Vegetarian again

Oatmeal

2011-10-13T22:37:00.000-07:00

So I was going to McDonalds for awhile because I was into their whole monopoly game but I don't really eat anything besides breakfast so I would get hash browns and egg mcmuffins. But then I found out that their oatmeal is mighty delicious!! It has brown sugar, apples, golden and regular raisins. So when I went to the store the other day I bought my own oatmeal, to try to cut costs on McDonalds of course. So I Made my own oatmeal this morning and it was delicious! I'm obsessed with oatmeal now! Just Quaker original (plain) oatmeal, gala apples cut into cubes and sun maid raisins. Although alot of stems stay on those raisins :/ oh well, milk, and brown sugar. It is so good!!! Im glad I'm eating healthier again.

At it again

2011-09-27T13:13:00.000-07:00

Oh goodness the school year has started again. Last Thursday to be exact. My last quarter as an undergrad, it's incredibly daunting. Look my vocabulary has expanded since the beginning of college, so I must have learned something! Anyway the school year has begun and I am stuck feeling like the oldest person in the world! Like seriously where has the time gone? I realize that I can't really remember being a freshman too well (too many jello shots) but college seemed to fly by! Where did all of these little girls get the idea that it's okay to dress like such a skank in public? Was that me 3 years ago? But I am finally almost done with school and I am back to being a vegetarian, it's funny how life leaves you back where you started. Well with the added 10-12lbs of the dreaded freshman 15.

Over the weekend I managed to occupy my time with baking a lasagna. It's one of the easiest things to do, but it makes me so happy when it comes out of the oven! It's almost as if my grandma sent me a frozen one through the mail. Although my lasagna does not even compare to something that she could possibly make.

This lasagna turned out way better than my first attempt!

8oz bag of mozzarella cheese (shredded)
15oz ricotta cheese
1 box lasagna noodles
1 egg
1 jar spicy red pepper sauce
1/2 cup parmesan cheese
Red pepper flakes (optional)
3 cups spinach (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Boil noodles per directions on the box.
While noodles are boiling, stir together mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, and egg. Then add parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Drain noodles when finished. And set aside.
Refill the pot with water and cook spinach, approx. 4 minutes. Add to cheese mixture.
Spread 1/3 of the sauce on the bottom of a non greased casserole pan.
layer down about 6 noodles overlapping each other to cover the sauce. Spread 1/3 of cheese mixture on top of noodles. Spread down 1/3 sauce. Repeat, but omit sauce. Layer down another 6 noodles to cover the top. Add the remaining cheese mixture and remaining sauce to cover all noodles evenly.
Place in oven for 30 minutes.
Remove and let cool 10 minutes.
Enjoy!

Creamed Spinach and Corn on the Cob

2011-09-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

I was reading a previous post about creamed spinach and I realized that I never added a recipe for it! It made me a bit sad because I don't quite remember how I did it, I remember winging it for the most part. Shoot! maybe I can try to remember it.

Healthier Creamed Spinach

4 cups of fresh spinach
1/2 cup of non fat milk
1 tablespoon butter/margarine
1 tablespoon flour
garlic to taste (I used a little less than a tablespoon)

Steam spinach in a sauce pan. Add about 2 inches of water into the pan and then add spinach and place the lid on it for about 4 minutes.
Remove spinach from the pan and chop and separate, as it all forms one clump.
Heat butter and garlic in sauce pan and add milk. Add in the flour and whisk continuously so the milk doesn't foam and so the mixture doesn't thicken too quickly. Add in chopped, cooked spinach. Turn off the heat and let rest.

