Green Chilie & Cheese Tamales!

In the past, I have not been able to find a meatless tamale that I liked. However, that changed today! I saw Archer Farms Green Chile and Cheese mini tamales at Target and decided to give them a try. They were amazing! My meat lover husband had them with me and he even liked them. We both only had one complaint, that I didn't buy more!

Firm Prices!

Does it bother anyone else that restaurants will make a dish with meat without the meat but won't change the price?! For example...I am at a local restaurant with a amazing sounding mac and cheese (except for the meat of course) they said they can take out any of the ingredients. This made me happy until  I was told I would still be change $13.49 even though I was not getting the bacon or the chicken! Ridiculous (at least I think so)!!! Anyone else agree?!?!

Califlower Cheesy "Bread"

I decided to finally try a cauliflower substitute recipe since I see them all the time. The one that caught my eye the most was the cauliflower cheesy bread. I knew it would not taste exactly like bread but expected it to taste a bit better. Below is the recipe I used along with suggestions on ways to possible improve it.

- Grate a head of cauliflower (8 cups). - Then microwave it for 6 minutes until it softens.
- Once it cools down a bit add 2 eggs, 2 teaspoons olive oil, 2 tablespoons minced garlic, 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper
- Lay mixture out on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
- Sprinkle 1/2 cup of shredded mozzarella on top.
- Bake at 350* for 20 minutes.
 
The cauliflower was crunchy so if I ever made it again I would try to microwave the cauliflower longer. I also think it would be best to leave out the minced garlic and use cheddar rather than mozzarella cheese. It still would not taste like bread but would probably be better than what is listed above.

Baked Ziti

I found a baked ziti recipe and altered it to make a meatless, cheesy baked ziti! The sour cream really gives it an extra creamy flavor! The picture really do it justice.


Ingredients:
1 box ziti                              
 2 jars of onion garlic spaghetti sauce
1 cup sour cream                  
10 slices of provolone cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese       
1 cup grated parmesan  


* Preheat oven to 350 degrees
* Cook  Ziti al dente then drain
* Grease 11x13 pan
* Layer one half of the ziti, 1 jar of sauce, provolone cheese, sour cream, rest of the ziti, 1 jar of sauce, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese
*cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes
* remove foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes to lightly brown the cheese

Rino's Italian Restaurant

My husband took me to Rino's Italian Restaurant in Lorain when we were dating. We went for lunch so we each just ordered off the appetizer menu and didn't even look to see what else they had. This time we went for dinner and it was a much more memorable experience. 

We started off with a fried cheese ravioli appetizer topped with fresh mozzarella and diced tomatoes. The coating on the ravioli was light making it the perfect pre-dinner snack. I then ordered there homemade Gnocchi. It was AMAZING! It had an incredible creamy blush sauce. It came with there homemade rolls and choice of soup or salad. I was pleasantly surprised when the waitress told me that had a tomato basil soup that was meat free. I went with the salad but did sneak a taste of the soup since my husband picked it.The soup was a very light broth and was very tasty as well. 

I am looking forward to going again! 

Moosehead Grill

So Friday my husband and I went to Moosehead Grill, which we had been looking forward to for weeks! Unfortunately, when we sat down and began to look at the menu we both instantly notices that the artichoke dip was no longer listed as an appetizer. It makes me sad because it really was the BEST creamy artichoke dip I have ever had! The waitress came over and we asked if they still had it. She explained that they took it off the menu. I asked her if there was any items that were meat and seafood free she could recommend and she said salad. I was surprised that that was her only suggestion since they do have pasta dishes on the menu. Oh well, we left and ended up with a very enjoyable meal somewhere else! 


See next post to find out where we ended up! 

Lean Pocket

Lean Pocket has a new vegetarian Pretzel Bread Sandwich. It is Spinach and Three Cheese! The pretzel bread is stuffed with spinach and reduced fat mozzarella, fonina and romano cheeses. It is very tasty! 

String Cheese Stuffed Shells

While student teaching, one of the paraprofessionals taught me a creative use for the extra sting cheese we had leftover from school breakfast....stuffed shells. I made this for dinner yesterday because it is easy and I don't like ricotta cheese.


 You simple cook the shells as directed on the box (I make 24). Then cut 12 string cheese sticks in half (I use mozzarella but any would do). Put string cheese half in each shell. Place shells in a baking pan with some of your favorite spaghetti sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle with italian seasonings, shredded mozzarella cheese, and the rest of the jar of spaghetti sauce. Bake on 375 degrees for 45 minutes. 

Luchitas Mexican Restaurant

I love Luchitas! They have a friendly staff as well as great food, margaritas, and are vegetarian friendly! I have only tried 2 menu items the Guaccamole Picado and Tinga de Pollo Vegetarian. Both items were delicious! They have other items that are always meat free and options like Tinga de Pollo that list "vegetarian available" (pictured above) on the menu. I went there on Friday and had the item that I get the most....Tinga de Pollo Vegetarian!

Tinga de Pollo - "Shredded chicken in a smoky chipotle, tomatillo, chorizo, and a tomato-based salsa, topped with homemade Mexican cream and slices of avocado. Served with Mexican white rice and black beans. Vegetarian available."


The picture above shows the vegetarian one. It is also severed with tortillas. As you can see the meatless option varied quiet a bit from the menu description. The chicken, chipotle, salsa is replaced with a mix of veggies. To be honest I'm not sure what all is in it but it is a great blend. Layed together on a tortilla with some of their amazing salsa makes a great meal with enough to take home for a second meal! If I is not hungry enough for a meal then I order the Guacamole Picado. It again is amazing and just like the Tinga de Pollo, I add their salsa to spice it up.


Guacamole Picado - "Made fresh to order. Avocados diced with onions, tomatoes, cilantro, peppers, and fresh lime juice."


I forgot to take a picture of the Guacamole Picado (sorry...next time). I will show you a picture of the Golden Margarita's. They need no description but I will tell you that after the picture was taken it was suggested that we try the Golden Pom Margaritas. It is the golden margarita with the addition of Pomegranate liquor. Not only does this make it a pretty pink, it gives it a nice fruity taste.

Pizza Hut

Oh Pizza Hut! Why do I continue to give you another chance!? 

After seeing several commercials advertising the cheesy bite pizza, I  tried it today! In a word CARDBOARD! So now for the long explanation. The best tasting part unfortunately was the cheese bite crust. It is unfortunate because it wasn't oozing with cheese like shown on the commercials. The bites were not only over cooked and crunchy, but once you actually was "lucky" enough to bite into cheese it was a hard. Now this could very well be due to the fact that the pizza arrived 20 minutes past the estimated delivery time and was cold. But the part that puzzles me the most, it how the cheesy bite crust was so hard to bite yet the pizza fell apart when picked up because it was so thin and soggy.