Thai Green Curry, Shepherd's pie Matar Paneer, Vegan Chocolate Cake Dinner Party

So recently I had a dinner party to test out how non-vegetarians would like the vegetarian food I've been cooking. And I have to say it was definitely a success! All my friends that can really enjoyed it, and it was very valuable for my project. 

Here are the recipes for what I made (that haven't been posted before)

Thai Green Curry
Ingredients:
-Firm tofu, 2 packages
-Bamboo shoots, sliced (2 cans)
-Sweet peppers
-Baby corn
-Snowpeas
-Coconut milk
-Thai green curry paste
-Salt
-Soy sauce
-Ginger paste
-Garlic paste
Directions:
-Slice the tofu into cubes to your liking
-Add oil, garlic and ginger paste to pan.
- Add vegetables, cook until vegetables are still firm, but not raw.
-Add in tofu
-Add coconut milk
-Add green curry paste (carefully, to make sure you don't use too much)
-Add salt and a VERY small amount of soy sauce, to taste
-Cover with lid, let simmer until vegetables are cooked.
Serve!

Shepherd's pie
Ingredients:
-Onions
-Celery
-Carrots
-Cannelini beans
-Frozen peas
-Potatoes
-Canned tomato
-Mashed potates, instant (2 packages)
-Shredded cheddar
-Flour
-Salt
-Pepper
Directions:
-Add oil to a large pot
-Dice onions, and add to oil
-When onions are clear, add celery, carrots, peas and beans
-Add in tomato and diced potatoes

-When potatoes are cooked, turn off the stove
-Add flour (as needed) to "stew" portion to keep the consistency from being too soupy
-Make instant mashed potatoes according to instructions
-Layer vegetable mixture in a casserole pan
-Layer mashed potatoes on top
-Put shredded cheddar on top
-Bake in oven until top is golden brown

I also made Matar Paneer
A link to the recipe: http://leangreencookingmachine.blogspot.com/2013/11/matar-paneer-paneer-with-peas.html

 Double chocolate cake (from Betty Crocker cookbook)
It's also vegan!
Ingredients:
-1 and 2/3 cup all purpose flour **not self rising**
-1 cup granulated sugar
-1/4 cup cocoa
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-1 cup water
-1/3 cup vegetable oil
-1 teaspoon vinegar
-1/2 teaspoon vanilla
-1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Directions:
-Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar, coca, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients except chocolate chips. Sprinkle chocolate chips over batter.
-Pour into greased cake pan (8x8x2)
-Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes. Sprinkle with powder sugar if desired.

 I don't have a picture of my exact cake, but this is pretty much what it will look like!
apeswithguns.blogspot.com

Enjoy! :-)

Chocolate Chip Pie

This pie always brings back memories for me of when my mom used to make it when I was a little kid. Its tastes like a combination of a brownie and a cookie and smells amazing while its baking! 

This recipe is pretty standard, but I used the one from http://www.verybestbaking.com, with some changes. I don't put nuts in my pie, since I don't like them. And I also add some vanilla extract, salt, and instant coffee to boost the chocolate flavor and balance out sweetness.

Hope you enjoy! :-)
Note: The picture is what the pie looks like before baking. Afterwards it looks something like this: 

Ingredients

• 1 unbaked 9-inch (4-cup volume) deep-dish pie shell *
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup (6 oz.) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• Pinch of instant coffee
• Sweetened whipped cream or ice cream (optional)

Directions

PREHEAT oven to 325° F.

BEAT eggs in large mixer bowl on high speed until foamy. Beat in flour, granulated sugar and brown sugar. Beat in butter. Stir in morsels and nuts. Spoon into pie shell.

BAKE for 55 to 60 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between edge and center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack. Serve warm with whipped cream, if desired.

* If using frozen pie shell, use deep-dish style, thawed completely. Bake on baking sheet; increase baking time slightly. 

