Carrabba’s Bread Dip

I wonder how many loaves of bread I could eat at Carrabba’s, if I had their bread dip in front of me? I could make a meal out of that! I found this recipe on Pinterest, and it’s pretty good! It’s a little spicier than the dip at Carrabba’s, but it tastes pretty darn close to what they serve. It’s weird, Liam said his wasn’t spicy at all. I looked on Pinterest and there are several different recipes for this out there, so I might try another one and see how it compares. But in the meantime, “welcome to Carrabba’s!”

rating: 9

Carrabba’s Bread Dip
adapted from Chef 2 Chef

1 Tbsp crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp crushed black pepper
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1 Tbsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp dried basil
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

In a to-go container, combine all the ingredients together. Store mixture in the refrigerator until needed.

Put 1 Tbsp of mixture per person in a small saucer with raised edges. Pour extra-virgin olive oil over the mixture, and dip warm sourdough or French bread into the mixture.

 

Tempeh Bolognese

A couple of weeks ago, CNN had a story on vegetarian comfort food. Alyssa Gorelick, the executive chef of Fern, Flavors from the Garden, in Charlotte, North Carolina, posted some recipes, and this is one of them. First of all, this calls for FOUR packages of tempeh. That’s a lot! I am assuming the tempeh is supposed to be plain-flavored, but Toby got us “5-Grain”, which has seeds and stuff in it! But, it worked! This has to cook for TWO HOURS on the stove, but it was worth it. The tempeh kind of falls apart, and you end up with this very “meaty” texture. Also, it says to cook this over medium heat that whole time, but I had to turn mine down to low. Medium was just too much. This was really good, and everyone liked it. And it makes a ton! I served this over two kinds of pasta (mixed together), penne and campanelle. I picked those because I wanted to get them out of my pantry and make space!

rating: 9

Tempeh Bolognese
(Alyssa Gorelick, the executive chef of Fern, Flavors from the Garden, in Charlotte, North Carolina)

Makes approximately 6 cups

1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 celery ribs, finely chopped
2 medium carrots, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
32 ounces tempeh, cubed
1 cup red wine
3 ounces tomato paste
1 28-ounce can plum tomatoes
1 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bunch fresh basil leaves
Parmesan Cheese or vegan Cheese

1. In a heavy-bottom pot over medium heat, sweat the onions, celery and carrot in the olive oil for approximately five minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.
2. Add tempeh and allow to warm through. Once partially cooked, deglaze the pot with the red wine.
3. Reduce the red wine for approximately 10 minutes then add the tomato paste, tomatoes, salt, pepper and half of the basil leaves.
4. Let the sauce cook over medium heat for at least two hours. Once the tempeh has softened, you can use a whisk to break up the tempeh more and achieve more of the “ground meat” texture.
5. When ready to serve, add the remaining fresh basil, toss with cooked pasta and finish with Parmesan or your favorite vegan cheese.

 

San Marzano Tomato Sauce

I thought this recipe was pretty simple and turned out ok. It was a little bland, however. I added some meatless meatballs to the sauce near the end, and as long as you had a little “meatball” on your fork too, it was great! Toby said the sauce wasn’t saucy enough, and was too chunky. I guess it all depends on how you like your sauce! This is a recipe from Wegmans Menu magazine, so all of the items can be found at Wegmans. However, I could not locate the hydroponic basil, so I am not sure exactly HOW much it calls for. I just used some basil from my garden and added about 10 leaves.

rating: 8

San Marzano Tomato Sauce
(Wegmans Menu magazine)

serves 4
active time: 20 min.
total time: 55 min.

