meatless Monday
Meatless Monday Broccoli Casserole
11/30/09
Do a Google search for broccoli casserole and guess what you will find on the ingredients list. Things like processed cheese, condensed mushroom and celery soup, mayonaise, and instant rice. All highly processed items from which to make a "home cooked meal." Really, it defeats the purpose of putting in a healthy ingredient such as broccoli.
So here is my version of this anglo classic.....
Start by getting the rice going in a rice cooker or a pot. You don't need to add salt or oil in the water as the sauce will have plenty of flavor. Next, boil your water to steam the broccoli. A great tip for the broccoli: Chop the stems and add them in the steamer first until they are soft, then add the florets to steam. The florets will only take a few minutes to turn bright green so don't ignore them.
While these are going, place a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan and place on medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrot and saute until the onions are clear. Add the garlic and saute a few more minutes. When done, slide these into the casserole dish. Add the steamed broccoli and the rice and mix.
Turn on the oven to heat to 350 degrees. Make the sauce in a blender or food processor. Add the cashews, soy milk, Braggs aminos, lemon juice, Earth Balance, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, thyme, parsely, sage, celery seed, paprika, and salt and pepper. Blend. Pour over rice mixture in casserole dish. Mix the sauce in well. Top with panko or bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes until topping is browned.
Ingredients List:
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup barley
1 cup brown rice
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 oinion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 and 1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup Braggs Aminos
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 tablespoons Earth Balance
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
So here is my version of this anglo classic.....
Start by getting the rice going in a rice cooker or a pot. You don't need to add salt or oil in the water as the sauce will have plenty of flavor. Next, boil your water to steam the broccoli. A great tip for the broccoli: Chop the stems and add them in the steamer first until they are soft, then add the florets to steam. The florets will only take a few minutes to turn bright green so don't ignore them.
While these are going, place a tablespoon of olive oil in a saute pan and place on medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and carrot and saute until the onions are clear. Add the garlic and saute a few more minutes. When done, slide these into the casserole dish. Add the steamed broccoli and the rice and mix.
Turn on the oven to heat to 350 degrees. Make the sauce in a blender or food processor. Add the cashews, soy milk, Braggs aminos, lemon juice, Earth Balance, vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, thyme, parsely, sage, celery seed, paprika, and salt and pepper. Blend. Pour over rice mixture in casserole dish. Mix the sauce in well. Top with panko or bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes until topping is browned.
Ingredients List:
1/2 cup wild rice
1/2 cup barley
1 cup brown rice
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 oinion, diced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 cup raw cashews
1 and 1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup Braggs Aminos
1/4 cup lemon juice, fresh squeezed
2 tablespoons Earth Balance
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons thyme
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 teaspoons celery seed
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
0 Comments
Quick and Easy Thai Stirfry for Meatless Monday
10/26/09
It's Monday again and the focus is meatless in honor of Meatless Monday. Stirfry is a great way to use up a variety of aging vegetable in the refridgerator. You know the ones you bought with all those plans for cooking each night before life took control once again and now they are a little less than fresh. Yup, those are the ones. So for today's stir fry, I had some curly kale and asparagus that needed to be eaten quick.
Start by making the rice and letting it set so that it soaks up all the moisture. In a large pan, heat the peanut oil. Add the garlic and the red and yellow onion. Saute for 4-5 minutes until onions are becoming clear. Add the jalapeno and ginger and saute 1-2 minutes. Add red pepper and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes. Add the asparagus and green onion cook another minute. Add the kale and cook another 2 minutes. Once the kale is wilted and the asparagus is tender add the cooked rice and stir. Reduce the heat to low. Add the peanut butter and sesame oil. Stir until the peanut butter is well distributed. Mix in the liquid aminos or soy sauce. Serves 4.
This is a very easy and forgiving recipe. You can mix up the veggies to whatever is on hand. Carrots, broccoli, celery, green beans, spinach, peas, and edemame all work well in this recipe. You can make this with or without the peanut butter. If made without, add some salt to taste before serving and double the liquid aminos.
Here's more info about Braggs liquid aminos. I love this product and use it in place of soy sauce in asian dishes, and on top of steamed veggies or in salad dressings.
Ingredient List:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 cloves garlic minced
1/2 red onion
1/2 yellow onion
1/2 jalepeno (whole one if you like it hot)
1 heaping teaspoon minced ginger
1 red pepper cut into one inch pieces
1 bunch kale chopped
1 bunch asparagus cut into one inch pieces
1 green onions cut into one inch pieces
2 cups brown basmati rice-cooked
2 heaping tablespoon peanut butter (I used Valencia peanuts)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2 tablespoons liquid aminos
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
Lasagna Rolls for Meatless Monday
09/07/09
One way I can always make my husband happy is to say the words “pasta for dinner!” Tonight is Lasagna Rolls from the Happy Herbivore, a great blog for vegan inspiration. Also, since I have joined the Meatless Monday campaign, this is a great recipe for going meatless.
I did a few things different from Lindsay in my rolls. I made a quick marinara versus buying a bottle of prepared sauce. I find it just as easy with a multi-stepped dinner such as this and much cheaper. For my sauce, I minced a couple cloves of garlic and an onion and sauteed until the onion was clear. I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and a 14 oz can of tomato sauce to the onions and garlic, and I added fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. I let this simmer while the water heated for my noodles. I also used brown rice lasagna noodles instead of whole wheat as I am limiting the wheat in my diet. The last change I made was to add a quarter cup of chopped pine nuts to the “ricotta” mixture. I did this to give some added richness to the tofu ricotta that my husband would miss from not using cheese.
Verdict? This recipe is a total winner. I love that it does not require baking which means less time and one less dirty dish. Let me know your twist on this easy recipe.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.
I did a few things different from Lindsay in my rolls. I made a quick marinara versus buying a bottle of prepared sauce. I find it just as easy with a multi-stepped dinner such as this and much cheaper. For my sauce, I minced a couple cloves of garlic and an onion and sauteed until the onion was clear. I added a 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes and a 14 oz can of tomato sauce to the onions and garlic, and I added fresh basil, salt and pepper to taste. I let this simmer while the water heated for my noodles. I also used brown rice lasagna noodles instead of whole wheat as I am limiting the wheat in my diet. The last change I made was to add a quarter cup of chopped pine nuts to the “ricotta” mixture. I did this to give some added richness to the tofu ricotta that my husband would miss from not using cheese.
Verdict? This recipe is a total winner. I love that it does not require baking which means less time and one less dirty dish. Let me know your twist on this easy recipe.
Living a life of personal balance, moderation, education, and connection.