DoughSeeDough

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Tag Archives: vegetarian


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Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese Yogurt Spread

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend. I know I did! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen… like 8 hours a day Friday, Saturday and Sunday. And, surprisingly, the majority of that time was not spent on cooking or baking! You see, last Tuesday morning Mike and I were out for a run. While on this run, I saw a hideous/beautiful dresser on the side of the road. We ran past it once, then twice, and then a third time. The final time I stopped and inspected it. It was in good condition, the drawers appeared clean and the construction was solid. We called my father in law and he came right away with his trailer and helped us drag it home. At 6 in the morning. Bless him.

So, that became my weekend project. The dresser got moved into the kitchen and I disinfected the whole dang thing twice and then got to work. I spent all weekend sanding, priming, painting, sanding, painting, sanding… You get the picture. As I type, all 9 dresser drawers have been painted an amazing shade of blue and have their first coat of polycrylic on it. They need to be sanded and coated with 2 more coats of polycrylic. The dresser itself has been primed and painted, but needs a third layer of paint. Then it will get the same polycrylic treatment as the drawers. Then the hardware needs to get spray painted. All this needs to happen before we move to Madison in 2 weeks.

The other highlight of my weekend was going to the farmers’ market. It’s one of my favorite Saturday morning activities. We usually walk away with one thing: kettle corn. This weekend, we walked away with a bit more: kettle corn, fougasse, and some eggplant. I tend to do my menu planning on Sunday or Mondays and then go shopping on Wednesdays. I think I need to rethink my timing so I can incorporate some more farmers’ market goodies into our weekly meals. There is seriously nothing better than eating market goodies for dinner 🙂

Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese Yogurt Spread | doughseedough.net

Roasted Veggie Wraps with Goat Cheese Yogurt Spread

for the roasted vegetables:
3 carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 3″ pieces
3 Japanese eggplant, sliced into 1/2″ x 3″ pieces
1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 large red onion, chopped
3 red or yellow bell peppers, sliced into strips
1 1/2 tablespoons Arizona Dreaming seasoning or other seasoning of choice
salt and pepper
olive oil

for the goat cheese yogurt spread:
4 oz goat cheese
1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper, to taste

8 large whole wheat tortillas
4 cups baby spinach

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Toss vegetables with seasoning, salt, pepper, and olive oil until well combined. Spread into an even layer on a large baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until just tender. Set aside to cool.
  2. Meanwhile, make the goat cheese yogurt spread. Combine all spread ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth.
  3. To assemble, spread 2 tablespoons of the spread onto a whole wheat tortilla. Lay down 1/2 cup of baby spinach and 1/8 of the roasted vegetable mixture on one end of the tortilla. Roll up tightly. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. Slice in half and serve.


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Cold Peanut Noodles with Tofu and Bell Peppers

This summery pasta dish is perfect for those nights where it’s just too dang hot to spend hours sweating in the kitchen. Or for those nights where you need something on the table in less than 30 minutes. Or for those nights where you are just really craving tofu.

What? You don’t crave tofu? I do. I also really hate cooking when it’s hot and humid out. So this dish was perfect.

Cold Peanut Noodles with Tofu and Bell Peppers | doughseedough.net

Cold Peanut Noodles with Tofu and Bell Peppers
adapted from Food and Wine

3/4 pound cold tofu, cut into 1/2 – 3/4″ cubes
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
1 pound Chinese shan dong noodles or other wide, flat noodle
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Chinese chile-black bean sauce
1″ piece of ginger, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 large bell peppers, thinly sliced
3 large green onions, thinly sliced
cilantro, optional

  1. Toss tofu with 1/3 cup soy sauce in a medium bowl. Let sit for 10 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add noodles and cook according to package directions until they are al dente. Drain and rinse under cold water. Place into a large bowl.
  3. Combine the remaining soy sauce with peanut butter, broth, vinegar, chile sauce, ginger, garlic and sesame oil. Puree until smooth. Pour over the noodles and toss to combine.
  4. To serve, place noodles into a bowl and top with tofu, bell peppers, and green onions. Serve immediately.


