Vegetarian Recipes – Get Ready For Spaghetti!
The great thing about spaghetti is that it is tasty, filling, and
easy to make. Plus, it fits right in with the vegetarian diet. There are
an unlimited number of ways to make great vegetarian recipes, and once
you get a couple under your belt (so to speak), you’ll be ready to take
off the training wheels and start creating all kinds of vegetarian
spaghetti recipes.
Traditional Spaghetti Vegetarian Style
Spaghetti can be as simple or as complicated as you like it. I, being
a lazy cook, prefer the fastest easiest way to make any meal that I can.
With that in mind, here’s how I make traditional spaghetti without the
meat:
Cook 1 package of whole wheat spaghetti according to the directions (a
little olive oil and a few pinches of salt are good to add). While that
is cooking, start preparing your spaghetti sauce.
As far as the sauce, unless you have your own favorite recipe and don’t
mind slaving over the stove to create it, I recommend Ragu (meatless),
Paul Newman’s (meatless) and my favorite, Classico meatless (yummy).
So, this one is simple – cook the noodles and pour the sauce over them.
You can garnish goodies like parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, or other
kinds of cheese.
Die Hard Vegetarian Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti
This is a good one if you really like to eat lots of vegetables (most
‘vegetarians’ don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables – ironic, isn’t
it?).
This one’s easy, too. From the grocery store pick out a large firm
spaghetti squash. Take it home and cut it in half lengthwise (easier
said than done). You’ll probably have to lodge a very sharp knife in the
middle of it and work your way around it (it’s worth the trouble, so
stick with it: no pun intended).
Once you get it cut in half, clean out all the seeds and odd strands
that hang down (like you would a pumpkin) then place it shallow pan
large enough both halves. Put about an inch or so of water in the pan
and place in a 350 degree oven for about 30-45 minutes. Check for
tenderness after that time by seeing if a fork will slightly poke into
the skin.
In the mean time, you can start preparing one of the spaghetti sauces
mentioned above. After the squash is done, let it cool enough so that
you can handle it without burning yourself. Then take a fork and start
‘flaking’ out the inside. You will see that it resembles spaghetti.
After it’s all cleaned out, put sauce on it and serve.
Add your favorite cheese if you like. I like to use cooked white beans,
kidney beans or black beans to put into the sauce to add protein to the
meal. This one is very addicting and really makes you feel like you’ve
eaten something good for your body.
Vegetarian Chili Spaghetts
Mom used to make a dish when I was younger that was call ‘chili
spaghetts’. I loved it. It was basically chili put on top of spaghetti.
I guess it’s a Cincinnati thing. Anyway, here’s my easy vegetarian
version of it.
Get a package of chili mix form McCormick or another good brand from the
grocery store. Mix it with 1 pound (or whatever the packet says) of
meatless ground beef (soy meat) and cut up a 16 ounce can of whole
Italian tomatoes in it along with 1 small can of tomato sauce. Add in
some dice onions if you like and a tablespoon of cumin (if it’s not
already in the packet).
Bring to a slow simmer for about ½ hour and serve over whole wheat
spaghetti noodles or the spaghetti squash mentioned above. Goes great
with garlic bread and some good company. |
