Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Does anyone have any ideas of what I could bring to lunch?

Q. I'm going to a public school from a Catholic school, and there is a student at this school who has a severe peanut allergy. Normally I would just say, "Screw other people's needs," but no nuts are allowed in the building at all. So my problem is, what will I bring for lunch? I'm a vegetarian, and, of course, I'm not really comfortable with being un-vegetarian, so if they are serving meat in the cafeteria, what can I bring besides salad that will fill me up?

A. Are you looking for easy recipes that you can make fast and bring to that lunch? There are so many options. Why don't you start looking at these healthy sandwiches - all without peanuts. I am eating these almost daily in summer, like a whole wheat bread with mustard greens, hummus, and tomatoes or a sandwich wrap with veggies, sesame seeds, and ginger:

http://www.belsandia.com/healthy-lunch.html

I also have plenty of vegetarian full meal recipes that you can prepare. If someone in your home cooks for you, have them make plenty of one recipe and freeze it, so you can take a portion with you every other day or so:http://www.belsandia.com/healthy-meals.html

Why don't you try the vegetarian meatloaf recipe, then bring it to school and have other kids try it too. Wouldn't it be fun if they like it and won't even notice that it is meat-free? Maybe you can win over some like-minded eaters this way:

http://www.belsandia.com/vegetarian-meatloaf.html


Does anyone have a recipe for vegetarian stuffing?
Q. I'm looking for something easy and without too many ingredients. Thanks.

A. Ingredients

* 1 (1 pound) loaf day-old bread, torn into small pieces
* 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
* 1 (10.5 ounce) can vegetable broth
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
* salt to taste
* ground black pepper to taste
* 1/2 cup wild rice, cooked (optional)
* 1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)
* 1/2 cup fresh mushrooms (optional)
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)
* 1/4 cup cubed apples (optional)

Directions

1. Mix together the bread, cream of mushroom soup, vegetable broth, water, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste. Add any or all of the optional ingredients as desired. It will be sticky. Shape into a loaf and wrap in (nonstick, sprayed) foil to bake.
2. Bake for about an hour at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). You can slice it like a meatloaf and serve.






Stuffing doesn't have to be cooked inside a turkey - this vegetarian bread stuffing with apples and walnuts is delicious baked as a casserole.
Yield 10 servings
Time an hour
Tools

* large frying pan
* wooden spoon
* large mixing bowl
* two medium or one very large casserole(s), with lids

Ingredients

* ¾ c butter
* 2 c onion, chopped
* 2 c celery, chopped
* 1-2 t salt
* pepper
* 3 t sage
* 3 t thyme
* 1 t marjoram
* 1 t rosemary
* ½ c fresh parsley, chopped
* 2-3 T apple cider vinegar
* 16 c bread cubes*
* 4 c green apples, chopped
* 1½ c raisins (optional)
* 1½ c lightly toasted walnuts, minced
* 2 c vegetable stock

Directions Melt butter or olive oil over medium high heat and sauté onion and celery until soft and starting to turn golden. Add salt, pepper, herb, and vinegar. Mix well and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350.

In the bowl, combine bread, apples, raisins, and walnuts. Stir in onion mixture until well combined.

Toss with half of the stock and check consistency - you want the stuffing to be moist but not soggy. Add more stock as needed, then taste and adjust seasonings.

Butter the casseroles, add stuffing, cover, and bake for 45 minutes.







Vegetarian Stuffing
3/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
1/2 cup apple, peeled and diced
2 tsp dried or 3 tbsp. minced fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp salt
pinch cayenne pepper
4 cups bread cubes (white or whole grain)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped pecans (optional)
10-12 tbsp strong vegetable broth* (up to 3/4 cup)

Preheat the oven to 350F and lightly grease a 1.5-quart baking dish.
In a small frying pan, sautee the onion, celery and apple until tender with the parsley, sage, salt, cayenne (or regular pepper, if you prefer). This should take about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes with onion mixture, cranberries, pecans, vegetable broth, adding slightly more if the bread is very absorbant (some need more liquids), and mix well. Taste one of the cubes and, if necessary, add additional salt or pepper.
Pour into prepared casserole dish and cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 minutes, until top is crisp and golden.
Serve immediately.



http://vegetarian.about.com/od/stuffingdressingrecipes/Vegetarian_and_Vegan_Stuffing_Recipes.htm


What is the best vegetarian recipe for a main course? What is the best dessert?
Q.

A. Veggie Meatloaf

You won't miss the meat in this flavorful dish! Serve with mashed potatoes for a great meal! You can also substitute diced eggplant for the mushrooms.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup uncooked white rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 cup cooked lentils
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetarian Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/2 cup ketchup

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a saucepan bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onions until tender. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine cooked rice, lentils, mushrooms, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, egg, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, parsley and cooked onions; mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan; spread ketchup on top of loaf.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes.


Hariton's 'Famous' Vegetarian Casserole

This is a very tasty dish consisting of all kinds of fresh vegetables and herbs baked in the oven. This will tantalize your taste buds. It has been a sell-out at our Greek Church at every function for five years now. We serve this on toasted, warm pita bread.

Original recipe yield: 36 servings.

INGREDIENTS:
8 large eggplants
8 large potatoes
8 green bell peppers
8 large onions
8 summer squash
6 tomatoes
1 pound fresh green beans
1 pound whole fresh mushrooms
2 bulbs garlic, cloves separated and peeled
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill weed
1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare the eggplant before assembling ingredients, by cutting them into 2 inch chunks and putting them into an extra large bowl with salted water to cover. This will draw out the bitterness from the eggplant. Let this sit for about 3 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Cut the potatoes, green bell peppers, onion, squash and tomatoes into 2-inch chunks. Cut the green beans and mushrooms in half and peel the garlic cloves.
Drain and rinse the eggplant, then combine it with all the other chopped vegetables, the dill, oregano and basil and place all into a 3x13x18 inch roasting pan. Pour the tomato sauce and olive oil over all.
Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 2 1/2 hours, adding a little water about halfway through cooking time to keep moist.


Easy Peach Cobbler
This is a great peach cobbler--so easy a child can make it! It is great right out of the oven served with vanilla ice cream.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup milk
1 (15 ounce) can peaches

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
In a one-quart baking dish or 9 inch square pan, cream together sugar and butter. Mix in flour and milk until smooth. Pour peaches and their juice over the top.
Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown.

Note: I didn't have self rising flour, so I used (according to a "substitutions" website I found) 1 cup of flour (minus 2 tsp), 1/2 tsp salt and 1 1/2 tsp baking powder for every cup of self rising flour.





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