I don’t usually do something this involved…but for some reason this didn’t seem involved to me until about 10:30 p.m. on Sunday night when I was elbow deep into spinach and feta cheese. Here it is … the recipe I used to make these cute little spinach pies. I think they are cute and little and yummy, but it sure was a lot of work for just eight little pies.
Next time I will try something more along the lines of this.
I got recently pulled the recipe for Basic Marinara Sauce out of Cooking Light magazine and I love it! Once you make it, you can freeze it in one-cup increments and use it for all sorts of things like these Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells
I adapted this recipe from The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner. If you’re looking for vegetarian recipes with flavor, this is the book! I can’t say enough great things about this book and the recipes in it, and I hope that some day she comes out with a Flexitarian Family book!
8 oz uncooked whole wheat penne
1/2 pint grape tomatoes
6 garlic cloves (whole, do not chop)
2 Tbs olive oil
1 can white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese
While pasta is cooking put tomatoes and garlic cloves onto a baking sheet. Put in the oven on broil until tomato skins burst and garlic is soft (about 10 minutes). Rinse and drain beans. Strain pasta then return to hot pot. Add beans, tomatoes and garlic. Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
3 cups frozen corn
1/4 cup olive oil
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbs red onion diced
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 can black beans
hard taco shells
1.) Steam sweet potatoes until soft. Add corn and beans then cook 1-2 minutes more (just enough to heat through, be careful sweet potatoes don’t get too mushy)
2.) In a bowl, whisk together oil, chili powder, lime juice, onion, salt and pepper. Add potato mixture and toss to coat.
3.) Fill taco shell and enjoy!
I adapted this from a recipe in Rachel Ray’s magazine. I think you were supposed to make the sweet potatoes and and black beans as a side dish one night the use it as filling for tacos the next night. I never have used it as a side dish, but my family loves these tacos!
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 zucchini squash quartered and cut into 1″ cubes
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 15oz can white kidney beans
1 4oz can green chilies
1tsp dried oregano
2Tbs chopped cilantro
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
The Sauce
1 and 1/2 cups salsa (mild if serving to kids)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup milk
2 cups grated Mexican blend cheeses
8 (8-inch) flour tortilla
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and saute until soft. Stir in zucchini and saute another 8 miutes. Mix in corn, beans chilies, oregano and cilantro, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and let cool.
To make sauce, combine salsa, cream and mil in a bowl.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees then spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of a Pyrex casserole dish. Mix one cup of cheese into the cooled filling. Spoon 1/2 cup filling into one tortilla, roll it and place seam side down into the Pyrex dish. Repeat with remaining 7 tortillas. Pour remaining sauce over enchiladas then sprinkle remaining cheese over all.
Bake 25-30 minutes.
(This recipe was adapted from Vegetarian Classics by Jeanne Lemlin)
1 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1 Tbs chili powder
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1 8oz can tomato sauce
1 4oz can green chilis
1 15 oz can white kidney beans
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese
The Topping
1 cup milk
1 cup cornmeal
1 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 Tbs butter
Heat oil in a large skillet over med heat. Saute onion and bell pepper until they soften (about 10 min). Toss in garlic and saute about 1 min more then add spices and let them toast for one minute. Stir in 1/2 cup of water, tomato sauce, chilies, beans and corn. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 10 minutes. Pour mixture into a 12X7″ Pyrex dish and cover with cheese.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
To make the topping, beat egg in a small bowl and set it aside. Put milk and cornmeal in a medium-sized sauce pan with 1 and 1/2 cups water over medium-high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking almost constantly, until it thickens and pulls away from the sides of the pan (about 7 minutes). Remove from heat then whisk in sugar, salt, baking powder and egg. Use a spatula to spread topping over bean mixture. Dot with butter.
Bake for 45 minutes. Let sit 10 minutes before serving.
Note: This is a family favorite at my house. I’ve tweaked it a very little bit, but I originally got it from a cook book called Vegetarian Classics: 300 Essential Recipes for Every Course and Every Meal by Jeanne Lemlin. It’s a great book with many, many good vegetarian recipes that even the most dedicated meat-eater (like my husband) will love!
The Cookie Sheet 