italian rice casserole

Italian Night

Having to come home pretty late, I needed to plan something that would be easy and pretty hands-off. I cooked an Italian rice casserole full of vegetables: onion, garlic, pepper, spinach, olives, chickpeas and green beans.

After all the vegetables were chopped and the garlic, onion, chickpeas and peppers were sauteed, there was nothing to do but add the rice, the rest of the vegetables and stock. I baked it for 40 minutes and dinner was on the table without a whole bunch of hassle. The taste was pretty nice, too, so this was a success as far as I was concerned.

Cost Breakdown;

rice: $1

green beans, spinach: $3

olives, onion, garlic: $1

peppers: $2

chickpeas: $2

Total to feed a family of 8:

$9.00

stuffed shells with creamy tomato sauce

Italian Night

I have made stuffed shells before, and the filling is the same spinach-tofu blend I use for the lasagna, but I have never made a creamy tomato sauce.

Outstanding!

The whole pan disappeared in about 15 minutes, not good for the digestion, I'm afraid. The sauce is my regular tomato sauce, but at the end I added a cup of cashew cream (strained) and heated it until it thickened.

Stuffing the shells is the most time-consuming part, so just make sure the under-cooked shell is open all the way (not curled under), before scooping the filling into it using a teaspoon.

You can blend your tomato sauce before pouring it on the shells in case you have a daughter who picks out any vegetable pieces large enough to grasp.

De-licious!

Cost Breakdown:

shells: $2

tomatoes: $3

tofu: $2

spinach: $2

garlic, onion, spices: $1

cashew: $2

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.00

Spinach-Tofu Filling for pastas Recipe

braciole

Food Network Friday Challenge

Tami Noyes, author of American Vegan Kitchen, over at Vegan Appetite blog, challenged us to recreate Anne Burrell's Braciole. Braciole is an American-Italian dish of rolled beef that is stuffed and braised in tomato sauce.

I have seen many variations on this and each time that I do I think - this would be great vegan. Well, here was my chance to make it.

So the obvious question is - where's the beef? Or more to the point, what will replace the beef? While at first I thought a thin slice of seitan would be great, seitan does not bend or roll very easily. The solution of course, is to roll not seitan but gluten (which is raw seitan). I made a gluten using my Firm Seitan recipe. This worked beautifully and the dish turned out super delicious.

The stuffing was rustic bread soaked in rice milk, spinach, pine nuts, onion, garlic and three cheezes - Daiya, Follow Your Heart and Parma! .

The tomato sauce is a simple sauce of onion, garlic, tomatoes, and red wine. During the braising the sauce cooks down to a lovely, rich sauce. My cooking time was 2 hours on 325 degrees, but I think 300 would have been better since there was a slight seitan-y flavor. It was very slight and the tomato sauce covered it well, but a lower temp might help keep the aftertaste even less.

Everyone liked this! I also made a How-To Breakdown of the recipe, so take a gander. 

Cost Breakdown

seitan: $3

spinach, bread, pine nuts: $3

onion, garlic: $2

Daiya, Parma!, Follow Your Heart: $5

kale, orzo: $4

tomatoes: $3.50

Total to feed a family of 6:

$20.50

How-To Breakdown

italian casserole

This meal somehow got moved from its intended night to the next day. Funny how things like this can happen at my home...

This casserole is mostly like a layered potato dish, but without milk or cheese (nondairy, of course). Instead it has fresh tomatoes, olives and an herb paste - garlic, basil, parsley and oregano - topped with fresh bread crumbs.

I have to say that fresh bread crumbs are the way to go - just take a few pieces of bread and grind them in a food processor or blender. It tastes so much better than dried crumbs.

As for the casserole, it was a refreshing dish, with the fresh tomatoes and herbs, but the kids weren't that into it.

It didn't have the big, bold flavors that I expected, but I was still pleased. A bountiful bowl of fresh crisp salad was just the perfect accompaniment to the creamy potatoes.

