Delectable Dinner

Here is the dinner that my family had for Easter! Who needs to pay for brunch or a fancy dinner, when you can just make it!


I wanted to share with you guys, even though It's not an official recipe. If you want the actual recipe we used to make the dinner items, just comment below! Thanks!

Pictured clockwise:


- Butternut squash ravioli in a browned garlic butter olive oil drizzle topped with pine nuts, currants, fresh grated parmesan cheese and parsley
- Roasted asparagus 
- Spring mix salad with mandarin oranges, fresh oranges and grapefruit, walnuts and a homemade gorgonzola dressing


Veg On.

Mmm Mmm Oreo :)

So I love Oreos just as much as the next person, and when I saw this recipe, I HAD to favorite it. I really hope you guys try it...and love it! It's just perfect for these warm days coming up, and has less calories than every other soda shoppe Oreo milkshake.

Prep time: 5 minutes (...maybe less haha)

Serves: 2

1 cup reduced-fat (1%) milk OR ½ cup fat-free and ½ cup reduced-fat 2% 
(^^1 cup soymilk or almond milk work perfectly fine too, fyi)
3 reduced-fat Oreo cookies 
1 tablespoon instant vanilla pudding, dry mix 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sugar 
1½ cups ice cubes 

1. Add all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy. Add a few more ice cubes if the shake isn’t thick enough. 
2. Serve at once! Enjoy :)


Veg On. 

Simple Snacking

Spinach.


When I type this word, most little kids scream "Yuck!!" and run and hide as if they just saw a monster. Most adults may even do the same. However I have found an extremely simple recipe to make spinach delicious but still keeping it healthy. Time and time again, I reach for the carrot sticks and celery to snack on and fill my tummy. I will soon be trying this recipe to make the simple, snack-able spinach chips!!


For the top benefits of spinach, click here. It's awesome to know that one little green leaf can do all of this!

Spinach Chips


1 bag fresh spinach leaves
Extra virgin olive oil
Spices (I recommend salt and pepper, garlic salt and red pepper flakes)

1. Preheat oven to 250. 
2. Check to see if spinach is pre-rinsed. If so, you're good to go. If not, rise and shake off excess water.
3. Toss spinach leaves in olive oil OR grease or line the sheet with parchment paper to make it easier for you to pick off the spinach leaves later. Add the desired spices, then lay the leaves out on a cookie sheet.
4. Bake for approximately 10 minutes then ENJOY :)


Veg On.

Sunday Shenanigans

Good Morning Everyone :)

Today my friend and I decided to make a breakfast treat that costs about $2 at any local coffeeshop: scones! This recipe we followed takes no time at all to make and they're actually pretty delicious!! Here it is!

Sunday Morning Sugar Scones

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup rolled oats (I used quaker oats)

Zest of a lemon

1 1/3 cups heavy cream

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine flour baking powder, salt, brown sugar and zest. Slowly stir in the heavy cream. the mixture should stick together, but also be a bit crumbly. 

2. Knead the dough for about a minute or so, until the dough comes together. 

3. Break with hands (as I did) or take a round cookie cutter and make your scones. After you ball up the dough, roll in flour and place on a non-stick cookie sheet. 

4. Place in preheated oven for 18-20 mins, depending on size you made the scones. Check occasionally.

5. Now, serve immediately! They're best when warm. I also had mine with some lovely raspberry jam, but any type will do :)

Veg On.

Squash Seduction

Yes, I have admitted to an obsession. I love butternut squash. Any time of the year, there are SO many different things you can do with it! From soups to soufflés, it is incredibly versatile. Click here for more info about butternut squash, not only including uses, but how to pick a good squash and history of the vegetable. 


Personally, my favorite combination is squash with sage. There has not been a better combination since.....peanut butter and chocolate or hot chocolate and cinnamon. YUM. 


My mom and I made a delicious, delectable pizza that has, yes, butternut squash on it! I had never thought this was possible, but the recipe proved me wrong.

