Meatless Monday

It's Meatless Monday, which means it's time to try out a few vegetarian recipes. This group of recipes was originally posted on October 24, 2016 on my vegetarian blog. Check it out!

It never fails: Friday afternoon, I'll have tons of things planned for the weekend, including cleaning house, and suddenly, it's Monday morning again, and I haven't gotten half the stuff done that I'd planned to do. Have you ever had that happen? Probably. Well, there's always next weekend...

In the meantime, here are six vegetarian recipes to start your week off, including Creole Red Beans & Rice and Frozen Caramel-Apple Crunch Cake. Enjoy!

FROZEN CARAMEL-APPLE CRUNCH CAKE

This comes from Daring Gourmet in the Tablespoon e-newsletter. She wrote, “A frozen layer of apple pie ice cream laced with caramel and sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of crunchy crushed granola bars.” Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes; Makes 8 Servings.

To view this online, click here. And check out Daring Gourmet’s blog here.

Ingredients

1 box Nature Valley™ granola bars, crushed into coarse crumbs

1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 cups softened vanilla or cinnamon ice cream

3/4 can apple pie filling (chop up the apple pieces)

1/4 cup caramel sauce, plus extra for serving

Directionsbr />
Preheat the oven to 350ºF.br />
Place the Nature Valley granola bars in a food processor and process to a coarse crumb consistency. In a large mixing bowl, add the granola bar crumbs, flour, brown sugar and melted butter and stir to mix together. Spread the mixture out onto a pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely. Spread half of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking dish. Reserve the other half of the crumbs.

In a large mixing bowl, add the softened ice cream and stir in the apple pie pieces and caramel sauce. Pour the mixture over the crumbs in the 8x8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top, cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

VERTAMAE SMART-GROSVENOR’S ONION PIE

I don’t know about you, but the idea of an onion pie seems a little strange - and just interesting enough to try! This comes from Tejal Rao in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. The recipe begins, “Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor’s 1970 cookbook, “Vibration Cooking, or the Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl,” combined memoir and recipes in a new way, and introduced many readers to a brilliant new voice in American food culture. This onion-pie recipe is like many of her recipes, simple and deeply satisfying home cooking rooted in the South, but with a truly global point of view. If you want, you can toss a handful of cooked ham or grated cheese or fresh chopped herbs into the mix before putting it in the oven. It’s especially delicious chilled, the next day, when the flavors have mellowed and the custard has become creamy.” Yield: Serves 8; Time: 1 hour.

This was featured in “A Pie Made With Onions — and Good Vibes”, and can be found online here.

Ingredients

3 large onions, finely sliced

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons peanut oil

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons flour

3 eggs

3/4 cup cream

1 9-inch pie crust, blind-baked

Preparation

Sauté the onions in butter and peanut oil until they are tender and translucent. Season generously with salt and pepper. Add the flour, and cook for just a few more minutes, then turn off the heat. Whisk the eggs with the cream, and mix well with the onions, then add the mixture to a partly blind-baked pie crust. Bake at 350 until the egg mixture is set, about 30 minutes.

THE $250 COOKIE RECIPE

This comes from Barbara Whitaker, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Barbara wrote, “Almost everybody has heard the one about the woman lunching at the Neiman Marcus Cafe in Dallas, who enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies so much that she asked for the recipe. For "only two-fifty," the waitress said, it was hers. But when the credit card bill arrived, the woman found the total near $300. Turns out the recipe cost $250, the story goes. In 1997, after years of enduring the myth, Neiman Marcus came up with a recipe – and gave it out for free. It's a delicious variation on chocolate chip cookies, using ground oatmeal, nuts and adding extra chocolate with a grated Hershey bar (you can use any brand you love).” Guess that the woman from Dallas probably gave the recipe out to everyone and anyone and that after it got around, there was little choice on N.M.’s side but to let it out for free. Moral? Don’t p.o. your customers!

Yield: About 55 cookies; Time: 45 minutes.