2 cans (28 ounces each) San Marzano tomatoes
1/2 cup minced sweet onion
6 cloves peeled garlic, minced
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 pkg Food You Feel Good About hydroponic basil, leaves stripped, stems discarded, thinly sliced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
salt and pepper to taste

1. Crush tomatoes by hand into sieve placed over large bowl; removing any hard stems. Gently squish tomatoes with your fingers to release all the juices. Drain tomatoes, shaking sieve, over bowl to reserve juices. Set aside.
2. Add onions, garlic, and olive oil to large skillet on medium-low. Cook, stirring, about 5 min., until soft but not browned.
3. Add reserved tomato juice; increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring often, about 25 min., until liquid is reduced by three-quarters.
4. Add crushed tomatoes to pan. Reduce heat to low; simmer 10 min.
5. Add basil leaves, butter, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring, 5 min.

calories per serving (1/2 cup): 110

 

Meatless Biscuits and Gravy

This recipe comes from the blog Healthy Food Lazy People, which I have just discovered. HFLP just made a comment on one of my posts, and that led me to his blog and well, here we are! This recipe caught my eye right away. I love biscuits and gravy and don’t get the opportunity to have it much. I did not make my own biscuits (I used frozen ones, Pillsbury, I think). Also, I used Silk soy milk instead of milk. I used Morningstar Farms sausage patties for the sausage. I microwaved them, then browned them in a pan (I cut them into smaller pieces). This gravy thickened up really fast, and it looked so good. To me, it tasted like flour. That’s all I could taste. Toby said it wasn’t bad, but it just wasn’t  ”exciting”. It really just didn’t have much of a flavor at all. I wonder what it needs? I will keep working on this one.

rating: 7

Meatless Biscuits and Gravy

http://healthyfoodlazypeople.com/)

(for the biscuits):

1 cup of all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

A few shakes of salt

1 tablespoon butter, melted

(for the gravy):

1/2 pound ground vegetarian sausage (I used Morningstar Farms Sausage Patties)

2 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 3/4 cup milk (I used Silk soy milk)

A few shakes of salt

A few shakes of pepper

Step 1) To make the biscuits, mix the flour, baking powder and salt together and then add in the melted butter and milk. Stir and it will magically turn into a dough. Scoop the dough into 6 small blobs on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 10 minutes at 450 degrees.

Step 2) While the biscuits are baking, place a half pound of ground vegetarian sausage into a pan and begin to cook. When the sausage has browned to your liking, add in 2 tablespoons of butter and stir.

Step 3) Sprinkle half of your flour onto the sausage and immediately add in half of your milk. Stir. Then, add in the rest of your flour and the rest of your milk. Stir.

Step 4) Don’t panic if your gravy looks really soupy, just keep stirring. After a few minutes, it will begin to thicken up. I usually let the gravy simmer, with an occasional stir, until my biscuits are done.

Step 5) Place a few biscuits on a plate and top with gravy.

Step 6) Eat.

 

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

I feel like I have eaten more enchiladas in the last couple of weeks than I have in my whole life! These are from Martha Stewart, and they were really good. This isn’t a Weight-Watcher recipe, but it’s relatively low in points (7 per serving). I ran out of the bean-cottage cheese filling on enchilada #12, I believe, so I had to stop there. The enchiladas were good, but the sauce…the sauce is amazing. I was just eating spoonfuls of the sauce! Not sure what made the sauce so special, but the sauce itself is a keeper.

rating: 9

Bean and Cheese Enchiladas
(Martha Stewart)

Serves 8

* 2 cups low-fat (1 percent) cottage cheese
* 1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 16 corn tortillas
* Nonstick cooking spray
* 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
* 1 large white onion, diced small (1/2 cup reserved for serving)
* 4 teaspoons chili powder
* 2 tablespoons white vinegar
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
* 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
* Fresh cilantro leaves, for serving (I omitted)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a food processor, process cottage cheese until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl and stir in black beans. Season with salt and pepper. Wrap stacked corn tortillas in a damp dish towel and microwave until softened, 2 minutes. Working with one tortilla at a time, lightly spray both sides with cooking spray, place 2 rounded tablespoons cottage cheese mixture down center of each, then roll tortilla around filling. Place, seam side down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake tortillas until heated through, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add garlic and onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 5 minutes. Add chili powder and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Whisk in vinegar, tomato puree, and broth; bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer mixture to a blender and puree until smooth (use caution when blending hot liquids). To serve, divide enchiladas among eight plates, top with 1/3 cup sauce, and sprinkle with onion and cilantro.

