Budget no meat meal suggestions wanted

[shortbun]

Mushroom Stroganoff. Quiche wth broccoli and swiss cheese. vegetarian chili-find a recipe that suits you. soup and sandwich-tomato and grilled cheese and fruit(great winter meal) I buy those fake chicken cutlet things from Morningstar farms and make chicken parmesan out of them with red sauce and parm slices-then broil. Served with baked yams(butter and a tad brown sugar) and a great salad or steamed veggies. Get some Boboli and make veggie pizzas-or you could make your own crusts. Sauteed mushrooms, onions, red peppers, ground up broccoli, basil leaves, goat cheese or mozzerella chunks=mmm, good. We make killer burritos with the large wraps, refried beans, cheese-nuke then add avacado, sour cream and salsa.
Morningstar crumbles are a good ground beef sub for anything that has seasoning-tacos or marinara sauce for instance.

 

[cornflake]

What do you do to the veggies you like?

Have you tried roasting a big batch of veg? That's a great dinner. Get cauliflower, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, cippolini onions, turnips, butternut squash, baby new potatoes, celeriac, anything - cut into the sameish sized pieces, toss lightly with olive oil, put in a single layer on cookie sheets, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast at 400 for about 25-30 minutes, take out halfway and toss around.

Serve over quinoa, couscous, brown rice, whatever, with some butter or olive oil, lemon.

There's a lot more pasta dishes than stuffed shells. I make a nice spring pesto pasta - any kind of pasta, linguine, capellini, rotini, farfalle, whatever, broccoli, asparagus, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, pesto, parmesan. If you're using dried pasta, put it in first, if fresh, put the stuff in together. When the pasta is a couple minutes til done, toss in the veg, save the spinach and artichoke. Drain, toss with pesto and fresh spinach and roasted or marinated artichoke hearts. Parmesan, serve, delicious.

You can do a pasta with marinara with broccolini, olives and mozzarella. Just cook the pasta, heat the marinara, when a couple minutes from done, toss the broccolini in with the pasta, cook til done. Drain, toss and cook with the marinara for a minute. When done, toss in cubed fresh mozzarella and serve immediately.

I was just looking for a stuffed spinach mushroom recipe that used Stovetop stuffing and found the kraft website has a ton of different recipes, alot of them are no meat. I haven't tried any but some sound really good.

Here's the link I used. http://www.kraftbrands.com/stovetop/recipes.html

No recipe with Stovetop stuffing is meatless - Stovetop has meat in it.

 

[apnep]

I just made my families favorite thick soup, here is the recipe!

Curried Lentil Soup

This sounds delicious! I make Barefoot Contessa's lentil sausage soup. It's really yummy. It can also be made without the sausage and it's still delish.

I also make a white bean tortellini soup with chicken. But if you don't want the chicken leave it out.

Chicken stock
Bag cheese tortellini (i usually buy frozen)
fresh spinach (julianned)
Cannelini or Navy beans
diced carrots,
s&p
thyme

I just make my own chicken stock...

 

[jennyjinx3]

Yum!! I have everything for this -- it might be dinner tonight!!!!

How did it go?

OMG...that sounds good!

It is delicious, I even fed it to my parents who are not at all adventurous eaters. They both cleaned their bowls! I never did tell them there was curry powder in it!

Does this freeze well? I have also been trying to eat more soups for lunches since they are healthy, low calorie and usually full of veggies.

I have never frozen it, it goes quick around here! But I would imagine it would freeze fine.

sounds so good!, would you suggest a spice substitute if I dont have curry? Or I need it for this

I agree with the poster who said turmeric, cumin or chili powder. You can experiment with it and see what you like.

This sounds delicious! I make Barefoot Contessa's lentil sausage soup. It's really yummy. It can also be made without the sausage and it's still delish.

I also make a white bean tortellini soup with chicken. But if you don't want the chicken leave it out.

Chicken stock
Bag cheese tortellini (i usually buy frozen)
fresh spinach (julianned)
Cannelini or Navy beans
diced carrots,
s&p
thyme

I just make my own chicken stock...

Your recipe sounds delicious....and simple too. I made the lentil soup many times until I got the spice taste we liked the best. My DH likes a kick.
I like it too because I can use up the older veggies in my fridge without wasting them.

 

[jennyjinx3]

What do you do to the veggies you like?

Have you tried roasting a big batch of veg? That's a great dinner. Get cauliflower, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, cippolini onions, turnips, butternut squash, baby new potatoes, celeriac, anything - cut into the sameish sized pieces, toss lightly with olive oil, put in a single layer on cookie sheets, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast at 400 for about 25-30 minutes, take out halfway and toss around.

Serve over quinoa, couscous, brown rice, whatever, with some butter or olive oil, lemon.

