Rice Bowl with Mushroom Gravy and Kale

This is the second all-vegetarian recipe I've tried and honestly, the first turned out so bland and seriously not good. I ended up throwing in all the vegetables from it into my stir fry I made this week. The couscous and yogurt sauce from the attempt had to be tossed. In my defense, there wasn't very much left of it, I tried to eat it...OK I forced myself to eat it. I just couldn't do it anymore. If I'm going to eat I want it to taste good at least.

This second one turned out so so well though! I actually achieved a successful gravy/ vegetarian dish all in one! Oh She Glows had this beautiful recipe, I actually adapted it a bit. Oh She Glows uses millet as the grain, but I have no idea what that is so I just used the left over brown rice from the stir fry. Stir fry was a life saver this week apparently. Anyway, the mushroom gravy could be put over anything from pasta to quinoa, your choice.

Rice Bowl with Mushroom Gravy and Kale

Yield: 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 cup brown rice (use package instructions)
• 1/2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cups chopped sweet onion (1 medium onion)
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups sliced crimini mushrooms (300 grams)
• 1.5 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast (found at a health food store)
• 1.5 tbsp low-sodium tamari (soy sauce)
• 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 & 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 cup fresh chopped kale, stems removed
• Freshly ground black pepper & kosher salt, to taste

1. Make the rice according to the instructions on the package. You can have it cooking while you make the gravy, or you can make minute rice and just set it aside.

2. Meanwhile, grab a large skillet and heat oil over medium heat. Add in chopped onions and garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes.

3. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about 12 minutes longer, stirring as necessary. Now stir in the rosemary, nutritional yeast, and tamari. Cook for a few minutes.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the broth and cornstarch until clumps are gone, and then stir into the mushroom mixture. Stir in kale. Cook for another 5-6 minutes or so, until slightly thickened. Portion rice into two bowls and serve the mushroom gravy on top.

Lent: Skinny Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli

Happy Lent! Every Friday I am going to try to make a meatless or seafood recipe since I can't have meat those days and I feel like I've been relying heavily on dead animals to carry my recipes recently. I'm going to try to change that up, and here's the first one to try out.

This recipe came from SkinnyTaste.com and is the first time that I've ever made a soup. I know that pasta is actually just a carb and should probably be avoided, but I used whole wheat pasta so I tried to make it a little better for you. Besides, you need carbs every once in a while and think of this recipe as a nice substitute for the all-around fattening mac and cheese. This recipe has some vegetables not found in typical comfort food, but they are disguised well in a pool of cheesy goodness. I was a fan of this recipe if you couldn't tell.

If you serve this with a salad you could have an easy complete meal. I doubled it and that would've been enough for a family, for me it's enough for a week.

Skinny Macaroni and Cheese Soup with Broccoli

Ingredients:

• 4 oz dry elbow macaroni (I like Ronzoni Smart Taste)
• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 large carrot, chopped
• 1 celery stalk, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp light butter
• 2 tbsp flour
• 2 1/2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
• 1 cup fat free milk
• pinch nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp dry mustard
• salt and fresh pepper to taste
• 2 cups (about 10 oz) broccoli florets, chopped into small pieces
• 1-1/2 cups 2% shredded sharp cheddar
• 2 tbsp parmesan cheese

Boil pasta in salted water according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.

Chop onion, carrot, celery, garlic by hand or mini food processor.

In a large soup pot or dutch oven, melt light butter. Add chopped vegetables and sauté on low heat until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add flour and fresh pepper to the pot and stir until smooth. Slowly add chicken broth, milk, nutmeg and dry mustard powder; whisking constantly. Set heat to medium-high until it comes to a boil. Cover and cook on low about 10-15 minutes.

Add broccoli florets, Parmesan cheese, and stir well. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Cook uncovered until broccoli is cooked, about 5 minutes or more to your liking.

Add cheddar, mixing well until cheese melts and immediately remove from heat. Add cooked elbows and mix well, adjust salt and pepper if needed. Eat right away so the pasta doesn't absorb all the broth.

Shepherd's Pie

I made this recipe last night and I must say, I was really impressed with myself. It came from this blog, Recipes Under 400 originally.

Granted, my mashed potatoes would have come out a little more mashed if I'd had, you know, a masher or a hand mixer. But whatever, it came out delicious. I know it says weight watchers, but don't mind that. It is really really tasty. I ended up not having all the spices so I substituted everything I didn't have with garlic powder. I know that sounds weird, but garlic powder can go in literally anything as long is it's not a dessert. Try this baby out, it has tons of veggies and stuff so it keeps you full and makes a lot, and it isn't absolutely terrible for you. Also, if you want to be a little more of a fatty, you can add some cheese over the taters. I mean, add reduced fat cheese and then maybe you won't feel so bad.

Weight Watcher’s Shepherd’s Pie

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup nonfat sour cream
• 1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine
• 1/8 teaspoon table salt
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 cup onion (chopped)
• 2 medium carrots (diced)
• 2 medium celery ribs, diced
• 1 lb uncooked ground turkey breast (or morningstar farms recipe crumbles)
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 cups canned chicken broth or 2 cups beef broth (or vegetable for vegan)

1. Preheat oven to 400ºF.
   
2. Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender.
3. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
5. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes.
6. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes.
7. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat.
8. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
9. Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top.
10. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes.
11. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

Six servings, 275 Calories each