So for my endeavor after cooking up burritos I decided to tackle the corn. I love corn on the cob. It was mine and my brother's favorite vegetable (second being carrots) when we were little. We used to douse the corn in salt and butter when we were little too, making it very unhealthy. As I grew up my family still eats their corn with salt and butter, but I enjoy it plain. I even have a new way of eating it, line by line using my bottom teeth. My dad makes fun of me because it looks like a bird got to the cob, for there is nothing left but the bare cob at the end.
Anyway, after being home in Chicago with my family, it made me realize how much I love eating corn on the cob, corn in the can is just not the same. So when I returned I bought fresh corn and realized I had a problem. I had NO idea how to cook corn, or how to shuck it. The shucking part was interesting. I made a mess in the kitchen with the little hairs (called "silks") and I couldn't break off the bottom part, I even tried using a knife. For the cooking part, I would be completely lost with EVERYTHING if it wasn't for the internet. I typed in how to boil corn and it came back with one of those answers.com type websites and I learned that you cook corn for no more than 8 minutes in boiling water. So after 8 minutes I was happily eating corn on the cob! Hopefully you're not like me and know how to boil corn, but if not I am happy to share what I have learned!

The difference between burritos and fajitas

2011-09-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

I returned back to my apartment this week after a nice vacation with my family in Chicago. When I came back I went major grocery shopping because I had no food and because I just got my paycheck! I went to Trader Joes and got frozen black bean taquitos, popcorn, frozen cheese enchiladas, and a premade individual salad. I like having frozen things on hand for those times when I want something hot to eat, but I don't really have the money to go out and buy something or the time to make anything. I then went to Vons and bought green and red bell peppers, corn on the cob, carrots, tortillas, cereal, milk, eggs, black beans, pasta, sauce, and some other things. I decided the next day that I was bored so I cooked up what I called burritos, but in reality they were more like fajitas. I spent the entire week figuring out the difference between fajitas and burritos, since they're vegetarian it was a little hard to figure out the difference.

The real difference I found was based on the meat, whether it's chopped (for a burrito) or thicker pieces (for a fajita). Or at least that's what I read online. These were supposed to be burritos, since they had rice and beans, but they came out more like fajitas because of the sauteed bell peppers and the fact that I used a 6" corn and whole wheat tortilla rather than a bigger flour tortilla that can be rolled up into a little pouch.

Veggie "burritos"

1 Green bell pepper

1 Red bell pepper

5-10 baby carrots

black beans

rice a roni spanish rice

8-10 tortillas

Cook spanish rice according to the directions on the box. I omitted the oil to make it healthier, but it actually just burned the bottom layer rice on the pan, so I will be adding the oil in next time.

While the rice is cooking chop green and red bell peppers and baby carrots into strips. Heat half a tablespoon to a full tablespoon of canola oil onto a frying pan and drop in peppers and carrots. Stir veggies around for 8 minutes.

Remove veggies from the pan. Pour in a can of partially drained black beans into the frying pan and heat for 2-4 minutes.

(I made my "burritos" for freezing so I did not heat any of the tortillas)

Once everything is heated layer one tablespoon of black beans on to the tortilla (use larger amounts if using a larger tortilla, mine were 6" and didn't hold too much!) followed by one tablespoon of rice and topped with strips of pepper and carrot mixture.

Roll up that tortilla and enjoy!

I had so much rice, beans, and veggies left over since I only made 5 very small "burritos." I put everything into tupperware and put it in the fridge. I had non frozen burritos for lunch the next few days. I heated the tortilla in the microwave the first time, but it didn't come out well. Heating the tortilla in a heated frying pan works much better. About 10-15 seconds on both sides, no need to spray with cooking spray or anything.

Having someone else cook...

2011-08-30T12:42:00.000-07:00

Ahh this is going to be difficult. I didn't tell anyone that I was a vegetarian back here and I'm definitely sure that my step mom is making me my old favorite meal of bbq chicken sandwiches. I don't want to be rude, but I do feel bad for not giving warning. We'll see how it goes.

