Oatmeal and Enchiladas

I have been having a smoothie every day for breakfast for about... I don't know... 7 months? I felt a need for change after seeing a post of Kath Eats Real Food describing THESE overnight oats. They sounded so good I went and threw some together right that second to have the next morning. I was also tempted by the thought of granola on top of oatmeal - so I threw together some of my favorite granola from a recipe given to me by a friend at work. Check out the recipe on her blog HERE. It's seriously so good and simple to put together! I had a serious addiction to this granola for a long time and was afraid to make it again for fear I would eat every last bit. But it's survived two days so far so I think we're safe.

These oats are based of the recipe above, here's what I threw together:
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 small (and I mean tiny) banana
1 tsp chia seeds
1/3 cup 0% greek yogurt
1 shake of cinnamon

Mix together and leave overnight. Wake up and sprinkle on a Tbsp of granola and a tsp of reduced fat peanut butter. Um yum. I had to take a break while eating this because it was so filling. I lasted until 2pm (seriously) without the thought of food. The entire french press was filled with Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee helped also.

I then proofread all 180 pages of my dissertation and sent the first draft off to my advisor to see how much of it he hates. I then took the day off to get some crap done as I haven't had time to do much else other than write.

After a day full of running errands, I stopped home to make some butternut squash enchiladas. My good friend just had a gorgeous baby girl and I asked her what meal she wanted the most. She requested these enchiladas after I had made them for some friends and they kept bragging about how good they were to her. So I threw them together, set two aside for the husband and I and then dropped over for some baby time.

Of course my husband texted me 70 times while I was over with the new parents. All dinner related texts of course. He even threatened to eat without me! Yeah right! That would mean he would have to turn the oven on and warm the enchiladas and resign himself to the fact that there were only 2 and he would surely starve.


I came home and threw together a random chili that I will use to make nachos for cinco de mayo this evening! Of course he had not started eating or dinner prep without me!

Fridge and Pantry-emptying chili

My husband and I are going to NY for almost two weeks - so I am trying to empty out our fridge for the exptended period away. I haven't been grocery shopping, needless to say. As I was leaving the house yesterday - to work pretty late- it dawned on me that I never use my slowcooker, and I probably should. So I took about every can I had and threw some stuff together for a chili that was ready when I got home, perfect.

Ingredients:
1 LARGE can diced tomatoes (28 oz. I think)
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 package cubed seitan
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
1 can diced chiles
1 can black beans
2 Tbsp oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1 Tbsp chile powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Throw in your slow cooker and put on low! I garnished with some cilantro, avocado and cheese (for shame)

*ULTIMATE* Vegan Chili and corbread muffins. om nom nom nom

I'm sure everyone has had the experience when you are sick of having the "worst" day. That is- the day you feel your absolute worst out of all the crappy sick days. Well, hopefully today was the worst of this stupid sickness. I slept 12.5 HOURS last night- right through to 11:30 am this morning. Holy crap. I guess I needed it. I went into work for a few hours, and still had some energy to stand up when I got home, so I threw together tonight's dinner and placed it gently into the slow-cooker and laid back down. Below are my variations on recipes from Vegetarian Times' past February issue.

I added a few things to the chili, mainly sweet potatoes and tomatoes- both of which I love. The seitan added a wonderful meatiness to the dish. I would highly recommend this for a fall dinner! My tomatoes:



Ultimate Vegan chili: Original recipe
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 large onion, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, microwaved until soft (about 5 minutes)
1 chipotle chili in adobo, drained and minced
8 oz. mushrooms
1 quart cherry tomatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 package seitan
3 Tbs. tomato paste
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. herbs de provence
1.5 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp celery salt
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp vegan Worchestershire
1 tsp cinnamon (trust me, it makes a big difference)
cilantro to garnish
sriracha for each serving

Heat EVOO, saute onion, chuck into slow cooker. Add mushrooms to pan with some H2O, saute until brown, add to slow cooker. Add the rest of the veggies and seitan, spices and everything else to the slow cooker. Put on high and let sit for 4 hours (ish). Garnish each serving with cilantro and sriracha.



Cornbread muffins: Original recipe
1 cup plain soymilk
1/4 cup vegan margarine, melted
2 Tbsp agave nectar (or maple syrup if you are made of money)
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup frozen corn kernels

Pre-heat over to 375. Melt margarine in mixing cup. Add soy milk and the remainder of the wet ingredients, and mix with fork. In large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients. Add wet to dry. Put the corn kernels right back into the mixing cup and thaw in microwave. Add to remaining ingredients.

Pour ingredients into muffin pan. I don't use those little muffin cup things- I think that they make everything taste funny. So I just grease the pan and ladle the batter right in. Bake for 20 minutes - and let sit for 10. When they are done, it's time for chili. Then you can eat and go pass out on the couch, like I am about to.