vegetarian | BargainBriana

Easy Ratatouille

by Briana Carter on April 22, 2013

Ratatouille. This is impossible for me to say properly. My kids on the other hand know all about ratatouille from some kids movie so they love to school me on the proper pronunciation. Anyway, ratatouille is a delicious meatless dish that is a great with pasta or rice or just by itself!

Easy Ratatouille

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 onion, chopped
tablespoon garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
2 zucchini, sliced into half moons
1 eggplant, peeled and cubed
8 ounce mushroom, sliced
2 cans of petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounce)
1 1/2 teaspoon of herbes de provence
1 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Heat oil in large pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook thoroughly until soft.
Add peppers, zucchini, eggplant, and mushroom.
Cook for 5 minutes.
Add tomatoes, herbes de provence, and salt. Cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often.

http://bargainbriana.com/easy-ratatouille/

This recipe was adapted from the Not Your Mother’s Make Ahead & Freeze Cookbook cookbook! It is a freezer friendly recipe, which can be divided and split into plastic containers or freezer bags. Thaw and warm up to serve.

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Meatless Monday: Veggie Burger With Pepper Jack & Sprouts

by Briana Carter on April 1, 2013

This makes for a yummy lunch or quick dinner for the vegetarians!

Morningstar Black Bean Veggie Burger, heated per instructions
Slim Sandwich Bun
Slice Pepper Jack Cheese
Sprouts
Jalapeno Ketchup

I would add a slice of onion too!

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Four Cheese Spinach Pizza Recipe

by Briana Carter on March 25, 2013

I have found the perfect homemade pizza dough recipe. The family loves it as much as our favorite local pizza place. It is a simple recipe from the instruction booklet from a friend’s bread maker. Pizza also makes a great leftover makeover when you have extra marina sauce.

Pizza is always a family favorite as it can be customized pretty easily to fit each group’s taste preferences. Homemade pizza is also a freezer friendly recipe – assemble your pizza onto a baking pan and freeze before cooking. Then cook directly from frozen state. I’ve been doubling the batch and making two pizzas - one for dinner and one for the freezer, which is a quick way to fill our freezer with homemade meals.

It will be hard to go back to anything but the homemade pizza dough (recipe here) but you could use your normal pizza dough if you don’t have time to make your own.

Four Cheese Spinach Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

Your favorite dough or use this homemade dough recipe
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/4 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried basil
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon of dried thyme
pinch of pepper
1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Colby Jack or Sharp Cheddar, shredded
1/2 - 1 cup sauce
handful of baby spinach

Instructions

Combine Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic powder, basil, oregano, thyme, and pepper in a bowl. Set aside.
Spread sauce evenly on dough.
Add layer of spinach.
Sprinkle Parmesan cheese mixture and additional cheese over the pizza topping.
Cook at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

http://bargainbriana.com/four-cheese-spinach-pizza-recipe/

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni Recipe

by Briana Carter on March 18, 2013

This is a great recipe to use up about any cheese you have in your refrigerator. I used the cheeses we had in our refrigerator for this slow cooker macaroni and cheese recipe and it worked up really nice with a mixture of Sharp Cheddar, Colby Jack, and Smoked Swiss. Add in a little butter and milk and you have a easy and delicious dinner!

For easy clean-up, use a slow cooker liner. You may want to spray this with non-cook spray so your cheese doesn’t stick to the liner. This seriously saves so much time. I was resistant to them at first because of the price but the time I save not scrubbing down the slow cooker pan is totally worth it. Amazon has a variety of slow cooker liners for sale.

Cook your macaroni. Layer one is half of the cooked macaroni.

Layer half of the shredded Colby Jack cheese on top of the macaroni.

Layer half of the Sharp Cheddar cheese.

Layer half of the Smoked Swiss Cheese.

Repeat layers. Top with butter. Pour milk over.

Cook on slow for around 2.5 hours. You can then mix it all together! Cheesy delicious!

Most of the family enjoyed this but the little kids didn’t like the flavor of the Smoked Swiss cheese but I think it gave this macaroni and cheese a whole new dimension.

Need a new slow cooker? Find a great deal on a slow cooker over at Amazon.com.

Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni Recipe

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes

Total Time: 2 hours, 50 minutes

Slow Cooker Three Cheese Macaroni Recipe

Your family will be begging you to make this again! Next time, I'll be making a double batch as this wasn't nearly enough for our family of 6!

