster oven so I did 3 minutes on bake and 2 on broil. Basically your goal is to melt the cheese without burning the pita too much.
  6. I used sundried tomato cream cheese which was nice, but I really think any would be fine.

I used whole wheat pitas for the ‘dough’ and that worked well, but I think I would probably blanch the broccoli quickly in the microwave if I was doing it again just so they were cooked a little bit extra. This wouldn’t be a problem if you were using base that wasn’t quite so thin.

Broccoli and Cheese Pizza

Broccoli and Cheese Pizza

I really enjoyed these and will definitely make them again. I wouldn’t skip the cream cheese though. I tried one without it and it just needed a little something extra.

Lentils and Ground Beef–Tired Mom Meal

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Today I had a truly terrible sleep. My special needs brother had insomnia in addition to being agitated and anxious. This is not a winning combination. He tossed and turned and complained all night waking me up along with him.

Despite this bad start I was still going to go ahead with my plans to make cranberry turkey burgers. All I’d have to do was a little chopping and I was basically good to go. But the turkey was still really frozen. I seriously considered getting my husband bring home take out. I was just done.

Then I remembered Lentils and Ground Beef. My mother-in-law made it for my husband while he was growing up, but I had never had it before he introduced me to it. Now I make it fairly frequently. If you have cooked ground beef in the freezer, it couldn’t be easier. It’s not the most attractive dish, but it’s simple, quick and high in fibre, protein and iron.

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Lentils and Ground Beef–Tired Mom Meal
 
Ingredients
  • 1 can lentils
  • .5-1 lb of cooked ground beef. (really any amount is fine)
Instructions
  1. Defrost the ground beef in the freezer (or cook and drain it in a pan).
  2. Add the can of lentils with the liquid and the defrosted ground beef to a pan.
  3. Cook on a low heat until there is no longer liquid in the bottom of the pan. If you need it quicker you can use a higher heat, but you’ll need to watch it and stir it more often.
  4. When it’s done, put the heat down to the lowest setting and it will be ready when you are.

Serve it with a salad, in a wrap, with a side of bread or some onion rings. I usually just eat it out of a bowl by itself.

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Curry Gnocchi – Vegetarian

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Gordie was helping me pick out ingredients from the pantry and figured we should have Gnocchi. And then decided that he wanted chickpeas too. I was a little thrown. I usually just serve Gnocchi with a tomato pasta sauce. So I poked around the internet and that that some people combined these two ingredients with canned tomatoes. That was definitely something I could work with. When I run out of canned tomatoes I sometimes feel like I’ve lost the ability to cook. I decided to add some chopped spinach I had in the freezer which reminded me of an Indian dish so I added some currry spices. Gordie is a little iffy on the spinach (and green food in general at the moment) but loved everything else. The dish I made was a pretty mild curry without too much heat but you could always add more if you were so inclined.image

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Curry Gnocchi - Vegetarian
 
Ingredients
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes
  • 1 can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
  • 1 block of chopped frozen spinach
  • 1 package of Gnocchi
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder
  • 1 tablespoon Garam Masala (an indian spice mix, you can get it here in Calgary in Superstore in the Indian spice section – not the baking aisle)
  • If you can’t find or don’t want to buy Garam Masala just use twice the curry powder.
Instructions
  1. Heat some oil in a pan. Mix in the spices, tomatoes and chickpeas. You can basically cook this for as long as you want on a low simmer. I’d recommend at least 10-15 minutes.
  2. When you are about 10 minutes from serving, put a pot of water on to boil. Add the Gnocchi to the boiling water. After a few minutes the gnocchi will float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the floating gnocchi into a bowl (it would also be fine to put them directly into the pan with the tomatoes and chickpeas).
  3. Defrost the spinach in the microwave. As soon as it has thawed, squeeze the water out of it. The spinach will look the best if you add it to the pan close to when you plan on serving it but it will still taste fine if it cooks for a while.
  4. Cook the spinach, tomatoes and chickpeas until the spinach is heated.

 

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Cooking with the Kids
The kids can:

  • Pour the cans into the pan
  • Measure and pour the spices
  • Stir the vegetables under close supervision

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Per 1/4 of the Curry Gnocchi: Calories – 316, Carbs – 56g, Fat – 6g, Protein 12, Fibre – 7.

Carrot Cake Oatmeal–Slow Cooker Method

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Carrot Cake Oatmeal - Slow Cooker Method

I got the inspiration for this dish from Oh She Glows (great vegan recipe ideas). I thought the concept would be perfect for the slow cooker and simplified it so it would be easier for me to throw together before bed.

I’m really pleased with how it turned out. I would definitely recommend adding a little maple syrup (or your favorite sugar like substance) on top because that really takes it from good oatmeal to carrot cake. My husband liked it even though he always complains whenever I use pecans or walnuts. Gordie seemed to like it too even though it often rejects carrots recently. They didn’t bother him at all in this. Bottom line – I will definitely be making it again because I loved it.

