Meow Recipes: January 2021

Friday, January 29, 2021

The 10 Vegetarian Recipes We Eat Week After Week

Chipotle Tahini Bowls

Healthy and versatile bowls that come together under a generous drizzle of addictingly creamy vegan chipotle tahini sauce.

sweet potatoes, kale, tahini, chipotles in adobo sauce, avocado, eggs

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Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili that’s “meaty” and satisfying – without the meat! A hearty mixture of walnuts, mushrooms, and carrots as your base, with big flavors of onion, garlic, green chiles and spices. SO GOOD.

walnuts, mushrooms, carrots, diced tomatoes, smoked paprika, garlic, chili powder

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Roasted Vegetable Bowls With Green Tahini

Roasted Vegetable Bowls! Crispy tender roasted veggies, buttery avocado, all together in a bowl with a drizzle of green tahini sauce.

carrots, golden potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, tahini, cilantro

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Crunchy Roll Bowls

A block of tofu, nicely browned in teriyaki sauce, served on a bed of sticky rice with edamame, cucumber, avocado, jalapeño, and a handful of crushed-up crunchy onions, buried under a thick drizzle of extra teriyaki and spicy mayo.

tofu, edamame, cucumber, rice, avocado, teriyaki sauce, crunchy fried onions

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Detox Lentil Soup in a bowl with a spoon.

The Best Detox Crockpot Lentil Soup

A clean and simple soup made with onions, garlic, carrots, olive oil, squash, and LENTILS! Super healthy and easy to make.

butternut squash, carrots, potatoes, celery, green lentils, yellow split peas, kale

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Red Curry Lentils

Red curry lentils is my all-time favorite lentil recipe. Thick, creamy, saucy, and perfect as leftovers. Plus it’s healthy and easy!

lentils, red curry paste, coconut milk, tomato puree, garam masala

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Cauliflower Walnut Vegetarian Taco Meat

This vegetarian taco meat is made with cauliflower, walnuts, and chipotle peppers. It’s so easy: just mix and bake. Meatless miracle!

cauliflower florets, walnuts, chipotles in adobo sauce, chili powder, cumin

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Firecracker Vegan Lettuce Wraps

HELLO YUM. Firecracker Lettuce Wraps that are happily vegan – with crispy tofu bits, saucy brown rice noodles, and a creamy sesame sauce.

lettuce leaves, tofu, brown rice noodles, peanut butter, chili paste, ginger

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Coconut Curry Ramen

Coconut Curry Ramen with a creamy golden broth, pan-fried vegetables, cubes of golden brown tofu, and steamy delicious ramen noodles. Bonus: it’s vegan!

tofu, shitake mushrooms, ramen noodles, bok choy, fresh ginger, coconut milk, lime juice

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Quinoa Crunch Salad With Peanut Dressing

Quinoa Crunch Salad! Crunchy rainbow veggies, juicy fresh mango, fluffy quinoa, chili lime cashews, and some creamy peanut dressing.

edamame, quinoa, cucumber, bell peppers, mangoes, carrots, purple cabbage, cashews, peanut butter, chili paste

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Thursday, January 28, 2021

Basic + Awesome Vegetarian Lasagna

This recipe is part of our Plant-Powered January series! Find out more about how to join in on the fun, or click here to sign up directly for our email list to receive weekly meal plans, grocery lists, and other resources.

What do I need to say to get you to believe me that walnuts, zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms make for a very delicious, very feel-good, very cozy and comforting, sauce-bubbling, cheesey-browning, and all-around winning vegetarian lasagna?

I can promise you that all the veggies are blitzed up in the food processor so we have zero watery veggie chunks, and instead they really resemble something more like ground meat (but with better flavor, IMHO)?

I can point out the layer of mascarpone cheese with the grated fresh garlic for a creamy little bite?

I can mention that not only did Bjork and I really, really enjoy this vegetarian lasagna, but our two-year-old also gave it her rare seal of approval and asked for, um, thirds?

How Make Vegetarian Lasagna Happen

Who knew vegetarian lasagna could be so fun and so good.

