Meatless Monday, transformed

While Meatless Mondays have been fun, I'm getting bored with meatless dishes -- like I said, I'm picky. :) So, this is the last week I will be doing Meatless Monday. Starting next week, it will be Menu Plan Monday again.

But for today, it's still Meatless Monday. :) We are going to make tempura green beans.

You will need:

oil for frying

1 1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 cup club soda

1/2 cup soy sauce (for dipping)

Mix together everything except for the soy sauce. Add green beans. Toss around with tons to ensure complete coverage.

You can cook these in a wok, a frying pan, or a deep fryer. Heat oil to 375. Fry 3 or 4 green beans at a time for about a minute. Drain on paper towels and use soy sauce for dipping.

This was my first attempt at making them so they weren't very pretty, but they tasted sooo good! You can use this batter with other veggies as well, like squash or asparagus.

Let me know how they turn out!

Meatless Monday: Round-Up

To be honest, our meatless dishes are pretty boring. We've done baked mac & cheese and loaded baked potato soup, but really most of the things we eat aren't worth blogging about. Last week we had meatless spaghetti casserole. This week we are having egg 'cupcakes'. Nothing too special! So, this week I'm doing another round-up. I'm a pretty picky eater, especially when it comes to veggies, but I'm trying to be a little more daring when it comes to trying new foods. :)

Mushroom Rigatoni Bake

Veggie Fried Rice

Farfalle with creamy mushroom sauce

Roasted Veggie Sandwiches

Grilled Vegetable and Mozzarella Sandwiches

You can click here for 160 vegetarian dishes, here for 20 meatless dishes that will save you $$, or here for some great meatless recipes from a fellow blogger. Feel free to leave your own Meatless Monday links in the comments!

Help me out, which meatless recipes would you like me to blog about?

**Featured today: My Mary Kay Shop. Visit on Facebook, too!**

Meatless Monday: Round-Up

We are having stir-fry tonight (no meat!), but it's pretty simple so instead of making an entire post about it I thought I'd just point you in the direction of a few wonderful meatless dishes for this Meatless Monday. :)

Don't forget to check back tomorrow for a great DIY project, and also enter my awesome giveaway that is ending on 4/25/11.

If you haven't already, grab a Sunday paper and start clipping. Create a binder, and get ready for this Friday's couponing post. :)

Click on the pictures to view the recipes.

Next week, I will be sure to feature a new recipe. But for now, I think these will do. :) Look at all that cheese. Yum.

What are YOUR favorite meatless dishes?

Meatless Monday: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Meatless Monday is here already! I'm so excited to share this recipe. It's simple and SO GOOD! Make it healthier with skim milk, low-fat cheese, and fat free sour cream. Normally I wouldn't actually admit to using the microwave to cook potatoes, but this entire dish only took 20 minutes to cook (start to finish!), so I guess it's time to fess up. You can use the stove to make the potatoes, but it will take a bit longer.

You need:

7 peeled and cubed potatoes

6 cups milk

3/4 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

1 cup shredded cheese

8oz sour cream

salt to taste

Notice the pretty knife up there? While cutting one of my potatoes, this is what happened!

That's a YOSHI blade! It's supposed to be guaranteed for life. I actually took the picture with the knife in it so I could brag about how amazing this knife has been for me! I guess that is a fail. :/ So I go back to my old crappy knife, and continue on with this recipe.

Peel and cube potatoes. Place in a glass dish in the microwave for 10 minutes. Cringe. I know, I don't usually cook the potatoes this way but it is so fast!

While potatoes are cooking, melt butter in a large pot. Add flour. Mix these two ingredients together until they are smooth.

Stir in milk, one cup at a time. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook for 5 minutes. Add potatoes. Cook for 5 minutes.

Stir in sour cream and 1/2 cup of shredded cheese. Cook until melted and smooth.

Serve with cheese on top.

You could add onions if that's something you like, or you could even add bacon as long as it isn't for Meatless Monday! :) Try the recipe, let me know how you like it, or if you made any changes to it. I love hearing from you!

Meatless Monday: Healthier Mac

This is my first attempt at Meatless Monday. If you like this blog idea, please let me know and I will continue to do these posts. :)

So everyone loves macaroni & cheese, right? But the crap in the box is just, well, gross... and the yummy oven baked stuff is high in calories. I set out to find a happy medium, and after just a little bit of trial and error I think I have succeeded. The pictures aren't the greatest (I haven't quite mastered cooking and photographing things at the same time yet), but the meal is nothing short of perfection. Try it out, and let me know what you think!

First, gather your ingredients:

-elbow noodles (you could do wheat noodles)

-12oz fat free small curd cottage cheese

-8oz fat free sour cream

-1/4 cup butter (I used Smart Balance light)

-1 cup broccoli

-2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese

-1/4 cup light parmesan

-1 cup bread crumbs

Preheat your oven to 350*F.

Prepare your broccoli by steaming or boiling it. Set aside.

Cook the elbow noodles as you normally would (boil the water, add the noodles, drain).

Pour noodles into a casserole pan (9x9 works great). Add shredded cheese, parmesan, cottage cheese, and sour cream. Stir all of the ingredients together.

Cut broccoli up into small pieces and add to the macaroni mixture.

Melt your butter in a bowl, using your microwave. It only takes about 30 seconds. Mix in bread crumbs. Pour over macaroni mixture.

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes and ta-da! Home made, healthier mac in under 45 minutes.

Regular recipe calories: About 600

Healthy recipe calories: Under 400

Join the fun, click below!