Spicy Slow Cooker Almond Tempeh

Spicy Slow Cooker Almond Tempeh

It's been a fast-paced start to the school year and this has meant a lot of quick and easy meals. It has also meant a lot of dining out. However, a friend of mine mentioned she was making a tempeh dish in peanut sauce this weekend and it got me dreaming of a dish I made last year and never got to blog! 

I am participating in Eating Rules October Unprocessed challenge and so I am trying to make meals that don't require a lot of kitchen prep. Taking the ideas of the dish that was never blogged, amending it to be peanut-free so I could take it to work (I teach at a peanut-free campus), and modifying it to include veggies I could buy pre-prepped... and you get something fabulous!

Spicy Slow Cooker Almond Tempeh

Serves 8

Ingredients

3/4 cup Almond Butter

2 8-oz packages of 3-grain tempeh (or your favorite tempeh)

10-oz shredded carrots

8-oz sliced crimini mushrooms

10-oz peeled, cubed butternut squash

2 red bell peppers chopped into medium pieces

Pacific Natural Foods Vegetarian Pho Soup Starter

2 tbsp diced ginger

1 tsp cayenne pepper powder (more if you want really spicy, less if you can't handle heat)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp seasoning salt

1 tsp black pepper

Instructions

Mix everything together in the slow cooker. Cook on low 8-10 hours. The dish will go from liquidy to more liquidy, and will then start to thicken.

Serve over quinoa or rice.

Nutritional Information

Each serving is approximately one cup however it will vary on how long you let the liquid cook down. This is a large portion when paired with a grain, so I am also including nutritional information for a half the serving as well.

1/8 recipe -- 330 calories, 29 carbs, 18 fat, 17 protein, 9 fiber

1/16 recipe -- 165 calories, 14.5 carbs, 9 fat, 8.5 protein, 4.5 fiber

Vegan Chili with Avocado

Vegan Chili with Avocado

Since moving downtown and kicking up the work hours, I have been finding myself spending less and less time in my gorgeous kitchen. Which is completely obvious by the lack of posts the last couple of months, right?

As the school year comes to a close and the realization that I am about to spend my summer living in dormitories hits me, I am racing back to my kitchen to kick it into high gear. However, I still don't have a ton of time during the weekdays. Thus, I am trying to prepare meals that can be reheated throughout the week. This one was a winner so I had to share.

Vegan Chili with (optional) Avocado - Serves 8

Ingredients
1 block of extra firm organic tofu packed in water (14-ounce package)
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 small red onions, chopped
2 lb frozen broccoli
5 cloves of garlic, diced
1 15-ounce can of no-salt added pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can of no-salt added black beans, drained and rinsed
1 15-ounce can of no-salt added kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 4-ounce can of chopped chilies
2.5 cups frozen sweet corn kernels
2 large zucchini, diced

Instructions
1. Freeze the tofu. Defrost it fully. Squeeze all excess water and crumble.

2. Lay bag of frozen broccoli out on table. Beat to death with a meat cleaver. Feel better about life and get lots of broccoli crumbs in the process. I guess you could also just defrost and dice it but that's not what I did. My method was both tasty and therapuetic ;o)

3. Heat large stockpot over medium-high heat and brown tofu with chili powder and cumin for several minutes.

4. Add onions and cook for several more minutes.

5. Add remaining ingredients. Stir well. Bring temperature down to a simmer. Cover and let cook for 2.5 to 3 hours.

I mashed up an avocado and spooned some of it on top for a creamy element. Nutritional Information does not include avocado because I'll be honest... I can't measure that goodness!

Nutritional Information for 1/8 of recipe: 296 calories, 2.9g fat, 47g carbs, 14.5g fiber, 17.5g protein
Nutritional Information for full recipe: 2364 calories, 23g fat, 378g carb, 116g fiber, 17.5g protein

Slow-Cooked Adzuki Beans with Butternut Squash

I will be the first to admit I had no idea how to spell Azuki (Adzuki?) and I have only ever had these beans in sweet Asian desserts. So when I tasted a stew over Spring Break that incorporated these small red beans, I knew I had to play with them at home. I bought some dry beans from the bulk section of Whole Foods and decided to play around with a couple of preparations. This stew is easy to make and lets the real flavors of the ingredient shine however some people may find it too tame or bland if you are used to heavily spiced foods. You can play around with the seasonings as desired and maybe even switch up the squash with another varietal or vegetable!

Adzuki Beans with Squash and Wakame
1 cup dry beans
1 or 2 four-inch pieces of dried wakame seaweed
1 lb cubed butternut squash
1 tsp ancho chili powder
1 tsp soy sauce

Soak beans and wakame overnight in slow-cooker vessel. Drain liquid. Pour fresh water until it is barely covering the beans and seaweed. Cook on low for 4 hours. Add squash and seasonings and continue cooking on low for 4 more hours. Enjoy!

One-fourth of the mixture is approximately 150 calories, 0 grams of fat, 30 grams of carbs, 6 grams of fiber, and 8 grams of protein

CSA Box: Squash, Turnips, Okra, Tomatoes, Corn, and more!

Produce picked fresh the day you pick it up from the farm. Who could imagine something better that delicious goodies you can see being grown and prepare that evening in your home! Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been growing in popularity around the country. A CSA is when a local farm offers up limited "shares" of the harvest for sale to community members. I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to purchase a half-share at Full Circle Farms in Sunnyvale, Calif. After picking up my first week of produce, I posed a question to Twitter to see if anyone would be interested in how I am using my CSA box each week. You asked, and I delivered. This was my box for the week of October 11th.

This delivery included:

• Silver Queen Corn
• Red Russian Kale
• Oils of Paicines Organic Olive Oil Sample
• Yellow Borettana Onions
• Sage
• Mixed Peppers: Poblano, Hot Wax, Dried Cayenne
• Slicer Tomato
• Cherry Tomatoes
• Hakurei Turnips
• Sweet Dumpling Squash
• Okra

I knew I would be traveling for part of the week at a debate tournament. Which meant that I both wanted to ensure I used the produce before traveling but also wanted to bring some of these goodies with me on the plane.

Corn: I did a quick partial steam on the corn to set the milk. Once it cooled, I used the OXO Good Grips Corn Peeler I scored from IFBC, to shuck the kernels. I then dehydrated them and bagged them for use later this winter. Snuck a couple bites for a snack and it was sweet and country. Can't wait to throw them into a dish or just munch on them one afternoon!

Kale: This one was easy. Kale chips!

Olive Oil & Sage: I washed and left the sage leaves to dry between paper towels. I then sliced the sage leaves into ribbons and added it to the oil to infused. I should have sage oil soon!

Onions: Sliced thin, I added these to a homemade miso soup.

Mixed Peppers: Sliced and dried to spice up future recipes!

Slicer Tomato: Sliced and ate fresh by itself. Fresh local tomatoes are amazing!

Cherry Tomatoes: These were cut in half and tossed into the dehydrator. After drying, I had snacks for the plane.

Turnips: These were sliced super thin, tossed in a drizzle of organic canola oil and some sea salt and chili powder. Dried to make turnip chips for traveling.

Squash: Sliced and drizzled with coconut oil. Roasted. Yum.

Okra: Spicy Okra Fries to enjoy on my trip to the airport.

Hopefully this gave you some ideas! I look forward to sharing the bounty and how it is used each week. However, I would love your ideas. How would you have used the goodies in this week's CSA box?

Simple Ratatouille Recipe aka "Rat-tat-tat-too-eeee!"

This vegan dish with a complicated sounding name (unless you have seen the Disney movie) is a hearty entrée perfect to make on a Sunday and enjoy all week. You can change up the proportions of vegetables to your liking and adjust spices as well. While I used fresh herbs, if they aren't in season you can easily use dried herbs in their place, although the amounts may need to be adjusted. I developed this recipe as part of the round three Project Food Blog challenge of pairing wines at a six-course vegan dinner party.

To modify this for the HMR Healthy Solutions Diet, omit oil, use 6 ounces of vegetable broth and two tablespoons of vinegar in place of wine.

1 1-lb eggplant, skinned and diced
2 tsp salt
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, peeled and diced
1 tsp black pepper
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb yellow onion, diced
 2 bell peppers, any color, diced (I used four small peppers but they are hard to find sometimes)
1 1/4 lb zucchini, diced
6 oz dry white wine of your choice

Spread eggplant in a single layer on paper towels and sprinkle with salt. After twenty minutes, press eggplant with fresh towels to remove liquid that the salt has brought out. Do not rinse.

In a deep pot, cook tomatoes, garlic, ground pepper, basil, and parsley on medium heat.

