Meatless Monday - Fettucine with Creamy Mushroom and Bean Sauce

We had company over for dinner, so I decided to use them as "guinea pigs" for this recipe.  Unfortunately, I was so caught up in conversation that I forgot to take a picture.  But let me tell you, this meal was DELICIOUS!  I served it with the Chick Pea Salad from a previous post.

I got the recipe from one of my FAVOURITE cookbooks: "Gourmet Vegetarian: The Vegetarian Recipes You Must Have" by Jane Price.

Reasons why I love this cookbook:

1. The pictures are beautiful and inspiring.
2. The recipes are interesting.
3. Everything I have tried so far has been delicious.
4. Even though it is says "gourmet", the most of the recipes use ingredients that I can buy at a small town grocery store.  There are some things that you would need to get in the city or at an Asian market, but most of the ingredients are pretty easy to find or can be easily substituted.

Okay, here's the recipe:

Fettucine with Creamy Mushroom and Bean Sauce

Ingredients:

• 280g (10oz) fettucine
• 1/4 C sundried tomatoes
• 250g (9oz) green beens, trimmed
• 1 onion
• 250g (9oz) mushrooms
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 125ml (1/2C) white wine
• 310ml (1 1/4C) whipping cream
• 125ml (1/2C) vegetable stock
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp chopped basil
• 100g (2/3C) pine nuts, toasted (see NOTE)
• 50g (1 3/4oz) shaved parmesan cheese
• sprigs of fresh herbs (optional)

NOTE: toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they are golden brown and fragrant.  Watch carefully as they will burn easily.

Directions:

1. Cook the fettucine in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling salted water until al dente.  Drain, return to the pan and keep warm.
2. Cut the sun-dried tomatoes and beans into thin strips.  Chop the onion and thinly slice the mushrooms.
3. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based frying pan.  Add the onion and garlic and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, or until softened.  Add the sliced mushrooms and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the wine, cream and stock.  Bring to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Lightly beat the egg in a small bowl.  Stirring constantly, add a little of the cooking liquid.  Pour the mixture slowly into the pan, stirring constantly for 30 seconds..  Keep the heat low because if the mixture boils, it will curdle.
5. Add the beans, basil, pine nuts and sun-dried tomatoes and stir until heated through, then season to taste.
6. Serve the sauce over the pasta.  Garnish with the parmesan shavings and sprigs of fresh herbs, if desired.

Meatless Monday - Lentil Kale Soup

I did a bunch of batch cooking on the weekend: shepherd's pie, stuffed zucchini, cheesy "beef" noodles, stuffed pasta shells, and today's feature recipe...Lentil Kale Soup!  Look forward to enjoying some of the other recipes in future posts!

This soup is hearty, flavourful, and packed with protein and vitamins!  And it's easy to make!

Unfortunately, in all of my excitement over this delicous soup, I forgot to take a picture.  So, instead, here's a picture of my empty bowl (proof that I enjoyed it!).

Lentil Kale Soup (adapted from Today's Parent Magazine Sept 2012)
Ingredients:
1 small onion (chopped)
2 carrots (peeled and chopped)
2 stalks celery (chopped)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1/2 tbsp paprika
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 C green lentils (dry)
8 C low sodium vegetable stock (I used epicure) (could use chicken stock)
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
4 C chopped kale (stems and mid-ribs removed)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp chopped parsley (optional for garnish)

Directions:
1) Heat oil in a large pot over medium.  Add onion, carrot and celery and saute for 5 min or until vegetables begin to soften.  Add garlic and paprika and saute for 1 min.
2) Stir in tomato paste.  Add lentils, stock, thyme and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
3) Cover pot, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 15 min.
4) Add kale and salt and simmer for 15 min longer or until lentils and vegetables are cooked through.
5) Sprinkle with parsley just before serving.

Meatless Monday - Egg and Potato Skillet

Ahhhh - I missed Monday again!  I need to get on the ball here.

Anyway, here's your recipe for the week!

Egg and Potato Skillet

This was one of those meals where I was hungry and the fridge was getting bare, so I just looked around and made something up with whatever I had.

A great thing about this meal, is it can be made with mostly food out of your garden, and if you live in a rural area, you can probably find a local farmer to get your eggs from too!  Also, you only need one pan!

Ingredients: (makes 2 servings)

vegetable oil

2 potatoes

1 onion

1 green pepper

1 tomato, chopped - drain off some of the liquid

4 eggs

herbs (I used the epicure herb and garlic mix - you could use oregano, basil, rosemary...whatever you like!)

shredded cheese (a few tbsp) - I used parmesean, but any kind of cheese would be good!

As you can see here, I added the tomatoes before the egg, but I would recommend doing eggs first.  The tomatoes really don't need to cook that long.

