Stuffed Grape Leaves

2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
• 2 quarts chicken broth
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
• 60 grape leaves, drained and rinsed
• hot water as needed
• 1 cup olive oil

1. In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the rice, onion, dill, and mint for about 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Pour in 1 quart of broth, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until rice is almost cooked. Stir in 1/2 of lemon juice and remove from heat.
2. Take one leaf, shiny side down, and place 1 teaspoon of the rice mixture at the bottom (stem) end of the leaf. Fold both sides of the leaf towards the center, roll up from the broad bottom to the top, and place into a 4-quart pot. Repeat with all leaves, leaving no gaps as leaves are placed in pot (to prevent from opening while cooking). Sprinkle with remaining lemon juice and with olive oil.
3. Pour chicken broth over all to cover grape leaves. Cover pot and simmer for about 1 hour (do not boil, because this will make the stuffing burst out of the leaves). Remove from heat, remove cover and let cool for 1/2 hour. Transfer to serving dish and serve.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/My-Own-Famous-Stuffed-Grape-Leaves/Detail.aspx?src=rss

Deep Fried Musrooms

Ingrediants

1 lb. First Choice mushrooms

3/4 c. all-purpose flour

3/4 c. club soda

1/2 tsp. garlic salt

Cooking oil for deep frying

Wash mushrooms and dry thoroughly on towel. Small mushrooms may be left whole; large ones should be cut into 1/4 inch slices. Stir flour, club soda and garlic salt together until smooth. Dip mushrooms in batter and fry in 400 degree oil for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Oil should be deep enough for mushrooms to float freely. Drain on paper towels.

Giada De Laurentiis Mushroom Parmesan

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for greasing the grill pan
• 4 to 6 portobello mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Directions

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle 3 tablespoons of olive oil over both sides of the mushrooms. Sprinkle the mushrooms with salt and pepper. Drizzle olive oil on the grill to prevent the mushrooms from sticking. Grill until the mushrooms are heated through and tender, about 5 minutes per side.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Spread 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Place the grilled mushrooms on top of the marinara sauce and top with the remaining marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the cheeses and top with the butter pieces. Bake until the cheese melts and the top is golden, about 15 minutes. Serve.

By Giada De Laurentiis

Sauted Yellow Squash

• 6 medium summer squash , sliced
• ¼ cup butter
• 1 medium onion , sliced thinly or diced
• salt & pepper

Directions:

1. 1
   Melt butter in large skillet.
2. 2
   Add onion and cook just till tender.
3. 3
   Add yellow squash and continue cooking over medium heat, stirring until squash begins to soften.
4. 4
   Cover and continue cooking over low heat until nice and tender (usually about 20-25 minutes).
5. 5
   I add lots of salt and pepper.

Apple peanut butter sandwich

Ingredients

Green Apple Sliced

A pinch of cinnamon   

Peanut Butter

Take the apple slice and set on wheat bread, spread peanut butter on the top slice of bread.  Add a pinch of cinnamon. Enjoy!

Jamaican Fried Dumplings

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup cold water
• 1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Rub in the butter until it is in pieces no larger than peas. Mix in water 1 tablespoon at a time just until the mixture is wet enough to form into a ball. The dough should be a firm consistency. Knead briefly.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat until hot. Break off pieces of the dough and shape into a patty - kind of like a flat biscuit. Place just enough of the dumplings in the pan so they are not crowded. Fry on each side until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels before serving.
3. 
   

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jamaican-fried-dumplings

Bear Buns

Ingredients

• Bread flour: 200g
• Sugar: 10g
• Salt: 3g
• Water: 60g
• Milk: 60g
• Butter: 10g
• Dry yeast: 2 teaspoons

Instructions

sift flour.

Heat milk until almost boiling and let cool (this encourages the gluten in the bread).

