Category Archives: vegetarian

Crescent-Wrapped Brie

Posted on December 28, 2009 | Leave a comment

I saw a recipe like this on one of the food blogs I read. It had some chocolate and berries inside as well. When I brought that idea up, the hubs nixed it right away. Chocolate and cheese? Yeah…he was having none of it. So, I went to the Pillsbury website and found the simple version with just cheese and dough. This was a super-easy recipe. Plus, how can you go wrong with cheese and crescent rolls? If you click on the Pillsbury link below, it will take you to not only the recipe, but a step-by-step video as well.

Crescent Wrapped Brie
From Pillsbury.com

1 tube of refrigerated crescent roll dough
1 wheel Brie
1 egg, beaten

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Unroll the dough and separate into two sections (there are 8 triangles and you want 4 triangles on each section. Use your fingers to push the creases together so that they are solid.


Unwrap the Brie from it’s container. On the outside, there will be a white substance. This is a mold that is intended to be eaten with the cheese. You can remove it if you want, but it isn’t necessary.

Place the Brie on top of one of the halves. Place the other dough squares on top of the cheese and form it around so that it creates a casing for the Brie. Cut the excess around the cheese off, leaving about 1 inch around the wheel. Fold that excess up over itself to seal the dough. I used a fork to create a design around the edge. *I also used some of the excess dough to put a C on top (for our last name). Pillsbury suggests using a cookie cutter to make a design with the extra dough. You don’t have to do this if you don’t want.

Brush the dough evenly with 1 beaten egg, to give it a golden brown color. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool and serve.

Verdict:
Me- 5/10 It’s very pretty, but the rind made it too salty.
Rusty- 4/10 He wasn’t fond of this at all. The saltiness turned him off. Oh well, you win some and you lose some.

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Posted in appetizer, cheese, Pillsbury, vegetarian

Pioneer Woman’s Baked Lemon Pasta

Posted on July 23, 2009 | Leave a comment
I have been seeing this pasta for a while and haven’t been in the mood to make it. I’m so glad that I finally did. This recipe comes from The Pioneer Woman. She has such wonderful pictures with her recipes. I suggest that you go check the original out for the great pictures. The rest of her site is great, too.
Baked Lemon Pasta
Originally from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 pound thin spaghetti

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups sour cream
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more to taste if desired
Plenty of grated Parmesan cheese
Flat leaf parsley, chopped (I skipped the parsley)
Extra lemon juice

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cook spaghetti until al dente.
In a skillet, melt butter with olive oil over LOW HEAT.
When butter is melted, add minced garlic.
Squeeze lemon juice into the pan. Turn off heat.
Add sour cream and stir mixture together. Add lemon zest and salt. Taste, then add more salt if necessary.
Pour mixture over drained spaghetti and stir together, then pour spaghetti into an oven safe dish.
Bake, covered, for 15 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for an additional 7 to 10 minutes. (Don’t bake too long or the pasta will dry out.)
When you remove it from the oven, squeeze a little more lemon juice over the top.
Top generously with Parmesan cheese, then chopped parsley.
Give it a final squeeze of lemon juice at the end.

Verdict: 7/10 (me) and 5/10 (Rusty

I really liked this, but I’m a fan of lemon. Rusty’s not such a lemon-lover and this was too strong for him. He didn’t like that lemon was the basic flavor in this without much else. Other than leaving out the parsley, I didn’t make any changes at all.

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Posted in pasta, vegetarian

Pumpkin Waffles

Posted on July 22, 2009 | Leave a comment


Tonight, I really wanted to do breakfast for dinner. I had seen a recipe for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip waffles on 5dollardinners.com. I adapted her recipe just a bit because Rusty didn’t like the idea of pumpkin and chocolate together. We compromised and just had the pumpkin waffles. This recipe made a huge batch (I think I got around 20 waffles), so I froze the ones that we didn’t eat. Much cheaper than frozen waffles from the store!

1 1/2 cups flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
pinch of salt
pinch of cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup milk
1 cup pumpkin (about 1/2 a can)
Preheat your waffle iron. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a whisk. You can use a hand mixer, but I found that using a whisk works just fine. Pour about 1/4 cup mixture into the waffle iron, depending on the size of your iron. Do NOT open the waffle maker until the steam is done rising. I did this on the first set and they didn’t turn out great.
Verdict: 7/10
I thought that these tasted great with some butter and syrup, but the pumpkin taste wasn’t huge. I definitely wish I would have let them become a little crispier, but didn’t want them to burn. Very easy, though!

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Posted in breakfast, vegetarian

Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

Posted on July 22, 2009 | Leave a comment
Spinach Stuffed Tomatoes

One of the food blogs that I read featured this recipe a while back. I starred it to try later. These were super-easy to make and very good for you. I used basically the same recipe as the original blogger, which can be found here at The Rookie Chef. I only made a few changes. I cooked mine in the oven instead of a toaster oven. I also added cheese on top. We ate these with Turkey Meatballs and Tzatziki sauce.
2 tomatoes
1/2 cup Italian Bread crumbs
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese plus some for the tops
1 shake red pepper flakes (leave out if you don’t like spicy)
1 clove garlic
2 cups of fresh baby spinach
1 Tbsp olive oil (1 swirl around the food processor will do!)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Cut off the tops of the tomatoes and scoop out the insides. I threw the insides in the food processor with the rest of the ingredients. Add all of the ingredients to the food processor and pulse until mixed. Fill the tomatoes with the spinach mixture. Top the tomatoes with a sprinkle of cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese has melted and the top is slightly crunchy.

