Lasagna Stoup

No, that is not a typo. Stoup is what Rachael Ray calls a dish that is thicker than a soup, but not as thick as a stew. Stoup! This stoup is very easy to make, and it’s awesome! It’s basically lasagna deconstructed. I substituted Quorn Grounds for the ground beef. I also used some vegetarian chicken broth for the real chicken broth. I also left out the basil (I am not a big basil fan). Toby took one bite of his and said “Wow, this is really great!” And then he went back for seconds. And thirds! This recipe does make a HEAP of stoup. I ate some for lunch today, and I still have a whole lot leftover. We enjoyed this with some warm bread.

rating: 9.3

http://tinyurl.com/c83owd

Honey-Cinnamon Vinaigrette

Last night I really wanted to have the “Chicken” Salsa Verde Bake again (made it last Oct. and loved it!), so I thought maybe we could have a salad with it, and I would make a new dressing. So I chose this dressing, even though Toby isn’t too into sweet salad dressings. This is a cinch to make, and I think it turned out well! Toby tried it with just lettuce, but I added some dried cranberries and walnuts to my salad. It was good! It was sweet, but good! I think maybe if you also added something like goat cheese to your salad it would be even better! I probably won’t make this again, just because there are so many dressings to try, but you should try it and see if you like it.

rating: 8

Honey-Cinnamon Vinaigrette
(from the Sept. 2008 issue of Southern Living magazine)

1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup canola oil

1. Whisk together first 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until smooth. Serve immediately, or cover and chill until ready to serve. Store in an airtight container in refrigerator up to 2 weeks.

Winter Tomato Bisque with Parmesan Toast

I make alot of tomato soup. This recipe comes from a skin care catalog (!) called DHC. They also sell stuff like olive oil and brown sugar. Weird. Anyway, this recipe came from them, and the verdict is…it’s good! It’s not a plain ol’ tomato soup. Toby took one spoonful and said, “tell me more about this soup!” Well, the 3 odd ingredients are ground cloves, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar. I used a vegetarian faux-chicken broth, and then followed the recipe as written. This was great! We each had 2 bowlfuls, and then I had the leftovers for lunch today. I even made the Parmesan Toast today for lunch (so quick and easy).  This one’s a keeper

rating: 8.5

Winter Tomato Bisque with Parmesan Toast
(from the catalog DHC)

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
8 slices Italian bread or baguette
3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp ground cloves
pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 bay leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp balsamic vinegar

Heat oven to 425 degrees F.

Toast: Lightly brush olive oil on both sides of bread. Sprinkle top with cheese, dividing evenly among slices. Bake until just golden, about 5 minutes. Reserve.

Bisque: In a large sauce pan over medium heat, saute onion in 1.4 cup olive oil until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, basil,, cloves and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until aromatic, about 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, cream, sugar and bay leaves; simmer for 30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and discard. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth, or allow to coll slightly and transfer to a blender and pulse until pureed. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then stir in vinegar. Garnish each bowl with a slice of toast.

Curried Rice with “Chicken”

This dish looked so good to me in the magazine, and not being able to locate fake shrimp in my area (they DO make them, and they are delicious!), I substituted fake chicken. I browned the Morningstar Farms Meal Starter “Chicken” in a skillet, then set it aside. I started following the recipe then, and when it says add the shrimp, I added the chicken. This smelled really good while I was cooking it, but when I tasted it, the closer it got to my nose, the more it smelled like feet to me. When Toby got home from work, he made a salad to accompany this. I thought this dish was bland, so I added some Crazy Jane’s Mixed-up salt (or whatever it’s called) to add *something* to it. Toby added (ha! not hot sauce!) some powdered vegetable broth. He said that he liked it with the added broth, and that next time I could just leave out the carrots and the basil. Ah, but there won’t be a next time, I am afraid.

rating: 5

Curried Rice with Chicken
(from the Sept. 2008 issue of Real Simple magazine)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp curry powder
1 cup long-grain white rice
Kosher salt and pepper
12 cup fresh basil

*1 1/2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used a package of Morningstar Farms Meal Starts in the chicken flavor instead)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6-8 minutes.
2. Add the garlic and curry and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 2 minutes.
3. Add the rice, 2 1/2 cups water, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
4. Season the shrimp with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper and nestle them in the partially cooked rice. Cover and cook until the shrimp are opaque throughout, 4-5 minutes. *This is when I add the cooked “Chicken pieces” to the skillet. Fold in the basil and serve.

