Runs for Cookies Recipes: vegetarian

Showing posts with label vegetarian. Show all posts

November 24, 2016

Lentil & Black Bean Chili

This is a Weight Watchers recipe, and my whole family actually really loved it. I cut back on the spices a little because of my kids. We topped it with a little cheese and sour cream.

Lentil & Black Bean Chili

1-1/2 cups dry lentils (preferably French variety, but regular green lentils will work too)
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
3 Tbsp. chili powder
2 tsp. dried oregano
1-1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
1/2 tsp. salt
29 oz. can of diced tomatoes (fire roasted with chiles)
2 cans of black beans, drained and rinsed

Cook lentils by placing in a pot and cover with water (a couple of inches above the level of the lentils). Bring to a boil, then reduce heat at simmer until lentils are tender, but not too soft (about 12 minutes).

While lentils are cooking, heat a skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Cook the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in the oil until vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and cover the skillet. Let simmer 5-10 minutes, and then add the lentils. Stir and divide into 6 portions to serve.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Ever since I discovered how easy it is to make my own taco seasoning, I no long buy stuff in packets. I've tried several different recipes for it, and it's all very similar; but my favorite is from Emily Bites' Spicy Taco Gnocchi Skillet recipe. I just use the seasonings from that recipe to make my own taco seasoning for other uses as well (with a couple of modifications to my family's taste). I've posted the seasoning recipe here for convenience.

Taco Seasoning

1 Tbsp. chili powder
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Mix all ingredients together in a little bowl or a ziplock baggie. One recipe is the perfect amount for one pound of meat.

November 21, 2015

Spicy Peanut Noodle Bowls

When I went to Portland last March, Thomas took me to a place that served these amazing noodle bowls. I don't remember any specifics of them (I was way too excited to be in Portland that I don't even remember much! haha) except that they were spicy and had a creamy peanut sauce. I liked the texture of the pasta, too, because it was very al dente. Anyway, I have been thinking of them ever since! I perused Pinterest trying to find a recipe that sounded like it may be similar. I found this one, and then modified a few things to my liking. It was DELICIOUS! Sweet, sour, creamy, crunchy... I will be making this often. I wish the serving size was bigger, but then again, I could eat a pound of pasta all by my lonesome ;)

Spicy Peanut Noodle Bowls

8 oz. dry brown rice spaghetti (I used this instead of wheat pasta because the firmer texture is perfect)
2 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 tsp. sesame oil
2-1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. rice vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp. of sriracha (I used about 3/4 of a teaspoon)
2 Tbsp. natural peanut butter (I love Smucker's Natural Creamy)
1 Tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, minced
2 green onions, sliced very thin
dash (about 1/8 tsp) red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
1/4 of a green pepper, sliced very thin
6 baby carrots (or 1/2 medium carrot), julienned
1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

Cook the brown rice pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, combine oils, soy sauce, vinegar, sriracha, peanut butter, honey, garlic, green onions, red pepper flakes, and sesame seeds in a bowl, and stir until uniform. When the pasta is done cooking, drain it and return it to the pot. Add the sauce, green peppers, carrots, and peanuts, and stir to combine. Portion into four bowls (a scant cup each).

Whole Wheat Tortillas

I went through a short phase of trying to eat only whole foods for a month, which led me to a website called "100 Days of Real Food". I found this super simple recipe for whole wheat tortillas on there, and I decided to give them a try. They were AMAZING. I was really shocked at how much better they were than store bought tortillas.

Whole Wheat Tortillas

2-1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of oil
1 tsp. salt
1 cup warm water

Combine all ingredients into a dough until it is smooth. Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. Roll them into balls, and then flatten them on a cookie sheet until they resemble tortillas. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat, and spray with cooking spray. Cook the tortillas one at a time, about 30-45 seconds per side, and transfer to a plate. Keep refrigerated if you don't eat them right away.

May 4, 2013

Red Pepper & Feta Pasta

I love the combination of roasted red peppers and feta cheese. I had a couple of jars of red peppers in my pantry, and some feta in my fridge, so I turned them into a simple, yummy sauce for pasta. Jerry and I both loved this dish! The red pepper flakes make it a little spicy, and it goes really well with the sweet roasted peppers. This is written for two main dish servings, but you could easily double it.

