Bob Evans (again)

Well just like the stir fry the tomato soup is now gone! I don't understand why they ALWAYS get rid of their vegetarian items. Especially when it was something like tomato soup which is so delicious. The waitress said it might come back but I was told the same thing about the stir fry. Well maybe I can start going back around lent when restaurants all of the sudden start to care about providing options for vegetarians.

Tofurkey on Top 5 WORST Thanksgiving List ...... What do you think?

I don't eat Tofurkey but I know people that do.... I found this link of  "The Five Worst Thanksgiving Dishes" posted from a local news station. Tofurkey was listed as #2.

"2. Tofurky -- Looking more like the suppurating testicle of a rhinoceros than an actual turkey, Tofurky is getting increasingly difficult to dodge these days, and it's been on more than one occasion that we've witnessed the horror of Tofurky baking next to Tom Turkey in the very same oven."

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/forkintheroad/2011/11/the_five_worst_1.php

Vegetarian Chili

ummm.... I love chili! I do not use meat substitute because I don't eat meat substitute but I cook it the same way plus meat for my husband and he love it too. I combine dark red kidney beans, onions, green pepper, and diced tomatoes in a pot with the juice from the diced tomatoes and a small amount of water. I add pepper, italian seasonings, and some other spices and cook until beans and veggies soften. Then I add tomato sauce and simmer it on low until time to eat. I LOVE to eat chili with shredded cheddar cheese and sweet cornbread mixed in. It is smelling delicious and I can't wait until it is ready to eat. 

Lean Cuisine

Lean Cuisine has new Meatless items. I tried one of the new snack items today. I had the broccoli cheddar dip with pita bread. It was very good. The snacks come with 3 different dips all of which are meatless and served with pita bread. They have broccoli cheddar, garden vegetable, and spinach artichoke. 


They also came out with VeggieCuisine. They currently have 4 meals to choose from. Each is made with gardin meat alternative. 


http://www.leancuisine.com/Products/Sublines/VeggieCuisine.aspx

Farm Markets

I love shopping at farm markets! Last week my husband and I stopped at one and got the juiciest yellow watermelon. I also got huge yellow squash for a great price. I even got my husband to like squash by sauteing it with onions and italian spices.

Unicorn

Earlier this week I went to a local restaurant called Unicorn and was very disappointed. I ordered a BLT - B which comes with 2 sides. I was very saddened to hear that they cook their fries in chicken grease. =( So not only did I get charged full price for my bacon-less sandwich, I also paid full price to only got one side. =( There is a local restaurant that I ABSOLUTELY LOVE and I will write about that place some other day.

Veggie Lasagna

Yummy Yum Yum! I made a vegetable lasagna today and used oven ready lasagna noodles (which you use straight out of the box). I make lasagna in loaf pans because the noodles fit perfect and it makes it nice and thick!

* preheat oven to 350*
* cut half an onions,  half a small bell pepper, a banana pepper...mix in bowl with zucchini ( I use canned zucchini mixed with tomato sauce), oregano, and pepper
* add a few tbsp of  garden vegetable spaghetti sauce to bottom of loaf pan and some to vegetable mixture (make nice and saucy)
* place noodle in pan, then add a layer of the vegetable mixture, and a layer a shredded mozzarella cheese (repeat to make 3 layers)
* then place a 4th lasagna noodle covered in a layer of garden vegetable spaghetti sauce, grated parmesan   cheese, topped with a final layer of mozzarella cheese
* cover pan with foil and bake for 45 minutes
* let cool 5-10 minutes before cutting

There are a number of types of vegetarianism, which exclude or include various foods. They are:

• Ovo vegetarianism includes eggs but not dairy products.
• Lacto vegetarianism includes dairy products but not eggs.
• Ovo-lacto vegetarianism (or lacto-ovo vegetarianism) includes animal/dairy products such as eggs, milk, and honey.
• Veganism excludes all animal flesh and animal products, including milk, honey, and eggs, and may also exclude any products tested on animals, or any clothing from animals.
• Raw veganism includes only fresh and uncooked fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. Vegetables can only be cooked up to a certain temperature.
• Fruitarianism permits only fruit, nuts, seeds, and other plant matter that can be gathered without harming the plant.
• Buddhist vegetarianism (also known as su vegetarianism) excludes all animal products as well as vegetables in the allium family (which have the characteristic aroma of onion and garlic): onion, garlic, scallions, leeks, or shallots.
• Jain vegetarianism includes dairy but excludes eggs and honey, as well as root vegetables.
• Macrobiotic diets consist mostly of whole grains and beans.

