Meatless Recipes

[Californee Girl]

Anyone have some reasonable meatless recipes? Not the freaky stuff that no one really eats, but good, down-to-earth meals? Ive been living on beans in my quest to slowly cut out meat, and to be honest Im about all beaned out. Thanks.

[LU]

do you do eggs and or dairy? I haven't eaten meat in 40 years (yup) and pretty much eat like "normally". Lets go by catagory.. Mexican. I have tacos (put everything on but the meat) some people use cottage cheese instead of the meat which is pretty good, or beans but I think it takes away from the taco experience if ya do that. Sometimes I add mayo or miricle whip to the lettuce to give it a different flavor. Cheese enchiladas. Taco Salads no meat. Bean burritos. Potato burritos. All of the above are delicious if you use the right condiments (salsa and hot sauces, sour cream, guacamole). Italian... cheese lasagne (I use mozzarella and cottage cheeses to make it.. can't stand ricotta), spaghetti marinara, and all the other pastas made as usual without the meat in the sauce. Alot of people add veggies to the marinara. And then there's good old cheese or vegetarian pizza. Chinese... all the usuals without meat. American... same as above... If I want a sub, all the usual ingredients, leave the meat off and add an extra slice of cheese. For hot dogs, I get Loma Linda Linketts (the other soy hot dogs are crappy).. they fry up good, or are even good cold from the can. You can bbq them and the garden burgers. A great Thanksgiving dinner for me is a great salad w/ homemade ranch dsg., mashed potatoes, cranberries and I'm usually full. I'd probably eat more, but I don't like yams and some of the other available veggies. Lots of good frozen dinners out there too Michalangelo's or Michalina's. You do have to read the ingredients on products because a lot of companies use beef or chicken broths in their soup bases or boxed rice dinners. Most of the yogurts have a gel that comes from the spinal cord of beef. I could go on and on... you just have to experiment and find the different meals that suit your tastebuds. Good luck to you and if you need any more ideas feel free to ask.

[Californee Girl]

Wow! Thanks LU! Not only were these all great ideas, but they spawned a few new ones in me as well!! You rock! And congrats on 40 years of meatlessless!

[monkey]

I was a semi- veggie for many years. Then I married a meat eater and bought a restaurant, so that went down the drain. I may still have some of my veggie cook books and if I do, I'll let you have them. I'll try to remember when I get home tonight.

[Californee Girl]

Id appreciate that a lot monkey. Is there any type of book youd like in exchange? Ive got stacks & stacks of em ready for yard sale.

[LU]

Hey C.G., sounds like you're getting set up. I'm curious to know if you'll do a follow-up and let us know how you're getting along with this in a few months.

[Californee Girl]

Sure I will LU. Thanks for the interest in me. This isnt my first attempt to go veggie, but it is for different reasons this time.

[Freeweelin]

Polenta is a traditional Italian dish you may like... Here's the basics:

6 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups coarse-grained cornmeal


Bring water to a boil in a large, heavy kettle. Add the salt, turn the heat down to medium low so that the water is just simmering, and add the cornmeal in a very thin stream, stirring with a long spoon. Dont let it get lumpy by adding the cornmeal too fast. Never stop stirring, and keep the water at a slow, steady simmer.

Continue stirring for 20 minutes after all the cornmeal has been added. The polenta is done when it tears away from the sides of the pot as you stir.

When done, pour the polenta onto a large wooden block or a platter. Allow it to cool first prior to slicing.

Pour Marinara sauce over and cover w/ your favorite cheese (i prefer fresh parmesian)

Need a marinara recipe let me know...

[Yosemite_Wolf]

Spinach, Rice and black bean burritos

2 cups water
1 cup rice
1/2 tsp Olive Oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups spinach. chopped
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup black beans (canned, drained and rinsed)
fat free tortillas (10 inch)
fat free sourcream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped black olives (if you choose to use olives)
(I forgo the sourcream and olives and top the burritos with a
bit of low fat Cheddar cheese and some salsa.)

