What I Ate (Since My Last Post) Wednesday

I have been an absent little blogger this past week. That pesky cold that I'd been battling came roaring back with a vengeance and I couldn't breathe or taste for days upon days! Then my mom & dad came for a quick weekend visit and I was just too darn busy having fun to get online. Our laptop didn't see the light of day from Thursday of last week until last night ---- that's never happened before! Dare I say it's feeling a wee bit neglected?!

When my parents come to town, they're in high demand and other than a quick coffee at home, we didn't eat in once. We were out with family and friends for every meal, which was great, but I admit that it also feels great to get back into a normal, healthy eating routine.



Here's a peek at yesterday's eats...

Breakfast
Peach-passionfruit Greek yogourt with granola.

Dunkin' Donuts Pumpkin coffee with milk. L<3VE (thank you DAD)!!!!

Lunch
Leftover roasted veggie thin crust pizza, a Honeycrisp apple and a Sparkling Ice ~ Pink Grapefruit.

Snack
Homemade crockpot applesauce. In this batch, I used Honeycrisp and Cortland apples.

Dinner
I was craving comfort food yesterday. I haven't felt like cooking since I came down with this cold, so most of my meals have been quick and random. Finally, last night I felt like putting together a real meal. We had cheese tortellini with veggies in a rose sauce and Caesar salad. It was so good!

What meal do you crave most once you get your appetite back?
What's your fave pasta sauce?

If you're looking for more meal ideas or some spook-tastic Hallowe'en treat inspiration, check out all the link love over at Peas & Crayons. 

Have a fabulous day!

Andrea

xoxo

Favourite Fall Recipe Round Up

Happy FRIDAY!!!

I know that the internet has been exploding with all things related to Fall and I've caught the bug just like everyone else. Comfort foods, fall decor, changing leaves, cool nights.....I just love it all.

Because everyone seems to have "Fall"-fever, I thought it would be fun to kick off the weekend with some of my favourite Fall recipes.

Gluten Free Banana Pancakes with Fried Apples

~ because it's the perfect time of year to pick apples & every day's a good day for pancakes ~

Zucchini Bread Slow Cooked Steel Cut Oatmeal

~ because oatmeal is the epitome of comfort food for breakfast and zucchinis have been

plentiful around these parts this summer ~

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

~ mmmm, I love Shepherd's Pie in the cooler months & this is a

great vegetarian version of a traditional favourite ~

Roasted Sweet Potato & Kale Soup

~ creamy, rich and packed full of healthy Fall veggies ~

Vegetable Stew with Whole Wheat Biscuits

~ STEW = COMFORT FOOD .... this is one of my very first recipes ~

Butternut Squash Fries

~ this is sure to become your favourite Fall side ~  

Winter Vegetable Casserole

~ packed full of Fall veggies! It will warm you from head to toe ~  

Stuffed & Baked Apples

~ a heavenly Fall combination of apples and granola ~

Okay, now I'm drooling :-) Apparently comfort food is my 'thang' because there were a lot of Fall recipes that I could have posted here, but these are some of my tried & true favourites! I've also created a Healthy Fall Recipes board and Fall Decor board on Pinterest, so feel free to check those out and follow me there for many more Fall ideas that are brewing around in this head of mine.

Do you have a favourite Fall meal? If you have a recipe, leave me the link so I can check it out and 'Pin It' to share with others.

Have a wonderful Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Andrea

xoxo

In the Mood for Comfort Food

Ah.....warm days, cool nights. That's what we've been having here in Southwestern Ontario and it's been absolute perfection.

My tastebuds and cravings have been all over the map. I can't help but stop everytime I pass a nearby veggie stand, yet my oven has definitely been on alot more this week than it has been since early Spring. 

Dare I say that I'm starting to look forward to Fall and the comfort food that comes with?! As much as I love the fresh, summer produce I think I am. Fall is my favourite time of the year and I am ready to welcome it with open arms.

As soon as I got home last night, I cut into a fresh cantalope that I'd bought. In order to use up all the produce that I buy, I'm one of those people that needs to wash and cut my fruit and veggies right away. If I leave it for another day, it often ends up spoiling before I ever get to it.

