I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a Cheese And Vegetable Sandwich for several months. The problem is,  every time I get a green pepper in the house, it gets used within hours for a stir fry or Sloppy Joes. Yesterday, my husband purchasing two peppers instead of one, so today I finally got to try out this easy recipe from the Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook.

As usual, I made a couple of changes to the ingredient list. I only had American cheese, so that is what I used. Also, since pita was the freshest bread in the fridge, that also got added to the mix. I think the original ingredients would probably be better for this dish than my alternates.

Nonetheless, even with my substitutions, the sandwich came out nice and I enjoyed eating it. 

Will I add the Cheese And Vegetable Sandwich to my regular rotation of recipes? I’m not sure.  Though I definitely enjoyed my meal, combining cooked green peppers and onions with cheese is a new taste for me and might take some getting used to.

Cheese And Vegetable Sandwich

2 large green or red peppers

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion

Hot pepper sauce (optional)

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

4 large sandwich buns

1/4 – 1/2 pound Havarti or Cheddar cheese

Core and slice peppers. Heat oil in a wide skillet and add peppers. Cook over medium heat as you prepare the onion. Slice onion about 1/8 inch thick and add to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are limp and beginning to brown. Season with hot pepper sauce (if using), salt and pepper.

Split sandwich buns in half horizontally. Divide cheese among bottom halves of buns. Top with some vegetable mixture.  Close up sandwiches, cut in half and serve.

Serves 4

Get your own copy of Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook: Hassle-Free, Healthful Meals for Really Busy Cooks (affiliate link) at Amazon.

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The original idea for Broccoli Minestra comes from the book, Saved By Soup, by Judith Barrett. As usual, I adapted the recipe to my own taste. I made the soup a little simpler to prepare, a little more brothy, and garnished with some parmesan cheese. Yummy!

Ingredients

1/3  pound spaghetti broken into 2 inch pieces

2 tablespoons tomato puree

3 cups frozen broccoli cuts

4 cups water

1 tablespoon chicken powder  (I use imitation)

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan  (optional, but a delicious addition)

Directions

In a large pot, bring the water, chicken powder, garlic powder and tomato puree to a rapid boil. Add the spaghetti. When the water returns to a boil, reduce the heat slightly and cook till the pasta is tender, but firm.

In the meanwhile, microwave the broccoli on high, for seven minutes.

When the spaghetti reaches the correct consistancy, add the broccoli to the soup pot.

Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Serve immediately. Grated parmesan makes a delicious garnish.

Note: Broccoli Minestra inspires me to go slightly heavier with the pepper than I normally do… two pinches instead of one.

Saved By Soup: More Than 100 Delicious Low-Fat Soups To Eat And Enjoy Every Day  (affiliate link)

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First, the book is divided by ingredient, rather than by type of food. Second, there are exactly ten recipes in each section.  And, last, the cooking techniques used in this volume are aimed creating the fastest meals possible.

Take a look at the following super easy (but delicious) recipe and you’ll see what I mean…

New Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Rub both sides of  2 thick slices multigrain bread with 1 tsp. olive oil mixed with 1 crushed garlic clove.

Toast under broiler. Remove. Turn toasted-side down.

Top 1 slice with fresh basil leaves, then with 1 cheese slice.

Top other slice with sliced tomato.

Broil until cheese melts. Place halves together.

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I usually simplify cookbook recipes as I make them. I substitute onion soup mix for onions, canned tomatoes for chopped, etc.  However, Blender Broccoli Soup  is so easy, there is nothing to simplify! It’s tasty, quick, and healthy. What more can you ask?

Ingredients

1 10-ounce package frozen chopped broccoli, thawed

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup grated Swiss or Cheddar cheese

Directions

Combine broccoli, flour, basil, salt, pepper and 1 cup of milk in a blender. Blend well for at least 30 seconds. Pour into a saucepan with remaining 1/2 cup milk (do not clean the blender) and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until mixtures begins to boil.

Add water to the blender and whir for a few seconds to rinse it out.  Add to soup. Once mixture boils, turn heat to low and let simmer gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in cheese and pour into serving bowls.

Serves 2 to 4.

Get your own copy of Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook: Hassle-Free, Healthful Meals for Really Busy Cooks (affiliate link) at Amazon.

