There are dozens of ways to make meatloaf, but this “meatless meatloaf recipe” may just surprise you. It’s really good, and like I’ve said bunches of times before, there’s nothing wrong with having at least one meatless night in the house! This is also a great vegetarian recipe.

Ingredients you’ll need:

1 lb container of cottage cheese
4 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 packet Lipton onion soup mix
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/2 cups cornflakes

Preheat your oven to about 350 degrees, and grease the loaf pan you usually use for bread (or meatloaf!). Get a big bown and mix up the cottage chese, olive oil, packet of lipton soup mix, and cornflakes. Add spices to taste, such as salt and pepper, italian seasonings, garlic powder, or maybe even some fresh grated parmesan or romano cheese. Bake about 35 minutes – and serve!

This Fiesta Bake Recipe is great because it can be meat or meatless if you have a vegetarian in the house (or just prefer no meat for a meal). I just can’t seem to get away from the great Tex-Mex flavors, and this recipe has a lot of things that I really, really love. It smells great when it’s baking in the oven and fills the whole house with tasty goodness. Don’t you just love the smell of cornbread baking?

Ingredients you’ll need:

2 lbs ground beef or beef substitute
Cumin and Chili Powder to taste
1/2 chopped Vidalia Onion
1/2 chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 diced Jalapeno pepper (if you like)
2 tbsp minced fresh garlic
3/4 cup Salsa
1 can cream corn
1/4 cup water
About 1/2 can sliced black olives
2 box or packet corn muffin mix (we use Jiffy)
1/2 pack shredded taco cheese

If you’re using ground beef, I like ground chuck the best. Cook your onion and peppers, with your meat or meat substitute. When your meat is cooked, drain, rinse, return to pan 1/4 cup of water and season with minced fresh garlic, chopped cilantro, salt and pepper to taste, and ground Cumin and chili powder to taste. Preheat your oven to 375. Cook on med heat for an additional 2-3 minutes. Add the cream corn and black olives, shredded cheese, mix well and turn out into a 9×14 glass baking pan (ungreased). Mix your corn muffin mix like it says on the box. Drizzle the salsa over the mixture in the pan and the corn muffin mix over that. Back for about 35 minutes in center of oven. When you serve this, adding a dollop of light sour cream is a great added touch!

Make it a meatless Monday with this “Cheesy Veggie Casserole” vegetarian main dish!

As I’ve stated before, having a night with a vegetarian dish is a great way to cut out some calories and fat, eat lighter, and become more healthy! Sometimes I think people think that eating vegetarian has to mean tasteless bland food – and nothing could be further from the truth! Let me show you how to take some simple ingredients and combine the tastes of several classic you love into one main casserole dish for dinner!

Ingredients you’ll need:

* 6-7 Medium Russet, White, Yellow, or Red potatoes
* 1/2 Vidalia Onion sliced
* About 1/2 lb fresh green beans
* About 1/2 lb fresh shortcut carrots
* About 1/2 of a brick of 2% Velveeta cheese cut into cubes
* 1 cup water
* 1 cup milk
* salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
* Italian seasonings (or fresh dill or fresh italian parsley chopped)
* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
* *optional: 1/4 cup bread crumbs and / or freshly grated parmesan cheese

This recipe is pretty simple. First pre-heat your oven to 375. Next get a large mixing bowl, and dice your potatoes up (skin on) and place in the bowl. Add the carrots. Snap the ends off of your fresh green beans and then snap them all in half, and add to the bowl. Add the olive oil to the bowl and toss ingredients. Cut your onion and add to the bowl. Add the salt and fresh ground pepper to taste, turn the mixture over a few times and turn out into a glass 9×14 baking dish. Chop your Velveeta into cubes, add to the top of the pan, and push down a little into the veggie mixture. Pour the water and milk over the mixture slowly from one end of the pan to the other. On top add the bread crumbs or parmesan cheese if you like.

Bake on 375 for about 1 hour in center of oven. Best served with fresh french bread or freshly baked multi-grain rolls. The best way to describe this disk is a cross between scalloped potatoes and Mac & Cheese (without the pasta)! It’s really good, and we never have any left over when we make it!

If you’re looking for a Cream of Vegetable Soup Recipe, this concoction will keep you full for hours and hours!

