Lazy Lunch: Easy BBQ Tempeh & Tangy Power Greens

Feeling lazy, but want to eat something dee-lish? Then read on for a high-ROI(where investment=cook time) meal you can enjoy any day.

On Friday, I enjoyed one of my favorite lunches of recent times. As I started wondering about lunch, I had no idea what to eat, but I knew I had some homemade BBQ sauce, tempeh, swiss chard in the garden, and some kale on its last legs in the fridge. I wanted to make use of what I already had on hand, but I was already really hungry, so it had to come together quickly and easily. This meal would turn out to be a wonderful surprise in ease and deliciousness.

After doing so well kicking off my day with lots of veg (spinach and onion in that tasty dill-egg-scramble), I knew I wanted to get a great serving of  vegetables with lunch.

I have had swiss chard getting bigger and bigger in my garden for awhile, so I decided to pluck some leaves from that plant. I also knew I had some kale (from the farmer’s market the week before) in the fridge, so I combined the two for a powerhouse-combination of great greens. And some chopped onions chillin in the freezer would be a quick addition to add instant flavor.

Tangy Power Greens

Want a quick and easy vegetable side? This combination of nutritious greens come together in less than 10 minutes and without the need of blanching. Use frozen, chopped onions (a staple in the TCL house) to shorten the prep time. Multiply the recipe, as needed, for a larger serving size.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1/8-1/4 chopped onion (I used frozen for convenience, but you can fresh-chop some)
• 6 cups packed greens (I used swiss chard and curly kale, but spinach and other greens that don’t require blanching would work)
• 1/4 cup broth/stock or water (I used water since I didn’t have any broth, but broth/stock would be more flavorful)
• 4 sprays of Braggs liquid amino, optional
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook till translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
2. Add greens and water and cook till wilted, about 5-6 minutes.
3. Spray in Braggs, add apple cider vinegar and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute to bring flavors together. Add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Serve with BBQ tempeh (recipe follows).

BBQ Tempeh

BBQ Tempeh couldn’t be easier. The flavor is best when combined with homemade BBQ sauce, but the bottled kind will work just as well. This is the easiest way I’ve ever prepared tempeh before, and it packs a lot of flavor with very little effort. Talk about high ROI!

Time-saving tip: Marinate the tempeh while you prep the greens for the previous recipe.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 8-ounce package of tempeh, sliced to make short strips, 1/4 inch thick
• 1 cup homemade BBQ sauce, click to see which one I used (or sub bottled BBQ)
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1. Combine tempeh and BBQ sauce in a bowl. Gently stir to coat all sides of tempeh slices. Marinate for 5-10 minutes (while you prep the greens for the previous recipe)
2. Heat oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add tempeh and cook till each side is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes per side.
3. Serve with Tangy Power Greens (previous recipe).

I snacked on tortilla chips whilst whipping this dish up and then used some smaller broken pieces to garnish the top.

Enjoy!

Tagged as: BBQ, kale, Lunch, Onion, Recipe, Swiss Chard, Tempeh