Ridiculously Easy Vegetarian Chili

 

This recipe came from CNN correspondent Candy Crowley, who won the veggie division of the annual CNN Chili cook-off. I found it here at Rachael Ray's website. I love that it's simple, has hominy in it, and is vegetarian. The taste was a little lacking, but come on, it's vegetarian. The cheese greatly improves it's taste though. It's the best vegetarian chili I've tasted...

Ridiculously Easy Vegetarian Chili


Ingredients

• 2 28 ounce can  crushed tomatoes
• 2 28 ounce can  hominy, rinsed
• 3 15 ounce can  pinto beans, rinsed
• 1 4 ounce can  chopped green chiles
• 2 small zucchinis, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese, plus more for serving

Directions

• In an 8-quart pot or Dutch oven, combine all of the ingredients except the cheese. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer until the vegetables are soft and the chili has thickened, about 35 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup cheese and serve more on the side.

Mushroom Barley Soup

Soup is always on our menu lately. Why? Because it's cheap and easy to make. We've been trying to watch our food budget lately and I've been trying to step out of my comfort zone and use things I never have used before. I actually had all the ingredients on hand for this soup except mushrooms and pearl barley. I was pleasantly surprised by this hearty soup. It was bursting with flavor, yet was light and filling at the same time. I found the recipe here at $5 Dinners

Mushroom Barley Soup
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp butter or margarine
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 carrot stalks, peeled and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
About 8 oz. of mushrooms, chopped and sliced
 2 cups water
4 cups homemade chicken broth
1 cup pearled barley
2 tsp dried dill
2 tsp fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste



Directions:
1. Add butter or margarine to large saucepan and let it melt.  Saute the chopped onions, diced carrots and garlic.  Once onions become opaque, add in the sliced and/or chopped mushrooms.  Saute for 2-3 minutes.
2. Add water and broth and bring to a boil.  Add the pearled barley, dill, parsley, salt and pepper. (Add cooked chicken or turkey here if you wish!). Reduce heat so the soup cooks at a rolling boil.  Cook for 45 minutes, or until barley has cooked through.  (Note: I used pearled barley, not quick cooking barley.  Follow time directions on package if using quick cook barley!)
3. Serve Mushroom Barley Soup with Rolls and Jam.

Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan

First recipes that makes the list on Perfect Dinner Project is Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan. This recipe comes from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. She has a ton of great recipes on her site and this one will not be the last one I promise. I made this as a vegetarian main course and it was so creamy and yummy!

Toasted Orzo with Peas and Parmesan
Serves 4-6 (as a side dish)

*Be careful when adding the broth to the pan, because it will create a lot of steam.
2 tablespoons butter
1 small onion, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ cups orzo
2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley leaves
Ground black pepper
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving (optional)
Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook, stirring often, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the orzo and cook, stirring often, until most of the grains are golden, about 5 minutes. Carefully stir in the broth and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally until all of the liquid has been absorbed and the orzo is tender, 10 to 12 minutes. (Be careful not to cook at too high of heat at this point because the liquid will evaporate instead of cook the orzo and you’ll be left with undercooked pasta.)
Off the heat, stir in the peas, Parmesan, and parsley and let sit until the peas are warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with the lemon wedges.
Recipe Source: adapted from Cook’s Illustrated Best Skillet Recipes

Here are my results:

Italian Stuffed Zucchini

It's time to use up those ingredients sprouting from the garden! Yay!! So I cook this delicious Italian Stuffed Zucchini one night for the husband. He eats it and really enjoys it. Then he tells me I can never make it again because he doesn't like zucchini, even though it was really good, he just can't get over the fact that it was zucchini. Well...... I told him I WILL be making it again and he WILL like it. I have made it several times since and he has liked it every single time. So there!

Italian Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients:

• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 2 tablespoons Italian-style dried bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
• 2/3 cup frozen burger-style crumbles (I just leave these out)
  

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Slice each zucchini in half lengthwise. Hollow out the zucchini.
3. Place the scraped out zucchini into a medium bowl. Combine zucchini, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, TVP and pasta sauce. Mix well.
4. Place mixture into hollowed out zucchini. Arrange zucchini in a baking dish, sprinkle with mozzarella cheese; bake for 40 minutes.

Here are the results: