Category: Fall Recipes

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

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I haven’t had lentils in a looooooong time, mainly because I usually reach for chickpeas or other beans. Lentils take a little bit longer to cook, so that’s probably why. I guess I could buy the canned variety, but they’re just not the same. Yesterday I was kind of craving them, which is something I thought I’d never say. Honestly though, I wanted a good lentil salad where the lentils still had a bit of bite and there was a good freaking dressing! So I got in the kitchen because when I’m craving something, I get to work.

We didn’t have a lot of veg in our fridge, but we had everything you need for a good lentil salad. Quinoa, red onion, parsley, hummus, balsamic, olive oil, and of course, lentils. Yes, I included hummus in the dressing. Hummus makes EVERYTHING better, and in this case it adds flavour and some volume to the dressing. The parsley and red onion add some great colour to this salad. Oh, and I used red quinoa, which is fun! As far as I can tell it tastes the same as regular quinoa, it just has a nice colour. Try it out!

The lentils only took about 25 minutes to get tender. I took them off as soon as they were soft, because I didn’t want them to get too mushy. Then I mixed them up with the quinoa, parsley, onion, and that awesome hummus and balsamic dressing! So simple and so yum and so fresh. On the side of my salad I had some more hummus (duh) and sweet potato, which went really well. If you want your salad a bit heartier you could try tossing the sweet potato right in there.

Hope you enjoy this light salad that’s perfect for a quick lunch or side dish!!

Lentil and Quinoa Salad

Serves: 2 as a main, 4 as a side dish

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa
  • 1/2 cup dry green lentils
  • 1/4 of a red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1 tbsp hummus
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Give your lentils a little rinse, then toss them in a small pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down a bit and let the lentils simmer for about 25-30 minutes, until they’re tender but still have some bite, and most of the water has been absorbed.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together the hummus, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and some salt and pepper.
  3. Toss together the quinoa, cooked lentils, parsley, and red onion with the dressing. Serve with more hummus, and some roasted sweet potatoes.
  4. Enjoy!

This is one of my favourite simple salads to make, and I’ll definitely be making it again sometime soon. See ya later!

Yours Truly,

Olivia:))

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

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Although I’ve kind of been obsessed with smoothie bowls lately, I took a little oatmeal break and BOY WAS I IMPRESSED. I kind of forgot how good oatmeal was! Then the next day I came up with this Carrot Cake Oatmeal and it’s on another level. It’s sweet and warm and full of cinnamon and a ton of other good stuff. Perfect for a rainy day! Or any day, really.

Carrot cake is amazing (I need to come up with a recipe for this blog), and I would enjoy it in any form. But I’d have to say that eating it as oatmeal is probably second only to actual carrot cake. I used banana for some sweetness, carrots for carrotyness (duh) and some vanilla and cinnamon for that warm, spiced flavour. A good carrot cake also has raisins in it. I REALLY hope you like raisins because they’re awesome. In this oatmeal I used chopped dates, which are possibly even better than raisins. But you can use a handful of raisins if you ain’t got no dates lying around.

Enough talk about raisins. Lets discuss how freaking easy these oats are to make! Just shave some carrot, mash some banana, chop some dates and voila! You’ve got an awesome breakfast that is filling and can be topped just the way you want it, like a HARVEY’S for oatmeal. I topped mine with banana, some more cinnamon (I got the really big thing of cinnamon from Costco so I won’t be running out of that anytime soon), and some peanut butter, because what’s the point of breakfast without peanut butter? I think I’m going to spread some peanut butter on the next piece of carrot cake I have because it is a great combo. Go ahead and make these oats already so you can slap some pb on there!

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

Serves: 1

Total Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup quick cooking steel cut oats (or rolled oats or quick oats; just adjust the cooking time accordingly)
  • 1/4 cup shredded carrot
  • 1/2 a ripe banana (I like to save the other half for topping)
  • 1 large medjool date, chopped (or a handful of raisins)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Peanut butter and more cinnamon for topping:)

Directions:

  1. Mash the banana in a small pot. Add in the carrot, oats, chopped date, vanilla, cinnamon, and water and stir until combined.
  2. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring the oatmeal to a boil. Then turn the heat to low and cook until your desired thickness is reached (I cook my quick cooking steel cut oats for 5-7 minutes. Read your oat package for more oat guidance)
  3. Scoop the oats into a bowl and top with the other half of the banana, some peanut butter, more cinnamon, or anything else your heart desires! Proceed to eat and enjoy;))

Hope you try out this DELICIOUS breakfast sometime! Have a great rest of the week and I will see you Friday!

