Monday Recipes

It's Monday, the first full week in October and time to start another week of yummy vegetarian recipes. Here are six yummy recipes to get your week started just right, including Stuffed Peppers with Tomato Sauce, Rhubarb Ice Cream With a Caramel Swirl and Low Calorie Spinach Lasagna. Enjoy!

BERRY VANILLA SENSATION

This recipe, as well as the next one (Tutti-Frutti Smoothie)are from “20 Super Healthy Smoothie Recipes” on the Runner’s World website. They’re originally from The Editors of Prevention.

This one begins, “Vanilla yogurt adds a touch of sweetness to this tangy fruit smoothie recipe.”

Servings: 2

1/2 cup frozen unsweetened raspberries

1/2 cup frozen unsweetened strawberries

3/4 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

1 cup (8 oz) fat-free vanilla yogurt

Combine the raspberries, strawberries, and pineapple juice. Add the yogurt. Blend until smooth.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 192; Protein: 7 g; Carbs: 41 g; Fiber: 2.5 g; Sugar: 35 g; Total fat: 0.5 g; Saturated fat: 0.1 g; Sodium: 86.5 mg

TUTTI-FRUTTI SMOOTHIE

This recipe begins, “A splash of orange juice infuses summer citrus into this healthy and refreshing snack.”

Servings: 2

1/2 cup loose-pack mixed frozen berries or strawberries

1/2 cup canned crushed pineapple in juice

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 cup sliced ripe banana

1/2 cup orange juice

Combine the berries, pineapple (with juice), yogurt, banana, and orange juice in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, in a blender, or in a large measuring cup with an immersion blender. Process for about 2 minutes, or until smooth.

Nutrition Information: Calories (per serving): 140; Protein: 3.5 g; Carbs: 29 g; Fiber: 2.5 g; Sugar: 16 g; Total fat: 2.5 g; Saturated fat: 1.5 g; Sodium: 30 mg

RHUBARB ICE CREAM WITH A CARAMEL SWIRL

This is from Melissa Clark in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This ice cream is chock-full of sweet bits, but with enough satiny frozen custard to savor between the chunks. To keep the rhubarb from freezing into tooth-breaking fruity ice cubes, stew it with plenty of sugar, which keeps the fruit soft. The technique works with any summer fruit, though it’s especially nice with rhubarb, or gooseberries for that matter, both of which need a lot of sugar to tame their squint-inducing acid content. But you can substitute strawberries, apricots, cherries, peaches or plums as the summer fruit season progresses, adjusting the sugar depending upon the sweetness of the fruit.”

Yield: One scant quart

This was featured in “Rhubarb, It Turns Out, Can Be a Sweetie”, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 cups whole milk

1 and 3/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons granulated sugar

Pinch fine sea salt

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

4 large egg yolks, lightly beaten

1 and 1/2 cups sour cream

3/4 pound rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation

In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, whisk together the milk, 3/4 cup sugar, the salt, the vanilla bean seeds and its pod. Simmer gently until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes. Discard the vanilla pod and return mixture to a bare simmer.

Place the yolks in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in hot milk mixture. Scrape the custard back into the pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. Whisk in sour cream. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight.

In a saucepan, combine the rhubarb with 1 cup sugar. Simmer until rhubarb is just tender and has begun releasing its juices, but has not started to fall apart, 4 to 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer rhubarb to a bowl. Continue to simmer the juices until syrupy, 5 to 10 minutes more. Pour the syrup over the rhubarb. Cool completely.

In a clean, dry and preferably nonstick skillet, sprinkle 2 tablespoons sugar over medium heat. When it begins to melt and lightly color, sprinkle in 2 more tablespoons and start swirling pan to help evenly distribute sugar. Add the final 2 tablespoons and cook, swirling pan until all the sugar has melted. Let cook, swirling occasionally, until the sugar syrup caramelizes and turns dark brown. Pour in the heavy cream and 2 tablespoons water (stand back; it may splatter). Simmer, stirring with a heatproof rubber spatula until smooth. Cool completely.

Pour the custard base into an ice cream machine and churn. Add rhubarb compote for the last minute of churning.

Scrape a quarter of the caramel into the bottom of a freezer-proof quart container. Top with a quarter of the ice cream. Repeat layering until all of the caramel and ice cream has been used, ending with the ice cream. Freeze until firm for at least 2 hours and up to 1 week.

STUFFED PEPPERS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

This is from Vegetarian Times, and begins, “Simple and festive, these peppers will be welcome at any time of year.”

Makes 8 servings, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

4 large red, green or yellow bell peppers

3 Tbs. olive oil

4 soy "sausage" links, cut into chunks

2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup minced parsley

2 14.5-oz. cans chopped tomatoes

1 tsp. dried thyme

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup plus 8 Tbs. grated Parmesan cheese

8 sprigs fresh thyme for garnish, optional

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350F.

