Spaghetti Squash Italian Bake

After a weekend full of Thanksgiving carb overload, I was craving something low carb, but still with that classic comfort food feel.  I have experimented with spaghetti squash in the past, and wasn't a huge fan. After my disappointing dinner, many people told me I should try the fruit with tomato sauce. That's when I had the idea to go a little further. What if I combined baked ziti and spaghetti squash? It could be healthy and low carb, but also flavorful and comforting. Time to get to the laboratory I call a kitchen.



What you need:



2 Medium to large spaghetti squashes
1 Jar of tomato sauce
2 Cups of shredded mozzarella cheese
Red peppers
Oregano

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 375.
Puncture a few holes in the squash, and pop in the oven for an hour.
Once they are done cooking, cut them in half and let them cool for about 20 minutes.
Remove and dispose of the seeds.
Using a fork, scrape out the meat of the squash. It should look stringy like spaghetti.
Mix the squash and the tomato sauce in a baking pan.



Sprinkle on the red peppers and oregano to taste, then top with cheese.
Bake at 375 for 20 minutes, then broil for 2 minutes.












Ding, ding ding, we have a winner! Everyone was right, spaghetti squash is way better with tomato sauce. It had a bit of a crunch, unlike pasta, but it had a nice mild flavor, and was less bitter than my first try. The sauce was flavorful and delicious, and the added oregano gave if that extra pop of Italian flavor. There was just a hint of added spice from the red peppers. The cheese was perfectly cooked on top, gooey and chewy. This meal was simple and delicious, and definitely brought me to the spaghetti squash side!

What do you think of spaghetti squash? Will you try this baked ziti inspired spaghetti squash Italian bake?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Chanukkah Noshings

Happy Chanukkah everyone! Tonight, at sunset, will mark the first night of Chanukkah.  I thought it would be only appropriate to talk a little bit about the classic holiday foods.  As I mentioned, for Thanksgiving this year I opted to make latkes, but why are latkes a Chanukkah staple? And what other foods are we supposed to eat for Chanukkah?

The story of Chanukkah.

Now, I'm not fully caught up in all the deets of the Chanukkah story, but I'll give you what I know. There was some kind of war going on and the Jews were being oppressed (I don't know if that's fact, but most Jewish tales start with us being oppressed). We weren't doing so good, until this guy named Judah joined the fight. We started kicking ass and taking names.  Then Judah and his people went to Jerusalem and all kinds of terrible things were going down. They found a little bit of oil in the big mess and Macgyver'ed a menorah. They only had enough oil to burn for one night, but low and behold the miracle of Chanukkah, and the menorah burned for eight nights. Time to eat.

The significance of the oil.

As is says in the story, there was only enough oil to burn for one night, but it miraculously burned for eight.  To celebrate this we light a candle every night, for eight nights, during Chanukkah. Oil is an important symbol of the holiday, which means food. Because when you are Jewish, everything means food.

The foods of Chanukkah.

Since oil is the basis of the holiday, we eat fried foods as part of the celebration.  The most common are latkes and donuts.

Latkes.


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My favorite Chanukkah food are latkes, or potato pancakes, which are shredded potatoes and onions shaped into a pancake and fried. The best way to eat them is with a dollop of apple sauce. They are crunchy on the outside, soft inside, and full of potato and flavor.  I could enjoy latkes any time of year, but I will be cooking them for Chanukkah this weekend.

Sufganiyah.


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Sufganiya, a Hebrew word, meaning sponge, is what jelly donuts are called on Chanukkah.  These are made from two circles of dough, filled with jelly, then smooshed together and..say it with me..fried in oil.  These are sweet, soft, sticky and a perfect dessert on a cold winter night.

I am excited to celebrate Chanukkah this year, along side Thanksgiving.  With all the classic Thanksgiving foods, plus mix in these delicious Chanukkah foods, I will surely be gaining weight. Luckily I can get all my eating done in one dinner, so I can start my diet on November 29th.

I hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Chanukkah and food. And if you already knew all of this, I hope it just made you really hungry, and really excited for tonight!

Happy Chanukkah and bye from the Veggie Side!

Garlic Roasted Butternut Squash

I love everything about the fall. The weather, the food, and of course the holidays.  While my birthday and Halloween rank supreme, I can't forget about Thanksgiving.  Now, I see how it can be hypocritical for a vegetarian to celebrate Thanksgiving.  The whole day is based around a big, dead, bird. Don't get me wrong, I get filled with rage when people call the holiday "Turkey day", because this day shouldn't be all about the turkey.  To me, its a day I get to spend with family doing what I love; cooking and eating.