It starts with an easy vegetarian bolognese featuring veggies like zucchini, mushrooms, onions, and carrots – although those are fairly interchangeable with whatever you like and whatever you have on hand – plus a handful of walnuts which really make it into something special and filling. You can make your own marinara, but I have a personal rule that if I’m making something that’s going to involve several steps of layering and such, I will take the opportunity to use my favorite jarred sauce, thank you very much.

Your plants-only bolognese gets tucked in between lasagna noodles (unboiled – I prefer to let the oven do the work for me) and several layers of cheese, including that creamy mascarpone layer that is flecked with a clove of fresh grated garlic that really takes the whole thing to the next flavor level.

The smells, the texture, the whole mood in the house while this is baking…

Crave-able and super satisfying. Highly recommend.

Vegans Welcome, Too!

I would like to note – we did try making a cheese-less version of this that was pretty good, but I couldn’t get Bjork’s approval on that one. I guess for us, we needed the cheese for it to feel like a good solid lasagna.

That being said, if you are vegan, I have used the vegan bechamel from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley and that made for a really nice, creamy replacement to the mascarpone and other cheese in between the layers. You could probably also use vegan cheese shreds or a vegan cream cheese like Tofutti.

Whether you’re doing the vegetarian cheesy version, or something totally cheese-less and vegan, this is one of my favorite fun and interesting and plant-forward ways to eat a big ol’ saucy, bubbly pan of lasagna.

Common Questions About This Vegetarian Lasagna

Can I chop all my veggies at one time?

Yep! You could chop all your veggies in the food processor at the same time if you have a big enough food processor! However, I prefer to do it in batches because a) my food processor doesn’t fit all these veggies at once, and b) that allows you to put the softer stuff together, and the firmer stuff together, which helps them all chop more uniformly.

Can I freeze leftovers?

You can! We’d recommend just storing leftovers in a freezer-safe container.

What can I substitute for mascarpone?

You could use ricotta cheese instead.

Can I make this lasagna vegan?

We tried making this without cheese and it received a thumbs up me but not from Bjork. We liked the vegan bechamel though from the Plants Only Kitchen cookbook by Gaz Oakley – this worked really well as a creamy cheese replacement.

Basic + Awesome Vegetarian Lasagna

Author: Lindsay
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield: 9 servings

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Description

The very best Vegetarian Lasagna! Walnuts, zucchini, carrots, onions, and mushrooms blitzed up into a meat-like texture that gets layered with lots of cheese and sauce. Cozy + nourishing!

Ingredients

Easy Vegetarian “Bolognese”:

4 cloves garlic
1 onion, peeled and cut into chunks
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
8 ounces fresh mushrooms
1 cup walnuts
1 small zucchini, cut into chunks
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1–2 teaspoons kosher salt + black pepper to taste
one 24-ounce jar of your favorite tomato sauce

Creamy Layer:

one 8-ounce container mascarpone
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded Parmesan cheese
2 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 box uncooked lasagna noodles (about 12 noodles for a 9x13 pan)

Instructions

Place the mushrooms, walnuts, and zucchini in a food processor. Pulse a few times until the mixture is very finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Repeat this process with garlic, onion, and carrots.
Heat butter or olive oil over medium high heat. Add your chopped veggies along with the spices. Sauté for 7-10 minutes until very soft and fragrant. Add tomato sauce and salt; stir to combine. Taste and adjust! Your seasoning amounts will depend on your brand of sauce.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix mascarpone cheese with grated garlic and salt.
Layer in the following order for each layer: a few noodles, 1 cup sauce, a few dollops of mascarpone, 1/2 cup Parmesan, 1/2 cup mozzarella, and repeat (I usually get 4 layers out of this amount). End with noodles, sauce, cheese, and dollops of extra sauce on top to make it pretty.
Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove foil and broil for 5 minutes to get the cheese browned on top. Let stand for 10 minutes or so, then cut and serve!

Equipment

The equipment section may contain affiliate links to products we know and love.

Category: Pasta
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

Keywords: vegetarian lasagna, vegan lasagna, healthy lasagna, healthy lasagna, lasagna recipe

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Monday, January 25, 2021

15 Minute Cauliflower Fried Rice

cauliflower fried rice in a bowl with chopsticks

This recipe was originally published in 2016 and is now part of our Plant-Powered January series! Find out more about how to join in on the fun, or click here to sign up directly for our email list to receive weekly meal plans, grocery lists, and other resources.