The other day I had a full vegetable drawer in the fridge and it was time to clean it out. Maybe I’ve had one too many salads lately, because I was looking for something a bit different. As chance would have it, I also had about 2/3 of a gallon of skim milk that needed to be used up by weeks end – so I immediately thought of cooking up a creme based soup. This one turned out to be a bit unusual (and tasty) because usually my vegetable soups are tomato based. I was surprised when I served this recipe that every single family member ate every last drop (even the teens in the house!).

Like most soup recipes, you can interchange the ingredients and vegetables with what you have on hand or need to use up – this just happens to be how I made the recipe last night. Keep in mind that even though this is a creme based soup – I tried to keep it as healthy as possible. In addition – this is a great vegetarian recipe to make for a meatless main dish!

Ingredients for Creme of Vegetable Soup:

• 1/2 Vidalia Onion chopped
• 1/2 Zucchini chopped with skin
• 1/2 Green Pepper chopped
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tbsp lite margarine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 lb chopped broccoli
• 1/2 lb chopped carrots
• 2 stalks celery chopped
• 1 small bunch cauliflower chopped
• 2/3 gallon skim milk
• 2 packets powdered cheese mix
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
• italian seasonings to taste
• 1 tsp each thyme, rosemary, and sage
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp ground Cumin

A lot of creme soups are water based with milk added, but I’ve always made my creme soups 100% milk based whenever possible. I use skim milk, so it’s healthier, and you do have to stir a 100% milk based creme soup more often while cooking – but I think it just plain tastes better.

I start this recipe off by putting chopping up the onion, green pepper, celery, and carrots and placing in a large 4 quart pot on the stove. Add the margarine and olive oil and turn the heat to med-high. What you’re going to do here is get your vegetables soft in the butter and oil for about 5-6 minutes, stirring constantly.

Next have your milk handy and your going to sprinkle the 1/2 cup flour over the mixture in the pot while stirring it in with a spoon in the other hand. Do this until the flour is used up, and what you should end up with is a veggie mixture with flour that is clumped or balled up (but mixed well). Brown this for about 60 seconds, and then add the milk little by little, mixing as you go until the entire 2/3 gallon is gone. You have now created a rue which you have turned into the base for your creme soup.

Next I add the Zucchini, Broccoli, and Cauliflower to the pot (chopped of course). I saved them until I got to this point because these are much softer vegetables that cook quickly – and there’s no point in pre-cooking them. Next I add all my seasonings, the salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, and sage – in addition to italian seasonings, garlic powder, and cumin. These all seemed to blend very well together for this recipe and everyone loved the end taste.

Last but not least, I used 2 packets of powdered cheese. There are 2 reasons I do this. The first is – by not using real cheese I’m cutting out a lot of fat. In addition, this type of cheese is designed to get thick. Basically it’s the same powdered cheese mix you might see used in foodservice for pretzel cheese, or macaroni and cheese. It has a thickening agent (like cornstarch) that thickens up your creme soup even more – but it also gives it a real cheddar-cheesy taste without having to use real cheese or Velveeta (which you could do – just wait until the soup is nearly done cooking!).

Once I added all the vegetables I added just enough additional milk to bring the level within about 2″ of the top of my 4 quart pan. I did this to accomodate shrinkage (evaporation), since I cook this soup uncovered. You may or may not have to add milk to level it off at the end depending on how many vegetables you use and how much space in the pot they take up.

Bring the soup to boil on med-high and then turn the burner down to med-low, and cook for about an hour to hour and a half. While bringing to a boil, stir every 60 seconds – once you turn the burner down stir about every 5-8 minutes. This soup is best cooked in a teflon coated pan (better for cleanup too!).

When we ate this creme of vegetable soup – we dipped multi-grain rools freshly baked in the soup, I recommend you try my famous Enga Buns – Homemade Multigrain Rolls Recipe to go along with this!

Cook this “Broccoli Bake Recipe” and you’ll be creating a casserole that’s a bit lighter than the norm – and it’s Vegetarian! Your guest might not even miss the meat! It’s easy and quick to make, and you can do something else while it’s baking in the oven! It’s also a great way to get kids to eat broccoli! If you want to experiment a little with this recipe, you could easily add 50% cauliflower, or even add some fresh green beans, carrots, peas, or even corn!

• 1 large bunch broccoli (cooked & drained)
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2Â cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Put broccoli in 10×6 casserole dish. Blend soup, milk, and cheese and pour over broccoli. Cover with crumbs and bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.