Red Pepper & Feta Pasta

6 oz. dry pasta
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped fine
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 (12 oz) jar of roasted red peppers
1/4 cup fat-free half & half
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 oz. fat free feta cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pot over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook until softened, a few minutes. Drain the roasted pepper and add them to the pot, along with the half and half. Use an immersion blender to puree (or put everything in a food processor or blender, puree, and then put back in the pot). Add salt and pepper to taste, and the crushed red pepper flakes. Let the pepper mixture simmer for a minute, and then stir in the feta cheese and cooked pasta, and toss to coat. Makes 2 servings (approximately 1-1/4 cups per serving, depending on the shape of pasta used).

April 4, 2013

Banana Pecan Pancakes

I was looking for a lower-calorie pancake recipe, and tried Hungry Girl's banana pancakes from her 200 under 200 cookbook. They were good, but I made a couple of changes the next time, and they were perfect!

Banana Pecan Pancakes

1/2 medium banana, mashed (chop the other half for topping, like in the picture)
46 grams of liquid egg whites (about 3 Tbsp.)
1 Tbsp. skim milk
dash of vanilla extract
1 packet of stevia (or 1 tsp. sugar, or whatever sweetener you like)
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you can use whole wheat, like in the original recipe, but the whole wheat pastry flour made them fluffier)
1/4 tsp. baking powder
dash of cinnamon
12 grams (about 1 Tbsp.) chopped pecans

Heat a skillet over medium heat. In a bowl, combine the mashed banana, egg whites, milk, vanilla extract, and sweetener. Add the flour, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir until combined.

Spray the skillet with cooking spray, and then sprinkle the chopped pecans in four separate little sections. Pour the batter over the pecans, making four small pancakes. When the top starts to bubble after a minute or two, flip them over and cook for another minute or so.

I top mine with sugar-free syrup and half a banana, chopped. (Nutrition info is for the whole recipe, not including the syrup or chopped banana on top)

November 23, 2012

Pumpkin Fluff

I got this recipe from my Weight Watchers leader on the day before Thanksgiving. I'd made something very similar before, and really liked it, so I tried this "light" version for dessert on Thanksgiving. It was a great replacement for pumpkin pie!

I'm sorry, but this recipe has been migrated over to my everyday blog, Runs for Cookies. This is a direct link to the recipe. Enjoy! --Katie

September 9, 2012

Vanilla Pumpkin Protein Shake

This recipe has since been migrated to my everyday blog, Runs for Cookies. Click Here to be taken directly to the recipe!

This shake turned out so yummy it actually deserves its own post ;) One of my readers requested that I create a pumpkin protein shake. I've tried a few recipes that I found online, but wasn't crazy about any of them. A lot of the shake recipes use bananas to sweeten, and I just wasn't crazy about the combo of pumpkin and banana. I used Torani Pumpkin Pie flavored syrup in this--if you really can't find it and/or don't want to buy it online, you could probably just use some sort of sweetener (1 Tbsp. of maple syrup would probably be good!) and extra pumpkin pie spice.

Anyway, this shake makes me super excited for my favorite time of year--fall!

July 25, 2012

Pumpkin Spice Cookies

I used to make muffins with these two ingredients, but I was really in the mood for cookies a few nights ago, so I decided to turn them into cookies instead. They are SO good, and SO simple--and only 64 calories each!

I'm sorry, but this recipe has been migrated over to my everyday blog, Runs for Cookies. This is a direct link to the recipe. Thanks for stopping by! --Katie

February 14, 2012

Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes

There are tons of whole grain pancake recipes floating around, but I could never really find one that was good enough to be a "go-to" recipe that I absolutely loved. So I created my own "real food" recipe, and they were so delicious that I had to write it down to become my go-to recipe for pancakes.

I've written this recipe for one serving, since I usually cook breakfast for just myself. But it would be easy to multiply the recipe.

