Vegetarian – Page 23 – Fun Foodie Family

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna and Spaghetti Bolognese with Garlic Butter Rolls

Dinner tonight was so fun to make. I love making different pasta sauces, and I adored this one. I decided at the last minute to add some sweet peppers to the mix; I love this addition to a marinara. It gives it an extra chunky and sweet component that added something different from the normal marinara.

I am the only one who likes eggplant in this family, but that never stops me from making what I want! When I saw a beautiful eggplant at the store, I just had to get it. I made a small pan of eggplant parmesan lasagna- no noodles. I used the eggplant disks as the pasta; this recipe can serve 4. I had one, saved one for lunch tomorrow, and gave the rest to my awesome neighbor along with a bunch of leftover pasta. Oh, and those garlic butter rolls? So good!!!

Spaghetti Bolognese

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef (could use sausage, turkey, chicken)
1 onion, chopped or sliced
1 container of sliced mushrooms
1/4 each yellow and orange pepper, chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
A few good squirts of tomato paste
A few good glugs of your favorite red wine- I used Cabernet Sauvignon tonight
2 tablespoons of worcestershire
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 large can of tomato sauce
1 small can of diced tomatoes
Any fresh herbs, chopped- I added basil, sage, thyme, oregano, marjoram, and parsley. Use dried herbs if you don’t have fresh. I would even combine them if you need to.
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Take your ground beef. Add in a screaming hot pan. Cook until meat is browned. I used a cast iron skillet. Once done, drain any excess fat/grease. Place to the side.
In a large dutch oven, cook your onion in a bit of oil/butter combo (about 1 tablespoon each). Add the rest of the veggies. Add your tomato paste and stir. Add the wine and worcestershire. Cook down for about 10 minutes. Add the canned tomato ingredients, sugar, and fresh (or dried) herbs. After it cooks for about 25 minutes, separate half in another pan (this is to have one without meat for your veggie eggplant parmesan). Add your ground meat in one of the sauce pans. Cook all together for AT LEAST 30-45 minutes— The longer you cook it, the better. Add to your favorite pasta. I used whole wheat spaghetti. There are some really great whole wheat pastas out there now. Give them a try!

Eggplant Parmesan Lasagna (vegetarian)

Ingredients-
1 large eggplant, sliced in medium slices
Salt and pepper
canola oil
flour

Directions

Cut your eggplant in medium slices. Salt and pepper both sides well and let sit for 15 minutes or more. This draws out the water a bit in the eggplant. Add a bit of oil or cooking spray on each side of the eggplant. Dip each side in flour. I did not go with the traditional dip with eggs and breadcrumbs; trying to make it semi healthy. Brown each side in a bit of canola oil.
Put a bit of your marinara sauce on the bottom of a small corningware dish. Layer the eggplant (like noodles in lasagna), marinara, and mozzarella cheese. Bake at 300 for 30 minute. I turned it on broil the last 5 minutes or so to get my cheese to brown. SO GOOD!!!

Garlic Butter Rolls

Melt a stick of butter with 4 cloves of crushed and chopped garlic. Take ordinary yeast rolls (or whatever bread you have). Poke some holes in them with a fork. Brush the rolls with the garlic butter. Cook for about 5 minutes. Then baste them in the garlic butter again. Put back in on broil with your eggplant. Take out and baste again. Heaven!

Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich

Leftovers/ Freezer Meals, Sandwiches, Vegetarian

Monday my husband and I went to a mediterranean place in town. I got a veggie plate, which had tons of hummus, babaganoush (eggplant dip), tzatziki, pita, tabouli, greek salad, and falafel. I had tons of leftovers, so I have been having the dips and tabouli with pita chips for snacks then last few days. Today I found a sad cucumber (I peeled, cut in half, and deseeded it) in the back of my fridge drawer and still had some leftover tomatoes and lettuce from dinner last night. We also had some Naan in the pantry, which I warmed on gas eye on low for a few second on each side to get it warm. All these combined together made a delicious veggie sandwich from my leftover dips and veggies. Perfect light summer lunch!

Radish Butter

Appetizers and snacks, Dips, Dressings, and Spreads, Vegetarian

You may remember that I have a slight obsession with radish and butter sandwiches. It comes from a memory of my Nanny, who used to make them all the time when I was little. Sometimes she would skip the bread all together and just smear butter on the radish and pop it in her mouth. It got me thinking, “Well, I make herb butter, so why not make radish butter?” GENIOUS!!! I’m sure I am not the first person to come up with this, but I am still proud of the idea and glad I thought of it. I am currently eating this on pita chips. You have to try this, especially if you love butter (which is everyone) and radishes (if you don’t, try this recipe and it may change your mind).

