More Recipes

Don't forget...there are more delicious recipes to be found here:

These are  recipes that are all vegetarian.  I haven't been posting them on this blog just to avoid doubling up and I figure most people looking for a vegetarian recipe aren't looking for a mix of everything else.  The recipes on this blog are still good...they're just different.  

And sisters...keep the recipes comin'!  I want to see what you've tried lately!

Don't forget to post your recipes on here for all of us to enjoy! ;)

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

Yet another spin-off of my favorite pumpkin soup.  But I pretty much think that anything with pumpkin in it is the best!  I used orange lentils and they just disappeared in this soup!  Perfect match!  This soup is packed with veggies, protein, and...fiber!  You could make this in a Crockpot and enjoy the smells all day.

Pumpkin Lentil Soup

2 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 small onion, diced

4-6 mushrooms, diced

1 head of broccoli, chopped (or you can use frozen)

1/2 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed

8 oz. whole wheat noodles (uncooked)

1 can pumpkin

32 oz. vegetable stock

4 cups water

1/4-1/2 tsp. allspice (start out with the smaller amount and see how "spicy" you like it.  I like it "spicy"!)

salt & pepper to taste

Saute carrots, celery, onion, and mushrooms for about 5 minutes in a large soup pot.  Add lentils, vegetable stock and water and bring to a boil.  Turn down to med-lo and simmer for 25 minutes.  Turn burner up to about med-hi.  Add noodles and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Add broccoli during last 5 minutes or so.  You don't want to cook the broccoli too long or it will lose its pretty green color (but if you do it will still taste good.) Stir in one can of pumpkin.  Add allspice, salt, and pepper.  Enjoy!

My New Food Blog

I've been working on transferring all of my "healthy" recipes to a different blog.  This one will still be open and I'll still post (and everyone else who posts recipes here).  I just thought it would be nice to have all of my vegetarian recipes in one place to make it easier for me to do my daily cooking.  We eat a plant-based diet the majority of the time and my new blog will be for those recipes.  We do occasionally fix a treat or main dish that doesn't necessarily fit into the vegetarian category so those will be posted here.  I hope that's not too confusing.  My new blog is called Simply Real Food.  I'll link it here and on the side bar.  Stop by and visit any time.  It's still a work in progress but we're getting there!  Enjoy!  And as always...

Bon Appetite!

Zucchini "Crab" Cakes

With the use of Old Bay Seasoning, a classic herb mixture most often used for crab cakes, these little patties can justifiably be called Vegan Crab Cakes.  From the book The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  Love that book!

Zucchini Cakes

2 ½ cups peeled and grated zucchini (about 5 small)

2 Tbsp. nondairy, nonhydrogenated butter (such as Earth Balance), melted

1 cup bread or cracker crumbs, seasoned or plain (crushed Saltines work great)

¼ cup minced yellow or red onion

1 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning

 ¼ tsp. salt (or to taste)

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

¼ cup all-purpose flour

Canola oil, for frying

Spread grated zucchini on a kitchen towel, and roll up jelly-roll style.  Twist towel tightly to wring out as much liquid as possible.  (You may even need to do this twice with two different towels.)  If you fail to do this, your zucchini cakes will be too wet.

In a large bowl, combine zucchini and nondairy butter.  Stir in bread crumbs, minced onion, Old Bay Seasoning, salt, and pepper.  Mix thoroughly to combine.

Coat your hands in oil, and shape mixture into patties.  Coat each patty in flour.  In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat until hot.  Fry patties until golden brown on both sides.  (Reheat in toaster oven or skillet.)