Whole Grain Blueberry Pancakes

1/3 c. whole-wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp. wheat germ
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. honey
1 egg white
1/4 c. milk
1/4 c. frozen (or fresh) blueberries

Combine the flour, wheat germ, and baking powder in a small bowl. Add the honey, egg white, and milk, and stir until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Pour batter into three pancakes, and cook over medium to medium-high heat in a skillet (with a little butter or oil to prevent sticking). Top with a touch of butter and pure maple syrup.

February 7, 2012

Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing

A reader sent me a link to this recipe, thinking I might like it. I'm glad she did, because it was great! The original recipe can be found here. I made a few modifications, so I'll post those below. It sounds like a strange combination of ingredients, but it worked really well together.

Not the prettiest dish, but it tastes good!

Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Dressing
(modified to make 1 serving)

1/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup coleslaw mix (just plain shredded green cabbage and carrots)
3-4 slices of cucumber, julienned

For the sauce:
1.5 Tbsp. smooth natural peanut butter
1.5 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 tsp. honey
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes

Bring the water to a boil in a small sauce pan, and add the quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to a simmer until water is absorbed (about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl until smooth. Add the coleslaw mix and cucumber, and toss to coat. When the quinoa is done cooking, add it to the bowl and toss again until everything is coated. Makes 1 serving

October 18, 2011

Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal

This baked oatmeal combines all the best flavors of Fall! Pumpkin, cranberries, apples, and cinnamon--a delicious combination! Original recipe can be found here. I just made a few modifications, which I've typed below.

Pumpkin Cranberry Apple Baked Oatmeal

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup wheat germ
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup Craisins (dried cranberries)
1 1/2 cups almond milk
1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. canned pumpkin
3 Tbsp. egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 medium apple, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup chopped pecans (or other nuts), divided

Preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray. In a mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, egg whites, pumpkin, almond milk, and vanilla. Add the oats, wheat germ, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder, and mix well. Fold in the Craisins, apples, and half of the nuts. Pour into prepared baking dish and top with the rest of the pecans. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. Let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting. It will be soft-set (not firm like oatmeal bars). Cut into 6 pieces. Top with warm milk and brown sugar.

September 16, 2011

Indian Lentil Soup

Dede, a reader of Runs for Cookies, e-mailed this recipe to me when she learned I like lentils. She said she got it from the newspaper years ago and made a couple of changes. And then, because I can never leave a recipe alone, I made a change or two myself. ;) I've been eating it every day for lunch, because it is delicious! Here is the recipe, with my changes:

Indian Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of red lentils
4 cups of broth (I used chicken broth)
1 (15 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
1 medium potato (about 6 oz), peeled and diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1/2 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. turmeric
dash (1/8 tsp) of cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste

Heat a soup pot over medium heat and spray with cooking spray. Cook the onion for a few minutes, and then add the garlic and cook for a minute. Add the broth, lentils, tomatoes, and spices, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, partially-cover it with a lid, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the carrots and potato, and simmer, covered, until veggies are just tender, about 20 minutes. Makes 4 servings, about 1-2/3 cups each.

August 19, 2011

Chick Pea Curry

This is a recipe I found on Sparkpeople. I only made a couple of changes to it. The original recipe can be found on Sparkpeople here.

Chick Pea Curry
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. cumin
5 cloves of garlic, minced
5 tsp. of curry powder
1 can of diced tomatoes
1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. oregano
salt & pepper to taste
2/3 cup of water

In a pan sprayed with cooking spray, cook onion until soft. Add garlic, ginger, and curry powder, and stir for a minute. Add water, tomatoes, chick peas, cumin, cinnamon, oregano, salt and pepper. Cover pan and simmer 5-10 minutes. If you want it thicker, then remove the lid while simmering. Serve over rice or quinoa.

August 18, 2011

Green Monster (original)

I got this recipe from Angela at Green Monster Movement. There are many, many variations, but my heart lies with the original. Sometimes I add blueberries, too. Trust me when I say that this tastes NOTHING like the way it looks! I was completely skeptical, but pleasantly surprised when I first tried it.

Green Monster

1 Tbsp. flax seed meal
1 cup (packed) spinach
1 cup almond milk
1 banana, peeled (duh)
6 ice cubes

Put the ingredients (except for the ice) into a blender in the following order: flax seed, spinach, banana, almond milk. Let it rip on high until it's blended well, then add the ice and blend until smooth. I promise you that this tastes just like a banana shake, without a trace of spinach! Serves 1.

