Meatless mealtime | My Foodie Call | Page 2

Category: Meatless mealtime
- Easiest Meatless Taco Salad recipe for kids
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Jun 9th
  Happy Meatless Monday!
  
  Want to get your kids to eat salad? Make it a taco salad. No kid can refuse that, right?
  
  Here is an easy one you could make in your sleep. Or blindfolded. Or with one hand tied behind your back.
  
  Easiest Taco Salad on the planet.
  
  Taco Salad
  - 2 cups of your favorite mild salsa
  - 2 cups corn
  - 1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
  - 1/4 cup chopped green onions (optional. For picky kids you can leave this out, but with only 1/4 cup in this whole salad?? Might be a great time to “un-do” the pickiness and leave them in)
  - 3/4 cup chopped black olives (again, optional. My kids actually love black olives and yes, I am surprised by this because I couldn’t stand them when I was younger.)
  - Chopped romaine lettuce (healthier than iceberg!)
  - Healthy tortilla chip of choice (whole grain, low-sodium, 3+ grams of fiber per serving…)
  Mix first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
  
  Pile it on romaine lettuce and add your chips to the sides or crush it on top.
  
  No need for any dressing. Once this salad is mixed up the salsa adds plenty of “wet” to the lettuce. Good stuff!
  Posted in Meatless mealtime, Salads, Soups, and Sides | Tagged beans, salad
- Baked Tortilla Cups with Beans and Salsa
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 22nd
  
  Have you seen these baked tortilla cup things floating around Pinterest?
  
  Me too. However, when I have seen the baked tortilla bowl-like things on the internet, the recipe calls for them to be baked on the backside of a muffin tin. The muffin tin creates the mold and the corn tortilla bakes into this cool lipped, edible bowl thing. As fun as they are, I alway felt like it was such a waste of space because you can only fit a few tortillas on the back of the muffin tin. That said, I have been wanting to try this for quite some time, but in my own attempt I wanted to save some space and use the actual muffin compartments..Here goes nothing!
  
  First off, I started with super basic goods. Nothing fancy here.
  
  After heating the tortilla, I molded them into the muffin tins and added some beans in each cup.
  
  Then I added some of the tomato/green chile mixture.
  
  Then some cheese…
  
  Then some salsa, and more cheese. Not a science here, my friends…
  
  Baked it up and topped with avocado and hot sauce. Not bad for a baked tortilla newbie!
  
  Baked Corn Tortilla Cups with Beans and Salsa
  
  Ingredients
  
  ▪ cooking spray
  ▪ 12 6-inch corn tortillas
  ▪ 1 can refried beans
  1 can chopped tomatoes with lime and chiles
  ▪1 jar of your favorite salsa
  ▪ shredded cheese of choice
  ▪avocado (cut into cubes)
  ▪ hot sauce (optional)
  
  Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Spray the muffin tin with cooking spray.
  3. Wrap the tortillas into a paper towel and microwave for 40-50 seconds. (this is what makes the tortilla pliable, the heat!!)
  4. Mold the tortillas into the muffin tins, layering the sides if need be.
  5. Distribute the refried beans on the bottoms of each cup. (this will help maintain the cup shape of the tortilla once the beans are in there)
  6. Top with the tomato/chile mixture.
  8. Sprinkle cheese.
  6. Top with the salsa.
  9. Bake 15-20 minutes
  10. Add a couple avocado cubes
  11. Add hot sauce if desired, but duh, YES!
  
  All 12, polished off. The biggest problem?? There was not enough of to feed a family of five. Should have doubled it!
  
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged avocado, beans, tomato
- A healthier Tuna Noodle Casserole
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 16th
  
  I grew up on this stuff…
  
  And survived. Boy did I love when my mother said she was making Tuna Helper. Remember those dehydrated squashed peas?? Or pea-like green things? (I assume they were peas.)
  
  Although I know how horrible the stuff is now (for health), I still kind of miss it. Nostalgia food?
  
  Miss it, yes, but it doesn’t mean I am running through Walmart to buy it. Let’s healthify this instead.
  
  Impeccable timing too because I made this recipe during teacher appreciation week at my 13 year old’s school. Her middle school needed 100 casseroles so that each teacher had one to bring home, so they asked parents to step up and contribute a casserole.
  
  Guess what? Some ~~poor soul~~ lucky teacher got my healthy tuna noodle casserole.
  