Cost Breakdown:

potatoes: $2

tomatoes: $2

olives, garlic: $1

herbs: $2

bread: $.25

Total to feed a family of five:

$7.25

grilled vegetable lasagna

Summer is ebbing and my garden is ripening. Cat has been asking for lasagna again, so I granted her wish, although maybe not her vision.

I made this lasagna using grilled vegetables with a grilled eggplant-tomato sauce. I grilled whatever I could for this dish: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, fennel, onions, carrots and garlic. The sauce I made with the eggplants and the tomatoes I grilled and added the other grilled veggies, chopped, into the lasagna.

I made a tofu-ricotta-style filling with fresh basil, grilled garlic, tofu and olive oil. I added the Daiya and Follow your Heart cheezes to satisfy my daughter, but had I made it for just myself I would have skipped it. The irony is that she didn't like it - too many vegetables. The other two scarfed it, though!

This was really good and so satisfying. The summer vegetables were so welcome, knowing that summer is leaving and fall vegetables are arriving in my CSA. Sort of a grand exit, if you will.

Cost Breakdown:

eggplant, pepper, tomato: $9

onion, garlic, carrot, fennel: $3

Daiya and Follow Your Heart: $8

basil, tofu, olive oil: $4

pasta: $2

Total to make 10 servings:

$26.00

pasta puttanesca

We had Italian tonight.

I made Pasta Puttanesca alla Vegan. Literally it means 'pasta of the streetwalker,' to be kind. It is traditionally a salty and tangy dish of olives, tomatoes, anchovy, olive oil and garlic.

I replaced the anchovy with miso (an idea from Bryanna Clark Grogan) and skipped on the olive oil - I am reducing my family's processed fat intake - olive oil included. That does not mean that olives are off the cutting board since olives are a whole food.

I used to be conservative with the processed fat in our diet, moving it completely out of our kitchen, but since I started the blog, I've noticed it has crept back in. I am not opposed to whole fat - nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut - but the processed stuff we can do without.

The pasta is a brown rice spaghetti. This is such a simple, quick and flavorful dish.

 I love it and wish my family received it a little better.

Cost Breakdown:

tomato: $3

pasta: $3

olive, miso, capers: $3

bread: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.00

alfredo primavera

When I was in my twenties, many moons ago, I worked with my brother who was the executive chef of some posh restaurant on the beach in Fort Lauderdale. I told you we have this culinary-curse. We worked long hours and were exhausted. Before we'd leave for home after yet another 14 hour day, he'd always make me Primavera Alfredo. Tons of cream and cheese and some vegetables to honor the 'Primavera' part - summer squash, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli.

I had tried for years to make Alfredo vegan. So many recipes with tofu and soy cheese and soy cream cheese - oh! the variations! No good. Hadn't found a single one that was up to par.

Until the humble cashew. As I've blogged before, nuts are our friends. Nuts are healthy, terribly delicious and marvelously versatile - much like soy. Since soy is something I love but know that, say it with me,...too much of a good thing is not necessarily a good thing, I wanted an alternative. Besides, soy always left a gritty texture in the sauce, unless it was silken and silken tofu and I do not get along. It has an odd flavor that I just can't get past.

On to the Alfredo...easy, creamy and delicious! Just make sure to strain your cashew milk before using it otherwise you will get the same texture as with the tofu - gritty!

Use whatever summer veggies you have (or spring veggies as the name 'Primavera' implies), but if you use eggplant, salt it a little and let it drain for 15 minutes - the eggplant will hold its shape better. Use tomatoes in the sauce cautiously as you are not going for tomato sauce here. In fact, adding them raw at the end is great.

Cost Breakdown:

cashews: $2

nutritional yeast: $.50

summer veg: $5

pasta: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$10.50

lasagna bolognese

I had this scheduled for Sunday Dinner, but we had a guest tonight and she wanted the lasagna - "whatever the guest requests..." is our motto.