Yield:  8 servings

Lentil Lasagna

Don't let the name scare you off.  This is one delicious lasagna.  That being said, don't go into this recipe thinking it will be exactly like your traditional lasagna.  You have to think of it as its own thing.  And it's a good thing.  I was feeling like lasagna but didn't want all of the cheese and dairy that go with it.  I've had some great vegetarian lasagnas that use tofu in the cheese sauce or TVP as the meat but I didn't want to use any soy this time either.  I have substituted lentils for "meat" so many times and in so many other recipes.  I can't believe this is the first time I thought to use it in lasagna.  It was great!  I made THIS cheese sauce to layer with the sauce mixture.  I think next time I will one-and-a-half the recipe or double it.  Just needed a bit more.  It was stretched pretty thin.  For the zucchini layer I used a vegetable peeler to get the slices very thin and long.  I just peeled the zucchini and then used the peeler to slice all around until I got to the inside seed part.  I put a generous layer of zucchini over the first two noodle layers and they blended right in to the noodle layer.  Great way to get more veggies in.  This recipe does take a few pots and pans to make but if you know you're going to make it you can cook the lentils and the cheese sauce in advance and cut down on the time.


*This can also be made in a crock pot.  Layer as directed in recipe.  Do not cook noodles ahead of time.  Layer dry noodles.  You will have to break them up to cover your crock pot-especially if it's round like mine! Add 1 Tbsp. of water to each corner after assembling the lasagna to help the noodles cook.  Cook in crock pot on High for 3 hours.  Note that not all crock pots are the same-adjust time and temperature according to your crock pot.

Lentil Lasagna

9 lasagna noodles, cook as directed
1/2 cup dry lentils
2 cups water
1-2 bottles of your favorite pasta sauce, reserve 1 cup for top
1/2 bag spinach, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 onion, chopped
1 c. chopped mushrooms
2 zucchini-thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
chopped olives, if desired
Mozzarella "cheese" sauce

Boil noodles in a large pot and cook as directed.

Sort and rinse lentils, being sure to remove any stones.  In a separate pot, bring lentils and 2 cups of water to boil.  Cover with lid slightly ajar and simmer for 20 min. or until tender.  Drain off any remaining liquid.  Set aside.

While noodles and lentils are cooking make cheese sauce. (See recipe below.)  When finished, set aside.

In a large skillet heat about a tablespoon of olive oil and sauté garlic and onion.  Add mushrooms.  Add chopped spinach until wilted.  Stir in sauce and cooked lentils.

To assemble lasagna:  Cover bottom of 9x13 baking dish with about 1 cup lentil/sauce mixture.  Top with 3 cooked lasagna noodles.  Layer with half of zucchini slices.  Place zucchini in the same direction as noodles.  Top the zucchini with half of remaining lentil/sauce mixture.  Next, spread half of the cheese sauce over the lentil/sauce layer.  Sprinkle with sliced olives if desired.  Repeat with layer of noodles, remaining zucchini, remaining lentil/sauce mixture, cheese sauce, and olives.  Place last 3 noodles and cover with reserved 1 cup of plain sauce.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.  Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Mozzarella "Cheese" Sauce
1 cup water
2 small cloves of roasted garlic
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp. tahini (the larger amount makes it "cheesier")
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp. rolled oats
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick.

Sloppy Josés

These sandwiches are a twist off the traditional Sloppy Joe.  The addition of chile peppers, salsa, and beans gives them a kick and I "twisted" them even further and made them with lentils instead of beef.  (If you want to use beef instead of lentils just use 12 oz. lean ground beef.)  Super!  Austin originally found the recipe in a Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cook Book we checked out from the library.  I loved the way they turned out after the changes we made.  Definitely a keeper!

Sloppy Josés

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed and sorted
4 cups water
1/2-1 can refried beans, fat free (use more or less depending on how thick you want your filling)
1 (4 1/2 oz.) can diced green chile peppers
1/2 cup salsa
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
6 hamburger buns
Toppings:  lettuce, sliced olives, pickles, guacamole, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, and/or sour cream if desired

Rinse and sort dry lentils, removing any stones.  Place in a saucepan with 4 cups water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to med-low and place lid slightly ajar over pan.  Simmer for 20 min. or until soft.  Drain off any remaining liquid when done.  Set aside (or go on to the next step while the lentils are cooking.)

In a large skillet, saute diced onion.  Add 1/2 can (about 3/4 cup) refried beans, green chilies, salsa, water, and minced garlic to the skillet.  Stir in cooked lentils.  Cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a boil.  Add more refried beans if desired.  Turn burner to low heat.  Cook for about 10-15 minutes or until mixture is thick and most of the liquid is gone.

