Okay, I know this isn’t a recipe idea, but it’s about food and it’s about dinner and I thought it was a really cool idea, so I had to share. I am reading Coop by Michael Perry (which is a delightful book) and part of the book is about him sharing anecdotes about his life growing up on a farm. He comes from a large family and one of the traditions his family had was that every Sunday they would have popcorn, apple slices and cheese for dinner. The coolest part about their Sunday tradition though, in my opinion, is that on those Sundays, while they were munching on their popcorn around the dinner table, everyone was allowed to read during dinner. They could bring a magazine, a book, a newspaper, whatever, but everyone read, no matter how old. I love it! The author also goes on to talk about how now that all of his brothers and sisters are grown and many of them have their own kids, they all meet up at their parents’ house each Sunday and guess what’s for dinner???? You guessed it. They don’t read anymore, there’s too many people, but it’s time that the adults get to spend together chatting and the cousins run around the house. It’s simple things like this that memories are made of.
Category Archives: Vegetarian
Popcorn, Apples and Cheese for Dinner
Puff Up Pancakes
You know that look people get on their faces when they bite into something they have never tasted before and it turns out to be a little taste of heaven in their mouths? That’s the face our boys made this morning when they ate this. Wowzer…so good!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
5 eggs
1 1/4 cup flour
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tspn. vanilla
Instructions:
Melt butter in a 9×13-inch pan in oven while oven is preheating to 425 degrees.
Mix eggs, flour, milk and vanilla with wire wisk.
When butter is melted and oven is ready, add batter to 9 x 13 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes.
Serve with butter and maple syrup or maybe fresh fruit and powdered sugar.
What did the family think? Too good for words.
This is a fun recipe to make because it puffs UP. Our boys thought it was pretty cool how puffed up it got. That said, make sure you put it on a middle or lower rack in your oven.
from The Farmer’s Wife
Spaghetti Pie
This was a hit with the whole family!
Ingredients:
6 oz. spaghetti, cooked
2 T olive oil
2 eggs, well beaten
3/4 c. parmesan cheese
1 c. ricotta cheese
1 c. pasta sauce
1/2 c. mozzarella
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toss spaghetti with olive oil in a large bowl. Stir in eggs and 1/2 c. parmesan cheese. Pour spaghetti mixture into greased 9-in. pie plate; form into crust.
Spoon ricotta cheese over spaghetti and top with pasta sauce. Bake for 25 minutes.
Top with mozzarella and bake for 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with remaining parmesan. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
What did the family think? This was a HUGE hit with everyone.
from Sargento
Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian
Avocado Sandwich
So pure and simple it has to be good…
Ingredients:
1 avocado
1/2 lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Bread
Instructions:
Cut, pit and peel an avocado. Put the “meat” of the avocado in a bowl. Mash up avocado until there are just a few chunks…you don’t want it too mushy. Squeeze the juice out of the lemon onto the avocado. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little olive oil. Stir. Spread on a piece of bread/toast and top with another piece of bread/toast. Enjoy!
I just had it with some really good bread that I toasted. That’s it…just toast and the avocado mixture. You may also want to have it with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. I have even seen a recipe to try it with a fried egg. I would have tried that if I’d had one.
What did the family think? I had this for lunch by myself and even if I could have shared with them I wouldn’t have. It’s too good to share. 🙂
from The Hungry Mouse
Creamy Summer Squash Lasagna
Hubby found this recipe on-line and suggested I try it. The only problem is that he got the recipe from a British website so all of the measurements had to be converted (or just estimated guessed.)
Ingredients:
6-9 lasagna noodles
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
5 summer squash, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 c. ricotta
1 c. cheddar cheese
Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook noodles for about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water. Drizzle with a little olive oil to keep noodles from sticking to each other.
Heat oil in a large skillet. Add the onion and cook for three minutes. Add the garlic and squash and cook until the squash begins to soften. Remove from heat and add 2/3 c. ricotta and 1/2 c. cheddar cheese to the zucchini mixture.
In a large casserole dish, spoon half of the zucchini mixture into the bottom of the dish. Add a layer of pasta and then 1/2 the pasta sauce. Top that layer with the rest of the zucchini mixture, add pasta on top of that and then the rest of the pasta sauce. Top off the dish by placing blobs of ricotta cheese on top and then sprinkling the rest of the cheddar cheese on top of that.
Place in the oven on one of the higher racks for about ten minutes.
What did the family think? Everyone loved it. It was super yummy and pretty easy, too.
from BBC Good Food
Filed under Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian
Strawberry Freezer Jam
Strawberries are in abundance right now…you should give this a try and you don’t have to know how to can either. That’s why it’s called freezer jam, you stick it in the freezer instead of canning. I made two batches last year. I kept some for myself and gave the rest to neighbors. Your neighbors will thank you. 🙂 This recipes makes about eight 10-ounce jars.
