Butternut Squash and Mushroom Ravioli

I don't know about you, but I am sick of this cold weather. I was feeling depressed about the seemingly never ending snow, and pasta is always my favorite comfort food :) However, I needed to use up the rest of my wonton wrappers from last weeks ravioli recipe, so I decided to make another ravioli. I also  had a butternut squash that had been sitting on my counter for literally three months and though I would whip up a butternut squash and mushroom cheese mixture for the filling. 

Butternut Squash and Mushroom Ravioli 
-1 butternut squash (you will only need about 1 cup, cubed, which is roughly half of one half. Save the rest to make something later, like soup!)-1 tbsp olive oil-3/4 cup chopped mushrooms -1/2 cup low fat ricotta cheese-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, seperated-1 egg (half of the egg will be used for an egg wash mixture, 2 tbsp. water)-Salt and pepper to taste 



Preheat oven to 350 

Cut butternut squash in half and remove seeds. You may have to microwave it for a few minutes to be able to cut it more easily. Put cut sides down in a shallow pan filled with about an inch of water.Roast in oven for about 25-30 minutes. 

Take out of oven and let cool, use knife to cut skin off. Cut squash in small pieces and set aside

Heat olive oil in pan on medium heat, add in mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes. Add in chopped butternut squash and salt and pepper to taste

In a medium mixing bowl, add ricotta, 1/2 of the Parmesan and vegetables. Add half of the egg and mix all ingredients together 

Spread out wontons, spoon out small amounts of the mixture and brush egg wash mixture along edges, fold in half and make sure edges stick together.

Drop 4 or 5 wontons in boiling water at a time. Let cook for 4 minutes. Wontons will rise to the top when they are done cooking. Scoop out and set in serving dish.

Stream olive oil and top with remaining Parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!

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Enchiladas with Avocado Cilantro Sauce

These are the best enchiladas I've ever had. No exaggeration. 

My dad, the meat eating man, also thought they were "really, really good," and I hope you do, too! :) 

Vegetarian Enchiladas 

-2 Tbsp. olive oil

-1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced

-6-8  14 inch flour or wheat tortillas

-1 15oz can black beans

-1 16oz can vegetarian re-fried beans

-1 red pepper, diced (or green, yellow or orange)

-1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

-2 cloves garlic, minced 

-2 cups shredded Cheddar or Monterrey Jack cheese

-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Optional garnish: fresh cilantro, sour cream, chopped lettuce, salsa, jalapenos 

Avocado Cilantro Sauce

-2 Avocados

-2 tbsp. butter

-2 tbsp. flour

-2 cups vegetable broth

-3/4 cup low fat sour cream

-1/2 tsp. cumin

-1/2 tsp. salt

-1/2 tsp. pepper 

-1/2 cup chopped, fresh cilantro 

-juice of one lime

Make avocado cilantro sauce

Melt butter in skillet over medium heat, add in flour and slowly whisk in vegetable broth

Bring to a boil then reduce hear and simmer for 5 minutes

Stir in cumin, salt and pepper

Transfer mixture to a food processor and add in lime juice sour cream, cilantro and avocado

Pulse on slow working your way up to a higher speed

Blend until smooth set aside 

Preheat oven to 350

In a medium pan, heat olive oil and add garlic, mushrooms, onions and peppers and cook about 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat

Assemble enchiladas, place tortilla on flat surface and spread a tablespoon or two of each of the following: re-fried beans, black beans and sauteed veggie mixture. 

Sprinkle with crumbled feta and drizzle with avocado sauce. 

Roll filled tortilla and place it face down in a baking dish. 

Repeat with remaining tortillas. I fit 7 in my dish.

Cover with the remaining avocado cilantro sauce and sprinkle shredded cheese generously over the top.

Cover with tin foil and bake 25 minutes.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes and serve! 

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Zucchini Alfredo Orzo

I have never cooked with Orzo pasta before, and was very curious. As far as I knew, it was like a rice, or risotto, both of which I love. This recipe is so simple and so delicious. 

Zucchini Alfredo Orzo

-1 cup Orzo, uncooked

-1/2 zucchini 

-1/2 cup Greek Non-fat Yogurt

-1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

-1/2 teaspoon Nutmeg

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon pepper

Boil water in a medium pot and add orzo. Cook according to package, roughly 10 minutes.

While orzo is cooking, grate zucchini with a cheese grater into thin pieces. 

When orzo is done cooking, drain and return to pan, add in Greek yogurt, shredded Parmesan, zucchini and seasonings. Stir together and serve immediately. If you wait to serve, you may need to add a splash of milk to make it creamy again. Enjoy!

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Baked sweet potato fries seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper and sauteed mushrooms made a great side

Mashed Cauliflower Bake

After working all day on a bad nights sleep, I really didn't feel like coming home and cooking anything. I debated something easy like mac and cheese, but that wouldn't be fair to my sisters who definitely deserve to eat something nutritious after their day at school and sports practices. I almost didn't post this recipe because I wasn't able to take any pictures haha, but it was too good and too healthy not to share. I made this as a side to our dinner tonight, along with a low-fat coleslaw and baked egg roll wrapper chicken wraps ( I had mine with tempeh ) My sisters and I agreed mashed cauliflower is way better than mashed potatoes and SO much healthier. 

