Category Archives: Vegetarian

June 4, 2010 · 9:04 pm

Spring-Summer Ziti

I will tell you right now that this recipe made enough food to feed my family and the rest of the block. Unless you are having company or have a VERY large family, cut it in half. I will type it as I fixed it, but you should probably only make half as much.

Ingredients:
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
28 oz. can San Marzano plum tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste
4 springs fresh tarragon, chopped
1/2 c. fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 lb. ziti
1 lb. thin asparagus, trimmed of woody ends, and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 c. frozen peas
1 c. ricotta
1 c. parmesan cheese
1/2 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put a large pot of water on to boil for the pasta.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots and garlic in olive oil for 3-4 minutes.

Then stir in tomatoes and crush them with a wooden spoon. Season the sauce with salt and pepper.

Cook for five minutes then stir in basil and tarragon. Remove from heat.

When pasta has been cooking for about five minutes, add asparagus and peas to pasta. Bring back to a boil and cook for another few minutes. Drain the pasta and the veggies.

Put pasta and veggies in a large bowl. Add all of the ricotta and half the parmesan to the pasta. Mix well.

Pour half of the tomato sauce into a large casserole dish. Add all of the zit and top with the remaining tomato sauce. Dot the top of the dish with the mozzarella and sprinkle with the remaining parmesan.

Bake for about twelve minutes.

What did the family think? Hubby thought it was good. I loved the chunks of mozzarella. Our oldest said it was the best pasta I’ve ever made. (Not sure about that.) Even our youngest ate it without much fuss…can’t ask for more than that. 🙂

from Rachel Ray

Leave a Comment

Filed under Everybody Ate It, Italian, Lent, Not so Easy, Vegetarian

May 23, 2010 · 9:56 pm

Quesadilla Pie

This is a great dish because you can add just about any reasonable ingredient to it and it comes out fabulous.

Must-have Ingredients:
4 large flour tortillas
1/2 lb. shredded cheese (cheddar, Mexican blend or Pepper Jack)

Possible Ingredients:
Beans, cooked (black, pinto)
Tomatoes, chopped
Onions (green, red, white, yellow)
Corn
Squash, chopped or shredded
Pork, chicken or beef-cooked and shredded
Rice (plain or Mexican) already cooked
Chiles
Cumin
Chili Powder
Cilantro

Garnishes:
Avocado
Salsa
Sour Cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter bottom and sides of a pie dish that is about the same size as your tortillas.

Place one tortilla on the bottom of the pie dish.

Next add 1/3 the ingredients that you have chosen to add to your quesadilla pie. (Note: all layers don’t have to be the same.) Make sure you put cheese in all of the layers though.

Place a tortilla on top of the first layer and add another 1/3 of the pie fillings. Top that layer with a tortilla, add more fillings and then place the last tortilla on top.

Spread a little butter on top of the last tortilla. Don’t skip this step. 🙂

Cover the dish with aluminum foil and cook for 30 minutes. Then remove aluminum foil, turn oven up to 400 degrees and cook for another 15 minutes.

Remove from oven and let the pie set for about ten minutes before you cut into it.

Did I change anything? One thing we always have with this is a concoction of salsa and sour cream mixed together that we use as a dip for these. Yummo!!!

What does the family think? Hubby and I really like these. The kids are inclined to eat anything that involves sour cream. 🙂

Recipe from Simply Recipes

2 Comments

Filed under Chicken, Definitely Making it Again, Easy, Everybody Ate It, Mexican, Pork, Vegetarian

May 11, 2010 · 11:20 pm

Chile-Egg Puff Casserole

I used this recipe A LOT in my vegetarian days. It makes a great meal with some spanish rice and some grapes or melon on the side.

Ingredients:
2-7 oz. cans whole Ortega chiles
2-3 c. Cheddar Jack cheese
6 eggs
1 3/4 c. milk
1/4 tspn. garlic powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Salsa, guacamole and sour cream, garnishes (optional, but highly recommended)

Directions:
Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Butter a 9-inch by 12-inch casserole dish.