Pesto Delight Pizza

1 pre-made pizza dough (We made our own but buying it pre-made saves money)

1 butternut squash

1 1/2 cups arugula
1 red onion
A generous amount of basil pesto
4 tbsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
Goat cheese


1. Chop squash in 1 in. cubes and place in dish. Drizzle about 2 tbsp olive oil over the squash and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add about 2 tbsp. of oil. Once the butter has melted and is hot, add your sliced onion. Sprinkle some salt over the onion, then cook over medium low heat until the onions are translucent.
3. Once the squash is roasted and the onions are caramelized, stretch out the dough in a pan or pizza stone. Spread the pesto on the dough, then top with arugula, onions, squash and goat cheese.
4. Place in oven for about 10-15 mins, or until the crust looks like the picture above.
5. ENJOY. I know you will :)

Veg On.

Wrapping Up

Hello Followers :)

So I am on spring break this week, and being the family-lover that I am, naturally I headed home! Now, the beginning of the week here in Massachusetts was SO delightful that it seriously felt like summer. For real. Upon seeing the woman that taught me all I know and love about cooking (Mom), together, we thought up many different recipes to try this week. On Tuesday my mom and I re-made a delicious wrap we've had at a little café in Maine. Here it goes!!

Wonder Wrap

Flour/whole wheat tortilla

1 tomato

About 5 stalks of asparagus

About a 1/2 cup arugula

1 zucchini

Balsamic vinegar

Gruyere cheese

1. Set your oven to broil and prepare the asparagus by washing it and snapping the ends off. Sprinkle olive oil, salt and pepper and place on a cookie sheet. Slice up the zucchini in about 4 slivers lengthwise. Roast 'em up for about 10 mins.

2. Slice up the tomato and shred the cheese in the desired amounts.

3. In a skillet, warm the tortilla and sprinkle the cheese onto it so it can melt.

4. Place ingredients on top of the melting cheese, but start with the arugula. Drizzle balsamic vinegar.

5. Slide off skillet into plate, wrap up, slice.....and ENJOY :)

Veg On.

Princess and the Pea Pasta

Happy Hump Day :)

Here is a little recipe that takes no time to make and is deliciously devine. Thankfully the ingredients are easy to find and work incredibly well together. It's a little different for the normal palate, but I promise, it looks as good as it tastes.

Lemony Artichoke and Pea Pasta

Prep time: 20 mins

Serves: 2-4

• 1 pound (about 1 box) pasta
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup chopped yellow onion
• A couple pinches of red pepper flakes
• 1 cup jarred or canned artichokes, quartered
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/4 cup cream (doesn't matter if it's light or heavy) 
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• 1/2 cup arugula
• Salt and pepper for taste

1. 1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil then cook pasta according to the box directions. Drain pasta, but remember to reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water.
2. 2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add onions and red pepper flakes then cook until onions are translucent; which will be about 3 minutes. Then add artichokes, peas and 3 tablespoons water and then cook for about 2 minutes.
3. 3. Reduce heat, add goat cheese and cream then cook over low heat until cheese has melted. Add drained pasta to artichokes and peas then toss to coat. Use your desired amount of reserved pasta water to help thin out the sauce so that the pasta is well coated with sauce. 
4. 4. Remove from heat, add lemon zest, juice and arugula, toss and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately. You don't want this dish getting cold. It's far too yummy.

Veg On.

WAKE UP!!

Good Morning!


Here is a smoothie recipe that I have made many times, and it has proved to be a reliable, tasty treat. I have a few alterations, but as always, I provide guidelines....you're allowed to color outside of them :)

Blushing Berry Smoothie


Prep Time: 5 seconds.....just kidding. But seriously, 2 mins, tops.
Serves: 1-2


1 1/4 cups orange juice*
1/2 cup low-fat silken tofu, or low-fat yogurt**
1 banana
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/4 cups frozen berries, such as raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and/or strawberries


Combine orange juice*, banana, berries, tofu (or yogurt) and sugar. Blend until creamy. Serve immediately.


*You can use soymilk or cranberry juice if orange juice isn't your forté
**Greek yogurt works WONDERS. Deeply consider it, if tofu isn't on sale


Veg On. 

Comments!

Hello :)

I have now enabled comments, thus strongly encouraging them! If you want, please leave me little notes as to what you think of my blog.

