Pasta with Mushrooms

Pasta with Mushrooms

8 oz pasta of choice

Olive oil

One onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 oz sliced mushrooms

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. small black olives, cut in half

Boil pasta as per package instructions.

While pasta is boiling, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until softened. Add mushrooms and cook 2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and cook until heated thru.

Add to cooked and drained pasta. Serve. Enjoy!

Spinach Salad

We all need to get more greens in, right? This is a tasty way to do it.

Spinach Salad

1/2 lb. fresh spinach

1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts

One tomato, cut into small pieces

1/4 red onion, cut into small pieces

Dressing:

2 T rice vinegar

1 T soy sauce

6 T oil (I used olive, but peanut would be good, too)

1/4 t cayenne

1/4 t salt

Add all salad ingredients to a large bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients well, pour over salad, and mix to coat everything well. Serve. Enjoy!

Low Fat Sausage Stew

One package vegan sausage of choice (we used Beyond Meat)

One can sauerkraut (I like Bavarian style)

2-3 Granny Smith apples, cored, peeled, and sliced

One onion, sliced into rings

2-3# red potatoes, quartered

3 c. vegetable broth

Caraway seeds

In a crockpot, layer the potatoes, sauerkraut, apples, and onion. Pour in vegetable broth, and sprinkle with caraway seeds. Cook on High for 4 hours.

While cooking, cook your sausage in your preferred method. We bake ours, because it gives the outer part a nice crispness. When done and cool enough to touch, cut into coins and set aside.

When the vegetables are done, scoop a serving into a bowl and top with sausage, stir to mix.

Enjoy!

I served it with chewy ciabatta bread. This could be made in a Dutch oven and simmered until potatoes are tender.

Pinterest from Valerie's Kitchen/Around the World in Cookbooks from The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook

Hubby decided to make tacos for us, and so I offered to make beans and rice to accompany them. I am a total fan girl of Instant Pot products, so I used both my Instant Pot and my IP Zest Rice Cooker.  These are the delicious results.

The beans came from Valerie's Kitchen. These are Mexican Pinto Beans made in the Instant Pot. A little on the spicy side, so be aware, but so delicious! Total hit with my spicy food loving family.

The rice is from the cookbook The Ultimate Rice Cooker Cookbook. This is the Mexican Green Rice recipe. It is not specifically for the IP Zest Rice Cooker, but the recipes are easily enough adapted. My oldest thought it was a little bland, my youngest loved it. I personally liked it a lot. Simple ingredients. One button.

I originally bought this for my daughter because she had a rice maker and LOVES rice. I liked it so much, I bought my own copy.

Around the World in Cookbooks from Cookin' Up a Storm

I have been a fan of the Sea Shepherd for a very long time. I initially got this cookbook from the library, and totally fell in love with it. When I spotted it at a bookstore, and it was the last copy they had, I snatched it right up! Recently I finally cracked it open and tried a few of the recipes.

You can get this book at either Amazon or directly from the Sea Shepherd websites. It is totally worth it!

This is the Sauteed Shiitake Mushrooms and Kale and Old Salt (and Pepper) Tofu. Absolutely delicious!

This is the Taste of the Sea Spaghetti. I liked it, but the sauce did not stretch very far. Next time I will either cut down on the amount of spaghetti or double the sauce.

Around the world in cookbooks

Years ago, a friend of mine would share posts from a friend of hers where she'd cook from the different cookbooks she owned, and post pictures. I thought this was such a cool idea, so I'm going to feature some on my blog. And since I often search for and pin recipes on Pinterest, I'm going to share some of those recipes with corresponding links. I hope you enjoy!

Spanish Style Vegetable Casserole

One can never get enough vegetables. Rather than go with the standard fare, try different ways of serving them. Here's one example!

Spanish Style Vegetable Casserole

One onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
One tomato, chopped
One green bell pepper, chopped
One large potato, diced
1/2 t. paprika
1/4 t. cayenne
1 c. brown rice
2 c. vegetable broth
2 carrots, chopped
1 zucchini, chopped
2 c. frozen green peas

Saute the onion and garlic in water until beginning to soften. Add the tomato and bell pepper and saute until the onion is softened. Add potato, paprika, and cayenne and saute briefly to get everything mixed well. Add the rice, broth, carrot, zucchini, and peas. Bring to a boil, reduce, cover and simmer for about 30 - 45 minutes, or until the vegetables and rice are done. Serve. Enjoy!