There's a lot more pasta dishes than stuffed shells. I make a nice spring pesto pasta - any kind of pasta, linguine, capellini, rotini, farfalle, whatever, broccoli, asparagus, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, pesto, parmesan. If you're using dried pasta, put it in first, if fresh, put the stuff in together. When the pasta is a couple minutes til done, toss in the veg, save the spinach and artichoke. Drain, toss with pesto and fresh spinach and roasted or marinated artichoke hearts. Parmesan, serve, delicious.

You can do a pasta with marinara with broccolini, olives and mozzarella. Just cook the pasta, heat the marinara, when a couple minutes from done, toss the broccolini in with the pasta, cook til done. Drain, toss and cook with the marinara for a minute. When done, toss in cubed fresh mozzarella and serve immediately.



No recipe with Stovetop stuffing is meatless - Stovetop has meat in it.

I like the roasting veggies tip! I forget about cooking them that way.

I have found the Kraft recipes often are high in sodium,especially the ones with stovetop.

Not sure why there is a mad face up there.....I am not mad honest!

 

[worm761]

What do you do to the veggies you like?

Have you tried roasting a big batch of veg? That's a great dinner. Get cauliflower, brussel sprouts, parsnips, carrots, cippolini onions, turnips, butternut squash, baby new potatoes, celeriac, anything - cut into the sameish sized pieces, toss lightly with olive oil, put in a single layer on cookie sheets, sprinkle with salt and pepper, roast at 400 for about 25-30 minutes, take out halfway and toss around.

Serve over quinoa, couscous, brown rice, whatever, with some butter or olive oil, lemon.

There's a lot more pasta dishes than stuffed shells. I make a nice spring pesto pasta - any kind of pasta, linguine, capellini, rotini, farfalle, whatever, broccoli, asparagus, artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, pesto, parmesan. If you're using dried pasta, put it in first, if fresh, put the stuff in together. When the pasta is a couple minutes til done, toss in the veg, save the spinach and artichoke. Drain, toss with pesto and fresh spinach and roasted or marinated artichoke hearts. Parmesan, serve, delicious.

You can do a pasta with marinara with broccolini, olives and mozzarella. Just cook the pasta, heat the marinara, when a couple minutes from done, toss the broccolini in with the pasta, cook til done. Drain, toss and cook with the marinara for a minute. When done, toss in cubed fresh mozzarella and serve immediately.



No recipe with Stovetop stuffing is meatless - Stovetop has meat in it.

Generally I roast, steam or cook on the grill the veggies that we eat. I am a fairly good cook and make just about everything from scratch.

My problem is that I didn't like veggies when I was kid. But, in my defense, my mother cooked everything until it was mush in butter. They were just gross. I am learning that I am not the picky eater that she told me I was all my life.

I have been searching all over for celeriac since I saw a recipe that used that as a noodle for lasagna but I can't seem to find it. Tried Winn Dixie, Walmart, butcher, and Fresh Market. Still need to look at Publix. I plan to buy some beans and new veggies for us to try every grocery shop so we can learn to like new things.

Thank you everyone for the advice! Some of these recipes look very good. and I will buy and try some of the milder beans.

 

[AdventureIsOutThere]

I use green zucchinni to replace the pasta when I make a lasagna. First I will slice it very thinly with a mandoline then lay all the slices out on a kitchen towel to absorb some moisture. Usually (if I have planned ahead and have some time) I will try to flip the slices to get even more moisture. Then I just layer the slices as I would noodles. I think the combo of the mild, flavor absorbing squash and the flavor of the tomato sauce really works well and is an easy way to add some more veggies and cut some carbs to your meal.

 

[abcboys]

Yeah, my family thinks its not a meal if it doesn't have meat so I don't have alot of fancy ideas but black bean and corn quesadillas are a good meat free dinner.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-...esadillas&e8=Quick Search&event10=1&e7=Recipe

 

[babyrich]

this was so easy and very yummy:

Slow Cooker Lentil Sloppy Joes

1 cup dried green or brown lentils
1 small onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 organic carrots, diced
1/4 of a med/lg bell pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 8 oz can no salt added tomato sauce
1 tomato sauce can of water
1 tsp mustard (whatever you've got)
1 Tbsp vinegar (any kind you've got)
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3 Tbsp brown sugar
Kosher salt to taste
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Step 1: Soak lentils in a bowl covered generously with cold water for at least 4 hours, overnight is fine (though you may need less water in the slow cooker and a shorter cooking time). Drain and rinse.

Step 2: Add lentils and all other ingredients to the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours

 

[buckirj1]

Beans are great when you mix them with other stuff. Like meat. I'm with Thomas Jefferson, who said meat should be often be a condiment instead of the main attraction. I think we're far better off with small amounts of meat instead of a bunch of salty fatty cheeze.

If you're in a kind of Caribbean mood: Saute a chopped onion, garlic and pepper, add a can of drained and rinsed black beans, then chuck in cooked brown rice (I use a bag of the boil-in-bag stuff), a small can of pineapple (juice and all), and enough of whatever salsa you like to hold it all together. This also lends itself to the addition of small amounts of chicken, should you wish. It's also a great side dish for grilled fish or shrimp.

