Meatless in the Mountains

We woke up yesterday morning to this view out the window…..

Unfortunately I had to work, but Kyle had his “best day skiing ever” at the Canyons.  He was hungry for dinner so I made this enormous pan of veggie fried rice.  We almost ate the whole thing, but there was enough left for me for lunch the next day.  I added the eggs for him, but normally I’d leave them out for a vegan version.  Either way will be delicious.

2 cups uncooked brown rice

1/2 block of extra firm tofu; drained and weighted down

garlic powder

red pepper flakes

1 celery stock; sliced

2 carrots; sliced

2 cloves garlic; minced

1/3 cup frozen sliced green beans

1/3 cup frozen broccoli florets

1 green onion; sliced

1 inch of fresh ginger; minced

1/2 yellow onion; sliced

soy sauce

rice wine vinegar

safflower oil

2 handfuls of greens

2 eggs (optional vegetarian version)

Cook rice according to directions.  After tofu is drained & pressed, slice in squares & place is low dish, drizzle on some soy sauce, rice wine vinegar and safflower oil.  Sprinkle on some red pepper flakes & a dash of garlic powder & let marinade while the rice cooks.

Now prep the veggies.  Chop all your veggies and place in a big bowl with the garlic & ginger.  Drizzle on soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, safflower oil and red pepper flakes.  Mix well.

(If using the eggs, whisk 2 eggs in a small bowl)

Heat a large wok or fry pan, spray with cooking spray and add some safflower oil.

(If using the eggs, add them to the pan and scramble)

Next, add the tofu and mix around the pan for a few minutes.  Now add in all your veggies and cook for a few minutes more while mixing around gently with a spatula.  Cook until it looks like the onion and carrots are just starting to soften.

Finally, mix in the rice with another dash of soy sauce.  Enjoy!

Mr. polka dot ears, chillin in his favorite spot.

We are prepping for a Holiday Party, so there is lots to do!  Tonight after work we got a Christmas tree and wanted a quick dinner before continuing to clean and decorate.  Here is my take on a delicious meatless Asian take-out meal.  There was plenty leftover for lunches at work tomorrow too.  Feel free to add carrots, I had them in the fridge and forgot all about them, but they’d be great in here.  I also bought the wrong tofu so the pieces all crumbled instead of remaining in chunks, oh well!  Same taste : )

Veggies:

1 bushel of broccoli (usually comes tied as a few smaller bushels)

1 green pepper (I’d prefer red, but it’s all we had)

1/2 red onion (I’d prefer yellow, but it’s all we had)

1/2 package fresh snow peas

1/2 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1 garlic clove, minced

drizzle soy sauce

drizzle rice wine vinegar

safflower oil

red pepper flakes

Tofu:

1/2 block extra firm tofu, drained & pressed with towels/paper towels to dry

1/2 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled & minced

1 garlic clove, minced

drizzle soy sauce

drizzle rice wine vinegar

safflower oil

red pepper flakes

Box of Asian Noodles

1 TBS Earth Balance (optional)

Chop the veggies as desired and place all ingredients under veggie section in a large mixing bowl & stir to combine.

Cut tofu in cubes as desired and marinate in a small bowl with all ingredients under tofu section.

Cook noodles according to package; we used pad thai rice noodles which had to soak in hot water for 8-10 minutes, then drain.

Heat some safflower oil in large skillet or wok on medium heat.

Add the tofu marinating mixture and mix around for a few minutes, until starting to brown in color.

Pour in the entire veggie bowl mixture and mix often to combine & cook the veggies.  Once the veggies have softened, add in the noodles and another drizzle of soy sauce to flavor.

For extra restaurant-quality deliciousness, add a chunk of earth balance and mix in at the end.

Hard not to dig in right away, but the flavors get better the longer it sits!

Now back to decorating…..

Love this Santa surfer dude!

So magical : )

It’s Monday night after Thanksgiving weekend.  We just got back from an amazing trip to Aspen, Colorado for the US Ski Team Women’s World Cup late last night.  We have nothing in our fridge and I really don’t feel like going to the grocery store!  Between the freezer and cupboard, I created this meal which actually produced extra packed lunches for me as well.  It was delicious!  Hope you can use this at some point when you don’t feel like going to the grocery store either!  I also took a frozen hot dog bun out and roasted some garlic to spread on it to really round out the meal.

Keep pine nuts & mozz on counter, they will defrost by the time you finish cooking and be perfect to use.

Put the broccoli florets in a sauce pan and cover with about 1/2 cup water.  Bring to a boil then simmer for about 7-9 minutes.  Drain if there is still water left.  Season with salt, pepper, garlic powder & red pepper flake & set aside.

Cook orzo according to directions, when done, set aside with a little olive oil.

Cook 1 cup of polenta according to package.

While polenta is cooking, chop dried tomatoes in small pieces and place in small sauce pan covered in water, on low.

While everything cooks, the tomatoes will reconstitute and become soft.  Drain before using.

When polenta is done, add in earth balance.

Place scoop of polenta on plate, top with broccoli and tomatoes, mozz, parm and pine nuts.  Some extra black pepper is good too.  I packed this away in tupperware for lunches.  I created the same thing with the orzo and ate that for dinner, with a small glass of iced honey whiskey, because I was feeling a cold coming on….. it worked, I felt great in the morning!

Handsome Helper!

It’s cold and dark in the mountains now during dinner time.  I needed a pick me up tonight with lots of veggies.  This meal was simple, healthy and quick!  I had lots leftover for lunches during the week.

Kitchen helper, working hard