Good food fuels good writing. Here are two of my favorite go-to meals.
The one thing I find most tedious when I am writing, or feeling anxious, is worrying about what to eat.
I am not only an author and editor, I am also a foodie. I love to eat and moreover, I love to cook. However, once I began to take my passion for writing and editing to the next level and start a career, I found my time limited; as I am sure most of you have as well. Eating was unintentionally put on the back burner and time in the kitchen became more of a chore than an enjoyable endeavor.
Over the years, I have been able to enhance my skills in the kitchen and come up with simple easy recipes that take less than 30 minutes to prepare. I use minimal ingredients, keep them healthy, and inexpensive. Let’s face it, in today’s market, the cheaper the better!
Here are two of my go to lunch and dinner favorites for super busy days.
EASY ALMOST HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP **
1 can of tomato sauce
½ cup of oat milk (or milk that is above 1%)
Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions:
Open the can of tomato broth and add to a sauce pan. Some tomato sauces come off a bit sour or tomatoey. Add a pinch of sugar if you desire.
Add the ½ cup of milk and heat and simmer.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
That’s it. Simple, easy, and comforting.
**Why make this when you can buy a can of tomato soup? Have you seen the sodium and sugar levels on a can of tomato soup? It’s outrageous! This keeps not only the sodium and sugar levels down, but it is also not filled with preservatives. If you want to go a step further and make it from scratch, roast 4 Roma tomatoes, peel and push through a wire strainer. Make sure you add salt, a pinch of sugar, and pepper.
Enjoy this meal with a sandwich of your choosing, a simple salad, or by itself.
STUFFED PEPPERS
4 Bell Peppers (I prefer colored pepper for more sweetness)
1 cup quinoa
1lb ground meat (beef, chicken, turkey, bison, etc.)
1 can corn
2 chopped carrots
1 can pasta sauce
½ cups of frozen peas (if you desire)
1tsp garlic powder or 3 cloves of garlic (if you desire)
Olive Oil (or whatever cooking oil you have)
Salt and Pepper
Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees
Cut your bell peppers in half and remove the seeds and ribs. Set on a baking sheet, drizzle with oil and add just a pinch of salt and pepper.
Dice your carrots
Cook your quinoa according to the package instructions and set aside
Cook the ground meat and add garlic (if you are choosing this ingredient) after the meat has cooked to nearly done. Once the meat has browned, remove from the pan and set aside. If your meat rendered and has left some fat behind, add the carrots and cook until tender. (You can add about a half medium onion if you wish).
Once you have your meat, quinoa and carrots cooked, place all of the ingredients (including the corn and frozen peas) into a bowl and mix well. Taste the mix and add more salt and pepper if you desire.
Spoon the mixture into your pepper halves. It is ok if it spills over a bit.
Once you have hour peppers stuffed, pour your sauce over the peppers. At this point, you may have some sauce and mixture left over. That is perfectly ok. You can use these to add to pasta or eat just as is if you wish.
Place sauced peppers into a 375 degree oven and cook for 40 min or until sauce has darkened.
Remove from oven and let rest for about 7 to 10 min.
You can enjoy this meal with a salad and/or bread or by itself.
If you have left overs, you may cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or you can freeze up to a month.