Squash Casserole

Ok, so Toby hates squash (and any member of the squash family). BUT- he tried some squash casserole that my aunt had made once, and he loved it. This was no new squash casserole to me. My mom makes a similar casserole and I have loved it for many years. I didn’t ask my aunt for her recipe, but I found a recipe that sounded similar to what she had made. Toby’s verdict? It’s too “Squashy!” Please! He said that he didn’t like it at all, but that he DID enjoy the top layer of cheese (that almost formed a crust on top). He said if I could make a cheese casserole and add a tiny bit of squash to it…Pfffft!Whatever. I LOVED this casserole, and in fact, I had a big ol’ plate full for lunch! Don’t listen to Toby- try this! With this we had some Gardenburger Riblets and some jazzed-up green beans.

rating: 8.5

Squash Casserole
(in a magazine advertisement for Hellmann’s)

3 pounds yellow squash, cut into 1/4″-thick rounds
1 small onion, chopped
4 1/2 tsp salt
16 saltine crackers, divided
1 1/2 cups (6-ounces) shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup Hellmann’s or Best Foods Real Mayonnaise (I used Duke’s)
1 large egg, beaten
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1. Cook first 3 ingredients in boiling water to cover in a Dutch oven 25 minutes or until squash is very tender. Drain well; mash mixture with a fork.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Crush 10 crackers, and stir into squash mixture; stir in 1/2 cup cheese and next 5 ingredients. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 11 x 7-inch baking dish.
3. Crush remaining 6 crackers, and sprinkle over squash mixture; top with remaining 1 cup cheese.
4. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly.

Tofu Fish Sticks

I have been reading this blog, http://veganlunchbox.blogspot.com/, for quite a while. I am not vegan, nor did I have a kid at the time, but I just loved to see what Jennifer would create for her kid’s lunches! She’s just so inventive, and makes everything look so good! She convinced me to buy one of the lunchboxes (http://www.laptoplunches.com/), and I took it to work almost every day. Her blog and its’ success actually turned into a cookbook, which I promptly bought. This is the first recipe that I have attempted out of that book. I have to say that I was not really expecting much. I have had faux fish before, but it was at a restaurant (http://www.clareanddons.com/). I didn’t think that I could produce something so good. But I did! Ha! I totally followed the recipe. I had to order the kelp flakes (I got them at http://veganessentials.com/). These were so easy to prepare (almost too easy to be good, you know?). The verdict? Wow! After we took our first bites, Toby and I looked at each other and both said wow! Toby asked what made them so fishy, and I told him it was the kelp. He thinks that I could leave the almonds out and that they would be just as good. I think that maybe I didn’t grind them up as much as I should have. I did have alot of the cornmeal mixture and the soy milk left over. So much, in fact, that I could have used a whole other block of tofu and had enough. These are definitely a keeper.I served these with tartar sauce, tater tots, and some slaw.

rating: 9

http://shmooedfood.blogspot.com/2006/01/tofu-fish-sticks.html

Gnocchi with Pumpkin Cream Sauce

This recipe actually calls for penne pasta instead of the gnocchi, but I had some gnocchi I needed to use, so I substituted. This recipe is pretty simple, but it’s very rich! Of course Toby added hot sauce to his (I really think his taste buds have been dulled down!). This was good, though, and I saved the rest for lunches this week. I think this sauce would be good with pretty much any pasta (mmm, ravioli!). With this we had a salad.

rating: 8.5

Gnocchi with Pumpkin Cream Sauce
(from the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray)

1 lb gnocchi (note: the recipe originally calls for 1 lb. penne)
2 tbsp butter
1 onion, chopped
salt and pepper
one 15-ounce can pure pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for topping
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (I used dried)

1. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the gnocchi just like the package says. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta cooking water.
2. In the same pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the onion and season with salt and pepper; cook, stirring, until softened, about 6 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Return the gnocchi to the pot along with the reserved pasta cooking water and toss. Stir in the Parmesan; season with salt and pepper.
3. Top the gnocchi with the parsley and more Parmesan.

