‘Vegetarian’ Articles at Sweetnicks

Recipe: Cheesy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms

April 9, 2020 · Narrative, Vegetables

Big juicy mushrooms stuffed with spinach and cheese … a perfect appetizer or, heck, just make it a meal!

Truth be told, there is no way my kids will eat these (spinach! mushrooms!), and for a long time, I just didn’t make things that I knew they wouldn’t eat, which means I missed out on a lot of my favorite things. No more. I make what they like, and I make what I like too. Sometimes there is overlap. Sometimes there isn’t. And sometimes, they get curious and try what I’m making for me, and truth be told, those are solid wins right there.

And so here we are with my stuffed mushrooms. They didn’t have any interest in them, and that was fine. One batch made a few lunches for me, and they are super simple to make, reasonably healthy, and downright delicious. I mean, that moment when you bite into the mushroom and all the juice runs down your chin? That’s it, right there.

Let’s get to the recipe.

…

Recipe: Vegetarian Zucchini Fritters

September 30, 2015 · Narrative

These cute little zucchini fritters are a delicious way to get those servings of green vegetables in.

I’m of the school of thought that you can put most things in a fritter and it can taste good. I’m of the same school of thought that vegetable fritters are a good way to get kids to eat vegetables. They look slightly less icky this way. If you’re a seven year old.

So there’s that.

And so it was with these fritters and an evening that my kids ate zucchini.

#winning

I also feel like zucchini is kind of like cauliflower. It doesn’t really have an overwhelming taste on its own, so is more ~~easy to hide~~ palatable, which makes it a little more kid-friendly if your kids give vegetables the side eye.

This is also a super forgiving recipe. It would be just as awesome with a little shredded carrot added in, or even potatoes. I served them alongside steak on one night, and grilled chicken the next. Put a runny egg on it and you have a perfect light dinner or lunch all by itself. A friend suggested having them with a yogurt dipping sauce.

However you serve them, you can’t go wrong.

Hungry for more fritter recipes?
Clearly I’m always thinking about a runny egg, because I put one on these Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Fritters.
Broccoli Parmesan Fritters are seriously amazing morsels, and kid-approved, even by the admitted broccoli haters at the table.
These Zucchini and Sweet Potato Fritters were another delicious twist.
Cauliflower Fritters. Kind of like a latke, but kind of not.

…

Recipe: Summer Quinoa Salad

July 7, 2014 · Narrative

A light, healthy, and downright tasty quinoa salad that is perfect for the hot temperatures of summer, featuring chick peas, grape tomatoes, and avocado.

Summertime cooking is all about easy recipes, grilling, and keeping the kitchen cool.

Which we pretty much do most of the time.

Except for when we feel the need to bake cookies.

#priorities

Recipes like this quinoa salad are perfect for the summer weather. When you don’t want to spend more than a few minutes in the kitchen. And the last thing you want to do is turn your oven on.

I actually only started eating quinoa over the last few years. I used to think it was one of those “weird grains” that others ate.

Now I’m them.

And, really, it’s pretty much a lot like couscous.

AND I LOVE COUSCOUS.

I kinda feel like couscous and quinoa, for the most part, are fairly interchangeable. So if you like couscous in a particular recipe, but haven’t tried quinoa yet, make a swap and start dipping your toe into that pool.

And that’s what I did here. I have a few couscous recipes that I love, so I made a batch of quinoa (15 minutes start to finish), and added in some of my favorite flavors to make this dish. It’s ideal for a light summer dinner, or for a few days’ worth of lunch, which is what I made it for.

Chick peas. Creamy bits of avocado. Sliced grape tomatoes. And a tangy, lemony dressing.

Light, refreshing, super healthy, and downright delicious.

Hungry for more light summertime dishes?
This Make It Your Own Couscous is an easy way to tweak a recipe to suit your own individual tastes.
One of our favorite go-to salads, so simple to make and so full of flavor.
Five minutes and just a handful of ingredients, and this Mixed Greens Salad with Smoked Salmon and a Lemony Vinaigrette can be yours.
Let your slow cooker do all the work, and reap the rewards with this Carnitas Salad recipe.
And this Lobster Salad with Avocado and Feta from Sarah’s Cucina Bella is a perfect summer celebration on a plate as well.
Or meander over to my Grilling, Salad, or Slow Cooker boards over on Pinterest for more recipes than you could ever possibly make.