If you want an easy healthy lunch this is the way to go, extra can even serve as a snack later in the day. If you don’t have a lot of time for dinner, it would be quick and taste delicious.  The beauty of salad is that you can make it a zillion different ways.  I tend to buy fresh veggies everytime I go to the store, and then when I make a salad I throw in just about whatever is in my fridge.  Lately I’ve gotten really fond of switching up the types of lettuce I use.  At the store I’ve purchased romaine, red leaf, and green leaf lettuce – and I’ve been mixing that with about a half head of chopped lettuce, and I like that mixture a lot more than just plain old iceberg lettuce.

• 1 head iceberg lettuce or 1/2 head + chopped bunch of red leaf, green leaf, or romaine lettuce
• 3 roma tomatoes (or type you like)
• 2 stalks broccoli (chopped)
• 1 stalks celery (chopped)
• 1/2 cup cucumber (chopped)
• 3 cloves garlic
• fresh ground black pepper
• 1/4 sliced red onion
• 1/2 green (or other) pepper sliced
• 1 carrot (shredded)
• extra virgin olive oil and vinegar
• 1/4 cup low fat Feta Cheese
• 2 cups grilled chicken (optional)

Chop the lettuce and tomato and place into a large bowl.  Then I usually splash with extra virgin olive oil and some red wine vinegar and add some fresh ground black pepper and mix well.  Then add all of your other chopped ingredients and crumbled low fat Feta cheese and mix well.   Add your favorite dressing and enjoy.  Some times I eat it as-is, and other times I add some Ranch or other dressing.  Every now and then I like some light croutons or sliced black olives too!

OXO 10-in. Good Grips Pump Action Salad Spinner,
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The problem is not washing salad greens, the difficulty lies in drying them. A wet spinach leaf, or a damp piece of Boston lettuce will turn limp in the bowl and dilute the dressing. Since oil and water do not mix, the oil will never cling to wet greens, instead it will pool in the bottom of the bowl, leaving your salad naked, rather than properly dressed. There are many ways to leave your greens high and dry and ready for dressing, but the most efficient technique is to use a salad spinner. The method works because of centrifugal force. As the basket spins the greens and the water are forced from the center to the sides, the greens are trapped against the grid, while the water flies out past the greens. The gears on this salad spinner are well-integrated and there is a brake that brings the spinner to a quick halt (no need to wait until the basket stops spinning). It also has a non-skid base that keeps the basket from sliding around on your work surface. Specifically designed for comfort and function, the soft rounded pump fits in your palm and absorbs pressure while you work. The clear base is dishwasher safe and can double as a serving or storage bowl.

Emerilware from Wusthof 6-in. Chef’s Knife
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With my “Penne Pasta with Zucchini and Summer Squash Recipe” you can lose weight and go vegetarian all in the same meal!

This healthy recipe will help you do all kinds of things at once. If you want to lose weight you have to learn to eat a big lighter at sometimes, and there’s no better way than to eat a vegetarian meal about once a week for your main dish. This recipe is easy to make, has little prep time, and the leftovers go great in your lunchbox the next day.

Ingredients to get started:

• 1 lb Penne Pasta
• 1 medium fresh Zucchini (about 10″ long and 2″ around)
• 1 fresh yellow summer squash (same size as zucchini)
• About 4-5oz freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
• About 1 cup sliced black olives
• 2 freshly chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and 2 tbsp
• fresh ground pepper
• salt to taste

So, to get started place 2 quarts of hot water in a 4 quart pan on the stove on high heat to boil. Throw a dash of salt in there. While it’s coming to a boil, cut off the ends of your zucchini and squash and cut lengthwise. Then, hold those 2 slice together and slice in 1/4″ slices like a cucumber to both the zucchini and the squash. Chop up your 2 garlic cloves and set aside. In a medium sauce pan place the veggies (except garlic) about about 2 tbsp of olive oil on medium heat. You’re going to cook and stir them about 6-8 minutes.

When the water boils add the Penne Pasta. Stir every minute or so, it should be done just about the time the zucchini and squash are cooked, or just a minute or two after. Drain the pasta, place back in pan after rinsing and draining, and add the 1/4 cup olive oil, olives, and garlic, and stir. Add the zuchinni and squash and mix well. Add the Parmesan cheese and mix well one last time. This can feed 6+ depending on the size of your serving dishes (and appetites). Once the dish is plated, grind some fresh black pepper on top and serve!

