Meatless Recipes

Calypso1977

Eating fish every friday during lent can get expensive, and H is giving up pasta for lent so that rules out several inexpensive meatless friday meals.

anyone have good meatless recipes for lent?  the other kicker - i dont eat tuna and H wont eat things like soy/tofu.

rlytton87

Stuffed Green Peppers--I normally make them with ground beef, but they're pretty good without too! Clean out the peppers, the stuffing is brown rice, about 6 cups cooked for 4 peppers, a regular size can & a small can of plain tomato sauce, a pinch of salt, and a cup of cheese.Boil the peppers for 8-10 minutes, then stuff them, top with a sprinkle of cheese, bake them & any left over stuffing at 350 til the cheese melts. It's one of my favorite dishes ever. 

Riss91

I love this Garlic Basil Shrimp recipe. I mix it with pasta to soak up the sauce a bit, but you could definitely use rice or cous cous.

I would also think cheese quesadillas and other similar torilla foods (guac + sour cream YUM), soups - I have a good French Onion Soup recipe and a Mushroom Florentine (I've gotten mixed answers as to whether beef/chicken broth counts as meat, but you can always subsitute veggie broth), quiche - you can make spinach, mushroom, artichoke?

lalaith50

I love indian food. The basic idea is pretty simple, fry up some onions and garlic and a ton of yummy spices, and add a lot of vegetables and maybe a "sauce" base like canned tomatoes or coconut milk, and cook for as long as you want your house to smell! And of course serve with rice. And if you get a good variety of vegetables (sweet potatos, peas, carrots, etc,) it is SO healthy.

ks107021

Good idea!

I need some ideas as well because FI and I are going meatless everyday of Lent!  And he doesn't like seafood, I am going to have to get creative! 

Calypso1977

Riss, ive heard that debate on meat broth too.

my mom always says that the meat pertains to actual flesh.  for example, many cheddar broccoli soups are made with chicken stock.  she thinks that's ok, and i do too, but honestly i'm not sure if its ok.

caitriona87

There's breakfast-for-dinner type stuff like omelets, pancakes, etc. for one idea. And Indian/Asian stuff (curries, stir-fries) are easy to just replace any meat with extra vegetables.

One of my favorite that is super easy, healthy and super cheap is black bean taco salad....I saute some diced onions & bell peppers & a minced chipotle pepper, add a can or two of black beans till it thickens. Then just put it over lettuce with whatever else--salsa, tomatoes, sour cream, crushed tortilla chips, etc.

I also make a black bean/corn salsa--rinsed/drained black beans, corn, red onion, cilantro, lime, poblano pepper--and use that in place of meat for filling in whatever, tacos, burritos, quesadillas, etc.

Soups can be really good....I use a recipe for butternut squash soup from the nest , actually, haha, that is amazing.

Riss91

ks - we're doing meatless everyday as well (EEK!) and neither of us are really "into" fish or seafood. We're going to try out a some fish dishes - but will have some mac n cheese waiting in the pantry just in case ;-)

mica178

Frittatas: basically eggs, potatoes and whatever vegetables and a bit of cheese slow cooked first on the stove and then finished in the oven.

I love curries too.  If you have a Trader Joe's nearby, they have some curry simmer sauces (I think many larger supermarkets have them too).  When i'm going veggie, I cook garbanzo beans in the curry sauce and serve over rice with some fresh cilantro.

woodie

I'm going meatless too.  Here's some of my favorite meal ideas:

- Grilled Cheese sandwiches and tomato soup.  (old childhood comfort food)
- Spinach, mushroom, and cheese omelets with whole grain toast
- Veggie Pizza (broccoli, peppers, olives, you name it)
- Grilled PB&J!  8)
- Chinese style rice with sugar snap peas and broccoli
- Spring mix salad with almonds, apples, cheese, cranberries, and raspberry vinegrette.

YUM!

newlyseliski

My mom always makes a really good lentil soup with vegetable broth, tomatoes, dry white cooking wine and other ingredients that we top off with cheddar cheese and serve with crusty bread!  I'll try and get the recipe from her if you're interested...

RaeRae1126

Well, I'm allegic to all seafood/shellfish so I have this problem every year. We often do cheese quesadillas, with salsa, guacamole or sour cream on fridays. Vegetarian Indian food is also very good.

bel138

I'm trying to adhere to the "ideal" Eastern fasting practices, which is to basically be pescatarian all of Lent. Other than the fish, it's basically vegan. I wish I could help, but I'm relying on a lot of fish and tofu to help me out.

Since we started Lent on Monday, I've had a lot of fresh fruits and veggies, hummus, salad with tuna. I'm going to make a flatbread with tomatoes, basil and scallions tomorrow. DH can toss some chicken and cheese on it, since he will be following more relaxed rules. I like couscous salads with veggies and nuts, maybe some dried fruits in there too. Soups made with vegetable or fish stock are good. The Indian food is a great idea. Mushroom bourguinon or stroganoff is also really good. Just sub mushrooms for meat in the regular recipes.

laurenes

Other than those already mentioned - Rice and beens! super cheap, super easy. If I'm feeling fancy, I saute bell pepper, garlic, and onion in some EVOO. After they are cooked, I add a can of black beans and simmer it with whatever spices I'm feeling at the time. We serve over rice. You can always just do straight up black beans over rice, but adding some veggies helps cover all the food groups and tastes better.

Also, my favorite food - Falafel. I've never made it, but if you have any mediterrean deli/restaurants by your home they'll have it. Falafel is balls of mashed up chick peas and spices that are fried. They are often served it pitas/wraps w/ different veggies. Yum. I think we'll be doing Lebanese food every friday for Lent.

lalaith50

also--
make sure that just cuz you're not eating meat that you're not substituting it for extra bread/pasta! You still need your vitatmins/protein, so try to think about substituting for meat things like veggies, and even beans and nuts! yum! :-)