Vege recipes for meat-lovers
Apetizers
Bleepin’ Awesome Black Beans ‘n Rice
May 22nd
Ingredients:
- Large can of Black Beans (I suggest Bushes–they are usually vegetarian, but I always check just in case.)
- 1 Tomato thickly diced
- 1 White/Yellow Onion chopped
- 1 Green Pepper chopped (Green, but part of a Poblano will add some spice.)
- Corn off the cobb (if you like)
- Mexican Spice combo (or Chili Powder, Cumin, Salt and Pepper)
- Fresh Cilantro
Method:
- Saute the onions for a few minutes to soften onions
- Put beans in pot, with their juice
- Add tomato, corn, onions, peppers
- Add Mexican Spice–I use taco or chili seasoning. One packet of Taco or Chili seasoning is perfect–and super easy. If I don’t have this I used a mixture of chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper.
- Add Cilantro (finely chopped) after all other ingredients have been added.
- I cook the mixture on low to medium heat for about 10 to 20 minutes. If the heat is too high, the beans stick.
- It only take a few minutes, because the mixtures only need to heat through; the longer you cook, the more the flavors combine.
- I usually make rice to go with it. Most often I use Steam Fresh Frozen Rice because it can be heated quickly in the microwave.
- I top everything with fresh, smashed avocado, a little sour cream, and Mexican mix cheese.
- Plantains are nice with it too, if you like plantains.
- We like to bake some cut up tortillas in the oven (like chips) on 400 degrees for about 5-7 minutes for dipping.
- If you don’t have fresh tomatoes, or don’t want to buy them, Rotel Tomatoes and Chilies are great in the place of fresh tomatoes.
Faux Sausage Breakfast Bites
Jan 3rd
Ingredients
- Biscuit mix (jiffy or bisquick works well)
- Any extra ingredients called for by your biscuit mix
- Cheddar cheese
- Morning Star meatless sausage crumble, or meatless crumble (beef version)
Method
- Preheat oven according to biscuit recipe
- Follow directions to make one batch of biscuits from your mix
- Defrost about half a bag of the meatless crumble (sausage works better than the beef variety)
- After meat is defrosted, add to biscuit mix
- Add about 1 cup or 1 1/2 cup of cheese. Mix well.
- Take spoonfuls of mixture and place onto cookie sheet (make them the size according to the biscuit mix)
- Bake (usually at 400-450 degrees) for about 10-15 minutes
For added deliciousness, split the cooked biscuits and add egg, or a slice of cheese. Ketchup also goes nicely..
Strawberry Vinegarette Salad
Jan 3rd
Ingredients
- Baby arugala & romaine lettuce
- strawberries
- goat’s cheese
- olive oil
- red wine
- candied walnuts
- balsamic glace vinegar (thicker than regular balsamic vinegar dressing)…(these are also available in pre-flavored varieties, like raspberry, strawberry etc if you prefer)
Method
- Chop lettuce into bite size pieces, mix together well
- slice strawberries thinly
- top the lettuce with strawberries, crumble goat’s cheese on top
- add walnuts if desired
- add dressing, salt and pepper to taste
Dressing Method (this will make enough for several salads)
- in bowl, add 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar glace, 1/2 cup of olive oil
- add splash of wine (or more if you prefer)
- Mix well, and quickly drizzle on top of salad before it seperates
Super Simple Bruschetta
Jan 3rd
Ingredients
- Fresh baked loaf of bread
- Organic tomato sauce (canned)
- Italian Seasoning
- Basil
- Garlic Salt
- 1/4 white onion
- 1/2 large tomato
- mozzarella cheese (grated)
- parmesan cheese (grated)
- butter
- red wine
- garlic salt
- olive oil
Method
- Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
- Cut tomato into large chunks
- dice onion
- sautee onion with butter in pan
- mix italian seasoning, basil, garlic salt, splash of wine into the tomato sauce in a bowl (excess of this is great on pasta)
- brush the bottoms of the bread with olive oil (if you have an olive oil with basil, this is good too)
- put desired amount of sauce mixture, then onions, then tomatos, then cheeses on top (unbrushed side) of bread
- bake at 400 degrees until cheese melts and turns golden brown. This should take around 5-10 minutes at most
- Remove from oven and enjoy!
Mini Cheezy Pumpernickel Pizza Bites
Jan 3rd
Ingredients
- Soy/Vege Meat Crumble (morning star brand recommended)
- Mini-loaf of pre-sliced Pumpernickel bread (each piece are about 2 or 3 inch squares)
- Block of Velveeta Cheese
- Ketchup or BBQ sauce
Method
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees
- Defrost the vege crumble in the microwave
- Microwave method (quicker): Add any spices/seasonings, add small blocks of velveeta to the container, and then cook the vege crumble in the according to instructions on package. Judge when to add the cheese according to how long you have to cook it (depends on how much you’re making).
- Pan Method: add the vege crumble to the pan on medium heat. Gradually add in velveeta cheese in chunks, slowly mixing it into the meat mixture. You can decide how ‘cheesy’ you want it as you go. The cheese should melt slowly enough for you to be able to taste test as you go.
- While it is cooking, lay out your pumpernickel bread slices on an un-greased baking sheet
- When the meat mixture is ready, put a 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of cooked vege crumble on each piece of bread.
- Slide the baking sheet into the oven for 5-10 minutes at the most. You are only trying to get the bottom of each piece of bread a little crispy, and the tops of the meat/cheese mix a little crunchy. You do not want the meat mixture to get tough. The meat is cooked already, so you can taste test as you go as well.
