Vegetarian Sloppy Joes

I got this recipe from another expat mom. Sloppy Joes are the ultimate kid food, right? Of course, my kid won't eat it...but Markus and I thoroughly enjoyed it! I think it was extra fabulous because the red beans we used were Blue Runner, sent to me by the fabulous Muses from Louisiana so I could have a taste of home over here.

Vegetarian Sloppy Joes


1 tablespoon olive oil

½ cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped celery

½ cup chopped carrots

½ cup chopped green bell pepper
 (I used red)
1 clove garlic, minced

1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 ½ Tbsp chili powder

1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed


8 kaiser rolls



1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, green pepper, and garlic: saute until tender. Stir in tomatoes, chili powder, tomato paste, vinegar, and pepper. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.


2. Stir in kidney beans, and cook an additional 5 minutes.


3. Cut a 1/4 inch slice off the top of each kaiser roll; set aside. Hollow out the center of each roll, leaving about 1/2 inch thick shells; reserve the inside of rolls for other uses.


4. Spoon bean mixture evenly into rolls and replace tops. Serve immediately.

Green cheese?

Today at the cheese shop, I noticed green cheese on display. I couldn't help but be intrigued, and the shop owner insisted I try it. It's pesto-cheese, my friends! Naturally, we had to take some home and try it out as grilled cheese. The assessment: if you can get past the color, it's a tasty treat! But getting past the color was a challenge. When your grilled cheese is oozing green goo, it's hard to reconcile the image with a good taste (though the good taste was definitely there).

Roasted Bell Pepper and Goats Cheese Sandwiches

My gorgeous foodie friend gail keeps a blog that regularly provides me with great recipes. She finds something tempting, fabulizes (my word) and veganizes it, and then I turn around and de-veganize it to meet our grocery finds. This recipe is one of those. Make it tonight! You won't be sorry.

Roasted Bell Pepper and Goats Cheese Sandwich
makes 4

5-6 bell peppers (I use a mix of red, yellow and green peppers)
A handful of basil leaves (10-12) (be green and use basil fresh from the garden – delicious!!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
goats cheese
1 loaf of “long" fresh bread (i.e. French bread or a long sour dough loaf) or ciabatta sandwich rolls
Olive oil to spray or rub on peppers

Roast peppers by turning oven to broil and placing halved, seeded peppers on a cookie sheet lightly sprayed with olive oil or covered with aluminum foil to prevent sticking. Lightly spray peppers with olive oil (or rub them all over with oil if you can't find an oil spray) and place in oven. Broil them black. This looks scary, but believe me, it's the way to go and the skin is so easy to remove when they are done right. Remove peppers from oven and cover tightly with aluminum foil or place in a brown paper bag (roll the end shut to trap steam) for 30 minutes or until completely cool. Uncover peppers, peel outer skin off and place peppers into a bowl until ready to use.
In a separate bowl, whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Set aside until ready to use.
Slice bread in half lengthwise. Spread goats cheese on the bottom half of the bread. Place the peppers evenly on top and then put the basil leaves on top of the peppers. Drizzle the garlic vinaigrette dressing on the top half of the bread and then close your sandwich. Enjoy!

(sorry there is no picture, but Markus was very hungry so we tucked in straight away. the sandwiches were delicious though!)

Where's the beef?

For the two friends joining us for lunch today, we decided to serve up one of our favorite easy meal options: walnut oatmeal burgers. As I've mentioned before, we tend not to eat red meat anymore, but that doesn't have to mean we can't have a good burger now and again. Months ago, I found the burger recipe below on the cooking blog everybody likes sandwiches. The blogger had gotten the recipe from someone else and was proclaiming happy surprise at such a yummy, no meat burger. I'm guessing it still counts as vegetarian despite the milk and eggs, but I bet you could get around that for vegans, gail. We really enjoy these, and the best part is making them for guests and asking them to guess what the "mystery meat" is. No one has even come close, but neither has anyone ever disliked it. This afternoon, we served up the burgers with fresh sugar snap peas and homemade baked sweet potato "fries", with iced tea to drink and peanut butter chocolate chip cookies for dessert. It felt like summertime despite the winter chill! Enjoy!

walnut oatmeal burgers

burger mixture:
2 c walnut pieces
2 c rolled oats
½ c breadcrumbs
3 eggs, slightly beaten
½ c skim milk
1 onion, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 t sage
1 t salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

for cooking burgers:
oil to brown patties
3 c vegetable stock*

1. Grind walnuts in blender and combine with the rest of the burger mixture ingredients. Let the mixture rest in refrigerator for about an hour to let the flavors meld together.

2. Form the mixture into patties. The entire mixture will make 8-12 burgers depending on the size patty formed. It is recommended to use half of the mixture now, and reserve the rest for use in another recipe or for more burgers later.

3. Brown patties on both sides in a lightly oiled skillet, then pour the stock into the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes. Serve on buns with all your burger fixings.

* If you are only cooking up half the mixture now and half later, be sure to also half the amount of stock. We find a half recipe makes about 4-5 burgers in the size we like, so a half recipe usually suffices for one meal, even with friends.

Grilled cheese with flair

I whipped up a variation on grilled cheese for my lunch today, and I am still happy with it. I can't testify to how healthy this is (not), but oh...is it tasty! I ate it too quickly to even attempt a picture, but it is a sandwich, people. There's not much to show off visually, but your tastebuds will party, I promise.

Grilled Cheese with Flair

your favorite variety of apple, cored and sliced thinly (I also peel the slices)
cheddar cheese, sliced
honey-dijon mustard
bacon slices, cooked the way you like 'em (told you this wasn't very healthy)
sandwich bread slices
butter

Lightly butter the bread as you would for any ol' grilled cheese.
Heat a pan on the stove and place one slice in, butter-side down.
Layer cheese, apple slices and cooked bacon on top.
Slather non-butter-side of remaining bread with mustard and put mustard side down on sandwich pile.
When first side is toasty brown, flip to grill other side.
Eat while warm and enjoy the yumminess!