The quickest post of all to say that life is incredibly busy for me right now so likely not too many food posts showing up in the near future! This is an easy weeknight meal that is quick to prepare assuming everything is on hand. Whole wheat flour tortillas, cooked black beans (either fom scratch or from a can), cooked quinoa (optional), kale, sliced black olives, cheddar cheese, and some salsa and/or yogurt/sour cream to go on top. Wash and destem the kale. Chop the leaves into 1/2" or 1" wide ribbons and saute in a bit of canola or olive oil until the kale is cooked. Then take your tortilla and layer the kale, black beans, shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterrey jack), sliced olives and fold the tortilla in half. In a skillet on medium high heat with a bit of canola oil, place the tortilla in the pan and cook until the tortilla is crispy on one side. Flip and repeat. Serve and cut into halves or thirds. Excellent with tomato soup!
I can report on meal plans at least. For this week we'll be having:
for lunches: homemade pizza with kale, mushrooms, olives and italian salami; & a kale, sweet potato, apple salad
For dinners: green lentil curry with rice; roasted potatoes, eggs & kale; and if we need another meal, I'm going to attempt homemade veggie corndogs!
Last week we whipped up another bowl of soba noodle salad which was our lunch for the week and I made a batch of vegetarian dolmades which provided 2-3 dinners. The soba noodles salad is a great lunch dish with lots of veggies and protein, served cold, and it can last for most of the week. The one downside is you will have green onion breath so feel free to leave those out if like me, you interact with a lot of people in your job :) Also this recipe is adapted from a cookbook but I don't remember which one, apologies!
Whole-Wheat Soba Noodle Salad
Sauce:
3 Tbs peanut butter (we use Adam's natural, crunchy, no salt)
2 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
hot water as needed to thin
Salad
4 oz whole wheat soba noodles
1/2 long english cucumber, diced
1-2 large carrots, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (optional)
sliced radishes (optional)
2 Tbs cilantro, chopped (really as much as you want)
2 green onions, diced
7 oz firm or extra firm tofu, cubed
2 Tbs salted peanuts, chopped (or as much as you want)
1. Drain the tofu and press as much water out as possible. If you want to, marinate the tofu for 20-30 min. We used some teriyaki marinade we happened to have in the fridge which was great. In a skillet on medium high heat, with 1-2Tbs canola oil, saute the tofu cubes until browned/crisped on all sides. Remove from the skillet and place on a paper-towel lined plate.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the soba noodles in and cook per the package directions. Strain the noodles and run under cold water once. Then set aside in the strainer for a bit longer.
3. Whisk all the sauce ingredients EXCEPT the hot water together. Slowly whisk in hot water as needed until the sauce seems the right thickness for tossing in the salad.
4. Combine the noodles and other salad ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the sauce on and toss until well mixed.
