Roasted Sweet Potato and Wild Rice Salad with Chili Lime Vinaigrette

Well, it was that time of the week again. Time to boldly take our tastebuds where none had dared go before. In case you've missed any of my other blog posts, let me catch you up:

Our family is three people: my husband, my 23-year-old sister, and myself. My sister is gluten-free and rather picky, especially when it comes to vegetables or anything even remotely spicy. My husband and I are pescetarian (mostly vegetarian due to seafood prices steadily rising) but try to eat gluten-free as much as possible; however, my husband is extremely picky with certain flavors/foods/combinations. He's not a huge fan of tofu, hates tomatoes, cilantro, and anything too "out there." Add to that a strict food budget, ridiculous schedules that get at least two of us home by 8 o'clock every night, and desperation to show creativity in the kitchen, and you've got a pretty crazy-looking menu plan for us every week.

This week, I decided to take my life in my hands and try a Pinterest-inspired recipe of a roasted sweet potato and wild rice salad in a homemade vinaigrette dressing. Daring? Absolutely. But it sounded amazing if I could pull it off.

Ingredients

*2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes

*2 T olive oil (I always use extra virgin, first cold press)

*1/4 t ground cumin

*1/4 t chili powder

*3/4 cup uncooked wild rice

*1 carrot, peeled and grated

*Roughly 6-8 mini bell peppers, red, orange, and yellow, thinly sliced

*1/4 cup red onion, diced

*1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped (I left these out for obvious reasons)

Dressing

*1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

*2 T white wine vinegar

*2 t lime juice (about 1 fresh lime)

*1 t chili powder

*2 t honey (maple syrup will work too, if you're trying to make this vegan)

*1 clove garlic, minced

*1/4 t salt

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato in olive oil, ground cumin, and chili powder. Arrange on a cookie sheet. 

2.) Bake for 15 minutes, flip (or just stir), and continue to bake for another 10-15 minutes until a fork inserted into sweet potatoes comes out easily. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. 

3.)  Cook rice according to package directions. You should end up with roughly 2 cups of cooked rice. Allow to cool completely before assembling salad. (This is actually optional. The original recipe called for allowing it to cool, but we constructed it warm, and it was delicious!) 

4.) Combine sweet potato, wild rice, and remaining salad ingredients. 

5.) Whisk vinaigrette ingredients and toss salad thoroughly. (We served our dressing on the side to avoid it soaking in to the leftovers). 

Serves 6-8. Vegetarian, gluten-free, and perfect for picky family members! Let me know what you think! 

Spicy Kale & Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Not gonna lie: I had my doubts about this one. First off, it has kale in it. That veggie can bit a hit or miss in this household - usually a miss because I end up overcooking it and bringing out some horribly bitter side never experienced by taste buds known to man. Secondly, the dressing calls for cilantro, which my husband detests more than anything. But we all know what happens when you take an ingredient out of a recipe you've never tried before: to paraphrase "Goonies": "Bad things, Mikey, bad things!" I decided to take my life even further in my hands by cooking the kale and onion instead of adding it raw to the salad bowl as suggested in the original recipe. Lastly, my hubby is usually a little wary of recipes that are warm salads. Add to that a vegan, gluten free, oil free meal, it's gotta either be amazing or really bad. Lucky for us, this is one of our new favorites!

Spicy Kale and Black Bean Quinoa Salad

Ingredients

*1 cup quinoa, uncooked

*6 cups kale, de-stemmed

*1/2 red onion, chopped

*1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

*1 cup corn

Dressing Ingredients

*1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (I left this out, and it was perfectly fine if you also can't stand it)

*2 cloves garlic, minced

*1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)

*1/4 cup hot sauce of your choice (I used the chili garlic sauce from the Asian foods aisle)

*1/4 cup water

*1 t. maple syrup (I know! I did a double-take too! But it's the perfect amount of sweetness to cut the acidity of the limes)

*1/2 t. cumin

*Sea salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium sized pot, combine 2 cups of water with 1 cup of quinoa and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. 

In a large salad bowl, combine kale and onion. (If you'd like it cooked like I did, heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add about 1 T. of olive oil. Add kale and onion. Cook down. Add 1 clove of garlic - it won't be "oil free" any more, but we thought cooking the kale absolutely made this dish!) 

Once the quinoa is done cooking, add in the black beans and corn. Mix. 

Prepare the dressing. Serve in a bowl alongside salad so everyone can drizzle the perfect amount over their portion. Enjoy! 

Stores well in the fridge for up to 2 days. Sorry my photos aren't the best today - I'm having some photo editing software issues. Let me know what you think! 

Honey Sriracha Tofu with Rice and Sauteed Bok Choy

So, it was time to experiment with another recipe, and tofu can be kind of a hit-or-miss in this household. My husband is slightly picky about how he likes tofu prepared, so I went into this one with a bit of fear and trembling. My sister, who lives with us, is not a fan of spicy things or new recipes in general, so sriracha and bok choy were both huge steps outside of her comfort zone. Talk about pressure! However, it was a great success, and we'll definitely be making it again!