…

Recipe: Stuffed Zucchini

May 8, 2013 · Narrative

When it comes to zucchini, I’m very much a take-it-or-leave-it kind of girl. I rarely go looking for it, unless I need it for a specific recipe. If I happen to be swayed by some gorgeous zucchini at the farmer’s market, it usually ends up sauteed for a stir-fry, or cut into thin ribbons for a salad.

And that is the end of that.

But then I spied a recipe for Stuffed Zucchini on a blog and I decided to give it another look. I made a few tweaks to the recipe, both in terms of method (to make it a bit easier), and ingredients (more in keeping with what I’m eating {or not eating} these days).

And folks, we had a winner.

It wasn’t terribly time consuming, maybe thirty minutes from start to finish? I served it alongside some Portobello Crusted Chicken Burgers (recipe coming soon!) and it was the perfect side dish. It was filling, but still light. Guilt-free. Clean eating. And veggie overload.

And, well, extra for me since my kids are still firmly entrenched in the I-don’t-like-zucchini camp. I’m not worried. They have years to come around…

Tomorrow? We talk Moscato.
And Friday? Book review!

…

Read More

Pin It

Recipe: Garlic Cauliflower “Mashed Potatoes”

March 25, 2013 · Narrative

Holy Grail of Garlicness!

My first tip regarding this recipe is to not use the five large cloves of garlic it calls for.

Because, man, I do love me some garlic, but it was way.too.much.

For realz.

Like Nick, who doesn’t like “mashed potatoes” and who I finally convinced to try a bite, was gasping for water because it was “so spicy.”

Spicy wasn’t the right word, but potent certainly is.

My second tip with this recipe? Make it.

Remember when fake-out mashed potatoes via cauliflower were all the rage some years back during the low carb diet craze? My Mom was definitely making them back then, but I never got around to, but luckily they’re baaaack!

To save a little bit of time, and since I don’t have a steamer basket, I skipped the whole first step and just used a Ziploc steamer bag to steam the whole head of cauliflower. I only had one bag left, and had to be a bit strategic to get it all to fit, but it worked beautifully.

Then, once the cauliflower had been steamed, I just pulverized the heck out of everything in my mini food processor. And it was done.

Now for serving? I think these are most perfect with a pulled pork or brisket or roast chicken. And with a bite of the meat and the “mashed potatoes” together on each fork-full. This recipe or this one or this one or this one would be awesome to go with it.

Paleo. Vegetarian. Clean eating. This recipe fits all those groups. And more. Super easy. And pretty guilt-free. Creamy. Flavorful. Delicious.

Go get ’em.

…

Recipe: Very Veggie Rice Bowl {Minute Rice}

March 5, 2013 · Ad-Free, Narrative

Brown rice is sometimes a tough sell. In fact, it wasn’t until 1998 that I started liking it. It was one of a handful of trainer-approved foods that I was eating, in a mad dash effort to lose weight before my wedding, and I made a ridiculous amount of stir-fries with it.

Because stir-fry is totally where it’s at.

With the somewhat tougher texture that brown rice has, I think it’s better when it’s paired with other items, rather than eating it alone. And with this dish, I went to town.

Minute Rice makes these ready-to-serve cups that makes it really quick and easy to cook the rice, and when you’re pressed for time, it’s a great short cut. No measuring, no adding water, no nothing. Microwave the cup for one minute. Done. Boom.

Roasted asparagus.

Sauteed mushrooms and garlic.

Mrs. Dash salt-free seasoning.

A dash of soy sauce.

And then the fun began. The plating.

I mixed my vegetables with the cooked rice, and that went down on the plate first. Topped by two deliciously runny eggs (protein!). A drizzle of hot sauce. A few crumbles of goat cheese. A side of avocado and a slice of wheat toast.

