Meatless Monday

Onion Rings

I am posting this because recently when my youngest sister was visiting, she walked into my house while I was making homemade onion rings and commented on how goo it smelled.  onion rings are very easy to make and are better than anything you will get from a fast food place.  There are many recipes out there but I like to keep it simple with this.  Sorry the picture is dark.  I was in my parents kitchen making this for a sunday night dinner and the kitchen was crowded because we had 4 people making one dish each for the dinner!

 

Ingredients:

 

2 large sweet onion such as vidalia

2 cups of buttermilk

1 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 cup of yellow corn meal

Salt & pepper

Creole seasoning or cayenne (optional)

Oil for frying

 

Slice the onions thick, at least 1/4 of an inch.  Separate the onions into rings and place in a large bowl.  Coat the onions with buttermilk, mix and allow to sit in the buttermilk for at least 15 minutes.  In another bowl, mix flour and corn meal together and season liberally with salt and pepper.  Add in creole seasoning or cayenne if desired.  

 

Heat the oil in a large fry pan.  I always start with a test ring.  Take a single onion ring, allow excess buttermilk to drip back into the bowl and toss onion in the flour mixture.  Using tong, place gently in the oil.  The oil should form immediate bubbles around the onion.  If it doesn't, then the oil is not hot enough.  If the oil is bubbling too hard and the coating is burning before the onion cooks, turn the temperature down.  As with all of the rings, you should cook them until they are brown on one side and then flip to cook the other side.  Taste your first ring and adjust the seasonings if necessary.  Coat and add the remaining rings in batches.  Once rings are browned on both sides, remove from oil and place on paper towels to drain excess oil and then serve hot.

 

Vegetarian Fried Wontons and Asian Noodles

So the pictures are sad this time.  All I had was same left overs but that means it was good! I made some other meat items with this but figure that this could easily become a meatless monday menu so I left them out!

Ingredients:
24 baby carrots, 12 minced, 12 julienne
4 oz cremini (baby bella) mushrooms, finely minced
3 shallots, minced and divided, 1 for wontons, 1/2 for dipping sauce and 1 1/2 for noodles
5 garlic cloves divided, 1 for dipping sauce, 3 for noodles and 1 for wonton
1 head of napa cabbage (savoy can be used with the ribs removed), shredded and divided in half
1 package of wonton wrappers
1 red bell pepper, julienne for noodles
2 portobello mushrooms, julienne for noodles
1/2 cup plus 2 tsp of soy sauce
1 heaping tbsp of sweet hot mustard
1/2 cup of chicken or vegetable broth
1 lb of linguine
Corn starch
Olive oil and Canola oil
Red pepper flakes
Mild vinegar such as white balsamic, white wine or rice wine vinegar


Make dipping sauce by combining 1/2 minced shallot, 1 clove of minced garlic and 3 dashes of red pepper flake into a small bowl, add soy sauce just to cover (about 1/4 cup), drizzle in a small amount of olive (or sesame oil) and then add vinegar to taste.

Prepare the carrots, cremini mushrooms, shallots, garlic and cabbage, reserving what is needed for the other dished until needed.  Heat canola oil over medium heat.  Add minced carrots and sauté about 2 minutes, add cremini mushrooms and cook about 3 minutes longer.  Add shallots and stir in for 2 minutes, add garlic and stir about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Last add cabbage and cook until just wilted.  Add oil in as needed through out the stir fry process.  Create a slurry that is 2 tsp of soy sauce and 1 tsp of cornstarch, thinned with 3 tsp of water.  This should make about 30 wontons.  Once the cabbage is wilted, add slurry and stir until thickened. Set aside to cool and prepare the rest of the vegetables for the noodles.

Put on water to boil for noodles.  Heat canola oil for a shallow fry in another pan.  To assemble the wontons, lay out wonton wrappers on a clean surface.  Spoon about 1 tsp of prepared vegetable mixture into the center of the wonton wrapper.  Wet half of the wonton wrapper with water (with your finger) so that half of the wet wrapper will meet half of the dry wrapper and seal the two sides together (use a ravioli or wonton press or a fork around the edges).  Once formed, cook for about 2 minutes per side or until browned.  Remove and drain off excess oil.

Once water is boiling, add salt and cook noodles according to package instructions.  Heat canola oil in a pan until very hot.  Add julienne carrots and cook about 3 minutes.  Add bell peppers and cook for 2 minutes more then add portobello mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes until softened.  Shallots should be added and cooked for 1 minute followed by garlic for 30 seconds.  Lastly, add in the remaining cabbage and cook until wilted.  In a small bowl, combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/2 cup chicken stock and 1 tbsp mustard.  Once linguini is cooked, add in sauce to vegetables and bring to a simmer.  Add the entire mixture to the pasta and cook until most of the liquid is combined and serve.