In a skillet, cook onion and bell peppers in olive oil for ten minutes on medium-high heat. When the vegetables have started to brown, add mixture to pot with tomatoes. Add eggplant and zucchini to tomato mixture as well and stir to combine all ingredients.

Cover the pot and cook on medium-low for 45 minutes. Add wine and cook for an additional 15 minutes.

I served the ratatouille with a brown rice couscous I found at Whole Foods. This filling dish made a tasting portion for 10 with tons of leftovers and could easily make 8 entrée portions. Nutritional information does not include couscous. One serving has 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat, 5.75 grams of fiber, 3 grams of protein.

Vegan Zucchini Walnut Muffins

Zucchini Walnut Muffin

***Before you read about these moist, delicious, healthy muffins -- Project Food Blog Challenge Two is open for voting! Please take a minute to vote for Uncovering Food. Voting closes September 30 at 5pm PST***

Whenever I go to Starbucks (which is more often than most), I long for the baked pastries in the glass cases to pair with my iced soy latte. But alas, I know how bad those baked goodie are for me, which is why I was happy to find a recipe for Zucchini bread in Breaking the Food Seduction that I modified into portable breakfasts, snacks and desserts. These muffins are sweet without being loaded with processed sugars and now is a perfect time to make them and take the October: Unprocessed pledge at Eating Rules. You will read more about this from me over the coming month, but I encourage you to join the movement to eat only unprocessed foods in October. You can find out more by clicking the image below.

Zucchini Walnut Muffins
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (approximately one large squash)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup all-natural concentrated apple juice, thawed
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp organic canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 12 muffin tins with cooking spray (I used a Chicago Metallic Pretty Pansy muffin tin that I got at the International Food Bloggers Conference). Whisk flour, baing powder, baking soda, cinnamon, chili powder, and cloves together in a bowl. In a seperate bowl mix zucchini, applesauce, apple juice, maple syrup, canola oil, and vanilla extract together.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together, be careful to mix only until batter is blended and evenly moist. Fold in walnuts. Pour into muffins tins. Bake muffins for 20-30 minutes depending on your oven. You will know they are done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Remove muffins from tin to cool. Wrap each muffin in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for up to seven days.

Each muffin contains 130 calories, 5 grams of fat, 4 grams of fiber, 4 grams of protein.

The Great Pumpkin Has Gone Missing!

While millions of Americans feasted on pumpkin pie this week, few worried whether there would still be plenty of that delicious orange vegetable after the Thanksgiving holiday.

It's official. In earlier months rumors of pumpkin shortages have circulated and many, including myself, laughed at the fear of those who stockpiled the canned pumpkin goodness.

Well the soothsayers were right. According to Libby's, the nation's largest producer of pumpkin, there is indeed a shortage:

"Due to poor weather conditions, the pumpkin harvest is smaller than we expected so it may be hard to find LIBBY'S Pumpkin this holiday season. The heavy rains throughout the harvest have made it nearly impossible to pick our pumpkins. That's because tractors and other equipment are not able to move through the saturated fields.

At LIBBY'S, we're proud of our quality and we know that you trust us to deliver the best. The longer the pumpkins sit in these muddy fields, the more likely it is the quality of the pumpkin has declined. So we've made the difficult decision that we will not pack any more pumpkin this year which means that through the holiday season and until next fall's harvest, LIBBY'S pumpkin will be hard to find."

The San Jose Mercury News reported that: "Some chains have been pushing fresh pumpkins as alternatives. But Patti Milligan, spokeswoman for Los Angeles' Sprouts Farmers Market, said the season for pie pumpkins 'is pretty much over, and only a few of our stores still have them.' "

Although there is a shortage, many stores still have pumpkin on the shelves and you will want to grab a couple cans while you have a chance. I have a couple of delicious pumpkin recipes coming this week that just can't wait for next season's crop!

However, once those pumpkins are gone for the season (and shouldn't we take pride in eating seasonally?), there are lovely squash alternatives! The Chicago Sun-Times published a great article on squash alternatives to the famed pumpkin. And Uncovering Food has a number of squash recipes that will help you forget your canned orange friend until 2010.