Ingredients:
3 lbs. strawberries
1 cup apple juice
1/2 c. water
1 package No Sugar Needed Pectin
1 T lemon juice
1 c. honey
Directions:
Clean and stem berries. Mash berries in a bowl. You can use the back of a large spoon or a potato masher.
In a small saucepan, whisk together apple juice, water and pectin. Bring to a hard boil and boil for one minute.
Add lemon juice and honey to berries and stir well. Add in hot pectin mixture and stir well to make sure everything is combined.
Ladle into clean jars and screw on lids. Put them in the refrigerator for a few hours to set up and then transfer to freezer to store.
After opening one, make sure to eat it within a week.
from cuizoo.com
Filed under Everybody Ate It, Six Ingredients or Less, Vegetarian
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Bean Cookies
Do you see a trend here? Low fat/high fiber cookies that taste good…there’s nothing wrong with that!
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 c. Great Northern or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 T water
3 T butter, softened
1 c firmly packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. chocolate chips
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly coat two cookie sheets with cooking spray.
In blender, process oats until finely ground, but not powdery. In a bowl, combine with flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Pour beans into a separate bowl. Add water and use the back of a spoon the mash the beans until they are blended with the water into a paste. Add butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well.
Beat in oat and flour mixture on low.
Stir in chocolate chips by hand.
Drop batter (1 T at a time) onto prepared baking sheets.
Bake 15-17 minutes
Transfer to wire racks to cool.
from Epicurious.com
Filed under After School Snacks, Desserts, Everybody Ate It, Vegetarian
Chocolate Black Bean Brownies
I made these tonight for my family. We have had these several times before and I have always hid the fact that they have black beans in them for fear of a revolt. Tonight though the kids watched me as I put the beans in with the brownie mix. They were a little confused at first, but they didn’t seem to mind that there were beans in their brownies when they were asking for seconds.
Ingredients:
1 box of brownie mix
15.5 oz. can black beans
Directions:
Preheat the oven to the temperature that is says on the brownie box.
Drain and rinse the beans.
Put the beans back in the can and fill the can to the top with water.
Dump the beans and water in a blender and puree.
In a large bowl, combine the beans and the brownie mix.
Pour mixture into an oiled 9×13 in baking dish.
Bake according to package directions.
What does the family think? They love them.
recipe from Weight Watchers
Roasted Green Beans and Tomatoes
Holy schmoley these were good! We had these with hamburgers and watermelon tonight…a classic summertime dinner.
Ingredients:
1 lb. green beans, stem ends trimmed
1 pint cherry tomatoes
Extra Virgin Olive Oil, for drizzling
Salt and Pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put an empty rimmed baking sheet on an upper rack. (Not too high though.)
Coat the beans and tomatoes with the olive oil and season them with salt and pepper.
When the oven is ready, pour the beans and tomatoes on the hot baking sheet and roast for about 20 minutes, until tender and caramelized.
What did the family think? Vegetables were not meant to taste this good. Wow! How could something this easy taste so good? How? Hubby and I could not get enough of these. Our oldest said the green beans tasted like french fries and proceeded to eat them with his hands as if they were french fries. Youngest said he couldn’t eat them because he has two loose teeth and the green beans would hurt his teeth. Whatever.
from Rachel Ray
Lumpe Burritos
I LOVED these burritos! This recipe came from the cookbook we got when we joined our CSA a few years ago.
Ingredients:
1 lb. new potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 tspn. ground cumin
1/2 tspn. salt
pepper to taste
2 T fresh cilantro
8-10 large flour tortillas
1 1/2 c. refried beans
1 1/2 c. grated cheese (Cheddar, Jack or Jalapeno Jack)
Garnish with tomatoes and sour cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Wash potatoes, cut into large cubes, cover with water in a large pot and boil until tender, but firm.
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the onion and pepper until just tender.
When the potatoes are done, drain well and add to onion mixture.
Sprinkle with cumin, salt and pepper. Continue to cook until potatoes begin to brown.
Remove from heat and add cilantro.
To assemble burritos:
Lay out a tortilla.
Place 2 to 3 tspns. on refried beans down the center of the tortilla.
Top with a generous helping of potatoes.
Sprinkle with 2 to 3 tbspn. cheese and roll up as tightly as you can.
Place in an ungreased 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Continue assembling burritos until you have run out of filling. Line burritos up in baking dish as you make them.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Serve with tomatoes and sour cream.
What did the family think? Hubby liked them, but he needs meat in his diet and these don’t make the cut. I thought they were super yummy and I highly recommend them.
Filed under Lent, Mexican, Vegetarian