This was one of those melons that smelled of sweetness as soon as you put it up to your nose. I had a feeling it was going to be really good and I was right!! It was the best cantalope that I have ever, and I mean EVER, eaten. I chopped the entire melon up, ate a bunch right outta the bowl, made a sweet treat that I'm hoping to share with you real soon and packed up a couple of containers, so I could take some melon to work with me today and tomorrow.

After my melon, I got to work making homemade tomato soup for dinner and topped it with some shredded cheddar. Yummers!!!

After dinner, I was procratstinating so I wouldn't have to clean the bathroom in the mood for more kitchen creativity, so I decided to try a couple of recipes that I'd found online recently.

First, I made some Whole Wheat Banana Peach Muffins (recipe by Jenna at eat, live, run). These were so tasty! I loved them so much that I may have eaten three last night...no, I am not joking and there is no strikeout being used here my friends :)

I also decided to make some slow cooker oatmeal for breakfast this morning. Slow Cooker?!?! Whoa....that definitely screams Fall right?!  I  made Janetha's slow cooked apple cinnamon steel cut oats. Talk about waking up to heaven in your very own home. The smell of apples and cinnamon greeted me at the door when I got up this morning. This oatmeal might be my new all-time favourite breakfast --- it is DELICIOUS!! I bought steel cut oats at the bulk store a few months ago, but I really didn't know what to do with them. Boy, do I know now!! Go check out the recipe and check out the other links that Janetha shares in her post. I'm thinking some banana coconut oats might be in this girl's immediate future.

What is your favourite oatmeal combo?

So now I am fueled and off to work for the day. I hope you have a great one!

Andrea
xoxo

Grandma L's Famous Mac N Cheese

Ok, so I know I've been going on and on about eating healthy and getting back on track now that we've started a brand spankin' new year, but I'm going to stray a wee bit and share a family treasure that I promised you several weeks ago.

It's Grandma L.'s most fabulous mac n cheese. The epitome of comfort food in my humble opinion. It's classic, it's easy and it'll be a total hit with you and your fam ~ I promise!

The good news is that I made this over the holidays so there is no mac n cheese in the Vegvacious house at the moment (New Years goals are still in tact so far haha)....and I apologize now to any of you that rush home to make this and find yourselves in a cheese coma later tonight....however I promise you that it is totally worth it ;-)

This is one of those family recipes that isn't really a recipe. We all just 'know' how to make it and adjust it according to our taste and preference. The last time I made it, I did make a half-hearted effort to take some measurements as guidelines for you.

Grandma L's Mac N Cheese

1 package of your fave pasta
1/4 c salted butter
1/4 c all purpose flour
1 1/2 - 2 c milk (dairy milk or almond milk work)
2 c (approx.) of chopped up cheese (a sharper tasting cheese makes a more flavourful sauce, so choose your fave cheese)

Cook your pasta according to the package. Salting your pasta water is a must!

In a large microwave safe bowl melt the butter. Add the flour and mix until well blended into a roux. Add approximately 1 c of milk and whisk to blend together. Place the milk/roux mixture into the microwave and cook on high for 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, check to see if the sauce is starting to thicken. If it is (you can tell around the edges of your dish), whisk well. Continue cooking in 1 to 2 minute increments until your sauce is thickened up by quite a bit. I then add another 1/2 to 1 c of milk and continue cooking in the microwave until the sauce is a nice creamy consistency. I would guestimate that this whole process takes approximately 10 minutes in my microwave.

As soon as the sauce is to your desired consistency, add the cheese and stir. Drain your pasta and add it to your cheese sauce. Between the heat of the sauce and the heat of the cooked pasta, your cheese chunks will melt in fairly quickly.  

Give a stir, add a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and serve. You could serve this with a nice tossed salad, or if you're like me, fill up a great big bowl of this carbo-licious pasta and eat it all on it's own.

We used gouda and a medium cheddar for our sauce. Usually I just use whatever we have on hand.

My roux.

When I was little, I'd always sneak in the kitchen about this time and sneak melty cheese chunks right out of the sauce. I swear I don't er only did it once or twice or five times with this sauce :-)

Ahhhhh......heaven.

Aren't old family meals the absolute best?!