Matar Paneer (Paneer with Peas)

A favorite dish of mine since I was young, I recently made this dish for a party we had at our house and it was a hit! If you're not familiar with making Indian food, don't worry its not too hard! Simply follow these instructions:

Ingredients:
-1 large onion, diced
-4 tomatoes
-1 serrano (or jalapeno) chili
-ginger
-garlic
--All of the above will be ground together to make the paste for the sauce
-1 lb paneer (a type of cheese, you can find this at an Indian grocery store) cubed
-1 lb frozen peas
-turmeric
-salt
-paprika
-cumin
-coriander
-garam masala (also easy to find at an Indian grocery store)
-oil
-jeera
-fennel
- cilantro (for paste and garnish)

Directions:
1) Blend tomato, onion, chili, garlic, cilantro, and ginger together to make a paste.
2) Lightly pan fry the paneer with oil, drain.
3) Add fennel and jeera to oil.
4) When seeds splutter, add paste, salt, and turmeric.
5) Cover with lid.
6) When gravy and oil separate (check periodically for this) add in peas (and water if necessary, my frozen peas had enough water from being frozen).
7) Add other spices
8) When peas are cooked (not frozen but not mushy) add paneer
9) Mix together.
Enjoy! :-)

Candied Sweet Potatoes

This recipe came from AllRecipes.com, and made an amazing sweet potato casserole! Its kind of funny that we made this, since I was always curious about the dish but the rest of my family thought it sounded gross. Well they were wrong! Everyone loved it so much, that we're planning on making Sweet Potatoes every year!

INGREDIENTS:

4 pounds sweet potatoes, quartered 1 1/4 cups margarine 1 1/4 cups brown sugar

3 cups miniature marshmallows, divided ground cinnamon to taste ground nutmeg to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.
2.	Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add potatoes and boil until slightly underdone, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and peel.
3.	In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine margarine, brown sugar, 2 cups marshmallows, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cook, stirring occasionally, until marshmallows are melted.
4.	Stir potatoes into marshmallow sauce. While stirring mash about half of the potatoes, and break the others into bite-sized chunks. Transfer to prepared dish.
5.	Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cover top evenly with remaining marshmallows. Return to oven and bake until marshmallows are golden brown.

Baked Potato and Chili

Ingredients:

Large baker potatoes   4

Pinto beans. 2 large cans

Tomato canned with chilli 1

Onion 1 diced

Anaheim pepper 1 diced

Frozen corn 1/2 cup

Garlic 2 cloves

Oil 2 tbsp

Chili powder 1/2 tsp

Salt

Black pepper

Cumin powder 1 tsp

Oregano  a couple of sprinkles

Paprika 1 tsp

Turn oven on to 375. Wash and scrub potatoes. 

Prick each potato with a fork a couple of times. Place potatoes on a cookie sheet and bake for about an hour. Potatoes are done when a steak knife can pierce it smoothly.

For chili

Use large pot. Add oil, garlic, onion, green pepper, Anaheim pepper and sauté. Add corn and sauté. When onions are translucent, add tomatoes. Add rinsed beans, all spices. Simmer till flavors meld when tasted.

Enjoy! :-)

Spaghetti with Peppers, Onions, Sausage and Steamed Broccoli

This was a really quick, yet also healthy and tasty meal!
The basics:
Ingredients:
-Spaghetti
-Sausage (vegetarian)
-1/2 and onion, diced
-Sweet Peppers

To Cook:
-Follow instructions for cooking spaghetti. While the pasta is cooking, chop vegetables and sausage and set aside (note some brands of sausage are really messy, so be prepared!)
-Drain Spaghetti
-In pasta pot, saute with oil, vegetables and peppers
-Add sauce (I used a combination of jarred sauce and canned tomatoes, if you do this, be sure to season more since the canned tomatoes have no seasoning but the jarred sauce is preseasoned)
-When sauteed (onions should be translucent) and sauce is added add pasta back in, and mix well.
For broccoli:
-Use "steam-in-a-bag" broccoli, follow instructions.
-Melt butter (1/4 stick)in a pan
-Once butter is melted, and broccoli is steamed, add both together, and season with salt, pepper
Serve the meal with cheese on the pasta if you would like and,
Enjoy! :-)

Egg and Vegetable Fritatta with Tater Tots

This Egg and Vegetable Fritatta with tater tots is actually not as hard to make as it looks, plus its full of protein and flavor!

First, preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Then:
-Dice 1/2 an onion, 1 Anaheim pepper, and 3 or 4 small sweet peppers
-Crack 8 eggs into a bowl (I made this dish for 4 people, so to adjust to the number of people you may be making it for, crack 2 eggs per person)
-Add 2 tbsp sour cream to the eggs (this may sound weird but it makes the eggs beautifully fluffy!
-Add 1 tsp of salt and 1/2 a tsp of pepper to the egg mixture
-Whisky fully until smoothly blended
-Saute vegetables on high in an oven proof skillet, add a little salt and pepper to the vegetables
-Once onions are translucent, spread the vegetables evenly in bottom of pan
-Pour in egg mixture and turn heat DOWN to medium/medium low
-Eggs will begin to set, add 1/2 a cup of shredded cheese on top
-Move skillet to oven and remove when top is light brown (about 10 minutes), to check doneness, stick a knife in the center and see if it comes out clean. (time may vary depending on your oven)
-For tater tots:
- I used frozen tater tots cooked with oil in a cast iron skillet, or you can also bake them however the way I did it is much faster :)

Enjoy! :)

Pad Thai (Mark Bittman Recipe)

This was a pretty simple dish to make and it took about an hour for me to do. One note in the recipe is that I used about twice as much ingredients because I used twice as much pasta. I also used more sauce/spices to get a bolder flavor. In addition I did not add a fried egg crepe on top as is told in the recipe because well I don't really like eggs :)

Here is the recipe, all credit to Mark Bittman's Book "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian"

Note: bean sprouts are entirely optional

12 ounces dried flat rice noodles, 1/4 inch thick

5 tablespoons peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn

4 garlic cloves, minced

8 ounces pressed tofu, or extra-firm tofu, blotted dry, sliced

2 scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths

1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and trimmed

2 tablespoons soy

2 teaspoons tamarind paste or ketchup

2 teaspoons sugar

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

2 small fresh green chiles, preferably Thai, seeded and sliced (optional)

1 lime, cut into wedges

1. Put the noodles in a bowl and pour boiling water over them to cover. Soak until softened, at least 15 minutes; if you want to hold them a little longer, drain them, fill the bowl with cold water, and return the noodles to the bowl.

2. Raise the heat to high and add oil. When hot, add the garlic and scallions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they become caramelized, about 2 minutes. Add the tofu, scallions, and half of the bean sprouts to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to plate.

4. Put the drained noodles,soy sauce tamarind, and sugar in the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the noodles are heated through, then add the stir-fried tofu mixture. Toss once or twice and transfer the contents of the pan to a serving platter. Top with the peanuts, cilantro, chiles, and remaining bean sprouts. Serve with the lime wedges.

I served the Phad Thai with an Asian salad from a mix and with lots of fresh lime :). 

Enjoy! :-)

Black Bean Bowl and Brown Rice and Sauteed Veggies

This is a pretty straightforward meal that tastes great and is really healthy especially when paired with brown rice. It's basically like a "naked burrito" from a place like Qdoba or Chipotle, but way cheaper and probably healthier.

Start with the brown rice since that will take the longest:
-In your rice cooker (if you use one), put the amount of rice you want in with 2 cups more of water and let sit for 15-20 minutes. (If you have 2 cups of rice add 4 cups water etc.) After 20 minutes or so put the rice cooker on and cook the rice. This way the rice is nice and soft and has a great texture. If you don't use a rice cooker, still soak the rice in water for about 20 minutes, then cook rice as you normally would.

