I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL for the past few days.  I’ve been exhausted and had ZERO writing bug.  Every time I thought about writing, I was like Nah!

So today I’m back with the writing.

On Thursday, I shared with you my favorite meat substitutes.  Today I’m going to share one of the ways I use the meat substitute.

One of our favorite meals is sloppy Joes.  So instead of eating Sloppy Joes with ground beef, I make mine with the meat substitute.

What you need:

• 1 batch of the meat substitute
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 bell pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 sm. can of tomato paste (6 oz)
• 1 sm. can of tomato sauce (8 oz)
• yellow mustard
• apple cider vinegar
• brown sugar
• chili powder
• salt and pepper

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

While I was sick with my gallstones last year,  I had one food that did not bother my stomach.  Okay, it did bother me if it was greasy but if it was cooked with no oil or grease, I had little to no problems.

Potatoes were my friend during those 4 months.  I would spiralize potatoes and then cook up like hash browns on the stove.

That is until I started to cook the home fries in my oven.  We love a roasted potato in the household so this made things so much easier.

Hubby might debate if these potatoes are better than the ones we get at a local breakfast place called Butter Cafe.  He adores their home fries.

What you need:

• 2 red potatoes or 4 to 5 baby red potatoes
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 red onion
• olive oil
• garlic powder or your favorite seasoning

I enjoy using the onion salt from Trader Joes on my potatoes.

We love to use sriracha ketchup from Red Gold on our fries and roasted potatoes.

This recipe is not only vegetarian but also vegan. Score!

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

I’m teaching my students how to write narratives so I’ve been doing a lot of model writing for them.  A good narrative has a hook that gets the reader to want to read your story.  This is a skill that I struggle with when I’m writing my blog posts.

However it is important for a writer to have a hook so you can get the reader wanting to read what you have written.

Just like a writer needs to have a hook, sometimes you need a beef taco.  Since I’m a vegetarian, I don’t have the typical beef taco.

I’ve tried TVP which is textured vegetable protein but it usually turns into a brown soupy mess.  Yuck!  Not appetizing.

Then I tried the Beefless Ground Beef along with their soy chorizo.  It’s just the right texture.

“Beef” tacos get into my belly.

What you need:

• a third of a package of Trader Joe’s “beefless” ground beef
• a third of a package of Trader Joe’s soy chorizo
• a third of a jar of Trader Joe’s enchilada sauce

This recipe is vegan before you add your toppings.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

In August, I finally got to meet some family members I had never met  before.  They live on the west coast, Oregon, and don’t get to Ohio very often.

My mom’s first cousin, their mother, lives in the Phoenix area.  She comes into town more often than her children.  She was planning to visit the family and decided her children should also come to Ohio.

Since they came into town, one of my mom’s first cousins decided we needed to have a family get together with a potluck dinner.

My aunt flew into town from New York.  That was an adventure in itself. (Needless to say her maybe 4 hour trip took almost 12 hours because of plane delays and missed connections).

Any who, on the same day as the family get together, our church had their annual picnic.  I needed to make something that could be served at both the picnic and the get together.  That’s when I decided to make this Greek pasta salad.  It’s quick and easy to put together.

This recipe can either prepped for the week or eaten as a side dish.  If you decide to prep it for the week, add the dressing right before you eat the pasta salad so it does not get soggy.

The dressing I used for this recipe was the Greek Feta cheese dressing from Trader Joe’s.  However, you can use whatever Greek dressing you desire.

What you’ll need:

• box of farfelle pasta (bow tie pasta) – Actually, you can use any shape like penne but I just like the shape of the bow ties.
• Jar of artichokes
• Kalamata Olives
• Bell Pepper (orange, red, or yellow)
• Feta Cheese
• Sundried Tomatoes
• Greek dressing
  

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Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci

When you buy Greek yogurt with fruit on the bottom, the price ranges from around $0.70 at Aldi’s to almost $2.00.

It’s easy to make your own.  Making your own is also economical.

I purchase my frozen fruit and Greek yogurt at Aldi’s for about $5.  You can make about 6 to 7 fruit on the bottom yogurt cups.

My favorite is the berry blend. I top my yogurt cups with granola when I’m ready to eat the yogurt.

What you need:

• 16 oz. frozen fruit
• maple syrup
• cornstarch
• water
• Greek yogurt, regular yogurt, non dairy yogurt (flavored or unflavored)
• granola
• Mason jars or small lidded container
• honey

Use the yogurt cups within a week. Enjoy with granola.

Happy vegetarian eating,
Traci