Baked Red Kuri Squash

Spicy Sweet Butternut Squash Fries

Winter Squash Soup

Red Pork and Winter Squash

Golden Nugget Squash with POM Reduction and Roasted Pinenuts

Toasted Squash Seeds

Grilled Zucchini Sticks

Tonight is an easy and delicious dish that is sure to please. I love fried zucchini sticks dipped in ranch dressing. But it is no where near healthy! So instead, cut your zucchini into spears and grill those suckers. Enjoy warm and dip into your favorite light dressing if you want! The smokey flavor from the grill gives a new dimension to the vegetable. Enjoy!

One small zucchini (4.2oz) is only 19 calories/1 gram of fiber/1 gram of protein

Opo!

One of my favorite food related activities is wandering through the Farmer's Market and looking for something new to try. This weekend yielded one such discovery. The Opo squash!

In order to learn about this green oblong vegetable, I spoke with the farmer about the squash and purchased one to take home and experiment with. I was told that in the Chinese culture, the Opo is also called Gwa.

The flesh of the Opo is white and firm with seeds that are attached (and remind me of a cross between a cucumber and a zucchini). It is in fact a member of the cucumber family! The skin is a pale green and the exterior is smooth and firm.

The flavor of the squash is similar to a zucchini although the texture is a bit softer. I took the larger base of the Opo and cut it horizontally to make 4 "burgers" with it. After a tiny sprinkle of salt and pepper, I threw them into my panini press to grill them. I used one of the discs and made a provolone, avocado, and baby red kale Opo burger!

While I found the Opo squash at my local Farmer's Market, you can find it in many climates where the weather is warmer. Because it needs warmth to grow, this particular squash is characterized as a summer squash but depending on where you live, you can find it throughout the year.

Another application was to slice the Opo into sticks, sprinkle lightly with seasoning salt, and bake. Voila! Low calorie "fries" made in a similar method as my Squash Chips.

The Opo is often used in stir-fries and stews, however you can also enjoy it raw. This vegetable is high in vitamins and fiber while staying low in calories. A perfect companion to any meal or enjoyed alone, I guarantee I will be scouting for more Opo squash on my new Farmer's Market expedition!

Brown Rice for Busy Eaters

If you are one of the many people who have commented, emailed, called or texted about my lack of blogging, you are not alone in your concern. And while the busy school year hasn't quite wound down, I am ready to start sharing some of the quick recipes and delicious food finds from the last couple of weeks.

I love rice. And one of my concerns as I try to eat healthier is how nutritionally deficient many varietals are. Which is why I aim to enjoy brown rice when going this route. However, brown rice can take a long time to prepare. Let's be honest, time isn't something many of us have to spare.

In my search to enjoy healthy foods while dealing with the stress of May, I discovered Rice Expressions in my grocery store. These boxes of organic precooked brown rice can be found in the freezer aisle and each box contains three bags. The bags each have two servings of rice... which is the perfect amount for me to fix up at a time!

Rice Expressions Organic Brown Rice only contains what it's name implies and one serving is 160 calories/1.2 grams of fat/2.5 grams of fiber/3.5 grams of protein.


One of my go to meals has been wraps, and I need variety in addition to speed of preparedness. I enjoy tossing a bag of Rice Expressions with a can of beans and a diced zucchini. I then add hot sauce and seasonings to taste for a spicy filling for a wrap on the run. High in fiber and protein, this filling can also be enjoyed without the tortilla and with your own creative add-ins. Enjoy!

Golden Nugget Squash with POM reduction and Roasted Pinenuts

When I was younger, my parents had a pomegranate tree in the backyard. Every year the tree would bow under the weight of the heavy purple-red fruits which cracked opened and spilled their gorgeous seeds for the birds and my family to enjoy. Evenings were spent loosening the seeds so my father could use his old-fashioned juicer to extract the sweet tart goodness. Long after the season ended, we had juice in the freezer to drink, cook with and make wine with.

Now that I live further away, these happy memories come back whenever I get a chance to enjoy pomegranate juice. Recently, I had the opportunity to taste POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice. This bottled delight, albeit missing some of the gunk and seeds that were in my dad's juice, remind me of home. The juice is fresh and sweet, with the tartness you can only find in a pure pomegranate juice. Mixed with sparkling water, you can cut the calories in half (8oz of POM is 150 calories) and lessen the tartness but still enjoy the fabulous benefits of the fruit.

Speaking of benefits, pomegranate has to be one of the best publicized fruits lately. With high concentration of polyphenols, it is an acclaimed source of antioxidants. Research also suggests that pomegranate consumption can help with heart health and cancer prevention. But all the amazing health benefits aside, it just tastes so darned good!

Today's recipe takes the juice that reminds me of home and combines it with one of my father's favorite foods -- pine nuts -- and my mom's -- squash -- to make a fabulous side dish that would work great with some grilled chicken or a salad.

1 Golden Nugget Squash (you can try out other squash and find your favorite!)
4 oz POM Wonderful, pomegranate juice
4 tbsp dry roasted pine nuts

Cut squash into 8 slices, removing seeds in the process. Bake at 350 degrees (you can choose to drizzle oil, but I just pour a little water into the pan which steams a bit while baking) for 30 minutes or until the squash begins to brown around the edges.

In a saucepan, reduce pomegranate juice by half.

Divide squash onto four plates and drizzle reduced pomegranate juice over squash. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of nuts over each plate.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Information: 131 calories/6 grams of fat/5 grams of fiber/2 grams of protein

Spicy Veggie Blue Cheese Polenta Casserole

You can change up the vegetables in the scramble based on what you like and is available. You could also make your own polenta if you are feeling ambitious!

1 tube Sundried Tomato Polenta (I find mine in the produce section, 1 serving is 1 point)
1 white onion, diced
8 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced (I buy mine presliced)
1 TBSP olive oil
3 small zucchini, diced
5 oz grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cups fresh spinach
2-4 TBSP dried crushed red pepper
1-3 tsp garlic salt
1-3 tsp black pepper
2 oz reduced fat crumbled blue cheese

Slice polenta tube into 8 slices. Pan fry in a pan sprayed with cooking spray until both sides are browned. Lay in one layer in casserole dish.

Heat olive oil in pan. Cook onions until almost translucent and add zucchini. Add spices and cook until zucchini starts to soften. Add mushrooms and cook until mushrooms start to soften. Add tomatoes and spinach and toss in pan until spinach is starting to wilt. At this point you will have a sauce in the bottom of the pan. If you are making this dish ahead of time, you want to used a slotted spoon for the next step. If you are serving immeadiately, you might want to keep the gravy.

Spoon vegetable scramble in an even layer over polenta. Sprinkle blue cheese over dish immeadiately.

This dish makes 4 servings at 3 points each.

Baked Red Kuri Squash

This is one of my new favorites. It is so good you don't need to do much to it!

1 Red Kuri Squash, cut into four sections and deseeded
Cooking spray, preferably a 100% olive oil spray
Sea Salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Spray inside of squash with cooking spray and sprinkle lightly with salt.

Bake for 25-35 minutes until soft. Scrap pulp from skin into bowl and consume.

Delish! And a cup is an awful lot for only one point!

Spicy Sweet Butternut Squash Fries

1 small butternut squash
seasoning salt
cinnamon
chili powder

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray cooking spray onto a cookie sheet. Peel squash with a vegetable peeler and slice into equal sized strips. Lay spaced on pan and sprinkle with all three spices. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, turning halfway through.

Points will vary based on serving size and serving size will vary based on size of squash.

Toasted Squash Seeds

My friend Mo gave me this fabulous recipe!

Seeds from winter squash
Seasoning salt

Wash seeds after removing them from squash. Spread onto cookie sheet and sprinkle with seasoning salt. Put into oven and bake at 350 until you hear the seeds start to pop (this can take 5-15 minutes depending on size and number of seeds). Do not preheat oven.

1/4 cup = one serving (nutritional information from calorieking.com)

Winter Squash Soup

1 Delicata Squash
1 Acorn Squash
1 can FF Broth (chicken or vegetarian)
1 tbsp light butter
1 medium onion, diced (I used a small white onion and half a small red onion)
pinch of crushed dried basil
3 pinches of dried rosemary
2 pinches of dried thyme
1 pinch of dried sage
garlic salt
pepper

Cut squash in half and deseed. Reserve seeds to make toasted squash seeds. Steam squash. Remove pulp and toss skins.

Saute onions until soft in the butter. Add seasonings and squash and heat on low for another 5 minutes. Add broth and simmer for 10-20 minutes.

Blend mixture in blender until desired consistency. Enjoy!

NOTES: My recipe = 4.5 cups which I divided into 4 servings. The points will vary based on the amount of squash you use as well as the butter you choose to add. You can make it core by subbing ut the butter for healthy oils.

Squash Lasagna

I made this dish using what appeared to be a globe shaped caserta squash. It can be done with any summer squash I am sure.

2 baseball sized squash, sliced into 4 hamburger slices each
4 golf ball sized tomatoes, sliced in half and deseeded
1/4 lb of sweet baby broccoli
3 heads of garlic (you can probably get by with two, also mine were on the smaller side), slice off tops to expose cloves
2 tbsp ff Italian dressing
3 tsp Parmesan cheese

Heat the grill to a medium high heat.

All of the following can be done at the same time if your grill is big enough:

1. Tomatoes go open side down on the grill for about 3 to 5 minutes (until they start to shrivel and brown)

2. Broccoli goes on the grill until florets start to crisp.

3. Garlic is wrapped in a foil packet and grilled for 10 minutes or until soft.

5. Squash is burshed with Italian dressing and grilled until starts to soften/brown and then flip. Cook for about 10 minutes, take off grill before it burns though.

Okay after everything is grilled. Put garlic, broccoli, and tomatoes in a blender or processor and blend until a chunky sauce is formed.

Lay down half the squash on the plate. Cover with about half the sauce. Sprinkle on 1.5 tsp of cheese. Lay down next layer of squash, sauce and then cheese.

I took this for lunch after making it the night before and the sauce had permeated the squash. I think I would compare it more to an eggplant Parmesan than a lasagna in texture the next day.

CORE NOTE: This is only Core with FF or Soy Parm cheese.

Grilled Zukes and Sausage

1 Aidelle Roasted Red Pepper and Corn Turkey Sausage
1 Zucchini
2 tbsp FF Italian Dressing

Heat gas grill to medium.

Cut Zucchini into thick coins and thread onto skewer. Should cover one wooden skewer. Baste with Italian dressing on one side and place on grill. Baste other side while it grills.

While the zucchini is grilling, cut sausage into 10 coins and thread onto skewer.

Flip the zucchini, baste the side that was just grilled. Let sit in closed grill for 4 minutes.

Add sausage skewer to grill. Flip the zucchini again and baste again. Let sit in closed grill for 4 minutes.

Flip sausage and zucchini skewers. Let it in closed grill for 4 more minutes.

The basting and rotating of the zucchini helps it stay moist while cooking, allowing the flavor to burst when you bite into it. The points are pretty much solely for the sausage... if you can't find this brand, just calculate the points for your favorite sausage!

Crockpot Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers

6 oz Gimme Lean Vegetarian Ground "Beef"
1/2 cup Uncooked Couscous
1 Zucchini
4 Tomatoes, the size of golf balls
4 Bell Peppers
Garlic Salt
Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herbs Seasonings
Chili Powder
Pepper
3 Small Heads of Garlic (optional)
Cooking Spray

1. Spray the inside of your crock pot.

2. Prepare the couscous with water according to package instructions. Add to mixing bowl wtih vegetarian protein.

3. Dice the Zucchini and Tomatoes, add to bowl with vegetarian protein and couscous. Add ingredients Garlic Salt through Pepper to taste. Blend all of the ingredients. I choose to do thise by hand tho insure full blending.

4. Slice the caps off the Bell Peppers to make bowls. Clean insides of peppers from ribs and seeds. Place bell peppers into slow cooker and make sure they are standing. I used foil on the sides to help support them since my crock pot has a larger base.

5. Divide mix into four parts and stuff into pepper bowls. You can replace the tops of the bowls if you choose for added flavor infusion.

6. Slice the tops off the garlic heads. Place on top of foil, or alongside peppers on an elevated place inside the slow cooker. This will allow the garlic to infuse the peppers while essentially roasting the garlic as well for future use.

7. Cook on low for 6 to 7 hours. These can be frozen and reheated for future meals.

Squash Chips

I prefer to use a mandolin so that I get even sliced chips. You will want to play around with temperature and length of baking time to get the desired chip consistency. I like my soft and chewy in the middle.

Zuchinni or other squash, sliced into coins
Nutritional yeast or parm cheese (1 pt worth)
Mrs. Dash Table Blend (to taste)
Garlic or Seasoning Salt (to taste)
Ancho Chili Powder (to taste)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay chips out on a baking pan and sprinkle with assorted seasonings. Bake until desired consistency, I do mine 20ish minutes. Enjoy!