Directions:

1) Chop up all of your veggies, but don't mix them together.

2) Heat the oil in a skillet (medium heat).

3) Add the potatoes to the skillet.  Fry them until they start to get soft (about 10 minutes), stirring frequently.

4) Add the onions and peppers to the potatoes.  Stir fry until the onions start to get soft.

5) Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a bowl, mix in the herbs, and whisk the eggs.  You may want to add some milk in as well, but I generally don't.

6) Add the eggs to the pan, and stir them up as they cook (making scrambled eggs).

7) When the eggs are mostly cooked, add in the tomatoes.  Keep frying until the eggs are all firm and there is no eggy liquid left.

8) Put the mixture onto a plate or bowl, then top with shredded cheese.  If you used a cast iron skillet you could just eat it right out of the pan, but I find that the pan is a little hot, so I didn't do that.

ENJOY!

Meatless Monday: Udon Noodle Stir-fry

First, I will apologize to those of you who have been following this blog and looking forward to a post last Monday.  I went to visit my mom for a week, and totally forgot to post a recipe!

But no worries, I am back :)

This weeks recipe was inspired by my mother-in-law, who introduced me to the deliciousness of Udon Noodles.  These Asian noodles are kind of like thick spaghetti, but softer.  I like to use them in stir-fries, so this week I am featuring a REALLY EASY stir-fry that ANYONE could make.  And it's really inexpensive too!  A great meal for those of you who will be going to college or university next month!

Here it is!

I know it may not LOOK that amazing, but it's really yummy.

Udon Noodle Stir-Fry (this recipe makes 1 serving)

Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

Extra-Firm Tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes - about 1/4 of a pack)

Chopped veggies of your choice (I used 1/4 red pepper, 1/4 yellow pepper, 1 thick slice eggplant, 1/4 onion, and 1 portabella mushroom)

Udon Noodles (I got these from Zehrs for about $0.35)

Asian Sesame salad dressing (I like Renee's) - 1 to 2 tbsp

Directions:

1) Heat the olive oil in a wok or frying pan (medium heat).

2) Add the onion and cook until it starts to soften.  Then add the rest of the veggies and the tofu.  Cook until the veggies are tender-crisp.

3) Add the noodles and the dressing.  Cook until the noodles and dressing are heated through.

4) That's IT!  You're done!  Eat!

Meatless Monday - Zucchini Patties, Yogurt Sauce, and Chick Pea Salad

My husband and I went to the farmer’s market last week for an outing with Peanut and to sample some of the local fare.  There is nothing like fresh Ontario produce in August!  We picked up some zucchinis (as well as tomato, onion, berries, peaches...etc. etc. etc.), so I needed to find something to feature these delicious treats!  Enter Zucchini Patties and Chick Pea Salad!

Zucchini Patties (makes about 12 patties)

Some of the Zucchini Patties with the Yogurt Sauce

I served these to my in-laws for dinner on Friday – they were a BIG HIT!  So yummy!  I also reinvented the leftovers for breakfast the next morning!

For breakfast the next morning I at the leftover patties.  Instead of yogurt sauce, I melted white cheddar on top, then placed them on top of a delicious slice of Ontario tomato, and some greens - mmmmmmmm!

Ingredients:

½ C grated carrot

½ C chopped onion

½ C green pepper (or do ¼ C each red and green pepper)

2 C fine soda cracker crumbs (I made mine in the food processor)

¼ C all purpose flour (...I wonder how it would work out with WW flour...)

1 tsp baking power

¾ tsp salt

Pinch of pepper

3 C grated zucchini, with peel

2 large eggs, fork-beaten

Vegetable oil cooking spray (or 2 tbsp cooking oil)

Directions:

1)      Measure the first 9 ingredients into a large bowl.  Stir.

2)      Mix in zucchini and eggs.  With damp hands, shape into patties using about ¼ C of mixture for each patty.

3)      Spray and heat pan.  Brown patties on both sides – I did mine on medium heat for 4-5 min per side.  I used a grill, but if you don’t have one, a frying pan will do nicely.  Just heat up the oil in the pan first, then brown the patties.

Cook the patties until they are nice and golden like this!

Yogurt Sauce (to put on the patties):

I’m not sure how much of each I used, but this is what I put in it...

Plain greek yogurt (regular yogurt will do as well)

Lemon juice (just a small squeeze)

Herb and Garlic seasoning (I used Epicure)

Chick Pea (Garbanzo Bean) Salad (serves 6-8):

Even though I don’t generally care for onion, I LOVED this salad.  It wasn’t a huge hit with the in-laws, but then again I didn’t know that Jim doesn’t care for tomatoes OR olives...he was so polite, however, that he ate it anyway and I didn’t find out until Matt told me later...how someone goes through life without liking tomatoes is beyond me – I used to eat them like candy, but have since decided that the canker sores are not worth the over indulgence.  Annnnnyway....here’s the recipe.

