Super vegetable-infused dinner.

It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Extreme laziness has taken precedence for a while (I see a pattern forming here between this and my last entry). Sure, I’ve cooked, but has it been anything special or worth sharing? Not really. And for that, dear readers, I apologize.

Today’s recipe is still somewhat impressive – and also lazy – but it’s something new, so why not? I was going to make “chik’n” scallopini for dinner – a recipe I’ve done before – but when I got to the grocery store, they didn’t have the chik’n cutlets I wanted. Bummer. That’s the moment to panic, try and figure out what you want, give up and get Hot Pockets and call it a night.

Ah, the American dream; meat and cheese stuffed into a bread-like container frozen for convenience. Delicious.

Snap back to reality. Don’t succumb to the temptation. You’ll regret it forever! Or at least about forty minutes after you’ve finished your last glorious bite of no-longer-hot meat and cheese stuffing, when you’re in the bathroom, praying to everything that the illness is only temporary.

I offer a substitute: pasta. Now I know pasta may not be super exciting, but this is quick, easy, and infinitely better than buying hockey pucks being sold as edible foodstuffs.

Once again, I do feel that using mock meat products is “cheating” (as is using pre-made sauce), but no one’s perfect, and I feel like I should know what’s out there, ya heard? I’ve found that of all meat substitute products, Quorn products are probably the best. They have the best texture and flavor. Don’t believe me? Try it then, fool.

Start or pair this dinner with a salad to super-boost your vegetable intake. You know you need it. PBR isn’t a vegetable.

Chik’n and Broccoli Penne Bake :: serves 8 (approximately; do you know how much food males in their early 20s can eat?!)

Dinner for one, dessert for all.

I have so much I could write about right now (like all the fabulous restaurants and breweries in Colorado, including Snooze restaurant where we ate pineapple upside down, sweet potato and cherry bourbon pancakes – regular breakfast will never compare), but instead I’ll write a post about my semi-boring dinner last night. I was going to make apple and brie paninis for some friends, but everyone was busy with prior obligations, so I decided to make something simple for myself and whip up some brownies for the crowd that showed up a little later. I didn’t take any pictures, so enjoy these stock photos I tore off the internet for your eyeballs’ pleasure.

Our journey starts with Gardein Chik’n Scallopini “chicken breasts”.

Look Ma, no meat.

Of all of the mock meat products and brands I’ve tried, I think Gardein has become my favorite. Comparatively, Gardein’s ingredient list is fairly short and most of the ingredients are good for you and they’re filled with protein and low in fat, which is relatively hard to come by in vegetarian food. I was feeling lazy, so I picked up the grocery store equivalent of this Knorr Pasta Sides Parmesan flavored pasta and some fresh asparagus to complete my meal. Turned out very well, and definitely would eat again.

To end my night on a sweet note and win over the true love of my friends, I decided to try out a recipe for S’mores Brownies I found which I disappointingly have leftovers of (oh no, now I have to eat the rest, agh, oh no, how terrible). I did tweak it a bit to make it gelatin free (sans marshmallows), but the recipe still works…deliciously.

Next time you find yourself with a night to yourself, crank up some of your favorite music, turn on the oven and make yourself a simple meal and easy dessert to enjoy (and leave the dishes for your friends to wash as payment for some of the best brownies they’ve ever had). I promise if you make these brownies, you will go from forever alone to everyone’s best friend.

Vegetables. I need more of them.

Today, my food intake has consisted of a chocolate-frosted donut, too much cheese pizza, sugar in various forms (from a cake pop to “indulgent granola bites” to an Asian pear for dessert), and luckily, a homemade dinner of noodles and meatballs. Well, “meat”balls, if you will.

Around 1 P.M., my roommate and I were enjoying our post-church cheese pizza and a drink at the coffee shop and I was looking around for new recipes while trying to find  to make something for dinner (yes, I think about my next meal sometimes, even when I’m currently eating one). Luckily, I found this recipe for veggie-friendly Greek meatballs . I got pretty excited; they sound pretty tasty, and the comments on the “meatballs” not staying together aside, I looked forward working with seitan, because that’s one mock meat I’ve yet to really lay my hands on. I have a terrible habit of finding something I like to eat or that is easy to make, or when the universe smiles on me, both, and just make that over and over again. Or not cook at all and just eat a random mishmash of stuff that happens to be hanging around and call it a meal: a handful of olives, a handful of pistachios/almonds/whatever, a cup of yogurt, you get the idea. As you can imagine, this gets pretty boring.

So, I get all starry-eyed over the prospect of trying out something new. Skip forward to about an hour later, we’re about to head out to the craft store and the grocery store. I remember it’s Sunday and that means that almost nothing is open. I don’t know what it’s like on the west coast or the midwest or in New England, but here in the Bible belt – this includes the northern parts of Florida – most everything is closed on Sunday. Which is fine by me; I want everyone to have a day of rest and relaxation. But for some reason, my inspiration always seems to strike me on Sunday. Or, my urge to grab a craft six pack, then I remember alcohol sales are prohibited here on this magical day. I call the one organic/natural food store we have in town to see if they might have seitan. The phone rings. And rings. And rings. I use my phone to check their website. Zero hours listed for Sunday.

Can’t you even put up a disclaimer, like “bugger off, we’re spending time with our loved ones this day”?

After mourning the swift but temporary recipe death, I realize I’m going to have to figure something else out. We head to the grocery store, armed with promotional papers and on the hunt for BOGO items. I don’t usually buy stuff that’s on sale, because most of the time, it’s really crappy stuff. Or stuff that I love, but if I buy two of them, I’ll probably have a heart attack, so I have to use self restraint (two family sized bags of Doritos? In different flavors? WHY NOT? Cooler Ranch is the flavor of the people). Roomie spots a spaghetti sauce BOGO on a brand I’ve never heard of. I check it out, look at the ingredients, and decide to go for it. It was pretty tasty.

Bonjour.

Let’s get right into it, shall we? This is my first “real” blog, as it were. I’m going to set you up not for disappointment, but reality: not every post here is going to be gold. But I’d appreciate it if you stick around anyway.

The first thing you should probably know is that I’m vegetarian. I just passed the six year mark in September. I don’t say this because I want some kind of gold medal, but just so people might understand where I’m coming from with certain posts or choice words or phrases I might use. I’m vegetarian for a mixture of reasons – part animal rights and ethics, part nutrition (this is not to say an omnivore diet is unhealthy), part I just never was a good omnivore. Meat grosses me out. I prefer to face the reality that I just can’t deal with a cute wittle bunny wabbit or cud-chewing, half-ton cow – no matter how stupid some people say it may be – ending up on my dinner plate. It’s like imagining the family dog (or in my case, cat) as on that plate. And well, that just breaks my heart.

That being said, it seems hypocritical for me to eat fake meat, doesn’t it? Well, I never said I was perfect. So here we go.