  Hopefully they were pleasantly surprised.
  
  Check this out.
  
  Start by cooking up some veggies. My recipe does not have the mystery green pea-ish things like Tuna Helper. Figured I’d up the antioxidant content of this dish. Peppers, celery and onions it is.
  
  Add your flour, nutritional yeast, milk, mustard..(the creamy factor in this casserole) Give it a good stir, don’t be shy. Then incorporate your noodles.
  
  Next add tuna and parmesan. Stir, stir.
  
  Spread evenly into prepared pan.
  
  Top, bake, serve.
  
  Finished product.
  
  The recipe below was enough for two casseroles. We had one for our family, and I made one for one lucky teacher. :/. I really could have piled it all into one 9×13 pan and cooked it a tad longer, but chose to split it up.
  
  We ate our whole casserole that night, but you could keep the recipe as is and have leftovers for work.
  
  Healthy, Whole Wheat Tuna Noodle Casserole
  
  Ingredients:
  
  • 3 cups whole wheat egg noodles
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 medium onions, diced
  • 2 red peppers, finely diced
  • 3-4 stalks celery, finely diced
  • 1/4 cup whole wheat flour with (optional) 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • 2 cups almond milk
  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt, to taste
  • 2 cups grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 cans chunk light tuna, drained
  
  Topping
  • 2 cups breadcrumbs (Make your own crumbs by pulsing old pieces of bread in your food processor)
  • 4 tablespoons grape seed oil
  • 4 cloves minced garlic
  
  Directions:
  1. Preheat the oven 350 degrees.
  2. Cook egg noodles according to package instructions.
  3. Heat a large pan over medium heat.
  4. Add your butter to the pan.
  5. Add the onion, celery, and bell pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes to soften.
  6. Mix in the flour and nutritional yeast and stir to coat the vegetables evenly.
  7. In a small bowl, whisk the milk and mustard.
  8. Pour into the vegetables, stirring to blend.
  9. Cook and stir for another 5 minutes (or until the mixture is thick) and turn off the heat.
  10. Add the salt and the parmesan cheese.
  10. Stir in the noodles and the tuna and mix to blend.
  11. Pour into a pre-sprayed 9”x13” pan.
  12. Topping: Mix together the breadcrumbs, oil, and minced garlic and sprinkle evenly over the top of the casserole.
  13. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  14. Switch oven to Lo broil. Broil for another 5 minutes creating a crisper topping.
  
  Try it and let me know what you think!
  
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged nutritional yeast, red pepper, whole wheat noodles
- A Roasted Veggie and Rice Casserole
  
  Posted at 8:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  May 12th
  You would think with all of the veggies this household consumes that I would be this insane gardener. Insane gardener I am not. I kill plants, not purposely of course, but I just do not make them my top priority and by the time I realize they have dried out or are seriously diseased, they are on their deathbed.
  
  Needless to say, I would probably not make the best vegetable gardener. Not that I don’t wish that I was. And yes, I have attempted to grow a few edibles along the way.
  
  Attempt one
  
  Remember the Topsy Turvy things? I had a strawberry one a few years ago. It had a couple of small strawberries, “yay, me!”, but then the stupid thing fell off my deck (to its death) and the remnants got munched on by some sort of rodent. grr.
  
  Attempt two
  
  I tried to grow herbs in my window 3 years ago…Only to have them grow for a few weeks, tease me, and then die. Failure two.
  
  Attempt three
  
  I tried herbs again last year when a dear friend made me an awesome herb garden as a birthday gift. It was so beautiful in its large pot that I told myself:
  
  “Self? You will not kill this herb garden ESPECIALLY because of the nature of its’ origin. A good friend made you this and this may be a metaphor for your friendship. Don’t kill it!!!”
  
  Well, I did pretty dang good for a while with that herb garden, clipping things as needed, smelling and sniffing up the awesome oregano scent like a crazed person (I went through a big oregano kick during that period.)
  
  Yes last summer, I tended to the herbs with great care and they were doing FAB, until…
  
  I went up north for the whole month of August. My herbs paid the price and did not survive my vacation.
  
  womp womp.
  
  Okay my point in this story? I am attempting herbs (again) and venturing out and growing tomatoes in a pot at the moment. Super excited. I know to most a lousy tomato plant is not a big deal, but this is big for me. Stay tuned.
  
  My tomato plant. Cherry tomatoes, but still, tomatoes.
  