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Even though I’m a vegetarian, I grew up  in Maryland, and I’ve never stopped yearning for southern food.  Until lately,  I’ve been out of luck. Home-style southern cooking just hasn’t been a popular topic among vegetarian cookbook writers. 

Fortunately, things have begun to change.

With the publication of  the Vegan Soul Kitchen, Cookin’ Southern Vegetarian Style, and Great American Vegetarian, vegetarians can now enjoy their southern roots without eating meat.

Great American Vegetarian, by Nava Atlas, is the source for my favorite Vegetarian Jambalaya recipe.  This recipe is full of delicious creole flavor, without including a speck of animal products. Plus, it healthy!

Vegetarian Jambalaya by Nava Atlas

Ingredients

     3 cups water

     1 1/4 cups raw brown rice

     2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

     8 links soy “sausage”

     1 large onion, chopped

     3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced

     4 celery stalks, diced

     1 medium green or red bell pepper, diced

     1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

     1 teaspoon each: paprika, dried oregano, dried basil

     1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

     cayenne pepper to taste

     salt to taste

Directions

Bring the water to a simmer in a saucepan.  Stir in the rice; cover and cook at a gentle, steady simmer, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 35 minutes.

Heat just enough of the oil to lightly coat the bottom of  large, nonstick skillet. When hot, arrange the “sausage” links in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat, gently turning them until  all sides are golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside until needed.

Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet.  Add the onion and saute over medium heat until translucent. Add the garlic, celery and bell pepper, and continue to saute until all the vegetables are lightly browned.

Add the remaining ingredients except the salt. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes.

Cut the “sausage” links into 1/2-inch-thick pieces. Add to the skillet and simmer briefly,  just until they are heated through.

Combine the skillet mixture with the hot cooked rice in a large serving bowl and toss together thoroughly. Season to taste with salt (and a bit more cayenne if you’d like) and serve at once.

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The following, with quite a few changes, is based on a recipe called Greens And Noodles from the Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook. I changed the recipe to make it a little quicker and a whole lot more garlicky.

Ingredients

    1/2  lb pasta, cooked el dente and drained

     1 lb. chopped frozen spinach, microwaved and roughly drained

     1/4 cup olive oil

     5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

     1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

     1 tablespoon butter

      salt

     1/2 cup Parmesan cheese

Stir the butter into the hot pasta.

Saute the garlic in the olive oil. When the garlic starts to turn brown, add the red pepper flakes and cook for another 30-60 seconds. Remove from the heat.

Add the spinach and pasta to the garlic and mix very well. Stir in the Parmesan and salt to taste.

Note: What does roughly drained mean? The spinach should have no visible pools of water but should still be quite moist. If a handful of the cooked spinach was squeezed, one or two tablespoons of water would drip out.

Get your own copy of Vegetarian Express Lane Cookbook: Hassle-Free, Healthful Meals for Really Busy Cooks at Amazon.

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Spaghetti With Red Wine And Rosemary Marinara Sauce was the kick-off recipe for  The Cookbook Experiment. This recipe came from the cookbook Vegan Italiano by Donna Klein. Donna Klein is known for her many excellent vegan cookbooks.

Based on the many excellent reviews of Vegan Italiano, and the description of the sauce, I was expected a truly mouth watering dish. I was disappointed.

I despise sweet pasta sauces and this recipe was definitely on the sugary side. I should have realized ahead of time when I saw sugar on the ingredient list, but I figured if I only used a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon, the sauce should be fine. It wasn’t.

However, in all honesty, I need to say that the problem is with me, not the recipe. Though I didn’t enjoy the sauce, I could tell that others would. It was full bodied, hearty and the seasonings melded very well together. It just wasn’t a sauce for me.

If you think this dish may interest you, it’s easy to duplicate without a recipe. Just take a very basic tomato sauce, add a small amount of sugar, basil, rosemary and 3/4 cup of dry red wine.

If you do need a recipe, try the one called Red Wine And Rosemary Marinara over at MyRecipes. Just substitute one tablespoon of sugar for the 2 tablespoons of honey, and you have practically the same recipe.

Get your own copy of  Vegan Italiano at Amazon.

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