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Easy Quinoa with Roasted Mini Bell Peppers

This simple salad is packed full of flavor and makes the perfect accompaniment to pretty much any summer dish. If you’re ever asked to bring a salad or side dish for a potluck, throw this together… I’m 99% sure that no one else will show up with the same dish as you 😉

I’ll tell you a little secret though – this dish is also perfect alone as a main. I meant to grill some chicken to go with it, but sometimes I just run out of gas at the end of the day. This was one of those days. So we each had nice, large bowls of this instead. Perfect 🙂

Easy Quinoa with Roasted Mini Bell Peppers | doughseedough.net

Easy Quinoa with Roasted Mini Bell Peppers

4 cups low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups quinoa
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup garlic olive oil, divided
1 package mini bell peppers
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

  1. Bring chicken broth to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add in quinoa and garlic. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pot. Simmer until chicken broth is absorbed, about 20 minutes.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Place peppers in skillet in a single layer and cook until blistered on all sides. Set aside in a large bowl.
  3. Add quinoa to bowl along with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Top dish with feta and parsley and serve.


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Ultimate Veggie Burger

I lost my favorite work perk last week with the end of the school year.

Salads. Delivered to me. Every day.

I never had to worry about what I was going to eat, never had to pack leftovers for lunch, never had to resort to a sad PB&J or turkey & cheese sandwich. I had an amazing salad sent to me. Now it’s all over. The kitchens are closed until September and I’m… hungry.

I’ll admit that I have been really bad about remembering to bring lunch with me. In the 7 work days that I have been salad-less, I have forgotten lunch 3 times. Not good, Jen, not good. I’m at least smart enough to keep our office fridge well-stocked with Greek yogurt and I have a fairly impressive stash of snacks in my desk drawer as well. Wheat crackers and Greek yogurt make for a sad lunch, though, and 3 days of it is more than enough for me.

I’m making an effort to pack a lunch, and these veggie burgers were first up on my list. I made a huge batch of it and have enough to feed Mike and me for a week.

Ultimate Veggie Burger | DoughSeeDough.net

Ultimate Veggie Burger

for the patties:
2 cans black beans drained, liquid reserved
4 large carrots, grated
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon Mexican chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

for the burgers:
olive oil
whole wheat hamburger buns
optional toppings: thinly sliced tomato, lettuce, onion

  1. Combine all veggie patty ingredients (black beans through black pepper) in a food processor. Pulse until combined, being careful not to puree. If mixture does not easily stick together, add reserved bean liquid 1 tablespoon at a time, until it does.
  2. Shape mixture into 4 or 5 patties 1″ thick.
  3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat. Add patties and cook for 2 – 3 minutes on each side or until browned on both sides. Serve hot on a bun and garnish with lettuce, tomato, and any other toppings you desire!


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Vegetarian Potstickers

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I have a notoriously bad memory. I can’t remember much of my childhood. I can’t recall the names of any of my teachers from elementary through high school, and college professors are getting a little spotty. Yikes. The few memories I do have, I cherish.

One of these memories is of my mom, sister, and me sitting around a kitchen table, folding potstickers. We each had a small pile of wrappers in front of us, small bowls of water, and a communal bowl of potsticker filling in the middle of the table. Baking sheets dusted with flour sat on the table lined with folded dumplings. My mom used chopsticks to scoop the filling from the bowl into her wrapper. My sister and I used spoons.

This time, I stood at the counter alone and folded roughly 100 potstickers filled with tofu, not pork. Mike came in towards the end and helped me. I have to admit, I much prefer the company of my mom and sister to the company of Netflix on my iPad.