Spoon mixture onto buns.  Top with desired toppings.  Serve.

Creamy Macaroni and Cashew Cheese

This recipe uses a different variation of "cheese" made from cashews.  It is so delicious and really fills you up!  Once again my kids were loving the "cheese" and eating it by the spoonfuls.  The only thing I did differently was that I left out the miso paste because I didn't have any.  I baked mine in the oven with bread crumbs on top (see note at bottom of recipe) which was delicious.  I found this recipe in The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  Great cookbook and absolutely delicious recipe.

Creamy Macaroni and Cashew Cheese

1 ¼ cups raw cashews

½ cup nutritional yeast

2 tsp. onion powder

1-2 tsp. salt, to taste

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/8 tsp. ground white pepper

3 ½ cups nondairy milk (soy, rice, almond, hazelnut, hemp, or oat)

3 Tbsp. thickener such as cornstarch or kudzu root

½ cup canola oil

¼ cup light (yellow or white) miso paste

2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 1 lemon)

12-16 oz. elbow macaroni noodles, cooked

Place cashews in large bowl of the food processor and finely grind. Don’t, however, allow cashews to turn to paste. Add nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, garlic powder, and white pepper. Pulse three more times to blend in spices.

In a heavy saucepan, combine milk, thickener, and oil. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Decrease heat to low-medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 1- minutes, or until thickener dissolves.

With food processor running, gradually add milk/oil mixture to cashew/nutritional yeast mixture. Blend for 2 minutes, or until smooth and creamy. Next, blend in miso and lemon juice.

Combine cashew cheese with macaroni noodles and serve. You also may bake it (see below). If you have extra cheese, make more noodles, pour over broccoli, or serve as fondue dip. Cashew cheese will keep for 4 days, covered and refrigerated.

Yield: 8 servings

*The cashew cheese for this recipe will be creamy, perfect for macaroni and cheese or as a sauce for vegetables. To make a hard block of cheese, substitute thickener for 1 cup (about 2 oz) afar flakes. Transfer creamy mixture to container you want to use for a mold (rectangular, square, round). Once it sets (after a few hours in the refrigerator), unmold, and slice or grate. Serve on crackers.

*To make the baked version: Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Transfer macaroni mixture to an 8 or 9-inch square baking dish. Cover and bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through. Uncover dish, and sprinkle ½ cup herbed bread crumbs on top. Continue baking, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes, or until topping is golden brown and crisp. Serve hot.

Black Bean Avocado Salad

You could make a meal out of this salad.  I love how fresh and light it is.  No heavy oils.  Make it at least an hour in advance so that the flavors can blend.

Black Bean Avocado Salad

2 cans Black Beans, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 tomatoes, diced (I like vine ripened or Roma)
1 avocado, diced
chopped cilantro to taste (1/2-1 cup)
2 green onions, diced
garlic salt, to taste (or you can just use salt)
juice from one lime

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Calzones

These are super filling and vegetarian.  Of course you could always add regular cheese and any of your favorite meat toppings as well but we like to keep them vegetarian.  I like to lightly saute my veggies before adding them.  You can use your favorite pizza crust recipe for the dough.  I usually just use a quick whole wheat breadstick recipe (see below).  Don't skimp on the sauce and the cheese sauce or the calzone could end up a little dry.  The Mozzerella "Cheese" Sauce just makes them!  This is a favorite dinner for our family and one I feel good serving.  Load up the veggies and you have a great healthy and homemade dinner!  I usually serve this with a salad.

Calzones

Pizza dough recipe (see below)
Pizza sauce, your favorite homemade or jarred sauce
Mozzarella "Cheese" Sauce recipe

Toppings:  onions, mushrooms, peppers, olives, zucchini, spinach, tomatoes, etc.

