Meatless madness! My beginning of becoming a Vegetarian...well Flexitarian anyway.

It's been a year after my heart surgery and my appointment went well.  But she recommend I become a Vegetarian.  So I looked into it...and looked some more...I found a couple recipes.  Heck! I so could do this!  But what is a Flexitarian?  Someone mentioned semi-vegetarian to me.  So I looked it up.  I found the term Flexitarian and Semi-Vegetarian.  I of course like Flexitarian better.  It is someone that follows a mostly vegetarian diet, but will occasionally eat meat.  That is more to what I could follow.  Because I just can't give up bacon. Not to mention I know I will not always be able to follow it.  Because I like to eat out and I don't always like some items.  But I do plan on following a meatless diet at least 98% of the time.

While looking for recipes, I also found a bunch of sites that give suggestions on transitioning.  I found a few very helpful.  Some suggest to do it gradually, but I am in the smaller group that in order to do it, I go full force.  So this starts my first week of meatless eating(May 15 to be exact)  

I wanted to make sure that I had protein in my meals as well as flavor.  Quinoa and black beans seam to be the biggest way to get protein in. And tofu of course.  And I have to say, there are so many ways to prepare it that there is no way of getting tired of it.

I started off easy with just some normal pasta dishes.  The slowly adding in more interesting meals.  I did throw together some Lentil and  Tofu Burritos.  They actually turned out well.  I used about four recipes to piece mine together, so sorry, I have no recipe for it.  But I have found some that I will be trying and will Dougafi(it is a word in my world) them for my spin. 

After gathering my recipes, making my shopping list and doing some price comparison of items, I'm ready.  
My first recipe of my new meal plan is Cashew, Tofu and Broccoli Stir-Fry from Organic Gardening.  I like tofu, but it is going to take some trail and error in order to perfect cooking it.  I like it crisp, but mine was sticking to the pan, so I just warmed it up.

 14oz firm light tofu
2 tbs low sodium soy sauce
2 tbs honey
1 tbs rice vinegar
1 tsp cornstarch
3 cups broccoli florets
3 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 red bell pepper
1 tbs minced ginger
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup unsalted cashews
3 scallions, chopped
2 cups brown rice

 If you can find it, Gourmet Garden Ginger!  It's way easy.  It's like tomato paste in a tube. They have other versions also.


Sesame oil is great.  If you like it spicy, I recommend a sesame chili oil

 First you need to press the tofu to get the water out of it.  Place between 2 dinner plates and paper towels.  The recipe said 20 minutes, but I did it for 30.  I still don't think it took enough water out.  I'm thinking extra firm tofu may be better to use.

Fast and easy!

 Garlic peeling and mincing is so easy!  Pampered chef has a garlic peeler that is simple to use. Just place a clove into it and roll it a few times.

A friend got me the best garlic mincer.

  I just used a bunch of broccoli and cut the florets off.  But don't throw away the stems.  They can be used for vegetable stock.  Recipe for that comes shortly.

 Place broccoli in boiling water for about a minute or until it is a bright green.  Drain and set aside.

 Dice up the red pepper and green onions.

 Dice up the tofu into 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch pieces.  In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, honey, vinegar and cornstarch.

 Heat two tsp of the sesame oil. Cook tofu, string occasionally.  About   4 minutes to lightly toast each side.  Remove from pan.  Heat remaining oil with red pepper for about a minute.  Add ginger and garlic to cook 30 seconds.  Stir in the broccoli and tofu. and cook for 90 seconds.  Stir in the sauce mix and cashews.  Cook for one minute.

 Remove from heat and add scallions.

So freaken good!

I have never made vegetable stock.  But I found a recipe to help out.

It's from The Kitchen and made a good guide for me.

 I actually looked at many recipes.  The staples are onions, carrots and celery.  And if they are old, that's great.  Since all you are doing is getting the flavor out of them.  So I used an older onion, almost limp celery and some carrots.

 And remember those broccoli stems?  I roughly chopped them along with the other stuff.

 I threw in a few sprigs of parsley and some dried parsley.  Also some fresh thyme.

Threw it all in a large stockpot.

 Filled up with water just above the veggies.  I brought it to a boil and then lowered the heat.  I let it simmer for around an hour.  The house smelled great!  I turned the heat off and let it cool off a little.  Then fished out the large chunks.

I strained the stock into a large container.  If you don't want any bits, use a cheese cloth or coffee filter.  I just strained it a little as I figured the bits of herbs will just add more flavor to the stock.

I used a large jar to store my stock in the fridge.  It was a large pickle jar.  I tend to keep a lot of jars.  

I found a couple recipes from the program that former President Bill Clinton used.  It's called The Ornish Spectrum.  There are a couple salsas that I thought would be good to go on Mexican food and burgers. Not to mention raw veggies or chips.

First is a sweet Chipolte Salsa. 

 It uses chipolte peppers in adobo sauce.

 The problem with them is that you rarely use the whole can at once. I've seen a couple things people have done.  You can use small plastic baggies, or put them in a lightly greased ice trays.  One pepper and some sauce in each and store them in the freezer.  I had some small storage containers, so I just used them.

 I had six peppers left to store.










Now for the Sweet Chipolte Salsa.  It sounded strange, but I had to try it.

I even pulled out my rood processor, which I had to clean in order to use it.  

It's just Roasted Red Peppers, pitted prunes, water, chipolte peppers in adobo sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic and salt(I didn't use any). And it is GOOD.

I tried it on MorningsStar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burgers.


 And I ate on a Sponge Bob plate.

The other salsa I tried is Mexican "Romesco" Salsa.

 It called for a can of crushed, but I used diced fire-roasted tomaotes.  It also had roasted red peppers, garlic, soy nuts, red wine vinegar, paprika, salt and oregano.

 It's a whole cup of garlic!  YUMMMM

Just threw it all into the food processor and mixed. This is good with chips and carrot chips.  So far that is what I have tried it on.

I had some Black Bean & Quinoa Veggie Burgers.  This takes some time, so I recommend preparing the burgers in the morning or the day before, as they need to sit in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  

 I love my Tupperware burger press.  And it works great for these burgers.

I let them sit in the fridge for a few hours.

 Now it's time to bake them at 400 for 15 minutes.  Or until golden brown.

For a side, I made some carrots with almonds.  Place one frozen bag of carrots, 2 tbs water and microwave for 4-5 minutes or until heated.  At 2 tbs butter, 2 tbs slivered almonds, 1 tbs sugar and a dash of salt.

The yogurt sauce with the recipe was good, but I also added some of the Sweet Chipolte Salsa.  It's really good with both.

It's hard to get a good photo with the sauces.

I have plenty more recipes coming.  One for sure is a Quinoa Vegetarian Chili.  It's packed with black beans, quinoa and veggies!  I'm excited for it.

Part 2 - Lots of meals, but so little time. Also have something new to report.

Are you dying to know what is new with me?  You will have to wait a bit longer. I'm feeling a little evil.

Ham and Hash brown Casserole.

I will admit, I lost this recipe.So I will wing it.  It was pretty good.
Ham, chopped
1/2 a lg bag of frozen hash browns, 1 cup shredded cheese(I like a sharp cheddar) 8 eggs, 2 cans evaporated milk

I in 9x13 greased pan, mix hash browns and ham. Add 3/4 cup of the cheese. I used sharp Cheddar and white Cheddar mixed.
In a large bowl, beat eggs and add the milk add some pepper to taste.  Since there is cheese and ham, I added no extra salt.

Mix egg well.

Pour over egg mixture over hash browns and ham.  Sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 until cheese is melted and eggs have set.  around 30-40 minutes.

Makes a lot, so you will have some left overs.  Makes a good breakfast also.