Stuffed Peppers and Zucchini 

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers, split seeds, stem and ribs removed

2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise center seeds and pulp removed to create a stuffing area

1 1/2 cups uncooked rice of your choice, rinsed

Vegetable or chicken stock to substitute for water on rice cooking instructions

1 shallot, minced

5 cloves of garlic, minced and divided

Olive or canola oil 

1 15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed

2 small tomatoes, diced

4 tablespoon parsley, minced

6 ounces of cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup of panko

2 tablespoons of butter or oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 425 F. Place peppers and zucchini in a 13X9 or larger baking dish and drizzle with oil and then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 15 minutes then remove and reduce cooking temperature to 400, meanwhile sauté shallot and half of garlic in a the same pot you will cook rice in.  Add rice and cook according to package directions, substituting stock for water (adds salt to taste if using low sodium). In the final 5minutes of cook time, add black beans.  Once cooked, stir in tomatoes, parsley and 2/3 of cheese, reserving a small amount for topping.  Melt butter with garlic and stir into panko. Stuff zucchini and peppers and place back in baking dish with rice mixture then top with remaining cheese then panko mixture.  Bake until browned on top, about 20-30 minutes.

Variations:

Try adding a spicy sausage that has been browned or ground beef that is browned and seasoned.  Parsley can be switched out for sautéed spinach or Swiss chard.

Ok Emily here is a super cheap idea.  I am posting all of these meatless Monday ideas because they are very inexpensive!

Simple Black Bean Soup

1 pound dried black beans

2 onions, sliced lengthwise and then sliced thinly

1 bell pepper cut into 1/2 inches pieces

3 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 tablespoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon salt

Water

For serving

Diced Monterey Jack cheese

Sour cream thinned with water

Flour tortilla sliced into 1/4 inch strips and either fried or baked and sprinkled with creole seasoning

Avocado, diced

Hot sauce (optional)

Soak beans according to instructions. I use the quick soak method. After beans have been soaked and rinsed, add them to a large pot with 10 cups of water over high heat.  Add onion, garlic and bell pepper to pot along with cumin and cayenne pepper.  Bring to a full boil and then reduce to a simmer for 1/2 to 2 hours.  Check beans to make sure they are soft.  If you are serving the same night, add salt 20 minutes before the end of cooking.  If serving the next night, add salt during the cooling process.  Puree about 1 and half cups of the beans for creamy texture and add back to soup. For serving, add diced cheese to the bottom of the bowl, add hot soup. Top with thinned soup cream, hot sauce, diced avocado and tortilla strips and serve.

Variations:

Make it a non meatless meal by adding diced and sautéed spicy sausage such as chorizos.

Left overs:

The beans are great by themselves in any application that calls for black beans, tacos, empanadas, omelets, etcetera!

Zucchini Parmesan 

Inspired by my very popular zucchini fries.  You can follow the instructions for breading and frying and serve with ketchup or remoulade sauce for a fantastic side dish.

Ingredients:

3 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into 1/4 inch slices
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs
1/2cup grated Pecorino Romano
2 eggs lightly beaten and thinned with about 1 tablespoon of water
3/4 cup flour
Salt
Pepper
3 cups of your favorite tomato pasta sauce or marinara
2 cups shredded mozzarella
Olive or canola oil for frying
Chopped flat leaf parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 F. Set up breading station by placing flour seasoned liberally with salt and pepper in one dish, eggs and water in another and panko with Pecorino in a third. Mix all thoroughly.   Heat oil is a pan over medium heat while slicing zucchini.  Dip zucchini in seasoned flour, knocking off excess, then dip in egg and finally in bread crumb mixture. If time allows, place on a wire rack to dry for 15 minutes which gives the breading time to adhere better.  If time is short, proceed to placing breaded zucchini into hot oiled pan. Allow to fry until a golden brown crust has formed, turning only once, 2-5 minutes. Brown on the second side. Meanwhile, coat the bottom of 9"X13" baking dish with 3/4 cups sauce.  You will be creating two crossed layers for texture. Place drained brown pieces of zucchini in the bottom to coat.  Cover with 1 cup of sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella.  Repeat second layer with the remaining browned zucchini layer crosswise over the first layer.  Coat with the remaining 1 1/4 cups sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella.  Bake in a 400 F oven until bubbling and cheese is just beginning to brown, about 30 minutes.

Serving ideas:
Serve with a tossed green salad and garlic knots (pizza dough, tied and knots and baked and then tossed with copious amounts of chopped garlic, Pecorino and olive oil once they come put of the oven)

Variations:
Obvious but, chicken or eggplant.  Make sure the chicken is thin sliced and if using eggplant it is peeled, cut and breaded in the same manner as the zucchini.  No need to salt the eggplant when used in this manner.

Leftover ideas:
One word: Lunch!

Vegetarian Chili

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
1 bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 small hot chile, minced (optional)
Olive oil
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon salt
1 box chopped tomatoes (or one 28 can whole tomates, chopped with juice)
2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
8 oz cremini (baby bella) or white button mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and quartered
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed
1 15-oz can small white beans (navy), rinsed
1 15-oz can pinto beans (pink), rinsed
1 tablespoon semisweet chocolate chips

Coat the bottom of a large pot (4 quart or larger) with olive oil, about 2 tablespoons. Heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onions, bell pepper, garlic and hot chile to pot and sauté stirring occasionally until softened, about 5 minutes. Add chili powder, cumin and salt and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add tomatoes with juice, zucchini and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans and chocolate, bring back to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5 more minutes.

Serving ideas:
Top with grated cheddar and/or Monterey Jack cheese, avocado and sour cream, chips on the side OR
serve over lettuce and add to toppings diced fresh tomato and diced scallions for a healthy salad.

Left over ideas:
Chili cheese omletes, burritos or fries... YUM!