At this moment I am forcing myself to stay in my seat and not head straight for the kitchen to make myself a big, big pot :-)

Do you have any childhood food faves that you still love to eat today?

Enjoy your Thursday evening --- only one more day until we are FREE for the weekend!!

Andrea

Creamy Corn Chowder

Well here we are at Wednesday and you may notice something's missing here on my lovely little site. I decided to skip a What I Ate Wednesday post this week because I've had lots of repeat meals lately and yesterday I had a poopy ol' day and my heart and my head just weren't in the mood for putting together a post. Do you ever have those days??? It was for no particular reason ~ just a funky day.

Today however things are lookin' up and I am feeling pretty much back to normal. I have a delicious corn chowder recipe to share and I am super excited because it's vegan and Derek LOVED it!!! He claims he doesn't like "that kind" of food, but he told me over and over how good it was. SCORE 1 for me :-D

This soup was really easy to make. I made it the night before and let it simmer all day long in the slow cooker. It was SOOOOO nice to come home to an already made supper!!! 

Creamy Corn Chowder in the Slow Cooker
Serves 4

This is a delicious soup that eats like a meal! It's full of lots of hearty veggies and there is virtually no fat. We served ours with cornbread muffins. It was delicious!

1 sweet onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled & chopped
4 small yellow potatoes, chopped
2 14 oz cans of cream corn
2 c frozen or fresh corn kernels
2 c vegetable broth
1 tbsp Spicy Mrs. Dash
salt & pepper to taste
2 c original unsweetened almond milk (regular milk would work)
2 tbsp cornstarch

I prepared the soup the night before, refrigerated overnight and then transferred to my slow cooker in the morning before work, but you can make it and slow cook it right away if that works better for your schedule.

Combine the first 8 ingredients. Stir to make sure everything is well combined.

When you are ready, place the soup into the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours.

About 30 minutes before you are ready to eat, turn the crockpot to high heat. Add one cup of milk to the soup. Whisk the other cup together with the cornstarch and then add it to the soup too. Cook for approximately 20 minutes or or maybe even a little more. The soup should thicken slightly and become a creamier consistency.

Chop those veggies & add them to a bowl....

....add your corn 

...followed by your broth and spices 

At this point I covered and refrigerated overnight.

Before I went to work the next day, I transferred my soup mixture to the slow cooker.

Right before you're ready to eat, add your almond milk. 

The soup is ready to eat once it's reached  your desired consistency.

Turn on the fireplace, curl up on the couch and enjoy your soup!! (Can you tell we have no children --- we never, ever sit at a table to eat our meals! We like a more comfy cozy location in front of the fireplace and the TV)

What is your favourite type of chowder?
Do you have a slow cooker? How often do you use it and for what?

Have a great night!

Andrea

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Happy Monday! How was your weekend? The weather here was absolutely gorgeous on Sunday. I spent some time visiting with my in-laws who currently have 11 of the most adorable rottweiler puppies ever and then I headed home to satisfy my craving for some traditional comfort food.

How do you feel about Shepherd's Pie? It used to be one of my favourite things to make in the Fall and Winter, but I've been stumped on what to do since I stopped eating meat.

I used to make a pretty traditional recipe, which consisted of ground beef, veggies and mashed taters. I'm embarassed to admit that when I was younger, I even made it with instant potatoes!!! My dad would be so ashamed :-S

I've been craving it for days now and I've been racking my brain on what to use as a substitute for the meat layer. I decided to use a lentil filling with some shredded veggies and a mushroom broth and I have to tell ya it turned out pretty darn tasty!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Serves 4 - 6

This is a tasty vegetarian twist on a classic comfort food. I tried to keep it as simple and as traditional as I could. The lentil "meat" layer is packed full of protein with some added veggies in the form of shredded carrots and finely diced onion. This is delicious and really, really filling!!

• Bottom Layer

1/3 c onion, finely diced
1 large carrot, shredded
19 oz can of lentils, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 c mushroom or veggie broth
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 c water
3 tbsp barbecue sauce

Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onions and carrot and cook until softened (5 - 7 minutes). Add lentils and mushroom broth and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. In a small bowl, combine water and cornstarch and mix until cornstarch is dissolved. Pour into veggie/broth mixture and continue to cook until the broth has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. Stir in barbecue sauce.