This is a favorite of Cat and she is the one who wanted this put on the menu. She likes this one better than the American Lasagna with the tomato sauce.

This is more authentic in that it has a white sauce (bechamel), ground 'meat' and a sprinkle of parm. Although I used Boca for my meat, it is easy to use seitan ground up or even a vegetable - although this I have not been allowed to test yet since I have vegan children who do not like vegetables - ironic, hmm?

The ground meaty sub is cooked for 2 hours on simmer in a creamy broth (this is the bolognese part) and a smooth velvety white sauce tops it in the layers of lasagna noodles. The bolognese sauce, white sauce, noodles and Parma! (a parm sub that is so good for you - having only walnuts (Omega-3 Fatty Acids), nutritional yeast (B12) and sea salt) are the only other components to this lasagna.

This lasagna can be totally soy-free and wheat-free with a proper wheat-free noodle.

It is a hit every time, although I remember the first time making it with some trepidation - it is not a traditional American Lasagna with the tomato sauce and cheese.

Different but just as good, if not better.

Cost Breakdown:
noodles: $3
ground soy: $5
carrot, onion, garlic, herb: $2
cashews: $3
wine and stock: $1
Parma!: $1
Total to make 10 servings:
$15.00

italian-style seitan with linguine

 Italian Night!

When I told my kids we were having Italian-Style Seitan with Linguine, they questioned why the recipe was from 'American Vegan Kitchen.' Kids are way too pragmatic! 

This was a delicious, easy and quick meal to make - thanks, Tami! I love her recipes because they are super simple to make and delicious to eat.

This dish has kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, seitan, greens, mushrooms and red pepper. It was a family hit!

Cost Breakdown:
pasta: $2
red pepper: $2
olives, sun-tomatoes: $3
greens: $3
mushrooms: $2
seitan: $2
Total to feed a family of 6:
$14.00

american lasagna

It is Italian/Pasta Night

This is the best lasagna. Period. Well, maybe Bryanna's Italian Lasagna with Bolognese Sauce is a rival :)

This is not a vegetable lasagna, because my kids' first question after 'What is for dinner?' is "Is there anything weird in it?' Define 'weird' as 'vegetable.' Ahh. Gets old. I do not know how they overlook the fact that the ricotta-style filling has 8 cups of spinach, but I don't care! They love it and as long as there are no odd bits of zucchini or mushrooms to bite into, they are happy. If it was up to me, there would be pieces of zucchini and eggplant and pepper and mushrooms, but, alas, I leave this one alone. For now.

This lasagna is easy to make, and I hope that is not just because I've been making it for over seven years. It has 5 layers of: pasta, spinach-basil tofu filling, ground Boca, Daiya-Follow Your Heart cheeses, homemade pasta sauce. I use Whole Foods No Boil Lasagna noodles, but I've had success using regular lasagna noodles and not pre-cooking them. Just make sure to cover your pan very tightly with foil (doming it a bit so the cheese does not stick to it) and extend the cooking time about 15 minutes. Adding a 2-3 T of water to the bottom of the pan before assembling the lasagna gives extra insurance of it getting cooked properly. 

This has to be one of our more expensive meals, but putting things into perspective, each generous serving is $2.70. You can't even buy a frozen meal for that much.

Cost Breakdown:

noodles: $2

spinach, basil, tofu: $8

Boca: $3

tomatoes: $5

onion, garlic, olive oil: $1

Daiya and Follow Your Heart: $8  

Total for 10 servings:

$27.00

spaghetti

Pasta? Again? Yup.

Daughter Number One picked spaghetti to make for lunch.

Rules of the house:

(1) Kids have to cook one meal a week.

(2) Kids can cook what they want.

 (as long as it isn't caramel apples and such)

So, pasta it is. Besides, Cat knowing how to make a wonderful tomato sauce is not a hardship and in fact is essential - it being one of the mother sauces. Even if it is the second pasta dish in as many meals. In fact, I feel like we are in Italy!

