Some typical american dishes?

vegetarian meatloaf recipe nuts image

Snow

Hi everybody,
I'm italian but I have many american friends who study in my city so I would like to organize an american dinner for them (they've been here for a while and sometimes they complain about how much they miss their food :)), and for my italian friends as well.
When I came to the US my boyfriend made me try a lot of american food (he's american), and I really likes grilled cheese sandwich, sweet potatoes with cinnamon butter, green beans with nuts, macaroni and cheese, corn, coleslaw, garlic bread, onion rings (no meat and no fish, I'm vegetarian), cupcakes, cheescake, muffins and donuts.
What do you guys think I should make? Do you have some more recipes? :)
I don't mind having meat, I just don't know how to cook it cause I've became a vegetarian before I learned how to cook, but maybe my roommates would help me with that :)
(By "having meat" I mean having it at the dinner, for my friends, not myself of course)

Answer
meatloaf
sloppy joes..

Anyone have any great vegetarian/vegan recipes?

Just right

I am going vegetarian. I am not yet sure what kind of vegetarian. I attempted this before and I lasted two weeks. I am trying again. I am starting out by cutting out red meat, which I rarely eat anyway. Then I will continue by cutting out white meat, and whatever else I decide to live without. Any great recipes for me anyone? :)
Please and thank you

Answer
It's important not to just cut out meat. You have to be thinking about beans, nuts, seeds, soy, eggs/dairy (if not going vegan) and ways to make those.

Try substituting beans for meat in your favourite recipes, eg black beans, partly mashed into a packet of the taco seasoning and water you'd add to ground beef for taco night. Try grating a portobello mushroom into tomato sauce instead of ground beef. I like tofu in stirfries instead of chicken (takes practice to have tofu taste other than bland - experiment!). I like making meatloaf with a can of white beans instead of meat - mash them and use your favourite meatloaf recipe from there...

Many meals can naturally be made vegetarian... load a pizza crust with tomato sauce and tons of veggies before baking, make a frittata for dinner, pasta with tomato sauce and vegetarian parmesan cheese (look for one with bacterial culture, not rennet)...

Lunch and breakfast are easy... most of my friends don't know I'm veg when they see me eating pj or cheese sandwiches for lunch! Many breakfast cereals are higher in protein, eg. kashi/Vector.

Tastespotting.com is a round-up of many food blogs from around the world. They have a search term, eg veggie burger, and frequently feature vegetarian/vegan menu items for when you're looking for something new.

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