Oven Lovin' Girl

another meatless monday

i love mushrooms. i ate them more often when i didn’t have a husband who hates them. it’s not like he forbids me to eat them or anything, it’s just easier to cook one dinner a day, ya know? so the other day i’m pinning (yes, and i am slightly obsessed) when i came across a lovely photo of mushroom barley soup from mango & tomato. i pinned it with the intention of making it soon. i thought it would be perfect for a dinner and some lunches this week.

so guess what i made today? and meatless for monday, no less!

here are the veggies cooking before adding the broth and barley. can i just tell you how amazing my kitchen smelled at this moment? i actually took this photo to remind myself of that yummy smell. the recipe is very easy and the soup comes together quickly. i didn’t use as much stock as the recipe calls for, but i may end up adding some as the week goes on. the soup is full of wonderful earthy flavors with the mushrooms and thyme. i only had fresh thyme and i added some dry oregano, too — just for kicks.

this is good stuff! easy to make and very tasty. olga recommends adding leftover meat to the soup, which would make it even heartier. yum!

Recipe from Mango & Tomato

meatless monday yacos

my mom calls tacos yacos. mystery solved!

we love mexican food, so i’m always on the hunt for new recipes or trying to revamp old ones. hubby found an article about meatless monday several months ago and i kind of filed it under “someday”. i do cook without meat often, but we’re not veggies by any means. i’ll grill skirt steak to slice over a nice salad for dinner or whip up some carne asada for yacos, but we’re not big meat eaters. i brought out the recipe a few weeks ago and decided to give it a while. DAMN! these babies take a few steps (easy ones), but they are so worth it. good stuff!

you start with a sweet potato mash and add chiles, garlic and cayenne pepper to it. it’s got a nice kick. the second time i made them i didn’t add the chiles to the mash, just sauteed them with the onions and it was just as good. the recipe calls for a whole sweet potato, but i used a package of raw sweet potato sticks from trader joes fridge section. i just put them in the microwave with a bit of water and steamed them until soft. one bag of sweet potatoes gave me 12 yacos.

then it’s time to make a yummy pepper and onion mix to put inside the yacos. i used orange bell pepper cos that’s what i had on hand. such great flavor!

i used store bought corn tortillas for these, but they’d be extra delish with homemade torts. i’ll have to bust out the comal next time.

the recipe calls for smoked cheese. i searched trader joes for a block of smoked cheddar, but to no avail. then i did a double take when i saw a smoked cheese blend already shredded for me! that made me one happy chick.

i forgot to take photos of the whole process, but you’ll get the idea when you read the recipe. easy breezy: soften tortillas in oil, drain, fill with sp mash, onions/peppers and cheese. fold and bake. EAT. :D

i served the yacos with lime, cilantro and avocado. the sweet potato is pretty creamy on it’s own, so the avocado is just an extra indulgence. don’t judge me. ;)

let’s keep it real. how good do these look? you bake them for a bit until they get a little crispy and warm and the cheese melts. *sigh*

the moral of this story is i didn’t miss the meat when i made these babies. thanks to kim odonnel for posting this article and recipe. it’s now a regular in my dinner rotation!

By Kim ODonnel |  May 4, 2009; The Washington Post