More Meal Ideas

I'm posting these mostly for my sister who is trying a vegan diet to improve her cholesterol, but some of the rest of you may want to try some of these recipes too. Here are 3 vegan and 1 vegetarian meal that our family enjoys.
Meal 1: Gazpacho Soup with Whole Wheat Bread Sticks
Gazpacho (from Practical Cookery: Vegetarian)
1/2 small cucumber, grated
1/2 small green bell pepper, finely chopped
1 lb ripe tomatoes, peeled or 14 oz can of chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
3 TB olive oil
2 TB vinegar
1-2 TB lemon juice
2 TB tomato paste
2 cups tomato juice
salt and pepper to taste

Place grated cucumber and chopped green pepper in bowl. Blend the remaining ingredients then add to the bowl and stir together. Chill before serving.


Whole Wheat Bread Sticks (from Ciel Murry)

3-4 C. whole wheat flour

1T. yeast

1T. sugar

1t. salt

Mix these in mixer bowl.

Add 1 1/2 C. warm water and knead 7-8 min.

Add more flour if necessary (start with smaller amount and add from there)

Melt 2T. butter in 9x13" pan. Or double recipe and use a sheet pan.Roll or pat dough to fit. Cut with pizza cutter horizontally into 9 1" strips.Cut dough in half vertically. Sprinkle with garlic powder, Italian herbs and Parmesan cheese. Let rise 20 min. Bake 375. 18-20 minme of the rest of you might like to try them too.

Meal 2: Baked Potatoes with Mushroom sauce and Green beans

Baked Potatoes
Scrub and remove bad parts
Cover in Crisco and poke with fork
Bake in oven at 400 for 30 min to hour (depending on size--small red potatoes usually only take 30-40 min while Russets take longer)

Mushroom Sauce
1 lb of mushrooms washed and sliced (I like to use 1/2 lb white, 1/2 lb portobello)
1 onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 cups of vegetable broth
Season to taste (salt, pepper, parsley, thyme, Italian seasoning, etc.)
2 TB olive oil

In fry pan heat 2 TB olive oil. Add onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Stir and cook 5-10 min. Add vegetable broth and heat thoroughly. Serve over potatoes.

Green Beans (modified from JoyAnn's recipe)
3/4 c pecans or almonds
3 TB butter or oil
2 TB maple syrup
2 shallots or green onions minced
2/3 tsp (or more) orange zest
2 tsp flour
1 1/2 lbs green beans
2/3 c vegetable broth
1/3 orange juice
salt and pepper
Toast nuts in oven. Put 1 TB oil/butter, syrup, and salt in fry pan. Get it hot and add the nuts. Stir until glossy (about 45 sec). Remove from skillet and set nuts aside for later. Heat 2 TB oil/butter and add shallots and orange zest. Stir in flour. Add vegetable broth and OJ. Turn heat to medium high. Add beans and cover for 5-10 min, then uncover and cook about 4 min. until tender. Stir in nuts, add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Meal 3: Easy Crockpot Soup
This is a favorite for busy days when I know I won't have time to cook. It takes me 5-10 min. to throw this together at lunch time and then I'm set.

In crockpot:
5 cups vegetable broth
Add chopped onions, carrots, celery.
Add diced potatoes or whole wheat pasta
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp ground cumin and salt and pepper to taste
1 can of mushrooms or beans for protein
salt and pepper to taste

Put crock pot on high and this will be ready by dinnertime. Add chopped parsley right before serving to garnish. To make this into a more of a minestrone-type soup add tomatoes, spinach, sage, thyme and Italian seasonings. Serve with crackers, corn chips, bread sticks or garlic toast.

Meal 4: Vegetable Enchiladas (from Martha Stewart)

Vegetable Enchiladas
Get a freezable Mexican meal rolling in no time with a no-cook filling and a sauce made from pantry ingredients. Jack cheese and a combination of black beans and corn tortillas give this meatless dish complete protein.

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for baking dishes
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium vegetable broth
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 cups grated pepper Jack cheese (12 ounces)
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 box (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry --I used fresh and it was great!
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts separated
16 corn tortillas (6-inch)
I like to add sliced olives as well

Make sauce: In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium. Add 1 teaspoon cumin, flour, and tomato paste; cook, whisking, 1 minute. Whisk in broth and 3/4 cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and set aside.

Make filling: In a large bowl, combine 2 cups cheese, beans, spinach, corn, scallion whites, and remaining 1 teaspoon cumin; season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil two 8-inch square baking dishes; set aside. Stack tortillas, and wrap in damp paper towels; microwave on high for 1 minute. Or stack and wrap in aluminum foil, and heat in oven for 5 to 10 minutes. Top each tortilla with a heaping 1/3 cup of filling; roll up tightly and arrange, seam side down, in prepared baking dishes.

Dividing evenly, sprinkle enchiladas with remaining 1 cup cheese, and top with sauce. Bake, uncovered, until hot and bubbly, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool 5 minutes; serve garnished with scallion greens.

To Freeze:
Prepare enchiladas through step 3; top with cheese, and cover baking dishes with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Place sauce in an airtight container. Freeze enchiladas and sauce for up to 2 months.Bake frozen, thaw sauce overnight.heat oven to 400 degrees.Remove foil and plastic wrap from baking dishes, and pour sauce over enchiladas; cover with foil. Bake 30 minutes; remove foil, a bake till bubbly about 15 minutes more. Rest 5 min before serving.

I hope you enjoy these meal ideas. I have a few more really good looking recipes, but I'll wait until after I try them to share them with you.