Delicious chick pea salad with local zucchini, tomato, red onion, and basil!

Ingredients:

1 ½ C dried chickpeas

1 medium zucchini

1 large tomato

1 small red onion

3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

½ C sliced kalamata olives

Dressing:

1 tbsp lemon juice

¼ C olive oil

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 tsp honey

Directions:

1)      Place the chickpeas in a large bowl and cover with cold water.  Leave to soak overnight.

2)      Drain the chickpeas, place in a saucepan, cover with fresh water and cook for 25 minutes, or until just tender.  Drain and leave to cool.
***you can skips steps 1 and 2 by using canned chickpeas, but keep in mind that the sodium content is much lower when using dried.  If you opt for the canned version, I suggest looking for “no salt added”***

3)      Cut the zucchini in half lengthwise and cut into 1 cm slices.  Cut the tomato into cubes roughly the same size as the chickpeas.  Finely chop the onion.

4)      Combine the chickpeas, zucchini, tomato, onion, parsley and olives in a serving bowl.

5)      To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients.  Pour over salad and toss lightly to combine.  Serve at room temperature.

Meatless Monday - Potato Garlic Gnocchi

Gnocchi - first of all, it is not pronounced "gah-nok-chi", or any variation of that.  The only somewhat accurate, but easier way of saying it is "naw-kee", but if you really want to get it right try "nyawk-kee"

Well, now that we've got that sorted out...what IS gnocchi?  It's more than one of those things you see on the menu at Italian restaurants and think "ummmm...I have no idea what that is...so, I'll just have the chicken fingers".

It's basically little potato and flour dumplings, though they can be made with many different kinds of veggies instead of potatoes.  I've made them with squash, and also with spinach - perhaps I will make one of these variations to use as a future recipe.  But, for today, we're going with a basic potato gnocchi, with a bit of garlic thrown in there for interest.  See, not scary at all.  Really quite simple, actually...as you will see below!

Here it is, folks:

GNOCCHI:

Ingredients:

3 or 4 regular sized potatoes - I like yellow, but any kind will do.

1 or 2 cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

2 cups of all purpose flour (I normally would do 1 cup each of whole wheat all purpose, but I was out of ww, so this is what I did)

Directions:

1) Peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks.  Steam the potatoes until soft (approx 25 min)

2) Mash the potatoes until smooth.

3) Mix in the garlic, salt and egg.

4) Mix in the flour a little at a time until you have soft dough (imagine pizza dough). Use more or less flour as needed.

5) Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. While you wait for the water, make the gnocchi. On a floured surface, roll the dough out in several long snakes, and cut into 1-inch sections. Gently roll each section with a fork (the grooves help the sauce stick better).  Drop the pieces into the boiling water, and allow them to cook until they float to the surface.  This will only take about 2 minutes!   Only do as much of the batch as will fit nicely in the pot, leaving room for the pieces to float up.  Remove the floating pieces with a slotted spoon, and keep warm in a serving dish.  Then repeat the process for the next batch.  Serve with sauce (below).

SAUCE:

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

1/2 onion

1 zucchini, chopped

4 or 5 mushrooms, sliced

1 C chick peas

1 jar of tomato sauce

a splash of soya sauce

a squeeze of BBQ sauce

chopped fresh herbs (I like basil and oregano...dry will work great too!)...to taste

Directions:

1) Heat the oil in a frying pan (medium heat).

2) Saute the onion until it starts to get soft.  Add the zucchini and mushrooms.  Cook until they start to soften up.

3) Add the chick peas; tomato, soya and BBQ sauces; and the herbs.  Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook until the sauce is warmed through.  *Optional - if you let it simmer for 10 min or so, on low, the flavours will blend more, but the zucchini will be very soft.

4) Serve over gnocchi (or whatever kind of pasta, really).  Top with grated Parmesan (optional).

ENJOY!  If you try this, leave a comment below to let me know how it goes!

Meatless Monday - Tortellini Salsa Rosa and Detox Salad

It's Meatless Monday!  Today's recipe is Tortellini Salsa Rosa.

This recipe was inspired by a menu item at "The Cajun Pepper" restaurant in Chatham, ON.  It's a twist on a standard Rosé sauce, using salsa instead of tomato sauce - a great addition to a mexican themed family night!

So, here's the recipe:

TORTELLINI SALSA ROSA

Ingredients:

Tortellini (or cappelletti...same thing)

Alfredo Sauce (I used a dry mix - need to add milk and margarine.  Or you could buy a can of sauce, or make your own)

Salsa (I made my own using tomato, pepper, onion, lime juice, and epicure mix...but you could just buy a can)

Directions:

1) Make tortellini according to package.

