I am back people!

I know it’s been a minute but I am back and better than ever with my Cheesy Kale Quiche.

I finished off my 7 day water fast.

I broke the fast by going on juice for 3 days, then 2 days of smoothies, then veggie soups for a few days before adding any dairy or meats back into my diet.

The fast was great, my skin is clear and soft and I feel energized!

I haven’t posted in a while because I have two blogs and the other blog has been keeping me super busy.

My veggie packed dish is the perfect meal to get me back into my Not Quite a Vegan groove.

My Cheesy Kale Quiche is simple and goes together in a matter of minutes.

I pulled this organic kale straight out of my garden!

I sauteed onions, peppers and garlic in extra virgin olive oil.

Added the kale and cooked it down for a couple of minutes.

Toss the veggies with eggs, milk and cheese and that’s it!

 

After 50 minutes in the oven, it’s time to eat!

Cheesy and veggie packed, my two favorite ways to eat.

Enjoy.

Cheesy Kale Quiche

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

5 cups kale, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup jack cheese, grated
3/4 cups milk
6 eggs, beaten
1 onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons creole seasoning
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add onion and peppers, saute for about 4 minutes.

Add half the seasoning blend, garlic and kale, cook 2 minutes more.

Allow mixture to cool for about 5 minutes.

In a large bowl add eggs, remaining seasonings, and milk.

Add cheeses, reserve 1 cup of cheese for the top of the quiche.

Fold in veggie mixture into eggs.

Place mixture into a 9 inch greased casserole dish, top with remaining cheese.

Bake uncovered for 50 minutes or until eggs are set.

Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting.

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I love all types of cheese and I am constantly thinking of new ways to eat cheese.

My Whipped Goat Cheese Spread is one of my new favorite ways to eat cheese.

First, start off with excellent goat cheese.

Next, add the goat cheese, herbs, yogurt, garlic and pepper into a food processor and mix well.

Whipped Goat Cheese Spread

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

10 ounces goat cheese, soft
4 ounces Greek yogurt, plain
1/4 cup Italian parsley, minced
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1 clove garlic
green onions to garnish
crackers to serve
veggies to serve

Directions:

Place all ingredients into a food processor and blend well.

Cover and chill for at least 3 hours.

Garnish with green onions and serve with crackers.

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My Fat Burning Vegetable Bean Soup is my new invention!

Don’t forget the very popular Fat Burning Cabbage Tortilla Soup to my super spicy Fat Burning Thai Noodle Soup!

I love soup and I love the fact that you can burn extra fat by eating a big bowl of my Fat Burning Soups!

The secret of my Fat Burning Soup success is to add plenty of flavor without plenty of fat.

I omit all oil and stick to using low sodium broths and loads of vegetables.

The beans in my Fat Burning Vegetable Bean Soup of the day allows one to load up on fiber which helps give us that feeling of fullness that one needs when we’re trying to stick to our fat burning ways!

Enjoy.

Fat Burning Vegetable Bean Soup

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

4 cups northern white beans, organic, canned
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth, low sodium
2 cups red salsa
1/2 cup carrots, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup Italian parsley, minced
2 teaspoons creole seasoning
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder

Directions:

Drain canned beans and rinse well, drain again. Place all ingredients into a soup pot, mix well, bring to boil and reduce heat, simmer about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

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It’s been over 100 degrees all week and I needed to create a healthy snack to cool us off!

My Strawberry Honey Yogurt Popsicles are not only delicious, their healthy.

These Popsicles are made with vanilla Greek yogurt, honey, and fresh strawberries.

First, mix a little honey with Vanilla Greek yogurt and fold in diced strawberries.

Place this mixture at the bottom of the Popsicle molds and freeze for about 15 minutes.

Next, take the remaining yogurt, strawberries, honey, and vanilla, place into a blender and blend until pureed.

Pour this mixture on top of the yogurt mixture, cover with mold cover, insert sticks and freeze for about 4-5 hours and/or overnight.

All done and ready to chow down.  These Popsicles are so tasty and the perfect treat for a hot day!

Enjoy.

Strawberry Yogurt Honey Popsicle

3 cups Greek yogurt, vanilla
1 1/2 cup diced strawberries
3 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
Popsicle sticks
Popsicle mold

Directions:

Take 1 cup of Greek yogurt, mix in 1 tablespoon honey and 1/2 cup diced strawberries.

Place mixture at the bottom of Popsicle mold around 1 heaping tablespoon per mold.

Freeze mixture for about 15 minutes.

Take remaining ingredients, place into a blender and blend well.