Make pizza dough.  While it is rising prepare the filling.  For the filling saute the veggies for a couple minutes.  Make sure they're still tender-crisp.  You definitely don't want soggy veggies!  After the dough has risen, roll it out onto an oiled cookie sheet.  Spread your sauce legthwise on half of the dough.  Layer with veggies.  Top with Mozzarella "Cheese" Sauce.  Flip over the empty half of the crust and press down around the edges to seal in filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Slice and serve!

Whole Wheat Breadstick Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 Tbsp. yeast

2 Tbsp. honey

2 tsp. salt

3 cups whole wheat flour

Mix water, yeast and honey.  Let sit for about 3-4 minutes.  Add 1 1/2 cups flour and salt to mixture.  Mix until smooth and elastic.  Add remaining 1 1/2 cups flour.  Knead for 3-5 minutes.  Place in oiled bowl and let is rise for 10 minutes (can skip this step if in a hurry). 

Mozzarella Cheese Sauce-Vegan

This is super delicious cheese alternative that doesn't have any dairy or soy in it.  You cook it to the consistency you want.  It will thicken up to the consistency of a spread if you let it.  If it's going to sit while you assemble the rest of your dinner then make sure you stop cooking it when it's a little on the "thin" side and cover the pot.  It thickens as it cools.  I don't always roast the garlic for this.  Just use a little less because roasted garlic is more mild.  If you are going to be making many vegan sauces or "cheese" you should go ahead an get a supply of tahini (sesame seed paste) and nutritional yeast (NOT brewer's yeast).  These two items are used a lot.  This cheese sauce is great on pizza, calzones, tacos, or anything else you would enjoy melted cheese.  Great as a dip for veggies or on pitas as well.  To make smoked mozzarella just add 1/8 tsp. liquid hickory smoke.
*Sorry about the picture quality.  I took it as a last minute thought after I made calzones.  The lighting was bad so it looks yellow but it's really white.  You can check out the calzones picture to see it a little better.  I'll try to get a better picture in the future.

Mozzarella Cheese Sauce-Vegan

1 cup water
2 small cloves of roasted garlic
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1-2 Tbsp. tahini (the larger amount makes it "cheesier")
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp. rolled oats
1 Tbsp. cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/8 tsp. dry mustard
1 1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until completely smooth.  Pour into a small saucepan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick.

Garden Muffins

These muffins are lightly sweetened and packed with "good" stuff like whole grains, vegetables, and walnuts.  Great for breakfasts or snacks.  Eat these slightly warm with a pat of butter or your favorite spread and you are set!  There are no eggs or dairy and you'd never even know!  You can make them mini-sized, regular, or jumbo!  I have rectangle muffin tins so that's why mine look like mini-loaves.

Garden Muffins

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (white wheat is the best)

1/2 cup oats, slightly ground (I just whirl them through my blender for a few seconds)

2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar (or 1/4 cup sugar if you don't have maple syrup or agave)

1/4 cup oil

1 cup grated zucchini

1/2 cup grated carrots

3/4 cup non-dairy milk (almond, rice, soy, etc.) or regular milk if you want

1/2 cup raisins, optional

1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, optional

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, oats, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  In another large bowl, combine applesauce, maple syrup/agave and oil.  Add zucchini and carrots and then stir in milk.  Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, then stir in raisins and walnuts and mix until well-combined.

Spoon batter into lightly greased muffin cups, filling each cup until almost full.  Bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes for regular size muffins or 25-30 minutes for jumbo, until muffins are lightly golden and toothpick comes out clean.  Let muffins cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a cooling rack.  Store leftover muffins covered at room temperature.  Makes about 12 regular-sized muffins.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

This is a great non-dairy/non-soy version of sour cream.  It tastes delicious and is less expensive to make than the cashew version.  It is great served on taco salad, fajitas, or anything else you would put sour cream on. (Or you can eat it by the spoonful, which is how my kids like to eat it!)  This is one time when you can let the kids eat as much sour cream as they want!  It actually makes the meals even more filling I've found.  The leftovers are also great served as a dip for veggies.  Make sure you use raw, unsalted sunflower seeds-not roasted.  I buy mine in the bulk bins at my local health food store.  Keeps for about 2 days in the fridge.

