Tag: meatless monday

Potato Eggplant Pancakes Recipe – Meatless Monday

Yesterday, I made some fantastic yummy potato eggplant pancakes for dinner. I don’t always go meatless on Meatless Monday, but we do try to eat meatless one or two dinners per week.

The main flavor in these pancakes was obviously potato, I purposely used less eggplant because DH isn’t a fan. I wanted to ease him into it. Next time, I will include more eggplant – maybe two smaller ones. I love using the smaller sized ones because there are virtually no seeds, and the peel is tender.

These pancakes are really a snap to cook, because the vegetables are roasted ahead of time. Roasted vegetables bring such a wonderful flavor and you can substitute different vegetables in many combinations. Carrots, potatoes, onions. Or how about zucchini, leeks, cauliflower. The possibilities are endless!

Ingredients for Potato Eggplant Pancakes

4-5 small/medium potatoes, quartered
1 small eggplant, halved
1 onion, quartered
olive oil
salt & freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
Optional-coconut oil or more olive oil for pan frying (not deep frying)

  1. In baking dish, arrange potatoes, eggplant and onions together and drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt & freshly ground black pepper.
  2. Roast vegetables in 350F oven. I like a lower heat, because I have a smaller countertop sized convection oven. It heats up quickly. Others roast vegetables at 400F. Choice is yours!
  3. Once vegetables are fork tender, allow to cool for a few minutes, then pour them into food processor. Pulse a few times, then process until fairly chopped and combined.
  4. Transfer veggies into large bowl, add eggs and flour, and mix until combined.
  5. Using a cast iron pan (or if you prefer non-stick), pour 1 tsp coconut oil and allow to heat. Spoon pancake mixture into pan. I like making two smaller pancakes. You can make one larger pancake.
  6. Add 1 tsp oil for each batch. You also might need to wipe out pan if necessary.
  7. Serve with salad. 2-3 small pancakes for each person, with leftovers for lunch next day!

These pancakes really were delicious, and DH thought so too, despite that dreaded eggplant was a hidden ingredient! I will for sure make them again!

Swiss Chard Ricotta Egg Pie (Frittata) Recipe

I found an inspiring recipe over on Kalyn’s Kitchen for ; I had some yummy swiss chard greens from this week’s CSA share, and I knew it would be a great substitution for the kale.

swiss chard ricotta egg pie

Recipe Ingredients

1 large bunch of swiss chard or other hearty greens (kale, spinach, arugula, turnip/radish greens, etc)
8 oz fresh ricotta cheese – I used whole milk ricotta, but to save calories, part skim might be preferred.
1 – 2 oz grated cheese – cheddar, Parmesan, Pecorino, whatever you have on hand.
1 cup eggs, beaten. I used 5 extra large eggs, but the original recipe called for 6 large
kosher salt & freshly-ground black pepper to taste

Recipe Instructions:

2-4 servings depending on how hungry you are! We turned what was originally thought to be four into just two servings for us.

  1. Preheat oven to 375F.
  2. Wash swiss chard leaves, pull/cut off ribs, then coarsely chop and quickly steam in a shallow saucepan or fry pan. About 1-3 minutes.
  3. Use a little coconut or olive oil to grease the bottom and sides of a baking dish. I used a large round quiche pan. Kalyn’s original recipe suggested to use a spring form pan. Any type of glass or ceramic baking dish would be fine.
  4. Line bottom of baking dish with steamed swiss chard or greens.
  5. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, grated cheese, and salt/pepper.
  6. In separate bowl, beat eggs, then blend into the cheese mixture. It’s lumpy, so don’t be alarmed.
  7. Pour egg/cheese mixture over swiss chard greens in baking dish.
  8. Bake for about 20-40 minutes, maybe longer depending on the depth of your pie. The original recipe called for 40 minutes, but her pie was much thicker.
  9. Allow to cool and enjoy! Serve with a small salad or even veggie soup. Great for Meatless Mondays!

Recipe Notes:

  • Farm fresh ricotta is always the best choice before a grocery brand. It tastes like cream! I like Maplebrook Farms from Vermont…they also make fresh mozzarella cheese.
  • We also received 2 very small corn on the cob in the CSA share this week. I figured instead of boiling them, I’d add some freshly cut corn off the cob. Well, because there was such a small amount, the corn really didn’t add anything special to the dish, so I left it out of my recipe here.
  • I would have loved to add a sprinkling of freshly grated nutmeg into the cheese mixture, but since my microplane grater/zester had soft cheese all over it, I couldn’t grate the nutmeg. Next time, I’ll grate the nutmeg first.
  • Leeks and tomatoes would also make a great addition! Hmm, like sliced tomatoes placed on top before baking! Yum.

swiss chard ricotta egg pie

Nutritional Data

Use the nutritional data as a guide; the info is not absolute, your results might vary considerably depending on the total weight of the finished dish.