On the menu for Thanksgivng dinner this year will be roasted broccoli, stuffing, pumpkin pie, vegetarian meat loaf, apple dumplings, latkes, and garlic roasted butternut squash.  You might be asking "what about your mashed potatoes???" I have made my famous potatoes for Thanksgiving every year, but I opted to make latkes as my potato this year.  Chankukkah falls during Thanksgiving this year, and I thought it would be nice to have a little Chanukkah food for my family's Thanksgiving/Chanukkah hybrid celebration dinner.



Recipe: Oh She Glows

What you need:



3 1/2 pounds of pealed and cubed butternut squash
Fresh, minced parsley
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
Salt & Pepper

What to do:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Combine squash, parsley, oil, garlic, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
Mix thoroughly, until all the squash is covered in oil.
Bake in an uncovered dish for 50-55 minutes.













YUM! These were incredible. They were crisp on the outside, and soft and creamy inside. Butternut squash has a naturally mild sweet flavor, which tasted great with the opposing salty flavors. I just love sweet and salty together! The garlic gave it a great taste and made this dish unmistakably savory. I can't wait to make one of my favorite fall fruits again for thanksgiving.

Just a word of warning: research how to peel a butternut squash before you go into this.  I just picked up a knife without knowing what I was doing and it took me 45 minutes to peel.  Ben watched a video on peeling butternut squashes when he made his own, and it look him 10 minutes to peel. Or you can be super lazy and buy it pre-peeled!

What are you going to make for Thanksgiving this year?  Will you be making this butternut squash?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Greek Beet Salad

I have had a strange relationship with beets over the years.  I used to hate them, or at least I thought I did.  They probably just weirded me out so I didn't want to try them (which is why I have never tried bamboo).  They looked squishy and are a weird color, and I was just so grossed out, even though I actually didn't even know what they tasted like.  All I knew is that they were the favorite food of Quailman.


source.

I remember the first time I tried beets was in Disney World.  My dad and I had lunch at The Land pavilion, and I got a salad that had beets in it.  I nibbled and picked around them, but I wasn't all that impressed.  After that, I decided that I was determined to try them for real.

Back in October, while visiting home, my dad and I went to our favorite Greek restaurant for dinner.  They had a beet and skordalia salad, and with some reassurance of its deliciousness from my dad, I took the plunge and ordered it. It was amazing! I had instantly become a beet lover.



Ever since that dinner, I could not stop thinking about beets. Lucky for me, last week Ben pointed out that our super market was having a really great sale on canned beets. Without thinking I grabbed two cans right away. (Maybe I should have thought more, because I got one can of whole beets, and one can of sliced. Oh well.)

Since my beet defining moment was Greek, I decided to make my own version of a Greek Beet Salad.

What you need:



2 Cans of beets
1 Bag of salad
Feta cheese
1 Can of chickpeas
Greek dressing

What to do:
Mix the beets, salad, chickpeas in a large salad bowl.


OMG look at the color on the feta cheese!

Add in the feta cheese, either sliced, cubed, or crumbled.
Mix in the Greek dressing.











First off, I want to say how incredible the color is.  Everything became a gorgeous, bright fuchsia color. It instantly made this fun to eat!  I just loved biting into these beets. They have a sweet and earthy taste with an indescribable texture.  The dressing was tart from the vinegar, and super flavorful from all the different spices. The feta was strong and salty, as always, and gave the salad that unmistakable Greek flavor. The chickpeas added a nice flavor, and also gave this meal a kick of protein.  This salad was so good and I was really happy that I got to enjoy more beets. I can't wait to see what else I can create with nature's candy.

What foods have you been too scared to try? Do you love beets as much as I do?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Crock Pot Quinoa & Veggies

Recently, Ben got us a crock pot, which as opened my mind to looking for a whole new set of recipes. While scoping out Pinterest like usual, I would spot lots of slow cooker ideas, and just toss them aside since I didn't have the means to cook them.  I wish I had saved them because now I find myself searching for ideas.  I found this recipe for quinoa and veggies which gave me two firsts to try out: cooking in the crock pot, and cooking quinoa.



I have heard wonderful things about the super food, but have only a little bit of experience with quinoa.  I have only eaten it twice, and I have never cooked it.  Finding a recipe to make quinoa in the crock pot inspired me to try it.  I was always a little unsure about cooking it myself, but if it could be as easy as dumping it in a crock pot, I thought I should be brave enough to try it.