Slice bell peppers in half lengthwise. Remove core and seeds, rinse and pat dry. Set aside.

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Sauté “sausage” for 2 minutes. Add onion, celery, garlic and parsley, and cook about 10 minutes more. Stir in 1/2 cup tomatoes, thyme and cayenne.

Put rice in bowl, and stir in vegetable mixture. Let stand 15 minutes so the rice absorbs any liquid from vegetables. Stir in cheese. Divide rice mixture among pepper halves, mounding mixture into cavities. Pour remaining tomato mixture into small baking dish. Nestle stuffed peppers on top of tomatoes. Cover dish with lid or aluminum foil.

Bake 1 hour. Uncover peppers, and sprinkle each pepper with 1 Tbs. Parmesan cheese. Cook, uncovered, 10 minutes. Serve with sauce from baking dish, and garnish, if desired.

Nutrition Information: Calories: 270; Carbohydrate Content: 31 g; Cholesterol Content: 15 mg; Fat Content: 11 g; Fiber Content: 5 g; Protein Content: 14 g; Saturated Fat Content: 3 g; Sodium Content: 470 mg; Sugar Content: 4 g

BLACK BEAN SOUP

This is from Rian Handler on Delish. The recipe begins, “A warm and spicy black bean soup.”

Total Time: 35 minutes; Prep Time: 15 minutes; Level: Easy; Serves: 4 servings

To view the recipe online, click here.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium red onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. minced jalapeños

1 tbsp. tomato paste

kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. cumin

3 (15-oz.) cans black beans, with liquid

1 qt. low-sodium vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

sour cream, for garnish

Sliced avocado, for garnish

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions

In a large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add jalapeños and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste, stir to coat vegetables, and cook about a minute more. Season with salt, pepper, chili powder, and cumin and stir to coat.

Add black beans with their liquid and vegetable broth. Stir soup, add bay leaf and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce to a simmer and let simmer until slightly reduced, about 15 minutes. Remove bay leaf.

Using an immersion blender or food processor, blend the soup to desired consistency.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream, sliced avocado, and cilantro.

LOW CALORIE SPINACH LASAGNA

This is from Kimberly Eggleston, a nutritionist on The Spruce. Kimberly wrote, “You wouldn't think that lasagna could be a lean and delicious dish until you have tried this low-calorie spinach lasagna recipe. You can see from the ingredient list that it doesn't even take a whole lot of ingredients to make up this yummy dish. And the ingredients that are included are relatively lean. Instead of fatty sausage and beef, the bulk of this lasagna filling is part skim mozzarella, low-fat cottage cheese, and spinach which give the lasagna nice texture and color. There aren't too many calories coming from those ingredients!

“Another great thing about his spinach lasagna is that this lasagna recipe is so easy to throw together about an hour and fifteen minutes before dinner. Yes, that's only a little over one hour before dinner, and the majority or that time is the lasagna cooking, which frees you up to do other things.

“And there is no need to precook the noodles. You will add water to the dish once you have layered the lasagna together, using uncooked dry noodles. Then the water will cook the noodles during baking time resulting in perfectly al dente noodles when it is finished. One less pot to wash when it is all finished is certainly worth it.”

Total Time: 70 mins; Prep: 10 mins; Cook: 60 mins; Yield: 8 Servings; Per Serving Calories: 304

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 16 oz. carton low-fat cottage cheese

1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, thawed and rinsed

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (6 oz.), divided

1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese (2 oz.)

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp salt

9 lasagna noodles, uncooked

2 cups jarred marinara sauce

1 cup water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F.

To begin with, prepare the cheese and spinach filling for the lasagna.

In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, spinach, 3/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella, pepper, oregano, and salt. Use large spoon to gently stir together the mixture until it is well combined.

Next, spray a 9x13-inch pan with cooking spray.

Place 3 of the uncooked noodles in the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the cottage cheese mixture, and use a large spoon or a spatula to gently spread the cheese mixture over the noodles, trying to cover all the noodles.

Next, over the cheese and spinach mixture, spread 2/3 cup of the marinara sauce, and then top the layer of marinara sauce with 1/4 cup of the shredded mozzarella. Repeat the layers two more times. End with the last three noddles, topped with 2/3 cup of sauce and 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese.

Now that the lasagna is assembled, pour 1 cup of water around the edges of the pan gently and slowly, allowing the water to fill in the gaps slowly so that it does not overflow. Cover the pan tightly with tin foil.

Place the covered lasagna in the preheated oven, and bake for 1 hour. Once the lasagna is done cooking, remove it from the oven, and loosely uncover the dish while the lasagna cools. Let the lasagna stand for 10 minutes before serving in order to allow the lasagna to become far easier to cut.