Vegetarian Eggrolls

First, let me say, this is one of my husband's FAVORITE foods. Egg rolls. This recipe was inspired by my mother's glorious egg rolls. In her recipe she uses ground beef and fries them in oil (oh yes, so good:). However, for my recipe there is no meat and they are baked to a golden brown with a light crispiness. They were heartily approved by my favorite critics - my hubby and my little guy:)

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small/medium head cabbage
I pkg egg roll wrappers
1 clove, garlic
5 green onions
1/2 cup carrots (shredded - I just guess - it's not an exact science:)
1/4 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash and remove the outermost layer of cabbage.
2. Slice cabbage - discard hard white center pieces (see photo right).
3. Chop cabbage into small pieces.
4. Heat olive oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat.
5. Put cabbage into pan and let it begin to cook.
6. In a food processor, place carrots, green onions, and garlic. Chop/grind to desired consistency (I make mine into a fine consistency).

7. Place this into the pan and mix with cabbage.
8. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover with lid. Let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
9. Add soy sauce, salt, and pepper - stir, and let cook for 5 more minutes.

10. Fill each egg roll wrapper with approx. 2 Tbsp of mixture.

11. Fold egg roll and seal with a little water.

12. Brush with olive oil before baking.

13. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy! 

These are great served with rice and extra soy sauce on the side. 

Just FYI, I found a non-gmo (non- genetically modified organisms) brand of soy sauce - woohoo! It's tasty!

Spinach and Tomato Pizza

This week brings us to Spinach and Tomato Pizza. Who doesn't love a good pizza? I could honestly eat pizza every day, but I do have SOME self-control:)

I used this recipe for the dough, but of course, I did 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white flour - it gave it a nice hardy flavor and texture.

 

Ingredients:

Dough Recipe

1 Tbsp Olive Oil (give or take)

2 tsp Garlic Powder

3 Roma Tomatoes (or your favorite)

2 oz Fresh Spinach

3/4 cup Pizza Sauce (I used Prego's all natural)

8 oz Shredded cheese (Mozzarella) 

Instructions

1. Make dough according to instructions. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Press or roll dough onto desired pizza pan (use non-stick cooking spray).

3. Brush dough with Olive oil and sprinkle with the garlic powder.

4. Spread sauce evenly. 

5. Layer tomatoes and then spinach. Top with cheese.

6. Bake at 425 F for 15-20 minutes, or until cheese is slightly browned.

7. Enjoy!

These Side Dishes Could Take Center Stage

 I try to do a weekly post of a meatless main dish for various reasons. One reason being that it's a healthy and cheap alternative to a meat dish. However, I do make meat dishes several times a week. I recently made a roasted chicken. I also made two side dishes that I just had to post because they turned out so well. Don't stop reading here, but one of the sides was Brussels sprouts (gasp!). I know that generally people automatically think of Brussels sprouts as the worst tasting vegetable, but it's simply not true! Try this recipe - you'll be surprised. The other side was roasted cauliflower.  Cauliflower is a great alternative/substitute for potatoes.

I based my Brussels sprouts recipe from this one at allrecipes.com. However, I did tweak it a bit.

Honey Mustard Brussels Sprouts

Ingredients

1 bag froze Brussels sprouts

2 Tbsp honey mustard (your favorite brand will do - I used Newman's Own Lite Honey Mustard)

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp dill weed (dry)

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook Brussels sprout according to bag instructions

2. Once cooked, drain excess liquid

3. Toss in honey mustard, onion powder, salt and pepper

4. Enjoy!

Just a few ingredients made these Brussels sprouts so good!

Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 500 F

2.Rinse and chop cauliflower into uniform pieces and place into a bowl

3. Melt butter and pour onto the cauliflower

4. Add garlic powder, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper

5. Toss/stir to coat evenly

5. Bake for 15 minutes, let cool slightly and enjoy!

* I forgot to take pictures of the cauliflower, but believe me when I say it was delicious!:)

Spinach Roll Ups

Meatless Monday is here again and have I got a yummy recipe for you all!

These Spinach Roll Ups are delicious and healthy. I've made these for several different people, and they've all been surprised at how tasty spinach can truly be.