Thank you!!

Veg On.

Lazy Sunday

So today I perfected the ultimate lazy Sunday complete with doing laundry and looking at food blog after food blog after food blog....

I finally came across this recipe that I have not tried yet, but intend to in the near future. It's a super cheap recipe that only takes 20 mins! (In college time, that's amazing) So here it goes!

Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons and Parsley Brown Butter

Prep Time: 20 mins

Serves: 2-4

• 1 pound (about 1 bag) frozen gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• About 3 small zucchini (shred on the biggest grate on a cheese grater)
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 
  
1. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Cook gnocchi until they float, which is usually 3 to 5 minutes or according to package directions. Drain.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook until the butter begins to look brown, which should be about 2 minutes. 
3. Add onion and zucchini and cook, stirring often, until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. 
4. Add tomatoes, salt and pepper and continue cooking, stirring often, until the tomatoes are just starting to break down, about 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the parmesan and parsley. 
5. Add the gnocchi and toss around the gnocchi to mixture, mix it all up and ENJOY.


Veg On.
• 
  

All Souped Up

Happy Thursday!

So it's been a mix of mild and cold weather here in Rhode Island this past week, and I'm not happy. When it's not cold, it's raining. When it's not raining, it's cold. Sometimes its freezing with cold rain. How lovely haha In this little tangent is a point: SOUP. It's been the perfect week for it! Me and my friend Sarah (who will be featured constantly) decided to gather any and all veggies we needed to use up from the week and toss them into a soup-like mixture. This is what we created:

                                       

Vegetable Soup-Stew

Prep time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4

1 head broccoli
1 lime green Italian pepper
1 red pepper
1 tomato
1 yellow pepper
1 onion
4 cups vegetable broth
1 OR 1 1/2 cups rice (depending on your desired rice-to-veg ratio)
Salt, spice mill and pepper to taste

1. Put 4 cups broth in pot to boil, then bring to simmer. This should take about 10 mins.
2. Wash and chop up all veggies, removing the insides of all peppers. Chop peppers and tomatoes into 1 inch squares, because they will cook down.
3. Add in all vegetables AND rice. The rice will take about 15-20 mins to cook, plus you don't want your vegetables to get super soggy.
4. Test rice to make sure it is at an al dente consistency. No throwing against walls, that's only for pasta.
5. Ladle into bowls, and enjoy :)

Veg On.

S'morez Indoorz

Chocolate.Marshmallow&Graham.

Three components to one of the most delicious, easiest desserts I have ever had. I absolutely love summertime and everything that comes with it like warm weather, swimming, my birthday, campfires and of course, s'mores. Ever since I was little I yearned for this treat and hated that you could only have it in the summer. Little did I know it'd take me until I was 19 to figure out you can make these....inside. So, began my quest to make the perfect indoor s'more. It's easy as 1, 2, 3......A, B, C.

The Indoor S'more

Prep time: 10-15 mins
Serves: 6-10

1 box graham crackers
2-3 chocolate bars (I used the classic Hershey)
1 bag marshmallows (Have fun with this, use jumbo, normal or if you're feeling whimsical, go mini)

1. Set oven to "broil" because you do not want to completely bake these. 
2. Line a cookie sheet with graham crackers, breaking them when needed to fully cover the base.
3. On top of the graham crackers, like you would normally do, add pieces of chocolate. 
4. On top of the chocolate generously top it off with da mallows.
5. Place in oven for about 10 mins, or of course until the marshmallows are light brown and have a toasted top.
6. DIVE IN :)


Veg On. (or in this case, Mallow On :P )

Veggie Lover's Pasta

COLOR!

Yes, I absolutely love color in my food, and in a sense I feel 5 again when I see an array of bright peppers, tomato sauce or salad. The way that color really does appeal to me is amazing, so I try to make all of my dishes appealing to not only the senses of smell and taste, but to sight as well. For this recipe that I made with one of my best friends, color is extremely prominent. Here comes the rainbow...

