Wednesday Recipes

It's the middle of the week; if we made it this far, we can hang on until the weekend.

In the meantime, we need to eat. Here are six yummy vegetarian recipes to help you through the day, including Baked Ziti and Strawberry "Nice" Cream. Enjoy!

CHEESE AND RICE STUFFED PEPPERS

Recipe Yield: Yield: 4 servings

Source: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes

Book Title: The New Family Cookbook for People with Diabetes

View this online at https://diabeticgourmet.com/diabetic-recipes/cheese-and-rice-stuffed-peppers.

Ingredients

4 medium green bell peppers

2 cups cooked rice

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Slice off the tops of the peppers. Wash the peppers and remove the cores and seeds. Stand the pepper cups upright in a saucepan containing 1/2 cup boiling water. Cover tightly and allow steam 5 minutes. Remove and drain.

In a large bowl, mix together the rice, cheese parsley, salt, and ground pepper. Divide the mixture and stuff each pepper.

Stand the peppers in a loaf pan or cupcake tins. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the filling is hot and the cheese melts.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 222; Fat: 4 g; Sodium: 455 mg; Cholesterol: 15 mg; Protein: 12 g; Carbohydrates: 31 g

Diabetic Exchanges: 1-1/2 Starch, 2 Vegetable, 1 Lean Meat

WEIGHT WATCHERS SLOW-COOKER SOUP

This was from a Weight Watchers email at least ten years ago. Each serving is about 1 cup.

Ingredients

10 oz baby spinach leaves

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium celery ribs, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 medium garlic clove, minced

4 C vegetable broth

28 oz canned diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

1 Tbsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, crushed

Directions

Place all ingredients in slow cooker; cover & cook on high for 5 hours. Remove bay leaves, stir, & serve.

Note: If you need the soup fast, simply add prepped ingredients in a large pot on stovetop. Bring to boil & then reduce heat to low; simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SNOWFLAKES

This is part of Vegetarian Times site, and is originally from Barefoot Contessa (Ina Garten). Serves 4

You can view this online at https://barefootcontessa.com/recipes/roasted-cauliflower-snowflakes.

Ingredients

1 head cauliflower (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Good olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup panko (Japanese bread flakes)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Remove the leaves and trim the stem of the cauliflower but leave the core intact. With a sharp slicing knife, cut the whole cauliflower in large (1/2-inch-thick) slices. Don’t worry if the slices fall apart; they’ll look like snowflakes. Place the cauliflower on a sheet pan, drizzle with 3 tablespoons of olive oil, and sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Roast the cauliflower for 15 minutes.

Toss the panko with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle on the cauliflower, and roast for another 10 to 15 minutes, until tender and browned. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and roast for another minute or two. Immediately, scrape the pan with a metal spatula and toss the cauliflower and Parmesan. Serve hot or at room temperature.

STRAWBERRY "NICE" CREAM

This is from Weight Watchers, and begins, "You only need three ingredients to make this creamy and refreshing dessert. It's perfect for when you want something cold to snack on in the summer but don't want to eat into your SmartPoints® Budget. Just be sure you have the time to completely freeze the banana and strawberries so that they blend to the right consistency."

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Total Times: 3 hours 10 minutes; Serves: 4; Serving: 1/2 cup; Difficulty: Easy

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups Unsweetened frozen strawberries, sliced

2 large ripe Bananas

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract

Directions

Peel bananas and cut them into 1-inch chunks. Place them in a large zip-close plastic freezer bag. Seal and freeze until frozen solid, 2 to 3 hours.

Place frozen bananas and frozen sliced strawberries in food processor; puree, scraping down side of bowl with rubber spatula. Add vanilla extract and pulse.

Serve immediately or, for a firmer texture, transfer to a container and freeze until ready to serve; allow to soften about 10 minutes at room temperature. Garnish with fresh berries and mint leaves if desired.

CHEESE ENCHILADAS

This is from Bryan Washington in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Bryan wrote, "Enchiladas are an essential component of Houston’s ebullient, dynamic foodways. Mexican in origin, while distinctly Tex-Mex at the same time, the dish adapts to its surroundings. Each version of enchiladas is deeply local: The style ubiquitous in Monterrey, Mexico, will be different from those found in San Antonio or El Paso or Mexico City. But from enchilada to enchilada, the common denominator is deliciousness. In 'The Enchilada Queen Cookbook,' Sylvia Casares notes, 'for Tex-Mex-style cheese enchiladas, yellow cheese, such as Cheddar, is the traditional choice' yielding 'the quintessential Tex-Mex enchilada.'"

Yield: 4 servings; Time: 1 hour

This was featured in "All Enchiladas Are Perfect. But These Are My Favorite", and can be viewed online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1023152-cheese-enchiladas.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola, plus more for greasing

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons ground red chile powder (see Tip)

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, plus more for sprinkling

2 cups beef broth

Salt

10 corn tortillas

1 pound shredded Cheddar (5 cups)

1/2 cup finely diced white onion

Fresh parsley or cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-by-13-inch shallow baking dish or pan or a very large cast-iron skillet.

Add the oil and flour to a medium skillet. Set over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture (known as roux) turns a golden color, smells nutty and thickens, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add garlic, chile powder, cumin, oregano and black pepper to the roux. Whisk until smooth (some clumping from the garlic is fine), being careful to not let the spices burn, about 30 seconds.

While whisking constantly, add beef broth 1/4 cup at a time, whisking after each addition, until smooth. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently, whisking occasionally, for 10 minutes. Then remove from heat, and allow the gravy to rest for another 10 minutes. Taste the gravy and season with salt as needed for a savory sauce.

Meanwhile, in another pan, lightly heat a tortilla over medium just until softened, about 30 seconds per side. Transfer to a clean kitchen towel or sheet of foil and wrap. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, stacking them in the towel or foil. Be careful of overcooking: You’re softening each tortilla to prevent them from cracking as they’re filled and folded.

Fill a softened tortilla with about 1/3 cup of cheese. Roll shut and, with the seam side facing downward, place in the greased baking dish or skillet. Repeat until you’ve filled all of the tortillas, setting the rolls next to each other.

Slowly pour the gravy over all of the tortillas to coat. Afterward, sprinkle the dish with the rest of the cheese and the diced onion.

Bake until the gravy is bubbling and the cheese melted, 20 to 25 minutes.

Garnish with parsley, if desired, alongside a sprinkle of salt and black pepper. Serve immediately.

Tip

You want ground dried chiles, not chili powder, which includes other spices and salt. The choice of mild, medium or hot chile powder is up to you, but avoid using chipotle chile powder, which can end up bitter.

BAKED ZITI

This is from Alison Roman in The New York Times cooking newsletter. Alison wrote, "This baked ziti is layered almost like a lasagna to ensure every bite has enough creamy ricotta, stringy mozzarella and tangy tomato sauce. But the key to its success comes from undercooking the pasta during the initial boil so it stays perfectly al dente, even after a trip to the oven. Heavy cream is added to prevent the ricotta from becoming grainy or dry during baking, letting it be its most luscious self. While this baked ziti is meatless (there’s plenty of richness from the cheese — three types, to be exact), you could always incorporate a bit of sausage, ground meat or pancetta, if you like. Simply add 1/2 pound to the onions while sautéeing and proceed with the recipe."

Yield: 6 to 8 servings; Time: 1 1/2 hours

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018954-baked-ziti.

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, packed in juice

1 (28-ounce) can tomato purée or sauce

3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

16 ounces/1 pound ricotta

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino, plus more for grating on top

1 pound ziti, rigatoni, penne, manicotti or other short, tubelike pasta

1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Preparation

Make the tomato sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until it has turned a deeper brick-red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes. Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them (including the juice) and the tomato purée to the pot, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.

Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, heavy cream and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Prepare the pasta: As the sauce cooks, heat oven to 425 degrees, and place a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove.

Cook pasta until it’s nearly al dente. (You want to undercook the pasta slightly, as it will continue to cook in the oven. A good way to do this is cook it 2 minutes less than you normally would if preparing it al dente.) Reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and rinse with cool water; set aside while the tomato sauce finishes cooking.

Once tomato sauce is done, stir in reserved pasta water.

Place pasta in a large bowl and add 2 cups sauce. Stir to coat pasta evenly encouraging the sauce to go inside each tube.

Spoon a bit of remaining sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with 1/3 of the pasta. Spoon 1/3 of the remaining sauce on top, dollop with half the ricotta mixture and scatter 1/3 of the mozzarella on top of that. Repeat, beginning with the pasta, one more time. For the final layer, add the last 1/3 of pasta and the last of the sauce. Dot remaining mozzarella on top and shave a bit more Parmesan on top of that. Place baking dish on top of a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to catch any drips. Place in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and bubbling and the top has browned nicely, 30 to 40 minutes.

Let cool slightly before eating with a big green leafy salad.

Tip

Baked ziti can be assembled 2 hours before baking. It can be baked 1 day ahead and rewarmed before serving.