1. In a bowl, combine the bread flour and salt. Add the water (heated to about 32° C if you’re making this in winter), cooled milk, sugar, and dry yeast. Mix thoroughly. When it resembles one ball, place on a flat surface and knead until a smooth texture is achieved.
2. When smooth, knead in the butter bit-by-bit. Place the dough into a round bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place. Wait until the dough has risen to approximately twice its initial size. This is the first stage in letting the dough rise.It should look something like this after the first rising.Place the dough on a benchtop or chopping board and prepare the bears’ ears by cutting 20 1g pieces and rolling them into small balls. Cut the remaining dough into 10 equal portions and roll into balls. Place all pieces between a pair of damp cloths (e.g. wrung-out teatowels) for 15-20 minutes (use a timer). Squeeze each ball a bit to force out any gas pockets, and then re-roll into spheres. Take each large ball and firmly press two ears onto it. Place a damp cloth over them to prevent any drying-out. Gently placing all 10 assembled bears into damp “bread mats”, then put them in a warm place for the second rising stage. Make sure all the bears are oriented upwards (to not disturb their ears). Place a damp cloth over everything. Wait until the bears have roughly doubled again in size. if you don’t have any “bread mats”, take some oven trays and place them on the benchtop. Placing the bears on the trays, spray with a water atomiser. Take some drinking glasses and fill them with water, then place them in various locations around the tray. Cover the whole lot with plastic wrap, gently dropping the wrap on from above. Wait until the bears have roughly doubled again in size. For lightly browned bread, preheat your oven to 220 degrees, then bake the bears for 15-20 minutes at 190 degrees. For a white finish, preheat to 190 degrees, bake at 160 degrees for 10 minutes, then drop the temperature to 130 degrees for a further 5-10 minutes. If they start to brown, immediately place an upside-down enamel bowl over them, or cover with aluminium foil. Keep an eye on the bears while baking, because oven temperatures vary and are not always accurate or comparable. you can decorate your bears with edible seaweed or a chocolate pen to draw the face!

Tempeh Sandwich

Ingredients

• 1 8-ounce package tempeh,

  1 tablespoon canola oil

  10 ounces mushrooms, sliced

  1 small red onion, thinly sliced

  1/4 teaspoon salt

  1 cup dry red wine

  4 ounces sliced provolone cheese

  8 thin slices whole-wheat bread, toasted

Directions

Cut tempeh in half widthwise, then slice each piece horizontally to make 4 thin slices total.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms, onion and salt and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and stir in wine. Add tempeh slices and spoon some of the mushroom mixture over them; cook until the tempeh is heated through and the wine has evaporated, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, top with cheese, cover and let stand until the cheese melts, about 1 1/2 minutes.

To assemble sandwiches, divide the tempeh among half the toasted bread. Top with the mushroom mixture and the remaining toasted bread. Serveimmediately.

Garlic Potato Salad

6 cups new potatoes (cubed)
3 cloves garlic (or 6 garlic scapes)
1 cup green onions (minced)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 Tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tsp fresh rosemary finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Boil new potatoes in water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

2. Combine remaining ingredients in large bowl. Add cooked potatoes and stir to coat. Chill about 3 hours before serving.

Black Bean Burger

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic
• 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained, divided
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 teaspoons freshly chopped parsley leaves
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• Salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 4 hamburger rolls

Optional Toppings:

• 1 tomato, sliced
• 4 small Romaine lettuce leaves, or any other type you have on hand
• 1/4 cup ketchup

Directions

Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-low heat.

In a food processor, pulse onion and garlic until finely chopped. Add 1 can black beans, cilantro, parsley, egg, and red pepper flakes and pulse to combine.

Transfer mixture to a large mixing bowl, add the remaining can of black beans and the bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and mix until well combined.

Reserve 1/3 of the black bean mixture for Round 2 Recipe. Divide remaining mixture into 4 portions and form into patties. Place on hot oiled grill over medium-low heat and cook about 6 minutes a side or until heated through. Toast hamburger buns on a grill. Place a burger on the bottom of each bun. Top with lettuce, tomato and ketchup. Cover the burgers with the top of the bun and serve.

Use the leftovers from this recipe in Black Bean Enchiladas.

Nana's Banana Sandwich

Ingredients

U.S.

Metric

Conversion chart

• 2 tablespoon(s) I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Spread
• 1 tablespoon(s) firmly packed dark or light brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
• 1 large banana, thinly sliced
• 4 slice(s) crusty whole grain bread

---

Directions

1. Combine I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!® Spread, brown sugar, and cinnamon in small bowl. Arrange banana on 2 bread slices; top with remaining bread. Evenly spread outside of sandwiches with Spread mixture.
2. Cook sandwiches in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat, turning once, 5 minutes or until golden brown.