Oven Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken.  This is not even close.  It was good, but it was just breaded baked chicken.

2-2 1/2 lbs chicken various parts

1 cup crushed saltine crackers mixed with 1 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp paprika and 1/8 tsp pepper.

3 tbs milk and 1 beaten egg mixed

Rinse chicken and pat dry.  Dip in egg mixture and then cracker mixture and place in a greased 9x13 pan.  Top with 2 tbs melted butter.

Bake chicken at 375 for 45-55 minutes.

And there it is.  Baked Chicken, not yummy fried chicken.

Chicken Cacciatore

This was really good and I would make again...and again...and again.  Cause it was super good!

2-2 1/2lbs chicken pieces(next time, boneless!)
2 tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic(really only 1? Try 4-5)
7.5 oz diced tomatoes
6oz tomato paste
3/4 dry white wine
1 tsp sugar
                                                      1/2 tsp salt
                                                      1/2 tsp each of rosemary, thyme and oregano
                                                      Hot cooked pasta

If you didn't buy skinless, skin the chicken.  In other words, use boneless skinless chicken.  Cook in oil until done.  Add onion, garlic and red pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes. Drain off fat.

In a mixing bowl, combine remaining ingredients, except pasta. Pour over chicken and bring to boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer covered for 35-40 minutes.Turn chicken during cooking.

Cook pasta while the chicken mixture is simmering. I like egg noodles, but you can use any pasta you desire. .

Serve up some pasta and top with chicken mixture and enjoy.  .

Irish-Italian Spaghetti

This just looked like a strange recipe.  It's almost a Cincinnati chili, but still different.  It was an interesting recipe, but did turn out well.  I liked it.

1lbs ground meat
1/2 cup onions, chopped
10oz can cream of mushroom soup
10oz can tomato soup
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 pepper
hot sauce to taste, 1/2 tsp or so
dash red pepper
                                                      12oz dried spaghetti, linguine, angel hair, or other long noodle

In a large pot, brown meat and onion.  Drian fat.  Stir in soups, Italian seasoning, chili powder, both peppers and hot sauce. Bring to a boiling, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes while pasta is cooking.

Serve with a little, or a lot, of Parmesan cheese.

Wow...only 5 more recipes to go!


Three-Cheese-Stuffed Shells

Simple.  Cook large pasta shells as directed.  Mix 1 beaten egg, 12oz cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese and 1/2 tsp of basil and oregano

Stuff into shells and place in a lightly greased 2 quart square dish.  In a small bowl, mix 14oz Italian style crushed tomatoes and 8oz can tomato sauce.  I also added a tsp of Italian seasoning.  Pour over stuffed shells and bake for 15 minutes on 350.  I also sprinkled a little mozzarella cheese on the top.

I forgot a final photo of the dish.  but it was pretty good.

 Rolling Wok

One of my favorite foods, papaya salad with sticky rice and beef jerky.  When going to Grand View, I used to go to Rolling Wok with a friend. She introduced me to this and now I crave it often. I like it nice and spicy.

Ready for my news?  It will be coming shortly.


Chicken Cordon Bleu

This didn't quiet turn out like I wanted it to.  First, I need a meat mallet.  I needed to pound the chicken.  I didn't do as well, so I improvised.

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 slices prosciutto
4 slices swiss cheese
3 tbs butter
1 clove garlic (I really only used 1)
2 tbs flour
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 cup milk
2 tbs dry white wine.

You need to flatten the chicken breasts so that you can roll them. I also suggest using good prosciutto.  La Quercia is made in Iowa.  Norwalk, IA to be exact and is really good!  After you pound the meat out, layer with prosciutto and Swiss cheese.

Roll up and use a toothpick to keep rolled.  I folded my chicken in half since I couldn't flatten them enough.