Open and drain chiles. Take chiles out of can and pat dry with a towel.

Arrange chiles in a single layer on the bottom of the casserole dish.

Spread cheese on top of chiles.

Beat eggs, milk, salt, pepper and garlic powder together and then pour over cheese and chiles.

Bake for 25-35 minutes. Garnish and serve.

What does the family think? Hubby needs meat in his diet, so this is not his favorite. The boys will eat the eggs. I love this dish. It is super easy and SO yummy with the sour cream and salsa.

adapted from Simply Vegetarian by Asha Praver and Sheila Rush

Leave a Comment

Filed under Mexican, Super Easy to Make, Vegetarian

May 10, 2010 · 12:00 am

Spinach and Black Bean Lasagna

I got this recipe in a recipe swap a few years ago from my friend, Erin. It’s a fun and yummy twist on traditional lasagna.

Ingredients:
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, drained and rinsed
26 oz. pasta sauce
1/2 tspn. cumin
15 oz. ricotta
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 c. fresh cilantro (optional)
9 no boil lasagna noodles
2 c. Monterey jack cheese with jalapeno peppers

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place beans in a medium-sized bowl and mash them with a potato smasher until smooth. Stir in pasta sauce and cumin and set aside.

Place the ricotta, spinach, eggs and cilantro in another bowl. Stir until just combined and set aside.

Spoon 1/3 of the bean mixture evenly over the bottom of a 9×13 in. pan. Arrange three lasagna noodles side by side on top of the beans. Spoon half of the spinach mixture of top of the noodles and spread it out evenly.

Scatter one cup of cheese evenly over the spinach mixture.

Spread the remaining spinach mixture over the cheese, then arrange three of the lasagna noodles side by side on top. Spread half of the remaining bean mixture on top of the noodles.

Arrange the last three noodles side by side on top of the bean mixture and cover those noodles with the rest of the beans. Cover the dish with foil.

Bake the lasagna for 40-45 minutes. Remove from the oven and carefully remove the foil.

Scatter the remaining one cup of cheese evenly over the lasagna and cover with the foil again.

Let lasagna rest for about ten minutes while the cheese melts.

What does the family think? I love this dish. It is a great twist on a classic. It is not my hubbies favorite. It has been a while since I have made this dish so I am not sure if the kids like it or not…sounds like a good time for me to make it again and find out. 🙂

Leave a Comment

Filed under Italian, Mexican, Vegetarian

April 26, 2010 · 6:42 am

CrockPot Veggie Lasagna

I got this recipe from A Year of Slowcooking, my favorite place to get CrockPot recipes. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
26 oz. jar of pasta sauce
10-12 oz. container of ricotta cheese
8 slices of mozzarella cheese
2 c. shredded Italian cheese mix
1 large eggplant, don’t peel
3 summer squash, don’t peel
1 bag of baby spinach
2 T warm water

Directions:
Slice the squash and eggplant into long thin pieces about 1/4 in. thick. (These are going to be your “noodles”).

Pour about 1/4 cup pasta sauce in the bottom of the CrockPot.

Layer in a few pieces of eggplant and squash.

Smear some ricotta on top.

Add a couple slices of mozzarella and a handful of baby spinach.

Top with more of the sauce and continue layering until your CrockPot is full and/or you’ve run out of ingredients. Make sure you leave enough pasta sauce to cover the top and then put the Italian shredded cheese of top of that.

Measure two tablespoons of warm water into the spaghetti jar, cover it, shake it and pour the water on top.

Put the lid on the crockpot and cook on low for 5-8 hours. (The veggies need to be tender and the cheese melted.)

Did I change anything? I did change a few things from the original recipe. I left out the mozzarella cheese just because it sounded like a lot of cheese. Also, the original recipe called for sliced mushrooms and I left those out because hubby doesn’t like them.

What did the family think? Well, I learned something about hubby the night I made this… he doesn’t like eggplant. I had no idea. He couldn’t eat it…it set of his gag reflex. I, on the other hand, thought it was one of the best lasagnas I had ever eaten. Go figure.

1 Comment

Filed under Italian, Vegetarian