So, grab yourself a potsticker buddy or two and get cooking! Or, if you choose to make this alone, choose something better than Toddlers & Tiaras as background noise 😉

If this is your first time making potstickers, don’t be intimidated. It’s actually quite simple. It’s easy as 1, 2, 3… kind of. And don’t forget – practice makes perfect.

potstickers

1) take a wrapper  2) 1 tablespoon filling  3) wet edges with water
4) pinch at top 5) pleat down right side  6) pleat down left side

cooking potstickers

7) arrange potstickers on baking sheet  8) fry in pan – don’t overcrowd
9) cook until brown on the bottom  10) add water & steam to finish cooking

Fair warning – this recipe makes an insane amount of potstickers – over 100 for me. I cooked 1/3 of them and froze the rest to fry up for a quick meal later. To freeze, I simply stuck the baking pan of potstickers into the freezer. Once frozen, I placed them in a freezer bag.

potstickers

Vegetarian Potstickers

10 ounces firm tofu, drained
1/2 medium onion
1″ piece of ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, stems removed
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 cups cabbage, finely shredded
1 cup bean sprouts, chopped
3 teaspoons sesame oil
4 tablespoons soy sauce
freshly ground pepper and salt, to taste
2 packages gyoza/potsticker wrappers

For dipping sauce:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small red chili pepper, thinly sliced (optional)

  1. Crumble tofu with your hands until it resembles ground meat. Place in a strainer and set aside. 
  2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine onion, ginger  garlic, mushrooms, carrot, and celery. Pulse until ingredients are roughly chopped. Place mixture into a large bowl. Mix in cabbage, bean sprouts, and tofu. Sprinkle mixture with sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper, and salt and mix well to combine.
  3. Set up your station: bowl of filling, stack of potsticker wrapper, a small bowl filled with water, and a large baking sheet.
  4. To fold: place wrapper in your non-dominant hand. Scoop about 1 tablespoon of filling into the center of the wrapper. Wet a finger on your dominant hand and lightly trace the outside of the wrapper. Fold wrapper in half to form a half circle and pinch at the top. Starting at the center, make 3 pleats down toward the bottom-right corner. Repeat on the left side. Continue with the remaining filling and wrappers.
  5. To cook: heat a large, lidded saute pan over high heat. Add in 1 teaspoon oil and swirl pan to coat. Add pot stickers, pleat-side up, being careful not to overcrowd. Cook until bottoms are browned, about 5 minutes. Add in 1/2 cup water and immediately cover the pan to contain the splatter. After 30 seconds, when splattering has subsided, slightly crack the lid open to allow steam to escape. Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until heated through and water has evaporated. Let cook for an additional 1 – 2 minutes to allow bottom to re-crisp. Serve immediately with dipping sauce.
  6. To make dipping sauce: combine soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, and chili pepper in a small bowl. Stir to combine.


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Butternut Squash Gnocchi

One of my favorite stress-relievers is reading cookbooks, cooking magazines and trolling the internet for recipes. Well one day I stumbled upon this recipe for sweet potato gnocchi on the Food Network website. It was perfect. I had sage I needed to use up! I scribbled out a grocery list and was about to head out the door when it struck me – butternut squash gnocchi. Why was I buying sweet potatoes when I could sub it with something else?

I’ve had this butternut squash sitting on my kitchen counter for months. I’m fairly certain it came from one of our last CSA boxes in… October? Yikes. Good news is that it’s stayed nice and healthy and squash-like. I wish all produce lasted this long!

So, that’s how this butternut squash gnocchi came to fruition. This was a fun weekend project for me. The process of making the dough and then cutting and shaping the gnocchi was strangely therapeutic.

Gnocchi

I decided to make it with two browned butter sauces. I wish I could tell you that one browned butter is better than the other, but they are both delicious. Do yourself a favor and make both! And of course, Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope you all have a chance to spend some time with those that you love.

gnocchi with sage browned butter

Butternut Squash Gnocchi

1 medium butternut squash, 2 – 3 pounds
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 egg, whisked

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F. 
  2. Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out seeds. Place squash on baking sheet face up. Lightly coat with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 90 minutes, or until squash is fork tender and lightly caramelized.
  3. Let cool slightly before scooping out flesh into food processor. Blend until smooth.
  4. Place pureed squash in a medium pot over medium-low heat and cook for about 30 minutes to cook off excess moisture. Move to a large bowl and put in fridge to cool completely.
  5. Once cook, combine 2 cups of squash puree with 1 teaspoon of salt and egg. Stir in flour 1/2 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
  6. Move dough to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Divide dough into 6 sections. Roll each section into a long rope about 3/4″ in diameter. Cut into 1″ sections. Gently roll gnocchi with the back of a fork along the tines. Repeat with remaining dough.
  7. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. In small batches, cook gnocchi until it floats to the top of the water and is tender, about 6- 8 minutes. (Gnocchi may float to the top before fully cooked)
  8. Toss cooked gnocchi in browned butter sauce, recipes below, and serve immediately.