Place is skillet with some olive oil. Cook for about 20 minutes turning to make sure it is brown on all sides.
Meanwhile make the sauce.  Place butter in sauce pan and melt.  Add garlic and cook until tender.  Stir in flour and nutmeg in slowly.  Add milk.  Wisk together and cook until thickened and bubbly.

I basically just browned both sides. I placed the cover on my pan to keep moist and heat thoroughly.

Serve with a little bit of the sauce poured on top of chicken.

Hungarian Goulash

I'm not a fan of goulash, but this was pretty good. And the sun was causing me photo issues.  No matter what, the sun was shining into the kitchen and I could get it blocked or my shadow out of the way.  So I gave up.

2 1/2 lbs ground beef
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic...okay, I used 3
1/4 cup flour
4 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp thyme
1.2 tsp salt
1.4 tsp pepper
                                                      28 oz diced tomatoes
                                                      2 bay leaves
                                                      8 oz sour cream
                                                      4 cups cooked pasta

Brown meat in oil.  I used a LOT less.  more like 3 tbs of oil. Add onion and garlic.  Drain fat.  Stir in flour, paprika, thyme, salt and pepper.  Add tomatoes and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 1-1 1/4 hours  Remove the bay leaves.  Should only be two.  Stir in sour cream.  Heat through, but not to a boil.  Mix in cooked pasta.  Makes about 8 servings.

Try different paprika for different flavors.  Smoked or hot are good choices. I actually had Hungarian Paprika, so I used it.

Baked Ravioli with Meat Sauce

I really like ravioli, but I rarely get it at restaurants.  They never seam to serve enough. I'm usually still hungry after eating it. So I often make it at home.  I like both the meat stuffed or cheese.  And if I find one that is different, then I will try it. This one is pretty basic and uses frozen. The recipe called for cheese filled, but I was in the beef mood.  So I got Beef & Pork stuffed. And stuffed pasta will work for this.

8oz ground meat
1/2 cup carrots, chopped
1/3 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic(if you like it, use more. 3 or 4 is good)
14.5 can diced tomatoes
1 cup water(or 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup dry red wine)
6oz can tomato paste
1/2 cup diced ham
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp pepper
30oz pkg frozen ravioli (cheese or beef) or tortellini
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Small chop is desired so you don't have big chunks

I actually browned my meat a little before adding veggies

In a large skillet, cook ground meat, carrot, onion and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender.

Drain fat when done

Add undrained tomatoes, water/wine, tomato paste, ham, sugar, Italian seasoning and pepper.  

Bring mixture to a boil and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes.

Spoon 1/3 of meat mixture into a 2 quart square dish.  layer frozen ravioli on meat sauce.  Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the mozzarella cheese.  Top with remaining meat sauce.  Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes covered.  Uncover and sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Bake for 5 minutes more or until cheese is melted.

I add some crushed red peppers of course

Pork Picante

I used pork cutlets

1 lbs boneless pork sirloin
1 tbs cooking oil
3/4 cup vegetable juice
1 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1 cup salsa
1/3 cup peach, pineapple or apricot             preserves
2 tbs corn starch

I lined up my ingredients and have the measurements to spread up the cooking process.

Trim any fat from pork.  Cut into bite size pieces.
Brown the pork in oil.
Stir in the juice and bouillon granules and bring to boil.
Reduce heat, simmer covered for 20-25 minutes.




A variation that I did, I added some chopped onion and chopped red bell pepper.  About 1/2 cup of each or 1 small onion and 1 red pepper.  And of course, mined garlic.  I added these when I added the vegetable juice.

Meanwhile in a small bowl, mix together salsa, preserves(I recommend peach) and cornstarch.


After simmering, add salsa mixture.  Cook and stir on medium heat until thickened and bubbly.  Then cook for 2 minutes more.

Serve over rice.

All caught up now!  The next post will be featuring some very new recipes.  Ones that I have adapted for my tastes.  And that leads into the big news.  I'm going vegetarian...More to come later...