Meatless Meatloaf

 

Derek told me that it was a blasphemy to make meatloaf without meat, but I did it anyway! This is a great quick dinner packed with protein and flavor. I've actually only had meatloaf once in my life, but the idea of simplicity of this dinner dish stuck with me. I was determined to make a meatless meatloaf that I could turn to on busy weeks.

 

Serves 6

 

• 1 cup uncooked lentils
• 1 sweet onion, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1 tbsp dried parsley
• salt and black pepper to taste

 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Cook lentils according to package instructions until soft. Drain extra water. Partially mash lentils and set aside.

 

2. In a medium bowl mix lentils, onion, bell pepper, oats, and cheese. Add eggs, spaghetti sauce, and seasonings. Mix well.

 

3. Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray. Transfer the mixture into the pan and pack it well.

 

4. Bake for 45-55 minutes or until the top of the meatloaf is golden brown. Run a sharp knife around the edges and turn the loaf onto a serving plate. Enjoy with a salad or a side dish of wholesome grains!

Adapted from this recipe.

Oats with Pear and Coconut Sugar in a Crockpot

I had to archive this recipe because it's so good! My mother-in-law, Helena, was staying with us for two months helping us take care of our little boy while we were looking for a nanny. She made this oatmeal for breakfast a few times and I absolutely loved it. My favorite thing about it is pears! Juicy, sweet, and fruity.


Serves 4

 

• 3 firm pears, diced
• 1 cup steel-cut oats
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 2 tbsp. coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cup almond milk (or regular milk)
• 1 1/2 cup boiling water

 

Combine the first eight ingredients in a crockpot. Pour in milk and boiling water and stir to combine. Cook on low for 6 hours.


Adapted from this recipe.

Apple Sharlottka with Walnuts (Russian Apple Cake)

This is the most simple, yet delicious dessert you can whip up in a matter of an hour! The chances are you already have all of the ingredients on hand. Bonus- you can serve it both the Russian way, cooled and sprinkled with powdered sugar, with a cup of tea. Or you can serve it the American way, warm, with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

• 6 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/3 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp apple vinegar (or any other vinegar works great, except for balsamic)
• 4 red apples
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts 
• powdered sugar for dusting (for Russian-style serving) 
• ice cream or whipped cream (for American-style serving) 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Beat eggs and sugar on high for 5-7 minutes until foamy mixture forms. Gradually pour in the flour and continue beating until the batter is smooth and evenly combined. In a small cup combine baking soda and vinegar. Let the chemical reaction do its foamy thing! (The vinegar eliminates the taste of soda from the cake). Add to the batter and mix everything well.

2. Core and slice apples into long thin slices. I don't ever peel my apples for sharlottka. Spray a 9-inch spring form with cooking spray. Fold in apples and walnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared spring form. Bake for approximately 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and firm to the touch even in the center.

3. You can serve it two ways. The Russian way is to cool it completely and serve the cake sprinkled with powdered sugar. Add a cup of camomile tea and you get yourself a real Russian tea-time experience. The American way is to serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Quinoa Enchilada Casserole

The goal for this dish is lots of flavor and leftovers. I'm capitalizing on the nutritional benefits of quinoa and flavorful home-made enchilada sauce. It looks like this recipe has a lot of ingredients, but it's actually super easy to make. There is hardly any chopping! I'm not a big fan chopping these days. It takes way too much time.

Enchilada Sauce

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp flour
• 1 oz can tomato sauce (or paste. Even chunky pasta sauce works!)
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (you can use water instead, but the sauce will be less savory) 
• 4 1/2 tbsp chili powder (this is not cayenne pepper powder. You've been warned) 
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• salt to taste (1/2 tsp works for me

Casserole

• 1 1/2 cup dry quinoa 
• 20 small corn tortillas, cut in half
• 1 can corn, drained 
• 2 cans black beans, drained 
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 1 bunch cilantro, finely chopped (reserve some for garnish, if desired) 
• 2 cups Mexican blend cheese, divided

Garnish

• avocado
• sour cream 
• cilantro 

1. Heat vegetable oil in a sauce pan. Add flour, stir well, and and cook for 3 minutes until the mixture thickens. Mix tomato sauce with the rest of the ingredients in a small bowl. Add the mixture to the flour and oil in the sauce pan and stir to combine. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 7-10 minutes until the sauce thickens. The sauce is done!