Cost Breakdown:

pasta: $3

tomatoes: $4

onion, garlic, spices: $1

Total to feed a family of 8:

$8.00

pasta with artichokes and peas

Wednesdays are Italian/Pasta Night

Summer and spring elicit such an abundance of fresh vegetables that a simple pasta dish is an absolute must. This dish has artichokes, lemon, peas, sun-dried tomatoes, parsley and pasta. It was fresh, and refreshing and delicious. You can almost taste summer in the dish itself. With simply few ingredients, cooking is also a breeze and quick - fabulous for warm summer nights when being in the kitchen is the last thing on your over-heated mind. 

The kids liked this, too. Too simple not to, really.

Cost Breakdown:

artichokes: $3

sun-tomatoes: $1

parsley and lemon: $.50

pasta: $3

peas: $2

wine: $.50

Total to feed a family of 5:

$10.00 

Pasta with Artichokes and Peas Recipe

pizza night

We had Pizza Night here!

The kids have been asking and since there was en easy pizza crust recipe (besides the Chicago Deep Dish Pizza) in American Vegan Kitchen, my fate was sealed. I rolled the crust thin, baked the pizzas in a super hot oven in a cast iron pan (I don't have a pizza stone), and topped the kids' pizzas with Yves 'pepperoni' and David's and mine with grilled vegetables.  The adult version also has a reduced balsamic vinegar drizzle, adding sweetness and extra flavor. Making it is very easy, just reduce a half cup of balsamic vinegar to half its original volume on medium-high heat. This will eliminate the acidic quality of the vinegar and concentrate its sweetness. BTW, to get the 'pepperoni' to be crisp, pan-fry them in a little olive oil before adding to the pizza.

Cost Breakdown:

crust: $2

Yves: $3

Daiya and Follow Your Heart: $7

vegetables: $3

vinegar: $.50

Total to make 5, 9-inch pizzas:

$15.50

Stuffed-Crust with Yves Pepperoni

Grilled Vegetable with Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

cacciatore

Wednesday is Italian/Pasta Night

On my search for a Food Network recipe a week or so ago, I came across Chicken Cacciatore. It looked good so I put it on the menu. I made my Light Seitan (chicken like), tore it into medium sized pieces and seared them in  a little olive oil. I sauteed mushrooms, onions and peppers, deglazed with red wine, added some vegetable stock and simmered the whole shebang for around 20 minutes. This gave the sauce enough time to establish a wonderful depth and richness. To finish the sauce I added a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and some basil.

Everyone really liked it - peppers and all. I served it over pasta and with a green salad. Very Italian! Delizioso!

Cost Breakdown:
seitan: $2
onion, pepper, garlic, mushroom: $4
red wine and veg broth: $1
pasta: $2
salad: $3
Total to feed a family of 5:
$12.00

baked pasta with rapini and shitaki

As I was perusing the Food Network for research, I came across an Ina Garten recipe for baked pasta. She used 6 T of butter, 3 c of cream and several different varieties of cheeses. Except for the quantity of fat and cholesterol, the dish sounded good. Veganizing it was easy and cutting the fat was a breeze. The dish doesn't really look that photogenic, but it is fabulous! Crunchy on the top because the pasta was baked for 10 minutes, but creamy on the inside. So good.

 I subbed whole wheat pasta for the macaroni, used rapini instead of radicchio as well as switching everything out but the sage and shitaki. The kids thought the rapini was too bitter (nothing new there), although ate pretty much everything else. Whatever wasn't eaten by the kids was taken care of by David who volunteered to be the human food-disposal tonight.