Honey Sriracha Tofu with Steamed Rice and Sauteed Bok Choy

Ingredients

*4 T olive oil (2 T for tofu & 2 T for bok choy)

*3 garlic cloves, finely chopped (1 T for tofu & 2 T for bok choy)

*1 block extra firm tofu

*2 T sriracha sauce

*1 T soy sauce

*1 1/2 T honey

*1 T rice vinegar

*Corn starch for dusting tofu (about 2 T)

*2 t sesame oil (1 t for tofu & 1 t for bok choy)

*1 T sesame seeds

*1 scallion, finely chopped (optional)

*1 large bunch bok choy

*1/2 a large sweet onion, chopped

Directions

1) Prepare 3 cups white Jasmine rice in rice cooker. Set aside. 

2) Whisk sriracha, soy sauce, honey, and rice vinegar in a bowl and set aside. 

3) Drain tofu and wrap in a paper towel to remove excess water. (I did this twice, just to make sure it was dry). 

4) Dust tofu with corn starch until all sides are coated.

5) Meanwhile, wash bok choy & cut off ends. This was my first time cooking with bok choy, so I wasn't 100% sure what to expect. It's basically like cooking with leafy celery. I cut off about 1/3 of the ends because it was really woody and chewy otherwise. Split down the middle for more even and quicker cooking. 

6) Heat olive oil in saute pan over medium heat. Saute bok choy until tender and slightly browned (about 5 minutes). Add chopped onion. Cook till translucent. Lastly, add the 2 minced garlic cloves and cook until aromatic. 

7) In a another large pan over medium heat, heat oil and garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. Add tofu and fry until all sides are slightly golden (about 5 minutes). 

8) Turn off heat, and add sesame oil and seeds. Stir to evenly coat. Top with scallions, if desired. Serve over steamed rice. 

If you're looking for a bit more protein, my husband suggested some sauteed meatless chicken (for us crazy vegetarians) in the honey sriracha sauce. Let me know how yours turns out! Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Slow cooker meals save my life in the middle of the week - between my husband's and my full-time jobs, running a jiu jitsu school part-time, being vegetarian, and having my gluten-free sister living with us, meal times can get...interesting, to say the least. So when I find something that's easy, cooks while I'm at wok all day, flavorful, vegetarian, AND gluten free? I'm in seventh heaven!

As always, I ended up forgetting that I didn't have certain spices at home when I went grocery shopping this week, so I had to...*drumroll*...IMPROVISE! That's always a scary thing for this by-the-recipe chef, but I must say, I was quite pleased with the results. Reprinted below is the recipe as I found it on (where else?) Pinterest, but I've added my notes on improvisations to the side. Dish it up & let me know what you think!

Vegetarian & Gluten-Free Slow Cooker Red Beans & Rice

Ingredients:

*2 15 oz. cans red kidney beans, drained

*1 cup finely chopped onion

*1 cup chopped green pepper

*1 cup chopped celery

*2 tsp. dried thyme

*3 cloves garlic, minced (I ended up using garlic powder because I didn't feel like chopping garlic at 6:30 a.m. - a few tsp. did the trick)

*2 1/3 cups vegetable broth 

*1 bay leaf (I omitted this - hate the things)

*1 tsp. smoked paprika

*1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (These last two were what I realized I was out of this morning - I improvised with some New Orleans Cajun spice seasoning I had in the cupboard. Basic same flavor!)

*1 cup rice 

Directions:

1) Place all ingredients except rice in the slow cooker and cook on LO for 4-5 hours.

2) Stir in rice and a pinch of salt and pepper, and increase temperature to HI for 1-2 hours or until rice is tender. 

Because the celery and pepper lose their colors while cooking, it looks pretty bland when you serve it - try spicing it up with a few sprigs of parsley and a dollop of sour cream. Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Indian Lentil Stew

So...a lot has happened since my last food blog. I can't believe it's been over a year! The biggest change my husband & I have made in our diets is we decided to go pescatarian (no chicken, pork, beef) two years ago. Needless to say, that has made new recipes...challenging. It's hard to find exciting, tasty, healthy dishes that fit the pescatarian lifestyle. However, thank the good Lord for Pinterest! It has been my saving grace, and I'm going to try and get better about sharing new dishes (and my takes on them) on this blog. So here we go!

Slow Cooker Indian Lentil Stew

Ingredients:

*3 c red lentils

*3 1/2 c crushed tomatoes

*6 c vegetable broth

*1 white onion

*2 cloves garlic

*3 Serrano chili - I used a sprinkle of red pepper flakes

*1 Tbsp. Creole seasoning

*1 Tbsp. garlic powder

*1 Tbsp. onion powder

*1/2 Tbsp. black pepper

*1/2 Tbsp. curry powder

*1/2 Tbsp. paprika

*1/2 Tbsp. chili powder

*1/2 Tbsp. garam masala powder

*1/2 Tbsp. ginger powder

*2 Tbsp. cilantro (garnish) - I actually used a sprinkle of parsley flakes as my husband absolutely detests cilantro! 

Combine all ingredients in crockpot and cook on high for 5 hours. I served with a dollop of sour cream to add a creamy texture to the dish and cut the acidity of the crushed tomatoes. It's definitely one of our new favorites! Tasty & healthy!

 

Let me know what you think!