Meatless Meals

[Anniea90]

After talking to my mom, we have decided to do at least one meal a week without meat. We are both fine with this and think its a good way to cut back some. However, I have no recipes... and I am leary of just picking one offline and going with it. So I wanted to know which ones yall have tried or use, just to give me somewhere to start.

Any suggestions? :) 

[michiganmom116]

Serve this as a main dish:

Lentil Confetti Salad:

• 1 c. cooked lentils
• 1 c. cooked white or brown rice
• 1 tomato, diced
• 1 carrot, sliced, diced or grated
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• Italian dressing to taste (I use my own recipe)

Cool lentils & rice. Add rest of ingredients. Chill before serving.

[michiganmom116]

use refried beans or mashed pinto beans or lentils in place of taco meat in tacos

[michiganmom116]

bean burritos topped with enchilada sauce and cheese, baked until cheese is melted and burritos are heated through

[pampire]

marinara sauce/alfredo/pesto with pasta

3 bean chili

mushroom paprikash

veggie lasagna

cheese manicotti

omelets

[michiganmom116]

Black Bean Quesadilla's

Sauté
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic
Add
15oz can black beans drained
5 oz corn
2 chopped tomatoes
1 chopped red pepper
Add salsa if you wish to taste
Simmer together well

Place a tortilla on a plate. Sprinkle on some grated cheese
Spread on some bean mixture
Cover with second tortilla and slice.

[michiganmom116]

Sub cooked lentils for ground beef in sloppy joes.

[OliviasMommy611]

Can I use black beans?

Quoting michiganmom116:

Taco soup

• 1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 10 oz can Rotel tomatoes and diced chilies
• 1 cup sweet corn kernels
• 2 cans pinto beans
  
• 1 pkt. taco seasoning
• 1 pkt. ranch dressing mix

Mix all together, bring to a boil, then serve. OR you can cook it in your crock pot for 4 hours on low.

[michiganmom116]

Photo by: Photo: John Autry; Styling: Cindy Barr

Butternut Squash, Caramelized Onion, and Spinach Lasagna

Cooking Light NOVEMBER 2011

• Yield: Serves 8 (serving size: 1 piece)
• Hands-on:1 Hour, 15 Minutes
• Total:2 Hours

Ingredients

• 6 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage
• 12 garlic cloves, unpeeled (about 1 head)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1 large onion, vertically sliced
• 2 tablespoons water

• 2 (9-ounce) packages fresh spinach
• 5 cups 1% low-fat milk, divided
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 thyme sprig
• 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded fontina cheese, divided
• 3/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon grated whole nutmeg
• 9 no-boil lasagna noodles

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 425°.

2. Combine squash, 1 tablespoon oil, sage, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and black pepper in a large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange squash mixture on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until squash is tender. Cool slightly; peel garlic. Place squash and garlic in a bowl; partially mash with a fork.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, and sauté for 4 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low; continue cooking for 20 minutes or until golden brown, stirring frequently. Place onion in a bowl.

4. Add 2 tablespoons water and spinach to Dutch oven; increase heat to high. Cover and cook 2 minutes or until spinach wilts. Drain in a colander; cool. Squeeze excess liquid from spinach. Add spinach to onions.

5. Heat 4 1/2 cups milk, bay leaf, and thyme in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Discard bay leaf and thyme. Return pan to medium heat. Combine remaining 1/2 cup milk and flour in a small bowl. Add to pan, stirring with a whisk until blended. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 1/4 cups cheese, red pepper, and nutmeg.

6. Spread 1/2 cup milk mixture in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch glass or ceramic baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over milk mixture; top with half of squash mixture, half of spinach mixture, and 3/4 cup milk mixture. Repeat layers, ending with noodles. Spread remaining milk mixture over noodles. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes, and remove from oven. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup cheese.

7. Preheat broiler.

8. Broil 2 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly browned. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

[michiganmom116]

Make chili without the meat.

[michiganmom116]

I'd sub a 15 oz. can of pinto beans for the meat in this one, or just eliminate the meat and it'll work fine:

Taco Lasagna

• 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
• 1/2 c. chopped green pepper
• 1/2 c. chopped onion
• 2/3 c. water
• 1 envelope taco seasoning (I use my recipe from the July 2009 post)
• 1 15 oz. can black beans, drained & rinsed
• 1 can Rotel diced tomatoes & chilies, undrained
• 6 flour tortillas
• 1 can refried beans
  
• 8 to 12 oz. shredded Mexican cheese blend

Cook the ground meat, peppers, and onions over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Add water and taco seasoning, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer uncovered for 2 minutes. Stir in the black beans and Rotel tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for another 10 minutes. Place 2 tortillas in a greased 9 x 13 baking dish. Spread with 1/2 the refried beans and beef mixture. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat layers. Top with remaining tortillas and cheese. Cover and bake at 350° for 25 - 30 minutes or until heated through and cheese is melted.