1. cook the rice as usual... either on the stove or in a rice cooker.
2. heat a large skillet and swirl in the olive oil. add the onion, garlic, cumin and salt. cook and stir occasionally until the onions are softened (8 min approx).
Stir in the spinach, tomato sauce, black beans and bring to a boi.l. reduce heat and simmer until the
spinach begins to wilt. (approx 3 min). stir in the rice and heat through.
3. Heat the tortillas... either in the microzapper or the regular oven.
Serve burritos by topping a tortilla with a scoop of the bean mixture, and top with toppings of choice. Roll,
cut and devour. Mmmmmmmmmmmm. These are WAY delicious! One can also use whole wheat tortillas, or any version of organic tortillas. I havent tried them with corn torts... but could possibly work.


devon

[beautiful_mess38]

Pasta with Asparagus and Pistachios

Great as the main dish for that once a week meatless dinner or as a side dish to your favorite dinner.

1 cup asparagus tips and pieces cut into 1-inch slices
8 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons olive oil - divided use
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 teaspoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 cup coarsely chopped California pistachios
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Bring a small pan of water to the boil, add the asparagus and time for 1 minute. Rinse with cold water, drain and set aside.
Cook the spaghetti according to package directions, adding 1 tablespoon olive oil to the cooking water.
In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil and slowly sauté the green onions, shallots and garlic until soft, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the asparagus, stir and cook 2 minutes.
Drain the spaghetti and add to the pan. Stir in the pistachios, parsley, Parmesan and lemon juice.
Makes 4 servings.

Nutritional Analysis Amount per Serving:
Calories 370
Total Fat (g) 16
Saturated Fat (g) 2.5
Monounsaturated Fat (g) 10
Cholesterol (mg) 2
Sodium (mg) 90
Potassium (mg) 320
Total Carbohydrate (g) 48
Dietary Fiber (g) 3
Protein (g) 11

[beautiful_mess38]

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/category/mless.html

try this site. lots of easy meatless stuff

[Parvo Pup]

My vegan daughter was visiting recently and made us some "Baja Fried Tofu Tacos" - picture fish tacos without the fish.

Anyway, the recipe is as follows -

1 package of Extra Firm or Firm tofu
1 bottle of DARK beer (Negro Modelo works!)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil - canola is good.
12-16 corn tortillas (make fresh from Masa if you can)
1/2 head of shredded cabbage
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 teaspoon hot chili flakes
1 cup soy yogurt (plain) - told you she was vegan - can also use regular mayo.
1/4 cup sweet pickle relish
1/4 cup chopped sweet onion
1 tablespoon of hot sauce - Cholulo or Tapatio works fine - although I like an Asian sauce called Sriracha ( bottle has a rooster on the label - Sushi bars use this for their spicy sauces)

Take the cabbage, cilantro, lime juice, 2 tablespoons of the veggie oil and the red chili flakes and toss together lightly - this makes the "slaw" for the tofu-taco.

Next - take the yogurt (or mayo), the pickle relish, the hot sauce and the chopped onion and run it through a blender - you are making a dressing for the taco.

Next we address the tofu - take it out of the package and slice the block in half lengthwise - then cut each half into strips about 1/2 inch thick - so it "looks" like strips of fish.

Place the tofu strips between paper towels and place a heavy plate on top to really squeeze out the water - you want the tofu as dry as you can. Let it sit for 20 minutes or so.

In a bowl, whisk up the dark beer, flour and salt until you have a well blended batter.

Heat about 1/2 inch of oil in a heavy skillet to 360 degrees. Cast iron works great unless you have a deep frier (best)

Dip the tofu strips in the batter, shake off the excess and deep fry until golden brown. She turned them about every 2 minutes or so - probably 4-5 minutes total cooking time. Watch that the oil isn't too hot or too cold - if it stays around 360 degrees - the batter browns up nice and crisp and the tofu doesn't get oil-logged.

Grab some tortillas, put a nice layer of the cabbage slaw in the bottom - toss on a few tofu sticks - a hearty spoonful of the dressing - open the rest of the beer from the 6-pack - yumm, yumm!