Jacki's Spinach Roll Ups (makes 10)

Ingredients

5 oz fresh or frozen spinach

15 oz ricotta cheese

10 lasagna noodles

1 egg

2 tsp garlic powder

8 oz Italian cheese blend (I used shredded provolone, mozzarella, and Parmesan) 

1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F 

2. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions

3. Chop spinach (if desired, you can put in a food processor or blender with a little water to get it very fine)

4. In a bowl combine egg, ricotta cheese, 2 oz shredded cheese, garlic powder, and spinach 

5. Place a heaping tablespoon of the ricotta mixture onto one noodle at a time. Make sure the ricotta mixture covers the whole noodle (it does not need to be a thick layer). Roll up the noodle and place  it into a glass baking dish. Repeat with the remaining noodles.

6. Once all of the noodles have been completed, cover them with sauce and the remaining shredded cheese

7. Bake for 40-50 minutes (depending on how brown you like your cheese, you can cover the dish with foil or a cookie sheet for the first 30 minutes)

8. Eat and enjoy!

Eggplant Lasagna

I love lasagna. We eat it a lot in our house. I was getting tired of our meatless dish always being Mexican inspired, so I decided to switch things up a bit by making eggplant lasagna.

I've made eggplant parmigiana before and although it was delicious, it was entirely too much work! This recipe is very easy, takes a few ingredients, and is absolutely tasty!

 Step 1: Rinse and peel 1 large eggplant

 Step 2: Lay sliced eggplant on pans and sprinkle salt

 Step 3: Let eggplant "sweat" for 30 minutes

Step 4: Rinse excess salt and begin layering ingredients in 9x13 glass baking dish

Step 5: Top with cheese (and foil) and bake at 400 degrees F for 1 hour*

Step 6: Eat and enjoy!

*Depending on how thick you slice your eggplant, you may need to bake it for a longer period of time. If you slice your eggplant 1/4 inch or less, 1 hour is sufficient. If you slice it thicker you will need to bake it for more than 1 hour. 

Jacki's Eggplant Lasagna

You will need:

1 large eggplant

15 oz ricotta cheese

8 oz shredded Italian blend cheese (I used mozzarella, provolone, and Parmesan mixture)

Your favorite pasta sauce (I like the Newman's Own varieties)

You could also add:

Spinach

Zucchini

Squash

I usually add spinach to mine, but I didn't have any on hand this time.

Instructions:

1. Peel the eggplant and cut off the ends.

2. Slice the eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 inch thick slice

3. Lay slices on baking sheets and sprinkle generously with salt

4. Let eggplant "sweat" for 30 minutes

5. Rinse excess salt (quickly so the eggplant does not soak in too much water)

6. Layer ingredients into a glass baking dish

7. Top with shredded cheese and cover with foil (I use a cookie sheet instead of foil)

8. Bake at 400 F for 60 minutes (you can remove the foil after 45 minutes if desired)

9. Eat!

Beans, Beans, they're good for your heart...

You know the rest:)

So, I mentioned in an earlier post that we are going meatless more often to save on our grocery budget. It's actually been pretty fun! I've come to love BEANS! And although most people think of them as a "gassious" food, they are chock full of healthiness and heartiness! 

Read here for more information on the benefits of beans!

Needless to say, what started as "Meatless Mondays" has now become "Meatless Most Days!" Surprisingly, my hubby doesn't mind a bit! 

Here's a recent recipe I threw together...literally. It turned out quite delicious!

Jacki's Taco Soup

I know it doesn't look that great, but it's so healthy it's ridiculous:)

8 oz Dry Lentils*

8 oz Dry Kidney Beans* (or black beans - can used canned as well)

2 Carrots diced

2 Celery Stalks diced

2 Garlic Cloves minced

15 oz can Diced Tomatoes

3 cups Vegetable Stock

3 cups Water

4 Tbsp Homemade Taco Seasoning

(or two packets of the store bought kind)

*Make sure you rinse, inspect, and clean your dry beans before putting them in the crockpot.

For kicks, when serving add:

Tortilla Chips

Cheddar Cheese

Plain Yogurt (or sour cream)

1. In crockpot, add all ingredients and stir. Cook on low for 4-6 hrs.

2. Dish into bowls and top with cheddar cheese, a dollop of plain yogurt, and tortilla chips. 

3. EAT and enjoy! You'll have enough leftovers for tomorrow - woohoo!