The recipe was featured in “The $250 Cookie Recipe Exposed”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 cup butter

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

12 ounces chocolate chips

1 4-ounce milk chocolate bar

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts

Preparation

Heat oven to 375 degrees.

Cream together butter and both sugars. Stir in eggs and vanilla.

Finely grind oatmeal in a blender or food processor. Combine the oatmeal, flour, salt, baking powder and soda in a medium bowl, and slowly add it to the wet ingredients. Beat just until combined. Grate chocolate bar using a microplane grater and add it, along with chocolate chips and nuts to the batter. Mix just to combine.

Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

CREOLE RED BEANS AND RICE

This is from Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Multipurpose ingredients are the key to this easy recipe. Frozen peppers and onions are used to season both the rice and the beans, and then some of the cooked-bean mixture gets puréed to give the finished dish a rich, saucy texture. Garnish with chives and serve with your favorite hot sauce.”

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. garlic oil, divided

2/3 cup long-grain white rice, rinsed and drained

2 cups frozen pepper and onion mix, divided

1 15-oz. can tomatoes with medium green chiles, divided

1 1/2 cups cooked small red beans, cooking liquid reserved, or one 15-oz. can small red beans, such as Goya, drained, liquid reserved

Instructions:

Heat 1 Tbs. garlic oil in small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add rice and 1 cup pepper/onion mix, and cook over medium heat 2 to 3 minutes, or until vegetables are softened and rice looks translucent. Add 1⁄3  cup tomatoes and their juices, plus 1 cup water; season with salt, if desired. Bring to boil, and stir to combine. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 18 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes.

Heat remaining 1 Tbs. garlic oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining 1 cup pepper/onion mix and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, or until softened. Add remaining tomatoes with their juices, beans, and 1/14 cup bean-cooking liquid. Bring to boil. Cover, and simmer 6 to 8 minutes, or until mixture thickens. Transfer 1/2 cup bean mixture to blender and purée until smooth. Return purée to pan and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. To serve, divide rice among 4 bowls and top each with beans.

Nutrition Information: Unit (Serving Size): serves 4; Calories: 296; Protein: 9 g; Total Fat: 7 g; Saturated Fat: 1 g; Carbohydrates: 48 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 561 mg; Fiber: 8 g; Sugar: 6 g; Yield: per serving (1/2 cup rice and 1/2 cup beans)

DYLAN DREYER’S PIEROGI CASSEROLE

This comes from TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer and was in TODAY’s food email. This begins, “You only need six-ingredients for Dylan's easy creamy pierogi casserole that's made with layers of store-bought pierogi and fresh spinach and topped with gooey melted cheese. She can't get over how good it is, so we had to share the recipe on TODAY Food!” Makes 8 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 16-ounce packages store-bought potato and onion pierogi

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 ounces fresh spinach

1 small onion, diced

2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Boil the pierogi according to the package's instructions. Drain.

In the meantime, in a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium high neat. Add the onion, spinach, salt and pepper. Sauté until the onion is cooked through and the spinach is wilted.

In an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish, spread a good dollop of the canned cream of mushroom soup. Add half of the pierogi. Add half of the cooked spinach and onions. Top with the cream of mushroom soup. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients in this order: pierogi, spinach, soup, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

BAKED APPLES STUFFED WITH WILD RICE AND QUINOA

This is from Vegetarian Times. It starts off, “The stuffing for these baked apples can be made up to two days ahead.” Yield: Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup mushroom broth

1/2 cup wild rice

1/4 cup red quinoa

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped shiitake mushrooms

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup low-fat cream cheese, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

4 medium Red Delicious apples

1/2 cup grated sharp white Cheddar cheese, optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring broth and 1 cup water to a boil in saucepan. Add wild rice, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 50 minutes. Stir in quinoa, and cook 20 minutes more, or until most of water is absorbed.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion, and sauté 7 minutes. Stir in sage and wild rice, and increase heat to medium-high. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, and stir in cream cheese. Fold in cranberries.

