Vegan Enchilada Bowl

Ever since my husband started eating vegan again, I have been trying to think of ways to alter some our favorite dishes.  I absolutely love enchiladas, but they aren't the same without cheese...and no, I am not a fan of cheese substitutes (give me the real thing or nothing at all).  This bowl was inspired by one of my favorite neighborhood spots, Sage in Echo Park.  Their Mole Bowl is so delicious and my husband's favorite so I decided to recreate it as an enchilada bowl.  It only took about 25 minutes and was so simple that it is now my go-to meal.

Recipe:
While the quinoa is cooking, chop up desired veggies and sauté in coconut oil with cumin and lime juice (I used onions, bell pepper, zucchini and cauliflower).  When veggies are nearly done, add black beans to the pan and then enchilada sauce.  Simmer over low heat for about 3-5 minutes.  Mix cooked quinoa and veggies together in a large bowl, serve, garnish with avocado and fresh salsa and enjoy!

Vegetarian Green Pozole

 This weekend, we were finally able to have a few friends over for dinner at our new house, but my husband came down with a cold.  I was a little torn because I wanted to make something soothing for him, but filling enough for our friends.  My favorite soup ever is Pozole and I have been dying to make the green kind so I thought may as well try it.  I made guacamole to have with chips as an appetizer and we shared a growler of Black Rye IPA (thanks Haven!), then made a simple chopped Kale and Radicchio salad with pepitas, dried cranberries and blue cheese tossed in a blush wine vinaigrette as a starter while moving on to drinking a Rangeland Syrah.

For the green sauce: Roast peeled Tomatillos, a Jalapeño, Serrano Chiles and
Garlic cloves.  While roasting, blend 1/2 cup of pepitas in a food processor.
Add the roasted veggies (remove all seeds from peppers) and blend until almost
smooth while adding a little olive oil.

On to the main event, my friend sent me her family recipe for a Green Chicken Pozole, which I used for the green sauce, but for the broth I ended up using the Trader Joe's Vegetable Broth. I don't think I completely nailed the green pozole as I wanted to roast the veggies for the tomatillo sauce before blending them, but instead simmered them in water.  Also, next time I am going to make it with chicken for more flavor than the vegetarian broth.  However, it was still very good and we had a great time!!

Once the green sauce is made, put it in a small pot and let it simmer on very low while you take the large pot and toss in diced onions, red bell peppers and garlic with a little olive oil.  Cook on medium heat for 4 minutes, then add rinsed Hominy (maize) and add cumin and cayenne pepper.  After 5 more minutes of stirring, add in vegetable broth.  Bring to a boil, then add green sauce and simmer for 20-30 minutes to let the flavors combine and settle.  Right before serving, add oregano, salt and pepper and lime juice.  

The best thing about pozole is adding all the condiments after! We used
chopped onions, radishes, cabbage, avocado, lime and tostadas!

Lime Avocado Chickpea Salad

Okay, so this dish is not really a salad, it is more of a side dish or a light lunch, but it is delicious!!!  Last week, I made Veggie Enchiladas (recipe seen before here) and this dish and invited some friends over for dinner.  Everyone loved it as it was healthy, flavorful and not overly heavy like rice can be.  I used a recipe adapted from thediva-dish (I used the same step process, just slightly altered the ingredients).

Ingredients:

1/2 C. dry quinoa

1 C. vegetable broth

1 can garbanzo beans (drained and rinsed)

1 C. Heirloom tomatoes cut in half

2 avocados diced

2 C. spinach

1 bunch cilantro

1/4 C. onion

2 small cloves garlic

For the dressing:

Juice of 2 limes

zest of 1 lime

2 tsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. cumin

dash of salt and pepper

Vegan Mexican Quinoa

A few months ago, I made a Mediterranean Quinoa bowl seen here.  I wanted to change it up a bit and decided to make a Mexican Quinoa bowl.
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 cup quinoa

1 red bell pepper

1/4 onion

2 zucchini

2 cups kale

1 can black beans

2 cloves garlic (minced)

1 tbsp olive oil

cumin

cayenne pepper

2 limes

avocado (optional)

While the quinoa is cooking, mince the garlic and let it simmer with olive oil for 2 minutes on medium low heat.  Then add diced zucchini, kale, cumin and cayenne pepper (to season) and sautee for 5 minutes.  Add in the rinsed black beans and cook for 5 more minutes.  Meanwhile, cut red bell pepper and onion to put in the food processor to make a sauce.  Squeeze limes on the veggie mix, then mix quinoa, veggies and sauce together well.  Top with avocado and ENJOY!

{Veggie} Stuffed Tri-Colored Bell Peppers

Last week, I made stuffed bell peppers for my husband and I.  They turned out super yummy!!!  I used the Tri-Colored Peppers from Trader Joes, Beef-less "Meat" with Mexican seasoning, canned tomatoes with green chiles, and cheese.  I served them with spinach tossed in olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper.  **If you're not vegetarian, use ground turkey instead for a healthy meal**

An easy, but delicious recipe!

Cut off the tops and remove all seeds

Get water to a boil and submerge peppers for 3-4 minutes
(or until their color gets brighter) to soften

While water is boiling, cook "meat" with cumin and cayenne
pepper, then add tomatoes without the juice

Place the bell peppers in a container to cook them in the oven
and stuff them with "meat" mixture

Add cheese and bake for 45 minutes at 350

{Veggie} Enchiladas

Mexican food is my absolute favorite!!!  I like it if is Authentic, Tex-Mex, Americanized, I like it all.  When I'm in Orange County, I always go to El Torito with my family-it is good, consistent and the servers know us by name.  I recreated their Spinach Enchiladas at home and made it my own and it turned out sooooo good...and healthy.  I used 100% whole wheat tortillas and served it with shredded kale, pico de gallo and quinoa. Delish!!!

Everything I used

I sautéed the veggies in olive oil with cumin and cayenne pepper.
Then added the black beans  

Rolled the mix in tortillas with sauce and cheese.
Then baked for 25 min! So easy =)