Pour strawberry/honey mixture into molds leaving about 1/2 inch spacing.

Cover mold with lid and insert Popsicle sticks.

Freeze for about 5 hours or overnight.

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Fried rice is one of my quick and easy veggie meals I love to make.

I decided I wanted to take my usual fried rice recipe and turn it into Indian Fried Rice with Green Beans.

This is one simple meal.

I took broth, you could use vegetable or chicken broth and I cooked the rice in the broth with turmeric and curry powder.

Next, after the rice was cooked I sauteed the onion, garlic and green beans in a little olive oil.

Lastly, I added the cooked rice to the veggies and it’s really that simple people.

The results are delicious.

You end up with a big bowl of well seasoned, crispy rice with tasty fresh vegetables.

Enjoy!


Indian Fried Rice with Green Beans

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

3 cups basmati or jasmine rice
4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1/2 lb green beans
1/2 cup onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
extra virgin olive oil
green onion to garnish

Directions:

Add broth and spices to a rice pot, bring to boil. Stir in rice, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer 15 minutes.

Remove rice from fire and allow to steam 10 minutes more.

Add about 2 tablespoons of olive oil to pan over medium heat, add onion and saute 5 minutes, add garlic and beans and cook 1 minute more.

Stir in rice and saute for about 5 minutes.

Serve warm, garnish with green onions.

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Looking for a quick breakfast dish that taste out of this world?

My Breakfast Spaghetti with Fried Eggs and Cheese is the ultimate comfort food meal.

You have piping hot pasta that is tossed in this creamy, parmigiano reggiano cheese sauce and topped with a crispy fried egg.

The fried egg is cooked in a little olive oil with a pinch of creole seasoning and black pepper.

I love my egg crispy and if you want it super fried, flip the egg over and let the other side get crispy at well.

This is truly, food goodness on a plate!

Enjoy.

Breakfast Spaghetti with Fried Egg and Cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 lb spaghetti
1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, grated
1/2-3/4 cups pasta cooking water
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon creole seasoning
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Italian parsley to garnish
parmigiano reggiano cheese to garnish
extra virgin olive oil

For the Fried Egg:

4 eggs
pinch of pepper
pinch of creole seasoning

Directions:

Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta 3 minutes under recipe cooking directions.

Remove pasta, reserve pasta cooking water.

Drain pasta, rinse with warm water, drain again, coat lightly in extra virgin olive oil to prevent sticking.

Heat a saute pan over medium heat, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, add garlic, pasta and seasonings, cook for about 1 minute.

Add pasta cooking water and half the cheese, mix well.

Reduce heat to low and simmer while cooking the eggs.

To prepare the eggs, heat a skillet over medium heat, add a little olive oil, crack egg without breaking the yolk.

Season egg with spices and cook about 3 minutes until crispy on the bottom.

Add remaining cheese and parsley to pasta, mix well and serve pasta topped with fried egg and more cheese if desired.

Enjoy!

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It’s Crispy Mexican Flautas time!

I love any food that’s crispy, now add potatoes, salsa and cheese and it’s party time!

I am working on a bedroom remodel today and I wanted to cook something that was quick, easy, and cheesy.

I always keep potatoes in the pantry and I am always looking for something new to make with potatoes.

I thought why not add cheese and a little salsa for a quick snack while I am working.

This is a simple dish, all you do is peel, boil, and mash up potatoes, add a little spices and cheese and that’s it!

Take the mixture and place in the center of a flour tortilla shell, add cheese.

I made a little “flautas glue” using flour and water. Now, make sure you place the potato/cheese mixture on one end of the shell.

Using the glue on the other end. Now, roll these babies up tightly, pressing to seal.

You can make these Mexican Flautas in advance, chill in the fridge, or freeze them.
Heat up cooking oil in a medium skillet and fry until nice and crispy.

Yes, you can cook them from frozen, I do it all the time.

You could bake them as well, just brush them lightly with cooking oil or spray and I would say at 350 degrees until golden brown.

All done, crispy, cheesy, with a little kick from the salsa.

These Crispy Mexican Flautas are ready to dip into a big bowl of sour cream!

Enjoy.

Crispy Mexican Flautas with Salsa, Potatoes and Cheese

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

2 Idaho potatoes, peeled, diced
8 flour tortilla shells, 9 inches
2 cups cheese, grated
1 cup green salsa
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
cooking oil
sour cream to serve

For the Flour Water Paste:

1/2 cup flour
water to thin

Directions:

Rinse, peel, dice potatoes into 1/2 inch chunks, place in a large pot, cover with water and boil for about 10-15 minutes until potatoes are tender.