Faux Meatball Subs

I can’t remember where I got this idea, but when I heard it, I was like, YES! Why haven’t I ever made these before? They are SO easy and SO good! I used Nate’s Meatless Meatballs (in the frozen section of my grocery store), a jar of pasta sauce (happened to have Marinara sauce in the cupboard), good sub rolls (bought in the bakery dept. of my grocery store), and then sliced provolone cheese. With these subs we had some Baked Lays chips and Toby had a little salad. Mmmmm.

rating: 9

Faux Meatball Subs

1 pkg frozen meatless meatballs (such as Nate’s)
1 jar pasta sauce (I used a Marinara sauce)
sub rolls
sliced provolone cheese

1. Combine the frozen meatless meatballs and the whole jar of pasta sauce in one pot. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until meatballs are warmed up.
2. Preheat oven to broil.
3. Slice sub roll almost in half, but not quite.
4. Spoon sauce and several meatballs onto open sub roll. Top with 1-2 sliced of provolone.
5. Broil until cheese is melted.

Tortilla Pie

I saw this recipe and thought, my, that is mighty similar to one of our favorite recipes I make, “Mile-High Tortilla Pie”. This has a few differences. This recipe does not have the fiesta corn that Mile-High does. You still have your 8 tortillas, black beans, and salsa, but you also have some guacamole and some spices in the beans. Oh, and the cheese is the low-fat kind. This was good, although we do prefer the Mile-High. The taste was good, but it was the texture. In the mile-high pie, you have the same thing between each tortilla: the black bean/corn/salsa/cheese. In this new one, between some layers you just have guacamole. I don’t know if I would make this again. I think I might just make my Mile-High with the low-fat cheese, and maybe add some guac. This pie was just kind of *mushy*, and the Mile-High is crunchy!

rating: 7

Tortilla Pie
(from the cookbook “Down to Earth” by Weight Watchers)

1 (19-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
8 (8-inch) flour tortillas
cooking spray
1 3/4 cup chunky salsa, divided
6 tbsp frozen or refrigerated prepared guacamole (such as Calavo mild), thawed
1 1/2 cups (6-ounces) shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend (such as Sargento), divided
6 tbsp fat-free sour cream

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl; stir well.
2. Place 1 tortilla in a 9″ round cake pan coated with cooking spray; top with half of bean mixture and another tortilla. Spread with 1/2 cup salsa, and top with another tortilla. Spread with 2 tbsp guacamole, and top with another tortilla. Sprinkle with half of cheese, and top with another tortilla. Top with remaining half of bean mixture, and another tortilla. Spread with 1/2 cup salsa, and top with another tortilla. Spread with 2 tbsp guacamole, and top with another tortilla. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes; uncover and sprinkle with remaining half of cheese. Bake; uncovered, an additional 3 minutes. Cut pie into wedges. Top each wedge with 1 tbsp sour cream, 2 tbsp salsa, and 1 tsp guacamole.

Yield: 6 servings   points: 8

Tortellini Primavera

Ok, let me just say that this recipe was doomed from the beginning. I could not find the vegetable mixture this calls for, and the closest thing my grocery store had was a stir-fry mix, which included water chestnuts and celery. This gave this pasta dish a very weird Asian aftertaste. I didn’t like it. It’s very easy to prepare, and that pesto sauce was good, just not on this. Toby doctored his up with some (guess) hot sauce. He said that maybe with a different vegetable mix it might be better. I agree. I do like the idea, though, of using a low-fat or fat-free sour cream as the “sauce”, and then doctoring it up a bit. Glad we had a salad with this one!

rating: 4 (which isn’t really fair, since I used different veggies)

Tortellini Primavera
(from the cookbook “Down to Earth” by Weight Watchers)

1 (9-ounce) package refrigerated cheese tortellini (I used frozen)
1 (1 pound) bag frozen broccoli, red pepper, onion, and mushroom blend, such as Bird’s Eye)
1 (8-ounce) container fat-free sour cream
2 tbsp prepared pesto (such as Pesto Sanremo)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup (1-ounce) finely shredded fresh Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Cook tortellini and vegetables in 3 quarts boiling water 5 minutes or until vegetables and pasta are just tender. Drain and return to pan.
2. Combine sour cream, pesto, and salt in a small bowl; stir well. Pour sour cream mixture over pasta mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and pepper. Serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups pasta mixture and 1 tbsp cheese)
points: 7