2-Ingredient Guacamole

This is SO simple and SO easy--and it tastes SO good! Serve with tortilla chips.

Guacamole

1 ripe avocado
1 cup Garden Fresh salsa (found in refrigerator section)

Mash the avocado until smooth, and stir in the salsa. It doesn't look very pretty, but it tastes fantastic. Serve right away, because the avocado will start to brown.

Coconut Butter (a pictorial)

I adore coconut butter! I've never seen it in the store before, so I've always just made my own. It's very simple to make. All you need is a food processor.

2 bags of UNSWEETENED coconut (to fill a 12-oz jar of coconut butter)

Put it into the food processor

Let it rip on high for a few minutes, then scrape down the sides

This is after about 10 minutes

15-20 minutes and it's done!

At this point, I jarred some as-is, and then added cocoa powder to the rest

Ta-da! Coconut butter and chocolate coconut butter!

The nutritional info on this is the same as the package of coconut you use. Since there are no added ingredients, just use the info from the package. Keep in mind that the measurement may change (one tablespoon of shredded coconut does not equal one tablespoon of coconut butter); but the GRAMS will stay the same (15 grams of shredded coconut=15 grams of coconut butter).

August 17, 2011

Sweet Potato Wheels

I had a sweet potato sitting on my counter for a while, so I decided to turn that into my lunch yesterday. It was SO GOOD that I just have to share--it's not much of a "recipe", more of a "method". But either way, you've got to try it!

Sweet Potato Wheels (because "Wheels" sound so much more fun than "fries" or "rounds")

1 large sweet potato (mine was 12 oz)
cooking spray
salt & pepper to taste

Set the oven to 'broil' (mine has high and low, so I chose high). Peel the sweet potato and slice into thin slices (about 1/4 inch). Spray a baking sheet with the cooking spray, and then lay all the sweet potato pieces out on the sheet.

Lie the wheels on a sprayed baking sheet

Spray the tops with a little cooking spray and then sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Put the sheet under the broiler until the tops are starting to ~~burn~~ darken in spots, like this:

When they look like this, flip them over

I think it took about 10 minutes for mine. Flip each piece over, and put the sheet back under the broiler. When you can smell the sweet potato goodness, and they look like this, they're done:

~~Pile them all on a plate and devour them~~. Share them with someone, because this is probably at least two servings. I ate the whole batch for about 280 calories, which was totally worth it. These taste just like sweet potato fries, but they are so much easier to make--they cook more evenly, they don't stick to the baking sheet, and they take less time overall.

A very well-spent 280 calories!

Fajita Seasoning Mix

There is no reason to buy fajita seasoning mix in a packet when you can make some of your own in your kitchen. It tastes delicious!

After adding seasoning, piled on top of quinoa... yummy!

Fajita Seasoning Mix

3 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. paprika
1 Tbsp. sugar
2 1/2 tsp. crushed chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin

Mix it all up in a baggie. To season meat and/or veggies, add 2/3 of a cup of water + 3 Tbsp. of seasoning mix (per pound of meat). This makes 10 tablespoons of seasoning, and each serving is 3/4 Tbsp.

The peppers and onions were so colorful while they were cooking, and smelled delicious! And after adding the seasoning, I could have eaten them plain, they were so good.

4 peppers, one each of red, yellow, orange, and green; plus 2 onions

Cookie Dough Hummus

I made this awesome recipe on Sunday, and again today. I'm SHOCKED at how good it is!! It's hummus that really does taste (and look) like cookie dough. I ate it with pretzels, which was awesome, and then for dessert today I had it with a chocolate Vitatop. Heavenly!

I made it as follows:
1 can of chick peas, drained AND peeled (takes a little time, but worth it!)
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
6 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Blend all ingredients except chocolate chips in a food processor until very smooth. Then fold in the chocolate chips. (Makes 8 servings. Per serving: 139 calories, 5 grams fat, 3 grams fiber, 20 grams carbs, 4 grams protein)