Drain potatoes.

In a skillet add about 2 tablespoons cooking oil over medium heat, add potatoes and spices, cook for about 3 minutes, slightly mashing up potatoes.

Add salsa to potatoes and mix well.

To Assemble Flautas:

Lay a tortilla shell on a flat surface, place 2 tablespoons of potato mixture on one end, add about 2 tablespoons of cheese, using flour/water place on edge of shell, generously, roll and seal.

Heat cooking oil to 350 degrees, fry for about 2-3 minutes per side, until golden brown and crisp, drain on paper napkins.

Serve with sour cream for dipping

The post Crispy Mexican Flautas with Salsa, Potatoes and Cheese appeared first on Not Quite a Vegan.

It’s hot in this desert! I mean over 100 degrees and getting hotter by the minute. I need to create light, healthy, creamy, recipe that only take minutes.

My Low Fat Banana Mango Milkshake is the perfect summer drink.

I always have frozen mangoes and bananas in stock.

Whenever I see organic bananas on sale, I buy them in bulk so when I want a healthy drink like my Banana Mango Milkshake all I have to do is blend!

My Banana Mango Milkshake taste just like ice cream, ice cream without the fat.

My mangoes are really sweet, but if you happen upon some not no sweet mangoes add a little honey to your milkshake.

Enjoy! 

Low Fat Banana Mango Milkshake

Prep Time: 1 minute
Total Time: 2 minutes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

2 cups frozen mango
1 frozen banana
1 1/2 cup fat free milk or almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Place everything into a blender and blend until smooth.

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It’s summertime which means it’s the perfect time for salads! I love a chopped salad, especially when it’s loaded with fresh veggies.

My Orzo Corn Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette is so refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day.

I started off this salad by boiling orzo and roasting corn in the oven.

From there folks, all you do is pick your favorite fresh veggies you love, chop them up and toss everything into a vinaigrette.

This salad takes really no time to make and I love using whatever veggies I have in the fridge. This is the perfect salad to use for leftover veggies.

Enjoy!

Chopped Orzo Corn Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4

• 2 cups orzo, cooked according to package directions
• 1 head lettuce, chopped
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 1 small red onion, diced
• 1 organic cucumber, seeded, diced
• 1 tomato, seeded, diced
• 1/2 bunch green onions, diced
• 5 oz. feta cheese
• 1 cup sharp cheese, grated
• 1 cup jack cheese, grated
• 1 can organic corn or 2 cups fresh or frozen corn
• 1/2 cup Italian parsley, minced
• extra virgin olive oil
• creole seasoning
• black pepper
• For the Vinaigrette:
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 lemon, zested, juiced
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon dried, crushed, oregano
• pinch of crushed red pepper

• Pre-heat oven to broil.
• Place rinsed and drained corn on baking sheet. Sprinkle with a little black pepper and creole seasoning and about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.
• Roast corn for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain, rinse, drain again and coat with about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.

• Place all vinaigrette ingredients into a lidded jar. Shake well and place in a large bowl.
• Add all vegetables, orzo and cheese in bowl with vinaigrette, mix well, and chill, until ready to serve.

The post Chopped Orzo Corn Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette appeared first on Not Quite a Vegan.

Hey everyone, I know I’ve been MIA for the past week. Here’s what’s been happening.

Well, for those of you who didn’t know, I have another blog called Creole Contessa.

Let’s just say Creole Contessa is totally different from Not Quite a Vegan.

Creole Contessa is focused on all my childhood favorites that are, how do I put this, NOT diet food. That pretty much sums it up.

Because Creole Contessa is my first blog, we’ve decided to upgrade and the past week has been all about getting our new blog up and running.

Folks, it’s almost done and I am so tired and excited and because of that, the one thing that makes me happy is dip!

I made up a big batch of Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dip to munch on while I get my new blog up and running.

This dip is it, it’s hot, cheesy, spicy and it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy as you dip my favorite Garden of Eatin Chips into this big bowl of gooey goodness!

Enjoy.

Cheesy Jalapeno Corn Dip

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients:

4 cups organic corn, canned
2 cups jack cheese, grated
2 cups sharp cheese, grated
1 cup pickled jalapenos
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup green onion, sliced
1/2 cup bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup white onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons creole seasoning or seasoned salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
corn chips to serve

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together. Place into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 degrees around 30 minutes, until cheese is melted and top is golden brown.

Serve with corn chips, bread, and crackers.

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