Easy Curried Lentils & Spaghetti Squash

Things have been so hectic lately… my 4 month old has been up most of the past 5 or so nights and I’m so tired! He’s usually such a great sleeper, these sleep hiccups are tough but I know they usually don’t last long so I’m hopeful. My cooking slacks when I’m super tired so I’ve been making a few of my favorite easy dishes, this is one of them. My toddler likes this a lot and its easy for her to get on her fork so that makes her happy!

Easy Curried Lentils & Spaghetti Squash

This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day and it’s really good… not to mention easy to make!

Spicy Lentils and Spaghetti Squash
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder – I used Kashmiri Curry powder from World Spice Merchant
  • 1 onion, diced
  • ½ poblano pepper (or green pepper), diced
  • Heaping ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • Crushed red pepper flakes to taste – (I omitted this in the main dish so my toddler would eat it)
  • 1 large carrot, diced
  • 5 big cloves garlic
  • 2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
  • Tony’s creole seasoning to taste – I used my creole seasoning from World Spice Merchant
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup salsa 
  • 2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (I used the boil method – drop whole squash into boiling water and cook for 20-30 minutes or until skin is easily pierced with a fork)
  • 1 cup cooked lentils
  • Juice of 1 lemon – used a Meyer lemon from my CSA 
  • ½ cup cilantro
  • Siracha to taste
  1. Saute the spices, onion, garlic, ginger, veggies and creole seasoning for several minutes.
  2. Add water, salsa, squash and lentils.
  3. Cover and cook over medium hi heat for 15 minutes
  4. Finish with juice of 1 lemon, siracha, cilantro and season with salt/pepper to taste
  5. ENJOY! serves 2

Saute onion, garlic, ginger, veggies and creole seasoning

Add water, salsa, squash and lentils

I served it with roasted sweet potatoes, delish!

AMAZING BBQ Tempeh, Broccoli & Goaty Cheeze Pizza

Dinner was AMAZING tonight, a leftover extravaganza!! I emptied the fridge and put this together using some of my leftovers for the week, you may recognize a few!

Ingredients:

* Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “Crusts”

* 2-3 Tbsp Kale Butter

* 1 1/2 cup frozen broccoli florets, cooked

* 4-6 slices BBQ Tempeh, mashed with sauce

* Goaty Cashew Cheeze, to top pizza (about 1/2 cup)

* 5-6 cloves of garlic (or 3-4 Tbsp jarred chopped garlic… I like a lot!)

* Fresh or frozen basil (I take fresh basil, add it with a tiny bit of olive oil in the food processor and blend until smooth. Then I freeze it flat in a plastic bag and break off chunks when I need fresh basil for a recipe)

Directions:

* First, I made a new batch of Chickpea Flatbread using my new Creole Spice Mix from World Spice Merchant (instead of Creole Seasoning called for in the original recipe). My spice order arrived today so I was looking for a way to test it out!

* Fresh spices make such a huge difference! Here’s my Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “Crust” (Recipe from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day)

Chickpea Flatbread/Pizza

* Then, I mashed up my leftover BBQ Tempeh and heated it…

BBQ Tempeh Leftovers - Mashed

* Next I spread my leftover Kale Butter onto my new Chickpea Flatbread Pizza “crust”…

* Then I steamed 1 1/2 cups frozen broccoli in the microwave…

* Saute garlic in pan – I used jarred garlic and sautéed it with the liquid from the jar. I like my garlic brown…

* Top pizza in this order or the order you wish – kale butter, bbq tempeh, broccoli, Goaty Cashew Cheese (dollop it evenly onto pizza using a small melon baller or whatever works for you), basil and sautéed garlic. SO FANTASTIC!!!

Just one more pic…

Chickpea Flatbread (Gluten-Free)

These are really healthy, easy to make, delicious and can be used in many ways. The batter can be made into flatbread for pizza, wraps or a thick soft tostada type base (minus the fried crunch)… almost anything, really! I’ve also toasted them under the broiler with garlic and cilantro and served them with soup. They are made with chickpea flour which makes them low-fat, high in protein, many vitamins and minerals as well as dietary fiber. Chickpea flour is also called besan, garbanzo bean flour or gram flour.

I made a thicker batch of these last night and used them as tostadas topped with leftover TVP Taco filling, smothered in the most delicious Chipotle Dressing/Sauce ever! I know, you’ve seen a lot of this mixture but it makes excellent leftovers!

I use this Organic Chickpea Flour  – You can buy it on Amazon.com for a great price! (2 – 35oz packages for $14.62/Free Shipping)

This recipe is from Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day, one of my favorite sites!!

Chickpea Flatbread

1 c Chickpea Flour
1 C Water – (I’ve found that I get a thicker “dough” if I use 1 cup so I use that amount to make the soft tostada style. I add more water for the flatbread/wrap size)
1/2 t Garlic Powder
2 T Nutritional Yeast
1/2 t Tony’s Cajun Seasoning – (I’ve used this and other spice combinations and they always turn out great!)

This is my favorite seasoning to use – Susie Q’s Santa Maria Style Seasoning – I add a bit more than 1/2 tsp to make it a little stronger.

Method:
Heat a 12 inch non stick skillet over medium heat and brush with oil
Whisk the ingredients in a mixing bowl until most of the lumps are gone. Ladle into skillet. Leave it alone for 3-4 minutes or until the sides start to pull away from the pan. Flip and cook for another minute
Yield: 3 Flatbread

My Soft Tostada Style

Ready for toppings!

Larger size

Chipotle Hummus

I love chipotle chili powder! I like to sprinkle it on my popcorn with wheat germ and a little salt. Anytime I see a recipe with chipotle in it I have to try it. This Chipotle Hummus is from one of my favorite vegan food blogs Melomeals: Vegan For $3.33 A Day. She has really delicious recipes and she teaches you how to eat healthy for really cheap by making a few base sauces and using them for other recipes. I pressure cooked a pound of chickpeas (cost me about $1.50) and I used half of them to make this delicious hummus.

My husband loves this hummus! He puts it on sandwiches, tacos and eats it with chips or crackers. I like it with jicama and lime juice or pita chips.

I used a batch of this hummus to make Cheezy Chipotle Broccoli Quinoa Soup (also from Melomeals) which turned out to be an absolutely delicious soup! Tastes like a cheesy broccoli soup with a little chipotle kick! My husband had two bowls and asked if I would save the leftovers for him!

Chipotle Hummus

  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 1 t Tony’s creole seasoning
  • ¼ t cumin
  • ¼ t coriander
  • 2 c HOT chickpeas (reserve ½ c cooking liquid)
  • 1-2 canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
  • 4 T tahini or peanut butter (I used tahini)
  • 2-4 T chickpea cooking liquid as needed or Olive Oil if you aren’t watching  your calories
  • Juice of 2 limes ( around 3 T )
  • ¼ c chopped cilantro (optional)
  • Salt/pepper to taste

Method:

* I blended all the ingredients at once in my VitaMix blender and it turned out great!

* If you don’t have a VitaMix, here’s her food processor instructions:

  1. Pulse garlic and tony’s in food processor until garlic paste is formed
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree until totally smooth
  3. Taste and adjust seasoning. Add more lime juice if needed.