As you know, I have been trying to save money on groceries by making vegetatarian dinners twice a week. While I did not surpass my goal like I did last week, I did make two vegetarian dinners this week.
Tuesday: Tortilla Espanola and Spinach Salad with Apples
When I studied abroad in Spain, my host mom used to make tortilla espanola a lot. Tortillas in Spain are not like Mexican tortillas - they're basically huge potato omelets - and they are delicious. You make them by cutting three large potatoes (I used four, and it ended up being insanely huge) into thin shards, frying them in olive oil, mixing the cooked potatoes in a bowl with about 10 eggs, then pouring the whole mixture into a medium frying pan and cooking it on low heat. Once it's mostly set, you have to figure out a way to flip it over, which is always scary, but oh my goodness, the results are worth it. My host mom always served this with a spinach salad with diced apples, walnuts (I used candied pecans), and manchego cheese, all drizzled with honey. The salad is very simple and delicious.
Thursday: Teriyaki Tofu with Broccoli and Carrots
This meal was pretty simple - I cut up a block of tofu into cubes, threw it into a wok with some broccoli and sliced carrots, cooked it with bottled teriyaki sauce (I didn't measure - I just poured it on until it looked like enough), and served it with steamed rice.
I could have had another vegetarian meal on Monday - I used a lot of leftovers to make fried rice - but I ended up putting in turkey bacon. You can't have fried rice without bacon. Seriously. If there's no bacon, then what's even the point of fried rice?
Since I made the fried rice using leftovers, and since David and I ate leftover tortilla on Wednesday and are eating leftover teriyaki tonight, I only spent about $10 on dinner ingredients this week. I feel pretty darn accomplished.
Showing posts with label vegetarian meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vegetarian meals. Show all posts
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Vegetarian Dinners: Week 1
This week, I made three vegetarian meals.
Tuesday: Almond-crusted tofu with steamed broccoli and rice
For this recipe, I adapted a recipe for Eating Well's almond-crusted chicken fingers to make it vegetarian. I had tried the recipe once before with chicken, and David ended up liking it a lot, so I thought that he might like the tofu-version as well. I only used about 1/8 teaspoon of garlic salt instead of the prescribed amounts of salt and garlic powder (since I'm worried about my salt intake). I ended up liking it a lot, but I can imagine that someone not accustomed to eating tofu might find it to be a bland, lesser version of fried chicken. I used half of a 16-ounce block of tofu and cut them into eight squares. I was worried that it wouldn't be filling enough, so I prepared lots of broccoli to go with it. As it turns out, half a block of tofu was plenty for me and David, which is fortunate, because I used the other half to make...
Wednesday: Spice-crusted tofu with roasted zucchini and rice
This recipe is also from Eating Well. I found it while searching for recipes that would be beneficial to those looking to lower their blood pressure. The recipe uses spices like paprika, cumin, and coriander, as well as a glaze made from lemon juice and honey, to make up for the lower amount of salt.
Thursday: Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa and Spinach in Sesame Dressing
I cut up thick pieces of carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower, drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled it tiny bit of flaky sea salt (which apparently isn't as bad as table salt, according to this article). I got the recipe for the spinach with sesame dressing from "Let's Cook Japanese Food!" by Amy Kaneko. I just got a bag of microsteamer spinach from Fresh and Easy (you can pop the bag in the microwave and steam it - as easy as making popcorn!) and squeezed the water out before tossing it in the dressing from the cookbook. Recipe below:
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Sesame Dressing for Spinach
Adapted from "Let's Cook Japanese Food!" by Amy Kankey
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sake (I didn't have any, so I omitted it)
In a food processer, grind the sesame seeds into a rough powder. Add the sugar and grind again briefly to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the soy sauce and sake and stir to mix well. Add the spinach and mix to combine the dressing throroughly with the spinach. The spinach should be generously coated but not wet.
Serves 2 generously as a side dish.
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All in all, I spent about $12 on dinner ingredients this week ($25 total after I bought groceries for breakfast and lunch), which is not too shabby for two people.
Tuesday: Almond-crusted tofu with steamed broccoli and rice
For this recipe, I adapted a recipe for Eating Well's almond-crusted chicken fingers to make it vegetarian. I had tried the recipe once before with chicken, and David ended up liking it a lot, so I thought that he might like the tofu-version as well. I only used about 1/8 teaspoon of garlic salt instead of the prescribed amounts of salt and garlic powder (since I'm worried about my salt intake). I ended up liking it a lot, but I can imagine that someone not accustomed to eating tofu might find it to be a bland, lesser version of fried chicken. I used half of a 16-ounce block of tofu and cut them into eight squares. I was worried that it wouldn't be filling enough, so I prepared lots of broccoli to go with it. As it turns out, half a block of tofu was plenty for me and David, which is fortunate, because I used the other half to make...
Wednesday: Spice-crusted tofu with roasted zucchini and rice
This recipe is also from Eating Well. I found it while searching for recipes that would be beneficial to those looking to lower their blood pressure. The recipe uses spices like paprika, cumin, and coriander, as well as a glaze made from lemon juice and honey, to make up for the lower amount of salt.
Thursday: Roasted Vegetables with Quinoa and Spinach in Sesame Dressing
I cut up thick pieces of carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and cauliflower, drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled it tiny bit of flaky sea salt (which apparently isn't as bad as table salt, according to this article). I got the recipe for the spinach with sesame dressing from "Let's Cook Japanese Food!" by Amy Kaneko. I just got a bag of microsteamer spinach from Fresh and Easy (you can pop the bag in the microwave and steam it - as easy as making popcorn!) and squeezed the water out before tossing it in the dressing from the cookbook. Recipe below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sesame Dressing for Spinach
Adapted from "Let's Cook Japanese Food!" by Amy Kankey
1/4 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons sake (I didn't have any, so I omitted it)
In a food processer, grind the sesame seeds into a rough powder. Add the sugar and grind again briefly to combine. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Add the soy sauce and sake and stir to mix well. Add the spinach and mix to combine the dressing throroughly with the spinach. The spinach should be generously coated but not wet.
Serves 2 generously as a side dish.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All in all, I spent about $12 on dinner ingredients this week ($25 total after I bought groceries for breakfast and lunch), which is not too shabby for two people.
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