Cost Breakdown:

cashews and Earth Balance: $2

rapini: $3

shitaki: $3

pasta: $3

sage: $1

nutritional yeast, Follow/Heart, Daiya: $4

Total to feed a family of 5 + Dad's lunch:

$16.00

(Food TV recipes tend to be expensive, it seems.)

raw eggplant manicotti

I have decided to serve one meal a week...raw. Now if you are an adult, it may sounds intriguing, even adventurous; but, if you are a kid, not so much. Or if you are my husband. Once a year, he says, is more than enough. Unfortunately for my family, the raw meal stays. At least for now. If they start withering away, I'll reevaluate.

Tonight I made a raw eggplant manicotti. 'Cooking' raw is actually quite easy and uncomplicated, as long as a plan is in place. The eggplant needed a few hours to marinate and a few hours to dehydrate. Dinner was actually ready on time.

I totally dug this dish, but my family collectively thought otherwise.

Baby steps.

Cost Breakdown:

eggplant: $2

sun-tom: $2

tomato: $2

nuts: $4

lemon: $.50

spices, herbs and oive oil: $4

Total to feed Mom thrice and Dad once:

$14.50

Raw Eggplant Manicotti Recipe

italian stuffed pita

Kate made today's lunch. And boy did she make a great lunch! She sauteed some onions, peppers, garlic and tomatoes. She added red beans and olives and seasoned it with marjoram and basil. She wanted to add some Daiya, so she put about 3 T of it in the mix as well. It was stuffed into small pita pockets and backed for 15 minutes. She also made some Ranch dressing to dip her carrot sticks in. The pockets were creamy with a delightful crispness afforded by baking the pita.

Cost breakdown:

pita: $.50

beans: $2

Daiya: $.75

onion, tomato, garlic, pepper: $2

olives: $.50

carrots: $1

Total for 5 sandwiches:

$6.75

artichoke and sun-dried tomato italian easter pie with herbed crust

This is my version of the classic Italian Easter Pie. 

This is a meal that is typically served on holidays. I can almost understand why: there are a dozen reasons. Because I did not use the DOZEN eggs most recipes I looked at called for, I needed to up the ingredients, and therefore I wound up enhancing the flavor. I put artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, sausage and homemade tofu ricotta in there. The crust was a snap to make, using the food processor, and I added a teaspoon each of oregano and basil to it. It came out flaky and crispy and oh, so delicious.

I am not a fan of bland, so I am glad this turned out so wonderful.

Cost Breakdown:

crust: $1

sausage: $1

artichoke and spinach: $3

onion, seasoning, garlic: $1

tofu, lemon, almond: $3

salad: $3

Total to feed a family of 5:

$12.00

ITALIAN EASTER PIE PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE

chicago deep dish pizza

Visions of Uno's and Lou Malnati's Pizza has been dancing in my head.

And now on my palate as well.

American Vegan Kitchen by Tamasin Noyen has a pretty authentic recipe (minus the spinach), complete with the sausage (also in the cookbook, and also an easy recipe),  tomato sauce (can it really be called that, it just being drained, seasoned tomatoes?), and dough. The dough, which I popped into my bread machine and forgot about it until it was ready, turned out golden brown and crunchy - no soggy dough here! 

I'll stop raving now, but I do admit pizza is one of my old-time faves.

Suffice it to say everyone loved it.

Ahh.

Cost Breakdown:
1/2 Daiya, 1/2 Follow Your Heart: $5
Can of Eden tomato: $2.50
Homemade crust and seasonings: $1
Homemade seitan: $1
Salad: $3
Total to feed a family of 5:
$12.50

A FIVE Star Dish!

classic pesto

Mikel cooked lunch today. If I didn't know any better, I'd think he was Italian, having chosen most of last week's Italian dishes. His choice for today is no exception: Pesto.

Pesto is one of those super fabulous sauces that is easy to make, store, and cook with. Not to mention tasty.

The pesto used today was made late last week because I did not want the basil to go bad. In addition to the basil, I also add some dark leafy greens. Covered with some olive oil, it can keep for a long time. Oh, did I mention it is heavenly? Mikel used a brown rice pasta to go with his pesto, and his sister slathered some on a whole grain bread and toasted it.