2. Cook quinoa according to package instructions. Drain. Set aside.

3. Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a large casserole dish with cooking spray. (Depending on the size of the casserole dish, you may want to make two casseroles). I'll let you decide how many layers your casserole will have. Lay tortilla chip halves between each layer. Sprinkle with quinoa, corn, black beans, tomato, cilantro, and cheese. Pour the enchilada sauce over the layer. Repeat. Create the top layer with tortilla chips sprinkled with sauce and cheese.

4. Cover the dish with tin foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove the tin foil and bake for additional 10-15 minutes.

5. Serve hot garnished with avocado, sour cream, and cilantro.

Four Bean Chili

After having a child and continuing with a challenging job, I realized that my past cooking habits were unsustainable in my new reality. My cooking motto is now "Fast, easy, healthy... or I'm not making it!"And if it takes me more than 15 minutes to post it on the blog, I'm not messing with it. 

This is a fast, easy, and healthy recipe of a Four Bean Chili. It's super flavorful and will last my family for a few days. Plus it's packed with protein and fiber. 

Serves: a little army

Chili 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 4 tsp chili powder
• 4 tsp ground cumin
• 4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• salt to taste (about 1 tsp worked for me)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 2 cans black beans, drained
• 2 cans red beans, drained
• 2 cans pinto beans, drained
• 2 cans cannelini beans, drained

Garnish

• Sour cream
• Cilantro
• Cheddar cheese

1. In a large pot heat 1 tbsp olive oil on medium. Add onions and red and green bell peppers. Sautee for 5-7 minutes or until peppers are softened and onions become translucent. Add garlic powder, chili powder, ground cumin, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Stir well. 

2. Add vegetable broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring the chili to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes allowing flavors to combine. Serve garnished with sour cream, cilantro, and cheddar cheese. 

Russian Taiga Salad

Russian Taiga.. When I think of taiga, I think of endless snow, extremely cold weather, and lots of trees. I also think of pine nuts! This salad is inspired by the gifts of taiga's short summers- pine nuts, cranberries, and mushrooms.

Serves 4

• 4 medium red potatoes, boiled
• 2 carrots, boiled
• 1 15-oz can green peas, drained
• 1 4 oz can marinated mushrooms, drained
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pine nuts 
• 4 green onions, both white and green parts, chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
• mayonnaise to taste
• salt to taste 

1. Chop boiled potatoes into small chunks without peeling them. Peel carrots and chop them. Combine in a medium size bowl.

2. Add green peas, mushrooms, cranberries, pine nuts, green onions, and parsley. Stir to combine. Dress with mayonnaise. Season to taste. Chill the salad before serving.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lemon Glaze

I have never made banana bread in my life just because it sounded a bit too.. boring?.. But my husband loves banana bread, so I've made this loaf for him but with a fun ingredient. Coconut! And to make this bread taste more like a cake, I smothered it in lemon glaze. Decadent! I'm also proud to call this a semi healthy recipe since I have reduced the normal amount of sugar you put in a loaf and completely eliminated the need to add vegetable oil.

Bread

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 cup cane sugar
• 3/4 cup shredded dried coconut (Plus more for decorating) 
• 2 eggs
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Lemon Glaze

• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice 

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a bread pan with cooking spray.

2. In a bowl combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and coconut. Mix together well. In a separate bowl beat eggs, bananas, sour cream, and vanilla until even. Pour the banana mixture into flour mixture and beat well until combined evenly.

3. Pour the batter into the greased bread pan. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool the loaf.

4. Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice to create the glaze. Pour the glaze over the loaf. Sprinkle with shredded coconut. Enjoy!