Tag: food

Campfire Chili with Whole Wheat Mountain Bread

This week’s recipe was handed down to me by my mother and now I present it to you, enjoy!

s the weather gets colder, my belly starts to want warm, hearty meals just like this chili.  It’s packed with beans and warm spices that make it the perfect meal for this time of year.  It’s also hearty enough that you’ll feel full and satisfied…no meat required.  And if it’s camping weather in your neck of the woods then you’ll want to take the ingredients along to make this one-pot meal.  Just let it simmer over the open fire on these cold Autumn nights and then make some friends because this bountiful recipe makes enough to serve 10.  If you aren’t looking to feed quite that many people at once, it freezes great or can be packaged in mason jars* and given as gifts to neighbors and co-workers.

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Grilled Cheese with Tomato Soup

I still have some leftover bread from last week’s Meat-Free Meal of the Week, the Breakfast BLT.  I’d hate to waste such delicious bread so this week I bring you a classic meat-free meal: grilled cheese and tomato soup.  You’ve probably already eaten this combination before and didn’t give much thought to the fact that there isn’t any meat in it.  I happen to think that those are the best type of vegetarian meals…the kind where you never notice what your “missing”!  I’m sure you already know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich and the soup I get is “homemade” at my grocery store, so there aren’t any revelations there.  Mostly I just wanted to give you an easy meat-free meal option for when your veggie friends or family stop by for lunch.  This is also a great meal for kids and adults who’ve been outside in the chilly Autumn weather and are looking for comforting way to warm up and fill their bellies.

I made my grilled cheese with two slices of white cheddar that I already had on hand.  One of my favorite combinations is classic, white-american cheese grilled between two slices of Food for Life, 7 Sprouted Grains bread.  My mom likes chives on her tomato soup and sometimes I’ll top it with garlic croutons.  What grilled cheese combination do you like?  Do you get fancy with the cheese, maybe add some pear slices, or are you more traditional?  I’d love to hear about your favorites!

katie: normal girl
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Care to learn more about being a vegetarian?  Click here to read my mini-series: When Veggies Come to Dinner

Breakfast BLT with Veggie Bacon

his week I welcome you to the world of “meat substitutes.”  Sounds appetizing, right?  Not really, but they can be.  I think that any time you decide to use a veggie meat, it’s important that you approach it with the right mindset.  It’s similar to substituting any ingredient for the one that you’re used to.  When turkey burgers started to make their way into popular culture as a healthier alternative to beef, many people gave them a try but didn’t care for them because they didn’t taste like their regular hamburger.  Veggie meats are very similar because the veggie bacon is not going to taste like regular pork or turkey bacon, so you’ll need to approach it as a whole new taste that is similar to “regular” bacon.  With an open mind, I’m sure you’ll find that veggie bacon can be a tasty ingredient-swap in this week’s meat-free meal.

Ingredients per sandwich:

  • 2 slices of sourdough bread, toasted
  • mayonnaise
  • thick slices of tomato
  • fresh spinach
  • 2 slices of Morningstar Farms veggie bacon (cooked according to package directions)
  • 1 egg, fried nearly hard
  • salt and pepper

Pile the ingredients between the slices of toasty bread and don’t forget the salt and pepper!  Serve with a side of fries or tater tots and fresh pile of purple grapes for a sweet, yummy treat.  I like to eat this meal for lunch but you can gobble it up anytime of day, enjoy!

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Care to learn more about being a vegetarian?  Click here to read my mini-series: When Veggies Come to Dinner

Vegetable Ramen Noodles

This week’s recipe was inspired by: Life of Bun’s (Almost) Instant Vegetarian Ramen

As with most creative things I do, cooking is one of those projects where I set out to create one thing and end up with a final product that is just a bit different than the example I started with.  As I was standing in the grocery store, I did a mental inventory of my pantry and thought I had a couple of the ingredients (read: maple syrup and chili paste) that I didn’t actually have.  So this ended up being a little different than the inspiration recipe but it was still quite yummy. Feel free to change it up with your favorite veggies and flavors or give the original recipe a try and let me know how you like it!

Ingredients*:

  • 3 c. vegetable broth
  • 3 c. water
  • 8 oz. baby bella mushrooms
  • 8 oz. mung bean sprouts
  • 7 oz. sugar snap peas
  • 3 carrots, chopped into thin discs
  • 1 tbsp. hoisin sauce (or soy sauce if you prefer)
  • 1-2 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2.5 oz. curly noodles (chuka soba)
  • salt and pepper

*A note on my vegetable portions: I just bought packages of these veggies and used the whole package so there wasn’t any leftovers, feel free to adjust the amounts to your taste.

In a medium sized pot heat the broth and water until boiling, then add the noodles and allow to cook for 2 minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium and add the hoisin sauce.

In a separate pan/skillet heat 1-2 tbsp. sesame oil over medium to medium-high heat.  Add the vegetables and cook until tender. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

To serve, I put a scoop of vegetables in a bowl and topped with some of the noodles, then I poured about 1/2 c. of the broth mixture over everything.  It was so delightful!  I’d love to try this again using the maple syrup and chili paste that was originally called for. Let me know if you give it a try and thanks again to Life of Bun for the inspiration!

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Care to learn more about being a vegetarian?  Click here to read my mini-series: When Veggies Come to Dinner

Italian Vegetable Pasta

Today is World Vegetarian Day and I can’t think of a better day than today to launch my new series: Meat-Free Meal of the Week!  You may remember my mini-series: When Veggies Come to Dinner, where I wrote about being a vegetarian.  I also gave some tips for accommodating the vegetarians in your life without feeling like you have to sacrifice something.  I received wonderful feedback from lots of you and I wanted to share some of the simple veggie meals that I eat.  Some of the recipes are from the professionals (of which, I am not) and some are just made-up using leftovers from my fridge.  They will all be easy to make and aren’t just for vegetarians, even if you do eat meat, these are tasty meals that happen to not have meat in them.  I hope you’ll give one or two of these a try!

This week’s Meat-Free Meal of the Week is easy to make, very filling and tastes fresh and simple.

Ingredients:

  • 8 oz. button or baby bella mushrooms, cut into 3/4″ pieces (if you don’t like mushrooms, you can substitute eggplant)
  • 7-8 small round tomatoes, quartered or 12 oz. cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small red onion, diced
  • 1-2 tbsp. fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 tbsp.)
  • 2 tbsp. olive oil
  • 8 oz. spinach pasta

Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes.  Then add the mushrooms and cook for 4 minutes and finally add the tomatoes and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and toss with 1 tbsp. olive oil and the cooked vegetables. Add additional olive oil if you prefer and season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sprinkle the tossed pasta with the sliced basil leaves.  You can keep it vegan or add a scoop of ricotta cheese for a creamier dish.  Enjoy!

Plant a Mint Bowl

On a recent trip to my local nursery I found these unique varieties of mint!  I planted them in a terra cotta bowl and labeled them with copper plant markers, to keep track of the different varieties.  As I was planting and rustling the leaves of the mint, it smelled wonderful in the air and my hands smelled so fresh.

The chocolate mint has a strong sent of mint with just a hint of chocolate and it is delicious sprinkled over some freshly chopped strawberries.  The apple mint is a little more subtle and tastes delicious in a glass of ice water.  Crush a few leaves between your fingers and drop them in the water, then swirl it around a bit.  It makes a great summer afternoon treat.  The sweet mint is wonderful dropped into a glass of strong black sun tea.

I just love the way it looks when different varieties of the same herb or flower are all planted together.  Have you ever done that?  What are your favorite plant mixes?