Weekday Vegetarian: Ted Talks

Graham Hill makes some really good points in this Ted Talks episode. Being a weekday vegetarian is one way to help you take meat out of your diet. Check it out the video and see if its something you'd want to try! 

Eggplant Sandwiches and Balsamic Glazed Asparagus

My boyfriend and I went out for dinner one night at The Blind Tiger in Topeka, Kansas. We both got the most delicious eggplant sandwiches we'e ever had. A couple weeks later we were craving the eggplant sandwiches. Instead of going out we decided to try out our own recipe.To go along side the eggplant sandwiches we thought balsamic glazed asparagus would pair nicely. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the different steps like I usually do...my bad everyone! I'll try to explain the steps as clearly as possible. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 eggplant 
• 1 onion 
• 1 tomato 
• 1 egg 
• 1 bundle of asparagus 
• balsamic vinegar 
• lettuce 
• Any type of buns (we got sesame seed buns) 
• Panko bread crumbs 
• Parmesan cheese 
• mozzarella cheese 
• Mayo (we got a spicy chipolte favor)  

Balsamic Glazed Asparagus 

These are super simple to make and packed full of flavor! You'll want to start out by cutting the ends off the asparagus (about 2 inches) that part has a woody texture that we don't want. Next grab a baking dish and pour 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, 2 table spoons of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss the  fresh asparagus in the mixture. Bake for 20 mins at 375 degrees. Take out of the oven and sprinkle the balsamic glazed asparagus with Parmesan cheese. 

Eggplant sandwiches

Alright, these sandwiches are also super simple to make you just have to make sure you have an assembly line set up. First off you'll just want to slice up the eggplant, tomato and onion. You should slice the eggplant about a 1/2 of an inch thick. Next you will want to have 2 dishes. One dish with 1 cup of panko bread crumbs and the other dish with 1 egg whisked with just a splash of water. Next, you will want  to have a large skillet, set heat to medium and coat the bottom with olive oil.  Now its time to dip eggplant into the egg wash; making sure to coat both sides. Then dip it into the panko bread crumbs and put it in the skillet. The cooking process will go by pretty fast since its a veggie its not going to take that long to cook, about 2 minutes per side. Right when you take out the golden fried eggplant. top it with mozzarella cheese. Repeat this process for the rest of the slices of eggplant. Now its time to assemble the sandwiches. Spread both sides of the toasted sesame seed bun with the mayo, then one slice of eggplant, tomato, onion and lettuce. This simple recipe is another go to meal if you want something quick and full of flavor! I hope you like them as much as I did! 

Shrimp Fajitas

Shrimp fajitas are a quick fix for lunch or dinner. Whether your a college student or a busy mom or dad this is a go to recipe that you can personalize anyway you'd like. I decided to throw in shrimp, however you can choose to add chicken, beef, pork, or no meat at all. I didn't get a picture of all the ingredients so there will just be a list of them, sorry about that. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 red onion 
• 1 pepper (I used red and yellow to make it colorful) 
• 5 mushrooms (sliced) 
• 12-15 shrimp
• Any kind of shredded cheese (I choose a 5 cheese blend) 
• 1 package of fajita seasoning. It includes chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt. 
• Soft tortillas 
• sour cream 

In a skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add in the sliced onion, pepper, and mushrooms. Cook the veggies until they are soft. 

Once the veggies are soft, you'll want to add the shrimp and fajita seasoning. Add in a 1/4 cup of water and let everything simmer for 10 minutes or until the shrimp are a pinkish color.

To assemble the fajitas you'll want to heat a separate skillet to medium heat. First, toast the soft tortillas on both sides. On one side add the shrimp and veggie mixture and the five cheese blend on the other side. Fold in half and you have yourself a spicy shrimp fajita! 

Serve with a side of Spanish rice and sour cream. Quick and easy shrimp fajitas are going to be your new favorite dish. Enjoy! 

Stuffed Mushrooms

Hey everyone! I hope you all liked my mac N' cheese recipe! I figured I'd do a separate post for the stuffed mushrooms that were pictured with the mac n' cheese just so it would be easier to follow. Mushrooms are probably one of my favorite ingredients to work with. They are very versatile and they also have a "meat-like" texture that seems to be more satisfying compared to other vegetables. Stuffed mushrooms are an easy appetizer or side. I went for a simple but delicious recipe. 

Ingredients: 

• 6 medium sized portobello mushrooms
• 1/3 cup of cream cheese 
• 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese  
• 2 table spoons of mozzarella cheese  

Start out by removing the stems from the mushrooms. Then align the mushrooms into a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil over the mushrooms. Salt and pepper the mushrooms as well. 

  

Mix together the cream cheese and  Parmesan cheese.  

Stuff the mushrooms with the cheese mixture. Then top the stuffed mushrooms with the mozzarella.  

Bake the mushrooms at 375 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden and bubbly. 

