Tuesday, May 22, 2012

I Don't Eat Meat*, But I Still Love Food!!



So this is just a quickie post about the food I have made since I stopped eating meat.*  


*I do, actually, still eat fish.  So maybe I'm not a "vegetarian" in that traditional sense, but I don't care much for labels anyway.  And on "Ask Dr.Sears.Com" I found this;"Pesco-vegetarians eat fish, dairy products, and eggs along with plant foods. (We believe this is the healthiest diet for most people)."
Anyway, this isn't a post about what I eat, or why I eat it.  That'll be the next one.  This is just recipes.  If you don't like fish, don't eat it.


Cheesy Eggplant Bake.

1 Eggplant, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 brick of marble cheese
1 cup cream cheese, softened in the microwave
Garlic Plus (spice)
3-cheese spaghetti sauce

Layer eggplant along the bottom of an oven safe dish.
Pour some of the spaghetti sauce on top, covering the slices of eggplant.
Put another layer of eggplant on top of the bottom layer.  (Stagger the pieces so it covers the spaces between the bottom layer.)
Pour the rest of the spaghetti sauce on top.
Spread melty cream cheese into spaghetti sauce.
Top with grated marble cheese.
Sprinkle with Garlic Plus.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour, or until eggplant is soft.


Yum!!!

Vegetarian Chili


1 can red kidney beans
1 can chick peas
1 can 5-blend beans
1 can brown beans in tomato sauce (no pork!)
1/2 red pepper and 1/2 an onion cut up and sauteed (so good this way!)
1 can black beans
1 cup carrots, julienne
1/2 cup lima beans
1 cup corn
1 can 3-cheese spaghetti sauce  (*you can make this vegan by using Original sauce.)
1 pkg. Chili seasoning

Throw it all in a pot, stir, and add 1 pkg. of Chili seasoning.
Cook until everything is soft.  (About an hour or so.)
Serve on a bed of rice.


Creamy Vegetable Soup (Vegan recipe)

1 butternut squash (cook it in the oven first...it tastes better that way)
1- 1/4 inch thick slice of turnip, cubed
1 whole pepper, cut into pieces (I used 3- 1/2 peppers...yellow/orange/red)
4 potatoes, cubed
4 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
2-3 stalks of celery, cut into pieces
1-2 cups of corn
1 cup peas
1 bunch of broccoli
3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 onion (I ran out so I used 1/2 a pkg. of onion soup mix.)

Cook it all in about 6 cups of water until it's soft, and when it's done, stick it in a blender until it's creamy. Use the water you cooked it in to get it to the consistency you want. (You'll have to dump what's blended into a big bowl as you go along...it makes a lot.)

Or don't blend it. Either way it's awesome. : )

(If you don't like turnip, don't use it...it's a really strong taste.)


Shish Kabobs

This one is super easy, and can be altered to your own tastes.

Mushrooms, however you like them.  (Whole, sliced thick, etc.)
Green Peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
Yellow Peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
Orange Peppers, cut into 1-inch squares
Gardein Beefless Tips
Soyganic Smoked Tofu, cut into 1-inch squares
Eggplant, peeled and cut into 1 inch thick slices (then halved)
Red Onion, cut into big chunks
1/2 of a rainbow trout, skinned and boned

I started with the pepper going onto the skewer, because it holds more firmly than any of the other items.
I put it no particular order, but ended with a pepper as well, to hold everything on the stick.

**FTR, I hated the smoked tofu.  It tasted like eating a chunk of pork, and that's not my cup of tea.  I have never liked pork, and the smoked flavor was a little overwhelming for me.  My meat-eating husband LOVED it, though.
The "beefless tips" were excellent.**


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