I Need Healthy, Quick, Vegetarian Dinners! Please Help Me!

I made this recipe up when I was in grad school. It's all you require, and CHEAP. It's not vegan, but it is vegetarian.

MUCK

Spanish Rice a Roni/brown rice/white rice: I make a lot at a time and mix all three kinds of rice together
Can of diced tomatoes
Can of corn
Can of black beans
Shredded cheese (mild cheddar is what I use)
Fresh chopped onion
Chopped fresh peppers if I have them

You need a 9x13 pan or large casserole dish sprayerd with cooking spray and warmed oven at 350*.

Make the rice; while it is simmering, cook onions in large pan.
Add the vegetables to the onion.

When rice is done, put one layer of veggies in the pan. Add one layer of rice. Add one layer of cheese (make it as thick as you want). Then do one more layer of each.
Bake till cheese is melted, browned, whatever.

I don't like to spend a lot of time cooking but I prefer food with ingrediants I know so I have started some cooking too. We make up big batchs of spaghetti, chilli , and soups then freeze them in ready to eat servings for the family
another fast one we do is homemade pizza (with a store bought crust to save time)
quiches are good and really not too hard to make (again with a store nought crust or crustless). We usually add spinich and over veggies. Just make sure you add spices
another thing my daughter will eat is gardenburgers (1 min in the microwave)
for inspiration I sometimes check out allrecepies.com. There is also another site called weeliscious.com that has a lot of ideas. I haven't made a lot from there though

Barley Casserole
Serves 6 as a side dish; 4 as a main dish

2 medium carrots, halved and thinly sliced

1 cup fresh small mushrooms, quartered (optional)

1 cup black (or other) beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup corn

2 cups veggie broth

¾ cup pearl barley (rinsed)

¼ cup dried lentils (rinsed and picked over - or not)

¼ cup chopped onion

¼ tsp. garlic salt

½ cup cheddar cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a 1 ½ quart casserole dish, add all ingredients, except the cheese. Cover
and bake for 1 hour. Stir once half-way through.

Sprinkle with cheese, cover and let stand five minutes.

Sauteed zucchini and fettuccine
Serves 4-6
1 pound fettuccine
4 TBS olive oil
1 TBS minced garlic
2 large zucchini (1 pound total), trimmed and shredded
1/2 c pine nuts, toasted
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 TBS lemon juice (freshly squeezed preferred)
2 ounces shaved Parmesan cheese

1. Cook fettuccine. Drain and place in large serving bowl.
2. Heat a large skillet over high heat until very hot. Add 2 TBS of the olive oil, the garlic, and zucchini. Saute for 1 minute.
3. Add zucchini to pasta bowl along with pine nuts, salt, pepper, lemon juice and remaining 2 TBS olive oil*; toss to combine.
4. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.

*very important step...it's not nearly as good without the additional oil...

Cuban Soup
Serves 4-6
-1 pound white kidney beans, cannellini beans, navy beans or Great Northern beans
-12 ounces pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 3/4 inch dice (about 2 cups)
5 c. water
Sofrito:
-5 tablespoons olive oil
-1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
-4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
-3 tablespoons of poblano or other mild green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
-1/4 cup of finely chopped cilantro
-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
-1 cup of tomato sauce
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
In a large pot, bring the beans, pumpkin and 5 cups of water to a boil. While the beans are cooking, prepare the sofrito. Put the oil in a large frying pan and set it on medium-high heat. When hot, put in the onion and garlic and stir and fry for a minute. Now put in the green pepper and cilantro and turn the heat to medium, and stir for a minute. Put in the cumin and stir once, then add the tomato sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and simmer very gently, stirring now and then, for 10 minutes.
When the beans and pumpkin are tender, add the salt and the sofrito to the pot. Stir and bring to a simmer. Simmer very gently for 10 to 15 minutes, or until all the flavors are blended, stirring now and then.
Serve with rice (which is yummy in the soup, too)

Lentil Barley Soup
Serves 5
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs. butter or olive oil
6 cups vegetarian bullion or broth
28 oz. can peeled tomatoes (undrained and cut)
3/4 cup lentil
3/4 cup barley
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/2 tsp. rosemary (this is a dry measure - adjust for taste if using fresh)
1/2 tsp. oregano (this is a dry measure - adjust for taste if using fresh)
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 cup shredded cheese (optional)

Cook onions, garlic, and celery in oil or butter until tender.
Add broth/bullion, tomatoes (undrained), barley, lentils, rosemary, oregano, and pepper
Bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes.
Add carrots and cook for 15 minutes more.
Serve hot and top with cheese. Really good the next day, too.

Kung Pao Tofu
Serves 4
1 pound extra firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes and drained between layers of towels
3 Tbs. soy sauce
2 Tbs. sherry
1 Tbs. vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 c. veggie broth
1 Tbs. cornstarch
2 tsp. sesame oil
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp. finely chopped fresh ginger root
1 c. chopped onion
1 c. chopped green bell pepper
1/2 c. dry roasted peanuts (unsalted)

Place drained tofu in a small bowl. Combine 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of sherry and spoon over tofu. Mix gently and set aside to marinate for about 10 minutes.
In a small bowl, combine remaining soy sauce and sherry, vinegar, sugar, pepper, broth, and cornstarch. Stir to dissolve cornstarch. Set aside.
Heat 1 tsp. of sesame oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add tofu. Cook, stirring frequently, until tofu cubes are lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove tofu from skillet, place in a bowl, and cover to keep warm.
Return skillet to heat and add remaining sesame oil. Add garlic and ginger root and cook for 10 seconds or until sizzling. Add onion, bell pepper, and peanuts. Cook and stir, for a few minutes, until vegetables are tender-crisp. Return tofu to skillet. Stir sauce and pour over tofu and vegetables. Cook, stirring constantly, 1 -2 minutes, until sauce has thickened.
Serve with rice.