Ingredients

2 cups uncooked macaroni, cooked per directions
2 cups Sharp Cheddar cheese, shredded
2 cups Colby Jack cheese, shredded
Approximately 8-10 slices Smoked Swiss (approximately 1.5 cups)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 cup milk

Instructions

Layer half of the cooked macaroni in slow cooker.
Add 1/2 Colby Jack cheese.
Layer 1/2 Sharp Cheddar cheese.
Layer Smoked Swiss cheese.
Repeat layers.
Top with pats of butter.
Cover with milk.
Cook on low for 2-2.5 hours until cheese is creamy and delicious.

http://bargainbriana.com/slow-cooker-three-cheese-macaroni-recipe/

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Freezer Garlic Mashed Potatoes

by Briana Carter on February 27, 2013

A few Fridays ago, which seem like forever ago, I did some freezer meal cooking to help start us to get prepared for a very busy Spring, which also seems far off but will be here before we know it. Now we are going to have 8 different sports and activities that the kids are involved with in the Spring and Summer so I want to be prepared with meals in the freezer so we have no excuse to not eat at home.

Often times when we get super busy like this, it is so much easier to stop and get fast food or take out. This is not good for our budget and we are not eating the most healthy meals either. I’ve started doing mini-freezer sessions to get our freezer full.

The week I did my freezer cooking, ALDI had russet potatoes for just $1.99 for a ten pound bag. When I normally buy a ten pound bag, I use about half the bag and then forget about it and the potatoes go bad. Cooking up ten pounds of potatoes at once not only helped get my freezer full but it also saved me money by eliminating produce waste. Awesome, right?

I know many of you probably hate to peel potatoes as much as I do. I dread it. I have this OXO Good Grips Pro Y-Peeler, which is awesome for the job. Amazon also tells me I purchased it back in 2009, which is nice to know that it has lasted that long. Compared to a traditional peeler, this OXO Good Grips Pro Y-Peeler is the peeler I always reach for as it takes less swipes to remove all of your peel.

As for the peel debate – leave it on or take it off, IF my kids weren’t so picky about potato peels, I would just skip the step of removing the peels and cook it with the peel as I like it that way and it saves time. Since I do want them to eat it and I don’t really want the fight, I spend the extra time peeling the potatoes.

In the instructions below, you will notice that I used my KitchenAid Stand Mixer to mash the potatoes. This is one kitchen appliance, I wish I would have purchased a long time ago. I use this pretty much whenever I cook or bake as much as possible. I’m probably losing muscle strength in my arms, though, since I’m not manually mixing, stirring, and mashing now.

To freeze these potatoes is quite easy. Freeze directly in the pans you are going to cook the potatoes in or freeze flat in gallon freezer bags. If you freeze in gallon freezer bags, you will need to unthaw the potatoes in the refrigerator by placing the bag in the refrigerator the morning of or the night before you want to cook. Then transfer to your cooking dish. This will save space and money as well since you will not be buying foil pans if you don’t have enough Pyrex. Plus, freezing in pans take up so much space in the freezer.

I love that this freezer meal as I’m only making the potato mess one time yet we are able to enjoy delicious home cooked, real potatoes mashed potatoes. We’ve already unthawed and cooked one pan. Let’s just say there were no leftovers! One pan (1/4 of the recipe) was perfect size for our family of six. Everyone ate them and had plenty and we only had a spoonful left in the pan.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

This dish is a great make ahead dish for your freezer! Freeze in 8"x8" aluminum pans for an easy side dish on weeknights. Delicious!

Ingredients

10 pounds Russet potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon minced garlic
16 ounce cream cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup vegetable broth

Instructions

Peel and cut potatoes into large chunks. Boil in a large pot for around 9-12 minutes.
While potatoes are cooking, heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook until soft. Remove pan from heat.
Drain potatoes and return to pot. I put mine in my KitchenAid stand mixer to mash. Add garlic with oil, cream cheese, salt, and pepper. Stir in vegetable broth. If you are not vegetarian, you can certainly use chicken broth for even more flavor.
Mash potatoes. (I used my KitchenAid stand mixer.)
Divide into four 8x8 pans.
Cover and freeze.
To Cook:
Thaw or bake straight from freezer.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook uncovered for 1 hour if cooking from frozen or 30 minutes if thawed or until potatoes are thoroughly hot.

http://bargainbriana.com/freezer-garlic-mashed-potatoes/

This recipe was adapted to be vegetarian friendly from the Fix, Freeze, Feast cookbook.

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Baked Pomegranate Chipotle Tofu

by Briana Carter on February 11, 2013

This is a super simple Tofu recipe using Tastefully Simple’s Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce. I had a bottle of this in my pantry and thought it would be great to marinate my tofu in! I was right!

I press my Tofu using the Tofu Xpress and LOVE it! You can also marinate directly in the press, which could save you a step as well as having to wash another container. I use this every time I cook Tofu! The price has went up on this since I purchased it but it is well worth it if you use Tofu in your cooking often!