Veggie Pasta

Prep time: 30 mins
Serves: 2-4

1 red bell pepper
1 yellow pepper
1 long green italian pepper (lime green in color)
Small bunch of asparagus
1/2 yellow onion
1 box tri-color pasta
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cups water
Any spice mill
Salt n' peppa

1. Set your oven on "broil".
2. Wash and snap the bottoms off the asparagus and lay the tops on a rectangular pan. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place in oven for about 10 mins.
3. Wash and chop all peppers into 1/4 inch strips and dice into about 1 inch squares. Peel and dice up the onion as well. Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and toss the peppers and onion in. Season with the spice mill or salt and pepper if desired. Stir frequently for about 15 mins.
4. When the asparagus is ready, chop into small sections and add to the peppers and onion.
5. Bring the 3-4 cups of water to a boil and add the box of pasta.
6. When the pasta is to your liking, drain the water from the pan and add in the veggies. Mix together and serve.

**Serving suggestion**: As pictured, I saved some asparagus to have on the side, because I like it so much. On top I drizzled some fresh shredded pepper jack cheese and it gave the dish even more of a yummy kick :)

Veg On.

Vegetable Pizza

February 8, 2012

Pizza.....YUM.

My mom and I absolutely love to cook together, mostly because we throw ideas off each other. She is a vegetarian as well, and has helped me make the shift to this new world seamlessly. When I am on break or whenever I go home, we make pizza every weekend. It's not only FAR healthier than ordering out, but it's a fun bonding experience. Every time my mom and I make pizza, we use different toppings and try to create new combinations of veggies and cheese. Here was our latest concoction:

Veggie Pizza

Prep time: 45-50 mins
Serves: 2-4

Pre-packaged pizza dough ('cause as good as homemade is, it is expensive)
1 red bell pepper
1 bag of fresh spinach
1 yellow onion
1 small can of tomato sauce

1/4 cup feta cheese

1 clove of garlic
Olive oil

1. Follow instructions depending on the dough to preheat the oven.
2. Finely chop the garlic or put through a garlic press, if you have one. As a college student....I do not. Cut the red bell pepper, removing the insides, then into 1/4 inch strips. Then cut the onion into similar 1/4 inch strips.
3. Drizzle some of the olive oil into a pan and  toss the onion, garlic and pepper into the pan. After they simmer for a little bit, add the spinach. It does appear to be a heaping mound of it, but it does cook down quite a bit.
4. Stretch the pizza dough and spoon on a light amount of tomato sauce and top with the veggies. Lastly, add however much feta on to of the veggies that you want.
5. Put on a pizza stone, or a well sprayed pan and place in oven for 30-40 minutes, or depending on the time that's given for the dough you got.
6. Take out, slice up, and enjoy!

Veg on.

Sautéed Veggies and Crispy Polenta

February 8, 2012

First post!

So I was perusing my mind trying to think of the perfect thing to start my blog off with.... I immediately thought to something I made last week with one of my best friends. It's a sautéed veggie dish (you'll see many of these) that includes a cornmeal product called "polenta". I got this recipe from a vegetarian cookbook, however altered it to fit my budget and taste, because let's be honest, no one knows what I like more than me ;)

Sautéed Veggies and Crispy Polenta

Prep time: 45 mins
Serves: 2-4 (depending on how hungry you are haha)

1 pre-packaged roll of polenta
1 clove garlic
1 yellow onion
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red bell pepper
3 tablespoons canola oil
Non-stick spray
Any type of spice mill
Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 325.
2. Finely chop the garlic or pass it through a garlic press, if you so possess one. Then, cut the onion in half, then into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut the zucchini and yellow squash into 1/4-inch-thick slices, then in half to form half-moon shaped pieces. Cut the bell pepper and remove the insides, then cut into thin slices.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet and add the garlic, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, and bell pepper. Add some salt and pepper and a good amount of the ground spices from the mill. Cook the veggies, stirring frequently, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until you get the veggies to your desired texture.
4. Line a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and cut the roll of polenta into 1/2 inch slices, then season with salt and pepper. Pop the polenta in the oven for about 15-20 minutes, and it should be crispy.
5. When the polenta is done, top it off with the vegetables and enjoy! :)

Veg On.