Semi-vegetarian diets include:

• pescetarianism, which includes fish and sometimes other seafood;
• pollotarianism, which includes poultry;
• "pollo-pescatarian", which includes poultry and fish, or "white meat" only;
• macrobiotic diets consisting mostly of whole grains and beans, but may sometimes include fish.

This information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

Chickpea "crab" Cakes

A friend of mine sent me a link to this recipe  featured on the  USA Today website. I have not tried it but I thought it was worth sharing. I have copied the entire recipe below but the link to the site is  as followed

 http://yourlife.usatoday.com/fitnessfood/recipes/recipe/2011/08/chickpea-crab-cakes/413481/1

Chickpea crab cakes

Source: From The Meat Lover’s Meatless Cookbook by Kim O’Donnel. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked for about 8 hours and drained
• 1 1/2 cups yellow onion, roughly chopped (not quite 1 large onion)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro and/or parsley, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsps. Old Bay seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 8 soft hamburger buns or English muffins

Directions:

In a food processor, pulverize the soaked and drained chickpeas using the "pulse" function until beans form a paste that sticks together when you squeeze it in your hand. Be careful not to overprocess; too smooth, the batter will fall apart when cooking.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except the oil) and combine using the "pulse" function approximately 12 times; batter will be somewhat grainy and speckled with herbs. Shape into patties using a scant 1/2 cup measure (for large) or 1/4 cup measure (for sliders) and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a shallow 12-inch skillet, heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat. Gently place the patties into the hot oil in small batches and fry the first side until golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Gently turn onto the second side and cook for an additional 3 minutes. Transfer patties to a baking tray to finish cooking in the oven for 8 minutes.

(Before frying the next batch, heat remaining oil.)

Serve on a bun with cocktail sauce or your favorite condiment.

Servings: Makes 8 entree-size patties or 12 mini-sliders.

Nutrition per patty: 343 calories, carbs 39g, protein 9g, fat 17g (saturated 2g), cholesterol 0mg, fiber 5g, sodium 542mg.

Pierogies

My husband and I love pierogies  but got burned out eating them after we got a bunch when they were on sale and we ate them too many times in a month...anywhoo back to my point... we normally make butter and onion sauce on the stove, I boiled his,  fry mine, and eat them with the onions and sour cream. However, neither of us have been wanting to eat them and we have 2 boxes of them.. SO... I decided to bake them hoping it would make them more appealing to us and IT WORKED!  Below is how I made them and another pierogi recipe of mine.

Baked Pierogies
*Preheat oven to 350 and place frozen pierogies in greased baking dish
* add cut onions, 4 tbsp of butter, pizza seasoning mix (oregeno, basil, marjoram, gran garlic), pepper, sea salt and layer shredded cheddar cheese on top
* bake for 30 minutes
* serve hot with sour cream on top


Lazy Pierogies
* Cut an onion and put in a small pot with 1/2 cup butter (cook til onions are soft)
* Make mashed potatoes (homemade or instant) 4 cups cooked
* cook 1/ 2 pound of egg noodles
* mix noodles, potatoes, and butter/onions together

~~~~ I first made this dish for my mom and I when I was a teen. My parents had ~~~~ not yet went grocery shopping so the cupboards were filled with odds and ins and I wanted to make lunch for my mom and I. I made this dish and my mother referred to it ~~~~ as lazy pierogies so that is what I have called it ever since. ~~~~