Vegetarian Meatloaf (really good! really!)

 

I've had great results with this recipe. Even meat eaters and kids that I have made this for have inhaled it. I like to serve it with gravy, mashed potatoes, and peas. It's also great with my thyme yorkshire puddings. I also think that it would be a perfect protein dish for thanksgiving if you are expecting vegetarians.

Vegetarian Meatloaf

          2 cups water

          1 tsp salt

          1 cup brown lentils (wash and check for small rocks)

          1 medium onion, diced

          1 cup quick-cooking oats

          3/4 cup grated cheese (use a flavorful cheese)

          1 egg, beaten

          4 1/2 oz tomato sauce or spagetti sauce

          1 tsp garlic powder

          1 tsp dried basil

          1 tbs dried parsley

          1/2 tsp seasoning salt

          1/2 tsp black pepper

Bring salted water to a boil. Add lentils and simmer, covered for 25-30 min (until lentils have absorbed most of the water). 

Remove from pan, drain, and mash lentils in a mixing bowl. Set aside and let lentils cool a bit. 

Stir in onions, oats, and cheese until well mixed.

Add egg, tomato sauce, and the remaining seasonings and mix well.

Spoon into a well greased loaf pan.

Smooth with back of spoon.

Bake at 350*F for 30 - 45 min or until top of loaf is firm, dry, and golden brown.

Cool in pan, on rack for 10 min.

recipe source:  http://www.food.com

Not only is this recipe a fabulous comfort food, it's also extremely nutritious. Lentils are made up fo 25% protein. They are cholesterol free, virtually fat free, and low in calories. Lentils are high in folate, iron (perfect if you do have a bun in the oven) and high in fiber.

Garlic Broccoli (& friends)

I don't know about you but my favorite thing to get at a Chinese restaurant is Garlic Broccoli. It's my favorite way to eat broccoli and it makes me crave it. I decided that I had to find a way to make it at home. This recipe is not only quick and easy, but tastes like it's fresh out of the take out carton of your favorite Chinese restaurant. YUM!

Garlic Broccoli

is ready in 30 min!

serves 4

3 medium heads of broccoli, washed and chopped

1 head of garlic, minced

2 cups vegetable stock

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp powdered ginger

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 cup sweetener (i use unbleached sugar)

2 tbs corn starch

2 cups of cooked white rice to serve with broccoli

Bring the vegetable stock to a boil and add the garlic, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper, and sweetener. Dissolve the cornstarch in 4 tbs of cold water.

Cook the broccoli over high heat, in a large skillet or wok. After 2 min add the garlic sauce and continue cooking for 7-10 min. Add the cornstarch mixture, stir to distribute, and cook for 1 -2 more min until it thickens.

Serve immediately over your already cooked rice.

Reccomendations:

* Use the broccoli stalk! Simply peel it (this makes it nice and tender) and slice it thinly. Try it at least once! It will change the way you eat broccoli.

* You don't have to use all broccoli. I also used carrots, bamboo shoots, and water chestnuts. I would love to use tofu in this dish. or snow peas. The combinations you can use are endless. Just make sure that you use approx the amount that 3 heads of broccoli would be. Maybe a little less because you want to have lots of sauce.

*If you use honey for your sweetener just remember that it's sweeter per volume than sugar. So go easy.

*Also you can omit the ginger and red pepper flakes if you want. Be especially careful with the ginger though. I used a "fresher" ginger one of the times I made this and it was so strong. I called it ginger broccoli that night. All I'm sayin' is...be careful with the ginger. It can easily over power this dish.

And then you can feel good about feeding it to your little ones because broccoli is full of iron, fiber, potassium, and has a ton of vitamin C, and a ton of Calcium. My little one loves this dish.

egyptian lentils & rice

1 cup brown lentils
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 cup rice
5-6 cups vegetable stock

Place the olive oil into the bottom of the crock pot.
Turn the pot onto the highest setting and add the onions.
Allow the onions to warm in the oil for 10-15 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients, including the broth.
If cooking the dish all day, reduce heat to low, otherwise leave on high setting.
Cover.
Stir the dish while in the crock-
If it is dry, add a little water-
If it's soup-like, remove lid for a little while,
or turn heat to high setting.
Cook for 8 hours on low or 4-5 on high.

(my crock pot cooks kind of hot so i only cooked it on high for 3 hrs and then left it on warm for 30 min.)

it makes 4-6 servings

if you want to use this for oamc simply place all dry ingredients in a freezer bag. go ahead and saute the onions in some evoo. then add them to the freezer bag. keep in the freezer. when you are ready to cook simply dump the frozen mixture into the crock pot. add your broth and cook like normal until the broth is absorbed.


Lentils are one of the highest protein & highest fiber foods out there. Lentils are also high in potassium, calcium, iron, B vitamins, phosphorus and copper. And have no fat!

deep dish vegetable pot pie

(thank goodness i took this picture before it went into the oven because it was attacked before i could get a decent picture afterwards.)
one of my all time favorite recipes. the original recipe came from a magazine when i was maybe 13 years old (i think it may have been a vegetarian times).

serves 4

2 med all purpose potatoes peeled and cut in 1/2" dice (2 1/3cups)

2 large carrots peeled and cut into 1/2" dice (1 cup)

1 1/2 cups frozen corn

1 1/2 cups frozen peas

1 1/2 tbs unsalted butter

1 large onion finely chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 stalk celery finely chopped (2/3 cup)

1 tbs vegetable oil

1/4 cup all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups veggie broth

1 cup milk (or soy milk. i use soy*)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

your favorite pie crust * (1 if you use a deep dish, 2 if you have a regular sized pie pan)

Preheat your oven to 400*F.

Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add potatoes, carrots, corn, and peas. Boil for 5 minutes.Drain the veggies and transfer to a medium sized bowl.

In a medium sauce pan melt 1 1/2 tbs butter over medium heat Add the onion and celery and cook, stirring often, until onion has softened (about 8-9 minutes). Reduce the heat to low and make a roux by stirring in the oil and flour (stirring for about 1 minute). Stir in the veggie broth and increase heat to medium. Cook, stirring until mixture thickens for about 2 minutes. Stir in milk and stir constantly for about 1 1/2 min.

Pour sauce over vegetables and mix well. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper to taste. Transfer veggies into 1 deep dish pie pan (or 2 normal pie pans). Smooth the top. Let it cool for 15 minutes.
Tuck the edges of pastry into the pie pan. Poke several steam holes. Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until pastry is golden. * Let stand briefly before serving. Devour.

*I recommend placing a cookie sheet on the rack under your pie pan... it bubbles a lot and often over flows.

*If you want you can use this recipe to make 2 regular sized pies. Just split the veggie mixture and use two pie crusts. I do it both ways all the time.

*if you use soy milk like i do just keep in mind that the roux will thicken up it just takes it a bit longer.

**easily make this recipe vegan by using the soy milk and a vegan pie crust