As you know I love to cook. Most importantly, I love to cook ahead of time and freeze meals. This helps me to plan my menu a month in advance and it allows me to spend more time with my family when I get home from work without having to compromise nutrition by serving pre-packaged meals or stopping for carry out on the way home. My family enjoys home cooked meals at least 6 nights a week. (We allow for one take out/carry out night, usually on Friday.)
Bryan has been staying with his parents to help take care of his father. My job has been to be the “Meals on Wheels” for them. This allows Bryan time to spend with his parents without having to spend a lot of time preparing food for them. It’s already done.
Bryan’s uncle and cousin will be visiting from Australia for a while. They are vegetarian. My new challenge is to cook vegetarian meals that can be frozen and easily cooked or reheated.
I began the challenge by contacting friends who might have some good vegetarian recipes. Then I took a trip to the bookstore and bought two vegetarian cookbooks. I also searched the internet for more ideas. What I found, vegetarian cooking seems to be more complicated than other cooking! The recipes themselves involve more work and I was unable to find zucchini, which was in the majority of the recipes I found that were simply and quick.
Here are the things I have made thus far.
Spinach Stuffed Shells (my own recipe)
1 box of Jumbo Shells
ricotta cheese (I buy the big one and keep what I don’t use for next time)
parmesan cheese (I use the Kraft brand)
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 28 oz jar of pasta sauce (or your own homemade sauce)
box of frozen spinach, thawed, and rung out
- Cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Ring out the spinach with a clean dish towel to get out all of the water.
- Mix ricotta, some mozzarella cheese, some parmesan cheese, spinach, and a little pasta sauce (just enough to turn it pink), in a bowl. This is the filling.
- When shells are finished being cooked, drain them, let cool a little, then fill them with the mixture and place them into an aluminum pan.
- When pan is full, cover with sauce and shredded cheese.
- If cooking frozen, try to thaw them out the night before or they can go directly into the oven. 350 for 1-1 ½ hours. (uncovered)
- If cooking right away, 350 for about 30 minutes.
**For the three of us, I make a square pan and it fits 12-15 shells.
Carrot and Ginger Soup
From the book Vegetarian Cooking: A Commonsense Guide
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tablespoon of fresh grated ginger
3 cups of vegetable stock
2 lbs. 4 oz. Carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Heat oil in a large saucepan, saute onion and ginger over medium heat for 5 minutes or until onion is soft.
- Add stock and carrot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes or until carrot is tender (this took me about 30 minutes)
- Process the soup in batches in a blender or food processor (I used the Magic Bullet). Return to the saucepan and add a little more stock or water to thin it to your preferred consistency.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir in chopped cilantro and serve.
Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
5/8 onion, chopped
2-3/4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups canned kidney beans, drained
1-1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons chili powder
1-1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
2-3/4 teaspoons prepared mustard
5/8 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2-2/3 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
5 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
- Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.
**I found that I had a lot of leftover bean mixture. Maybe I didn’t stuff them as full but it seemed that if I put even more in the tortillas then they would definitely be too difficult to fold! So I think it would be easy to make more than 8 burritos with this recipe.
Nondairy Chocolate Pudding
From the book Double Delicious! By Jessica Seinfeld
8 oz. Silken tofu
1 cup light soy milk
1 packet unflavored gelatin (such as Knox brand)
4 oz. Semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons of honey
- Place tofu in the food processor and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Bring soy milk to a boil in saucepan. Whisk in gelatin.
- In a medium bowl, pour the hot soy milk over the chocolate chips. Whisk to blend. Add the honey and whisk again.
- Pour the tofu into the chocolate mixture and whisk until blended together.
- Pour into a clean serving bowl and chill for 2 hours.
Bell Peppers Stuffed with Rice, Spinach, and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
From the book One-Dish Vegetarian Meals by Robin Robertson
4 large bell peppers, any color
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large bunch spinach, washed, trimmed, and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3-4 cups of cooked rice (I used brown)
- Preheat oven to 350
- Slice off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and membranes. Plunge peppers into a pot of boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes or until slightly softened. Remove and set aside, cut side down, to drain. Chop tomatoes and set aside.
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add spinach, garlic, and tomatoes and cook until spinach is wilted, 2-3 minutes. Add rice and stir to combine. Fill peppers with rice mixture and place upright in a baking dish. Add a few tablespoons of water the to baking dish, cover and bake until filling is hot and peppers are tender. 30-40 minutes.
