Entrees & Main Dishes

Call it an entree or a main dish, supper or dinner, our main meal of the day usually features a favorite food, wrapped in delicious, healthy vegetables, herbs and spices.  Salads, side dishes, and breads dress up our entree, but many are able to stand alone nicely, too.

My first entry will be the vegetarian swiss steak, pictured above.  My recipe uses TVP (textured vegetable protein made from soy) but you can use other meat substitutes such as gluten chunks (coming in a future issue) or ready made vegetarian meats from the grocery. 

Vegetarian Swiss Steak 
Ingredients (Makes 8 servings)
16 oz  textured vegetable protein
1/2 cup  wheat flour
1/4 cup  cornmeal
2 T  paprika
4 T  coconut oil
3 large  green bell peppers
3 large  red bell peppers
3 large  onions
1 cup  Worcestershire sauce (vegan)
84 oz  diced tomatoes
4 cups  cooked brown rice
Directions:  Rehydrate TVP in hot water. Mix flour, corn meal, and paprika. Dredge TVP in flour mixture and brown to crisp in oil. Remove to a separate dish and sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce to cover. Using same oil, cook onions until soft. Add sliced peppers and cook another 3 minutes until softened. Add tomatoes and cook 5 minutes. You can now add the tvp and sauce back into the pan and cook together to combine flavors. Alternatively, you can put everything into a crockpot and cook on medium for 2 hours or low for several hours before serving. Serve over the cooked brown rice or egg noodles, if desired.
Note:   This recipe freezes well.  You might decide to make a double batch and save half for another day.  It also serves well as leftovers the next day.  We often set the crockpot back on the second day and enjoy lunch!          
  

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California Style Avocado Pizza   

1 T lime juice

1 T freshly chopped cilantro

1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped

1/2 medium onion, chopped

1 T olive oil

1 cup grape tomatoes

1/4 cup black olives

2 avocado, peeled and diced

1 cup cream cheese (tofu cream cheese or your favorite cheese blend can be substituted)

4- 7″ whole wheat pizza crust, pre-baked

Directions:

Blend lime juice, cilantro, garlic, and onion with the oil until well blended.

Rub oil mixture onto the crusts.

Spread cheese evenly onto crusts.

Add tomatoes, black olives and avocado to pizza top.

Place in hot oven (400F) for about 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

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Curried Vegetables                                    

                                                                     

2 T coconut oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1 medium onion, sliced thinly

2 tsp fresh ginger, minced

4 large carrots, cut into bite sized chunks

1 small cauliflower, cut into bite sized pieces

½ pound kale, chopped

½ pound spinach, chopped

½ pound cabbage, chopped

1 cup cooked chickpeas (use lentils if you prefer)

1 cup green beans

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp paprika

1 T soy sauce or Braggs Aminioes

½ cup coconut milk or water

Directions:

Heat oil over medium high heat.  Sautee onions and garlic until softened.  Add carrots and cauliflower, sautee about 5 minutes.  Add cumin, coriander and turmeric and mix well.  Add remaining vegetables and continue cooking until vegetables are almost tender.  Stir in the chick peas, coconut milk, soy sauce and curry paste.  Combine well, cover, and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until vegetables are done and sauce begins to thicken.  Serve over brown rice or in flat bread (chapattis).  Serves 6.

Note: This dish is quite colorful if you use baby spinach, green kale and red cabbage.  You may also want to vary the vegetables according to what you have available.

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Roasted Seasoned Cauliflower        

Ingredients:

3 T coconut oil

1 T fresh ginger, grated

2 tsp turmeric, ground

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 head cauliflower, cut into florets

Himalayan salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Mix all ingredients, except cauliflower, in a bowl and whisk well.  Combine cauliflower pieces with oil mixture and coat well. Place in baking dish, sprinkle with salt, and bake for about 25 minutes, until fork tender.  Serve hot.

 Veggie Pot Pie

Warm and comforting, this makes a great dinner entree paired with fresh greens salad.  Leftovers can be taken to work or school as a great, wholesome lunch!

Ingredients:

2 crust pie (see recipe here)

1 T coconut oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 T thyme

1 T marjoram

1 T sage

1 medium bell pepper, chopped

2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced

3 medium potatoes, cubed

5 large carrots, sliced thin

2 cups broccoli, chopped

1 cup cauliflower, chopped

1 cup TVP pieces, rehydrated (optional, but adds to texture)

8 oz spinach (or substitute swiss chard), chopped

1 cup corn (creamed corn is wonderful here)

1 cup vegetable broth

1 T corn starch

Directions:

1. Line pie plate with one crust.

2. Heat oil in skillet.  Add onions and cook until soft. Add thyme, marjoram, and sage, then pepper and celery and cook another 3-5 minutes, until done.

3. Cook potatoes, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower until almost done.

4. Combine corn starch with vegetable broth. Heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Mix together cooked vegetables, tvp, and onion mixture and put into pie crust.  Pour vegetable broth over mixture.  Top with spinach (if using chard, cook chard with the bell peppers) and corn.

5. Place top crust on and seal, cutting slits for steam to escape.

6. Bake in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, until top is lightly browned.  Allow to cool for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

**Reduce the fat:  Use only the top crust for a healthier version.

**Easy serving: Make mini pot pies in individual bake and serve dishes