• Middle Layer

2 - 3 c of your fave veggies (I used frozen corn, because that is what we used as a filling when I was kid - but any veggie would work)

• Top Layer

Approximately 3 c of mashed potatoes. I made some garlic mashed taters with the skins still on because those are our all-time fave!!! Simply mash together cooked yellow potatoes, roasted garlic, Earth Balance, a splash of milk and some sour cream.  HEAVEN! You could do regular mashed potatoes or go crazy and try some mashed sweet taters because they would be delicious as well!

Heat your oven to 350. Grease a medium-sized casserole dish.

To assemble your Shepherd's Pie, spread your lentil mixture in the bottom of your casserole dish followed by the veggies and finally the potatoes.

Bake for approximately 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

 Amp up the health factor in your "meat layer" by adding lentils with some finely diced or shredded veggies....you can hardly even tell there's any carrots in this .....

Start assembling your casserole.

1. "meat" layer 

  

2. fave veggies

3. ...and no Shepherd's Pie would be complete without some mashed taters!

This is so delicious...& so filling!

Definitely food for the soul that`s perfect for a chilly Fall evening!

What do you layer in your Shepherd`s Pie.
What`s your favourite activity to do in the Fall.

Enjoy the rest of your day!

Andrea

Comfort Soups for the Soul

Happy Thursday! My oh my has the weather taken a turn to chillier temperatures! I didn't even look outside this morning before I came prancing out of the house with sockless feet and sunglasses on top of my head. I was shocked to open the front door to dark gloomy skies and some seriously cool air!!!

As soon as the cold weather hits, my body starts to crave comfort food. I love thick creamy soups, casseroles baked in the oven and roasted squash and sweet potaters.

I started my blog back in January and since so many of you missed my first few months, I thought I'd give a shoutout to my favourite soup recipes in honour of the cool nights of Fall. Check out some of these fabulous recipes:

Comforting Cauliflower Soup
In my neck of the woods, fresh cauliflower is super cheap right now, so this is a great "budget" meal idea. You won't believe how creamy it is until you try it. It is truly too die for. Next time I make it, I think I'm going to add a little cheddar to mix it up!

Vegetable Stew

This was one of the first recipes I made completely from scratch that was absolutely scrumptious! I was like a proud mama bear after I made this!

It's especially delish when served with red wine and warm whole wheat biscuits!

Southwestern Veggie Soup with Corn Tortilla Strips

Perfect for those who like a little spice in their lives!

Homemade Tomato Soup

Now this is one of my more recent recipes. You all know how much I've been loving tomatoes and this soup is just one of the many recipes I have made this summer! I even have a bunch of fresh tomatoes in the freezer, so that we can enjoy this soup all winter long.

So there are just a few of my favourite comforting soup recipes. Do you have a fave recipe you'd like to share? Paste in a link to your recipe if I can find it online - I'm always looking for new & delicious recipes to try!

Have a great day.....& stay warm ;-)

Andrea

Better Than Grandma's Tomato Soup

...that's what Derek said anyways, although I'm not 100% convinced! Our grandmas are all pretty phenomenal in the kitchen and my soup is pretty darn fantastic....so maybe we should call it tie and leave it at that.

Are you getting "tomatoed" out here on on Vegvacious??? I promise that this will be my last tomato recipe....for this week anyways :-D

Derek's been asking me to make some homemade tomato soup like his grandma does. My dad used to make a wickedly delish tomato soup when we were kids too, so I had lots of inspiration for this one and I have to say it turned out amazingly well. {a little pat on the back now and then is healthy for the soul!}

Homemade Tomato Soup
Serves 4

This soup is soooo delicious! I'm planning to freeze some fresh tomatoes, so that I can whip this up on a cold winter day because it will be perfect as a warm tasty comfort food on a cold dreary day!

6 c chopped tomatoes (I left skins on)
2 c veggie broth
2 c milk (I used 1% dairy milk because that's all I had, but unsweetened original almond milk would have been my first choice if I had some)
1 tsp sugar
3 tbsp Earth Balance
sea salt & pepper to taste

Combine the tomatoes and veggie broth in a medium to large pot and place on high heat. Bring to a boil.