Of course with a dish like this there are countless things that you could add, but I find sometimes simplicity is best. The taste of the pasta with the cheese and sweetness of the squash and tartness of the black olive is the perfect contrast.

This recipe is part of my quest to find the fastest weight loss diet.

Vegetarian Pasta
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Applesauce from the store is great, but this homemade applesauce recipe will make you never want to buy it again! It’s easy to make make home made applesauce in your blender or food processor, and what easier way to get rid of excess apples? Since it’s fresh with no preservatives, it’s healthier for you and retains more of the original vitamins of the apple!

• 2 small apples
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp sugar.
• 2 pinches cinnamon

Peel apples and dice, then put apples and lemon juice in food processor (also works in blender) and blend until smooth. Pour into bowls and mix in sugar and cinnamon. Serves 2.

Pomona’s Table; Apple Recipes and Orchard Lore
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This book draws upon the apple’s rich culinary tradition, and the folk cooking of his Appalachian heritage, to present an engaging, lavishly illustrated companion to apple and cider cookery. Full color.

There are so many different ways to make a good dinner, and roasted potaties with veggies go with just about anything. This can be either side or main dish, and it can of course be vegetarian, or not. It requires minimal prep time, and the variations are just about endless. These are very good and go well as a side dish to just about any main dish.

• 5-6 medium russet potatoes
• 1 bag frozen (or 1lb fresh) vegetables (thawed)
• Italian seasoning
• garlic powder
• onion powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut the potatoes into chunks and place into a bowl, place vegetables into bowl with potatoes and cover with olive oil (not too much just enough to cover them). Mix throughly so olive oil coats everything. Lightly sprinkle potatoes with italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper, you want enough of all the seasonings, but not too much of anything (although you want a bit more of italian seasoning then anything else). Pour into a 3 quart casserole pan and place into oven. You can stick just about any kind of meat in the middle of the pan to create a stunning and tasty main dish, from some fresh chicken breasts, to a few porkchops, a chopped steak, london broil, or even a Tuna or Salmon steak. Bake for 60-90 minutes (until potatoes are soft), stopping halfway through to check and see if your potatoes need a bit more olive oil and stir them, so no sticking occurs. Serves about 4-6, and I usually cover the pan with foil before putting it in the oven.

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Roasting is a great way to prepare a scrumptious dinner with a minimum of fuss, put the food in the oven and it virtually cooks on its own. The experts at Good Housekeeping show how to get superb results every time: crispy brown chicken, moist and succulent fish (they’ll tell you exactly how to time it), sweet and tender vegetables, and more. With over 140 triple-tested recipes in a concealed spiral format–some of which have been handed down for generations–there’s something for every occasion, from a weeknight supper to a show-stopping holiday feast. There’s nothing on the market to equal this mouthwatering recipe collection.

Reasons to Roast: More Than 100 Simple and Intensely Flavorful Recipes
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Flavor, ease, healthfulness-these are just a few of the reasons to roast. Whether it’s turkey or beef for the holiday table, or fish, vegetables or even fruit for the fast everyday meals, the results are always succulent. Roasted meat gets a tasty, browned crust, while fish becomes incomparably moist, ready in just a few minutes. Vegetables take on fuller, more concentrated flavors. Fruits develop complex overtones. And the most you have to do is occasionally stir. Recipes include: –Asian Honey-Roasted Peanuts –Roasted Shrimp in Lemony Garlic Butter –Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Gingered Orange Glaze –Roasted Onion and Leek Soup –Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan –Prime Rib of Beef with Shiitake Mushroom Sauce –Roasted Potato Cakes –Roasted Butterflied Leg of Lamb with English Mint Sauce –Roasted Portobello Mushroom and Arugula Salad –Roasted Pineapple

Veggie wraps are good for so many things. Great for snacks, great on the go, good for lunch, good for late night munchies, take them to the ball game, great for kids, awesome between meals, and best of all they’re good for you! They are nutritious, tasty, they fill you up – and they give you energy! What else could you ask for?

• 1 cup cream cheese
• 8 flour tortillas (8 inches)
• 1 1/2 cup romaine lettuce (shredded)
• 1 1/2 cup cabbage (shredded)
• 3/4 cup carrots (shredded)
• 1/2 cup blue cheese
• 1 large tomato (diced)

Take one tortilla and spread cream cheese over it. Take small handfuls of each ingredient and throw into the tortilla. Roll tortilla and cut in half diagonally. Makes 8.