Go ahead, feed your inner hillbilly: Saute a chopped sweet onion, add a diced sweet potato and cook until almost tender, add a can of drained and rinsed black-eyed peas, season with brown sugar and cayenne pepper to taste, add a box of frozen greens (I like mustard greens in this), thawed and squeezed very dry, mix everything up and season to taste with salt, pepper and cider vinegar. Moisten with good olive oil if necessary and serve with cornbread. This also lends itself to the addition of bits of Canadian bacon or ham if you wish.

Italian-style: Saute an onion and garlic (you knew that), drain and rinse a can of white beans and add to the pan, add a can of diced tomatoes (I drain most of the liquid so it won't be so wet, but some folks like it juicy), add a box of frozen chopped kale or spinach - thawed and squeezed dry, season to taste with salt, pepper and chopped rosemary, basil and/or oregano, then chuck in a handful of dried cranberries and chopped cashews. Sounds weird, but it works. This is really good with small amounts of beef mixed in.

Needless to say, you can chop and cook raw greens, and cook your own beans from dried. I can't be bothered.

 

[buckirj1]

Oooh, and since you like butternut squash...this!

I haven't made it, but I've been meaning to (sorry for the wrap):

http://mealmakeovermoms.com/kitchen...ernut-squash-lasagna-gets-a-healthy-makeover/

 

[drinkme]

We make tacos or fajitas with black beans and rice. I work full-time so our meals need to be quick. I usually end up buying a box of the black beans & rice (probably would be healthier if you made it yourself). Then I just cut whatever veggies we need. Like peppers & onions for the fajitas, and lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, etc. for the tacos. I'll add some premade spices with the veggies. So, instead of using meat with those dishes, we use the black beans & rice.

HTH.

 

[cornflake]

The person who can't find celeriac - that's odd. It's also called celery root. Have you tried looking for/asking for that?

I like dragon kale; If I don't see it out, some stores know what I'm talking about, some look at me like I'm nuts and I have to say Lacinato.

 

[crashbb]

I have been searching all over for celeriac since I saw a recipe that used that as a noodle for lasagna but I can't seem to find it.

I've seen it sold as "celery root" in some stores. You might try asking by both names.

 

[robinb]

I've seen it sold as "celery root" in some stores. You might try asking by both names.

I eat a ton of veggies. We belonged to a Community Shared Agriculture program with an organic farm in northern WI. We got all kinds of unusual veggies including celeriac. I am not a fan of the stuff. I find it to be pretty woody with a distinctive celery taste. I don't think it would make good veggie 'noodles'. I would use zucchini or eggplant instead.

My DD is a vegetarian. I make her beans and rice about once a week. I start with the Cajun holy trinity of onions, green peppers and celery to which I add rinsed beans and italian seasoning. She likes hers smashed and served over rice. We also make vegetarian refried bean tacos about once a week.

 

[jacksmom]

We eat meatless most of the time and some of our favorites are: Minestroni soup, Broccoli cheese soup, baked potato bar with different veggie toppings, refried bean mexican pizza, spinach stuffed shells, rice and red beans creole seasoned, pancakes with hasbrown casserole, fruit salad with blueberry muffins, and if I am really hurried tomato soup and grilled cheese or cheese pizza!

 

[babyrich]

Um... how do you handle the "after effects" of eating lots of veggies and/or beans??

I love roasted brussel sprouts... I saute them first with shallots and a little olive oil or unsalted butter..... then roast..... oh YUM!

 

[Soulsearching]

Stuffed Peppers is always great! Serve with a salad.

recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robert-irvine/stuffed-peppers-recipe/index.html

Here's a pasta dish.

recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/penne-pasta-with-vegetables-55404

 

[lovesmurfs]

How did it go?

The Curried Lentil Soup is AMAZING! We had leftovers last night, so I made it tonight. Doubled the recipe. I don't usually use curry, so the kids wrinkled their noses a bit, but they loved it, too! Used my immersion blender -- the kids love split pea soup, so this was similar. We thought the curry as written was perfect.

Thanks so much for a new winter soup!!!!

 

[mombrontrent]

Um... how do you handle the "after effects" of eating lots of veggies and/or beans??

I love roasted brussel sprouts... I saute them first with shallots and a little olive oil or unsalted butter..... then roast..... oh YUM!

As a vegan I eat a TON of fruits, veggies and beans. My omnivore husband and son suffer from much worse "after effects" then my and my veggie DD's. I think once your body gets used to all the extra fiber and such the effects diminish greatly

Some meat and dairy free things we eat regularly are soups, stirfrys, curries, salads, roasted veggies, mexican food made with pinto or blackbeans, pastas. Even though I have basically eliminated two food groups from our diet I still find I eat a much more varried diet than most people. There is really just so many vegetarian/vegan options out there especially if you cook alot of ethnic foods like we do here.