Reduce to medium high and add the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Remove from the stove.

Add the soup in batches to your blender. Be careful because hot soup in a blender can make the lid pop off! I use an oven mitt to hold the top of the blender on. Pulse until the soup is to your desired consistency. I pulse each batch a few times.

Serve & enjoy. We garnished ours with additional black pepper and some crushed up multigrain pita chips.

Other fab toppings would be a swirl of sour cream, some shredded cheese, croutons or slivered basil --- the options are endless!!!

Eat up, but be warned that tomato soup fresh off the stove is HOT - Warning: tongue burning on the first bite is NOT GOOD! Then you won't be able to taste the rest and that really stinks (er, not that I would know from personal experience ;-) What is it with us food bloggers burning our tongues all the time!??

Do you have a favourite family recipe that you like to re-create?

Have a fabulous day!!! It's Thursday people ~ one more day 'til the weekend woot woot!!!!
Andrea

Southwestern Veggie Soup with Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips

Howdy! So are you ready to get back into a normal routine after our fabulous 4 day weekend...or 3 day weekend if the case may be?? I love long weekends and wish they could last forever, but unfortunately I'm back to work and back to reality starting today. Even though yesterday was still part of the long weekend for me, Derek was back to work and our family dinners were done and over with, so I decided no more indulging and no more eating desserts!!

Yesterday was the start of "Operation: Kill the Cream Egg Calories"! Even though I had the day off, I still dragged my booty out of bed at 5:45 a.m. and went to an early morning spin class. I was so glad I went because it totally kicked my butt! I went the furthest (15.7 km) and burned the most calories (over 400!!!) than ever before. I had jelly legs for quite a while afterwards.

When I got home, I had tons of energy and motivation and I decided that a veggie soup would be the perfect meal for lunches this week, but I wanted to do something a little different than the usual soup filled with veggie broth and veggies. Since we love Mexican food, I decided to kick my veggie soup up a notch by adding some chili powder and cumin. In addition to all the fresh veggies, I also added some corn and black beans. It turned out great and is an absolutely perfect soup for a week that is calling for rain every. single. day.  Boo!

Southwestern Veggie Soup with Crispy Corn Tortilla Strips

Makes a large pot

This soup is filled with lots of veggies, as well as black beans and a can of corn. It's got the perfect kick with some chili powder and cumin thrown in and will warm you up on these rainy ol' days from your head to your toes.

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, chopped

4 - 5 c chopped  veggies (I used carrots, celery, brocolli, cauliflower & green beans)

3 tbsp cubanello pepper, finely diced (optional - you could use any type of hot pepper)

2 cloves garlic, minced

19 oz can black beans

12 oz can corn (fresh or frozen corn would also work)

19 oz can diced tomatoes

4 c vegetable broth

2 c water

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

black pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Add the rest of the veggies and cook for 5 minutes or until softened.

Add the rest of the soup ingredients and mix well. Increase heat to high. Bring your soup to a boil and then reduce heat again to medium.

Be careful of the steam! This is about the point when I burned my wrist when I took the lid off my pot.

Let your soup simmer for 20 - 30 minutes.

Remove the soup from your stove and ladle into bowls.

I topped mine with crispy corn tortilla strips. All you do is follow my baked nachos recipe, but instead of cutting the corn tortillas into wedges, you cut them into strips.

This soup would also be amazing topped with sour cream, green onions and cheddar cheese. That will definitely be Derek's version!!

I think this soup is just perfect for my mission. I have a shopping trip with the girls in two weeks, so I need to be in tip top shape, so I can get some new clothes for the warmer weather that I'm sure is just around the corner. No more chocolate, no more cream eggs and no more SUGAR!! I'm going to be fueling up on lots of savoury dishes filled with veggies, beans and whole grains and my mornings are going to be filled with lots and lots of green smoothies!!

Did you over-indulge in cream eggs and all things sweet this weekend? What is your plan for getting back on track?

What is your favourite meal on gray rainy days?

I hope you are rested and relaxed and all revved up to get this short week started. Have a great day!

Andrea