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Friday Foodie Favorites…and a Not So Favorite

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Friday Foodie Favorites…and a Not So Favorite

As I have mentioned before, I have a TON of recipes bookmarked on my computer.  Honestly, it is a bit embarrassing to scroll through my list.  Not to mention the fact that it is kind of like looking for a needle in a haystack when I am trying to locate a specific recipe.  As a result, I have made a personal goal to work on clearing out my recipe stash.  As a part of this plan, I am cooking my way through my list of bookmarked recipes, though the list never seems to get much smaller since I continue to add more recipes ;).  Such is life, right?  Without further ado, here is another Friday roundup of some of my foodie favorites!

friday favorite med cauliflower rice 3y

 

 

 

 

First up is Melissa’s Mediterranean-Style Cauliflower Rice.  Lately, I have been obsessed with all recipes utilizing cauliflower rice, and the addition of some of my other favorite foods made this recipe a “must make” for me.  I decided to adapt the recipe to make a vegan version.  I used Field Roast brand vegan sausage and topped the dish with a sprinkle of vegan cheese.  Otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly, except for leaving out the olives.  I am not much of a fan of kalamata olives.  And the results?  Um…SO tasty!  I absolutely loved my vegan version of this dish.  I will absolutely be making it again.

Next up…

WIAW 6513 4

 

 

 

 

…an adapted version of Kelly’s Dijon Veggie Couscous recipe.  This dish made an appearance in last week’s WIAW post, and definitely deserves to be mentioned again!  I followed Kelly’s recipe exactly, except I used a mixture of whole brown rice and leftover cauliflower rice in place of the couscous.  I also stirred in a bit of Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, mostly because I am slightly obsessed with this product right now.  This is a tasty meal that is chocked full of veggies and whole grains..my kind of dish!

friday favorite pizza rice

 

 

 

 

Another recipe that I tried (and loved!) within the past two weeks was Sarah’s recipe for her Veggie Brown Rice Pizza Bake.  I am a sucker for pizza, and when combined with lots of veggies and whole grains…well, let’s just say that this one is a winner!  Plus, it is vegan, which I love :).  I followed Sarah’s recipe except I used a fresh tomato in place of the canned diced tomatoes, used fresh mushrooms, used a vegan cheese sauce from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook, and added spinach.  This bake turned out so well.

friday favorite pizza rice2

 

 

 

 

And I (obviously) had to follow Sarah’s advice and top the pizza bake with a fried dippy egg (thus, of course not making it vegan ;)).  But boy, this addition was SO worth it!

And the final favorite that I have to share on this Friday features my current favorite type of dish that is coming out of my kitchen lately:

friday favorite 2

 

 

 

 

This is what I like to call the “clean out the fridge” bowl.  Essentially, I have been making a lot of bowls full of any random number of veggies/grains/beans/etc. that I can find in my fridge.  Oh, and I definitely season them up well with things like spices, sriracha sauce, and Bragg’s.

friday favorite 5y

 

 

 

 

This particular bowl contained onions, red peppers, coleslaw mix, kale, corn, black-eyed peas, Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, sriracha sauce, and spices.  It was good and beyond easy to make.  This is definitely my kind of recipe..if you can even call it that!

Lastly, I want to end with a bit of a reality check.  While I wish that all of the recipes that I bookmark turn out to be as delicious as they look and sound, that does not always happen.  They cannot all be great now can they?

friday favorite 1

 

 

 

 

This stew looks pretty tasty and promising, right?  Well, sometimes looks are deceiving.  I had a lot of hope for this recipe.  I mean, it contains tomatoes, corn, and lentils, so I figured that it had to be good.  However, it was seriously lacking in flavor.  I was definitely disappointed.  I won’t share the link for the recipe because I do not want to offend anyone, but I just wanted to show the reality of it all…not every recipe turns out to be as delicious as I hope it will be.

Welp, I am off for a fabulous weekend in the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf, IA & Moline and Rock Island, IL)…my college stomping grounds.  One of my best friends is getting married and I am in the wedding.  I am beyond excited for the big day and for the opportunity to reconnect with some of my college friends.  It should be an experience to remember!  Happy Friday all and have a fabulous weekend!

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{ 38 comments… add one }
  • melissa481 June 14, 2013, 7:52 am
    Thanks for the mention; I'm glad you liked it! All of your food looks delicious! Have a great weekend!
  • Tiff June 14, 2013, 8:08 am
    Oooo, I really need to try that brown rice veggie pizza bake. Yum!
  • Marie @ Little Kitchie June 14, 2013, 8:10 am
    Adding an egg never hurts! Looks delicious!!
  • Rach @ This Italian Family June 14, 2013, 8:15 am
    The pizza bake looks really yummy! And I love a good drippy egg! I have my to-make recipes on Pinterest which makes it a little easier to get around to making all the things I want to try since I can see the pictures and just scroll through. :)
  • jumpeatrun June 14, 2013, 8:21 am
    Oooh- something about that veggie brown rice pizza is really calling my name. Love the idea of the egg on top too!
  • Becky @ Olives n Wine June 14, 2013, 8:29 am
    Love the drippy egg on the pizza bake!! You always seem to find the best recipes! Maybe if you add some more spice to the lentil stew, it'll be better next time?
  • Christine @ Gotta Eat Green June 14, 2013, 8:44 am
    I am all about the "cleaning out the fridge" bowls as well. I throw in whatever veggies and protein I have and cook it up with a simple sauce and rice.
  • slimsanity June 14, 2013, 8:52 am
    I hope you have a great weekend!! :) It's always fun getting together with college friends!
  • Katherine June 14, 2013, 8:56 am
    This food looks so good! Have a wonderful weekend full of fun!
  • Alex @ Cookie Dough Katzen June 14, 2013, 9:08 am
    I need to do a post like this. So many great recipes out there. Happy Friday!
  • jessiebearwhat June 14, 2013, 9:11 am
    I love friday favorites posts! And I like that you showed a recipe that turned out not so great :P makes things more relatable
  • cookingfortheotherhalf June 14, 2013, 9:28 am
    I looooove putting runny egg atop various foods like pizza, salads, and pasta. So delicious!
  • The Cookie ChRUNicles June 14, 2013, 9:57 am
    We eat very similar meals! I am going to try out the pizza rice - I have leftover brown rice right now in my refrigerator!
  • blonde hair blue eyed runner June 14, 2013, 10:38 am
    Okay I'm loving all of these recipes, you make some delicious dishes! I make something similar to that stew but I add taco seasoning, maybe that would help? I'm sure you'll work your magic and try it again;)
  • Kelly @ Hidden Fruits and Veggies June 14, 2013, 10:40 am
    Glad you liked the Dijon veggie couscous (or.. rice?)-- I love hearing when you make my recipes! If I wasn't a total rice failure, I probably would've gone that route, too.
  • chasingchels June 14, 2013, 10:48 am
    Looks like you bookmarked some tasty eats, girl! I hate it when they don't taste as you hope or expect though :( always disappointing. Have a great weekend on your old stomping grounds :)
  • Dana @ Conscious Kitchen Blog June 14, 2013, 11:16 am
    I'm always a bit disappointed when I recipe doesn't turn out as I hoped - especially if I didn't like the way it tasted, but oh well - it happens. Have fun at the wedding!
  • rebacox June 14, 2013, 11:23 am
    I really want to try couscous rice but I need a new food processor! Wonder why that recipe didn't work. Perhaps it relied on the flavor of the vegetable to be enough. It sure looks good. I bet it could in improved with some sautéed onion and seasonings.
  • Eating 4 Balance June 14, 2013, 11:28 am
    Everything turned out looking awesome! Too bad about the last recipe because it looked great at least. I'm the same way in that I only share the successes, rarely the failures when dealing with other's recipes. I hate making other feel bad!
  • Brittany June 14, 2013, 11:32 am
    That pizza bake is calling my name!! I have so many recipes I want to make, and there seems like there is never enough time!! I have had to calm down my pinning so that I can attempt to make most of the recipes I have already pinned haha. Happy weekend!
  • Tara June 14, 2013, 11:33 am
    That drippy egg made me so excited! Every time I go out to brunch, I look for an option with a drippy egg. They are absolutely my favorite!
  • Khushboo Thadani (@KhushbooThadani) June 14, 2013, 12:27 pm
    THanks for the link shares- love the sound of a pizza baked...even better with a runny yolk!
  • Sarah June 14, 2013, 1:33 pm
    have a great weekend! yup, sometimes recipes just disappoint. always a bummer but at least there are always more to try :)
  • makingthymeforhealth June 14, 2013, 2:03 pm
    I hear you about the unorganized bookmarked recipes, mine are a mess. Looks like you have so many good ones! Have a great trip! :)
  • megbek June 14, 2013, 5:44 pm
    Oh yay, have fun this weekend! All those dishes look great, and I'm all about cleaning out your fridge to make a good dish! Alas, bad dishes are the worst, sorry that one didn't turn out. :( Hopefully it wasn't too costly!
  • P June 14, 2013, 6:45 pm
    Fried egg and a pizza bake----looks so good!! Have an awesome trip!
  • Ashley @ AlmostVegGirlie June 14, 2013, 11:31 pm
    It's so disappointing when a recipe doesn't turn out, but at least you had some successes! That "clean out the fridge" bowl looks really good, I love throwing things together and seeing how they turn out.
  • ahealthyhappyhome June 14, 2013, 11:44 pm
    I've made Melissa's cauliflower rice dish too and it's so good! Hope you have a great weekend!
  • Sarah @ The Smart Kitchen June 15, 2013, 10:42 am
    Um. That egg! :) Glad you love the bake...so easy, and SO adaptable. Now that tomatoes are fresh and delicious, I will definitely have to try with those and not canned.
  • Jan @ Sprouts n Squats June 16, 2013, 5:54 am
    All of those look like delicious recipes :)
  • elizabethgardenkitchen June 16, 2013, 4:48 pm
    I absoutely hate it when I spend a lot of time on a recipe that ends up being a disappointment. I seem to encounter it most often with desserts - and the sole purpose of desserts is to taste good! At least with an unimpressive, healthy main dish, I can suck it up and eat it anyway since I know it is good for me. Glad to know the pizza bake was a winner - I definitely want to try that one!
  • jessielovestorun June 16, 2013, 10:03 pm
    I have a ridiculous amount of recipes I too need to get through.. unfortunately, I just don't see it happening.. especially when I add at least two new ones every single day, Ha Ha! Hope you had a blast at the wedding this weekend girl <3
  • Wishes and Dishes June 17, 2013, 12:56 am
    I have my eye on that pizza bake!! I hope you had fun at the wedding! Make sure you post pics :)
  • Alexis @ Hummusapien June 17, 2013, 8:53 am
    That cauliflower rice looks fabulous! Thanks for sharing!
  • Angela @ Another Bite Please June 17, 2013, 12:26 pm
    i have so many recipes marked too...it is a bummer when something doesn't turn out but i always think if i didn't try then i'd still have it marked to try. hahaha
  • Melissa @ Fit 'n' Well Mommy January 28, 2014, 12:02 pm
    I'm glad you liked the cauliflower rice! It is a favorite in our household! Melissa @ Fit 'n' Well Mommy recently posted...Friday Favorites!My Profile
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