Give the animals a break! Vegetarian diets are kind to animals, good for the environment and even better for your health. Even by having one vegetarian meal a day, or one vegetarian day a week, you are making a difference.
Tomato Florentine Tortellini Soup
One again – EASY and delicious are the highlights of this meal.
The few ingredients can essentially be thrown together.
The soup is basically tomato sauce and cream. (For a healthier fare, I used fat-free half and half – and it came out great.)
2 cans tomato sauce (24 oz each)
1 cup broth
1 cup fat-free half-and half
Package frozen spinach (or fresh if you have it)
2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Cook the ingredients until the spinach is cooked.
Pre-cook the tortellini
Just before serving, add the tortellini to the soup and top with Parmesan cheese.
General Tso Eggplant and Mock Chicken
Here is a quick, easy, tasty and nutritious dinner. I typically serve it with rice. Today I tossed it with angel hair pasta.
The heart of the “easy” part comes from Trader Joe’s General Tso sauce. Most of the delicious and nutritious comes from oven roasted vegetables.
I start with a package of Seitan. This is often referred to as mock-chicken. Note that Seitan is essential gluten so this is NOT a gluten-friendly recipe. You can use the Seitan as is or for a little extra crunch, dust the Seitan with corn-starch and pan fry in a pan for a few minutes on each site over medium-high heat as I’ve done here.
Next, clean and dice your vegetable and oven roast them under the broiler until they are slightly browned. The vegetable include eggplant, red peppers, onion and mushrooms.
Afterwards, heat up the General Tso sauce (about 5 tablespoons) and toss with roasted vegetables in a wok or large pot. I will often add a half of a cup of broth to help distribute the sauce over all the vegetables.
Next add the Seitan and you are done!
Serve with rice or as I’ve done here, pre-cook some noodles and stir in with the veggies and Setian.
Shepherd’s Pie – Vegetarian Style
It’s St. Patrick’s day! And while I’m not the least bit Irish, I do like to celebrate with an Irish coffee and Shepherd’s Pie. In this recipe, I swap out the ground beef for lentils (a little trick you can do in so many recipes). The secret here is the cinnamon. I know! It sounds crazy, but trust me, it really makes the dish
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Pasta with Avocado Pesto
Pesto and Avocado met at a bar one Saturday night 9 months ago, and yesterday came this delicious baby! (more…)
Salsa Soup
My family has been making this for years…I think Megan got it first from a friend at Xavier and then we also used to make it on service trips because it’s really cheap and so simple!
1 can vegetable broth
1 can corn (drained)
1 can black beans (don’t drain)
1 jar salsa (mild to spicy, depending on your taste)
Bring the broth to a boil, and then add the rest! Serve with tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, or whatever else your heart desires!
Spaghetti Squash and Sauce
Hello Hungry Folks!
This is a recipe that my mom gave to me just a few years ago. It is easy, quick, healthy, and with very little cleanup necessary.
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes mostly unattended (depending on how long your squash takes)
Serves: 2 hungry people, but we usually buy a small spaghetti squash.
Ingredients:
- 1 Spaghetti Squash
- 1-2 small onions (red or yellow)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 Cup your choice of tomato sauce
- oil or butter
- Fresh parmesan or Pecorino Romano
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- plus any additional vegetables that you would like to add. The joy of this recipe is the variations are endless: carrots, broccoli, sausages, brussel sprouts)
Fun Fact: My mom likes to use salsa instead of tomato sauce! This will definitely add an extra kick!
Step 1: Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.
Step 2: Cut spaghetti squash in two, scoop out as much as the innards as you can, and bake face up for 30-45 minutes (check with fork for softness). Once baked, take out and set aside.
Step 3: Prepare vegetables to cook. I chose to do the onion in long slices and cut slivers for the garlic. (this step you can do while the squash is baking)
Step 4: Cook your choice of vegetables with oil or butter (your choice) over medium heat until close to-but not all the way- cooked.
Step 5: By this point the squash will have cooled enough for you to scoop it and add it to the pan. Cook all together for 1 minute until combined
Step 6: Add 1 cup of tomato sauce, or to taste. Make sure heat is not too high or the sauce will bubble and burn. Cook together for 2 minutes
Step 7: Add grated cheese (maybe 1/4 of a cup, I usually add hella cheese y’all) and cook for 1 more minute
Step 8: Serve up and add some more cheese right on top!
Here is what my serving looked like (YUMMM!)
Here is what Steve’s serving looked like (DOUBLE YUMM!)
This is what Fricso’s serving looked like:
Buon Apetito!
The “Miss B” Openfaced Breakfast Sandwich
A friend Chuck Archer makes the most amazing spicy pepper jelly and I’ve experimented with a lot of ways to cook with it. This recipe is adapted from one posted on SpicyMan.com. My boyfriend dubbed it the “Miss B” because that’s what Chuckie calls me. It’s great for breakfast and basically every other meal of the day. (more…)
[Slowcook Sunday] Moroccan Stew with greens
On Sunday, I decided to make a Moroccan Stew in my crockpot. It was super easy & the house smelled great all day! Tonight, I cooked up a few greens & topped them with the reheated stew — quick, tasty, healthy dinner! I’m excited to use the stew throughout the week. I could serve it with grilled vegetables, top it with a fried egg, mix it in with rice , or just have it as a quick side.
Butternut Squash with Baby Spinach
This is one of my favorite ways to make butternut squash. It’s a warm salad. It is from Wegmans, our great local supermarket. Their recipes call for using their brands of all of the ingredients. You don’t need to get anything prepackaged. The basting oil can be olive oil or grapeseed, with garlic added.
Vegan Green Bean Casserole
This is a great replacement for the traditional Thanksgiving casserole made with cream of mushroom soup. It is a bit more work but well worth it!
credit to: http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2006/11/best-vegan-green-bean-casserole.html