Vegetarians- What's for dinner?

[nseastar]

Judging from the thread in Health/Fitness, there are quite a few vegetarian or vegan members here. Also quite a few who only eat meat occasionally or are considering giving up meat. So I thought it would be fun to have our own version of the 'what are you cooking tonight?' thread. I did a search and the closest I could find was a favorite recipes thread so hopefully I'm not creating a duplicate thread.

Sooooo, what's for dinner? If you have a meat eater in your house, how are you accommodating them (if you are)?

My daughter and I are vegetarians and my husband eats meat- though not every night. I have to mention that I am a soup fanatic and have lately become obsessed with roasting vegetables so you can all guess what my posts will be prevalent in. To get us started, here's what we've been eating this week;

Sunday: purple hulled peas over brown rice with roasted broccoli, cauliflower and onions. Hubby grilled a chicken breast to go with his.

Monday: I pureed the leftover veggies with veggie broth to make a soup and dumped in the leftover peas and rice. Sort of a super easy bean chowder. Also roasted parmesan zucchini.

Tonight: Anasazi and black bean chili and salad.


Okay, who's next?

[Jesskaz]

DH and I are veggie too.

For our lunches I made a roasted corn and barley salad.

Tonight I think we are going to have cheese ravioli with marinara and green beans on the side.

I am into soups as well. I just made a big batch of vegetable barley that we have with crusty sourdough- yum! I have been wanting to try roasting some veggies too, especially cauliflower and brussels sprouts, so I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

btw- what's Anasazi? I googled it and they are a people- do you eat them with the chili? *sorry*

[Kiss Me Deadly]

Rice and curried peas and potatoes (my parents are strict vegetarians, but I eat seafood)

String bean salad

[AustinRose]

Veggie quesadilla with guac.

My easy backup is always an omelette.

[nseastar]

Originally Posted by Jesskaz

DH and I are veggie too. For our lunches I made a roasted corn and barley salad. Tonight I think we are going to have cheese ravioli with marinara and green beans on the side. I am into soups as well. I just made a big batch of vegetable barley that we have with crusty sourdough- yum! I have been wanting to try roasting some veggies too, especially cauliflower and brussels sprouts, so I look forward to seeing what you come up with! btw- what's Anasazi? I googled it and they are a people- do you eat them with the chili? *sorry*

Ha ha- no meat, even human. I got them at a local market. They are named after the native americans who are thought to have grown them originally (which we've 'named' anasazi). They're an heirloom bean- sort of the original pinto bean. The chili was a new recipe and it was yum! I got it from Cooking Light-http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=18 80003 I obviously didn't use sausage and used veggie broth. Also used 2 to 1 crushed tomatoes for diced.

I need to do more with barley. I have a box just sitting in my pantry being neglected. If you have any barley recipes you feel like posting or linking I would love it!

[nseastar]

Originally Posted by AustinRose

Veggie quesadilla with guac. My easy backup is always an omelette.

I LOVE quesadillas!

Originally Posted by Kiss Me Deadly

Rice and curried peas and potatoes (my parents are strict vegetarians, but I eat seafood) String bean salad

Ditto on curry- curried anything...yummy! I actually only gave up seafood recently. It makes it much harder to eat out. I think my choices now are pasta, pasta or pasta. I love pasta but I also like my jeans fitting.

[spoiled_brat]

nseastar, how do you make roasted parmesan zucchini? Sounds delish!

I am still pondering on what to make for dinner so no input from my end.

[Jesskaz]

Originally Posted by nseastar

Ha ha- no meat, even human. I got them at a local market. They are named after the native americans who are thought to have grown them originally (which we've 'named' anasazi). They're an heirloom bean- sort of the original pinto bean. The chili was a new recipe and it was yum! I got it from Cooking Light-http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=18 80003 I obviously didn't use sausage and used veggie broth. Also used 2 to 1 crushed tomatoes for diced. I need to do more with barley. I have a box just sitting in my pantry being neglected. If you have any barley recipes you feel like posting or linking I would love it!

Phew! thank goodness- I was worried! I will have to look for Anasazi's.

I LOVE BARLEY!

Here's my very own soup recipe:

1 C pearled barley
3 C water
pinch salt

2 lg carrots
3 stalks celery
½ large sweet onion
2 big leaves of Chard
Olive oil
Salt
pepper
Rosemary
Thyme
1/8 C Shoyu sauce
6 C water

Cook the barley with a pinch of salt in 3 C water about 1 hour or until most of the water is absorbed. It will cook more in the soup, so it isn’t critical.

Get a big soup pot ready- coat bottom with olive oil and let it heat up on medium. Chop onion and put in pot. Chop carrot and add to pot. Chop celery and add to pot. Last, cut up chard removing stems and add on top. By now onions should be clear and chard should be wilting. Throw in about 1t of salt, 1t of rosemary and 1t of thyme. Add some fresh ground black pepper. When it all looks nice and cooked down, add the 6 cups of water and Shoyu sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover. When the barley is ready add it to the pot. Let it cook for another 20 min or so. Taste and add more salt/pepper/shoyu if needed.