Serve along side of some veggie mac N' cheese and a bottle of wine, and you've got yourself one comforting meal. 

Veggie Mac N' Cheese

Mac N' Cheese, need I say more? Being a college student (or any person for that matter) and wanting some comfort food Mac N' Cheese is the way to go! I decided to make it a bit "healthier" by adding some veggies. Here is my take on Mac N' Cheese. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 box of medium pasta shells 
• 2 cups of mild cheddar cheese 
• 2 cups of sharp cheddar cheese 
• 2 cups of mozzarella
• 1 cup of Parmesan ( not shown in picture) 
• 1/2 stick of butter 
• 1 medium white onion 
• 2 handfuls of baby spinach leaves 
• 5-8 mushrooms sliced (doesn't have to be any certain kind) 
• 3 cups of milk 
• 1 cup of flour 

You'll want to start out by chopping 1 medium onion and the mushrooms. You will also want to melt the 1/2 of stick of butter in a medium pot over medium/medium high heat and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Throw the chopped onion and mushrooms into the pot. Saute the veggies for about 3 minutes or until the onion is translucent. 

Once the veggies are cooked, add the cup of flour. Let the flour cook down for about a minute. 

Now add the 3 cups of milk. Make sure to stir the mixture well. 

Keep stirring until it starts to thicken. It should take about 2-4 minutes, once it starts to thicken add the 2 cups of mild cheddar, 2 cups of sharp cheddar, 2 cups of mozzarella, and just 1/2 of a cup of Parmesan. Leave the other 1/2 cup for later. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Let the cheese sauce simmer while you cook the pasta shells. Follow the directions on the back of the pasta box. 

After the shells are cooked strain the water. Mix the creamy cheese sauce and shells together. You'll want to add the handfuls of spinach leaves and stir them in as well. 

Divide the mac n' cheese up into baking dishes. Bake the mac n' cheese for 20 minutes. 

After the 20 minutes of cooking, add the extra Parmesan on top and bake for another 5 minute or until golden brown.  

Pull out of oven and let it sit for 5 minutes before serving. If you can wait that long...

Enjoy my take on some tasty veggie Mac N' Cheese! I will have the recipe for the stuffed mushrooms pictured below in my next blog post! Check it out! 

TED Talks: Food Revolution

Stuffed French Toast

My boyfriend and I were craving some breakfast food for dinner, so we decided to whip up some french toast. Instead of just the normal french toast we decided to kick it up a bit by stuffing the french toast with cream cheese and fresh strawberries and topping it with a raspberry and blackberry glaze. 

Ingredients: 

• Texas toast bread 
• 5 eggs 
• 1 container of blackberries 
• 1 container of raspberries 
• 1 container of strawberries 
• 1 container of cream cheese (we happened to have mixed berry and classic cream cheese)
• 3/4 cup of sugar 
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon 

This recipe will make about 4 stuffed french toast which will take 8 individual slices of toast all together.
 

Starting with the berry glaze you will want to combine 1 cup of water, 3/4 cup of sugar, the containers of raspberries and blackberries, about 4 or 5 strawberries chopped into small pieces all into a pot over medium high heat. Once it comes to a boil reduce to medium low heat and let it simmer. You'll want the glaze to reduce by half. It'll take 10-15 mins. 

In the meantime whisk 5 eggs into a bowl. Adding a splash of milk or water along with a teaspoon of cinnamon. 

Dip the individual slices of Texas toast bread in the the egg mixture. Making sure to coat the entire piece of bread. 

Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet that has been heated to medium heat. Place the coated piece of bread into the skillet and let cook until golden brown. Should take about a minute. 

Flip the toast and let the other side cook for another 1-2 minutes. 

After taking the french toast out of the skillet, let it cool for a few minutes. Then proceed to spread the cream cheese evenly over the toast. We used both regular cream cheese and mix berry cream cheese. Then add strawberries on top. After that you'll want to start the process over again. 

By this time the berry glaze should have reduced by half. It should be thinker consistency almost like gravy. 

After the other french toast is done cooling, spread on more cream cheese. 

Put the two pieces of french toast together and cut in half. Pour the berry glaze and you can dig in to this mouth watering french toast! 

Veggicate Podcast

Hey everyone! In this podcast I interviewed my good friend Chelsea Huddleston who has provided me with incredible support on my choice to become a vegetarian. She has great insight on the benefits of becoming a vegetarian so check out the podcast to hear what she has to say!  

Vegetarian Chili

The secret ingredient for this meatless chili is in fact "meat"...imitation meat that is.  This spin on Chili is an unexpected treat that you could feed to any meat eater and I can guarantee that they would not be able to tell the difference. I fed this to my roommate who eats meat on a regular basis, was fooled by this imitation meat. In this recipe I used Meatless Crumbles made by Simple Truth, the main ingredient being soy. You can find these meatless crumbles at any main food supplier HyVee, Dillon's, Natural Grocers, or Walmart.

