Category Archives: Vegetarian

Healthy fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower sauce and sweet peas

Posted on May 21, 2013 by Julia

When I first saw the recipe for healthy fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower sauce by Pinch of Yum on Foodgawker, I immediately fell in love with the idea of making a perfectly healthy alternative to my favorite alfredo sauce. Plus, seeing this sauce immediately brought back the memories of a few years back, during Atkins diet craze, when I used to make “fake” mashed potatoes using cauliflower and how much I enjoyed it!

Making this healthy alfredo sauce has long been on my mind but what stopped me from making it was simple logistics: I would forget to buy cauliflower at the store! Finally, here we are – with several cauliflower florets in the refrigerator, I was ready to go! Continue reading →

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Posted in Cauliflower, Cheese, Dinner, Parmesan, Pasta, Recipe, Sweet peas, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 13 Comments

Southwestern shrimp with pineapple salsa

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Julia

Yes, I have a lot of fresh pineapple at my disposal right now. Thus, this is the second time this week I am making a recipe using pineapple – and I don’t mind it in the least! I love fresh pineapple!!! I could snack on plain pineapple all day long, but I also like to use it as an ingredient to enhance recipes, such as making this pineapple salsa to accompany fish or shrimp.

I love southwestern flavors and I love seafood – the two concepts I combine in this simple dish. The shrimp is coated in southwestern spices: cumin, oregano, chili powder, paprika, garlic, plus salt and pepper. It is cooked on the stove top on high heat for a short time – I don’t want to overcook the shrimp! It can also be grilled, but this is a weeknight dish for me, so I don’t have time for the grill.

The pineapple salsa is simply delicious! Fresh and bright in color, it’s full of anti-oxidants, fiber, and other nutrients. I have a hard time staying away from it, so usually very little of this salsa makes it to the actual dinner table, and I simply have to make a double batch. You might have to double the salsa recipe – it’s too addicting! Continue reading →

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Posted in Black beans, Fish, Fruit, Pineapple, Recipe, Shrimp, Tomatoes, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 17 Comments

Easy Fettuccine Alfredo

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Julia

A good basic Alfredo sauce has long been a staple in my kitchen. Not only is it delicious, creamy and cheesy, the sauce is simple to prepare, and it uses the ingredients that can be easily found in any pantry. This ridiculously easy Fettuccine Alfredo dish can be served plain as-is, or alongside some add-ins, such as leftover roasted chicken, grilled vegetables, bacon. It’s one of those great weeknight dinners that will take you at most 30 minutes to make, and what you get in return is a restaurant quality dish.

So, if you’re looking for a simple, straight-forward, not overly complicated recipe, without too many steps, a recipe that is practical for a weeknight after a long busy day, this recipe from Emeril fits the bill.

In addition to grilled chicken and roasted vegetables, this Fettuccine Alfredo also goes great with seafood: grilled or sauteed shrimp, scallops, or lobster. Definitely a keeper! Continue reading →

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Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Parmesan, Pasta, Recipe, Shallots, Vegetarian | 26 Comments

Banana bread with walnuts

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Julia

This is simply the best recipe I’ve found so far for the most moist, perfectly sweetened, and easy banana bread. I added walnuts to this recipe, but they are totally optional, even though I love my banana bread with walnuts. This recipe is so easy, you don’t even need a mixer – just mix everything with a big wooden spoon!

I’ve been eating this walnut banana bread for both breakfast and dessert for the past week and just love it! Continue reading →

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Posted in Baking, Bananas, Bread, Dessert, Fruit, Nuts, Recipe, Vegetarian, Walnuts | 20 Comments

Spicy Asian noodles and mushrooms, with snow peas

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Julia

For the last several weeks, these spicy Asian noodles and mushrooms became my staple dish on Monday nights (or any other days that are similar to my hectic Mondays). It’s very easy to prepare; takes at most 40 minutes from start to finish, and it’s very tasty. The dish is versatile – you can eat it as a vegetarian version, or you can add already cooked fish or meat to it.