And, oh man, it was soooo good. Healthy. Satisfying. Filling. Deliciousness to the nth degree.

Zero guilt here.

I shared some of my leftovers with my Mom, and after she had a chance to try it, she came back to report in.

“I hate brown rice,” she said. “But I LOVED that. I did everything but lick my plate.”

And if that isn’t a ringing endorsement, I don’t know what is.

When I posted the pictures of this dish on Instagram last night, someone asked how I get my kids to eat this type of food. And this type of food, really, is the simplest. Because it can be easily deconstructed to account for individual likes and dislikes.

For example, Madeline doesn’t like eggs yet (except deviled) or avocado. So her plate is the vegetable rice mix and toast. Nick will eat all of this, but isn’t a fan of mushrooms, so I just include less on his plate.

A layered dish like this makes it easy to plate each dish accordingly, without feeling like a short order cook.

Which, on a busy weeknight, is pretty awesome.

Total start to finish? Less than thirty minutes.

Ready.

Set.

Go!

PS Visit Minute Rice for recipes, including Minute Ready to Serve Stir It Up recipes ideas and more information about the Minute Rice family of products.

…

Read More

Pin It

Recipe: Eat Your Veggies Stir Fry {Eat.Live.Be.}

January 23, 2013 · Narrative

Two months before I got married, way back in ’98, the pressure was on. The wedding dress had been bought, purposely two sizes smaller, and I needed to lose the weight to be able to walk down the aisle. I bartered with a personal trainer, Michael, and he put me through the paces, both in fitness and food, to the tune of a thirty pound weight loss in about six weeks.

Which then didn’t make the tailor too happy because she had to take in my dress. Again.

First class problems, people.

The food that I ate when I was working with Michael was a handful of items that I rotated to stave off boredom. And what I found out then, as I did again in 2011 when I lost a bunch of weight, is that it becomes less about the food. Like you don’t even think about it anymore.

And as someone who is a freelance recipe developer, this can sometimes be a bitter pill to swallow.

But it is what it is.

One of my go-to meals back then was a stir-fry. Because it’s easy. Hearty. And I knew it would make Michael happy.

And these days, it’s become a go-to for me again. I can mix and match veggies at will, depending on what the kids and I are feeling like eating, and what I have available, and dinner is done in a flash.

Most always under 30 minutes.

Take that Rachael Ray.

And what I know to be true? Eating good food makes me feel good. It’s that special little thing that puts an extra bounce in your step. That propels you forward to making more good decisions. That fuels you in the way that something else won’t. It’s a domino effect to the nth degree.

And sometimes? It’s good to go back to basics. Both in your food choices and in what you know works.

Now this recipe is really just a guideline. It’s the most forgiving thing ever, so you can feel free to swap out some of my vegetable choices for something you or your family might like instead. I focused on green vegetables, and roasting some of them first to bring out all their deliciously deep flavors. I am admittedly a super late adopter to sugar snap peas (never liked them much before this year), and tonight, Nick found out that he likes them as well. Score one for the home team.

But the bottom line? Guilt-free food that is the perfect fuel for whatever you need to do.

And we can all use a little more of that.

Do check out Joanne, Sarah, and Patsy to see their take on Eat.Live.Be. this week, and the #eatlivebe hash tag on Twitter and Instagram for more inspiration.

Tomorrow? Embracing the camera.
Friday? Bagster review.

…

Recipe: Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese Deliciousness

August 7, 2012 · Narrative

Are you one of those people who thinks that roasted vegetables are only good for the cooler weather months?

Yeah, me? Not so much.

Which would be how this new recipe came about.

That and I had a zucchini languishing on my counter that had to get used.

Right.Away.

So last night, when I was making dinner, I tossed the zucchini onto a baking sheet, along with a few tomatoes, some garlic, and an onion for good measure.

Once done, I added a can of chick peas.

And a few bits of crumbled goat cheese.

Because goat cheese, along with bacon and bourbon, makes everything better.

And man, deliciousness was mine.

And all mine, because this type of thing isn’t O’Malley kid-friendly.