Ingredients:  

• 1 package of Meatless Crumbles 
• 3-5 fresh/frozen tomatoes (we happened to have home grown tomatoes that we froze) 
• 1 onion 
• 3 cloves of fresh garlic 
• 2 cans of tomato sauce
• 1 can of pinto beans
• 1 can of kidney beans 
• 1 can of Rotel 
• 1 tablespoon of dried basil leaves 
• 2 tablespoons of ground cayenne red pepper (I like my Chili spicy, if you don't put 1 tablespoon) 
• 2 tablespoons of chili power 
• 2 teaspoons of cumin 

You'll want to start out with a large pot. Drizzle about 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bottom of the pot. Add chopped onion and let it cook for 2-3 mins on medium heat then add the meatless crumbles and let that cook for a good 5 mins or so. 

 Once the onion and the meatless crumbles are cooked your going to add the 2 cans of tomato sauce, 3-5 fresh or frozen tomatoes, (you could also use can whole tomatoes if that is what you have on hand) and 1 can of rotel. Let that simmer for a few minutes.

 Once you let that simmer for a few minutes its time to add the assortment of beans and all the spices listed above. You are more than welcome to add more or less of the spices depending on taste. I also decided to add a dark beer I happened to have in the fridge that added a deep richness to the chili, so that's also an option for you.

Let the chili simmer on the stove for 30-40 mins. The longer you let it cook that better it will taste because it gives the flavors time to come together and marinate. Resulting in some delicious "meatless" chili. You could serve the chili over a baked potato or fries topped with some sour cream and cheddar cheese. I prefer my soup the classic way, in a bowl served with some crackers. Enjoy!!

Broccoli and Cheese Soup

Its that time of the year....Soup Season! Its time to cuddle up on the couch, watch some Netflix, and eat some tasty soup. Try out a (vegetarian friendly) bowl of broccoli and cheese soup!

Ingredients:

• 4 heads of fresh broccoli 
• 1 whole onion, diced 
• 1 stick or half cup of butter 
• 1/3 cup of flour 
• 4 cups of whole milk 
• 2 cups of half and half 
• 1 pinch of nutmeg
• 3 cups of grated cheese. (Mild cheddar, sharp cheddar, or both)
• salt to taste 
• ground pepper 

Cooking Instructions 

Start off by melting the butter in a pot. Add onions and cook for about 3 mins or until they are translucent. 

After the onions turn translucent, add the 1/3 cup of flour. Let that cook for about 1 minute. 

Once your done with that it is time to add the milk, half and half, salt and pepper, pinch of nutmeg, and broccoli. Make sure you cut the broccoli up into smaller pieces so the broccoli cooks all the way through. 

Let that cook for a good 20-30 minutes on medium low heat. Or until the broccoli is tender. Once its cooked long enough you have a couple of options. You could blend it to make the soup nice and creamy or you could leave it how it is to add some texture some texture. I choose to put the soup in the bender. After bending the soup add the 3 cups of cheese. 

Now its time to snuggle up on the couch and enjoy your vegetarian friendly soup! Enjoy friends! 

It's Okay to Cheat..

I've been a vegetarian for about 6 months now and it has definitely not been the easiest life style change for me. Let me first make it clear what my new diet consists of. The formal definition for a vegetarian is eating only plant based food with or without eggs or dairy. However, I am technically a pescetarian because I eat fish but no other meat products and when I do eat fish I try to make sure that it is wild caught fish. Taking meat out of my diet was a drastic change for me since I grew up on meat and potatoes. That's one reason why I have kept fish in my diet because it would have been way to drastic of a change for me. After 6 months I have narrowed it down to only eating fish about 3 times a week. I hope to eventually take fish completely out of my diet and only have a plant based diet. Since I started my new diet I have not been perfect. There has been a handful of times were I could not resist my roommates cooking up some bacon or my dad bringing me some of his homemade chicken noodle soup. It's okay to cheat! Just as long as you stick with it!

Philly Mushroom Sandwich

Philly Mushroom Sandwiches
6 portobello mushrooms
2 medium onions
2 green/yellow/red peppers
2 cloves of garlic
2 teaspoons of cilantro
3 table spoons of soy sauce
3 table spoons of olive oil
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
2 table spoons of all purpose flour
6 submarine buns
Sliced Provolone cheese

Begin with olive oil in a large pot heat set to medium/high. Add the onions and cook till soft roughly 2-3 mins. Then add mushrooms, peppers. onions, cilantro and garlic. Stir occasionally till vegetables are soft . Once all vegetables are soft reduce heat too medium low and sprinkle flour over veggies and stir till they are all coated. Then add soy sauce and vegetable broth. Let it simmer till thick. Preheat the oven to 425 to toast the buns. Be careful not to burn the buns! After the buns are nice and toasty add the provolone cheese and the philly mushroom mix to the buns. And now you got yourself a tasty vegetarian philly mushroom sandwich!