Day 118: Quick Pasta

Barilla Plus Ziti
Cauliflower
Chick Peas
Jar of Sauce
Calamata olives
Parmesan

No pictures - it was too quick!

Day 116: "Hot Dogs" & Beans

Smart Dogs - jumbo ones and Bush's Vegetarian Beans after a long day and before Erev Purim services at synagogue. Next time I make these I will take photos. We thought our days of veggie hot dogs were over when Morningstar Farms stopped making their version - our long time top favorite and the only "dog" everh allowed on our table. But, Smart Dogs have become an acceptable - not equal - but acceptable substitute.

Really, what one craves, is the sauerkraut, the mustard & the softness of the bun.

Day 115: Tofu Tacos

Recipe from a friend.
No pictures because I over-heated the shells and they looked terrible!
We enjoyed this but all agree that we like beans better in our tacos and tofu better with peanut sauce.

Tofu Tacos

1lb. firm tofu
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp. Cumin 
2 tsps. chili powder, or to taste
1/8 tsp. hot red pepper flakes
11/2 cups tomato sauce(use a smooth one)
8 taco shells

Drain tofu well and crumble.  Sauté onion, green pepper, and garlic in oil. Add spices and tofu. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Add sauce and simmer five minutes or more.

Serve with hard or soft taco shells, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, chopped olives etc.

Day 114: Another Thursday night at Work

Dinner with my hubby.
Gathered from the cafeteria at HRMC
Macaroni & Cheese
1 Vegetarian Stuffed pepper
A lovely salad with Mandarin oranges, strawberries, blueberries, and candied almonds over field mix greens.
He ate the pepper, most of the mac and cheese, and most of the salad - I ate the rest.

Day 113: Dan's first day home on Spring Break: Pizza

I was at work - so pizza from Enzo's. We are in a boring rut when it comes to take-out pizza. We always have the same thing - plain cheese pizza with a large house salad and house dressing on the side.  It's ok though, because we LIKE plain cheese pizza and salad with balsamic dressing - A LOT.

Day 122: Stuffed Potatoes

These have many variations. The best and freshest potatoes make a dish with the best flavor.Old potatoes or green ones should be avoided. Nice fresh Idaho baking potatoes are best. You can bake them in a 400 degree oven for an hour or so, or microwave them for 10-15 minutes (for 4) for the first round of cooking. The taste is sometimes better if they are baked - rub them with a little oil first and bake directly on the oven rack to get a nice crispness to the skins. Microwaving them seems to make them less dry.

When they are cooked so that a fork goes in easily, cut them in half long-ways and scoup out the middles, leaving just enough potato on the skin so that it retains a boat-like shape and does not fall apart. If the skins fall apart - do no despair - the dish will taste fine - just not look as good. For 4 potatoes: Put the potato middles in a bowl with some mayonnaise (1/4 c or so) some low fat cottage cheese (1/2 a 16oz container) and mustard (1-2 tsp - I like honey or dijon) and mash the potatoes. Then add some dill (1-2 tsp or more) salt & pepper to taste, and 1/2 - 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese and mix well. Lay the shells out in a flat casserole dish (microwaveable, if you are going to nuke them)- or on a baking sheet - or even on the pizza stone. Mound the potato mixture back into the shells and sprinkle the tops with paprika. Bake them 30 minutes at 350 F or so - or microwave them for 15 minutes on 70 + 5 minutes on 80% power.

Our favorite accompaniment is steamed broccoli -Cooked until it is just bright green and still crisp, it makes a perfect paring with the potatoes in color and texture. Freshly steamed green beans also work. You could chop and mix the broccoli with the potato mixture before baking - or add in some fresh steamed spinach - but we like this dish best with the potatoes and cheese alone - smooth and creamy - and the crisp green broccoli on the side.

You can find a picture here: http://365vegetariandays.blogspot.com/2011/02/day-89-stuffed-potatoes.html

Day 121: Vegetable Lasagna

I used Barilla's new "No Boiling Required" "Rolled Flat Like Homemade" Lasagna noodles and Jersey Fresh sauce from a jar to make this easy (easy is important lately because my RA is flaring). I foolowed the instructions on the box for time and temperature for baking. For vegetables, I used onions, carrots, zucchini and fresh spinach. I sauteed the veggies in a little olive oil until they started to soften. I made three layers - ricotta, mozzarella and Parmesan in two of them, cheeses plus vegetables in the middle. I baked this one in the oven (note the metal pan - sometimes when I am in a rush, I use a glass dish and microwave it - baking is better). Note - you have to cover the dish tightly with foil for the fist 45 minutes when you use the no-boil noodles. I spray the inside of the foil with olive oil cooking spray to keep it from sticking to the lasagna. The result was very tasty.