At this point, get out the blender fill it with about 2C of the soup- everything, broth veggies and all. Don’t put the lid on tightly so the steam doesn’t explode the top off. Whirl it up really good and add it back into the pot. This makes the soup very thick, smooth and satisfying. Soup can be served now but it won’t hurt it if you want to leave it on the stove a while longer.


Here's my very own corn and barley salad recipe:


1 bag Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn
½ C barley
1 ½ C water
Pinch salt
Olive oil
3 scallions/green onions
Salt
Pepper

Cook barley on low with a pinch of salt until all water is absorbed. About 1 1/2 hours. When it’s done, put in a big mixing bowl and let it cool. When it’s cool, throw in the bag of corn still frozen. Finely chop green tops of onions and add to bowl. Drizzle in about 3-4T of olive oil, add 1t salt and grind in some pepper. Mix it all up good and cover. Pop it in the fridge to “marinate” until the corn is thawed out then it’s ready to eat. The roasted corn is what gives this the awesome flavor.

[heartnaspade]

The past two nights I've had Amy's frozen meals: vegetable lasagna tonight and mexican bean bowl last night. They are so, so good!

[nseastar]

Originally Posted by spoiled_brat

nseastar, how do you make roasted parmesan zucchini? Sounds delish! I am still pondering on what to make for dinner so no input from my end.

That was the first time I made them and they still need tweaking. I cut them into thick sticks then drizzled a little olive oil and garlic powder, salt and pepper then baked at 475 for around 5 min, stirred added Parmesan and baked for around 6 minutes. It was really good but it was overcooked (really limp) and still didn't have the color I wanted from roasting. Next time I'm going to use the smallest I can find and just cut them in have lengthwise.

[nseastar]

Originally Posted by Jesskaz

Phew! thank goodness- I was worried! I will have to look for Anasazi's. I LOVE BARLEY! Here's my very own soup recipe: 1 C pearled barley 3 C water pinch salt 2 lg carrots 3 stalks celery ½ large sweet onion 2 big leaves of Chard Olive oil Salt pepper Rosemary Thyme 1/8 C Shoyu sauce 6 C water Cook the barley with a pinch of salt in 3 C water about 1 hour or until most of the water is absorbed. It will cook more in the soup, so it isn’t critical. Get a big soup pot ready- coat bottom with olive oil and let it heat up on medium. Chop onion and put in pot. Chop carrot and add to pot. Chop celery and add to pot. Last, cut up chard removing stems and add on top. By now onions should be clear and chard should be wilting. Throw in about 1t of salt, 1t of rosemary and 1t of thyme. Add some fresh ground black pepper. When it all looks nice and cooked down, add the 6 cups of water and Shoyu sauce. Bring to a simmer and cover. When the barley is ready add it to the pot. Let it cook for another 20 min or so. Taste and add more salt/pepper/shoyu if needed. At this point, get out the blender fill it with about 2C of the soup- everything, broth veggies and all. Don’t put the lid on tightly so the steam doesn’t explode the top off. Whirl it up really good and add it back into the pot. This makes the soup very thick, smooth and satisfying. Soup can be served now but it won’t hurt it if you want to leave it on the stove a while longer. Here's my very own corn and barley salad recipe: 1 bag Trader Joe’s frozen roasted corn ½ C barley 1 ½ C water Pinch salt Olive oil 3 scallions/green onions Salt Pepper Cook barley on low with a pinch of salt until all water is absorbed. About 1 1/2 hours. When it’s done, put in a big mixing bowl and let it cool. When it’s cool, throw in the bag of corn still frozen. Finely chop green tops of onions and add to bowl. Drizzle in about 3-4T of olive oil, add 1t salt and grind in some pepper. Mix it all up good and cover. Pop it in the fridge to “marinate” until the corn is thawed out then it’s ready to eat. The roasted corn is what gives this the awesome flavor.

Yummy! I don't have a Trader Joes but I imagine I can roast the corn myself. I'll let you know when I make these. Thanks!

[couture2387]

monday- Vegetable paella (super yummy!)
Yesterday- julienned potatoes with a salad
tonight- tortilla espanola with asparagus

[Danica]

Okaaay you guys are way healthier than me at the moment, I've got garlic and cheese bread in the oven for lunch. :)

[nseastar]

Originally Posted by Danica

Okaaay you guys are way healthier than me at the moment, I've got garlic and cheese bread in the oven for lunch. :)

Mmmm, that sound so good right now!

[nseastar]

Tonight I'm doing stir fry. Broccoli, carrots and baby portabellas with soba noodles.