Tabbouleh Salad

I love the simplicity of a basic tabbouleh, especially with some hummus and fresh pita, but as I continue on my quest to fill my arsenal with fresh tasting whole grain salads I wanted to come up with something that could stand alone. This is nothing more than a dressed up tabbouleh, great as a side dish yet also good enough to stand alone as a meal.

Brown Rice Salad With Soy Ginger Dressing

I thought this would be another delightful cold salad I could keep in the refrigerator and pack for lunch several days in a row. Then I put it out onto the dinner table to see if I could get the family to try it. Well, let's just say this was a definite success in our new foray into a plant based whole foods diet. Most of it was gone the first night and what was left disappeared sometime in the early morning hours the following day. I'm not complaining.

Sundried Tomato Polenta (Slow Cooker)

I certainly do love me some polenta. This is super easy and uses the slow cooker (a.k.a my new best kitchen friend) so I'm extra excited about it. I made this quite awhile ago so it's veggie, not vegan, I'll update you when I have a dairy free alternative.

 

 

Curried Quinoa Salad

I've been working so much lately that keeping these grain salads in the refrigerator has been more helpful than I ever would have thought! This is a simple Quinoa salad, the first of many I'm sure. I enjoyed this over a bed of baby spinach for dinner every night this week!

Farro's Garden

Farro is a pretty cool grain, This was my first time using it and I'm very excited about the results and the possibilities. It cooks up to a great size for a cold salad and has a subtle nutty flavor. This salad is really just a bunch of things I like thrown into a bowl, but it's definitely something I'm happy to eat several days in a row.

Crowd Pleasing Chili (Slow Cooker, or not)

For some reason I always associate the Super Bowl with a bunch of junk food and a pot of chili. Since we're all quite capable of finding our own junk food, and I'm anxious to try more things in the slow cooker, I thought I'd try a simple chili. This is mild enough for everyone yet full of flavor, I'll go ahead and call it a home run.

Greek Rice Salad

In an effort to stick stick to my guns about  keeping quick healthy meals in the refrigerator this awesome brown rice salad was born.

Winter Corn Salsa

Sometimes you just need a taste of summer in the dead of winter. This is a simple corn salsa that you can make with ingredients available year round.

Asian Style Barley Salad

In an effort to keep quick healthy meals readily available I'm trying to build up my arsenal of cold salads. This was my first attempt with barley and I'm really happy with it. This will definitely be a recurring item.

Cilantro-Lime Rice

This is a simple and versitile side dish. Put it with anything you like, but I think it goes well with my Tequila Lime Chicken. 

Slow Cooker Lentils with Poached Egg

Ahhh.. Lentils. So good for you and so filling. This is a simple dish that lends itself to a nice warm breakfast or dinner. This isn't the most flattering picture, but it's really beautiful in person.

Crab Risotto

So what do you do when a super hot guy calls and says, "Hey, I'm coming over... and I've got crabs"? Well obviously you take the crab, clean it up, and take him out for a couple of beers to show your gratitude. If all goes well the risotto can be date number two. Or three. I'm just saying it's possible. It may have even happened to me.

End of Summer Salsa

 

Even though it means summer is coming to an end I do so love when everything has ripened and amazing fresh vegetables are everywhere. After overloading my basket at a local farm I had to figure out what to do with my loot. This is an easy to make salsa, it has great flavor and is good for everyone since it's not too spicy.

White Bean Salad

Mmm.. beans.  I love beans, but I sometimes don't think to incorporate them into my meals like I should.  This is a simple marinated white bean salad.  When I say simple it's pretty much the understatement of the day, it practically makes itself. This salad is a summer standard, you've probably met before at a barbecue.  The beans are great as a stand alone side dish, but I love them even more on top of a green salad.  I wish there were leftovers right now....

Curried Chickpeas

I love Indian food.  Truly love it.  Though I wouldn't dare classify this as authentic Indian food it is quick and easy enough to make often.  It's good enough to eat alone, but I like to make it a complete meal by putting it over some jasmine rice.  I've also had it for breakfast with an egg on top.  Simply delicious.

Mexican Rice

Many years ago one of my best friends taught me a few of the cooking tricks he picked up while living in southern California.  This is my absolute favorite.  Seriously, everyone loves it.  If you follow the recipe as it is it's pretty difficult to fail.

So a couple of things about this recipe...

I like spicy foods and to me this is not spicy at all, but I understand some people are a little bit more sensitive.  If you're a spice wimp I recommend mixing the finished product with some unseasoned beans in a tortilla, I have yet to meet anyone who can't handle this that way.  If that really doesn't work out you can cut the salsa amount down and replace the missing liquid with water.  I've never done this so I can't attest to the flavor, but it would still cook up the same.