- Remove from oven when ready, and serve with sides of ketchup or bbq sauce depending on your preference.
Faux Cheeseburger Quesadillas
Jan 2nd
Ingredients
- Veggie Crumble
- Shredded Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
- 2-4 tbsp BBQ sauce
- McCormick’s Hamburger Seasoning
- Medium Flour Tortillas
- OPTIONAL: Finely chopped white onion
- OPTIONAL: Substitute the kind of cheese that comes pre-made with taco seasoning on it…it really kicks things up a notch!
Method
- In small frying pan, add chopped onions with a little non-stick spray on medium heat. You want to cook the onions a little, but not too much. If you like your onions crispy, just put them on low heat until you’re ready to assemble your quesadilla.
- Heat veggie crumble in microwave until defrosted, according to directions on package
- Add BBQ sauce (as much as you like), and hamburger seasoning, then mix well
- Turn large frying pan on to medium/low heat, add a little non-stick spray
- Return to heat in Microwave until fully cooked (should only take a couple of extra minutes)
- Put flour tortilla in pan, pushing it around to coat in a little oil
- To one side of the tortilla, add cheese, then burger crumble, then onions, then a little more cheese on top
- Let it cook until the cheese barely begins to melt, then fold the tortilla over on itself, closing it up.
- Let it cook a little longer, then flip over, being careful not to overcook one side. You want the outside of the tortilla to be crispy, but not burned.
- Repeat process for as many quesadillas as you want to cook.
Serve with more BBQ sauce, or some sour cream/guacamole usually tastes good too.
Potato Quesadillas (Hashbrown Quesadillas)
Jan 2nd
Ingredients
- 2 cups frozen cubed hash browns (or freshly cubed (1/2 inch cubes) potatos, or leftover mashed potatoes)
- 4 medium sized flour tortillas
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp season-all
- 1 tsp chili seasoning (not chili powder)
- 1 tbsp ketchup
- 1 bag grated Mexican Cheese Blend. You can vary how much you need depending on how many quesadillas, and how thick you are making them.
- Non-stick spray
- 2 tbsp tomato salsa (mild, medium or hot…your choice)
- OPTIONAL Side Items: Sour cream, Guacamole
- OPTIONAL ingredients: 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes (for more spice)
- OPTIONAL ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped onions (if you like onions)
Method
- For smooth quesadillas: Heat potatoes in microwave until defrosted. If using fresh potatoes, microwave them until they are just barely cooked and slightly mashable. If you’re using leftover mashed potatos, you dont have to cook them before adding to the quesadilla.
- For crispy quesadillas (preferred method) you’ll want to defrost or slightly cook the hash brown cubes a little and then put them into a hot frying pan with just a little oil to crisp them up just a little. When they are crispy (but not burned at all), remove from heat.
- Add hash browns to a big mixing bowl
- Add cumin, season-all, ketchup, chili seasoning, onions, red pepper flakes to bowl and mix well, coating each cube with some flavor. Be careful not to mix too vigourously if you are going for the crispy method.
- Warm Frying pan to medium-low heat, spray with non-stick spray.
- Put flour tortilla unfolded into pan, put a little bed of cheese down on one side, add potato mixture to same side, and then top with a little more cheese.
- When the cheese begins to melt, fold the tortilla over. It should seal itself with the cheese as its glue.
- Flip the folded tortilla one more time so the top half gets another round on the bottom.
- Remove from pan, repeat for as many quesadillas as you want to make.
- Serve with some sour cream, guacamole, or even some ketchup, if you like it that way.
Faux Chicken Sliders
Jan 2nd
Ingredients
- Fake Chicken Patties OR fake buffalo bites (morning star brand is our recommendation)
- Potato Dinner Rolls
- Muenster Cheese (substitute cheddar or swiss depending on your tastes)
- Lettuce
- Cherry Tomato (or other small variety) sliced
- Ketchup
- Ranch (optional)
Method
- Cook chicken patties or buffalo bites according to directions. Oven method is recommended
- Add cheese at the very end of cooking time, just enough to melt on the chicken
- Split and microwave the potato rolls on high for 20 seconds
- Cut cooked patties into small, roll-sized pieces, usually about 2 x 2 inches
- Squirt a little ketchup onto the base of the roll, then place the patty on top.
- Put one small piece of lettuce, two small slices of tomato on each roll
- Put a little ranch on top
- Close up the rolls and enjoy. They should be soft still if you’ve heated the rolls sufficiently.
Add fries, potato wedges or chips as a side if you’re willing to go the extra mile
Holy Moley Smashed Guacamole
Jan 2nd
Ingredients
- 4 small tomatoes (chopped)
- 3 avocados (diced)
- 1 small red onion (diced)
- 1 handful of fresh cilantro (diced)
- 1/2 cup of sour cream
- 2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
- OPTIONAL: chilli powder
Method
- Clean hands….soap….purell…whatever you want to do…just have clean hands (and fingernails)
- Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl
- With your clean hands, mash all ingredients together, squeezing avocados and tomatoes so they mix into a “dip” consistency.
- If you like more chunky guacamole, don’t mix so much, and maybe use less sour cream.
- If you like a more smooth consistency, add more sour cream and really dig in to mash all the chunks of tomato and avocado down into a paste. You may also want to peel the tomatoes too.
- Add chili powder to give some heat
- Serve with tortilla chips