Best vegetarian recipes for non-vegetarians?

Spendless

What about Bubble and Squeak? When I bought my DD 'My Naughty Little Sister' complete book last Christmas, there's a lovely story in it about how extra potatoes and veg were made and put to one side for Mondays (cos it was a busy wash day). Would fit the bill nicely of old style, use it up and veggie.

Bunny200

Tuesday is our meat-free day as Monday is leftover from Sunday lunch! I've been doing it for about 18 months now and I feel its much healthier and cheaper, we've had things I probably wouldn't have tried before, some have worked and some haven't! The kids haven't really noticed and OH is on board as his mum is veggie so he's used to it.
Favorite things,
JP Cheese & Beans,
Bean Stew - loads of different type of beans (tinned or dried) cooked up with onions, garlic, tinned tomatoes, herbs etc. Serve with veg
Lentil Burgers - kids fav boil up some lentils with stock cube/herbs, then when mushy add some S&P and sometimes some dry stuffing mix then dollop onto a baking tray in burgery size shapes then cook in the oven for about 20 mins on 200 until the outside is a little crunchy. Serve with anything, JP, mash, rice etc, try adding garlic, cumin, cordiander etc to jazz them up a bit.
Veggie Lasage, as normal but swop the meat for soya mince
Nut roast
Chickpea Curry
Lentilese & Pasta (thats our name for it) make up some bolgenese style sauce using lentils as base, so boil lentils with tinned tomatoes, stock, garlic, herbs the usual until the lentils have gone mushy and then serve with pasta, french bread & cheese. Scrummy

valk_scot

Spendless wrote: »

What about Bubble and Squeak? When I bought my DD 'My Naughty Little Sister' complete book last Christmas, there's a lovely story in it about how extra potatoes and veg were made and put to one side for Mondays (cos it was a busy wash day). Would fit the bill nicely of old style, use it up and veggie.

Ohh, I LOVE bubble & squeak and you've just reminded me that I haven't made it for a while. Even better done with a bit of chopped bacon and fried in the bacon fat though.

Boodle

Hi Rach

Why not check out the Mealplans thread? There are always loads of lovely ideas for meals there that don't have meat in them.

I wouldn't worry too much about finding substantial protein foods i.e. the lentils, beans, soya products, just for one meal a week. Do they like mushrooms or baked beans though? Baked beans on toast or bought veggie fingers with baked beans might be a good start.

Lots of luck and hope you all find some new favourites!

cooking-mama

Great ideas here,I started a thread with a similar title last year,but i cant find it now(probably merged with something else)...anyhow,we kinda slipped by the wayside,but im delighted to see this idea ressurected because ive told my lot to expect less meat once i get back into normal supermarket shopping(after schools return etc)..
to help me on my way ive invested in a 1/2 price Denby omelette pan,a bargain at £9...so for a kick off we are having at least one weekly omelette night(free range eggs tho,cant bear the thought of factory hens suppliying my dinner,poor wee chooks)

rachbc

Well my considerably tweaked verison of Nigella's 'Mexican lasange' went down a storm. Had made it before and over half was left but after basically rewritting the recipe this time hubby had 3 portions and didn't even ask where the meat was!

Stephen_Leak

Even as a "carnivore", I hate the term "vegetarian". There are loads of perfectly good dishes out there, that just don't happen to contain meat.

As a random sample of my meat-free recipes, here's what I'm doing for my dinner for tonight and tomorrow ...

REFRIED BEANS

These are only fried once. The name is due to a mis-translation. In Castilian Spanish and English, the prefix re- indicates that something is done more than once. However, in Mexican Spanish, the prefix re- indicates that something is done well. As this dish is Mexican, its name, frijoles refritos, is in Mexican Spanish and translates into English as "well-fried beans" and not "twice-fried beans".

Serves 2 - 3

INGREDIENTS

420g tin of baked beans
400g tin of red kidney beans
1 chilli pepper
1 onion
1 tablespoon of oil

FRESH CHILLI PEPPER WARNING!

When you chop up fresh chilli peppers be careful and avoid getting juice on your hands. If you touch your eyes, mouth or other ‘sensitive areas’, even an hour after chopping them, they will smart and burn. So wash your hands or wear rubber gloves.

METHOD

Open the tins of beans and drain off the water. Cut the top off the chilli pepper, cut it in half and scrape out the seeds, then chop it into pieces.Peel the onion and chop it into pieces.

Put the beans into a bowl. Add the chilli. Mix thoroughly.

If you have a food processor, put the beans and chilli in it and blend them to the desired consistency. If you have a hand blender, put the beans and chilli into a bowl and blend them to the desired consistency. If you don’t have a food processor or hand blender, put the beans and chilli into a bowl and use a potato masher or fork to mash them to the desired consistency. The desired consistency is like porridge or double cream. If required, add a little bit of water.

Put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the onion. Fry the onion for about 5 minutes until it is soft. Stir frequently to stop them sticking.

Add the beans and chilli. Mix thoroughly. Fry for about 5 minutes. Stir frequently to stop it sticking.

ADDITIONS & ALTERNATIVES

Use dried beans, but these will need to be soaked and boiled first.

Use other beans, especially pinto beans, which are the authentic Mexican cowboy bean.

If you can’t find just one chilli pepper, use 1 teaspoon of chilli powder.

Add 1 teaspoon of ground cumin. Cumin comes from Asia, but the Spanish brought it with them to the New World, where it is now widely used in Tex-Mex cuisine.

Add 2 teaspoons of parsley, which is reputed to reduce the wind generating capacity of beans.

TIPS

Let it cool and reheat it, as the flavour of chilli improves with reheating.

FrankieM

rachbc wrote: »

Well my considerably tweaked verison of Nigella's 'Mexican lasange' went down a storm. Had made it before and over half was left but after basically rewritting the recipe this time hubby had 3 portions and didn't even ask where the meat was!

I was wondering if you could let me know how you tweaked it...?

Marm0set11

Good evening all!
I have lurked around this board for a few weeks since discovering it, and have now decided its time to join in!
I live with my boyfriend, and we eat pretty well, but I feel that our diet is still a little meat heavy. My OH thinks of meat as the main part of a meal and has often turned his nose up at some of my more creative veggie efforts (although he has still eaten it- so it can't have been that bad! :rotfl:). Clearly being upfront doesn't work, so I have decided to take a more sneaky approach.
The ideas on this thread are great, and I have already jotted down several recipes. I was just wondering if anyone has any tips for incorportating more beans and pulses in meals, as well as using them as the main ingredient in chillis etc?
Thanks,
M x

cooking-mama

FrankieM wrote: »

I was wondering if you could let me know how you tweaked it...?

Me too please...Oh and i found my original Meatfree Monday(or tues,wed)post..no 51...merged in here:rotfl: