Cheesy Twice Baked Potatoes with Black Beans & Olives

Have you ever bought a bag of potatoes, but couldn’t think of anything to do with them? Of course not! You can do practically anything with potatoes! Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew (sorry, I couldn’t resist). They can be initially time consuming, but if you bake them in advance, you can quickly make roasted potatoes, homemade French fries, potato salad, and now these delicious twice baked potatoes. You’re welcome.

I got the idea for these from a cheesy bread recipe my mom used to make when I was a kid. She would scoop out the inside of a long piece of French bread, mix it with cheddar cheese, red onions, olives, and mayonnaise, then put it back in and bake it until bubbly and delicious. It was always the first thing to go at any party, and I thought it would be easy to adapt to twice baked potatoes. I was planning to make them ahead of time for dinner tomorrow, but we ended up eating most of them tonight. I think that means they’re blog worthy!

Peppers Stuffed with Couscous & Veggie Sausage

Lately it seems like I’ve had zero energy when I get home. I feel all kinds of motivated on my drive home, thinking about all the cleaning, cooking, and general productiveness I’m going to accomplish; but the second I kick off my shoes and put on my comfy clothes, all of that is pretty much out the lounge-loving, internet-surfing window. But today I found the solution…caffeine! Ha ha

I’ve been excited to make these peppers for a while now, so I took advantage of my sudden burst of energy and decided to finally give it a try. I used flavored couscous and Italian veggie sausages to make it easy, and even used baking time to do the dishes AND a load of laundry. That means I don’t have to be productive for the rest of the week, right?

By the way, I apologize for the bad pictures – I was hungry and impatient!

Sweet Roasted Acorn Squash

This recipe started as most of them do, with meanderings in the grocery store. As usual, I was in the produce section picking out my week's larder, sorting through yams and gathering up potatoes, when my eyes wandered to the plump little acorn squashes nearby. I was intrigued by their shape, so without thinking much about what I would do with it, I nestled one in my basket and continued with my shopping.

A few days later when I realized that I actually had to cook the thing, I started looking for recipes online. I started out thinking I would make a savory dish, possibly stuffing it with rice and fresh herbs, but I started seeing all kinds of recipes that called for butter and sugar instead - it didn't take me long to jump on that train and pull out of the station! And, despite my husband's skepticism once it came out of the oven, it was delicious! I can't wait to make this one again.

Baked Asparagus with Sea Salt and Lime

If you're anything like me, then you probably have some fall back side dishes that don't really taste that great but never get an upgrade because they're quick and easy and comfortable. Asparagus has been one of those side dishes for me - I always prepared it in one of two ways: steamed, or baked with lemon slices...adventurous, I know.

As you may have guessed, I recently upgraded my lowly side dish and wanted to share. Purely by improvisation I used lime juice instead of lemon slices one night when I forgot to pick up lemons at the store (see, being forgetful can have its good points!). And bingo-bango: I had a yummy new side dish! Honestly, I really can't believe what a big difference this small change made.

Red Pepper Quinoa and Chipotle "Sausage" Stuffed Yams

Nothing says fall like the vibrant orange and earthy goodness of my favorite root vegetable. Yams, with their rough and tumble outside and surprisingly sweet inside, are the one thing I always have to have after the long summer months are over. Even though they’re available all year round, they just don’t taste the same to me unless the air is a little cooler, the breeze a little stronger, and the leaves a little yellower.

I like to use yams in many different ways; they really are a versatile vegetable, pairing well with both sweet and savory dishes. I like to bake them, roast them, add them to stews and casseroles; sometimes I’ll even throw leftover yams into a nice autumn salad. This time I decided to bake them and stuff them with roasted red pepper quinoa and Mexican chipotle veggie sausages. I let flavored ingredients do most of the work for me, so this one is super easy!

Vegetarian Cornbread Stuffing

Okay, it’s official – I have a serious problem with procrastination! I thought I learned my lesson after all of October went by and not a single thing pumpkiny, chocolaty, spooky, or even the slightest bit orange came out of my kitchen! I swore to myself, November will be different, Thanksgiving will not go unnoticed! Well, here we are on the eve of the big day, and I have only one recipe to share. I guess that’s why I’m the scattered cook and not the perfectly organized and on top of things cook,

Moving on! I’ve been rather anxious about Thanksgiving this year, since it’s my first year braving the turkey carcass filled day as a vegetarian. It may be a delicious, melt in your mouth turkey carcass, but carcass all the same! And don’t get me started on the gravy…I love gravy.

