College Vegetarian Cooking_ Feed Yourself and Your Friends - Megan Carle [14]
Spoon some of the filling into each taco shell and top with some of the salsa, lettuce, and cheese. Serve them up (don’t tell your nonvegetarian friends it’s not actually meat—bet they don’t guess).
Food Trivia:
Americans consume about 85 billion tortillas a year (not including tortilla chips). That’s a lot of tacos. And burritos. And quesadillas. And enchiladas. Hey—come to think of it I guess I’m doing my part in the great American tortilla binge.
Baked Omelet with Onion, Spinach, and Swiss Cheese
Eggs are always a good choice when you’re on a tight budget. They are loaded with protein, you can make them a million different ways, and they taste great. I think that’s the food trifecta. If the idea of making an omelet on the stovetop intimidates you, this one is the perfect solution—just put the pan in the oven, no flipping or folding required. –J
Serves 4
Butter or cooking spray
8 eggs
½ cup milk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
½ small onion
1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained or a handful or two of chopped fresh spinach
2 cups grated Swiss cheese
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
Beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Peel the onion and cut into ¼-inch pieces. Spread the onion, spinach, and Swiss cheese evenly in the pan, then pour in the egg mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.
Food for Thought:
Spinach is an excellent source of iron, calcium, chlorophyll, beta-carotene, vitamin C, riboflavin, sodium, and potassium. But keep in mind that fresh spinach loses much of its nutritional value if it’s stored more than a few days. Refrigeration slows the effect somewhat, but it is best to use fresh spinach within a couple of days of buying it. Freezing spinach prevents the loss of most of its nutritional value, so frozen spinach is a great choice, too.
Pasta with Broccoli and Caramelized Onions
Pasta with Broccoli and Caramelized Onions
Of all the dishes in this book, this was probably the favorite when we were testing recipes. Everyone we tried it on loved it. Although it takes a little time to caramelize the onions, it’s easy (they pretty much just sit in the pan and cook themselves), and you will not believe how sweet and delicious they end up. –M
Serves 4
2 onions
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 bunch broccoli
1 pound uncooked salad macaroni or other small pasta
¼ cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper
Peel the onions and cut into thin slices. Place the oil and onion in a large skillet and cook over medium heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the onions are golden brown. Remove from the heat and set aside.
While the onions are cooking, cut the florets from the broccoli and discard the stems. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and add the pasta. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until al dente. After the pasta has been cooking for 4 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pasta water for the remainder of the cooking time. Drain the pasta and broccoli in the colander.
Add the drained pasta and broccoli, almonds, and balsamic vinegar to the pan of onions and mix well. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Cooking 101:
Balsamic vinegar is made from grapes that have been cooked down to a syrup and then aged. The aging time—anywhere between three and 150 years—is what determines the price. The three-year-old stuff works fine for a college budget (and frankly, we may never in our lives be able to afford the oldest balsamic—it goes for hundreds of dollars an ounce). Cheap but decent balsamic vinegar is nice to have in your pantry—it makes very nice salad dressing when mixed with oil and salt and pepper. Just check the ingredients list to make sure they haven’t added caramel or brown sugar to sweeten up an inferior product.
Fried Rice
Fried rice is super easy,