Cinnamon Maple Sage Browned Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
20 sage leaves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoon maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

  1. Melt butter in a medium pan over medium heat and cook until milk solids have browned, about 5 minutes. Add sage leaves and cook for about a minute, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately. 

Sage Browned Butter

1 stick unsalted butter
20 sage leaves
1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

  1. Melt butter in medium pan over medium heat until milk solids have browned, about 5 minutes. Add sage and broth and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook until slightly reduced, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Toss with gnocchi and serve immediately. 


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Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Bar

I finally grew up. I inherited a DSLR from my generous sister, Becca, who has moved onto bigger & better cameras. I started using it just a couple of weeks ago. The trouble is, I don’t know how to use it. Pfft, technology. I’m clunking my way through photos. Each time I make a dish it goes something like this.

Plate food
Poke at it with my fingers to make it look “better”.
Give up because I’m not expert at food plating and presentation.
Set it down and take some pictures.
Too dark.
Mash some buttons on the camera.
Too light.
Mash more buttons.
Too blurry.
Setup a makeshift tripod with my rolled up yoga mat (shut up, it’s all I have).
Still blurry (not surprising).
Prop camera on cake stand.
Snap a few more photos.
Still not great.
Give up and tell myself I’ll fix it in Picasa.
Get to Picasa and can’t figure it out.
Post the picture any way.

Some day I will learn how to use this thing… and how to edit the photo I take. Until then, you’ll have to bear with the cake-stand-as-makeshift-tripod unedited photos.

I’ll make up for subpar photos with stellar recipes, though! I give to you today a fruit & nut bar that will rock your world. It’s inspired by the Cranberry Almond KIND bars, but at a fraction of the cost. It’s filled with amazing goodies – almonds, cashews, dates, cranberries, and cherries.

I was a bit skeptical at first, because the fruit base is a bit unsightly after you blend it all together–
fruit & nut bar paste
But the end result? So good.  Not overly sweet with a bit of tang from the cranberries and just the right amount of saltiness from the nuts.
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Dark Chocolate Fruit & Nut Bar
makes 16 bars
Olive oil spray
1/2 cup cashews
1 1/2 cup pitted dates
1 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted almonds, divided
1/2 cup puffed rice cereal
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
  1. Place cashews in food processor and pulse a few times or until cashews are very roughly chopped. Place into a large, bowl lightly sprayed with olive oil.
  2. Generously spray food processor bowl and blade with olive oil. Place dates, cherries, and cranberries into food processor and blend until a paste forms.
  3. Place fruit paste, 1/2 cup of almonds, and puffed rice into bowl with cashews. Lightly spray hands with olive oil, and hand-mix until all ingredients are well combined. I find it easiest to knead it like I would with bread dough.
  4. Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Press fruit and nut mixture evenly in pan. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of almonds on top and press firmly into fruit and nut mixture. Place in freezer for 15 minutes.
  5. Lift bars out of pan with foil. Gently peel off foil. Spray a large knife with olive oil and cut bars into 16 bars, approximately 1×4″.
  6. Melt chocolate chips in a small bowl in microwave in 20 second intervals until fully melted.
  7. Drizzle chocolate with a fork over bars. Let chocolate cool and harden before enjoying.


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Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad

It was Blogger’s Choice for today’s recipe swap. I was assigned to Amy’s Kitchen Creations. I saw the chicken pot pies and had my heart set on making them. Then, time got away from me and I realized that there was no way I would ever have the time to prepare that dish in time for the swap reveal!

Thank goodness she has so many recipes to choose from! I came upon the corn, avocado, and tomato salad and knew that it would be perfect. I had a ton of corn to use up from the CSA and we had a bunch of ripe cherry tomatoes that were begging to be used in our garden!