Verdict: 7/10 (me) and 9/10 (Rusty)
Rusty LOVED these and raved about them to everyone. I am not normally a person who has texture issues with food, but I just didn’t love the texture of these. I think the filling could have been a little crunchier (maybe if I cooked it for longer). The flavor was great though! I would definitely make them again.

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Posted in side dish, vegetarian

Taco Pasta Salad

Posted on May 25, 2009 | Leave a comment


This recipe popped up in my Google Reader while I was trying to find a vegetarian option for a meal this week. How convenient, huh? Originally, the recipe was called Wagonwheel Taco Pasta Salad. Unfortunately, the evil Super Walmart (*boo, hiss*) apparently does not believe that its customers may be in need of wagonwheel-shaped pasta. Alas, we went with bowties. We’ll just call it Taco Pasta Salad. That is, unless one of my oh-so-creative readers can come up with a snazzier name than that. If you click on the name, it will take you to the original recipe from Cara’s Cravings. Below, I have reflected the changes that I made.

Taco Pasta Salad
1lb short-cut pasta, like bowties or wagonwheels
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 10oz package frozen corn, thawed or 1 can corn, drained
1 pkg grape tomatoes
8oz shredded Mexican-blend cheese
1 1/2 cups salsa
1/2 cup olive oil
3-4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp cumin
1-2 tsp chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
freshly ground salt & pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 avocado, diced

Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, combine the black beans, corn, tomatoes, salsa, and cheese. Add the cooled pasta and mix well.

In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Pour over the pasta salad, add the cilantro, and mix well. Season to taste with salt & pepper.

Just before serving, stir in the diced avocado.

Verdict: 7/10
This was very good, but it makes a TON of food. Next time, I will definately add less oil and less cilantro. 1/2 a cup of oil was unnecessary, because of the salsa. This would be great to take to a barbeque or get together.

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Posted in mexican, pasta, vegetarian

Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Tortellini

Posted on May 2, 2009 | Leave a comment

Spinach-Artichoke Cheesy Tortellini
*Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals
Ingredients:

1 10-ounce box frozen spinach
2 tbsp EVOO
1 tbsp butter
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 small onion, peeled and halved (Omitted)
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (Omitted)
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts in water, drained and chopped
A couple of handfuls grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Pecorino Romano cheese (I used a mixture of Parmesan and Mozzarella, because I had it on hand)
Salt and Black Pepper
1 pound cheese tortellini or flavored tortellini, such as wild mushroom (I used Spinach and Ricotta tortellini)
*I added basil and extra garlic powder to flavor
* I also added some baby portabella mushrooms to the sauce and topped with chopped tomato

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the pasta. Microwave the spinach on high for 6 minutes to defrost.

Heat a deep skillet over medium high heat with the EVOO and butter. When the butter melts and is hot, add the garlic. Using a box grater, grate the onion directly into the skillet. Saute the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour into the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the stock, then the cream, and bring to a bubble. Season the sauce with nutmeg and reduce the heat to low.

Place the defrosted spinach in a clean kitchen towel and wring it dry. Separate it as you add it to the sauce. Stir in the chopped artichokes and a couple of handfuls of cheese, then season the spinach-artichoke sauce with salt and pepper.

Salt the boiling water and cook the tortellini according to package directions, about 3 to 5 minutes. Drain it well and toss with the spinach-artichoke sauce. Serve immediately.

Verdict: 8/10
This was very good and extremely filling! If you like spinach-artichoke dip, you’ll like this pasta. I changed it a bit to fit our tastes and reflect what I had on hand. Be careful when you are salting the sauce. I got a little carried away, and this was a little salty. This would be great with some crusty bread. Warning: It is NOT a light meal. Only make this when you’re hungry! I would definitely make this again!

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Posted in a, pasta, Rachael Ray, vegetarian

Paula Deen’s Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

Posted on April 28, 2009 | Leave a comment


I’ve come down with the flu or something this weekend and I’ve been off work the past two days trying to recover. No, it isn’t the swine flu. Today is a nice rainy day that calls for some comfort food anyway, and I think it is the perfect thing to make me feel better. Hello Paula Deen! The woman drives me crazy, but she makes some damn yummy food. Oh and P.S. Rusty does an uncanny Paula Deen impression. Ask him sometime. 

*I found this recipe on another blog, but unfortunately I don’t remember who. 
And yes, I know we have ugly plates. Don’t hate.

Paula Deen’s Slow Cooker Mac & Cheese

2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni (an 8 oz box isn’t quite 2 cups)
4 tbsp (1/2 stick) butter, cut into pieces
2 1/2 cups (about 10 oz) grated sharp Cheddar Cheese (I had a mixture of mozzarella and Colby/Monterey Jack, so I used that)
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup sour cream (I used plain yogurt, which is a good substitute for sour cream in recipes)
1 (10 3/4 oz) can Cheddar Cheese Soup
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk (we drink 2% so I used that)
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp black pepper
Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart sauce pan in plenty of water until tender, about 7 minutes. Drain. In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. In a slow cooker, combine the cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well. Then add the drained macaroni and stir again. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally. 
Verdict: 5/10
This had a funky consistency, and I’m not sure why. It didn’t have a huge flavor, and I truly wouldn’t care to eat it again. It didn’t taste bad, but I have just had better. 
The thing I don’t like about this is that it isn’t a true slow cooker meal. Not in my opinion anyway. I had to make this on a day I was home instead of dumping everything in and leaving for work. If this somehow could be made without all of the noodle cooking, etc. It would be way better in my opinion. 

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Posted in NOT healthy, Paula Deen, vegetarian