Halve apples through stem, and scoop out core and seeds, leaving 1/4-inch-thick wall around sides. Fill apple halves with 1/3 cup rice mixture. Place in 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Fill baking dish with 1 cup water, cover tightly with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Uncover apples, sprinkle with Cheddar (if using), and bake 15 minutes more, or until apples are soft and tops are beginning to crisp.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 184; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 6 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 8 mg; Sodium: 141 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 13 g

Wednesday Recipes

Here are six yummy recipes stop help you through the day. Enjoy!

MODERN CHICKEN POTPIE

This comes from Julia Moskin in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Julia wrote, “Here's a radical notion: chicken potpie does not have to be filled with goopy white sauce, carrots and peas. Traditional recipes are long on starch and richness, short on flavor. This updated version is savory with chicken stock, herbs, and wine (no white sauce needed), easier to make, and still familiar. Use thigh meat, for more taste and better texture than breast. And vegetables should be served separately, not forcemarched into the filling. Roasted carrots, peas with mint and buttered steamed asparagus are all nice to serve alongside chicken potpie.” Yield: 6 servings; Time: 1 hour.

This was featured in “Chicken Potpie for the Modern Cook” and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 garlic clove, peeled and smashed

6 ounces bacon or pancetta, preferably thick-cut, sliced into strips

1 medium onion, chopped

8 ounces mushrooms, such as button or cremini, thickly sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Salt and ground black pepper

1 pound boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons butter

2 1/2 cups rich chicken stock

1/4 cup Marsala, Madeira or sherry

1 tablespoon sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, more for garnish

1 9-inch pie crust, chilled, or 1 sheet puff pastry

1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Preparation

Heat oil and garlic together over low heat. When it sizzles, add bacon and onions and cook, stirring often, until fat is rendered and bacon is golden brown. Adjust the heat so the bacon slowly gives up its fat. Remove garlic clove and add mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until mushrooms are browned and slightly softened.

In a sealable plastic bag, combine flour, thyme, paprika, 2 large pinches salt and 1 large pinch pepper. Add chicken and shake well to coat.

In the skillet with the bacon and mushrooms, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add chicken pieces and any flour that remains in the bag. Cook, stirring, until chicken pieces are golden and the flour on the bottom of the pan is browned. Pour in stock, Marsala and vinegar. Scrape bottom of pan, and let simmer about 5 minutes, until thickened. Taste for salt, pepper and vinegar and adjust the seasonings. Turn off heat and stir in parsley.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.

Transfer chicken and sauce to 9-inch round pie dish or 8-inch square baking dish. Roll out pie crust to desired shape and size. Drape crust over filling, making a few slits or decorative holes on top. Tuck edges down around filling and brush crust with egg wash. If the dish is piled high with filling, place on a baking sheet to catch any overflow before transferring to oven.

Bake until crust is browned and filling is bubbling, 20 to 30 minutes.

Let cool slightly, at least 10 minutes, before serving with a big spoon. If desired, garnish each serving with parsley.

Tips

To make individual potpies, divide the mixture among 6 large ramekins, mini pie pans or ovenproof bowls. Roll the pastry out into a rectangle and cut into 6 squares, each one large enough to cover the filling and drape over the rim of the dish. Lightly place a pastry square over each dish and evenly fold down the four corners on the outside edge. Press gently to seal. Snip or cut a few slits in the top. Place on a cookie sheet for baking.

Leftover cooked chicken (or turkey) can be used instead of raw. Add the flour mixture by itself in step 3. Cut leftover chicken into bite-sized pieces and stir into the pan at the end of step 3 to heat through.

