Image credit: fromrosieskitchen.wordpress.com

Who doesn’t love the Crock-Pot? I put it right up there with the wheel as one of the greatest inventions ever. This one requires a little more work than just throwing everything in the pot and leaving it for a few hours, but make it on one of your days off and you’ll have enough left over to freeze.  Read more…

Please welcome today’s guest poster, Sara.

Hi there!  I’m a food blogger over at From Blah to Ta-Daa, and a virtual pal of Allie’s. When she invited me to guest post for Meatless Mondays, this recipe was the first to pop into my head. I’ve had it sitting in my recipe box for two years now, but every time I considered making it, I got shied away by the oddball list of ingredients. Sweet potatoes with yellow mustard? And soy sauce? And taco spices? Ummmmm … Maybe next time. But I finally bucked up to make this and see what all the 5-star fuss was about.

And, honestly, I kinda love it. The flavor combo is unexpected and different, but I love the sweet potato and black bean filling. Who knew that sweet potatoes would be fantastic in burritos? Adding cheese is definitely a must (it adds a melty and creamy texture that makes these burritos really tasty), so if you don’t do cow cheese, I highly recommend tossing in some Daiya instead. I normally skip cheese on everything, but these were definitely more delicious with a bit melted into the filling.  Read more…

Halloween is my personal favorite holiday, so after I’ve carved myself a pretty sweet jack-o-lantern (shown above, and my carving is done with the aid of a template, not because I’ve got skillz) there’s nothing better than roasting the pumpkin seeds. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid, and since I’m a little old to go trick-or-treating anymore, this has to take the place of candy. Well, except for the candy that won’t get taken by the trick-or-treaters that come to my door. (I may or may not buy way more candy than I’ll give out every year. What? I may be an adult, but I still love my Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.)

Anyway, here are four ways to roast your seeds this year. Which will you choose?  Read more…

Before my book came out, I had a lot more time on my hands.  I enjoyed putting together elaborate meals and thought nothing of hand chopping nuts to make nutloaf for a Meatless Monday meal.

Now shopping for, making, and cleaning up after meals feels like a major time suck. I want quick recipes that employ most of the necessary food groups, don’t dirty every dish in the cupboard, and allow me to get back to writing as soon as possible.  Big heaping plates of nacho loaded up with great stuff have become my favorite go-to meal when I’m in a time crunch.

I used to make a really good layered Mexican casserole all the time.  Nachos are basically the same ingredients, but take a fraction of the time to make.

Things you might want to include:

• Cheese – I usually use cheddar, but a mix of cheddar and jack is also great. Swap in low-fat cheese if you’re looking to cut calories or, if you want to go completely vegan, try Daiya Cheese, which is dairy-free but still melts and stretches like regular cheese.
• Beans – Black beans, kidney beans and cannellini beans are my favorites.  Vegetarian refried beans are good too.
• Onions
• Jalapenos
• Olives
• TVP
• Corn
• Spinach (fresh or VERY well-drained frozen)
• Salsa (after cooking)
• Guacamole (after cooking)
• Sour cream (after cooking)
• Cilantro or shredded lettuce (after cooking)

Looking for a hearty, healthy soup that’s a snap to make and gets a whoooole lotta veggies into you? Look no further!  Read more…

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregorbug79/4396644196/

Ah, good old lasagna. I don’t know about you, but I love making lasagna when the weather turns cooler — it’s so hearty and warm and comforting. This vegetarian recipe is one of the best I’ve tried, and you can alter the veggies that go into it however you like! Read more…

Potato pizza!

Alright, so this Meatless Mondays deal is usually going to feature something that most people don’t already have in their dinnertime rotation, stuff with lentils and tofu and lots of veggies that you dedicated carnivores might not already have in your repertoire. But last night, I made some pizzas, and doggone if I didn’t notice that they were meatless.

Crazy, huh? Pizza is vegetarian! Well, it is right up until the part when you’re deciding what to top it with. You could go with pepperoni (And I’ll be honest: You can’t beat pepperoni.) Or, since you’re already on the cusp of a meatless meal anyway, skip the meat! POW! MEATLESS MONDAY!

Oh, but I’m not leaving it there. Read more…

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/muyyum/4378743612/

Back when I wouldn’t have considered it dinner unless it once exhibited free will and eyelids, I always wondered just how silly and delusional vegetarians must be to be choking down things like Tofurky and veggie dogs. I figured only a self-deluding idiot would eat a meat proxy and ignore the fact that by eating fake meat they are implicitly confirming their desire for the real thing. And why deny your body what it clearly wants?

Tofurky: For When You Want Turkey But You’re Too  Full of Hippie Self-Righteousness For the Real Thing!

It’s only now that I’ve gone mostly meatless (but willing to indulge my gustatory desires when the occasion calls for it) that I realize that vegetarianism isn’t about pretending to like all the faux-flesh products dreamed up by soy alchemists. It’s just about not eating meat. Read more…

This recipe is so easy, it’s almost embarrassing. It’s a perfect dinner to whip up after a busy day, and there are so many ways to tweak it to your liking! Read more…

I’ll share an embarrassing secret with you: When I was in elementary school, I kind of loved school food. I know. Looking back, those rectangular slices of cardboard-y pizza and cups of semi-congealed chili were probably chock-full of preservatives and sweeteners and who knows what else, but to my 8-year-old taste buds, they were delicious. Fortunately, as I grew older I developed a slightly more discerning palate, and now I think I’d rather go hungry than feast on a sloppy joe from a school cafeteria.

School food gets a bad rap, but some people are doing their best to change that. A few school districts around the country have started farm-to-school programs, in which kids are served fresh fruit and vegetables grown in local farms as part of their lunch each day. Some schools even serve local meat.  Read more…