San Francisco airport

2011-08-29T17:28:00.000-07:00

Leave it to the soup company at the San Francisco airport to have many different options of vegetarian soup in delicious sour dough bread bowls. Thank the good heavens, because I was so hungry on the flight here that I was ready to take down the flight attendant. I was hungry and annoyed with her voice.
I also went to the samosa house in Los Angeles this morning. They we're featured on the best thing I have ever eaten on food network. They were pretty great samosas. And it was a vegetarian/vegan market. Samosas are delicious, vegetarian, but not healthy or all that filling. But at $1.50 a piece they make for an inexpensive snack.
But back to the soup options. I decided to order the southwestern corn chowder in a bread bowl. Absolutely delicious! With big pieces of potatoe and corn, so yummy!! And the bread is amazing! You just can't go wrong with carbs.
I'm going to have to search for a snack for the ride over though. Have you ever eaten pop chips? They're quite good and they don't have too many calories either.

Taco tuesday

2011-08-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

Another taco tuesday has passed... As a vegetarian it does end up being a bit cheaper I guess. I ate earlier in the day though. Scrambled eggs, a chocolate bar, peanut butter, a plum, lasagna, creamed spinach, and chips and salsa. Haha I ended up passing out in a food coma after. But taco Tuesday success comes in the form of margaritas and these were strong!!

Eggplant Parmesan

2011-08-22T17:56:00.000-07:00

This is great, I'm finding so many new ideas for cooking. I used to love cooking when I was vegetarian and then HATED it when I came to college and didn't have a stove to cook on. Back in high school I used to cook brown rice with sauteed onions, green beans, carrots, etc. Or I would make pasta dishes with fresh tomato, basil, and mozzarella. I really enjoyed cooking and having left overs for the next day. I think I'll load up recipes on this blog and then go back through during the school year when I need inspiration!

Back to the Eggplant Parmesan though, this recipe and the dish itself remind me so much of lasagna so it throws me off a little bit, but I might as well try it someday. I like fried eggplant, so we shall see.

Ingredients:
1-2 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
1 egg beaten
2 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
3 cups spaghetti sauce
1/2 package mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried basil

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3. In a 9x13in baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Repeat, ending with the cheese. Sprinkle basil on top
4. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Veggie Burritos

2011-08-22T14:29:00.000-07:00

I see myself eating many veggie burritos in the next week... I had a most amazing one today. Grilled veggies, black beans, rice, cheese, green salsa. mmmm... If I do decide to make them I'll probably forgo the cheese and add avacado or something. Perhaps I'll cook my own spanish rice too.
I'm so sleepy though. Eating big meals makes me tired and that burrito was HUGE!! Yet I still decided to eat the entire thing. Oh well I'm driving a sister to LA later tonight so I'll have time to nap off my meal and then I probably won't have time for dinner, just a snack.

Peach plum cobbler

2011-08-22T12:31:00.000-07:00

I baked a peach plum cobbler last night. totally unhealthy but totally delicious!

It can easily be made vegan, I added milk however because I like milk.

1 peach
1 plum
1/3 cup water
1 cup of sugar, split
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk (soy milk)
4 T margarine (butter)
Brown sugar (optional)
Cinnamon (optional)

Preheat oven to 350
Slice peach and plum and put in sauce pan with water and 1/2 cup of sugar. Let boil for 10 minutes while stirring.
Put butter into baking pan (I used a loaf pan) and place into oven to melt.
Whisk together the remaining sugar, flour, and baking powder. Slowly whisk in milk.
Take pan out of the oven and pour batter into the butter, do not mix!
Spoon fruit on top of the batter and butter, then pour syrup on top.
Sprinkle cinnamon on top and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
Sprinkle on brown sugar and bake for another 10- 15 minutes. Check the cake with a knife or toothpick.
Let cool for 25 minutes.
Enjoy with whipped cream or ice cream. (but I just ate it plain)

Veggie intro

2011-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am going back to being vegetarian. I was a vegetarian in high school and I was vegan for a bit as well. After attending college I started to eat chicken and turkey again. I recently watched the movie food Inc and it has scared me into thinking that Eating meat is a bad thing. I feel like I will eventually become close to vegan once again, but that will come later.

I will be posting random tidbits about vegetarian life and recipes that I find.