Big Mac Salad

 This was pretty darn good. I made it as a jarred salad. I am trying to eat more beef these days because I am low on iron and protein, but this could probably be made with fork-mashed chick peas instead or maybe tofu crumbles for vegetarians but it wouldn’t be as good. 

Adapted From :  https://www.wholesomeyum.com/recipes/big-mac-salad-cheeseburger-salad-low-carb-gluten-free/

In each jar add: 

- 2T. Big Mac sauce (I used this recipe for 3 jars but might try another one with ketchup next time:

DRESSING:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise 
• 2 tbsp dill pickles, diced
• 2 tsp mustard
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika 
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar 

- 2/3 cup ground beef cooked with salt, pepper and chili flakes

- 1/4 c. Shredded cheddar cheese (I use extra sharp or extra old) 

- 1 T. Minced white onion (maybe try more onion next time I couldn't really taste it)

- 1/3 cup minced or small dice dill pickle 

- 1/2 c. Diced tomato 

- fill with chopped lettuce (I used romaine) 

- add sesame seeds (I didn’t do this but should make it more Big Mac-y) 

Vegetarian tofu rice paper dumplings

 These are really good and not as difficult to make as they seem. 

Vegetarian tofu rice paper dumplings

(makes 9 dumplings, not quite a dinner amount for 4) 

From Tiktok:

Ingredients:

 SAUCE:

- 4 T. soy sauce

- 1.5 T. rice vinegar

- 1 t. sesame oil

- 1 clove garlic, grated

- 1 t. ginger, grated 

- 2 scallions or green onions, sliced

- sesame seeds

- add sirraccha or chili flakes if you want it spicy

 

DUMPLINGS

- 1/2 block firm tofu, shredded

- 1 large carrot, peeled and shredded

- 1/4 head cabbage, sliced thin and chopped into lengths or shredded (these measures approx -- try to get roughly even amounts of tofu, carrot and cabbage)

- 1 garlic clove, minced

- 18 rice papers 

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Mix  sauce ingredients together in a bowl

2. fry veggies up in a pan with a little oil until cooked down. Near the end, add in some of the sauce to taste and cook it down -- I think I ended up adding 5 teaspoons or so? 

3. dip rice paper wrappers in warm water, put 1 heaping tablespoon of filling in the center of each one and fold over the edges: bottom, top, left, right. Then dip one more rice paper wrapper and wrap it again, making sure the folds are on the opposite side. 

4. In your frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add your dumplings and fry until crisp. serve with more of the dipping sauce to dip into.

classic rice pudding

The original made such a tiny amount I am doubling it here. 

Classic Rice Pudding

INGREDIENTS

-- 2 large eggs

-- 1/2 C. white or light brown sugar

-- 1 t. vanilla extract

-- 1/4 t. cinnamon (optional)

-- 4 cups whole milk

-- 1 cup heavy whipping cream

-- 2/3 c. short grain white rice (I used arborio)

-- pinch of salt 

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Whisk together the egg, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon if using in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Add the milk, cream, rice, and salt to a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. 

3. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20-25 minutes. Stir frequently to keep the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

4. Slowly add about half a cup of the hot rice mixture to the egg mixture, whisking quickly, to temper the egg mixture.

5. Add the egg mixture to the saucepan with the remaining rice mixture. Stir everything together and continue heating on low heat for about another 5-10 minutes or until thickened. Don't boil. It will thicken quickly. Keep in mind that the mixture will continue to thicken as it cools, so you don't want it to be too thick before you take it off the heat. a touch soupy is still OK. 

6. Remove from heat and serve warm. 

Corn Dog Muffins

 One of the few things my picky kids will reliably eat for lunch. I make them with vegetarian hot dogs

Ingredients

- 1 cup yellow cornmeal (I like medium ground)

- 1 cup all purpose flour

- 1/4 cup white sugar

- 4 t. baking powder

- 1/4 t. salt

- 1/8 t. black pepper

- 1 cup milk

- 1 egg, beaten

- 8 hot dogs (veggie or meat)

 Instructions

- preheat oven to 350,  butter 12-muffin tin

- Mix dry ingredients into a bowl, stir

- add in milk and beaten egg, stir as little as possible to moisten batter

- cut hot dogs up into coins, mix them into the batter

- pour into greased muffin tin, bake 18 minutes or until brown on top and skewer poked in them comes out clean.

fettucini alfredo

 SO this is easy to make and my kids liked it. I added peas but you can add chicken, shrimp, spinach, etc.

INGREDIENTS

- 3 T. butter

- 3 cloves of garlic, minced

- 2 cups half and half or heavy cream

- 1/2 t. salt

- ground black pepper

- pinch cayenne

- pinch nutmeg

- 1 egg yolk (optional)

 - 1 pound pasta

 

INSTRUCTIONS

- melt butter in a pan, cook garlic 1 minute or until fragrant

- add in cream and spices, heat until small bubbles form around the edge but don't let the sauce boil or it will separate! Cook like that for a few minutes or until thicker

- if desired, whisk in one egg yolk to thicken and enrich the sauce

- serve over 1 pound boiled pasta, 

Pasta salad for picky kids

Oh my god my kids are so picky. they say they don't like beans, eggs, or cheese -- and they are vegetarian!! I made this salad today and only one kid cried so that is a success I guess.

Pasta Salad for picky vegetarian kids

-- 1/2 block tofu

-- 1.5 cups pasta

-- 3 small cucumbers, diced

-- 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped

-- 1 tomato, diced

-- 1 small can sliced black olives, drained

-- 1 inch chunk feta cheese

-- 1/2 lemon

-- oil

1. Boil the pasta in salted water. While the pasta is boiling cut the tofu into squares and fry it lightly in oil. 

2. When the pasta is soft drain and rinse in cold water. Mix with fried tofu, vegetables, and crumble the cheese on top. Drizzle with oil and add the juice of the half lemon. Mix and add salt and pepper to taste. 

3. Give to kids and hope they don't cry

vegetarian bolognese

This turned out really well! I like that it used lots of vegetables and had a similar texture to it as real bolognese. Mincing them using the mini food processor saves a lot of time and helps the texture turn out so nicely. IMO This is better than the other veggie bolognese recipe on here. Serve with garlic bread, of course

Best Vegetarian Bolognese Sauce

adapted from Build Your Bite

Ingredients:

• 7 oz sliced baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and patted dry
• 2 celery stalks, ends cut off and cut into 3 pieces each
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3 sections each
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 28 oz can of tomatoes, any kind you like
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar (if desired)
  
• 1 lb Spaghetti, for serving

Instructions: 

1. Add baby bella mushrooms to a food processor and either pulse or shred, until minced
2. Transfer mushrooms to a large skillet or dutch oven
3. Add celery chunks, carrot chunks, garlic cloves, and onion pieces to the food processor and pulse/shred
4. Add the celery/carrot/garlic/onion mixture to the mushrooms in the pan
5. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper to the vegetables
6. Turn the burner on medium high heat and sautee vegetables for 25-30 minutes, stirring often, until vegetables cook down and most of the liquid evaporates
7. Puree canned tomatoes in the food processor until smooth
8. Add the pureed tomatoes to the vegetables along with the basil, oregano, and sugar
9. simmer sauce 10 minutes or so until it seems done.
   
10. Taste and add any seasonings if necessary (if it tastes too acidic, add a little more sugar as necessary)
11. Heat until hot throughout, then serve
12. Serve over spaghetti and topped with parmesan cheese, if desired