WEEKEND PLANS

I AM PLANNING TO TRY LOTS OF NEW RECIPES TODAY :) I WAS SO EXCITED TO GET THIS MAGAZINE-BUT I HATE TO SEE ABUSE OF ANIMALS. IT HAS MADE THIS VEGETARIAN THING EASIER WHEN YOU SEE SOMETHING LIKE THIS. IF YOU WOULD LIKE A VEGGIE STARTER KIT VISIT --GOVEG.COM--I AM NOT SURE HOW TO LINK IT.

DADDY TOOK THESE THE OTHER MORNING WHILE I WAS GONE SHOPPING. I DIDN'T EVEN SEE THEM UNTIL THIS MORNING-

SNEEKY FELLA

Tortilla soup

Last summer when I was in Tulsa, Tara shared her crock pot tortilla soup. It was soo good it became one of our regular meals. We ate it all the time b/c it was so easy to make and b/c it was delish! Well with this vegetarian thing- I can't use the chicken that is called for in the recipe so... I replaced it with the fake ground beef and soyrizo.

I cooked the soyrizo on high until browned-it added wonderful flavor!! Normally you would just add2-3 frozen chicken breasts. I change this recipe all the time according to what I have on hand so here is what it was yesterday

1 c. fake ground beef

1/2 package soyrizo (browned)

1/2 yellow onion

3 cloves of garlic

1/2 green pepper

1 tomato

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can black beans

1 can enchilada sauce (check to make sure ingredients some have MSG)

1 can green chili's

1 can of corn (I use frozen corn)

1 can chicken broth (I used vegetable juice and a little water)

1 tsp white pepper

1tsp chili powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp black pepper

sprinkle of salt

Dice up all veggies and mix everything into the crock pot. Let all this simmer on low all day 6-8 hours. We top it with cheese, chips, sour cream, cilantro or whatever you like! Last night Gregg and I just ate it with a whole grain bread. It was so good! Thank you Aunt Tara for this recipe -I know I have changed it from the original hope you don't mind :)

Macaroni and Not Meat

This is how dinner turned out tonight!! It was good (everyone ate it) and will replace Nana's Macaroni and Meat!

becoming vegetarian ?!?

Lately I have been having gallbladder issues (anyone else)! Tara, Mom and several of my friends have already had theirs removed and I am just trying to avoid surgery! So I have been doing research- over the past few months I have been doing cleanses. This fast cleans out my gallbladder but after few weeks I start feeling bad again. I had an gallbladder flare up (I call it) a couple days ago and I did more research- well, the meat we eat we take in that cholesterol (chemicals and whatever else) which is building up in my gallbladder. I eat meat at almost every meal!! It feels like if we don't get our meat we will not get any protein. I don't know why I think this, I worked at Wild Oats for 3 years I should have learned then!! Gregg is happy with this as he was a vegetarian earlier in his life. The boys are having a harder time with it, but there are so many cool options that I think they will end up liking it. This is going to really challenge me in the kitchen. Last night we had red beans and rice (instead of our normal ham and beans) I must say I liked it better! This may just be a phase (says my hubby) but I am going to try it. We will still have eggs and cheese and some milk in our diet (I am not vegan)but I am planning on cutting out all other meat products and see how my body likes it! Gregg's body may like it too as he has had high blood pressure since the surgery.





I love having all these fresh fruits and veggies :) My grocery bill was about the same as usual, so the fake meat wasn't that much more expensive. Aunt Tara do you have any good recipes from your vegetarian days?We have done this for exactly 2 days and I am feeling really good so we will see...