PEAR SNACKING CAKE WITH BROWN BUTTER GLAZE

This is from Melissa Clark, also The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This moist and tender cake has a similar texture to pumpkin or banana bread, with a delicate pear flavor scented with nutmeg and a touch of clove. But the real star is the brown butter glaze, which is nutty and rich, tasting a little like butterscotch, with a strong vanilla sweetness. The cake keeps well when stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, though the glaze will lose its snap from the chill. Or, bake the cake ahead, then glaze it a few hours before serving for the best texture. You can freeze the unglazed cake as well, up to a month ahead.” Yield: 12 servings.

This was featured in “A Snacking Cake Packed With Pears”, and can be viewed online here. (Note: I love the video that went with “A Snacking Cake…”. You’ll have to wait through a 15-second-ish ad, but the video is worth watching.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), at room temperature, more to grease the pan

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon ground clove

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

4 large eggs, at room temperature

4 large pears (2 1/4 pounds), peeled, cored and shredded or finely chopped (to yield 2 1/2 cups)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, chopped (optional)

For the Brown Butter Glaze:

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 cup confectioners’ sugar

3 tablespoons heavy cream or milk, more as needed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of salt

Preparation

Prepare the cake: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9-by-2-inch square or 9-inch-round pan and line bottom with parchment paper.

Using an electric mixer, beat butter until light and fluffy. Add sugars, baking powder, salt, vanilla, nutmeg, cloves and baking soda and beat for 1 minute. Beat in eggs, one at a time.

With the mixer on low, beat in half the pears, and then beat in the flour until smooth. Beat in remaining pears, then the oats, beating until well incorporated. Beat in nuts.

Spread batter in the prepared pan and bake until the top springs back when lightly pressed in the center of the cake, 40 to 50 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Prepare the glaze: In a small saucepan, melt butter, then let it simmer until the foam on top falls to the bottom of the pot and turns brown, about 3 minutes. It will smell nutty and rich when it’s ready.

Whisk in brown sugar until it dissolves. Whisk in confectioners’ sugar, cream, vanilla and salt until you’ve got a thick glaze with the texture of hot fudge sauce. Spread this over the cooled cake. Let the glaze set for at least 2 hours before serving.

FROZEN CARAMEL-APPLE CRUNCH CAKE

This comes from Daring Gourmet in the Tablespoon e-newsletter. She wrote, “A frozen layer of apple pie ice cream laced with caramel and sandwiched between a top and bottom layer of crunchy crushed granola bars.” Prep Time: 15 minutes; Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes; Makes 8 Servings.

To view this online, click here. And check out Daring Gourmet’s blog here.

Ingredients

1 box Nature Valley™ granola bars, crushed into coarse crumbs

1/2 cup Gold Medal™ all-purpose flour

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 cups softened vanilla or cinnamon ice cream

3/4 can apple pie filling (chop up the apple pieces)

1/4 cup caramel sauce, plus extra for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

Place the Nature Valley granola bars in a food processor and process to a coarse crumb consistency. In a large mixing bowl, add the granola bar crumbs, flour, brown sugar and melted butter and stir to mix together. Spread the mixture out onto a pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Let cool completely. Spread half of the crumb mixture onto the bottom of an 8x8-inch baking dish. Reserve the other half of the crumbs.

In a large mixing bowl, add the softened ice cream and stir in the apple pie pieces and caramel sauce. Pour the mixture over the crumbs in the 8x8-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining crumbs over the top, cover with aluminum foil and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Cut into squares and serve with whipped cream and caramel sauce.

DYLAN DREYER’S PIEROGI CASSEROLE

This comes from TODAY’s Dylan Dreyer and was in TODAY’s food email. This begins, “You only need six-ingredients for Dylan's easy creamy pierogi casserole that's made with layers of store-bought pierogi and fresh spinach and topped with gooey melted cheese. She can't get over how good it is, so we had to share the recipe on TODAY Food!” Makes 8 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

2 16-ounce packages store-bought potato and onion pierogi

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 ounces fresh spinach

1 small onion, diced

2 cans condensed cream of mushroom soup

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
Boil the pierogi according to the package's instructions. Drain.