Sunflower Seed Sour Cream

1 cup raw sunflower seeds
1 cup water
4 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 garlic clove pressed (or 1/2 tsp. garlic powder)
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Place ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.

Red Bean Veggie Burgers

These veggie burgers are soooo delicious!  They have the best flavor.  Leave nothing out!  You won't be disappointed.  I have substituted a green bell pepper for the red but that's it.  The kidney beans give them a nice red color and the vegetables are simply delicious together.  I usually double the recipe so I can have leftovers.  Leftovers are great reheated.  I love to crumble them over a salad for another meal option.  A single recipe makes about 4 burgers.

Red Bean Veggie Burgers

1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained, rinsed
1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 small carrot, shredded
1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 Tbsp. ketchup
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooked brown rice

In a food processor* bowl with metal blade, combine first 9 ingredients; process with on/off pulses until coarsly chopped. Do NOT puree or they won't hold their buger shape.  Shape mixture into 4 patties, 1/2 inch thick.  Cook in a skillet lightly greased with olive oil on medium high for about 5-6 minutes on each side or until nicely browned and warmed through.  Do not flip burgers more than once or they could lose their shape.  If they do, just pat them back together.  Place burgers on whole wheat bun with lettuce, tomato, onion or any other hamburger fixin's you like.

*This can also be done by blending kidney beans in blender on low then putting mashed beans into bowl and adding finely chopped veggies, ketchup and salt. Stir in cooked brown rice.

White Corn Tortilla Soup

This is a soup like the one they serve at California Pizza Kitchen called Sedona White Corn Tortilla Soup.  I add a can of Great Northern beans to make it a bit more hearty.  They just get blended up with the rest of the soup.  I think this soup is great served with some sweet cornbread crumbled over the top.  Adds a nice contrast to the "kind of" spicy soup.

White Corn Tortilla Soup
3 Tbsp. olive oil
5 corn tortillas, cut into 1-inch squares
1 1/2 Tbsp. minced fresh garlic
2 Tbsp. minced white onion
1 1/2 tsp. minced jalapeño pepper, optional
1 pound white corn kernels, divided
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed, drained
1 1/2 pounds chipped, ripe red tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1 1/2 cups water
1 quart chicken broth, or vegetable broth
Optional Garnish:  tortilla chips, shredded cheese, fresh cilantro, sour cream, etc.

Over medium-high heat, fry tortilla squares in olive oil until they begin to crisp and turn a golden yellow.  Add garlic, onion and jalapeño; cook 1-2 minutes, until onion becomes translucent.  Add half the corn along with all other ingredients (except garnishes), reserving other half of corn to be added at the end.  Bring the soup to a low, even boil.  Boil for 5 minutes.

Remove soup from heat.  Use a hand-held processor, food processor, or blender to process soup in batches to the consistency of a course puree.

Return the soup to the burner and add the reserved corn.  Bring the soup to a boil once again being extremely carful to avoid scorching or burning.  Serve with garnishes.  Makes 6-8 servings.

Creamed Potatoes and Peas

This dish is great as a main dish or as a side.  The peas and potatoes with the creamy sauce make it very hearty.  Quick to put together and easy to make vegetarian.  I make my white sauce with almond milk.  You can also use regular milk, canned milk, soy milk, or even...cream!  Whatever makes you happy.  The last time I made it I threw in some bacon bits.  Enjoy!

Creamed Potatoes and Peas
10-12 small red skinned potatoes (about 1 1/2 lbs.)
2 cups frozen peas
2 Tbsp. diced onion
1 Tbsp. olive oil (or you can use butter)
1 1/2 cups milk
2 T. flour
1/4 tsp. thyme leaves
1/4 tsp. dill
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Wash potatoes.  Skins can be left on.  Cut larger potatoes in half.  Place potatoes in a saucepan; cover with water and cook for about 10 minutes.  Add frozen peas and continue to cook 5-10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. (Or cook peas separately if you don't have enough room in your pot.)