Vegetarian Chili
Serves 4-6
4 c. pinto beans
2 c. kidney beans
15 oz. hominy
28 oz. crushed or diced tomatoes (depending on how chunky you like your tomatoes - I used crushed)
2 Tbs. tomato paste (can easily do without)
1 zucchini, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 1/2 c. water
1 Tbs. chili powder
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. sugar
Throw it all in a pot and simmer until veggies are tender.
Garnish with cheese, sour cream, cilantro.

In your case, I would go for the stir-fry recipes....using frozen stir-fry veggies(or other varieties) and your meat substitutes, olive oil or peanut oil, and seasonings.
That would probably be the easiest for you.
I recommend Meijer for variety in frozen veggies.
You can make Italian and Mexican (Southwestern) variations as well as use noodles (pasta) and rice too.

Chili Mac

1 lb. macaroni
1 large 28-30 oz. can crushed tomatoes
8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 package of chili seasoning mix (or add celery salt and chili powder to taste)
1 16 oz. can hot chili beans
Shredded cheddar chesse (optional)

Cook and drain the macaroni per package directions. Sit in everything except for the cheese and heat on medium heat till warm. Top with the cheese in individual bowls.

NOT SURE i CAN HELP YOU ON THE DINNERS.....I AM LIKE YOU, I NEVER CARED MUCH ABOUT COOKING THE GOURMET DINNERS....I HAVE A FIREND WHO IS WIDOWED LIKE ME BUT SHE COOKS ALL THE TIME AND HAS HER KIDS STOP BY AFTER WORK AND TAKE IT HOME FOR SUPPER....NOW THAT IS TOO MUCH MARTHA STEWART.
BUT I AM WRITING BECAUSE YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT KEEPING YOUR HOME GREEN IMPRESSED ME.....OF COURSE IF YOU CHECK OUT THE INGREDIENTS ON ALOT OF THE SO CALLED "GREEN WORKS" IN THE STORE THEY STILL HAVE SOME QUESTIONALBLE INGREDIENTS IN THEM. I WORK FROM HOME (WHICH IS AN OPTION) WITH A WELLNESS COMPANY THAT IS AWESOME AND NOTHING THEY HAVE WILL POISON YOUR FAMILY OR CHILDREN AND THERE IS NO CANCER CAUSING AGENTS IN ANY OF THEIR ITEMS. I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOU....http://livetotalwellness.com/ckh
AS FAR AS COOKING I DO HAVE SOME VERY GOOD CASSEROLE RECIPES THAT ARE EASY TO THROW TOGETHER IF YOU WANT THEM. YOU CAN CONTACT ME AT ____@____.com

I have been vegetarian/vegan for almost a year. One thing I will warn you about is not to get discouraged. It does take a little time to get the hang of cooking without meat, etc. But, I found that soups are great even in the summer. You can pack a lot of nutrients in a crockpot and have plenty of leftovers. I often fix a batch of soup and put half of it in the freezer so that my kids don't tire of it. Then, you can just pull it out later and throw it back in the crockpot to reheat.

One of my favorite soups I found on the Quaker Quick Barley box. It's a quick and heart Vegetable Barley Soup. I substituted the fake ground beef and I use vegetable boullion cubes instead of beef. I also use whatever frozen veggies I have.

I also suggest you dig our the crockpot!! You can do so many soups and cassaroles in there and make your mealtime so much easier! You can even do lasagna in the crockpot! Spray your crockpot with cooking spray first. Just layer your ingredients...dry noodles, sauce, cheese, ricotta cheese (if desired) and repeat. Cook on low until noodles are soft about4 to 6 hours.

I have a lot of cookbooks also. When I can, I grab one of them and take it with me to dr. appts or whatever and look through it. Mark recipes that you might want to try with post it notes. Then, when you are ready to try something new, you won't have to leaf through a bunch. Also, don't try to go through all of it....go to the side dish section. They are usually mostly vegetarian and you can easily substitute to make it such. If I get a recipe online or in the Vegetarian publications that sound good, I print them out immediately and place them in a binder or notebook. Then I can just grab it when I need a new dish.

I hope this helps a little. I know I didn't put down a lot of recipes for you because it looks like you've got some good ones on here already. But, I hope this will encourage you a little in your search!

Good luck!

Black Bean Chili

1 onion
some balsamic vinegar
1-2 can of black beans
1 can of tomatoes and chilies
a hand full of frozen corn
1 or more peppers (I like jalapeño)
chili powder and other spices

Saute the onion in some vinegar. When the onion starts to become clear, mix in the tomatoes, black beans and corn. Bring to a boil and take down to a simmer. Add the pepper and spice.

I usually start the rice cooker at the same time as the chili and serve when the rice is done.

A couple of good cookbooks: McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook and the Vegetarian Times Fat Free and Fast. The library probably has both of them.

Tonight I made bite size rigatoni with veggies on top It was so good everyone asked for seconds.
I took purple onion sliced thin green bell pepper sliced in strips and yellow squash sliced about 1/8th in thick. Put the veggies in a cast iron frying pan with Olive oil and some Cajun spice and Mrs. Dash and served it over the pasta. Also made some garlic bread.
I started the onion first and got it a little soft added the bell peppers and let them soften a little and then last added the squash stirred it all together to make sure the oil and spices coated the veggies. Then covered it for about 5 min's until the squash was soft but not mushy. They just loved it.
Hope this helps.
M.
Making This World A Healthy Place, One Family At A Time. Living Green And Showing Others The Way