Monday, February 11, 2013

Manic Monday & Weekend Food

I'm optimistic this week will be better than last week.  That's all we can really, do, right?  Talk ourselves into a better week!?  Anyhow...I have LOTS to share with you today!  Lots of RANDOM Stuff but still - it's STUFF - at that!

I ended up LOVING the Peanut Butter Company's Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter and when I went to Tops on Saturday THEY had Mighty Maple so I got that one!  And BOY oh BOY is it GOOD!  I put it on toast yesterday for Breakfast and it was YUMMY!  I also did Vegan Cheesy Grits with Daiya Cheddar - those were pretty awesome, too!  I found Potato Cakes at Aldi's a while back and they didn't have any animal ingredients in them!  Woot!  I did two of those in a frying pan with some Earth Balance and that was my LARGE Sunday Breakfast.  I'm not usually a Breakfast person but I am REALLY trying to be because I know how important it is!  I made a Potato Cake for my husband and that is why I used Earth Balance instead of Grapeseed Oil.  I am out of my Nautral Flavor and I don't think he would have liked the Garlic or the Basil Pesto with this!  I also have a little bit of the Discontinued Chili left...I'll have to savor it!  I might have to try and make my own.  I know it won't be AS good but it will be an option to my flavored Grapeseed Oils.

Last Week I did a few Ethiopian Dishes and I enjoyed them both.  This week I am going to try a few things from Thailand.  I do like Thai Foods but haven't MADE very many...YET.

Friday Night I was waiting for my Husband's Dinner to be done (in the oven) and while I was waiting I decided to do some "Thai Curry Chickpeas".

They turned out pretty awesome, if I do say so myself!  I would 'chalk this one up' as one I would do over and over again!

Here is what I did for these Chickpeas!

12 to 14 ounces of Chickpeas
1/2 C of Cilantro or Coriander (I used Cilantro)
1/4 C Lemon Juice
1/4 C of Onion & Chive Blend (Wildtree)
1 T Garlic Galore (Wildtree)
1/2 t Cayenne
1/2 t Cumin
1/2 t Ground Coriander
2 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil
4 T Coconut Milk

Dog Break!  Yes!  I have more food in this post but I have to add some pics from the furkids this weekend, too!  Eventho it was SUNNY it was COLD and WET and all-around questionable weather!  At least we didn't get the FEET of snow they were calling for!  

Here is Riley and Suzie.  If you zoom in you might see that Riley was sticking his tongue out.  Suzie was barking at my husband.  He likes to mess with them sometimes.  He'll talk and she'll bark and half howl back.

I ended up finding some Tofurky items at Tops, too!  I will post more about those on Midweek Munchies.  But I did jump right in with a dish last night for dinner.  It was a Saute of Sorts.  

2 Carrots
2 Celery Stalks
A Random Amount of Green Beans
1/4 - 1/3 C Onion & Chive Blend (Wildtree)
1 Tofurky Italian Sausages (the ones with Sun-Dried Tomatoes) 
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil

This is what it ended up looking like when it was done!  I decided to do some Brown Rice to put underneath.  This is WAY different than most of the foods I have been making flavor-wise.  I think next time I would add Potatoes and FOR SURE Some Balsamic.  It's pretty good the way it is here but I liked it even more when I tossed and mixed everything together!  I also added some Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top, too!

I stepped outside my comfort zone on this one and it was a pretty good attempt!


Another Furkids break!  This Furkids Break is being brought to you in part by...PACO!

This was a rare capture!  I just happened to have my iPhone on me and him on my lap FACING me and somewhat vegging-out for the afternoon on Saturday!

I'm so excited I got this pic of him.  He looks so serious...it makes me laugh!  Of course shortly after this photo he was back up and running around!

I warned you I had a lot to post today!  Here is ANOTHER thing I did Last Night!

It's a Mediterranean Walnut Sauce!  Again, VERY different from anything I have ever tried doing before but I was very excited about it!

I used one of my Ninja Blenders for this and it worked awesomely!

For this sauce I used...

1/2 C Walnuts
1 C Parsley
2 T Garlic Grapeseed Oil
1 T Tomato Paste
3 Cloves Garlic
1/4-1/2 C Water to thin

I used half of this sauce to top Bowtie Pasta which you see here and I am going to use the other half to top Veggies, I think.  So...I think that is about it for now but I hope to do my Meal Planning later today and need to do another dish for tomorrow...so stay tuned for additional posts!

This is a participating post in the following:

23 comments:

  1. Pretty blue plate, Jennifer. Thanks for sharing.

    Happy Blue Monday.

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    1. teeehee! My famous Blue Plate! :)
      I think I posted it last week, too, of course with something different on it!

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  2. I was going to say that it looked like Riley was howling our dog likes to do that too.

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    1. Suzie is the one, actually! teeeheee! Riley's the red-one.

      BTW...just posted a 2nd one today, too, I couldn't resist! Didn't want to wait until tomorrow - I was too excited!

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  3. Mm all of that sounds good! I love the PB&Company white chocolate one and the one with honey in it!

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    1. I don't know if I have had either of those two yet but I do like these two so far!!!

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  4. Now I'm hungry. Happy Blue Monday!

    My Blue Monday.

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    Replies
    1. Happy Blue Monday to you too! I'll visit soon!

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  5. PB and Co has the best peanut butters! I love the cinnamon raisin and mighty maple the best!

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    1. Cinnamon Raisin? I didn't know! I'll have to check that out, too! Thanks!

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  6. That walnut sauce is so unique, I bet it would be really god over salmon

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    1. I'm not sure if it would since I do not eat fish (I'm near vegan) but if you try it - report back - I bet others who are into fish would love to know :)
      Thanks!

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  7. What a fun, easy dressing - I love the ingredients you used! And I've been impressed with Tofurky recently. I swear they didn't used to be good, but maybe they've changed recipes over the last year?

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    1. I was just chatting with my 'meat eating' husband about that last night! They are doing better! I don't really like many of their sandwich meat alternatives but some of the other items are good!

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  8. More and more flavors seem to mesh, these days and that is why we get these great recipes. Thanks for sharing with MMM.

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    1. Thanks! I would have never thought of Walnuts and Tomato Paste together to be honest with you! I strayed from the recipe idea I found in The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen Cookbook!

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  9. Very interesting, I love to try new things...Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop this week; I hope you’ll join us again!


    Cheers,
    Kathy Shea Mormino

    The Chicken Chick

    http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com

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  10. Replies
    1. Thanks! Green Tea Flan? I'll be over to check it out!

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  11. yum yum yum; looks good


    much love....

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