Category Archives: Vegetarian

May 14, 2012 · 10:38 am

Quick Summer Veggie Salad

I know this isn’t technically a recipe, but I thought I would pass along this idea. I also realize this dish isn’t revolutionary, but let me start from the beginning. I was at the grocery store and wanted a cool summery salad-type dish to go along with our hamburgers for dinner. I went to the deli and got some cold tortellini and veggie salad. The employee handed me the container and I looked at the label. Holy smokes! The ingredient list was a mile long. I handed it back to her and kindly told her I had changed my mind, but I still didn’t have a salad. I headed back to the produce aisle and had a lightbulb moment. I grabbed a package of pre-chopped cauliflower and broccoli and a bottle of gorgonzola and pear salad dressing.

Directions:
Rinse veggies and place in a mixing bowl. Add about 1 1/2 cups of the dressing of your choice to the veggies. Toss and serve or toss and let them marinate for a while before serving. Keep refrigerated until ready to be served.

See, I told you it wasn’t life changing, but it was quick and cool. It was just what we needed to go with our hamburgers and the ingredient list was pretty straight forward.

What did the family think? Hubby and I really liked it. I thought I might be able to get our oldest to eat it, but he looked at my while I was eating some cauliflower and said, “I don’t know how you eat that stuff.” Oh well. Heavy sigh. Someday maybe?

Leave a Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 11, 2012 · 4:52 pm

Baked Asparagus with Parmesan Cheese

My kids get so tired of eating salad, but quite frankly, that’s just about the only veggie that they can both agree on. I decided to take a walk on the wild side last night though and make this yummy asparagus dish.

Ingredients:
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1 ½ tablespoons bread crumbs

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450° F.

In a medium baking dish or on a cookie sheet, toss asparagus with the oil and arrange in an even layer.

Sprinkle with the Parmesan and bread crumbs.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until asparagus is tender.

What did the family think? 3 out of 4 isn’t bad, right?

Where did this recipe come from? I got it from Holiday Food Safety and they got it from the Produce for Better Health Foundation

photo from Confessions of a Chocoholic

Leave a Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Side Dish, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 10, 2012 · 1:24 pm

Pizza Pot Pie

First of all, I love a good pot pie…the flaky crust and all of the rich and creamy goodness inside. I also love pizza. So pizza pot pie must be the best thing ever. You could also call these Dump Pizzas or Upside Down Pizzas because you end up flipping the pizza over so the cheese is on the top and the crust is on the bottom. Be forewarned: flipping these are not for the inexperienced. It might just be easier to eat them like a pot pie with the crust on the top. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Ingredients:
1 can refrigerated pizza dough (or make your own)
1 jar pizza sauce
18 mozzarella cheese slices (3 per pizza)
pizza toppings
ramekins or oven-safe bowls
cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Cut 6 circles of dough about one inch larger than ramekin or bowl.

Coat the bottom of ramekins or oven-safe bowl with cooking spray.

Arrange three mozzarella slices in the bottom and around the sides of the ramekin making sure they overlap.

Add pizza toppings as desired.

Ladle the sauce over the fillings just until the ramekin is almost full.

Spray the outside of the ramekin with cooking spray, then stretch a round of dough across the top and let hang over the edge.

Bake for 12 minutes until dough is golden. Invert each pizza onto a plate and lift off the ramekin. (or just eat it like a pot pie with the crust on the top)

What did the family think? Yummers!

Where did this recipe come from? Plain Chicken


Before Flipping


After Flipping

Note: These are not the super cute ramekins I had mentioned previously on Facebook. Those are in the dishwasher. These lovely pics are from Plain Chicken.

2 Comments

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian

May 1, 2012 · 8:52 am

Pesto Polenta Lasagna

We love Italian food in our house and I loved this recipe because it’s so versatile. I took the basic recipe and added kale, garlic and Italian sausage. You could add mushrooms, onions, spinach…whatever you think your family would like. This dish lends itself very easily to being a great vegetarian meal as well.

Ingredients:
1 (18 ounce) package polenta, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
2 cups kale or spinach, chopped
1 lb ground Italian sausage
2 tsp garlic
1/2 (24 ounce) jar bottled marinara sauce
1/4 cup pesto
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place polenta on a cookie sheet prepared with cooking spray.

Cook polenta for about 5 minutes, turn them over and cook for another 5 minutes.

In a large skillet, saute kale, Italian sausage and garlic until Italian sausage is cooked through.

Spray a 11×7-inch casserole dish lightly with cooking spray and line it with 1/2 of the polenta.

Spread a thin layer of pesto on the polenta. Spoon half of the sauce on top of that.

Top with Italian sausage mixture.

Place the remaining polenta on top and cover with the rest of the sauce.

Bake for 25 minutes and then top with cheese and turn on the broiler until cheese is lightly browned.

What did the family think? They love anything that has cheese and pasta sauce. The kale wasn’t well received by the youngest member of our family, but there was so much else to like that it wasn’t a big deal.

Where did this recipe come from? Allrecipes

Photo from Mangia Bene Pasta

1 Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Vegetarian

April 30, 2012 · 10:56 am

Vanilla Granola

I know you’re thinking to yourself, “Goodness gracious, does she eat anything else but granola?” I do. Honest. But I also really like granola and really enjoy making up different batches/flavors.

Ingredients:
5 cups old fashined rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1.5- 2 cups chopped pecans and/or sliced almonds
2 T vanilla
1/4 cup water
1 cup honey
1/2 cup vegetable oil
Cooking spray

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

Spread granola out on a greased cookie sheet that has sides.

Bake approximately 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from oven, cool and store in air tight containers.