For the bean bowl:
-Black beans (I used 3 cans)
-Pasilla peppers
-Onions
-Frozen corn
-Salt
-Pepper
-Field Roast brand vegetarian chipotle sausage** (by the way this sausage is really messy, so be prepared for that :) )
-Taco seasoning (from Trader Joe's)**
**If you use the sausage, because it's pretty spicy, don't use taco seasoning. If you aren't using the sausage then add taco seasoning or other chipotle flavor to taste.

Recipe:
-Sautee onions and pasilla peppers in oil.
-When sauteed, add in sausage, crumbled.
-When sausage and onions and peppers are pretty done, add in beans and the liquid from the cans, plus some water (about 1/2 a can or so).
-Add in frozen corn
-Let beans simmer for awhile until corn is cooked and they are at desired consistency (not too watery), then turn off stove and let sit.

For sauteed veggies:
-Carrots, cut into sticks
-Bell peppers
-Onions
-Chili powder
-Cumin
-Coriander

Recipe:
-Cut vegetables into strips of similar lengths.
-Sautee in pan with oil (I used a cast-iron pan, but you can use any kind of skillet)
-Add in spices
-If using a cast iron pan, turn off when veggies are nearly done, the residual heat from the pan will finish cooking them.

Serve beans and rice in a bowl topped with veggies, sour cream and cheese.
Enjoy :-)

Waffles with blackberries

This meal is insanely easy and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner by any busy college student or anyone else whose pressed for time.

Ingredients:

Waffle maker

Pancake mix

Berries ( I used blackberries but you can use any fruit that you want that's in season)

Sugar. 2 teaspoons

Whipped cream (optional)

Syrup (optional)

Recipe:

Mix blackberries and sugar together. Let sit for fifteen minutes or so. Follow instructions on package to make waffle batter. Pour batter in waffle maker making sure not to fill up entire press or it will overflow. My waffle maker flashes green when it is heated up and when the waffle is ready so follow anything like that on yours to know when waffle is done. Once made, top with fruit, or whipped cream and syrup to your liking.

Enjoy! :-)

 

Spaghetti with Tofurkey Sausage

This is a very quick and simple meal to make that tastes amazing especially with tofurkey sausage. 

Ingredients:

Trader Joe's spaghetti ( or any uncooked spaghetti)

Jarred pasta sauce of your preference 

Onion

Peppers

Tofurkey sausage

Salt

Black Pepper

Garlic salt ( a little)

Oregano

Recipe:

Follown instructions for boiling pasta

Once boiled, drain pasta. Cut sausage into circles.

In same pot used to boil pasta, sautée onions and peppers. Add sausage and cool until crisp. Add pasta sauce and spices. When sauce simmers (bubbles) turn off stove, add pasta in, and stir nicely.Garnish with shredded Parmesan if you like.

Enjoy! :-)

Trader Joe's Falafels, Fried Rice, and Homemade Tzatziki

 Greek and Mediterranean food, especially falafels, are some of my favorite things to eat! And, with these already cooked falafels from Trader Joes, making a meal out of it is that much easier. All you have to do is microwave it and they're done. Now you can always buy packaged tzatziki but I prefer to make my own because its creamier and i can make it to my own flavor preference. The rice shown here is something my mom came up with and it is amazing!

For the tzatziki:
-Plain yogurt
-Sour cream
-Feta
-Dried dill (that's what I used, fresh also is fine)
-Onion, diced
-Cucumber, diced

Mix up the yogurt and sour cream to the desired consistency and amount. Add feta, dill, onion and cucumber. Salt to taste. Be careful of adding too much cucumber/salt especially if you'll be storing it or making more to save because it could become watery.


Rice:
-Old rice
-Lemon
-Onion, diced
-Cumin (jeera)
-Cilantro

In a pan with oil, add the cumin, when it's spluttering add onions, sautee. When onions are sauteed add in old rice and mix, making sure to coat the rice in oil. Then turn off stove and add lemon juice to taste and a healthy amount of cilantro.

Serve the meal with pita and hummus if you like.
Enjoy! :)

Red Beans and Rice

Ever had red beans and rice? Well I bet you haven't had them like this! They're vegetarian but have amazing flavor. My mom found a recipe somewhere online and made it her own and now she has taught it to me and I'll share it here :)

Ingredients:

1 can kidney beans

1/2 onion diced

1 Anaheim pepper/ green pepper diced

3 or 4 fresh tomatoes diced or 1 can tomato sauce

4 or 5 stalks celery diced

Jasmine rice 2 cups

Olive oil 2 to 3 tsp

Salt

Pepper 1/4 to 1/2 tsp

Paprika 1 tsp

Cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp

Onion powder 1/4 tsp

Garlic powder a sprinkle

Oregano 1/2 tsp

Thyme 

Recipe: 

Sauté onions,pepper, celery, tomato.add rice, beans and stir. Add spices

And 4 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce temp, cover and cook till water is absorbed.

Serve with sour cream
--If you want a meat substitute, try a tofurky sausage. Just pan fry it, then add it to the rice once it's cooked.

Enjoy :)

Fried rice (with Indian flavorings)

This rice is another very simple way to make something new out of old rice, or use up some frozen rice (which is what I did). Its quick, and the recipe/ingredients are not as scary as they seem :)

Ingredients (don't let the length worry you, these spices are quite easy to find and use, just go to an Indian grocery store or even try your local grocery store!)
-Frozen rice
-Canned diced tomatoes
-Canned garbanzos
-Frozen peas, corn, carrots mix
-Diced onions
-Garam masala
-Cumin
-Paprika
-Turmeric
-Coriander
-Salt
-Garlic powder
-Ginger powder

Recipe:
-Start by sauteeing onions
-Once sauteed add the tomateos, garbanzos, and peas, corn and carrots.
-Add the spices
-Once cooked and the frozen vegetable seem to have melted, add the rice (after cooking rice in the microwave)
-Stir all together
-Add more spices if you want, to taste
-Garnish with cilantro if you so wish (I did, because cilantro is the best :) )

Enjoy! :)

Pre-cooked ravioli with a tomato and onion sauce and corn

  

This is a really quick and easy meal that you can put together in no time! Using a lot of fresh ingredients makes it taste better and healthier, but I used a few pre-packaged ones, like frozen corn and canned tomatoes. Also, this meal was really inexpensive! I got 3 servings for about $6.15 all together.



Ingredients:
Buitoni pre made ravioli, 1 package
Can of diced tomatoes
Half an onion, diced
Frozen corn
Butter
Salt
Pepper
Oregano

Recipe:
Boil water, then add ravioli once water is boiling.
When ravioli floats to the top it is most likely cooked, but check just to be sure.
Drain ravioli.
Add diced onions to the pot you boiled the ravioli in with oil and sautee.
Add diced tomatoes when onions are sauteed
Add ravioli into the sauce, coat with sauce
Add oregano to taste

For corn:
I used a butter corn package. Basically just microwave as directed and then add the salt and pepper and you have a side dish in less than 5 minutes!

Enjoy :)

Wild Rice, Chik'n nuggets and roasted cauliflower

 

 

One staple anyone wanting to cook vegetarian food should have: Meat substitutes that are just as good (or even better!) than the real thing.
From a health point of view, things like BBQ Chik'n nuggets (as shown here) are easy to find and pack similar amounts of protein and other nutrients from a regular chicken breast without much fat.

This meal I made with some help from my mom (my mentor for the project), and it's a meal I remember her making all the time when I was younger and even now when she was pressed for time but still wanted to make a balanced meal. Now, for times sake you don't have to make the cauliflower, that's just an added bonus to this meal. If you want a quicker vegetable you can make steam-in-a-bag veggies and toss those with oil and some seasoning (another trick my mom taught me).
 Now for the ingredients and recipes (I've separated them based on each component of the meal)
--Chicken:
- Morningstar Meatless Grillers BBQ Chicken
-Basically all you do is put the frozen patties in a pan, cook them and then add the sauce that comes with them, simple right?
--Rice
-1/2 onion diced

2 to 3 stalks of celery diced

1 to 2 carrots peeled and diced.