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a saucepan.  Saute onion until tender; add flour, salt and pepper. Gradually stir in milk using a whisk to remove any lumps. Bring to a boil; boil for 1 minute. Add thyme and dill; cook until thickened and bubbly. Drain potatoes and peas; place in a serving bowl. Pour sauce over and stir to coat. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chickpeas

I ran accross this recipe today and HAD to make it.  I had everything I needed and whipped some up just in time for my kids to have as a school snack.  Talk about a healthy and satisfying snack!  They were so good!  I think they would also be very yummy on a salad.  I made a double batch (because one can of beans doesn't last very long in my family) and they were gone in minutes.  Give these a try if you're looking for something sweet and healthy to snack on or if you need a new salad topping!

Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chickpeas

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and patted dry
2 T. maple syrup (you could also use agave nectar)
1 t. canola oil (or oil of your choice)
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1/8 t. salt
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/4 t. ginger
3/4 t. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl until evenly coated.  Spread chickpeas on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.  Bake for 25 minutes. Stir chickpeas every ten minutes to ensure even crisping.

Gnocci with White Beans and Pesto

We loved this recipe! It's pretty simple to throw together especially if you already have pesto made up (or bought). I made my own Speedy Spinach Pesto to go with it. Gnocchi (pronounced 'Noki') are a type of pasta made from potatoes. They look like almond shaped little lumps of dough. In the photo here, I used mini-size gnocchi. Normally they are larger in size. You can typically find gnocchi in the pasta aisle at your grocery store. I buy mine at Wal-mart and they are in fresh sealed vacuum packs. For this recipe I didn't have any canned fried onions, so I left them out. I'll put them in the recipe but personally I don't think you would even need them! If you've never tried gnocchi give it a try!

Gnocchi with White Beans and Pesto

1 pound pre-packaged gnocchi
3 Tbsp. olive oil
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, de-stemmed and quartered
1 cup celery, diced
1 (15.5 oz.) can Cannellini (White) Beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups packed baby spinach leaves
1/4 cup black olives, sliced
1/2 tsp. ground sage
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup canned fried onions
3/4 cup pre-packaged or homemade pesto
1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1/8 cup grated Parmesan cheese, optional

1. Prepare gnocchi according to package directions; drain and set aside.
2. Heat a 10-inch skillet and 1 Tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. When warm add mushrooms and cook for three minutes.
3. Add celery, cover and cook one minute more until celery is bright green and soft.
4. Uncover and cook until water has evaporated.
5. Remove celery and mushrooms from pan and set aside.
6. Add remaining 2 Tbsp. olive oil; when warm add drained gnocchi and brown it alone until bottoms are crisp.
7. Stir and continue to brown the other sides.
8. Turn off the heat; add mushrooms, celery, cannellini beans, spinach, olives, sage, salt and onions.
9. In a separate bowl, mix pesto and broth together.
10. Top gnocchi with sauce and Parmesan cheese; mix well. Serve.

Makes about 6 servings.

Click HERE for my Speedy Spinach Pesto recipe.

Mexican Style Black Beans and Rice

There's nothing fancy about this meal. In fact it's just Rice-a-Roni doctored up "Brooke" style. But boy is it good! This is one of my quick meals that I normally have everything on hand for. My kids love it and it tastes great. I like to serve it with crushed tortilla chips and a little bit of sour cream on top if I have any. Mmmm...

Mexican Style Black Beans and Rice

2 boxes Rice-a-Roni, Mexican Style flavor
1 Tbsp. olive oil
4 cups water
1 (10 oz.) can Rotel, tomatoes and green chilies (I use Mild)
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained (I've used kidney beans, red beans, and pinto beans, too)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli
crushed tortilla chips, optional
sour cream, optional

In a large skillet, combine rice-pasta mix with 1 Tbsp. olive oil and saute over medium heat until vermicelli is golden brown, stirring frequently. Slowly add 4 cups water and special seasoning packets. Stir in Rotel, black beans, and corn. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 20 minutes or until rice is tender. Add broccoli about half way through so that it stays nice and bright green.  Serve with crushed tortilla chips and sour cream if desired.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