2) While tortellini is cooking, make alfredo sauce according to package.

3) When sauce is cooked, add salsa and stir it in.

4) Pour the Salsa Rosa sauce over the tortellini!  Yup, it's that easy!!!

DETOX SALAD

Now, I won't claim to have come up with this on my own.  I was inspired by this recipe: Oh She Glows Detox Salad

Ingredients:

Broccoli (1/2 bunch)

Cauliflower (1/2 head)

Carrot (1 large)

Yellow Pepper (1/2)

Parsley (a small handful)

Raisins (handful)

Sunflower Seeds (handful)

Honey (drizzle)

Lemon Juice (1 to 2 tbsp)

Directions:

Chop up all of the veggies and parsley (I used my handy tupperware chopper)

Throw in the sunflower seeds and raisins.

Pour in honey and lemon juice.

Stir and serve.  Best if cold.

Meatless Monday - Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

This is a delicious, hearty meal.  It's a good one to try if you do not eat a lot of vegetarian meals, or if you are not familiar with lentils.  It's also a nice meal to make if you are having non-vegetarian company for dinner because it is still a "meat-and-potatoes" kind of dish.  You can make it in a large casserole dish, but sometimes we like to make individual mini-dishes for something "fancy".

...this is just a picture of shepherd's pie, not MY recipe (I forgot to take a picture).  I will replace the picture when I make this again.

Ingredients:

• 8-10 large or medium potatoes (I prefer red or yellow)
• 2 tbsp margarine
• 1/2 C milk (I use soy milk, but any kind will do)
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• about 10 cremini or white mushrooms
• 2 15-oz cans of lentils, drained (not rinsed), or 3 1/2 C cooked green lentils with a bit of liquid reserved*
• 1 or 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp seasoning blend (e.g. a ClubHouse mix, Epicure, Mrs. Dash, etc)
• black pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 1/2 C frozen peas or corn, thawed

Directions:

• Peel and dice the potatoes. Place in a large saucepan with enough water to cover. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and transfer to a small mixing bowl
• Stir the margarine into the potatoes until melted, then add the milk and mash until fluffy. Cover and set aside until needed. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• While the potatoes are cooking, heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic and mushrooms and continue to sauté until the onion is golden.
• Add the lentils and their liquid and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in the optional soy sauce, seasoning blend and pepper. Cook gently for 5 minutes. Combine the cornstarch with just enough water to dissolve in a small container. Stir into the lentil mixture.
• Mix the frozen peas or corn into the lentil mixture.
• Lightly oil a casserole dish.  Pour in the lentil mixture, then spread the potatoes evenly on top.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes (or until the potatoes start to turn slightly golden and crusty).
• Take out of the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
• Cut into squares or wedges and serve!  Enjoy!

*Cooking lentils is EASY.  You can cook them in your rice cooker or a pot, just like rice.  No need to pre-soak or anything.

Meatless Monday - Stuffed Peppers

I've decided to try this new "feature" on my blog - "Meatless Monday"!  My husband and I are what you might call vegetarians MOST of the time.  We occasionally eat fish and seafood, and will VERY occasionally eat other types of meat depending on the circumstance, but for the most part we eat meatless.  I frequently get asked for ideas for meatless meals when people are having company that is vegetarian, or if they want to try something new and healthy.  Granted, not ALL vegetarian meals are healthy, but in this feature, I will try to have mostly healthy meals.

Cranberry-Pecan Stuffed Peppers
This is one of my all time favourite meals, and I often serve it when we have company.  For those of you who "don't like tofu", this is a good recipe to show you that tofu does not have to be flavourless and mushy!  Since cranberries and pecans can be expensive, I sometimes substitute raisins and walnuts, and it's still delicious.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice

• 6 large bell peppers (green, red, yellow...whatever colour you like!)

• 3 tablespoons soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (or red wine, or cooking sherry)

• 1 1/2 cups extra firm tofu (cut into 1 cm cubes - or smaller if you "don't like tofu")

• 1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

• salt and pepper to taste

• 2 cups tomato sauce

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a saucepan bring 3 cups water to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. (Alternatively, you could cook the rice in a rice cooker)
2. Meanwhile, core and seed green peppers, leaving bottoms intact. Place peppers in a steamer and steam for about 6 minutes.  (Alternatively, you could steam them in the microwave)
3. In a small frying pan bring soy sauce and red wine vinegar to a simmer. Add tofu and simmer until the liquid is absorbed. Combine rice, tofu, cranberries, nuts, cheese, salt and pepper; mix and pack firmly into peppers. Put peppers into a baking dish, and bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until lightly browned on top.
4. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine tomato sauce and brown sugar; heat until hot throughout. Spoon sauce over each serving.

If you have leftover filling, it is delicious on its own for lunch the next day!!!