Whole Grain Mexican Rice

Yesterday, Anna and I were craving something Mexican-like for lunch. While Anna was at school, I improvised this Mexican rice. It was scary for me, improvising a cooking recipe without Anna! And when I got done, I was afraid that the flavor was too strong and that it would have to be fixed by Anna when she got back from school. However, when she got back from school, Anna tried my rice and she said it was perfectly fine, which is kind of a big deal for me. I have never made a new cooking recipe without Anna before. I'm more of a baker than a cook. ^_^'Anyway, here is the recipe; the measurements are approximate. Don't forget: the most important tools here are your tastebuds! At least, that's what Anna says all the time. ;P

Mexican Fried Rice

Some vegetable/canola oil

½ large red onion, diced

1 or 2 green bell peppers, diced

1 small can of tomato paste (about 6 oz.)

2 ½ to 3 cups of cooked, whole grain brown rice

Garlic Powder

Cumin

Mushroom Powder

Any other seasonings of your choice

1. Heat up a saucepan on high heat.
2. Pour some oil (about 1 tablespoon or so) into the saucepan (keep it on high heat).
3. Add the onions when the oil gets hot.
4. Once the onions start to smell good, add the green bell peppers, and add half of the tomato paste. Stir the mixture around so that it doesn’t burn.
5. Add all the rice to the mixture, and lower the heat to medium heat.
6. Put the rest of the tomato paste into the rice (put some rice into the can to get the last bit, if you know what I mean).
7. Keep mixing, and add dashes of garlic powder, cumin, mushroom powder, and any other seasonings to your taste. I would suggest chili powder.
8. Once you are done seasoning the rice, take the saucepan off the stove and transfer the rice to a rice cooker to keep it warm until you are ready to serve. Be sure that the rice cooker is set on the “keep warm” setting, not the “cook” setting.
9. Serve with a dash of pepper, a couple of scoops of guacamole and refried beans, or whatever you like! ^__^

Hearty Creamy Pasta Recipe!

This pasta recipe is my favorite!! =) I bring it to potlucks and it always wins everyone over, vegans and omnivores alike. It is a modified recipe based off of Lindy Loo's "Creamiest Vegan Mac'n'Cheez EVER". It was originally Anna's idea to add pasta sauce to the recipe to make it a creamy pasta. This dish is pretty decadent, so I wouldn't suggest making it alll the time. But it is a wonderful treat to have once in a while. For a healthier version, I substitute the pasta with whole wheat pasta.

The recipe is very simple.

First, we make Lindy Loo's recipe: http://yeahthatveganshit.blogspot.com/2007/10/creamiest-vegan-mac-n-cheez-ever.html

We follow her instructions exactly, but we don't bake the pasta like she says to, not until after we add our pasta sauce. Anna and I also like to use more nutritional yeast, like 1/8 to 1/4 a cup more. ^__^ The Red Star brand is the kind we use.

Once we are done with making Lindy Loo's recipe, we make a pasta sauce.

Here is what Anna and I usually put in our pasta sauce (the measurements for the vegetables are not exact; we usually just use whatever we have on hand):

The Mai Sisters' Standard Pasta Sauce

[flexible]

1 medium to fairly large onion, diced

Mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups, chopped)

1 large green bell pepper, diced

Zucchini, diced (one or two medium zucchinis, depending on how much you like them)

Black olives (as many as you like, you know)

3 Tofurkey sausages, Italian flavor, chopped into 1/4" slices

1 standard jar of tomato sauce (about 3 cups, or 25 ounces)

1. Saute the onions with some oil until they are nice and brown and smell nice.

2. Add the rest of the vegetables and tofurkey sausages.

3. When the vegetables are cooked, add the spaghetti sauce; let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Season it according to your tastes; we use onion and garlic powder, oregano, and some salt.

5. Add the pasta sauce to the mac'n'cheez and mix it thoroughly.

This recipe usually fills up two large plates. ;)

Enjoy!