Radish Butter

About 8 radishes
1/2 stick of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Half the radishes, cube the butter, and pulse them in your food processor. Add just a pinch of salt and pepper before you pulse.

You could also use a box grater to make the radishes have more of a glamourous look to them, and mix the softened butter in the radishes. I like the little flecks of red and pink in my butter; plus, all that grating is a pain.

Kale Blinis

Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

I bought myself a couple of cookbooks for Mother’s Day. They have recently come in the mail, and I have perusing them for new ideas. Last night I started reading a french cookbook called, My Little French Kitchen, by Rachel Koo. Rachel is a Brit in France. She went to cooking school in Paris and is a pastry chef, and she has written a few cookbooks. She has traveled and eaten her way all over the diverse countryside to test out fabulous French cuisine in her tiny flat in Paris. I live vicariously through her. Lots of the recipes and ingredients are foreign to Americans, but not impossible to find or make. I came at this cookbook with the idea of, “Hey, I want to try to adapt this to ‘My Relatively Small American kitchen.'” Does that sound like a cookbook title?

Blinis. Really just a synonym for pancake. I recently bought a bunch of kale at the farmer’s market. I read this recipe with an open mind and thought it would be awesome if I interchanged the chard with the kale. Then I got to the end when she said we could substitute chard for spinach or kale. I felt that my instincts were validated as a home cook. My girls actually helped me with this recipe. They all tried the kale blinis. Rebecca and Katie had 2 bites and decided they were done. Lizzie ate 2 whole pancakes. Even Brutus the dog got a taste when Katie “accidently” dropped the rest of hers on the floor. He wanted more.

I LOVED them. LOVED. If you love your greens, pancakes, and sour cream or creme fraiche, then you will love these as well. Give them a try. Pretend you are in Provence sipping Rose and scarfing these down as an amuse bouche.

The original recipe is called “Farcous aux blettes et citron confit” or Chard and preserved Lemon Blinis. I am changing the title to “Le chou frisee aux blettes et citron” or Kale and Lemon Blinis. The ingredients in the book are in metric, but I did the conversions for you. You’re welcome. =)

Ingredients

1 cup white flour
1 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 shallot, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced
1 lemon- juice and 1/2 of rind grated
6 curly kale leaves, finely chopped (or 3 chard leaves or about a cup of spinach leaves)
1 cup milk
2 eggs, beaten
optional; 4 tablespoons of creme fraiche, or sour cream- I used a combo of sour cream and marscapone- don’t tell the French

Directions

Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the shallot, garlic, lemon, and chard. Mix together, and then stir in the milk and eggs.

Heat the butter in a large non-stick pan over medium heat. I used my trusty cast iron skillet.
When the butter melts, use a spoon or small ladle to drop some batter into the pan and quickly flatten it down. Fry it in batches so as not to overcrowd the pan. Fry on each side about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with your creme fresh or sour creme/marscapone combo. They can also be enjoyed cold. Especially by the light of the fridge when your tummy won’t quit rumbling at 1:30 am…

Batter

Frying in Butter

Perfect Brown

Summer Veggie Pasta

Pasta, Side dishes...veggies, potatoes, grains, Vegetarian

So yesterday I went to the farmer’s market. I bought an iced coffee, which has inspired me to make my own at home, and just meandered around the market to see what looked good. Everything looked good. I ended up buying kale (planning on making some kale chips tomorrow), squash, asparagus, broccoli, a sweet onion, and some radishes. I will be snacking on radish and butter sandwiches for a few days. Delicious.

I spied some rotini pasta in the cabinet and decided to make this pasta, which I made up along the way. Of course, you can add any veggies you have on hand in this. This pasta is showcasing the veggies, so the sauce has to be light and refreshing.

Summer Veggie Pasta

Ingredients

1/2 sweet onion
2 yellow squash
small bunch of asparagus
small bunch of broccoli
1/3 box of rotini pasta (or whatever you have on hand)
1 lemon
splash of white wine
chopped fresh herbs ( I used oregano, thyme, marjoram, and basil)
olive oil- I would say use sparingly a bit at a time)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat up a couple tablespoons of oil in a large pot on med. high heat- I used my large dutch oven.
Bring water to a boil for your pasta. Make sure you heavily salt the water.
While the water is coming to a boil, cut up your veggies and put in the heated pan. Salt and pepper liberally.
Add the pasta and cook you veggies about the same time. When the veggies are browning, add in a splash of white wine (I used Chardonnay) and the juice from the whole lemon. I also grated some lemon peel (make sure you wash the lemon skin very well; I like organic lemons when I know I am going to use the peel).
Add your fresh herbs.
When the pasta is al dente, add it to the veggies and sauce. Add a bit of the starchy pasta water to the mix. Stir and cook together for a few more minutes. Add in some parmesan cheese.

So good!

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: