Sometimes when I make a Taco Bar or Fajitas, I have a little left over. Usually, we get two nights of dinners for two or one for four if my kids are home. There will often be a bit left of the meat (or meat substitute) and vegetables. Making a baked enchilada type of tacoContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Leftover Taco/Enchiladas Bake (Vegetarian Options)”
Author Archives: @cjsthought
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Vegetarian Shepherds Pie
This is one of our recipe favorites. It’s comfort food, hearty on a cold day. I make it vegetarian, but it could also be made with ground beef or lamb. You won’t miss the meat in my version. I use vegetarian ground crumbles as the main protein mixed with chopped vegetables and cheese. You couldContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Vegetarian Shepherds Pie”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Taco Bar- Vegetarian Options
As I’ve said in other posts, we often travel to Mexico. I love the culture and the food. I try to make some easy dishes that I’ve eaten there and here. Every night can be taco night in my house. I love a taco any way I make them. Sometimes I want a quick mealContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Taco Bar- Vegetarian Options”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Salisbury Steak (Meat Options)
An easy comfort food dinner is Salisbury Steak. I made this version vegetarian. I used Impossible Burger patties which cut some of the prep time. It comes together quickly. Serve it with a tossed salad, mashed potatoes and a side of steamed veggies. It’s a warm stress free meal like a big hug. Ingredients 6-ImpossibleContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Salisbury Steak (Meat Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Cajun Spiced Pasta Bake (Vegetarian Options)
The weather turned very cold for a couple of days last week so I wanted to spice things up. An easy dinner to make is a baked penne dish. I decided to make a Cajun Spiced Baked Penne. It can be made with or without a sausage. Options are a chicken sausage, Andouille sausage, hotContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Cajun Spiced Pasta Bake (Vegetarian Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience: Easy Dinners-Vegetarian Pasties
As I’ve mentioned, I grew up in Northern Minnesota on the Iron Range. This area is known for its open pit mines. One of the big local cuisines is a Pasty. A pasty is a meat and vegetable filled large hand/type pie. The miners would take it hot into their lunchboxes and it would beContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience: Easy Dinners-Vegetarian Pasties”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Mushroom Lentil Soup (Vegetarian Options)
This week’s soup is a hearty soup with a lot of spice to warm you up. I had an abundance of mushrooms as well as a larger cans of tomatoes in my last grocery order. I decided to try a lentil soup using these ingredients. I added more vegetables as well. Lentils are not myContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Mushroom Lentil Soup (Vegetarian Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Vegetarian Chili 🌶️
Chili is a hearty, spicy cross of stew and soup. It can be made many different ways-with or without beans, vegetarian or meat, (chili con carne) spicy or mild. It varies from region to region. Great for a Game Day or a winter meal. Exploring the origins of chili unveiled a big controversy to itsContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Vegetarian Chili 🌶️”
Traveling for a Cultural Experience-Mexican Winter Escape
We are on a winter escape in Cancun Mexico. After 6 months of recovering from rotator cuff, bicep and clavicle surgery, I needed a stress free escape. The last half of the year was very painful and difficult. One of the most trying times I’ve experienced. Fortunately I see the light at the end ofContinue reading “Traveling for a Cultural Experience-Mexican Winter Escape”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience- Easy Dinner: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna
Lasagna is an Italian layered casserole full of cheesy goodness. Surprisingly, when I looked up it’s history, I discovered it derived from Ancient Greece. where according to Mi’Talia, a dish called laganon was popular. Laganon, as it happens, was the first pasta, made from sheets of dough cut into thin strips. https://www.tastingtable.com/820872/the-origin-of-lasagna-isnt-what-you-think/ It made itsContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience- Easy Dinner: Slow Cooker Vegetarian Lasagna”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Sausage Gumbo Style Soup -(Vegetarian Options)
Traditional Gumbo gets its roots from West Africa and Louisiana. It dates back over 300 years. It’s a hearty Creole stew which can be made with many different ingredients. A traditional Gumbo is made with a deep roux and okra. It can include chicken, sausage and seafood, game or be strictly vegetarian. It molds toContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Sausage Gumbo Style Soup -(Vegetarian Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Chicken Gyro Sandwich (Vegetarian Options)
Gyros are an interesting Mediterranean sandwich. They are full of flavor and spice, tangy and tender. Usually a gyro is made with a combination of beef and lamb cooked on a spit. It is sliced thin and placed in a pita or flatbread pita. Top it with tzatziki sauce (a garlic, cucumber, yogurt sauce), cucumbers,Continue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Easy Dinners: Chicken Gyro Sandwich (Vegetarian Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Quick Steak Fajitas (Vegetarian and Chicken Options)
