Baby, it's cold outside!

Happy Friday, everyone!

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I've been snowed in or iced in all week. However, the upside of this means plenty of time to create and plan for different vegan/ vegetarian recipes... All which hit the comfort spot without hitting the waistline, if you catch my drift. I don't have much time to update today, but I'll leave you with a sample of a quick and easy meal that I made at the last minute this week:

Vegan soy-sauge and peppers:

This plate filled both my husband and I up, and we didn't even finish it!

Not the best picture, I'll grant you, but it was absolutely delicious! Not to mention... Dairy-free, egg-free, and even gluten-free!

Ingredients (all available at Trader Joe's):

• Olive oil (oil or spray)
• 3 bell peppers (I bought the trifecta of red, orange, and yellow for variety), sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 1 box of brown rice pasta
• 1 package of Trader Joe's Italian soy-sauge, sliced
• Marinara sauce (I have a coveted home-made recipe, but you can use whatever you're comfortable with... Just keep an eye on the added sugar and sodium!)
• Salt and pepper to taste... You shouldn't need much!

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Coat dutch oven (or other casserole dish) lightly in olive oil (don't add too much since you'll get a lot of moisture from the pepper and onions) - enough to keep everything from burning/ sticking to the dish.
• Combine sliced peppers, onions, soy-sauce. Add salt and pepper lightly to taste (you shouldn't need much since the soysauge is pretty well-flavored).
• Cover and place in oven for 30-40 minutes (depending on the oven, cooking times may vary).
• Start boiling your salted water and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.
• When the peppers and onions are cooked to your liking, you may add marinara sauce directly to the mixture. Not only does the heat from the mix warm the sauce without you needing to, it also saves you another dish to clean!
• Drain pasta, add a serving to your plate, and top with the pepper-onion-soysauge mixture.
• Enjoy!

When you're not in much of a cooking mood, this dish was almost too easy. It really doesn't require much on your part as far as the elbow grease is concerned, and it's so comforting on top of being a quick cleanup! Plus, the leftovers last for a while.

Coming up soon... Vegan, spicy chili, minestrone soup, oatmeal pancakes, and a very easy (and inexpensive) Greek salad!