Calories: 456
Fat: 33.6g
Saturated: 17g
Polyunsaturated: 2g
Monounsaturated: 9g
Trans: 0
Cholesterol: 591.7mg
Sodium: 716.7mg
Potassium: 532mg
Total Carbs: 7g
Fiber: 1g
Sugar: 1.7g
Protein: 33.5g
Vit A: 76%
Vit C: 13%
Calcium: 44.4%
Iron: 20%

Meatless Monday: Cabbage Mango Salad with Caramelized Onion Crostini

I sometimes find Meatless Monday dinners are more delicious than meals with meat! Tonight, was one of those nights.

I made a big batch of cabbage mango salad with roasted pumpkin seeds along with scrumptious yummy caramelized onion crostini.

I love cabbage! In the cooler months, I always try to keep it in the fridge for salads. It’s inexpensive (so much less than lettuce, when it’s out of season) and it’s packed with nutrients, especially cancer fighting anti-oxidents & anti-inflammatory properties.

Mango was on sale this week at Whole Foods, and I still had one left this afternoon, so I googled cabbage mango salad, and found that they do pair well together! You wouldn’t think it, would you?

Here’s my recipe:

Cabbage Mango Salad

cabbage mango salad with roasted pumpkin seeds and onions

Mix the following ingredients together in a large bowl:

  • 1/2 head of Cabbage, chopped into small chunks
  • 1 Mango, peeled and chopped
  • 1/2 Onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup roasted pumpkin, or other favorite nut or seed
  • 3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

I made enough for our dinner plus lunch tomorrow, along with probably another

Caramelized Onion Crostini

caramelized onion crostini with cheddar & roasted garlic.

First caramelize the onions. It takes about 20-30 minutes. You might end up with extra onions; they are still tasty as leftovers. Add to other recipes like tomato sauce, brown rice, or soups.

  1. Starting on medium heat, add 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil and 2-3 thinly sliced onions to heated saute pan.
  2. Stirring occasionally, let the onions brown a bit; turn down the stove temp to low, and cook for 15-20 minutes.
  3. When onions are golden brown and yummy, splash on 2-3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar and cook for a few more minutes.
  4. If bottom of pan is crusty and browned, add a touch of wine or water, and scrape up the bits at the bottom of the pan.

Time for the crostini.

  1. Toast a few slices of whole grain bread in the oven.
  2. Once toasted, remove the bread, and top with your favorites. I smeared on a few cloves of roasted garlic, then topped with an aged Grafton Village cheddar cheese and a scoop of caramelized onion.
  3. Put bread back in oven and broil for a minute or two until the cheese is melted.

Once summer arrives, sliced fresh tomatoes make a wonderful addition, as do sliced olives and chopped basil leaves. I also love to experiment with other cheeses like Pecorino, Manchego, fresh Ricotta, and Mozzarella.

Enjoy! I thoroughly did!

Meatless Dinners

It’s funny. Growing up in a Catholic family, we used to have meatless Fridays, and not just during Lent either. We were allowed to eat fish, rumor has it the pope back in the day, allowed fish because he wanted to help out the Italian fishing community. Who knows!

Either way, I always dreaded that rule. I disapproved of a church telling me what to eat or what not to eat on any given day. It was so old fashioned and UNCOOL!

Now it’s become COOL to eat vegetarian one or two days a week! It’s so funny how things have changed! Go meatless for the earth, but not for religion!

We try to eat meatless for dinner once or twice a week. I think tonight, I’ll make some pizza. I usually buy premade naan or flatbread, but hmm, do I dare making the dough myself tonight? Let’s see!

Meatless Monday – Quinoa Pasta with Tomato Puttanesca Sauce

Meatless Monday - quinoa pasta with tomato puttanesca sauce

We went meatless tonight (with a little bit of dairy) by eating a satisfying plate of quinoa pasta topped with tomato puttanesca sauce. I included some lovely kousa squash in the sauce, which was part of our CSA vegetable share this week. It’s a summer squash similar to zucchini.

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