Category: School

Veggie Tacos

2 Comments

Let me start off by saying that these Veggie Tacos are the thebomb.com. I for one am a huge taco lover, so this delicious combination of peppers, zucchini, and lentils is right up my alley. Theses tacos take about a half hour to whip up, assuming you’re using pre-cooked lentils. For this recipe, I used canned lentils, because they’re ready to use and have a texture that lends itself well to tacos. Add in some zucchini, peppers and Mexican spices, and top it off with some guacamole and Mango Salsa, and you’ve got yourself a killer meal.

Veggie Tacos

Serves: l4-6

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 a red onion, diced
  • 1 tbs olive oil
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 bell pepper (any colour) diced
  • 1 medium sized zucchini, chopped into half inch cubes
  • 1 can of lentils, drained and rinsed, or about 2 cups cooked green lentils
  • 1/2 tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tbs paprika
  • 1/2 tbs Chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
  • 1/2 tbs oregano
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add in the onion and garlic and cook until the onion is translucent, about 3-4 minutes.
  2. Add in the zucchini, bell peppers, and lentils and stir. Next, measure out the spices and put them in the pan as well. Mix together all of the ingredients and let cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the veggies are soft, and any liquid has evaporated.
  3. Place the veggie mixture in a tortilla with guacamole and mango salsa. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy this delicious taco recipe! It’s great for hot summer days;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked;))

Basil Week: Tomato, Basil and Avocado Salad

Leave a comment

Hello:) I think that basil is my favourite herb out of the ones that I’ve posted about- the smell of it when you pick it off the plant is just amazing! This salad really showcases fresh basil, along with plump Roma tomatoes and perfectly ripe avocados. The simple balsamic dressing ties everything together. For this recipe, you’ll need to Chiffonade your basil, which basically means to cut it into thin strips. I’ll show you how to do this before giving you the recipe to this tasty salad. Enjoy!

How to Chiffonade

You can use this technique on any other flat leafed vegetable that you want to cut into strips. To chiffonade your basil, lay the leaves on top of each other, then roll them lengthwise.

Proceed to cut the rolled basil the opposite way that you rolled it. Does that make sense? When you unravel the leaves they should be cut into long strips that look like this:

There you go! Use this technique to chop the basil for your salad;)

Tomato, Basil, and Avocado Salad

Serves: 1-2

Total Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 Roma tomatoes cut into eighths
  • 1 ripe avocado, cut into small chunks
  • 10-12 leaves of basil, chiffonaded (I just made up that word)

For the dressing:

  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tbs balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Toss all of the ingredients for the salad and dressing together in a bowl, and season to taste.

Super simple, but also very fresh tasting and delicious;))) Hope you like it! I’ll see you later this week for the last post of Basil Week, and of Herb Month!

 

Yours Truly,

 

MyDayIsBooked

Cilantro Week: Mexican Beans and Quinoa

Leave a comment

Hey there! For the last post of cilantro week, I have a recipe for Mexican Beans and Quinoa. It’s a great way to use up cooked quinoa that you have in your fridge, and makes an awesome side dish. The cilantro and lime work super well together, and some Mexican spices kick it up a notch. The final product actually turned out kind of creamy in texture, which is nice. I hope you enjoy!

Mexican Beans and Quinoa

Serves: 2-3

Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

    1 cup cooked quinoa
    1/2 cup water
    1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
    1 tsp cumin
    1/2 tsp Chili Powder
    1/2 tsp paprika
    Salt and pepper to taste
    1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
    Juice of 1/2 a lime

Directions:

  1. Combine the beans, quinoa, water, cumin, paprika and Chili powder in a pot.
  2. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, and cook for about 5-7 minutes. The water should be absorbed by this point.
  3. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper.
  4. Enjoy!

I can’t wait to get into next week’s basil recipes! See you then;)

Yours Truly,

MyDayIsBooked

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

2 Comments

‘Sup everyone? School has started, and making lunches is a struggle once more. Fun times! In keeping with this theme, my next few posts will be simple lunch recipes that can easily be made and frozen so that you can defrost them during busy mornings. Today we’re making Black Bean Quinoa Burgers, which are delicious, easy, and freezable; important qualities for our purposes. You can whip up a big batch and have burgers for days while your friends glare at you enviously. Sounds great, right? Well, you have to make them first. Let’s do this.

Black Bean Quinoa Burgers

Makes 5-6 burgers

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • About 3 cups fresh spinach that has been wilted (not 3 cup of wilted spinach), or 1/4 cup frozen corn, or both, or none
  • 2 tsp cumin
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp chile powder
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder (add more or less to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Couple cracks o’ pepper;))

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F
  2. Pat the black beans dry and dump them into a medium sized bowl. Mash them with a fork (or with your hands) until you can form a bit of a ball with them, but there’s still some whole beans in there.img_9397
  3. Add all the spices, quinoa, wilted spinach or corn if using and mix with your hands until combined.img_9398
  4. Scoop 1/3 cup of the mixture at a time and form it into patties; they should look something like this:img_9400
  5. Bake for 10 minutes, then flip and bake for about another 25 minutes.
  6. Cool completely before eating or freezing. Freeze the burgers laying flat in a sealed freezer bag.

I love eating these between two pieces of sprouted grain bread with some sliced pickles, tomatoes, spinach, and a little bit of pesto, bet heck, they’d be great in a bun or a wrap with veggies and tzatziki. MMMMMMM! Hopefully these burgers help you out in a pinch, or just give you something great to munch on. Stay tuned for more freezable school lunch recipes coming soon!

Yours truly, MyDayIsBooked;))

Balsamic Roasted Veggie and Quinoa Salad

5 Comments

‘Sup people! One of my favourite things to do is come up with new recipes; I just love being creative and experimenting with different ingredients. Today my experiments paid off, because this salad turned out great! Chickpeas, sweet potato and cauliflower are the main components, with a few fresh cucumbers in there as well. I’m usually not a huge fan of balsamic vinegar, but together with rosemary, quinoa and roasted veggies, it’s waaaay better. Plus, there’s no greens in this salad, which is a nice change! I kept my salad vegetarian, but you could totally add some grilled chicken on top to make it a heartier meal. Here’s the recipe for my Balsamic Roasted Veggie and Quinoa Salad:

Ingredients:

Makes 4 servings

For the Roasted Veggies:

  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1/4 cup cauliflower florets, washed
  • 1 tbsp avocado or olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • A bit of pepper
  • 1/2 tbsp rosemary leaves

For the Quinoa:

  • 1 cup quinoa, cooked
  • 1 cup cucumber, diced
  • 2 sprigs of green onion, chopped

For the Vinaigrette:

  • 1/4 cup avocado or olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp Salt

Directions:

  1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
  2. Mix all of the roasted veggie ingredients in a large bowl, until the veggies are covered in oil and vinegar.
  3. Spread out the veggies on a sheet pan covered with parchment and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are soft.
  4. While the veggies are baking, cook the quinoa and cut up the onion and cucumber. Mix it all in the bowl the you want to serve the salad in.
  5. Prepare the vinaigrette, mixing the oil and vinegar until combined.
  6. Once the veggies are ready, mix them in with the quinoa mixture. Pour in the vinaigrette and toss the salad.
  7. Enjoy!!

 

I hope that you like this quick recipe. the sweet potato and balsamic work really well together, and the fresh cucumber sort of brightens everything up. Thanks for checking out this post, and stay tuned for a crafty tutorial coming soon!!

Yours Truly, MyDayIsBooked;))