I loved how easy this was to make! I ended up doubling the recipe because I had so much corn to use up. Now, I have a bunch of delicious leftovers to get me through the next few days 🙂

Corn, Avocado, and Tomato Salad
slightly adapted from Amy’s Kitchen Creations

11 ears corn, cooked and kernels cut off
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
2 avocados, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup red onion, diced
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 lime, zested
2 limes, juiced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste

  1. Combine the corn, tomatoes, avocado, and onion in a large glass bowl.
  2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro, salt, and pepper.
  3. Pour dressing over vegetables and toss gently to combine.

 


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Grilled Veggie Kabobs with Lime Chimichurri

Mike and I were hustlin’ to use up all the produce we had in our fridge before we left. These veggie kabobs were absolutely perfect for the occasion! The added bonus was that we were able to finally use the grill! With our weird work hours, we can go days without eat dinner together. Mike and his grilling puppy, Ripley, set to work:

The kabobs gettin’ their grill on

Ripley the Grill Dog watching intently.

We ended up with a ton of leftovers. I munched on those over the next day over some steamed rice without the chimichurri. The original recipe called for 6 cloves of garlic in the sauce. I only used 4, and the garlic taste was still pretty strong. Next time, I’ll probably use 2 cloves or just skip the sauce altogether and just drizzle the kabobs with plain lime juice.


Grilled Veggie Kabobs with Lime Chimichurri

for the kabobs:
3 patty pan squash, halved and sliced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 red onions, quartered
2 bell peppers, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 pound cremini mushrooms, halved if large
1/2 tablespoon chipotle chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste

for thechimichurri:
4 garlic cloves
3 dried bay leaves
6 teaspoons lime juice
1 fresh poblano pepper, chopped
2 fresh serrano chilis, chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/3 cup Italian flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup oregano
1/2 cup basil
1/3 cup olive oi

  1. Combine veggies in a large dish. Sprinkle with chili powder, salt, and pepper and toss to coat evenly. Let sit for 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, make chimichurri. Combine all ingredients except for olive oil in a food processor. Blend until smooth. Slowly add in olive oil until well combined.
  3. Thread vegetables onto skewers* leaving a little space between each item. Grill over medium heat until slightly charred on all sides. Serve immediately with sauce.
*Use metal or bamboo skewers. If using bamboo ones, don’t forget to soak them in water for a good 30 minutes or so!

recipe adapted from Runner’s World


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Eggplant Parmesan

I had said yesterday that I’ve only made one meal in the last week. I now have to admit that the only reason I made this was because I had signed up for a vegetarian recipe swap and the reveal is today. If it weren’t for this, I probably would’ve survived on random junk in my fridge and Sour Patch Kids. So, thank goodness for this tasty meal because it fed us for a really long time!

The recipe I was assigned was Eggplant Parmesan from Tasty Treats by Tina. The last time I had made eggplant parm was just over 3 years ago. Holy smokes! I love how Tina’s version is unbreaded. It cuts down on the prep and I think that her recipe is to die for!

Eggplant Parmesan
recipe very slightly adapted from Tasty Treats by Tina

1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces fat free ricotta cheese
6 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup basil, chopped
4 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows)

  1.  Sprinkle both sides of the eggplant slices with salt. Place slices in a colander, and place a dish underneath the colander to capture liquid that will sweat out of the eggplant. Allow to sit for 30 minutes – 1 hour.
  2. Preheat oven to 350ºF.
  3. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, mozzarella, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Mix in egg and basil.
  4. Rinse the eggplant in cold water until all salt is removed. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Place one layer of eggplant in the pan, brown each side. Repeat with remaining eggplant slices, using additional oil if necessary.
  5. In a 9×13 inch baking dish, evenly spread 1 1/2 cups of pasta sauce. Arrange a single layer of eggplant slices on top of the sauce. Top the eggplant with 1/2 of the cheese mixture. Repeat layering process until all the eggplant and cheese mixture is used. Pour remaining sauce on top of layers, and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
  6. Bake 30 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbly.

Basic Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 medium onion, diced
4-8 ounce cans low sodium tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat  olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook until until is translucent.
  2. Add tomato sauce and seasonings and bring to a boil, stirring often.
  3. Lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes.