Red Lentil Chili with Quinoa and Sweet Potatoes

This was inspired by a Forks over Knives recipe, but I made it my own.  I know I post a lot about sweet potatoes on here, but in reality I'm not a super huge fan of them.  If I do make them, they have to be a savory dish and not featured to actually be "sweet."

This time, I wanted to add sweet potatoes to the chili, but decided to roast them separately with some red bell pepper.

Anyway, this is what I did for the whole meal:

Ingredients
1 cup split red lentils
2 cups vegan chicken broth
3.5 cups water
1/4 onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 teaspoon each of the following spices:  cayenne, smoked paprika, chipotle chili powder, chili powder, cumin, black pepper, salt

For the side dishes
1 sweet potato, roasted
1 cup red quinoa, cooked according to package

Directions
In a medium soup pot, cook the onion, red bell pepper, carrots, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil for about five minutes.  Add the spices and stir well.  Add the dry lentils, stir well before adding the broth and water.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, roast the sweet potatoes and make the quinoa.

When ready to serve, you can add the potato and quinoa right into the chili or eat them all separately.  I added them to the chili and it was delicious!  Not too spicy, but very flavorful.

Mashed Yams

I've never really considered myself a yam person before.  I actually do like yams and sweet potatoes, but when it comes to making something for dinner, it never occurs to me to incorporate them.  However,  since The Husband has been on his Paleo diet for the past several weeks, we have found yams to be a bit more prevalent in our diet.  They're actually pretty good, and not just for Thanksgiving anymore!

For tonight's dinner I made the mashed yams following a recipe from Chloe's Kitchen cookbook.  For sides, I made a cabbage salad and heated up a package of frozen Quinoa from Trader Joe's. 

Everything went together so well!  It was the perfect dinner for the start of fall!  By the way, aside from the mashed yams, I have never seen Will scarf down cabbage as fast as he did with this meal.  So I'll start with that.  It's something I just made up.

Cabbage Salad
1/4 head of green cabbage, chopped
2 tablespoons roasted red pepper, chopped
1-2 tablespoons pepperoncini's, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 lime, freshly squeezed
salt and pepper to taste

Mix the above all together. 

Coconut Mashed Yams with Currants (recipe from Chloe's Kitchen)
3 large garnet or other yams, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 cup canned coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
1/3 cup maple syrup or packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup currants, soaked in warm water for 10-15 minutes and drained (I used cranberries instead)

Place yams in a large pot and cover with cold water.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Cook until fork tender, 15-20 minutes.  Drain and return to pot.

Add coconut milk, maple syrup, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger, and mash with a potato masher until smooth.  Adjust seasoning to taste.  Add more coconut milk for a creamier texture and more maple syrup for a sweeter flavor.  Mix in currants and serve.

Quinoa for Dinner

I just threw this together last minute and it turned out to be pretty amazing.

Quinoa
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1/4 cup fresh carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cup frozen vegetables: edamame, corn, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, red pepper

Spicy Sauce
1 tablespoon Braggs liquid aminos
1 tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/2 tablespoon Chili-Garlic sauce
1/2 freshly squeezed lime
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

Cook everything according to packages, except the carrots, and then mix all together with the spicy sauce (to taste.) 

It was perfect as a main dish to go with my salad.  I'll be having leftovers for lunch tomorrow, thank you. 

Black Bean and Quinoa Veggie Burgers

I had no idea what to make for dinner until I opened the pantry and saw a package of tricolor Quinoa from Trader Joes. 

I just happened to see a recipe on the back of the package for black bean and quinoa veggie burgers and that is what turned into dinner.  I made them into sliders and topped with pickles, tomatoes, lettuce and avocado.  Don't forget vegenaise and mustard!  Also, we had tater-tots on the side, just because...

Here's the recipe from the back of the package, but -- Warning:  This recipe isn't vegan.  It calls for an egg.  And I used one.   Oops.

6 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 cup red bell peppers, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large shallot, diced small (I used about 1/4 cup white onion, diced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves ( Skipped this because didn't have)
1 can black beans, drained (Used dry beans, cooked, 1 cup)
2 cups quinoa, cooked according to package
1 egg, beaten
2 cups bread crumbs (didn't end up using, see below)
TJ's Everyday Seasoning, to taste
salt and pepper, to taste


Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add red peppers and saute until slightly soft, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and shallot and continue to saute until soft.  Remove from heat, cool for a few minutes and combine with beans and cilantro; add to food processor and pulse until chunky.  Blend mixture with quinoa, salt and pepper.  Taste; adjust seasoning if needed.  Add a beaten egg and mix well.


Divide into 7 or 8 patties and refrigerate for about 10 minutes.  Season bread crumbs with Everyday Seasoning; salt and pepper to taste.  Dredge patties in bread crumbs.  (Okay, I tried this, and they just crumbled to pieces when I tried to put them in the bread crumbs.  Skipped.)  Fry in remaining olive oil until browned.  About 3 minutes on each side.


These were pretty good, but even with the egg to hold it together they were really crumbly and fell apart easily.  I just don't get it!  How do people make veggie burgers from scratch?  Especially vegan ones, because those have NEVER turned out for me. 

Citrus Soy Quinoa Salad

 

This is a salad I invented for my book club potluck!  It is quite delicious and nutritious!

Citrus Soy Quinoa Salad

Quinoa:
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1/2 lime zest

Dressing:
1 tsp lemon juice
Juice from 1 freshly squeezed lime
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 garlic clove crushed

Salad:
1 carrot slivers
half cucumber cubed
five shitake mushrooms, cut and steamed
1/2 cup peas
1/2 cup edamame

Mix everything together.

Share and enjoy!