It’s always taco/fajita night in our house. Often I make lean ground beef or vegetarian chorizo or vegetarian crumbles and make a taco bar. Sometimes I want a quicker meal ready. This recipe uses steak for the fajitas. I prefer a good cut if I’m using steak. I use a rib eye, t-bone or stripContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Quick Steak Fajitas (Vegetarian and Chicken Options)”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Tortilla Soup (Vegetarian and Chicken versions)
Tortilla Soup is a favorite soup in our house. It’s light and full of flavor. It can be made vegetarian or with chicken. I’ll give you both options below. The flavors come out light and refreshing either way. It’s a great first course for taco night or with any main course. Serve it with aContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Tortilla Soup (Vegetarian and Chicken versions)”
Gardening Thoughts and Photos
I love gardening but have a very small yard. I know Spring is coming as soon as the forsythia bloom. Next to bloom are the irises. My former neighbor gave me the purple plants many years ago and they always bloom. They give great hope to the Spring. I planted the yellow irises They alwaysContinue reading “Gardening Thoughts and Photos”
The Best Laid Plans—Isolation Thoughts…
After two years of more or less isolation from Covid, we were starting to finally see a light at the end of the tunnel. Since I don’t have any problems being home a lot, it didn’t bother me to self isolate as much as it bothered some people. Now after two years, masks, vaccines andContinue reading “The Best Laid Plans—Isolation Thoughts…”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht (Soup)Vegetarian Version
This soup was one of my Mother and Grandmother’s regular soups. There is a debate as to whether Cabbage Borscht is Borscht or if Beet Borscht is the only real Borscht. Both are staples in many Jewish households. My mother tended to make the cabbage version more often. She used a soup bone and soupContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Sweet and Sour Cabbage Borscht (Soup)Vegetarian Version”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Almost a Failure- Broccoli, Vegetable, Cheddar Chowder
Not everything comes out as planned, but I’m not one to give up on a potentially good dish. With some tweaks, this came out quite well. See-Results below for the tweaks I did. This soup came about from an abundance of broccoli. I had ordered groceries pre-Thanksgiving and asked for a large bag of broccoliContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Almost a Failure- Broccoli, Vegetable, Cheddar Chowder”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Split Pea Soup
This week the weather turned cold. It’s a dreary, rainy day here. It’s clear that winter is on the way. With all the talk of snow and cold weather around the country, soup can really cut the chill. Split Pea Soup is a hearty, warming soup. It can be made with or without sausage orContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Split Pea Soup”
Thanksgiving Traditions -Side Dishes: Wild Rice Casserole
Growing up all the holidays were a chance to have all of the family and relatives together. Thanksgiving was a joyous occasion. As I mentioned in previous posts I was the youngest in my family and all the cousins. Relatives would come up from the Twin Cities to join us. Traditional Foods Aside from theContinue reading “Thanksgiving Traditions -Side Dishes: Wild Rice Casserole”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Holiday Dinners: Stuffed Rolled Turkey Breast
The Iron Range in Northern Minnesota where I’m from was a real melting pot of nationalities. There were many people with Italian, Scandinavian, Slavic as well as Eastern European and other backgrounds. Many came to work in the mines. Growing up, my father was a grocer and a butcher. We learned a lot from theContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Holiday Dinners: Stuffed Rolled Turkey Breast”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Easy Dinners: Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Vegetables with Feta and Pomegranate Sheet Pan Dinner
Sheet Pan dinners are quick and easy. There are so many different combinations you can try. This is a combination of a couple of different recipes. It has Mediterranean flavors with the mellow feta cheese and balsamic glaze. The pomegranate seeds give it a sweet/tart tang. When the feta bakes, it mellows out the flavor.Continue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Easy Dinners: Balsamic Glazed Chicken and Vegetables with Feta and Pomegranate Sheet Pan Dinner”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Easy Dinners: Pulled Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich
Traveling through parts of the Southern East Coast, we encountered some interesting cuisines. One sandwich stood out for its simplicity and flavor. The pulled pork or chicken sandwich. It’s an interesting combination of bbq flavor and cool, crisp coleslaw. Tangy and crunchy. My version is a slightly spicy version made with chicken breast. It’s anContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Easy Dinners: Pulled Spicy BBQ Chicken Sandwich”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Wild Rice, Corn Chowder
Growing up in Northern Minnesota, wild rice is a part of our culture. It is used in many soup, stew and casserole dishes. “Wild rice (Zizania aquatica or Zizania palustris), called manoomin in the Ojibwe language, has been a staple food for Minnesota’s Indians for centuries. It was adopted as the official state grain inContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience—Soup Weather: Wild Rice, Corn Chowder”
Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Vegetarian Vegetable, Barley, Lima Bean Soup
Vegetable, Barley, Lima Bean Soup One of my Mother’s standard soups was a Beef Mushroom Barley soup. It’s a traditional Eastern European Jewish soup dating back many, many generations. My Mother used to make it with a soup bone and beef, loaded with mushrooms and carrots. On a cold Minnesota day it would be aContinue reading “Recipes for a Cultural Experience-Soup Weather: Vegetarian Vegetable, Barley, Lima Bean Soup”