Asian Tofu Chopped Salad

I would like to start this post off by saying, "who the heck knew that a head of cabbage has so much cabbage in it?" I usually just buy a pre-made type of Asian salad with similar flavors, which requires no chopping of cabbage, but decided recently that I wanted to try to make it myself. After making a huge salad AND a cabbage based soup (not part of this post), I still have so much left over! If you have any cool cabbage recipes, send them my way, please.

Aside from my cabbage surplus problem, this salad is now one of my favorites. I'm always looking for easy and healthy recipes that can be made ahead of time for lunches during the week, and this one is perfect. Most salads get all limp and yucky while waiting for their turn, but this one has some really hearty ingredients that make it perfect for meal prep. Simply add your favorite Asian style dressing the morning of, let marinade for a couple of hours, and you're good to go for lunchtime!

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!