Everyone needs a good amount of tasty vegetarian meal options. Here I have a tried and true veggie lasagna along with two meals I’m trying to perfect. Let’s take a look:
Black Bean Sliders
I developed this recipe for Fearless Feeding and I remember really liking it. So why don’t I make it? I think it has to do with not knowing how to serve it. It seems like too much starch to serve it with buns. So I had the idea of cutting holes in the corn tortillas to use as the main sandwich structure. Be sure to top with guacamole, salsa and anything else you like. I used salsa and red onions. It was good!
I discovered a bonus feature for this recipe. Use the leftovers in eggs for breakfast burritos! Only thing is, next time I will up the spices a bit.
- 1 (14-ounce) can black beans drained and rinsed
- 2 tsp. olive oil
- 1 tsp. cumin
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- ⅓ bread crumbs
- 1 medium sweet potato, cooked and mashed (no skin)
- ½ cup Mexican blend cheese (or cheddar)
- Tortillas (corn or flour)
- Preheat over to 350F. Add beans, oil and spices to a food processor and pulse until chunky (not pureed).
- In a medium bowl combine bean mixture, egg, bread crumbs and mashed sweet potato until well combined.
- Form this mixture into small patties (about 8-10) and place on a sprayed cookie sheet. Brush each with some olive oil.
- Cook for about 15 minutes and then flip and cook an additional 5-10 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Heat tortillas in microwave or toaster oven and cut holes the same size as the sliders. Fill each burger with preferred toppings like avocado, salsa, more cheese and onions.
Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna
Veggie lasagna in the slow cooker really is an amazingly simple meal (see link for full recipe). It’s not an all-day slow cook option but a great way to make a meal earlier in the day and have it ready when it’s dinnertime. When I put lasagna in the rotation I will rotate this with my meat lasagna (a rotation within a rotation?).
Here are more ideas for slow cooker veggie lasagna that look good:
Kraft Slow Cooker Veggie Lasagna
Baked Falafel
Both my husband and I love falafel, but it’s typically deep-fried. I’ve tried a couple of baked recipes but none have had staying power. When I spotted this recipe from Mark Bittman, I got a renewed interest. If I can get this meal to an acceptable taste, I will rotate it in place of chicken. Yes, another rotation in a rotation.
It was off to a rough start as they didn’t have dried chickpeas at the nearby grocery store so I ended up getting them at Sprouts, a bit farther away. Then I forgot to soak the beans overnight. I looked online and saw a recommendation to boil the beans in water and let them sit for an hour, so that’s what I did. Lastly, it was hard to mix in the food processor.
The flavor was right on but it was too thick and there were random chunks of chickpeas and onions in the final product. Actually, I tested them out on some friends who were over for dinner (with other options of course!) and they agreed. Tastes good, looks weird and too chunky.
So I’m going to try one more time and hopefully get it right.
What are your favorite vegetarian meals?
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This is my favorite baked falafel recipe, sometimes I’ll cook them in the morning, cool on a rack then put on a plate covered with saran wrap in the fridge. Then a brief re-heat in the microwave, makes dinner quite quick. Although, they are very quick and easy to make anyways.
I leave out the hot pepper because my kids won’t eat them, and cilantro is definitely a personal taste but tastes great with or without both of those ingredients.
I found that the key is to mash them up with a potato masher or fork, I used the food processor and everything was too pureed and wet.
http://www.poorgirleatswell.com/2011/09/recipe-spicy-baked-falafel-sandwiches-with-homemade-tzatziki.html
also, this recipe has the benefit of being vegan, no egg!
Thanks Regina. Lots of great ideas!!
Here’s a meal my kids love and has been a hit at potlucks for friends’ kids, it’s quite mild, can be served to vegans (since the cheese is used as topping when served, cooks well in the crock-pot and is very easy on the pocket book. It’s my Italian grandmother’s recipe, sausage or meatballs make a nice addition for meat lovers.
Pasta e Fagioli
1 pound dried great northern beans
8 cups water
1/2 of an 8-ounce can tomato sauce
3 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 TBS. salt
elbow macaroni, cooked separately (or another small noodle like shells, etc.)
grated Parmesan cheese
Soak beans in water overnight, or the quick soak method: boil beans x2 minutes, remove from heat and let soak for 1-4 hours. For either method, throw off water when done and add fresh water.
Add all ingredients and bring to a boil. Simmer til beans are soft, about 2 hours or more, and serve over cooked pasta with Parmesan cheese as a garnish. If you like greens, adding some chopped escarole to the top of individual servings is yummy! The Italian way is to serve it with a splash of olive oil added to each bowl.
You can cook this in a crockpot; just put it in the crock after you bring everything to a boil. You can also use 4 cans of drained Cannellini beans instead of dried to cut down on cook time.
The Loonyspoons Collection cookbook has a falafel recipe I really like!
This is the same recipe here: https://whatteensneedtoknowaboutfood.wordpress.com/2012/02/09/falafel-patties/
I finally made your veggie lasagna recipe. Wow! So good, came out perfectly and even stayed intact cutting and scooping it onto plates. I couldn’t imagine how it would come out and be so good (I think I had tried a lasagna recipe once in the slow cooker and it was so watery and messy I never tried another one). Since yours had such great reviews I figured I would give it a try. So easy to prep while the kids napped and then I didn’t have to stand and make dinner, just throw together a salad and cut veggies right before it was done. My husband was not looking forward to it but said he really liked it and was surprised how good it tasted. The kids all liked it and even my 8 month old ate it up! Win, Win, Win in my book! Thank you!