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Carrot Cake Oatmeal–Slow Cooker Method
Recipe type: Breakfast
 
Ingredients
  • 1 Cup Steel Cut Oats
  • 2 Cups Water
  • 2½ Cups Milk (I’ve tried skim and soy – both good)
  • 2 cups of carrots finely grated (2-3 good sized carrots, I have used a coarse grate and it was fine, just not as good)
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon
  • ½ tsp ground ginger
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup walnuts/pecans (I always substitute pecans, I find them less bitter)
  • ¼ cup raisins
  • top with milk and maple syrup
  • I think a little cream cheese mixed in would be great, but I haven’t had a chance to try it.
Instructions
  1. Place the first 8 ingredients in a crock pot and stir to combine.
  2. Cook the oatmeal on “warm” for 6-9 hours (If I put it on low overnight half of it sticks to the side of the crockpot, you may be able to put yours on low overnight if yours doesn’t run quite as hot as mine. If you don’t have a warm setting reduce the cooking time or just deal with it).
  3. When you get up, pop in the raisins and walnuts.and turn the heat up to low. Cook for 20-30 more minutes and serve with milk and maple syrup.

 

 

Photography Note: It is hard to take appealing pictures of goopy things. Toppings really help make it look more attractive.

Loving Leftovers: Pasta Frittata

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One of the things that I’m trying to focus on lately is throwing out less leftovers. Often I find that I just can’t handle eating the same meal that I may have already had for supper and lunch again for the following supper. So I’m trying to find ways of mixing it up to make something that feels fresh but doesn’t involve a lot of additional work.

One of my favourites is making a leftover pasta frittata. It works with any type of pasta and with or without meat. It’s best if you have a sauce with a bit of substance, but if all you have is plain pasta or a weak sauce like olive oil and parmesan you can still make it work. If this is the case, I’d recommend starting the frittata by sautéing an onion and some garlic to bump up the flavour or just add a few additional fresh items like fresh herbs (basil is nice), more tomatoes, or peppers and it’ll be great.
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Loving Leftovers: Pasta Frittata
Recipe type: Easy Meal
 
Ingredients
  • About 1 cup of leftover pasta plus sauce
  • 7-8 eggs
  • ¾ cup grape tomatoes halved
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Beat the eggs and mix in the tomatoes, cheese, salt and pepper.
  3. In a large oven proof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the pasta and sauce and heat for 1 minute.
  4. Evenly distribute the pasta in the pan. 5. Pour the eggs over the pasta and coat as well as you can. 6. Sprinkle the eggs with salt and pepper. 7. Cook over medium heat for 4-6 minutes. The frittata should be mostly set but the top will still be runny. 8. Place the pan in the oven for 4-6 minutes until the eggs are set.
  5. If you don't have an oven proof skillet, you can use a lid to set the top of the eggs or you can slide the frittata onto a plate and then flip back into the pan to cook the other side but you’ll have to cook it longer on the first side.

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I seem to always have more than a cup of leftover pasta and have trouble resisting adding the extra. This will still work, but it won’t be as ‘eggy’ and it may alter the cooking time.

7-11 Lasagna – Mexican Lasagne Recipe

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This recipe was inspired by a joke cookbook that my husband and I got for our wedding called Mini Mart a la Carte. The cookbook’s premise is recipes that you can make while shopping only at a convenience store. In general, the recipes are things that I (or most anyone else) would not even dream of making, but the one for “Lowrider Lasagna” actually looked pretty good. I tweaked it a little and the result is below. It’s a big hit at my house and it’s something I can whip up even if I don’t have a lot of time to cook or badly need groceries.

7-11 Lasagna - Mexican Lasagne Recipe

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7-11 Lasagna – Mexican Lasagna Recipe
Recipe type: Easy Meal
 
Ingredients
  • 1 can refried beans (I like the ones with green chiles you could also use pinto beans)
  • 1 large can diced tomatoes drained
  • 1 cup frozen corn (or a can of corn)
  • 1 cup shredded cheese
  • 6 whole wheat tortillas
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
  2. Rip half the tortillas into pieces so they cover the bottom of the baking dish. Any size is fine. I usually do 2 whole tortillas and then rip a third into a few pieces to fill the gaps. Spread half of the refried beans on half of the tortillas and arrange half in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish to cover the bottom. Top evenly with half each of the corn, tomatoes and cheese.
  3. Cover the rest of the tortillas with the remaining refried beans and layer on top and cover with the rest of the corn, tomatoes and cheese
  4. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake until the cheese begins to brown, about 15 minutes longer.

7-11 Lasagna - Mexican Lasagne Recipe