7 points+ per serving

 

 

Salisbury Seitan with Mushrooms

Here’s a “point-friendly” dish that doesn’t taste point-friendly. Toby really liked this one, and said it’s the best thing I’ve made in a long time, “diet-food” or not! Our grocery store was out of cremini mushrooms (well, they had like 4, and we bought those), so I used baby bellas.  I served this over low-carb egg noodles (which were about 5 points a serving). This was good! *Note, in the pic, I’ve sprinkled on a tiny pit of parmesan cheese.

rating: 9

Salisbury Seitan with Mushrooms
(www.pleasepassthetofu.com)

In a small bowl combine 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 tsp paprika, 1/8 tsp dill and rub into 1 pound of seitan.  (I used both cubed and shredded.  I rubbed the mixture into the cubes and and swished the shreds in the bowl with the mix).
Prepare a nonstick skillet with cooking spray and add seitan; cook till browned on all sides.  Remove and set aside.
In same pan over medium/high, add 1 Tbsp Smart Beat Light margarine, 2 cups chopped onion, 4 cups cremini mushrooms,  and cook until soft.  Add 2 tbsp of sherry or vegetable broth, 3 cloves minced garlic, cook a few minutes.
Reduce heat to medium; sprinkle 1/4 cup flour to pan and stir for a minute; add 2 cups vegetable broth and 2 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce, cook and stir till thickened.  Season to taste.
Add seitan back to the pan and cook till heated.

4 servings.  Weight Watcher PointsPlus value: 5

 

Vegan Lite Goddess Dressing

I have yet to make a salad dressing that I love. I made this dressing yesterday afternoon, and I tasted it, and gave Toby a taste, and we liked it. So I put it in the fridge and brought it out at dinner time, and Toby mixed it in with our lettuce. When we tasted it again, it had changed to hummus, basically. Why is that?? It just wasn’t good anymore. Is it because I had refrigerated it? I am having it again tonight with my salad, and I will leave it out on the counter for a while beforehand to see if that helps. SIGH.

rating: 5

Vegan Lite Goddess Dressing
(www.pleasepassthetofu.com)

n a food processor, blend:

6 oz Mori-Nu lite firm silken tofu
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp tahini
2 chopped green onions
1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1 large clove garlic

10 servings, 2 tbsp each.  Weight Watcher PointsPlus value:  ZERO

 

Vegan Chicken-Fried Steak Bites

I happened to watch an episode of the Ellen Degeneres Show recently, and Ellen had her vegan chef on. He made this recipe and it looked so good! I made this last night and was pleasantly surprised. The “steak” bites were crunchy and tasted eerily of chicken-fried steak. I also made the gravy he prepared to dip the “steak” bites in. It didn’t thicken up like I wanted it to, but it had a good flavor. I didn’t use the cashew cream he called for (since I am not vegan), but instead used some Silk Almond milk. I served these with some buttermilk mashed potatoes, green peas and some tiny biscuits.

rating: 9

Vegan Chicken-Fried Steak Bites
(http://ellen.warnerbros.com/recipes)

Ingredients:

* 1 bag frozen “Gardein” beef tips (Ralphs, Target, Safeway, Kroger)
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* cashew cream (as needed)
* ¼ cup safflower or grape seed oil (I used canola)
* 2 cups no chicken (chicken stock)
* ½ cup cashew cream (I used Silk Almond)
* 1 tablespoon blackening spice (Paul Prudhomme)

Directions:

Defrost the beef tips. Gently smash each piece in the palm of your hand. Season each piece on both sides with freshly ground black pepper. Place the flour into a pie pan. Place a bit of cream into a separate pie pan. Dredge the meat on both sides in the flour then in the cream, and then in the flour again. Repeat with all the pieces of gardein. Place the meat onto a plate and reserve.

Place enough of the vegetable oil to cover the bottom of a 12-inch slope-sided skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the oil begins to shimmer, add the meat in batches, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Cook each piece on both sides until golden brown. Place them on paper towels and keep them warm.

