PINTO BEAN BURGERS AND QUINOA, ZUCCHINI, AND CORN MEDLEY

Yesterday I Made:

SOUTHWEST PINTO BEAN BURGERS WITH CHIPOTLE VEGENAISE and QUINOA,CORN AND ZUCCHINI MEDLEY for DINNER.

I've made this awesome burger many times and even posted it here.

It's still my all time favorite homemade patty.

It's spicy and just plain delicious.

I wanted to have a side dish that was fresh and healthy.

So, I decided on a tasty quinoa salad.

This recipe is different because it calls for raw zucchini,which we've never eaten raw.

It also contains green onions, corn, cilantro pine nuts, and an added surprise, HAZELNUTS!

The salad was dressed with a light orange, lemon dressing.

ZUCCHINI-CORN TACOS, NOPALITOS-STYLE CHAYOTE SALAD AND ARROZ VERDE

Today I Made:

ZUCCHINI-CORN TACOS, NOPALITOS-STLE CHAYOTE SALAD AND ARROZ VERDE for SALAD.

All recipes from VEGETARIAN TIMES May/June 2009.

The zucchini-corn filling turned out to be THE best taco filling we've ever had (not counting the Soy-Chorizo tacos from Hugo's Tacos).

Sauteed zucchini, thinly sliced garlic cloves, corn, pinto beans, and cilantro.

Served with warm tortillas and drizzled with homemade red salsa.

The salad originally called for NOPALITOS, but was substituted with Chayote squash (pear-shaped Mexican squash).

Along with the chayote, the salad included radishes, green onions, spinach, and dressed with a lime-chile dressing.

I loved it, but my husband thought the dressing was way too sour.

Arroz Verde literally means "Green Rice."

I used brown rice instead of long-grain white rice as was called for in the original recipe.

A blend of arugula, poblano chiles, parsley, cilantro onion, garlic mixed with water turns and flavors the rice green.

The rice turned out a little more like risotto, maybe too much liquid?

But the overall flavor was out of this world.

I will be keeping this recipe in my list of favorites.

SWEET POTATO, BEAN AND WILD RICE QUESADILLAS WITH ROASTED CORN SALSA

Yesterday I Made:

SWEET POTATO, BEAN AND WILD RICE QUESADILLAS WITH ROASTED CORN SALSA for DINNER.

Recipe from THE VEGAN COOK'S BIBLE by PAT CROCKER.

Mashed sweet potato, onion, wild rice, black beans, and bananas sandwiched between 2 crispy whole wheat tortillas then topped with roasted corn salsa.

The salsa consists of a mix of roasted corn, carrots, orange bell pepper, then tossed with avocado, green onions, lemon juice, salt, and a homemade Pomegranate Molasses (reduced pomegranate juice, lemon juice, and sugar).

I was looking forward to making this dish.

Since becoming VEGAN, we stopped eating traditional quesadillas.

But, it took me a long time to realize that vegetables and beans could replace the traditional cheese filling.

This dinner was one of the best ever!!!

The quesadilla was perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside.

And the salsa added freshness, color, and sweetness.

Dinner turned out delicious and more importantly,my husband LOVED it!

LENTIL CHOWDER AND KINDA CORNY MUFFINS

Today I Made:

LENTIL CHOWDER AND KINDA CORNY MUFFINS for DINNER.

The chowder is another recipe from the Candle Cafe Cookbook.

A total of 10 ingredients went into preparing this chowder:

kabocha ( didn't have any butternut squash ), lentils, onion, tomatoes, potato, carrots, tomato, tomato paste, vegetable broth, and a few spices.

Since it requires no oil, it's super low in fat, close to being fat-free.

So hearty and simple to make.

You pour all the ingredients into a pot and cook for about an hour and a half.

Stirring once in a while or you can cook it in a slow cooker for 3 hours on high.

This recipe alone is worth owning this book.

The muffin recipe came from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan by Dreena Burton.

I have to say that this is my favorite cornbread recipe.

Especially since you bake them in cupcake liners, which makes them easier to eat.

No cutting required.

They are moist and perfectly sweetened and also easy to make.

I did end up topping the chowder with diced jalapeno for heat, which I highly recommend.