Tag: vegetarian

Spinach Crustless Quiche

I posted a version of this recipe a long time ago, but over the years I’ve made some updates. This is one of my favorite brunch recipes because you can prepare it in advance and then just pop it in the oven in the morning. It’s become a Christmas morning tradition in my family, but it’s good anytime of year.

Even if you don’t normally eat cottage cheese, you’ll like it here because it makes the quiche rich and creamy. You can vary the vegetables according to what’s in season, and make it colorful. I served the quiche with salsa on the side, which was a hit. I hope it becomes part of your brunch tradition.

Spinach Crustless Quiche

1 T olive oil
2 Vidalia onions, chopped
1 (16 oz.) package sliced mushrooms
1 (1o oz.) package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 (16 oz.) container fat free cottage cheese
6 eggs, beaten
1 c. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese

Heat oil in a frying pan. Saute onions for 10-15 minutes, until softened and just starting to turn brown. Add mushrooms, and continue to cook until mushrooms are soft and most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir in spinach. Allow vegetable mixture to cool.

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, eggs, and shredded cheddar. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in vegetables. Pour into a 13″x9″ dish coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350F for 40-45 minutes, or until eggs are set.

Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

Everyone’s working extra hours these days, and my crockpot is no exception. Last weekend, I made Lentil Soup overnight, poured it into containers, and then got the crockpot clean and ready for this recipe. The stew by itself is a hearty vegetable and bean stew which is good, but a little boring. It’s the cornmeal dumplings that make the difference! The texture of the dumplings is hard to describe; they are firmer than a matzoh ball, but moister than a biscuit. The steps at the end of the recipe take a few minutes, but the dumplings are well worth the time!

Vegetable Stew with Cornmeal Dumplings

1 (20 oz.) package peeled and diced butternut squash
1 (16 oz.) package sliced mushrooms
1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 c. frozen shelled edamame
1 (16 oz.) bag Trader Joe’s frozen romano beans
1 c. water
2 t Italian seasoning
1/2 c. flour
1/3 c. cornmeal
2 T Parmesan cheese
1 t baking powder
1 egg, beaten
2 T milk
2 T canola oil

Place squash, mushrooms, tomatoes, edamame, beans, water, and Italian seasoning in crockpot. Stir and cook on High for 5 hours. Lift cover and smash butternut squash pieces against the side of the crockpot to thicken the stew.

Mix flour, cornmeal, cheese, and baking powder in a small bowl and set aside. Mix egg, milk, and oil in a small bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until moistened. Drop the dough by spoonfuls into the stew. Replace the cover and cook on High for 45 minutes.

-Adapted from Better Homes & Gardens Crockpot Cookery

Crockpot Lentil Soup

When things get hectic, and they always do, I like to go back to the basics. The celery and carrots in my vegetable drawer looked pretty tired, but I hate throwing away produce. While I got a good night’s sleep, the soup simmered in the crockpot and the vegetables came back to life. I stirred in a little balsamic vinegar at the end for extra flavor. You’d never know this soup is just lentils, vegetables, and spices because it tastes much richer. Getting back to the basics can be really good.

Crockpot Lentil Soup

1/2 large Vidalia onion, chopped
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 c. lentils
1 t minced garlic
1 t Italian seasoning
4 c. vegetable broth
1 (14.5 oz.) can petite diced tomatoes in juice
2 T balsamic vinegar

Combine all ingredients except vinegar in crockpot. Cook on Low for 12 hours. Stir in vinegar and serve.

-Lightly adapted from the Better Homes & Gardens Crockery Cookbook

Pasta Fagioli

My grandmother used to make pasta fagioli all the time, and it’s still one of my favorite soups. I am always so busy trying to make new recipes that sometimes I neglect the classics. This pasta fagioli recipe from Skinnytaste is a vegetarian version of my grandmother’s, and perhaps a bit more like a soup than a stew, but the flavor was right on. After a weekend full of blondies and nachos and macaroons, this soup hit the spot!

Hearty Miso Soup

I admit I was pretty intimidated by this recipe for Hearty Miso Soup from Fat Free Vegan! First, I had to find miso paste. I didn’t see it in either Stop & Shop or Shaw’s. At Whole Foods, I found the miso paste in a plastic tub in the refrigerated section near the tempeh and other soy products. That is the only ingredient you have to find to make this recipe. You could easily substitute linguine for the soba noodles, and any green for the baby bok choy. If you don’t have garlic ginger paste, you could use a combination of minced garlic and fresh ginger. I left out the seaweed and wasabi because they just aren’t my thing. So the bottom line: there is no reason to be intimidated, just take things one ingredient at at time.

After all that, I was so happy with how fresh this soup tasted! The vegetables are bright and the miso is mild here and not too salty. It’s the perfect bowl of soup on a cold day, and well worth the time I spent searching for miso. I hope you feel the same way if you try it.

Hearty Miso Soup

1 t canola oil
2 T garlic ginger paste
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ slices
1 (10 oz.) package mushrooms, sliced thinly
8 c. water
1 c. shelled edamame
4 oz. buckwheat soba noodles
1 lb. baby bok choy, thinly sliced
1/3 c. miso

Heat oil in a large pot. Add garlic ginger paste and stir for 2 minutes. Add carrots and mushrooms and stir to coat. Add water, and simmer covered for 15 minutes. Add edamame, and simmer covered for 5 minutes. Add noodles and bok choy, and boil for 7-8 minutes.

Remove 1 cup of broth from pot and place in a small bowl. Add miso and whisk to combine. Return broth to pot. Stir well and serve (do not boil after this point.)

-Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

Broccoli Mac & Cheese

Looking for some comfort food? This Broccoli Mac & Cheese from Skinnytaste will definitely hit the spot. I followed the recipe almost exactly, although I used whole wheat rotini pasta instead of elbows. It was fun to make your own cheese sauce for this dish, and there was plenty of sauce to cover the pasta and broccoli. I kept going back for just another spoonful, and this is a dish that I will look forward to eating for lunch!

Spinach Feta Pizza Roll

I love Spinach and Feta Pizza, and make it all the time for dinner. This is just a slightly different twist on the concept. I buy whole wheat pizza dough and fat free feta at Trader Joe’s, but you should be able to find both ingredients at a regular grocery store. The Garlic Gold is a special ingredient, generally only available online. The little bits of toasted garlic are amazing and I highly recommend the product. But of course, you don’t need it to make this recipe. Just about anything you stuff into this pizza roll will be good!

Spinach Feta Pizza Roll

4 oz. whole wheat pizza dough (such as Trader Joe’s)
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 c. fat free feta cheese
1 t Garlic Gold toasted garlic bits (optional)

Stretch dough into an 8″x5″ rectangle. Don’t get out a ruler though. Mix spinach, feta, and Garlic Gold in a small bowl, and spread on dough to within 1″ of the edges. Roll up the dough. Place on a cookie sheet, and bake at 400F for approximately 15 minutes.

Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

This week has been a bit “wintery” and no winter week is complete without using the crockpot. I was inspired by this recipe for Slow Cooker Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup, published by Healthy Food Guide in New Zealand. Normally I don’t like crockpot recipes that require you to saute ingredients beforehand, but I made an exception here. I am glad I did, because this was a very rich and flavorful soup.

Normally I also make soups that are one-pot meals, but I made another exception. I paired this soup with a container of Greek yogurt to add some protein and make it a meal, but it would also be a nice first course for any dinner.

Spicy Carrot and Pumpkin Soup

1 T canola oil
1 Vidalia onion, diced
1 t minced garlic
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
1 large potato, peeled and cut in 1″ chunks
5 carrots, peeled and cut in 1″ slices
3 c. vegetable broth
3 T flour
2 t paprika
1 t curry

Heat canola oil in a large frying pan. Saute onion and garlic until lightly brown, and place the cooked onions in the crockpot. Add pumpkin, potato, and carrots to the crockpot. In a small bowl, whisk together broth, flour, paprika, and curry. Pour liquid over vegetables in the crockpot. Cook on High for 6 hours. Mash carrots and potatoes with a potato masher. Stir well and serve.

-Adapted from Healthy Food Guide

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

Last week I started a new phase in my journey to be a Registered Dietitian as a full time intern at a hospital. I will still be blogging of course, but right now I am trying to settle into a new routine. And that means new recipes for all of us!

I keep getting menus in the mail for the Chinese restaurant down the street. It’s torture to come home from work hungry and look at a menu filled with crab Rangoon, egg rolls, and pork fried rice. But who needs those little white boxes when you can make Chinese food at home pretty quickly?

This stir fry inspired by this recipe from Eating Well uses mostly standard pantry items plus tofu from the refrigerator and broccoli and peas from the freezer. The secret is coating the tofu cubes with cornstarch before frying them in the pan. That gives the tofu a ‘deep fried’ look without actually being deep fried. When you mix the crispy tofu with broccoli, peas, and a homemade sauce and serve it over brown rice, you’ll forget all about your favorite Chinese takeout place!

Tofu and Broccoli Stir Fry

1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 T rice vinegar
4 T corn starch, divided
1 T sugar
1/8 t red pepper
2 T canola oil, divided
1 16 oz. block tofu, cut into 1″ cubes
2 T garlic ginger paste
1 (16 oz.) bag frozen chopped broccoli
1 c. frozen peas

Mix together broth, soy sauce, rice vinegar, 1 T cornstarch, sugar, and red pepper. Set aside.

Spread remaining 3 T cornstarch on a large plate. Roll tofu cubes in cornstarch, lightly coating on all sides.

Heat 1 T oil in a large pan. Fry tofu cubes in a single layer until all sides are golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.

Heat remaining 1 T oil. Add garlic ginger paste, and fry for 1-2 minutes. Add broccoli and peas, cover, and cook for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are cooked. Add reserved sauce and simmer uncovered for 7-8 minutes, until heated through. Add tofu pieces, stir, and serve.

-Adapted from Eating Well

Ginger Lentil Soup

I started reading Joy the Baker last year, and found myself drooling over her recipes. She is well known for her sweet treats, but I was looking for something a little lighter. So instead of baking, she inspired me to make this Ginger and Lentil Soup. There is nothing like the smell of freshly cut ginger.

I cut the recipe in half, and then made a few changes. First, while I do love the French green lentils in the original recipe, I can only find them at Whole Foods, so I went with the standard brown ones which happened to be right in my cupboard. I also added some green to the pot in the form of Chinese broccoli, but either bok choy or Swiss chard would probably work as well. After a month filled with heavy foods, this soup was light and refreshing, but still a satisfying meal.

Ginger and Lentil Soup

1 T canola oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 T minced garlic
3 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T minced fresh ginger
1 t cumin
Dash cayenne pepper
2 c. vegetable broth
2-3 c. water
1 1/2 c. lentils
1 large bunch Chinese broccoli, large stems removed and coarsely chopped (appx 3 cups)

Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion, and saute for 5-10 minutes until onion is soft and starting to brown. Add garlic, carrots, and ginger, and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add cumin and cayenne pepper and stir well. Add vegetable broth, 2 c. water, lentils, and Chinese broccoli or other greens, and simmer covered for 1 hour. Add more water if soup is too thick.

-Adapted from Joy the Baker