What you need:



2 cups of quinoa
4 cups of veggie broth
1 tablespoon olive oil
About 5 cloves of garlic, minced
About 2 cups of your favorite veggies (I used broccoli, peas, and carrots)
Basil
Pepper

What to do:
Put your quinoa into the crock pot.
Stir in olive oil.
Mix in the veggie broth, veggies, pepper, and garlic.



Cover and cook for about 4 hours.



Once quinoa is done cooking, fluff it with a fork.
Serve hot topped with some basil.





Then I decided to get fancy.





The quinoa had a mild but grainy taste with a nice texture which gave this meal a nice bite. The broth added the perfect mix of flavors, a little vegetabley and a little salty. I love that this lets you add whatever veggies you want. Its really customizable! The only thing I wish came out differently were the carrots, they were just a bit under cooked.  The basil was so fragrant, and went well with the garlic.  I felt like I was eating fancy food from an elegant restaurant, plus it was super healthy and vegan. I can't wait to make this again!

What is your favorite crock pot meal? How else do you like to make quinoa?

Bye from the veggie side!

Crescent Rolls - Pesto & Broccoli

As per the name of this blog, simple, easy, and vegetarian is the name of the game when I'm choosing what to make for dinner.  And now that I buy my own food, "budget" is another word I have added to my food vocabulary.  I have always been intrigued by the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls commercials where they get a little creative with the rolls.  Its been a while since I last made stuffed crescents, and with frozen veggies, and crescent rolls, on sale, it was time to get cooking!



What you need:



The best part about these is that you can fill them up with any of your favorite combination of things. I used two tube of crescent rolls, pesto, broccoli and mozzarella cheese.

What to do:
Preheat the oven according to the directions on your crescent rolls.
Lay out the dough and fill them with your favorite things!



Roll them up. I like to wrap the sides in to keep all the ingredients inside the rolls.
Pop them in the oven and bake according to the directions on the rolls.











To me, pesto and broccoli is one of those perfect combinations, like chocolate and peanut butter, or tomato and basil, you just can't go wrong. The cheese was so melty, which is my favorite way to eat cheese. The pesto had lots of great flavor, while the broccoli added a nice crunch. The rolls were nice and crispy on the outside, and soft and flaky inside. Oh crescent rolls, you have produced another winner!

Have you have stuffed crescent rolls? What ingredients should I use next?

Bye from the Veggie Side!

Sausage on a Bun

Now that I go grocery shopping for myself, I have discovered lots of gems that I never knew existed. There are so many awesome foods tucked away and I want to try them all.  Sadly, they are usually on the pricier side, but that doesn't stop me from indulging once in a while (plus I feel like I deserve it after buying 77 cent pasta).  I am often buying foods in the small soy section of the supermarket, and while I usually just stick with tofu and soy crumbles, they have lots of other foods that I would love to try.  I saw a package of Lightlife Smart Sausages Italian Style, and my mind instantly wandered as I tried to figure out all the ways I wanted to eat them.



I decided to go with sausage on a bun sandwhiches.  I have seen Ben make them before, so I turned to my resident meat-eater to figure out what else to put on the sandwich. I had to ask Ben what people eat with sausages, because I honestly didn't know! He said usually peppers or onions...both of which I'm not a fan of. After thinking a while I decided on sauteed spinach. I thought it was kind of like onions and peppers...right?

I love sauteed spinach, its so easy and fast to whip up, and its a great way to use up the not-so-fresh spinach you might have left over.



All you need is spinach, a little olive oil, a couple cloves of garlic, and some salt & pepper.

Heat up the oil in a pan over medium heat, add in the garlic and spinach. Saute until spinach wilts.



Then I cooked my sausage according to the directions on the package, put it on a bun with the spinach, and topped with mustard.





I ate my sausage on a bun with a side of potato chips, for that All-American cookout effect.





The sausage itself had a nice texture, and a mild, meaty flavor filled with Italian spices.  The flavor of the sausage went really well with the garlicy spinach. The garlic complimented the sausage and the spinach added a great veggie flavor.  Everything was tied together with a nice, toasty, crunchy bun and a bit of mustard for some heat. This meal actually made me happy. It was so good and I loved trying something new!

Have you tried these Lightlife Italian Style Smart Sausages? What is your favorite thing to add to a sausage on a bun?

Bye from the Veggie Side!