Fall is here and The Veggie Mama is Back!

Hello fellow Veggie Mamas and curious cooks!

Summer is over and I'm back! The cooler weather has arrived, yes even in California believe it or not! Now that I get to snuggle in my favorite outfit, comfy jeans and a cuddly sweater, I'm ready to start the oven!

Once the weather turns cool all I seem to want to do is bake. Although my favorite creations tend to come in the form of cookies, I am going to venture on a journey this fall of creating wonderful (and simple) vegetarian meals that will leave your guests thinking you've gone carnivorous again!

Here's the first meal I experimented with taking what would have been a meat-full meal and giving it a Veggie Mama twist!

Rice a Roni makes a wonderful Spanich Rice. This is where my creation begins. The directions tell you to add a can of tomatoes (I like to buy the already diced version, organic if possible), but if you're looking for a bit more kick I like to add a jar of salsa instead. I've used an organic mild and an organic fire roasted tomato salsa and both were wonderful!

Follow the directions on the box and add your salsa. Once you've stirred in your salsa and other ingredients, grab yourself a bag of frozen corn (again organic if possible) and pour about half into your skillet before bringing it to a boil and dropping it to low.

While that rice is cooking up, grab a seperate pan and throw in some oil and heat it up on medium heat. Once it's nice and warm throw about half a bag of Quorn Chik'n Tenders (or Quorn crumbles) in and brown them up. Carefully, that oil will be hot :-)

Once your rice is all cooked up and fabulous, stir in your browned Quorn and voila! You have a wonderful meal full of protein, vitamins (corn AND tomatoes!) and lots of flavor. If you want to make it with tomatoes and throw in a little flavor of your own instead of salsa, I like to throw some smoked paprika and even the tiniest bit of cinnamon in for something different. It's an amazing flavor!

Your shopping list for the Spanish Rice dinner is:

Rice A Roni Spanish Rice
14.5 oz. Can of Diced tomatoes (or 16oz. jar of salsa)
Bag of Frozen Corn
Bag of frozen Quorn Chik'n Tenders or Quorn Crumbles
Shredded Cheddar Cheese (perfect for throwing on top as you serve)

My favorite guest wowing dessert to follow this dish with can easily be found on Food Network's website. Just search their recipes for Pears in Red Wine with a Fresh Cheese Filling! For a great flavor, if you have a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods, grab yourself a bottle of Slow Paseo Organic Spanish wine. The first time I made this recipe I was able to use all organic ingredients and it was amazing. Truth be told, the next time I made it I didn't pick up the ingredients myself and they weren't all organic and the flavor of that first time just wasn't there.

Also, be sure your pears and nice and ripe and soft when you make your dessert.

I hope you enjoy this meal as much as we do! My daughter asks for it by name and loves the Quorn in it!

Happy Veggie Eats!