Baked Pomegranate Chipotle Tofu

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Baked Pomegranate Chipotle Tofu

Ingredients

1 package firm tofu
1 bottle Tastefully Simple Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce
green onions, chopped

Instructions

Press tofu with a plate or a tofu press to drain tofu of it's excess water. I do this on both sides. In the tofu press, it takes about 20 minutes on each side.
Slice tofu into strips or cubes.
Place in a baking dish and cover with sauce. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Turn tofu and add additional sauce if needed. Marinate in refrigerator for an additional 15-20 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees covered for about 20 minutes.
Garnish with green onions.
Serve with rice and steamed vegetables.

http://bargainbriana.com/baked-pomegranate-chipotle-tofu/

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

by Briana Carter on February 4, 2013

Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

As part of the 2013 goals and resolutions, I’m working on cooking with ingredients we already have on hand in our pantry and freezer. This recipe incorporated many of the ingredients we had in the pantry to make a spicy, delicious three bean vegetarian chili. It was a little too spicy at first so I ended up adding one tablespoon of cocoa powder to tame it down a bit. When I make it again, I’d probably do the same! Lentils are becoming one of my favorite new beans!

Isn’t this a colorful mixture before cooking?

Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 7 hours

Total Time: 7 hours, 15 minutes

Three Bean Vegetarian Chili

This was a delicious three bean veggie chili that is packed full of protein. It makes a huge batch and I was able to freeze a few portions for meals at a later time!

Ingredients

2 Tablespoon oil
3 cloves minced garlic
1 small onion
1 can adobe chilis
2 cans (30 oz) black beans
1 can (15 oz) red beans
1 cup (uncooked) lentils, cooked
2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fiesta citrus spice
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 can tomato paste
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup mixed vegetables
3 cups water
1 Tablespoon cocoa powder (if you want to tame the spiciness a bit)

Instructions

Heat oil, minced garlic, and onion on the stove in a pan over medium heat until onions are soft.
Combine all the ingredients in your slow cooker.
Cook for 7-8 hours on low.
Garnish with sour cream and cheese.

http://bargainbriana.com/three-bean-vegetarian-chili/

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.

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Chipotle Black Bean Enchiladas

by Briana Carter on January 24, 2013

Black Bean Chipotle Enchiladas

When I cook a meal with meat, I usually cook a vegetarian version for the two vegetarians in our household as well. I made the Black bean Chipotle Enchiladas the same night I made the Green Chilies Chicken Enchiladas. I would make these again as they were very tasty with just a hint of smoky flavor. You could also add a little bit of corn to this recipe for more veggie power! I was also able to utilize several pantry items for this recipe including cream cheese, black beans, and green enchilada sauce as part of our 2013 Pantry Challenge.

This recipe was part of the Del Monte Southwestern Tomato Kick-off Sweepstakes using the new Del Monte Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes with Chipotle Chilies. I use diced tomatoes in a ton of recipe and I love the convenience of these new Petite Cut Diced Tomatoes which pack huge flavor. Check out more recipe ideas on the Del Monte Pinterest board.

To get started with the Del Monte Southwestern Tomato Kick-off Sweepstakes, you will need to be a member of Pinterest. Then you will need to create a Pin Board with the Title ” Del Monte® Southwestern Tomato Kick-Off.” Repin at least two recipes from the Del Monte Pinterest Board and at least two other football entertaining ideas. Then register your pin board to the Del Monte page from now until February 15, 2013 to be entered. There are great prizes including a Sony 55″ LED TV, Bose home theater system, and Sony Blu-ray player! Wow! See the official rules here.

Stay tuned for a great giveaway where you can win your own prize pack!

Here’s my delicious recipe using the new diced tomatoes:

Note: I used a couple of corn tortillas and a couple of flour tortillas. I personally liked the corn tortillas better but I thought they were breaking when I was putting them together and they didn’t look as pretty so I finished up with flour tortillas. It didn’t really matter as they all oozed out after cooking anyway…so go for the corn tortillas if you prefer!

Chipotle Black Bean Enchiladas

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

Chipotle Black Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 package cream cheese
1 can Del Monte® Petite Cut® Diced Tomatoes with Chipotle Chilies
1 can black beans, drained, rinsed
1 cup cheese, divided
1 can green enchilada sauce
tortillas (flour or corn)
optional: green onions, sour cream, lettuce

Instructions

On low heat, combine all ingredients unless the cream cheese is creamy.
Remove from heat.
Add half of cheese.
Add about 1/2 cup mixture to each tortilla. Roll and place in pan.
Top with enchilada sauce. Make sure that the sauce hits every bit of tortilla.
Sprinkle with remaining cheese and green onions.
Cook at 350 degrees for around 20 minutes or until bubbly.

http://bargainbriana.com/chipotle-black-bean-enchiladas/

**The Del Monte products, information and two gift packs have been provided by Del Monte. Ingredients were provided by Del Monte for this post. Opinions, recipes, and ideas are my own. See more on full disclosure policy.

View the Recipe Index for a complete list of recipes. For the most recent vegetarian recipes posted on the blog, go here. To view all the recipes post on the blog, go here.