vegetarian recipes

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Harvest Grains Mac and Cheese and Peas

January 20, 2015 in Food, recipe by traveleatlove | 5 comments

It’s only a few weeks in, but I feel like we have made some big changes in the New Year, including cutting out weekday wine and cooking at home more often. It’s hard. We love food and wine and to go out around Boston and we have well-stocked wine fridge. It’s a constant temptation to stay in line, but I want to be back in shape and feeling more vibrant, so it’s a worthy cause.

We all know that healthier eating can be absolutely delicious. Case in point, this “Mac” and cheese I made last week with Trader Joe’s Harvest Grains, peas. a yummy cheese sauce, and a Ritz Chips topping. No butter involved.

 

shredded cheddar

The success of this healthier mac and cheese like dish comes from sharp cheddar, which comes with lots of flavor. As a result I only used a cup of the shredded cheese. A mix of Kerrygold cheeses would have been great as well.

frozen sweet peas

A veggie component also helped to add to the nutritional value of this dinner. I love sweet peas, and frozen peas are both delicious and a great value.

Harvest Grains Blend   Third, I replaced traditional macaroni with a Harvest Grains Blend, which includes Israeli couscous (one of my favorites), along with lentils and quinoa.

harvest grains blend

Since I wanted a true baked macaroni and cheese feel, I used toasted Ritz Chips, which are lighter than the crackers but super crunchy and yummy and browned up without the addition of butter. But oh how I wanted to melt some butter over the top. . .

Ritz Chips mac and cheese topping

healthy "mac" and cheese healthy mac and cheese

I am pretty much the worst when it comes to actual recipes, but I can tell you I cooked the Harvest Grains according to package directions, in chicken stock. I made about two cups of the grains.

Separately, I mixed in two cups of skim milk with a cup of shredded cheddar and some garlic and truffle oil and simmered until it thickened a little. I mixed the grains and the cheese sauce, added the peas and topped with cracker crumbs and baked at 350 for about 10 minutes. This dish was super easy and SO delicious. We had leftovers for lunch the next day and wished we had more.

It can be a fun challenge to make yummy, healthy dishes for every day, and we are getting back in the swing of things as we go along.

Have you been making an effort to be more healthy in 2015?

Tags: comfort food, cooking at home, Food, macaroni and cheese, recipes, Vegetarian, vegetarian recipes, winter recipes

Cranberry, Quinoa, and Butternut Squash Salad

October 24, 2013 in Food by traveleatlove | 5 comments

If you are looking for a wicked easy Thanksgiving side dish, or even just a healthy, seasonal vegetarian lunch. then this little mix of dried cranberries, quinoa, and butternut squash is for you. In an effort to be slightly healthier and order less takeaway (We are failing.), I have been trying to put together a handful of simple ingredients to make dinners that turn into lunch leftovers.

dried cranberries

This very simple dish starts with quinoa, cooked according to the package instructions, while chunks of butternut squash are roasting in the oven.

maple syrup

The dressing is a mix of apple cider, a tiny bit of maple syrup, olive oil,  and hot paprika. It sounds a little weird, but it reminds me of this harvest salad I made many moons ago. For this quinoa recipe, I made just enough dressing so that the quinoa wasn’t dry and there was some nice flavor. I mix everything to taste; it’s the only way to get a recipe just perfect for you!

butternut squash, quinoa, cranberries

Once the quinoa and butternut squash are done, mix in the dried cranberries and dressing. Mixing the cranberries into a warm quinoa softens and plumps them up a bit, making for a nice texture. The final step for this salad, once it’s at room temperature, is to crumble in some goat or feta cheese, depending on your preference. There you have yourself a delicious and nutritious side dish, lunch or light dinner.

butternut squash, quinoa, cranberries

I know it’s not very exciting, and definitely not an exact science, but it’s meals like this that I create on the fly that keep me from giving up on cooking entirely when I would much rather call for a pizza.

What are some of your favorite on-the-fly easy meals?

Tags: butternut squash, recipe, side dish, Thanksgiving, Vegetarian, vegetarian recipes

Wine in a Box Wednesday

May 19, 2010 in Uncategorized by traveleatlove | 9 comments

Oh yes. On our last trip to Bin Ends we just happened to taste some wine, and one of those wines happened to come from a box, and we kinda sorta liked it.

Wine in a Box Garganega Pinot Grigio  

Here’s a little info I found about this wine (source)

Cantina di Soave, which has been producing premium wines since 1898, incorporates 110 years of winemaking experience with cutting-edge viticultural techniques. “As the wine market continues to evolve, we recognized that the fastest growing category was missing its crown jewel—the world’s first Italian box wine,” said Enore Ceola, Managing Director of MW Imports, importer of Duca del Frassino (a Division of Mionetto USA, Inc.). “These wines represent our mission— to showcase premium Italian wine from the Venezie that over-delivers on quality, taste and appeals to today’s discerning wine consumer.”

Duca del Frassino Garganega/Pinot Grigio Tasting Notes

Duca del Frassino Garganega/Pinot Grigio, light straw in color, offers hints of white flowers on the nose followed by crisp, well-balanced flavors of stone fruits. This luscious, fruit-forward wine is a perfect aperitif, but also pairs well with seafood and light pastas. Garganega [gahr-gah-NEH-gah] is the dominant grape in Soave, the region’s signature white wine.

For $16 for 3 liters, this wine is a steal and an excellent summer barbeque option. It truly does have a lovely floral nose with some apple-y notes and a hint of peach. I think it would go really well with barbequed grilled chicken and salads, and it would be a great, inexpensive option. I am not sure exactly where I am in the boxed vs. bottled debate, and I am certain I won’t be drinking ALL of my wine out of a box, but it was fun to be able to try this. The BEST part about the Bin Ends experience for sure!

I normally try to spend some time pairing up our food and wine, but last night I just wanted to throw something quick and healthy together for dinner, regardless of its pairing with wine. I don’t know about you, but I have had an AWFUL allergy week, and all day yesterday I felt like I was half asleep. A rainy cold day did NOT help.

So I whipped up one of my favorite combos of flavors, a mixed bean coconut curry with some Trader Joe’s frozen edamame.

Trader Joe's edamame

The sauce contained a can of coconut milk, a big bunch of chopped cilantro, a bit of grated ginger, lemongrass paste, and curry powder. I added a dried bean mix, which had been soaked for a few hours and was also from Trader Joe’s.

Coconut Curry Sauce

I let the mixture simmer for about an hour, then added some pineapple for sweetness. On the side, we had our first corn on the cob of the summer, topped with Kerrygold butter, of course.

Corn on the Cob

Corn Cobs

It was yummy and filling,and although I was really tempted to just order some pizza based on how I felt, I am glad I pulled this together. Real food is easy, and it almost always feels better. Almost 🙂

What do you do when you REALLY don’t feel like cooking?

 

New England residents, don’t forget to check out my Olivia’s Organics giveaway!

Tags: box wine, corn, Garganega, healthy recipes, Pinot Grigio, Summer wine, vegetarian recipes, wine, wine and food

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