I first made this recipe on a night when I didn’t feel like stopping for takeout, didn’t want to go to the grocery store, and knew I didn’t have much going on in my fridge.  I was determined to come up with something good using ingredients I already had in my pantry.  The jarred sun dried tomatoes were something I bought for a scrapped recipe and ended up never opening them, but they were a delicious addition to this dish.  The first night I served the chickpea kale sauté over a baked potato with vegan butter and nooch, which was awesome, but I thought polenta would class it up a bit for this video.

INGREDIENTS

• minced garlic
• julienne sliced sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
• garbanzo beans
• lemon (juice)
• polenta
• olive oil
• tuscan kale
• salt & dried herbs (if desired)

INSTRUCTIONS

• start by draining and rinsing chickpeas, then use a fork to partially mash them to your preferred texture.  (I aim for about 50% mashed, but it’s not an exact science.)
• sauté desired amount of garlic in a little olive oil, then add chickpeas.
• cook the chickpeas until slightly browned and crispy, stirring as needed.
• add 2-3 forkfuls of sun dried tomatoes.
• add juice from 1/2 or 1 whole lemon.
• sauté for 2-3 more minutes, then add kale.
• cook for 3-5 more minutes, until greens cook down.
• add salt and dried herbs to taste.
• cook polenta according to package instructions, or as preferred.

Don’t forget to check out the 2-minute video version of this recipe!

Hi!  In my most recent YouTube video, I talk about how I’m trying to eat everything in my pantry & freezer before I buy new stuff.  I’m also trying to stick to a tight budget, and come up with some basic recipes that can be customized based on what you happen to have in the kitchen.  For these recipes, I’ve included two sets of ingredients — one tells you what you need to make the recipe, the other you can pick and choose from.  Or maybe toss in your own ingredients that I haven’t listed!

These three recipes also include some shared ingredients, so it would be super efficient to plan them for the same week like I did!

Here’s the video in case you missed it:

Keep scrolling for the recipes!

simple pad thai

necessities:  rice noodles, peanut butter, soy sauce or liquid aminos, rice vinegar, garlic, sweetener (sugar or agave), lime

extras:  green onion, cabbage (purple and/or green), carrot, cilantro, peanuts, tofu, oil, hot sauce or crushed red pepper flakes, more lime

The most important part of this recipe is the sauce.  I combined about 3/4 cup of smooth peanut butter with 3 tablespoons of Bragg’s liquid aminos, 1 tablespoon of raw sugar, 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar, the juice of 1 dried up old lime (not ideal), a couple tablespoons of crushed garlic, and 1 cup of warm water.  Blend in a food processor or blender until smooth.  Add a little squirt of sriracha or some crushed red pepper to taste (this is just to add more flavor, not to make it spicy — you can do that later).  Cook your noodles according to package direction, drain, return them to your pot and stir in the sauce.  Then, stir in some of your shredded cabbage.

Prior to making the noodles, I also stir-fried some firm tofu, red bell pepper & green onion in toasted sesame oil and set aside.  I used this to top my noodles, along with some more shredded cabbage for some extra CRONCH.  Pad Thai is also awesome topped with crushed peanuts, which I never have on hand, ever.  Serve with fresh cilantro, lime wedges, and the hot sauce of your choice.

curried lentils & tahini sauce

necessities:  (for the lentils) lentils, curry powder, salt  (for the tahini sauce) tahini, lemon/lemon juice, garlic, salt

extras:  (for the lentils) onion, potatoes, veggies  (for the tahini) fresh herbs  (also) some kind of wrap, tortilla, lavash, etc., plus kale or other veggies if you choose to wrap it up

This is seriously one of the easiest meals you could make.  I cooked 1 cup of red lentils according to the package, then drained as much of the water as possible (I planned to use them for wraps, and didn’t want them to be too soupy).  After transferring them back to the pan, I added about 2 tablespoons of curry powder and salt to taste.  I also stirred some chopped green onion straight into the lentils — depending on the type of onion you use or your preference, you may want to sauteé the onion first.  That’s all.  Lentils are done.

For the tahini sauce, combine 1/4 cup of tahini with the juice from 1/2 to 1 lemon.  Add some finely chopped herbs if you have them, parsley would be ideal, I had cilantro so I used that.  A little bit of crushed garlic.  Then, slowly add warm water and stir until you reach the consistency that you like.

I wrapped these with Mikey’s gluten-free cassava tortillas.  Because I didn’t want them to be too runny, I tossed the tahini sauce with some massaged kale and added that to my wraps.  These would also be great with the addition of some roasted veggies, and I plan to make them that way in the future!

pickled cabbage

necessities:  cabbage, vinegar, sugar, salt

extras:  jalapeños, garlic, herbs, onions.. get creative!

For this recipe,  you’ll need about 1-2 cups of vinegar, 1/2 head of cabbage, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1 tablespoon salt to fill a small mason jar.  This works with any type of cabbage, and whatever kind of vinegar you have on hand (but keep in mind that they will alter the flavor).  I used white vinegar, purple cabbage, and sugar in the raw.  For my extras, I included thinly sliced jalapeños and crushed garlic.  You’ll want to heat your vinegar, sugar and salt in a saucepan and boil for a minute or two until everything is thoroughly dissolved.  Layer your cabbage and other ingredients in a jar, then pour the vinegar over while it’s hot.  The cabbage will start to wilt, so if you had extra you can shove it in at this point.  Cool on the counter until it reaches room temperature, then pop it in the fridge and enjoy for about 2 weeks (if it lasts that long)!

Thanks for reading!  Don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel for weekly content.  I plan to include more easy to follow, customizable recipes with minimal ingredients — so stay tuned!