(This mixture of onions, celery and carrots is called mirepoix)

olive oil

1/2 pkg Trader Joe's wild rice and  basmati mix

dried thyme

salt, pepper

olive oil

In a sauce pan, add olive oil and mirepoix and saute. Add 1/2 pkg of rice mix and follow package instructions for the  amount for water needed. Add thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, close the pot and let simmer till the rice absorbs the water. Just as most of the water is absorbed, test the rice to see if its done. You can add 1/4 cup water at a time if needed.

Turn off the stove when the rice is still a little moist. Leave the lid on the pot and keep it shut for about 10 minutes. Lift lid, gently fluff the rice with a fork and serve with BBQ chicken.

--Cauliflower

- Separate cauliflower into florets

-Place on cookie sheet

-Sprinkle with salt, pepper, paprika and add garlic cloves to the pan

- Roast for 25 minutes or so in an oven at 350 degrees

-Check periodically to see if browned

-Serve!

Enjoy :)

Paneer (dry, without sauce) and Roti

This is one of my all-time favorite Indian dishes to eat. I come from a Southern Indian family, and while paneer is more of a North Indian dish, I've learned to cook this one because I love it so much. And, I'm hoping to show people that cooking Indian food isn't nearly as daunting as one might think. This was my first time really doing it though, so I had my mom help me out.

Ingredients:

1/2 onion sliced

1 colored pepper (red/orange/yellow) sliced

1 green pepper sliced

1 block of paneer cubed

canola oil

salt

haldi

paprika

garam masala

jeera and fennel seeds

Recipe:

Cube the paneer and set aside. In a wok/large skillet, add oil and fennel and jeera seeds. When seeds splutter, add onions and peppers and saute. Add cubed paneer, salt, paprika, haldi and garam masala (to taste) and cook until vegetables are cooked (not crunchy anymore) and paneer is soft and warm. Serve with roti or rice.

How to cook pre packaged roti:

You can find all sorts of pre made rotis at Costco or your local Indian grocery store.you can also substitute whole wheat tortillas.

Paneer is found at your local Indian grocery store as well. 

Basically, heat up the roti in a skillet until it looks "dry" (cooked) on the surface. Then, heat it over an open flame until it puffs up.

Enjoy! :-)

Lemon Pepper Parpadelle Pasta and Onion with Caprese Salad

This is one of my favorite dishes to eat and now to cook :)
And, its not too hard to make either.
A few years ago my mom found this amazing pasta at the local Trader Joes, and while it sounds a little strange its absolutely delicious.

Ingredients:
Lemon Pepper parpadelle pasta from TJs
An onion, cut into strips
For caprese:
Olive oil
Balsamic vinaigrette
Whole tomato
Mozzarella, cut into slices
Fresh basil

Recipe:
1. Follow instructions on package for cooking pasta, they are standard: boil water, add pasta, boil pasta, drain.
2. Sautee onions in a pan when pasta is draining
3. In a pot add together the pasta and onion.
4. Voila, pasta is done!
For caprese:
1. Cut the tomato and mozzarella into round slices
2. Cut basil into strips
3. Arrange nicely on a play (or not nicely if you prefer :) )
4. Drizzle thoroughly with oil and vinegar mixture making sure to have a decent amount of all the components of the salad.
Enjoy!

Black Bean and Rice Casserole

An easy way to re-purpose leftover black beans, or any type of beans with a Southwestern flavor.





Ingredients:
- Black beans, previously cooked with Southwestern spices
-Brown rice
-Mexican cheese blend
 Recipe:
This one's super simple:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
Using old flavored beans and plain brown rice, layer the bottom of a casserole dish (or individual dishes as shown above) with the rice, add the beans on top, then sprinkle with Mexican cheese.
Place the dishes in the oven, cook for about 10 minutes give or take depending on your oven
Enjoy :)