Cauliflower Fried Rice. Hello hello.

Because sometimes life is life, and you just gotta keep the food really simple. And super healthy. And deliciously delicious.

Like when you bought a bunch of ingredients to make really awesomely creative and powerhouse nutritious food for the week, but then it becomes the end of the week and you open the fridge and all your good ingredients are still staring you back in the face while your empty cereal boxes are telling the hard truth about your real life.

Watch How To Make This Cauliflower Fried Rice:

cauliflower fried rice in a bowl with a wooden spoon and a drizzle of soy sauce

Simple, Healthy, Delicious

So all that to say, let’s make Simple, Healthy, and Delicious completely non-negotiable in my back-to-it cooking routines.

Which works out nicely because it’s exactly what we have going on today.

15 Minute Cauliflower Fried Rice is loaded with veggies and protein (eggs or tofu, maybs?) and it is drizzled with a little somethin’ extra (soy sauce, hoisin glaze, take your pick) and it is, in fact, simple, healthy, deliciously delicious.

cauliflower fried rice in a pan with a wooden spoon on a napkin

Let’s Talk About Cauliflower Rice

At this point, we’re all pretty familiar with Cauliflower Rice. It’s pretty obnoxious at first glance (why not just make RICE? does everything have to be made from cauliflower?) but upon further investigation and much cauliflower rice consumption, I can confidently say that this is worth it.

It’s just straight up vegetables, with a little oil, a little sauce, and a little egg or tofu for protein. Cleanest of the clean.

Also – it’s so fast and easy.

Just pulse the raw cauliflower into “rice” in the food processor and then stir fry the whole thing up. No soaking, no pressing, no strange and unusual kitchen moves other than just pulsing a few pieces of cauliflower into this magical rice substitute.

This recipe is too easy for you to even have any excuses. Get all your ingredients out (a little mise en place, maybe? #fancy) and I promise it won’t take you more than 15-ish minutes. Dinner! Ready! Set! Go!

cauliflower fried rice in a bowl on a napkin with chopsticks

You can also check out our MEAL PREP cauliflower fried rice, complete with theeee best crispy baked tofu!

Common Questions About Cauliflower Fried Rice

Does it work well to save leftovers of this recipe?

This recipe tastes best the same day, in my opinion. The cauliflower just gets so overly cauliflower-smelling when you have it as leftovers. That being said, it should still last 4-5 days in the fridge!

What sauce did you put on top in the pictures?

For the sauce on top, I just whisked equal parts soy sauce, honey, sesame oil, and oyster sauce together and drizzled it over top with sesame seeds. I like a little pretty flair like that.

Can I use frozen cauliflower rice here?

We’d really recommend using fresh cauliflower in this case. Frozen cauliflower might give off too much moisture. BUT in a pinch, frozen cauli rice is definitely an option.

Can I add protein to this?

Definitely! Tofu in place of the eggs would be a great, easy option. If you’re looking for something else (like chicken), we would cook/sauté that in the pan first, remove it, and then add it back in at the end.

15 Minute Cauliflower Fried Rice

4.4 from 30 reviews

Author: Pinch of Yum
Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 5 mins
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

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Description

15 Minute Cauliflower Fried Rice – healthy + clean fried rice made with cauliflower, carrots, onions, garlic, eggs/tofu, and sesame oil!

Ingredients

1 medium-sized head of cauliflower
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 large carrot, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup frozen edamame
2 beaten eggs (use scrambled tofu for vegan)
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce (use tamari for GF)
6 green onions, minced

Instructions

Video

PREP CAULIFLOWER: Shred cauliflower using the largest side of a grater OR by just pulsing some rough cut pieces in a food processor; the end product should resemble smallish grains of rice.
STIR FRY: Heat 1 tablespoon sesame oil in a large skillet over medium low heat. Add the carrots and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, edamame, and remaining sesame oil to the pan; stir fry quickly to cook the cauliflower to a soft (but not mushy) texture.
FINISHING TOUCHES: Make a well in the middle, turn the heat down, and add the eggs. Stir gently and continuously until the eggs are fully cooked. Stir in the soy sauce and green onions just before serving.