Meatless Meals Requested!

[VelociRapture]

Hello one and all!

Husband and I aren’t vegetarians, but we enjoy cooking and eating meatless meals several times a week - most weeks we have meatless meals during the workweek and meat on the weekends, just because it’s a little easier for me to prepare the meatless meals on my own with a toddler running around. I’m attempting to optimize my health (per Doctor’s orders) prior to conceiving my second child and meatless meals can be a great way to do that. So I was hoping you lovely people could offer your favorite vegetarian/vegan recipes for me to try cooking.  

We make great vegan chili and vegetarian burritos with beans, as well as a meatless pasta dish with fresh produce and vegetarian Mac and cheese. Husband also tried making homemade black bean burgers that actually were pretty good - I still love beef burgers, but it’s a nice alternative sometimes. We both enjoy exploring new recipes and it’ll be a great way to introduce our daughter to new foods as well (though she REALLY loves the beans in the chili and the burrito filling. We usually make the burritos once a week because we all love them so much.)

[TeddyBonkers]

I absolutely LOVE this recipe for lemon garlic orzo with roasted veggies. (I put in whatever veggies I know my kids are fond of at that particular day.)

vanillaandbean.com/lemon-garlic-orzo-with-roasted-vegetables/

[VelociRapture]

4 hours ago, TeddyBonkers said:

I absolutely LOVE this recipe for lemon garlic orzo with roasted veggies. (I put in whatever veggies I know my kids are fond of at that particular day.)

vanillaandbean.com/lemon-garlic-orzo-with-roasted-vegetables/

Oh! That looks tasty! Thank you, I’m pinning it right now. I’ll have to try making it soon.

[Bethella]

Man this ended up being really long!

Spinach and Artichoke Lasagna

• 1 medium onion, chopped 
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz) vegetable broth
• 1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
• 1 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained & chopped
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed
• 1 jar roasted garlic Parmesan or Alfredo pasta sauce
• 9 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella (12 oz)
• 1 pkg (4 oz) herb & garlic feta, crumbled

Heat oven to 350 and spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray. 

Cook the onion and garlic in a skillet about 3 minutes, until the onion is crisp-tender. Stir in the broth and rosemary, heat to boiling. Stir in the artichokes and spinach. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the pasta sauce.

Spread 1/4 of the mixture in the bottom of your pan, top with 3 noodles, sprinkle with 3/4 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers 2 more times. Spread with remaining artichoke mixture and remaining mozzarella. Top with the feta cheese.

Cover and bake 40 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 minutes longer. The noodles should be tender and the sauce bubbly. Let stand 10-15 minutes before cutting. Serve with salad and garlic bread.

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I also do a Layered Breakfast Casserole (with or without meat) for supper, usually served with fruit and toast. This recipe is very versatile and will work no matter what you put in it; it can also be scaled up and down depending on how many servings you need. I often make it to use up leftovers (leftover ham, sweet potatoes and asparagus or leftover chicken, asparagus and tomatoes with Italian seasoning and mozzarella, etc). 

Base layer: Choose one of the following. Spray a 9x13 inch dish with non-stick cooking spray or butter lightly.  Distribute the base layer evenly in the dish; if using bread slices or English muffins, arrange in even rows.

• 6-8 slices of bread (stale is okay), cut into 1 inch cubes or left whole
• 4-5 cups salad croutons or bread stuffing cubes, any flavor (about a 6 oz package)
• 1 bag (2 lbs) frozen shredded or cubed hashbrowns
• 4-5 cups cooked rice (white, brown or wild)
• 4 English muffins, split into halves
• 4-5 cups cubed cooked potatoes/sweet potatoes

Meat & Vegetable layer: Choose one meat and one or two vegetables, for a meatless dish simply add another vegetable. Cook raw meats & vegetables. Sprinkle meat and vegetables evenly over the base layer.

• 12 oz bulk sausage
• 12 oz bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pices
• 1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
• 8 oz chopped shrimp or tiny shrimp
• 6-8 oz flaked smoked salmon or other firm fish
• 8 oz shredded imitation or real crabmeat
• 2 cups diced ham, cooked turkey or chicken
• 2 cups diced ring bologna or other cooked sausage
• 8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms or 1 can (13 1/4 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, cored then chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 1/2 cups leftover cooked broccoli, green beans, asparagus
• 1 pkg (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed & drained

Egg-Milk Mixture: Beat together in a mixing bowl. Pour the mixture evenly over the meat and vegetables. 

• 6 eggs or equivalent egg substitute
• 2 cups milk/half & half/cream/canned evaporated milk/any mixture of these
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder or mixed herb blend
• 1 tsp plain or season salt

Top layer: Top evenly with one of the following

• 2 cups (8 oz) shredded cheese
• 8 oz Velveeta, cubed or sliced
• 6 oz cheese "singles" (about 8 slices)
• 1 can cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
• 1 jar (8 oz) Cheese Whiz
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup, undliuted
• 8 oz plain or flavored cream cheese, cubed

Once assembled, cover baking dish with foil; refrigerate overnight or 4-12 hours. When ready to bake, heat oven to 350 (325 for a glass dish). Bake the covered dish 45 minutes, then remove the foil and continue baking until the cheese is melted and the edges are bubbly, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting into squares to serve.

[LeftCoastLurker]

Along the same lines of the breakfast casserole, do a frittata! I do this anytime I have bits and pieces of veggies, cheeses, etc...

Simply heat a 10"-ish non stick, oven safe skillet over medium high heat. Preheat your oven to 325.

Add in some oil/butter/whatever in the pan; usually about a tablespoon or two. If using any raw veg, add it at this time and saute away..

Once the veg is where you want it, add to the pan about 10 beaten eggs to which you've added salt/pepper/any other herbs spices you want. If you have any cooked veg/cheese scraps that you want to get rid of add them now as well.

Mix everything together then let it sit there for a minute or so until the bottom starts to cook. Pop it in the oven and cook for 20 minutes or so until puffy and brown.

Favorite vegetarian combos are:

Tomato/basil pesto/fresh mozzarella

Swiss cheese/sauteed mushrooms/green onions

Spinach/feta/garlic

 

[limegreen421]

One of my less-evil former step mothers used to make an awesome veggie pasta dish when I was a kid. She’d sauté garlic and onion in butter or olive oil and would have some onions carmelizing in another pan while the pasta was cooking (she would always use Barilla Gemelli, which is super hard to find in stores where I live now and I’m forced to buy on amazon in 16 lb lots lol). She would sauté some broccoli/cauliflower/carrots/green beans/peas/mushrooms (or any combination of the above or whatever veggies you prefer) until slightly soft and then mix some veggie bullion paste with a little water and some corn starch in a separate dish. She would then combine the cooked pasta into the pan of veggies and pour the boullion mix over the top. Mix well and cook the extra water down. Gently stir in carmelized onion and serve with a bit of salt and pepper. I always ate mine with Parmesan and red pepper flakes. I think I’m going to have to make this soon...I have plenty of pasta on hand!

[SassyPants]

On 3/8/2018 at 7:49 AM, TeddyBonkers said:

I absolutely LOVE this recipe for lemon garlic orzo with roasted veggies. (I put in whatever veggies I know my kids are fond of at that particular day.)

vanillaandbean.com/lemon-garlic-orzo-with-roasted-vegetables/

I made this for dinner and it was fabulous! Thanks for the recipe.