Thursday, October 14, 2010

Quick & Easy

Ok, so I have to share the two easiest, fastest, and still delicious recipe’s that are my standby’s when I don’t know what to make for dinner and I’m really, really hungry.

The first is Couscous Curry.  It’s quick, easy, and you can eat it hot OR cold, which is pretty much the best thing about it.



I have to give credit where credit is due, I tinkered with a recipe from this AWESOME cookbook called “Vegan Express” I highly recommend it if you are someone who wants to go vegan but thinks “I just don’t have the time.”

2 cups water
1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 cup frozen green peas (thawed or not, doesn’t really matter, you’ll cook them later)
½ heaping cup chopped cashews (I use roasted and salted ones)
½ heaping cup raisins (you can substitute almost any dried “berry” I’ve used currants and it turned out tasty)
1 heaping tsp ginger (fresh or jarred, NOT powdered)
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder (sometimes I use even more, depends on what you like)
½ tsp turmeric
salt & pepper to taste


1. boil the water and add bouillon cube in a nice large sauce pan.  Once the cube is dissolved, add couscous, remove from heat, cover and let stand.

2. While completing step 1, measure out your peas so they can thaw slightly, measure out your cashews, then chop, measure out raisins, cut up your ginger if using fresh and get out the rest of your ingredients so you have them ready to go.

3. Uncover your couscous and add all the remaining ingredients, stir together then cook over medium heed stirring constantly for 2-5 minutes, or until peas are no longer frozen. 

4. Serve or put in smaller containers and into the fridge for lunch/dinner the next day.

SUPER EASY AND DELICIOUS!  I have been making this one for 3 years now, and it takes me about 20 minutes total now that I’ve got it down.


The second dish is one I’ve recently started using, and it is pretty much the best recipe ever for a quick dish in a pinch.  I like to call it “BBQ Goodness with Tempe”  Another recipe altered from the amazing "Vegan Express" cookbook.



1-2 pkgs tempe (any type) cut into cubes
enough veggies to fill a roasting pan very full
   ex: sweet onion, peppers (red & green), sweet potato, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms)
1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce, enough to coat all the veggies & tempe


1. preheat oven to 425° and line your roasting pan with foil (clean up time drastically reduced by this step) and spray lightly with some kind of cooking oil/spray type item.

2. cut up all veggies into good sized pieces.  Slice onions and separate rings, potatoes should be smaller as they take longer to cook.

3. I like to put my veggies in a large bowl to mix them with the BBQ sauce and then I pour them all into the roasting pan (sometimes in two batches)

4. put in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the veggies are done (check the densest veggies first), stir after the first 10 minutes to make sure everyone gets BBQ coated veggies.



I also like to serve this with some rice flavored with a bullion cube (once again, I use Rapunzel's) and made quickly and easily in my rice maker.  Basically I periodically check on the rice cooker and when it boils I throw in my bullion, stir and recover.  Have I mentioned I LOVE rice cookers?

Well, I hope you enjoy these quick and easy recipes.  Let me know how they work for you, and especially what kind of veggies you use.  If anyone wants to share a good BBQ sauce recipe, it would be welcome!