  Speaking of tomatoes…Today’s recipe is a yummy marinara with rice and roasted veggies. This sauce was so good, I could have eaten it solo.
  
  Check it out.
  
  Make this yummy sauce, and seriously, it’s good…
  
  Cook up some rice.
  
  Roast some veggies.
  
  Layer it.
  
  Top it and bake it.
  
  A well balanced meal, no meat required.
  
  Roasted Veggie and Rice Casserole
  
  Ingredients
  - 3-4 cups cooked rice (cook according to package directions)
  - roasted veggies (see directions below)
  - marinara sauce (see directions below)
  - grated parmesan
  Directions for the Casserole
  1. Prepare a casserole dish with non-stick spray.
  2. Spread rice at the bottom on the dish.
  3. Top with your roasted veggies.
  4. Top with your marinara.
  5. Top with parmesan.
  6. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
  Ingredients (for the roasted veggies)
  - 2 medium sweet potatoes
  - 4 or 5 carrots
  - 1 asparagus bunch
  - 2 tablespoons olive oil
  - salt and pepper, to taste
  Directions
  1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F.
  2. Peel the sweet potatoes and carrots.
  3. Then cut up into chucks about 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick.
  4. Just keep them somewhat similar to ensure even cooking.
  5. Trim the ends off of the asparagus stalks and cut into 2 inch long pieces.
  6. Place the sweet potato and carrot pieces into a bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss well so that the vegetables are coated evenly.
  7. Add asparagus pieces into another bowl, then add 1 tablespoon olive oil and salt & pepper.
  8. Spread the sweet potato and carrots onto a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes (stirring midway).
  9. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Spread the asparagus over the sweet potato and carrots and bake in the oven for another 20 minutes.
  10. Remove the baking sheet from the oven.
  Ingredients (for the marinara)
  - 1/2 cup olive oil
  - 3 garlic cloves, minced
  - 1- 28oz can organic crushed tomatoes with basil
  - 1-2 T balsamic vinegar
  - 5 packets stevia (or you could just use sugar)
  - 1/2 tsp onion salt
  Directions
  1. Add olive oil and garlic cloves to a sauce pan and simmer for 5 minutes.
  2. Add remaining ingredients and whisk until totally fully incorporated. Simmer for an hour.
  Seriously delicious, give it a shot!
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged carrots, rice, sweet poatoes, tomatoes
- Pesto Pizza in a snap
  
  Posted at 9:00 pm by myfoodiecall
  
  Apr 27th
  This family loves pesto. This is slightly shocking to me because they are not too big on fresh herbs. As we all know, pesto has lots of basil. In regards to fresh herbs in recipes, I am pretty used to putting way less than is called for. Especially Cilantro. While I love Cilantro, here is what the family says about Cilantro:
  - tastes like soap
  - tastes like garbage
  - is disgusting
  - tastes like multiple toilet analogies
  But back to the pesto. My kids do like pesto. On pretty much anything.
  
  Here is an easy pizza recipe. If you do not have time to make your own, just buy the store pesto, but really it’s easy!
  
  Pile the ingredients in…and whir up that food processor.
  
  Also, I like to use walnuts in my pesto. Cheaper than pine nuts and healthier! Here is the recipe I used.
  
  Basil Walnut Pesto
  
  Ingredients
  - 2 cups gently packed fresh basil leaves
  - 2 large garlic cloves, minced
  - 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  - 1/3 cup walnuts
  - 1/2 teaspoon salt
  - 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  - 2/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  Directions
  1. Add walnuts and garlic to food processor and process until coarsely chopped.
  2. Add the basil leaves, salt, and pepper and process until mixture resembles a paste, about 1 minute.
  3. With the processor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube and process until blended.
  4. Add the Parmesan and process 40-60 seconds more.
  Next grab a jar of these.
  
  Fine chop them.
  
  Spread some pesto and red peppers on your crust and cook according to package directions.
  
  This here is an organic wheat crust from Trader Joe’s. You could use a Whole Wheat Boboli if it’s easier. This pizza is light on the roasted red peppers because I was a little unsure how the family would react. I had visions of them all being picked off and tossed on their napkins.
  
  Surprisingly they ate this pizza without a second thought which means next time the pizza gets doused with red!
  
  Pesto Pizza
  Posted in Meatless mealtime | Tagged walnuts
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