We love Shepherds Pie around here and it's so easy to make a vegetarian version. Of course you can always add burger. In fact that's how I used to make it most often. But since we've tried to include more vegetarian meals into our diet I've adapted many of my recipes and this is one of them. Everything else is the same except with the meat version I didn't add lentils and only one can of kidney beans. My Shepherd's Pie has a secret ingredient. I use salsa to give it some good kick. This last time I made it I added a new ingredient that is definitely staying on my permanent ingredient list for this. It's a type of mustard that hardly even tastes like mustard. It's called Southwest Spicy Sweet, Hot Mustard and it's the Great Value brand at Wal-Mart. Let me tell ya, it's GOOD! Adds just a little spice to the dish. Run to Wal-Mart and get you a bottle! You can always add more lentils to this, too. When cooking the lentils just use a 1:4 ratio with lentils to water.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

1 cup dry lentils
4 cups water (for cooking lentils)
4 large potatoes, washed and diced (I leave the peels on. Makes it more hardy.)
2 cans green beans, drained
1 cup frozen corn
2 cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes (I like petite diced the best.)
1 cup salsa
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
3 Tbsp. Southwest Spicy Sweet, Hot Mustard
salt and pepper to taste

In small saucepan boil  lentils and water with lid slightly ajar. Simmer for 20 minutes or until soft. In a separate pan boil diced potatoes for 20 minutes.

While the lentils and potatoes are cooking, mix beans, corn, kidney beans, tomatoes, salsa, tomato sauce and mustard in a large baking dish. (I use my dish that is one size bigger than a 9x13.) Add cooked lentils-drain any remaining water first. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Mash the boiled potatoes. I throw mine in my Kitchen Aid and I just use a little almond milk or soy milk. I try to leave out the butter since the rest of the dish is so full of flavor you don't really miss it. Salt and pepper the mashed potatoes and spread on top of the bean mixture. I used to sprinkle shredded cheese over the top at this point but now I skip that step. Do whatever makes you happy.

Place in 350 degree oven and bake for 25 minutes. Warning: Let sit for awhile before serving. It will be boiling hot right out of the oven! Enjoy!

Roasted Vegetables Over Quinoa

I'm not going to lie. This was so good and so easy and smelled so yummy while it was cooking. Seriously. Some of the young men in our ward were at our house the night I made this. They met at our house before heading out to go do a service project and I didn't think they were going to be able to leave. It was so funny! Apparently they've been talking about eating healthy and healthy food choices because I heard comments like, "So is that healthy food cooking?" and "Those are just vegetables cooking?" and the best one "Vegetables smell that good?" Yes. They smell that good. And they taste even better. And now I'm going to have to make this again tonight because these pictures are making me hungry...and because I have all of the ingredients! You can adjust the amount you need by adding more or less vegetables. Next time I'm adding more! And of course you could add any other vegetables like celery, sweet potatoes, etc. Just fill your baking pan up! I served it as a main dish but you could make it a side as well.

Roasted Vegetables Over Quinoa

3 large potatoes, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces (I left the peels on)
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 1" pieces
1 onion, chopped into large pieces
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1" pieces
2 zucchini, cut into 1" pieces
olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash or favorite seasoning

Throw all vegetables into a 9x13 (smaller or larger baking dish depending on how much you're making). Drizzle a little bit of olive oil over the top. A little goes a long way! You can always add more as they're baking if it seems too dry for you but the vegetables kind of produce their own juices and I don't know about you but I don't really like my food swimming in oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and your choice of seasonings. I tried a new one this time and it was soooo good! Mrs. Dash Grilling Blends: Chicken flavor (black lid). Wow! So yummy! My other standby that I normally use is Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb (the turquoise color lid). Stir to coat all vegetables evenly. Place in oven preheated to 400 degrees. Bake for 20 min. Stir. Place back in oven for 10-20 min. (Time varies depending on sizes of vegetables. If you want it to bake faster, cut your vegetables in smaller pieces.) I usually test the potatoes to see if they are done since they tend to take the longest. Serve over cooked quinoa-1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water. Make sure you rinse the quinoa before you cook it. Cook in a covered pot for 15-20 min.