Vegetarian

March 22, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Lentil Mushroom “Meat”balls

These obviously didn’t have the same presence as real meatballs, but were a nice alternative. Baking them gave them a crispy outside which helped balance the more mushy inside.I think mine were a little mushy because my mushrooms and lentils were more finely chopped instead of coarsely shopped using the food processor. I have just a small one and had to do it in small batches. Plus, Ellie wanted to “help” so I lost a little focus. Either way, I think they turned out good. I liked this meat replacement more than the vegan stuffed cabbage filling I made. Aya really liked it, but Ellie did not.

I just used a jarred tomato basil pasta sauce and added some finely chopped carrots to it and served it with a salad.

RECIPES:

Lentil Mushroom Meatballs

March 21, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Mushroom Soup

You gotta love mushrooms to like this one. And luckily we all do over here. Especially Ellie!

I left out the shitake mushrooms only because I forgot to buy them from the grocery store. I also didn’t have lemon pepper so I used 1 tsp pepper and 1 tsp lemon juice. According to the directions, this is all about simmering, no boiling. I flirted with that line a few times, but I think I succeeded.

I’m more used to a creamy type mushrooms soup, so I really liked how this was flavored differently than what I’m used to. Ellie devoured it, and Aya loved it as well. I served it with a salad and open-faced spinach and caramelized onion sandwiches. We just ate them all before I could take photos. This was a great filling dinner.

RECIPES:

Mushroom Soup

Open-Faced Spinach Caramelized Onion Sandwiches

March 19, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Oven-Baked Mexican Quinoa Casserole

This was really flavorful, and really easy too! My major mistake was mixing in the spinach before the oven instead of after.

If your family is iffy on quinoa, I’d suggest trying this. This had tons of good familiar flavors. This was really filling, but we still didn’t couldn’t stop eating it.

RECIPES:

Oven-Baked Mexican Quinoa Casserole

March 9, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Indian Cauliflower Pizza and Lentil Soup

This was really simple to throw together and very tasty. This was a nice take on pizza. You could probably use different vegetables and throw on some chicken if you want.

I used a pre-baked crust and a jar of tikka masala for the sauce. I have enough ingredients to make this again next week, and I’ll do that for sure!

I’m not a huge fan of lentil soup, but after using lentils earlier in the week I figured I could give it a try again. I found this recipe from Alton Brown that seemed easy enough. And to my surprise, I really liked this. It was very filling and had great flavor.

I used vegetable broth and left out the “grains of paradise, ” because I didn’t have any and I’ve never heard of them. This recipe also makes a huge batch, so if you’re not wanting a ton, maybe halve the recipe. I was hoping for leftovers to carry us through the weekend though.

RECIPES:

Indian Cauliflower Pizza

Lentil Soup

March 7, 2013April 5, 2017 Matt Cooking Stuff, Recipes

Rice and Lentils with Spicy Tomato Sauce

I picked this because it looked nice and simple. It’s nothing super special, but it was a nice filling meat free dish for a weeknight meal. The caramelized onions combined with the tomato sauce had great flavor. Aya really really liked this.