What did the family think? I am the only one who has had any of this version and I love it. It’s one of my favorites.

Where did this recipe come from? Katie Did

photo from Feasts and Fotos

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Vegetarian

April 24, 2012 · 9:02 am

Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

I love trying new smoothie recipes, so when I saw this one over at The Gracious Pantry, I knew I had to try it. I love it because it has a fruit, a veggie, protein and dairy.

Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)
1 cup spinach
1 banana
1 T peanut butter, no sugar added
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:
Blend together and enjoy.

What did the family think? I am the only one who’s had this, but I will tell you it’s very yummy. If you’re afraid of it tasting too spinachy, don’t worry. All you taste is the peanut butter and banana.

Where did this recipe come from? The Gracious Pantry

photo from Urban Chickpea

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Beverages, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

April 18, 2012 · 1:29 pm

Cakey Brownies

I am not a huge brownie/cake fan. I am more of a pie kind of girl, but sometimes my husband just needs his chocolate fix. He and the boys were thumbing through Food Network Magazine and were fairly fascinated with all of the brownie recipes they had in one of their issues. It became clear to me that they all wanted some brownies and since I needed to make something for an event we were going to later on in the day anyways….well, it was time to make the brownies.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
3 T cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
2 sticks butter
2 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 cup water
6 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (I just used chocolate chips.)
5 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
Powdered sugar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Coat a 9 x 13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, cocoa powder salt and baking powder in a medium bowl.

Bring butter, brown sugar and water to simmer in a saucepan.

Off the heat, whisk in chocolate.

Let the butter/sugar/chocolate mixture cool for about ten minutes.

Whisk in eggs one at a time and then add vanilla.

Stir in the flour mixture.

Spread in the pan and bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean.

Let cool and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

What did the family think? The family as well as the people at the event we went to all gave them a thumbs up.

Where did this recipe come from? Food Network Magazine

photo from Following God Every Day

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Vegetarian

April 13, 2012 · 3:59 pm

Nutty Cashew Granola

I have been on a homemade granola kick ever since I tried this recipe and realized that homemade granola is a lot easier than I thought it would be. I like the nuttiness of this one. The only thing I think it’s missing is some raisins, but that’s easily fixed.

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup cashew pieces
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup honey
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Also need – parchment paper

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Cover a rectangular baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the dry oats, almonds, cashews, coconut, seeds and spices together in a large mixing bowl.

Heat the butter and honey together in a small saucepan over low heat. Once the butter melts stir in the vanilla.

Pour the hot liquids over the dry ingredients and stir together with a rubber spatula until evenly coated.

Spread mixture onto prepared pan in one even layer. Bake for 75 minutes. Stir every 20 minutes or so while it’s baking.

Store in air tight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

What did the family think? I am pretty much the only granola eater in our house

Did I change anything? I added some raisins after it was done baking, but it’s good without the raisins, too.

Where did this recipe come from? 100 Days of Real Food

photo from Etsy

Leave a Comment

Filed under After School Snacks, Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Make Ahead of Time, Vegetarian

April 11, 2012 · 11:42 am

Easy Slow Cooker Refried Beans

These are super easy, healthy and were a wonderful addition to our taco dinner last night, but (full disclosure here) my house smelled like an onion factory exploded in it and we could smell it before we even got in the garage. I don’t know if I had a super stinky onion or if that’s just what you get when you throw a whole onion in the CrockPot. Ignore the smell, enjoy your beans and then light a candle to get the stink out.

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and halved
2 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
½ fresh jalapeno or other hot pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
One big pinch of cumin
6 cups water

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.

Cook on high for 8 hours or overnight while you are sleeping.

When done cooking, remove the bigger onion chunks and drain the excess liquid.

Mash remaining beans with a potato masher or the backside of a wooden spoon.

What did the family think? Hubby and I liked them and there were enough for leftovers for the next day for lunch, too. Our kids aren’t huge refried bean fans, so they weren’t a hit with them. I would like to note though that when our youngest was little we had to practically restrain him from literally licking his plate clean when we would have refried beans. Somewhere around the age of three he decided refried beans weren’t for him

Where did this recipe come from? I got it from 100 Days of Real Food and she got it from Allrecipes

Leave a Comment

Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Lent, Make Ahead of Time, Mexican, Side Dish, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

April 10, 2012 · 8:07 am

Egg Souffle

About the only way we eat eggs around here is scrambled, so for Easter I decided we needed to do something a little “fancier”. These came out great and were an excellent addition to our Easter brunch.

Ingredients:
2 T butter
2 T whole-wheat flour
1 cup milk
Salt & pepper
5 eggs
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 9-inch round baking dish.

Separate the eggs by placing the whites in a separate bowl from the yolks. Whisk the egg whites with a mixer on high speed until soft peaks form and set aside.

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once the foam has subsided, whisk in the whole-wheat flour. Keep whisking until the mixture begins to brown then turn the heat down to low and slowly add the milk while still whisking constantly so lumps do not form. Turn it back up to medium and continue whisking until the milk mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/8 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.

Quickly whisk the egg yolks into the milk mixture without allowing them to cook.

Pour the milk/yolk mixture into the fluffy egg whites and using a rubber spatula carefully fold the two together without crushing the air out of the egg whites. Also add and mix in cheese. Do not overmix.

Scoop the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake until lightly brown on top, about 20 – 25 minutes. Serve immediately (otherwise the soufflé will “fall”). Enjoy!

What did the family think? Yum!

Where did this recipe come from? 100 Days of Real Food

Photo from More Intelligent Life

1 Comment

Filed under Breakfast, Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Lent, Not so Easy, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian