Lemon Maple Roasted Potatoes

Who else loves potatoes?

When I came back from my time in Europe, I could not eat potatoes for the longest time. I think I overdid it. When I finally got over, though, I remembered quite quickly why I used to love them! Potatoes are healthy, inexpensive, and tasty! Great source of vitamin C, potassium, B6, and are fat free (well, before you may choose to add any anyway)! Yay!

There are so many different ways to enjoy them too - hashed, scalloped, mashed, boiled, fried...you can have them for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. The possibilities are endless, really.

I am sharing a roasted variety today!

These tasty roasted potatoes are a great side to pretty much anything. I especially love them with marinated tofu steaks (sharing that recipe soon!) and some greenery. 

The best part is that they are so quick to bake, and are very tasty. After a long day at work, I certainly don't want to be slaving in the kitchen. These are also fantastic when you have last-minute guests. They seem fancy, but aren't!

They make the perfect holiday side - I bet gravy would be groovy on these little guys. If you go that route, you may want to double this recipe since this recipe is for a small batch.

This is just a simple, delicious way to enjoy some potatoes. I love using the mini ones and a variety so that it looks extra pretty, but you don't have to. You don't even have to slice them hasselback style if you are in a rush! Totally up to you. I used pink himalayan salt in mine, but you can use regular sea salt in yours. I kind of like the large grain texture, but you may not.

Enjoy it however you want to!

Lemon Maple Roasted Potatoes

what you need:

• 24 oz. small potatoes (I used a variety to get the different colours) 

• 1 TBSP maple syrup

• Juice from half a lemon

• 4 cloves garlic

• ½ -1 tsp pink himalayan salt or sea salt

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 tsp fresh or dried parsley

what to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

2) Wash potatoes and prepare them hasselback style - slicing the potato but leaving the bottom in tact (you don't have to, but I like to because the flavour really gets infused into them that way!)

3) Place potatoes in a medium sized bowl, and add olive oil, maple syrup, garlic, lemon juice and salt, mixing well until the potatoes are well coated.

4) Spread potatoes on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, or until tender all the way through.

5) Once potatoes are cooked, mix in the parsley and serve.

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How do you like your potatoes?

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Lime Maple Tofu Fajitas (vegan + gluten free options)

When you think about a busy day you've just had rushing around doing everything under the sun, do you enjoy coming home to cook a meal? I personally do not. During the school year, a typical work day for me is both physically and emotionally draining. Kids are crazy (I do LOVE my job)! If it were at all possible, I would totally hire a chef to come and cook nutritious dinners for me - but alas, my budget does not allow for that (I don't even think I have to double check it to come to that conclusion, hehe!)

Thankfully, there are a few meals I can easily whip up that taste like they were being prepped for hours. These fajitas are one of those meals. It's quick, easy, and nutritious! They are also very versatile and work with just about any leftover in your kitchen. They also taste great the next day for lunch which is a huge bonus for me!

I'm not a Mexican food expert by any means. The very first time I ever made fajitas I was in Austria and decided to take a weekend trip to visit a friend. I wanted to make her dinner, so I threw some peppers, tomatoes and tofu in a pan and whipped up a similar product. Since that day, I've made these, and the recipe changes pretty much every time. I've since omitted the tomatoes from my original mixture, but I love the lime and maple I put in these. I actually have never looked up a fajita recipe, so I don't even honestly know if I can call these fajitas - but I suppose they are. Haha!

The trick is keeping your pan on low heat. It gives the onions a really nice caramelization and flavour. You can seriously add anything to the filling. I've added beans before. I've also done a crumbled TVP instead of tofu. And as I mentioned before, I've added tomatoes - crushed or diced or whatever my heart desired.

For the tofu, I baked it in the oven. It got to soak up some more of the lime and maple and doing it in the oven allowed it to get firmer and chewier. 

Anyhow, I'm glad to share this super quick and easy meal with you - hopefully it makes your work week easier!

Lime Maple Tofu Fajitas

what you need

1 large red onion, sliced
1 large red bell pepper, sliced
1 large orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 block extra firm tofu
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 lime
3 tsp maple syrup
Splash of olive oil

8 fajita sized tortillas (can get gluten free)

Garnish/Toppings Ideas:
Fresh cilantro
Fresh lime wedges
Fresh avocados/Guac
Lettuce
Diced tomatoes
Sour cream
Cashew cream sauce

what to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F
2) Press the tofu in a kitchen towel so that you get as much water out as you can and cut it into long strips
3) On a prepared baking pan, lay the tofu and sprinkle with 1 tsp sea salt, 1 tsp maple syrup, a bit of olive oil, and squeeze half a lime. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn off oven and leave them in there until you're ready to add them to the vegetables.
4) To a pan, add a tiny bit of olive oil. On low heat, cool your onion for about 5 minutes until soft. 
5) Next, add the peppers and continue cooking.
6) Add the remaining tsp of salt, the cumin, chilli powder, and red pepper flakes and mix until the vegetables are coated.
7) Drizzle the maple syrup and the other half of the lime over it and add the garlic.
8) Carefully add the tofu, mix, and you are done!

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What's your favourite quick dinner recipe?

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