Which is fine by me, because now I have tomorrow’s lunch all figured out.

Eat it alone.

Or stuffed into a pita pocket.

Or even smooshed on top of a sandwich as a topper of sorts.

It’s a perfect little, easy vegetarian dish that you can throw together and mix and match at will.

Mushy zucchini or not.

Wednesday? Reading and jetBlue.
Thursday? A restaurant review.
Friday? Another Summer Bucket List 2012 item off the list!

…

Pin It

Recipe: Falafel-Stuffed Eggplant with Tahini Sauce and Tomato Relish

May 31, 2012 · Narrative

Say that three times fast!

When I saw this recipe on Joanne’s site last week, I made a mental note to make it.

After all, given my unabashed love for all things falafel (see here, here, here and here for starters) , this should come as no surprise.

When I saw the recipe made four big servings, I quickly texted a few co-workers and my Mom, to see if they wanted some ready-made lunch.

The responses vacillated between “no, sorry, yuck” to “I’ll take a muffin instead.”

Don’t let them sway you.

This week, I’ve been on a meatless lunch kick, making a new vegetarian dish every day. This recipe was perfect (a round-up of the dishes will come tomorrow or Saturday). It is hearty and has flavor layer upon flavor layer upon flavor layer. My only word of caution is I think it tasted slightly better the first day, right after it was made, than heated up as leftovers on the subsequent days.

Now besides the long title and others’ reaction, you’ll also need to get past what looks like a long, involved recipe.

Even though there are a few steps, it’s not nearly as daunting as it looks. Once you slice open the eggplant, crosshatch it, and get it in the oven, you can use that time to make the falafel stuffing, the relish, and the tahini dressing. In 30 minutes total, you’re done.

Promise.

Totally worthy of adding to your make-this-pronto list.

*Visit Joanne’s post directly for the recipe.

…

Read More

Pin It

Recipe: Toasted Roasted Vegetable Sandwich {Eat. Live. Be.}

May 16, 2012 · Narrative

You know how when you have a really awesome dinner, you can’t wait for the leftovers the next day?

Or when you brought something in to work for lunch and are counting down the minutes ’till you can eat it?

This.

Is.

That.

The O’Malley clan loves us some avocados.

Like alot. A lot. A lot. (See Exhibit 1. Exhibit 2. Exhibit 3. And countless others.)

As long as we can keep ahead of the ripeness curve (and sometimes we get behind it), we can easily eat several a week.

In salads.

As homemade guacamole.

Diced up and drizzled with a little hot sauce, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, and cracked black pepper. (Nick’s favorite way)

In a toasted BLT, which reminds me of a little dive restaurant in Bermuda that The Ex and I discovered on our first cruise vacation.

Smooshed on a sandwich instead of a (less-healthy) different condiment. (Which is usually my favorite way)

And so became the basis for this sandwich.

Last night, while I was heating up our dinner (leftovers), I quickly roasted some asparagus and sauteed a package of mushrooms.

Today, into my work tote went an avocado, the mushrooms and asparagus, and sourdough bread.

Once lunch time came around, I went to work. Toasted the sourdough bread. Smeared the pieces with half an avocado each. Salt. Pepper. Added the warmed up asparagus and mushrooms.

I didn’t need to take a bite to know.

I knew.

So good.

So.very.good.

I restrained myself from eating the whole thing, only because I cut off a small slice to share with a co-worker.

Who came over moments later to tell me how much she liked it. Even though she isn’t typically a fan of mushrooms.

And speaking of mushrooms? A few years ago, there was a study of over 2000 women that found those who ate mushrooms regularly had a 50% lower chance of having breast cancer. And when combined with green tea consumption (thank you, Panera, for my weekly fix), it brought the percentage up to 90%. A 90% lower chance of having breast cancer? Yes, please. I’ll take mine with a side of avocado and asparagus. (Studies since have also added that having a variety of mushrooms, and mostly cooked, ups your ante, so do that too.)

…

Pin It

Recipe: Black Burgers

April 10, 2012 · Narrative

Here’s what I know.