Musroom and rice Stew

1Tbl Oil

1 Onion Chopped

2 celery stalks diced

8 oz package Musrooms cleaned and chopped

Fresh herbs (sage)

4 Tbl Whole wheat flour

5 cups of Vegetable Broth

1 Tbl Lite Soy Sauce

3 cups of brown rice

Tofu strips cooked and cut into cubes

pan-fried or baked previously

green onion optional Heat oil in deep sided skillet or large sauce pan. Saute onion, celery, mushrooms and herbs till softened, stir in flour and cook just a little bit untill browned.then add vegetable broth and soy sauce. Cover and simmer 20-30 minuts or till rice is cooked. Do not open lib often while cooking Add already cooked tofu while its warm. Garnish this dish with chopped green onion and enjoy.

http://veganomics-101.blogspot.com/

Herb Roasted Potatoes

1 large shallot

1 large clove garlic

1 bay leaf

1 Tbs fresh thyme leaves

1 Tbs fresh sage

1 Tbs fresh oregano

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 cup olive oil

16 small new potatoes

1. In a food processor or blender, mix together everything except the olive oil and new potatoes.

2. Add the olive oil.

3. Transfer 1/3 of the herb mixture to a large bowl. Add potatoes and toss until coated.

4. Bake in preheated oven at 375F, turning occasionally, until tender when pierced with a small knife and crusty brown, about 45 minutes. Drizzle with the remaining herb mixture and serve.

5. Note: DH made this in his Smoker/Roaster/Grill.

A Very Berry Strawberry Sandwich

Ingredients

1 tablespoon reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
1/4 teaspoon honey
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
2 slices very thin whole-wheat sandwich bread
2 medium strawberries, sliced

Directions

Combine cream cheese, honey and orange zest in a bowl. Spread bread with the cheese mixture. Place sliced strawberries on 1 piece of bread, top with the other.

Oven-Fried Zucchini Sticks

• whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 cup(s) all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon(s) cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon(s) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) freshly ground pepper
• 1 1/2 pound(s) zucchini, (about 3 medium), cut into 1/2-by-3-inch sticks
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray. Combine flours, cornmeal, salt and pepper in a large sealable plastic bag. Dip zucchini in egg white, shake in the bag to coat, and arrange, not touching, on the baking sheet. Coat all exposed sides with cooking spray.bake on the center rack for 7 minutes. Turn the zucchini and coat any floury spots with cooking spray. Continue to bake until golden and just tender, about 5 minutes more. Serve hot.1/2 cup(s)

Marshmallow Snowmen

That Vegetarian chick has added a new topic. Cute foods! I will be adding a new cute food, each

month. The first one is adorable marshmallow snow men.

You will need a food coloring pen, a black one and an orange one. 2 marshmallows

Directions: Take the top head and create the eyes with the black food coloring pen. And the carrot nose with the orange food coloring pen.Create two buttons on the body, with your black

food coloring pen. Attach the head and body with icing. If you want a melted snowman look, melt the bodies slight before attaching them to the head.

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

5-6 cups thinly sliced yellow onions (3-4 small ones)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat, mostly because it was there)

1/2 cup + dry white wine (I used a chardonnay)

8 cups mushroom stock (low sodium, if you can find it)

2 cups water

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional:

1 to 2 cups (to taste) grated Swiss*

8 to 12 1-inch thick rounds French bread, toasted until hard

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in the bottom of a stock pot over medium to low heat.

2. Add the onions, toss to coat them in oil and cover the pot. Reduce the heat some more, cover, and walk away. No, seriously, go away. The onions don’t need you right now. What they need is a 15 minute break. It’s not you, it’s them.

3. After 15 minutes, uncover the pot, raise the heat to medium-low, and stir in the sugar (it helps draw out the water and helps the caramelization process). Let the onions caramelize for the next 30 or 40 minutes, but make sure to stir them often. If they start crisping, lower the heat. You want them to be dark golden brown, but they have to stay soft.

4. After the onions are fully caramelized, sprinkle the flour over them and cook for about three minutes, stirring the whole time. Next, add the wine. If you used wine in the last step, I still want you to use the full 1/2 cup. There is no such thing as too much wine with your caramelized onions. Also, use the wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot (read: scrape up all the brown bits of flavor from the bottom of the pot).

5. Add the stock and the water slowly, stirring as you go. Once all of it is in, bring the soup to a simmer and let it do it’s thing for another 30-40 minutes, partially covered. Your soup is now done. In fact, it’s delicious. It’s also vegan, so if you don’t eat cheese, please enjoy this amazing soup right now. It’s amazing. For those of you who do eat cheese.

6. Toast your French baguette rounds until they’re hard (but not browned, so set them in your toaster on a very low setting and keep an eye on them). Take a stick of butter/margarine and lightly coat both sides of each round.

7. Preheat the oven to 325F. Line a cookie sheet with tin foil and place your oven-proof bowls on it. Ladle some boiling soup into them.

8. Top each bowl with as many slices of bread as you will fit, and cover those with cheese( see cheese note above). Place in the oven for 20 minutes, then put it on broil for an additional three, or until the cheese is bubbling and starting to brown.

9. Remove the bowls from the oven If you want, sprinkle on dried oregano or herbs de Provence.

http://theinventivevegetarian.blogspot.com/