Add the remaining vegetable oil, or at least 1 tablespoon, to the pan. Whisk in 3 tablespoons of the flour left over from the dredging. Add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Whisk until the gravy comes to a boil and begins to thicken. Add the milk and blackening spice and whisk until the gravy coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Season to taste with more salt and pepper as needed. Serve the gravy as a dipping sauce for the bites.

 

(Vegetarian) Chicken Dijon

Lately I’ve been trying recipes that involve my favorite Quorn Cutlets. They are usually a sauce that goes on top. On a side note about Quorn Cutlets- they come two to a package, and when I opened up the package last week, there was only ONE inside! Freaky! The box had not been tampered with or anything, and my husband is still alive, so all is well, but isn’t that weird? I emailed Quorn HQ to let them know (and they better send me a coupon or something- those things aren’t cheap!). I was lucky to have some Quorn patties in the freezer as well, or my dinner would have been lacking. Anyway. I basically just made this Dijon sauce to go over the top. Toby liked it more than I did. It was good, but not THAT good, you know? Too much trouble. I served this with some Potato Beetles, a salad, and a biscuit. *The potato beetles were good dipped into this sauce, too.

rating: 7

Chicken Dijon
(from Southern Living magazine)

Ingredients

* 6  skinned and boned chicken breasts (about 2 lb.) (I used a Quorn Cutlet and a Quorn patty)
* 1/2  teaspoon  salt
* 1/2  teaspoon  pepper
* 3  tablespoons  butter
* 1  medium-size red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
* 1  medium-size sweet onion, diced
* 1  (14 1/2-oz.) can chicken broth
* 3  tablespoons  all-purpose flour
* 3  tablespoons  Dijon mustard

Preparation

1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add chicken, and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chicken from skillet; add bell pepper and onion, and cook, stirring often, 4 to 5 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Return chicken to skillet.

3. Whisk together broth and next 2 ingredients, and pour over chicken. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes or until chicken is done.

 

(Vegetarian) Chicken with Tarragon Cream and Green Bean Rice Pilaf

I saw this recipe and thought it would be good with Quorn Cutlets subbed in for real chicken. And you know what? It was EXCELLENT! This took about 30 minutes to make, and everyone loved it. I made Liam some Morningstar Farms chicken nuggets (because that’s what he requests for lunch every day of his life), and then gave him some of the tarragon sauce on the side to dip his “chicken” into. He loves tarragon! The sauce AND the pilaf are both really good. I served this with a biscuit on the side. If no one were watching me, I would sop up the rest of the tarragon sauce with more biscuits.  Rachael Ray has done it again!

rating: 9.5

Chicken with Tarragon Cream and Green Bean Rice Pilaf
(from the magazine “Everyday with Rachael Ray”

3 tbs butter
1/3 cup broken thin spaghetti
1 cup white rice
2 3/4 cups chicken stock (I used vegetarian chicken stock)
1 cup frozen French-cut green beans
Salt and Pepper
4 pieces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I used Quorn cutlets)
1 tbsp Olive Oil  (I omitted this since I wasn’t frying chicken breasts)
8 small white mushrooms, sliced
1 shallot, finely chopped
1 tbsp flour
1/3 cup crème fraiche or sour cream (I used lite sour cream)
3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

In a medium saucepan with a tight-fitting lid, melt 1 tablespoon butter over medium heat.  Add the spaghetti and cook until browned, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the rice, then stir in 1 3/4 cups chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover the pot and cook for 18 minutes.  Stir in the green beans, cover and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let stand for a couple of minutes, then fluff with a fork and season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper.  In a large skillet, heat the olive oil, 1 turn of the pan, over medium-high heat.  Add the chicken and cook, turning once, until golden, about 12 minutes.  Transfer the chicken to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.  Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the skillet and lower the heat to medium.  Stir in the mushrooms and shallot and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minutes.  Whisk in the remaining 1 cup chicken stock, the crème fraiche or sour cream, tarragon, mustard and any chicken juices.  Slice the chicken and serve alongside or on top of the rice.  Spoon the sauce on top.