Monday, September 26, 2016

Spaghetti Squash Pizza Pie

Oh my word, my dog just swiped her paws across my keyboard and erased this whole post.

So, here goes again:

I have lost so many of my new creations because I forget to blog them.  Blaming it on the start of the school year and a busy summer before that.  We are mostly vegetarian now so I've had to get creative in a lot of ways.  Anyhoo...

1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked however you like(I roasted mine) and cool enough to handle
1 smaller(maybe 12-14 oz?) jar of roasted red peppers, drained
3 large eggs
various Italian seasonings to taste, including fennel, garlic & onion powders, and Italian seasoning blend, salt, and pepper.
1 smaller container full-fat cottage cheese(I like the large curd)
1/4 cup gluten free baking mix(or flour, I just happened to have the gf stuff)
1 scant cup shredded mozzarella(big, giant handful, close enough)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast, or parmesan cheese

Combine peppers, seasonings, and eggs in an old, quart-sized, Mason jar or pitcher of a blender and blend thoroughly.  My blender happens to fit Mason jars and I love using them to blend up smaller batches of things.  Shred the spaghetti squash into a large mixing bowl, add the pepper mixture and the cheeses and mix well.  Pour into an oiled casserole dish, 9x13, 8x12, doesn't matter I don't think, and bake for as long as it takes to cook it.  I cook in a toaster/convection oven and that is way different from a regular oven.  I'm guessing 30-35 minutes.

We are veggie-tarians so I didn't add meat, plus it is 7pm and we're hungry, so the ingredients are quite simple.  Adding veggie crumbles(ground meat type) or chopped up pepperonis or bacon or ham, or whatever meats you want, black olives, etc., would be awesome in this!  Now, I have not tested this but wanted to get it written down before a dog destroys it again, or I forget.  I will add an edit to let yall know how it goes.

EDIT:  I baked it about 45 minutes to get it to set and there is a TON of it!!  This is so very tasty, will definitely be in the monthly rotation.  It is good comfort food and would probably be better with the additions I suggested or even shrimp, spinach, or some other greens veggie(broccoli might be too strong though).  I actually made this for us to take to school for lunch, I imagine it will be even better reheated!

Wednesday, March 30, 2016

Vegan Stuffed Peppers(cheater style)







These are so easy and vegan unless you use dairy cheese to finish the top(we did).

5 largish red bell peppers, split vertically, and seeded
1 pkg Trader Joe's vegetable fried rice
2/3 cup salsa
1 cup frozen corn
2 cups Morning Star "beef" crumbles
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
(last 5 ingredient amounts are approximate)

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine the filling ingredients and heat in a few spoonfuls of oil until hot and well-mixed.  You may need to add 1/4 cup water if it starts to stick like mine did(because I had the heat too high).  Oil a pan and fill peppers generously with the mix, you will have leftovers for a few soft tacos or a salad!

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the peppers are as tender as you'd like.  Another recipe I read said 30-40 min covered, and another 10 uncovered.  Mine are topped with grated white cheddar cheese, so not vegan for us.  I cook in a toaster/convection oven at around 400, watched closely.