Spuds & Veggies Skillet Scramble with Notcho Nocheez

Salads, smoothies, granolas, and other “cold” foods are great for quick meals or snacks. But my body responds better to cooked/hot foods sometimes. Especially in the winter months living in Pittsburgh, PA where it can get quite cold and dreary!

But just because something is a prepared hot food, doesn’t mean it needs to take hours to make! I’m excited to share a versatile “skillet” meal that can be made in less than 15 minutes…and even less with the right prep!

I call this creation the “Spuds & Veggies Skillet Scramble” and I hope you will appreciate its versatility & simplicity as much as I do!

I’ll share the foundation recipe with you and encourage you to tweak it to your tastes – or to whatever you have in the refrigerator!

Before we start to prepare this dish, please let me tell you that I’m a huge potato fan – I LOVE them. Yes, the plain white potatoes that my body probably went for decades not eating because of worry about the “carbs”. Perhaps you’ve been there too – all protein, and no carbs. I lived that lifestyle for decades, but that is all behind me now. No longer do these lips fear the carbs from plant-based foods like potatoes! You can make your own decision about incorporating the potato in this dish, but the spuds usually show up in this dish for me!

Let’s get started…

First, here are the ingredients you will need:

• 1 – 2 TBSP olive oil (if you do not like to use oils, then you can use water or veggie broth to ensure your ingredients don’t stick to the pan!)
• ¼ cup chopped onion (yellow, white, or red) – more or less to your own preference!
• ¼ cup chopped pepper (green, red, or any color)
• 1 cup bite-size broccoli florets
• 1 cup chopped spinach or kale (remove the big stems from the kale)
• 1 baked* potato coarsely chopped into 1 – 1 ½” pieces – I keep the skins on, but that is up to you!
• Garlic granules (generous sprinkle – about an 1/8 – ¼ tsp) – you could sub 1 – 2 cloves of fresh garlic here!
• Sea salt & black pepper to taste
• ¼ cup of your favorite beans, drained (OPTIONAL!)
• 2 – 4 TBSP Notcho Nocheez (any flavor – Classic, Hot or Tangy)
• ½ cup Just Egg liquid vegan egg (OPTIONAL!)

* Baked potato – I always keep baked potatoes on hand in the fridge so they are ready to go! To bake a potato, wash it well, dry it, and put it on a cookie sheet. Carefully put a few slits in the potato (or pierce it several times carefully with a fork). Bake in a preheated oven at 375 deg. F for about 45 minutes. Check if the potato is done by seeing if a fork can press into a soft potato. If the potato is still too firm, bake for another 5 – 10 minutes. I usually bake 4 – 6 potatoes at a time; once they cool, put them in a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.

Now let’s assemble these ingredients!

First, heat a non-stick medium to large skillet with the olive oil over medium-high heat for a few minutes.

Add the onions, peppers, broccoli, greens, and potato.

Add the garlic granules, sea salt & pepper and stir everything well. You can also wait to add the salt & pepper when you are ready to enjoy this dish!

Stir this occasionally and let it cook for about 5 minutes. If the skillet starts to dry, add a tablespoon of water (or veggie broth) to prevent things from sticking to the pan.

When the potatoes and veggies have browned, and the greens are wilted and soft, you can add the beans (if you are adding!) I like adding the beans for some additional fiber! My favorite beans to use here are chickpeas (garbanzo beans), red beans, navy beans, or black beans. Any canned bean will work, just be sure to drain the beans before adding! Stir the mixture.

Add the Notcho Nocheez (if adding – and I hope you do because it adds a superb flavor!). NOTE – if you are adding Notcho Nocheez, you won’t need to add extra salt!

Stir everything together and then push the mixture to one side of the pan to make room for the Just Egg (if you are adding this optional ingredient). If you are not going to add the Just Egg, then take the dish off the heat and plate to serve!

If you do add the Just Egg, pour it into the pan where you made the empty space. Stir it quickly and let it cook for about a minute and then stir again. Keep stirring until the liquid is no longer liquid and the Just Egg has formed pieces. Incorporate the Just Egg into the entire mixture and turn off the heat.

Serve in bowls with a side of Notcho Nocheez, unsweetened ketchup, Siracha sauce, or Bragg’s liquid aminos (or tamari) – or whatever side-sauce you wish!

This recipe will make 3 – 4 servings. Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days in an air-tight container.

Some variations to this versatile meal include:

• Add a TBSP of chopped jalapeno (or other hot pepper) with the sweet pepper.
• Add an 1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes.
• Use whatever vegetable you may have in the fridge if you don’t have/want broccoli – zucchini, squash, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts are good additions!
• Instead of the kale or spinach, try Swiss Chard, Rainbow Chard or Bok choy.
• Make a “fiesta-flare” scramble by using the onions, peppers, greens and Hot Notcho Nocheez. Serve with your favorite salsa!
• Instead of baked potato, add pre-cooked rice!

I hope you enjoy this quick meal – I love it for breakfast, lunch or dinner! Please send us your comments and pictures of your creations!

Thanks for veggin out with The Happy Vegan!