This is my perfect recipe for Monday nights. If your Mondays are anything like mine (busy from 9 to 5 with reports and excel spreadsheets at work, plus everybody is trying to catch up with me at the same time), then you will thank me for this recipe. It’s mindless, simple, you can do this dish on an auto-pilot, because this recipe does not require much thinking or fiddling. And, in the end, you’ll surprise yourself with the dish that’s quite excellent in flavor. Continue reading →

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Posted in Green onions, Mushrooms, Pasta, Recipe, Snow peas, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 25 Comments

Pumpkin ravioli with brown butter sauce and pecans

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Julia

Pumpkin ravioli was the first recipe idea that came to my mind after I found an unopened can of organic pumpkin sitting in my pantry, leftover, forgotten and unused from this past Thanksgiving / Christmas season. I’ve already posted two ravioli recipes on this site, and both of them involved cheese and greens. I thought it would be a nice departure to make ravioli without any cheese in the filling – somewhat different from the norm. The use of the brown butter and toasted pecans as a ravioli sauce is also not as common as the white cream sauce or the red tomato based sauce that usually accompany ravioli.

To make ravioli filling, I just used organic pumpkin puree straight from the can, with only a couple of spices added, and the filling was more runny than what I was used to. I used my ravioli mold again and was pleasantly surprised how well the mold worked (once again!) even with a more watery and runny ravioli filling, such as pumpkin puree. Thanks to the mold, I was able to make perfect shapes, and none of ravioli burst or opened up during boiling/cooking. It’s key, though, not to overfill the holes in the ravioli mold with too much pumpkin filling – put just enough filling so that it’s at the same level as the top of the mold. Continue reading →

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Posted in Dinner, Nuts, Pasta, Pecan, Pumpkin, Ravioli, Recipe, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 17 Comments

Apple cinnamon yogurt pancakes

Posted on March 9, 2013 by Julia

When I saw this recipe for apple cinnamon pancakes in one of the earlier posts on Smitten Kitchen, I immediately knew that I will be including them into my weekend breakfast recipe repertoire. Regular plain pancakes always seem, well, too plain. Pancakes filled with shredded apples? That’s my kind of pancake – not too plain! Not to forget about added spices: vanilla and cinnamon. And, for a touch of a wonderful sour taste, these pancakes are made using Greek yogurt instead of milk. Continue reading →

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Posted in Apples, Breakfast, Fruit, Pancakes, Recipe, Vegetarian, Yogurt | 29 Comments

Ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in parmesan cream sauce

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Julia

My ravioli mold proved once again that 26 bucks I spent on it was not a waste of money. After I posted my first recipe for ravioli in a red, tomato-based sauce, I got obsessed with the thought of making the ravioli in a different type of sauce, this time – white, creamy, and cheese-based. And, I didn’t want ravioli to be filled just with cheese as most store-bought ravioli seem to be: instead I wanted a veggie and creamy ravioli filling, and goat cheese and spinach proved to be a perfect match for each other. I am very happy to present you with this simple recipe for ravioli with goat cheese and spinach filling in a light Parmesan cream sauce with mushrooms. Continue reading →

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Posted in Cheese, Dinner, Goat cheese, Mushrooms, Parmesan, Pasta, Ravioli, Recipe, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 31 Comments

Easy chickpea and vegetable curry with quinoa

Posted on February 25, 2013 by Julia

I’ve been craving for a simple vegetarian dinner that I could just whip up in the matter of 30 minutes, and so this very easy chickpea vegetable curry recipe with quinoa was born. Let not the simplicity of this dish fool you, though: it is still a very filling veggie dish, and it rightfully deserves to be called a main course. You won’t go hungry after enjoying curry flavors, chickpeas, mushrooms, and spinach in a creamy coconut broth, on top of protein-rich quinoa. Continue reading →

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Posted in Dinner, Green onions, Mushrooms, Quinoa, Recipe, Red curry, Spinach, Stew, Thai, Vegetables, Vegetarian | 13 Comments

Stuffed manicotti pasta shells recipe with ricotta cheese and spinach filling

Posted on February 17, 2013 by Julia

I’ve always looked at those large pasta shells (manicotti) on store shelves with great longing, vividly imagining that stuffing any kind of cheese or vegetables into that large tube-like shape would undeniably result in something very delicious, pretty-looking and very Italian. Besides, my husband had a very nice Italian wine (you can see it in the photo below – it’s Aiola Chianti Classico), and he, in turn, was anxious to pair this wine with a good traditional Italian pasta dish. The stars seemed to be aligned for me to finally tackle the recipe for stuffed manicotti pasta shells. I decided to go the traditional route and stuff the shells with ricotta cheese and chopped spinach filling, accompanied by a red tomato sauce. Continue reading →

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