Vegetarian

Chipotle Bean Burritos

When I was a vegetarian, I always had black beans in my pantry and ate a lot of burritos. These Chipotle Bean Burritos mixes black beans with kidney beans along with a touch of chipotle chile powder. The chile powder provides a slight heat that you don’t really notice it until after the third or fourth bite. The combination of the mashed beans with the whole beans provides different textures. The toppings are standard: tomato, lettuce, scallion, cheese, and sour cream. I’m not a raw onion fan but liked the scallions here which provided a slight crunch.

Additions: None

Omissions: None

Substitutions (because this is what I had on hand):

Reduced-fat mozzarella for the reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend
Spinach for the romaine lettuce

Overall Rating: Like It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Linguine with Two-Cheese Sauce

I had a friend over for dinner who was craving some pasta so I decided to make Linguine with Two-Cheese Sauce. It tasted like a lighter (and just as good) version of fettucine alfredo. Instead of heavy cream, butter and loads of parmesan, this recipe is made with milk, a little olive oil, a little parmesan and an even littler bit of mascarpone cheese. The addition of the basil gives it that extra bit of fresh flavor and some fresh-cracked black pepper gives it just a hint of kick. My friend loved it so much, he had two helpings and trust me, it’s hard not to.

Additions: A small handful of pecorino-romano

Omissions: None

Substitutions: None

Overall Rating: Love It

Source: Cooking Light Magazine

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

Lasagna from start to finish can be quite time-consuming and to some people, it isn’t worth it. This Roasted Vegetable Lasagna is worth it. Yes, it’s time-consuming. First, you broil the peppers, then roast the squash and onions, whip up the cheese mixture, make the bechamel sauce and at some point boil the noodles. And then after you assemble it, you have to wait for 35 minutes while it bakes. But the end result is garlicky, cheesy, hearty and comforting – you won’t miss the meat. This freezes well so make it over a weekend when you have some extra time and save it for later. It reheats well too so it’s great for lunch when you only have five minutes.