Yours Truly,

Olivia

Stuffed Pepper Stew

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Hey there! Hope you’re all doing well;)) I find that cooking is a great way to stay busy, so I’ve been trying to at least plan out new recipes every day. I wanted to make stuffed peppers, because they’re so comforting and delicious. But it turns out that I only had one big pepper, and two mini ones. Here’s where some quarantine problem solving comes in! This Stuffed Pepper Stew combines all of the flavours of a stuffed pepper, but in stew form. It’s so good and uses super simple ingredients! It actually might be better than a stuffed pepper, because it reminds me of an amazing Hungarian pepper dish that my Mom and Grandma make. Plus, there’s lots of protein in there from lentils. I also used some soy sauce to boost the savoury flavour, which is a trick I learned from The Stingy Vegan. All the veggies get simmered in a delicious broth that’s loaded with herbs and spices, and it’ll make your house smell really good;)) This stew is also one of those things that tastes better the next day, because all of the flavours sit together overnight. Check out the recipe down below;))

Stuffed Pepper Stew

Serves: 4

Total Time: 90 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, diced
  • 2 bell peppers, any colour, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 sprig of oregano, finely chopped (or 1/2 tbsp dried oregano)
  • 1/2 tbsp basil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/4 tsp allspice
  • 1/2 cup green lentils
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp of tomato paste
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add in the onion and cook until translucent, about 6 minutes.
  2. Add in the peppers and garlic, and cook for another six minutes until the peppers are soft.
  3. Dump the diced tomatoes, spices, soy sauce, herbs, and lentils into the pot and stir until combined. Bring the mixture to a boil, then turn the heat to low and simmer for about an hour, until the lentils have cooked through.
  4. Once the lentils are cooked, stir through the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Enjoy with rice, quinoa, some bread, or by itself!

Keep cooking and creating!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked

Baked Apples

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I’ve been craving a lot of sweet stuff recently, probably because of Easter, but I don’t feel like eating something heavy. If you’re in the same boat, then these apples are about to change your life! They’re rubbed with spices and then baked until soft and sweet, making them the perfect light snack or dessert. Also, I love how simple they are. You won’t need to run out to the grocery store for these babies! If you have a little nice cream or yogurt on hand, then that’s a bonus because it would pair well with a steaming hot apple right from the oven…. did you hear that? It sounded like angels were singing from heaven as I described these apples. I don’t blame them. Here’s the recipe!

Baked Apples

Serves: 4 (but lets be honest here; you’re going to want at least 2 halves so the legit number of servings is 2)

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 apples (I used gala but I think any kind would work)
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
  2. Cut the apples in half, remove the stems, and use a spoon to remove the cores. Put aside.
  3. Mix together the spices and coconut oil in a small bowl. Rub the 4 apple halves with the mixture until they’re evenly coated.
  4. Place the apples skin down in a glass baking dish, and bake for 15 minutes.
  5. Once 15 minutes have passed, raise the oven’ s temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit, and continue baking for another 15 minutes.
  6. Remove the apples from the oven and serve with hot with nice cream or greek yogurt;))

Enjoy these apples!

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;)))

Butternut Squash Hummus

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This first week of staying at home has been alright, although I’m finding it a bit harder than I thought to stay disciplined and be productive. However, I haven’t gotten very antsy yet, so that’s good. Hummus is a great “I’m trapped at home snack” because you can eat it with pretty much everything- veggies, pretzels, rice cakes, bowls, sandwiches, etc- and it’s something to make when you’re bored😂😂 This hummus uses frozen butternut squash, which I defrosted. I’m really into this frozen stuff because you can just throw it in a pot with some water and it’s done in like 5 minutes, whereas cooking it from scratch would take waaay longer. I also used two cloves of garlic because I love my garlic, but you can use one if you’d prefer. The people who you’re hanging out with at home all day will thank you for your less garlicky breath if you just use one. But I mean, if you really need to enforce social distancing, go ahead and use two. Either way, make this hummus right now because it hits the spot!!

Butternut Squash Hummus

Serves: 4

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 tbsp cumin
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen butternut squash
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Add the butternut squash with a cup of water into a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 5 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside.
  2. Blend all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor until you are left with a smooth, delicious hummus. Enjoy!

Hope you like this recipe! Stay safe everyone;))

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))