What meals have you made most often?

I call it “unidentifiable black sludge.”

One of my favorites is a vegetarian pasta dish from Italian-American cook Nick Stellino. I can’t reproduce the exact recipe from memory, but essentially it involves chopped eggplant and zucchini sauteed with olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, mint, basil, and parsley, then add to that chopped tomatoes (canned), salt and pepper to taste. You can add it to any pasta type, I prefer spaghetti or fusilli (rotini). I’ve made this recipe many times and never get tired of it.

Breaded baked boneless chicken breasts with pasta and veg
Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese sauce
Chili
Lasagna either veggie or meat
Moussaka – time consuming
Eggplant parmigiana

I make a homemade baked “mac” and cheese with cauliflower florets instead of noodles. I blanch the cauliflower florets in a pot of boiling water, then drain and put them into a casserole baking dish. Then I make the cheese roux and when it’s ready, I dump that in over the cauliflower florets in the baking dish, and stir it until it’s well mixed. Then I sprinkle some panko breadcrumbs over the top, and bake for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. For an extra bit of flavor, I will sometimes saute a pint basket of mushrooms, quartered, in a little bit of olive oil and chopped onions until they are just browned, and throw them into the mix before I bake it.

This recipe for Classic Mac and Cheese shows you how to make the roux. Just make sure you keep whisking it, then take it off the heat before you add in the shredded cheese.

I also make another casserole that is similar to lasagna, but without noodles. I change this up and use different veggies, or combos of veggies including cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. I will saute the veggies in a little bit of olive oil and diced onions until they are just fork tender. You can use any kind of pasta sauce that you like, either marinara or Alfredo, or I really like Trader Joe’s Autumnal Harvest. I just pour some of the sauce in the bottom of the baking pan, add a layer of veggies, add a layer of ricotta cheese, add a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese, and just keep layering it up until you get to the top. I use a cylinder shaped baking dish that is about 8 inches tall and and 8 inches across. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes, depending upon the size of your casserole dish.

Another thing I make often is grilled portobello mushroom “burgers”. Here is a recipe for mushroom burgers with Sundried Tomatoes and Wilted Spinach I would also add a slice of cheese to this.

I make a lot of Vegetarian Chili. This recipe can be made in a crock pot or on the stove. I also like to add Morningstar Farms Veggie Crumbles. You can also make spaghetti and pour chili on top of it, for a different variation.

I love pizza. I get frozen cheese pizzas and then add different things on top such as sundried tomatoes, fresh basil, mushrooms, kalamata olives, broccoli, or jalapenos. Sometimes I will get pre-made pizza crusts and add my own sauce, cheese, and toppings. Other times I will get pre-made fresh pizza dough and roll it out, then add the toppings and bake.

I make a lot of homemade vegetarian enchiladas. I do it the easy way, using flour tortillas that I just roll up with the contents, and load them into a baking dish and pour the sauce over and add shredded cheese and bake. At different times I will use different fillings including sweet potatoes, cauliflower, mushrooms, black beans, pinto beans, or fake burger crumbles. With the cauliflower and sweet potatoes, I saute them first, until they are fork tender, otherwise they won’t cook properly, or will steam instead of roasting. You can make your own Homemade Enchilada Sauce (you can use vegetable broth if you like) or you can use canned sauce, which is what I do.

Here is a recipe that I love and should make it more often. It’s a Middle Eastern dish, that is common in Lebanon and Greece, called Shakshuka which is baked eggs in spicy tomato sauce.

https://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/quick-and-easy-roasted-red-pepper-pasta/

I take a cold bean salad to work

Mix:
Beans
Frozen vegetables
Salad dressing or yogurt

Keep at room temperature, it thaws enough to eat by lunch time.

Optional – add meat (chicken, beef, pork, ground beef or ground turkey, etc) or a hard boiled egg or a can of tuna

I boil a pot of beans every Sunday, enough for the week. Kidney beans, Navy beans, black beans, whatever. Canned beans work fine, too.

The evening or morning before work I mix beans, vegetables, and dressing in a plastic air tight food container, and carry that in a ziplock (accidents happen) in my messenger bag.

Breakfast, as in oatmeal.
Macaroni and tomatoes.
Chicken patty sandwiches with lettuce, mayo and tomato.
Sandwiches made with sausage, egg and cheese on a English muffin.
Sandwiches made with sliced pork and mayo.
Ham and cheese sandwiches.
(Sorry, I’m a bachelor, and eat a lot of sandwiches!)

These Mushroom French Dip Sandwiches are really good.

These Curried Quinoa Wraps are good too.

This recipe is super yummy, and easy to make. Veggie Hummus Wraps in Collard Leaves

I have made sandwiches similar to these Vegetarian Vietnamese Banh Mi many times with either a baguette, or with the ingredients stuffed into a taco shell. If you don’t have time to grill the tofu, like in this recipe, you can get some baked tofu like This and either make a cold sandwich, or heat it up quickly in the microwave. I always eat these sandwiches cold. I change up the sauces too. Sometimes I’ll mix mayo with spicy Asian garlic chile sauce, or sometimes I’ll make a sauce with miso, or pickled ginger, or honey mixed with mayo.

I like these Mock Tuna Chickpea Wraps too. Super easy, super yummy.

Boil 4 whole eggplants ( the long one ) for 6 minutes.
Wait till eggplants are cool enough then pull it apart/shred into strings with or without skin.
Crush several peeled garlic gloves.
Cut, slice and dice an onion.
Heat oil in frying pan.
Sautee garlic, then onion.
Add in eggplant, stir, fry.
Scramble one egg, whip it good.
Add in egg, salt to taste until cooked.
Eat with steamed rice.