Any time you want your kids to eat something slightly different. Or try something new. Let them help you in the kitchen. This is not an earth-shattering, rock-you-to-your-core discovery. It’s something I have practiced since Nick was Madeline’s age. Because it works. Each and every time. Without fail.

The kids, more often than not, ask to help in the kitchen. I don’t always say yes. Sometimes I just don’t have the energy to deal with the extra mess. Because Lord knows, there’s a lot of it. But I try to let them be engaged when it makes sense. If I’m hurrying to get dinner done because we’re running late, then they might just do the final toss of the salad or wash and plate the fruit. That way they’re at least involved in the process and learning more kitchen tips and tricks along the way.

But the times when they really dive in and get their hands dirty? Awesomesauce. Because then they’ll try just about anything.

Mystic’s daughter came over after work and Nick was busy hanging out with her, so last night when I was making dinner, Madeline took full advantage of her brother being out of the picture. I heard the familiar sound of her dragging the little chair over to my side, as she declared she was going to cook.

“Well, I have already started. How ’bout you help me instead?”

Luckily she was ok with that, since I was already way behind schedule, and still wasn’t even sure of what I was making.

I knew I was making vegetarian burgers. With beans. I just hadn’t decided the exact plan yet.

My first thought was to use quinoa with it. One of my co-workers loves the stuff, and I’m trying to use it more. But apparently I used up the last of my quinoa. My eyes scanned the cupboard and landed on the couscous.

Hmmm. Similar beasts. Similar effect? I was hoping for the best.

I love couscous. Nobody else I know does. I love it as a light Spring or Summer salad, mixed together with chick peas, feta, and Kalamata olives. Delish.

But as a binder?

I started dumping all the ingredients in a bowl and instructed Madeline on mixing first, then mashing it into a paste. I stuck a spoon in it midway to test for seasonings, and she went right in with her fingers.

“Are they clean?”

She looked at me, deer in headlights.

I was just messing with her, because I knew she had washed her hands right before we started.

“Oh this is so good,” she exclaimed, as she went back for more. “I want two tonight. And I want it for my lunch tomorrow.”

We mixed and mashed, formed the patties and started cooking them up. Nick wandered in to see what we were having for dinner. He thought it was a black bean and rice burger. I didn’t correct him.

The table got set. And we finally sat down. Toasted whole wheat buns. Caramelized onions. Sliced avocados. Cheese. And a random assortment of toppings.

Madeline went with just the burger and the bun.

I went with the burger, bun, a slice of cheese, half an avocado, caramelized onions, hot sauce, and ketchup. I’m all about the toppings. Always.

Nick went the same route, with even more hot sauce.

Guys, I have never seen the kids devour burgers the way they did these. Which kind of shocks me. I mean, they’re definitely good, but such a huge departure from a regular beef burger, I was ready for resistance.

It just reinforces the truth that I already know. COOK WITH YOUR KIDS. Madeline was so proud to tell Nick that she made the “black burgers” (which is why they are so named). Because both kids love black beans, I knew I had a little bit of an in. And they always love something they can customize themselves.

Winner, winner, black burger dinner.

…

Recipe: Espinacas con Garbanzos [Spinach and Chick Peas]

March 8, 2012 · Narrative, Vegetables

You know my favorite indication that a recipe is a keeper?

When you can’t wait to have the leftovers the next day.

Which is quickly followed by when someone asks for the recipe.

Or when there ARE no leftovers, so you have to make it again.

Right after just making it.

This is that recipe.

This week, I’ve been on a vegetable kick. I cannot wait for the farmer’s markets to reopen. Roasted. Braised. Sauteed. However they’ve been made, it’s been vegetables after more vegetables lately. Augmented by with salads and fruit for good measure.

It may or may not have something to do with Nick’s declaration that he wanted to give up meat for Lent.

For the record, I said no.

He can eat less, no problem, but until he starts eating fish or opens up his palate to more vegetables, he can’t just give up meat.

His fourth-grade, 63-lb body cannot live on salad and yogurt alone.

So back to my new favorite dish.

…