Okay, so maybe I'm throwing myself a little pity party here, but I really can’t feel too sorry for myself. Although there will be a turkey on the table (since I'm not the one cooking), all the other dishes will be completely veg friendly. This is due to the fact that my amazing mom, who will be cooking this Thanksgiving meal for the most part, is wonderfully supportive and has offered to adapt her classics for me (no one messes with the bird, though). She’s even making vegetarian gravy!  Have I mentioned that my mom is an incredible cook???!!!! (yes, it warrants 3 question marks and 4 exclamation points)

That brings me to this lovely recipe (I nearly got off topic, there!), which is a vegetarian version of my mother’s famous cornbread stuffing. Feel free to gorge yourself until you feel like a stuffed turkey :)

Roasted Herbed Vegetables with Red Wine Sauce and Toasted Garlic Bread

Last night I really wanted to have a date night at home. I love getting dressed up and going out to eat, but sometimes it’s nice to put the extra money into a nice home cooked meal, turn on some music, and relax instead. Needless to say, I wanted to make something a little more special than the average weeknight.

I immediately thought about our first trip together to New Orleans and recalled this amazing French bistro we tried on our first night in the vibrant city. I ordered coq au vin (obviously pre-vegetarian days), which I had never had before, and I simply cannot remember what Dustin ordered…probably because I was too busy focusing on my yummy meal! I wanted to make something reminiscent of that dish, only without the meat. It seemed a difficult challenge!

In the end I decided to brown some potatoes in a little oil and butter (you can’t have a French dish without butter!) and then threw them into a pot with loads of mushrooms, a couple of carrots, pearl onions, garlic, lots of herbs, and a beautiful wine sauce. I served it over toasted sourdough French bread, and it turned out perfect! I think I will definitely make this again, only next time I will use a full cup of wine, and will remember to put candles on the table – ooh la la! (Cheesy, I know!)

Hodgepodge Pot Pie with Biscuits

What a crazy week this has been so far! Mostly due to the fact that I’ve waited until the last minute to make an overly elaborate costume for Halloween (as usual), but also because it seems like a million other things have come up. As to be expected, when it came time to make dinner tonight I realized that I never made it to the store. I stood in front of my recipe graveyard, aka the fridge, and wondered what on Earth I could make.

I noticed the biscuits first, which gave me the idea for a pot pie. I knew I had potatoes, onions, and veggie broth, so I scrounged around to see what else I could find. I found a bag of rotting carrots in a forgotten corner of my crisper drawer – gross – so those were out, but I did have yams, so I picked those up. Next I found some leftover cream I had from the corn chowder I made a few days ago, and the peas popped out at me as soon as I opened the freezer. I picked up some dried thyme, salt and pepper, and a little bit of flour, and I was good to go!

Not only was this recipe delicious, but I was able to use a lot of ingredients that otherwise would have gone bad, which is always a plus!

Strawberry Hootenanny

A few days ago, whilst perusing Pinterest, I came across an interesting breakfast recipe called “hootenanny,” aka oven pancakes. First of all, the recipe looked easy as pie – 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 6 eggs, 1/4 tsp salt: blend and bake (how simple is that?). Secondly, it looked delectable with the way it bubbled up and browned around the edges; I could almost taste it! And lastly, but certainly not leastly, it’s called hootenanny…hootenanny!! How could I not give it a try? 

Of course, I couldn’t leave well enough alone, so I added yummy strawberries on top before baking, which made a very delicious addition (plus, look how pretty!). I might make a couple more changes next time, but overall I liked how the recipe turned out. Very yummy!

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Green Chile Sauce

If you know me, then you know I LOVE Mexican food. When I became a vegetarian it was one of
the things I had the hardest time adapting to. All of the wonderful, yummy Mexican meals I liked before contained mass quantities of delicious meat, and trying to make them vegetarian just wasn't the same. 

One of my favorite dishes, pre-vegetarian, was my mom's chicken enchilada recipe, which was absolutely amazing. She used chicken, chipotle peppers, black beans, olives, jack cheese, and green chile sauce. I was really craving some of these delicious enchiladas recently, so I decided to recreate my own meat free version, and see how it compared. To my surprise, I think I like the vegetarian version better! I was really happy with the result, and to top it off, I decided to make my own roasted green chile sauce from scratch. The best part? This recipe made enough for two dinners and two lunches, meaning I didn’t have to cook tonight!