In the meantime, in a large pan, heat the olive oil over medium high neat. Add the onion, spinach, salt and pepper. Sauté until the onion is cooked through and the spinach is wilted.

In an 8-by-8-inch casserole dish, spread a good dollop of the canned cream of mushroom soup. Add half of the pierogi. Add half of the cooked spinach and onions. Top with the cream of mushroom soup. Add a layer of mozzarella cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients in this order: pierogi, spinach, soup, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Bake until the top is golden and bubbly. Enjoy!

BAKED APPLES STUFFED WITH WILD RICE AND QUINOA

This is from Vegetarian Times. It starts off, “The stuffing for these baked apples can be made up to two days ahead.” Yield: Serves 8.

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients:

1 cup mushroom broth

1/2 cup wild rice

1/4 cup red quinoa

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 cup finely chopped shiitake mushrooms

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup low-fat cream cheese, cut into small pieces

1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

4 medium Red Delicious apples

1/2 cup grated sharp white Cheddar cheese, optional

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bring broth and 1 cup water to a boil in saucepan. Add wild rice, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook 50 minutes. Stir in quinoa, and cook 20 minutes more, or until most of water is absorbed.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add mushrooms and onion, and sauté 7 minutes. Stir in sage and wild rice, and increase heat to medium-high. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat, and stir in cream cheese. Fold in cranberries.

Halve apples through stem, and scoop out core and seeds, leaving 1/4-inch-thick wall around sides. Fill apple halves with 1/3 cup rice mixture. Place in 11- x 7-inch baking dish. Fill baking dish with 1 cup water, cover tightly with foil, and bake 45 minutes. Uncover apples, sprinkle with Cheddar (if using), and bake 15 minutes more, or until apples are soft and tops are beginning to crisp.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 184; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 6 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Cholesterol: 8 mg; Sodium: 141 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 13 g

VEGAN PUMPKIN RISOTTO

This is from Jolinda Hackett, About.com’s Vegetarian Food expert. Jolinda wrote, “A vegetarian and vegan twist on classic Italian risotto - pumpkin! Why not? Pumpkin adds a sweet and unique flavor perfect for fall, as a vegetarian Thanksgiving entree, or anytime. Whether or not you're actually vegetarian or vegan, pumpkin risottos is a delicious, unique and creative entree choice for a fall, Halloween or Thanksgiving meal. It's also a great way to use up any leftover pumpkin you might happen to have on hand from the holidays.

“This Italian risotto recipe is both vegetarian and vegan, as long as you use a vegan margarine instead of butter. If you need it to be gluten-free as well, just be sure that the vegetable broth that you use is gluten-free, since all the other ingredients - including the rice, white wine, pumpkin and seasonings - are all gluten-free.” Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 25 minutes; Total Time: 35 minutes; Yield: 4 - 6 servings.

To view this online, click here.

Instructions:

1 onion, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

2 cups arborio (risotto) rice

1 cup white wine

4 cups vegetable broth

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated or minced

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp chopped fresh basil

1 tbsp vegan margarine or butter

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Sautee the diced onion in the olive oil over medium heat for about three to five minutes, or until the onion is mostly soft. Next, add in the rice. Allow to cook, stirring, for a minute or two, just to lightly toast the rice, and being carefuly that it doesn't burn. Slowly add in the white wine.

Next, start to add the vegetable broth, 1/2 cup at a time. Allow the moisture to cook off before adding the next 1/2 cup.

Stir frequently, and continue adding the vegetable broth 1/2 cup at a time. Many chefs advise keeping the vegetable broth heating on the stove so that it is already simmering and hot when you add it to the rice.

Once you've added all the vegetable broth and the rice is nearly cooked, add in the canned pumpkin, fresh ginger, nutmeg, fresh basil and vegan margarine or butter. Stir well to combine everything well, and season lightly with a bit of salt and pepper, to taste.

All everything to heat, just for another minute or two, until everything is thoroughly heated through, and stirring frequently.