Mashed Cauliflower Bake

-1 medium head cauliflower

-2 tablespoons non-fat Greek Yogurt

-2 tablespoons butter

-2 tablespoons milk (I used coconut milk)

-3 egg whites

-1/3 cup of cheese of your choice

(I used a mix of Mozzarella and Parmesan. I think Cheddar would work well also)

-Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-heat oven to 350

Cut and clean the cauliflower and place in a microwave safe bowl and add yogurt and butter

Microwave for 5 minutes, just enough to soften the cauliflower a bit 

Add contents of the bowl into a food processor and add milk, blend until smooth.

Add salt and pepper, and set aside.

Beat the egg whites until they form a stiff peak. This will take a few minutes. It works best if the egg whites are at room temperature. It is also best to start at a slow speed and gradually work up to a high speed. When egg whites get fluffy and form the peaks stop beating them. If you over beat them they will turn to liquid again.

Scoop out half of the cauliflower mixture into a 9x9 baking dish and fold in half of the egg whites, then add the second half of the cauliflower and then the remaining egg whites. Stir until well combined. It should look like a small cloud in your dish :) 

Top with cheese, bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes

Add more salt and pepper to your taste and enjoy! 

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I found this picture online, it looked similar to mine so if yours looks like this as well, then you did it right! 

Wonton Raviolis With Homemade Sauce

I’m lucky enough to be on cooking duty for my younger sisters this week, and my favorite part about that is tricking them into eating healthy! Dinner last night was fun to make and full of vegetables.

3 Cheese and Spinach Wonton Raviolis with Homemade Tomato Zucchini Sauce

Tomato Zucchini Sauce

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-2 cloves minced garlic

-1 chopped shallot

-1 teaspoon thyme

-1 teaspoon basil

-1, 14.5 oz. can petite diced tomatoes

-1, 6 oz. can tomato paste

-1, 14.5 oz. can vegetable broth

-1/3 cup nonfat Greek Yogurt

-1/2 large zucchini, chopped

-1/2 head broccoli, chopped

-Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in medium sauce pan and add garlic and shallot. Cook about 4 minutes and add diced tomatoes and zucchini. Cook until most of the juice is boiled out and add vegetable broth, tomato paste, thyme, basil, and salt and pepper. Cook about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add Greek yogurt. Separate into a few batches and blend in food processor until smooth.

Set aside half in a serving bowl and put the other half back into sauce pan and add chopped head of broccoli. Cook over low-medium heat another 10-15 minutes or until broccoli is cooked enough to your liking.

3 cheese Wonton Ravioli with Spinach

4 servings

12 grams of fat/ serving

274 calories/ serving

-20 wonton wrappers

-1 egg

-3 oz. shredded Parmesan cheese, separated

-1/2 cup Lite Ricotta cheese

-1/4 cup part-skim Mozzarella

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-2 cups fresh spinach

-Egg wash for wontons (1 egg scrambled with 3 tablespoons of water )

-Extra olive oil for wonton topping

Bring an 8 quart pan of water to boil.

While waiting for water to boil, prepare the wontons.

Wonton Filling:

Combine Ricotta, ½ of the Parmesan, Mozzarella and egg in a bowl and mix together thoroughly.

Heat olive oil in skillet and add spinach, cook about 3-4 minutes until wilted.

Remove spinach from heat and chop finely, add to ricotta mixture.

Spread out wontons, spoon out small amounts of the mixture and brush egg wash mixture along edges, fold in half and make sure edges stick together.

Drop 4 or 5 wontons in boiling water at a time. Let cook for 4 minutes. Wontons will rise to the top when they are done cooking. Scoop out and set in serving dish.

You can top the wonton raviolis with a simple stream of olive oil and a sprinkling of the remaining Parmesan or can top with the homemade tomato sauce. I prepared it both ways to suit the tastes of two different girls J

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Vegetable, Barley and Lentil Soup (Everything But The Kitchen Sink!)

I love a good soup. Any time of year. My favorite thing about it is that you can make a huge batch of it and either freeze some for later on, or just eat it once or twice a day until it is gone. Also, soup is something you can usually alter quite a bit depending on who is going to be eating it. For example, this soup would probably be really good with shredded chicken or turkey. But alas, this is a vegetarian blog. 

Vegetable, Barley and Lentil Soup (Everything But The Kitchen Sink!)

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 small-medium onion diced

3 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 can of petite diced tomatoes

1 ½- 2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 bunch kale, chopped

1 zucchini chopped

8 cups vegetable broth

1 cup lentils

½ cup barley

1 teaspoon Thyme

2 teaspoons Cumin

Salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil up in a large pot 

(I use a 7 quart cast iron Dutch oven, and it is literally my favorite thing to cook in!)

Add in minced garlic and chopped onion, and cook until aromatic

Add in the rest of the ingredients and let cook on low-medium heat for 75 minutes. It may look watery at first but as time goes on, and the lentils and barley cook, the soup becomes quite thick!

And, voilà! The soup is done and ready to enjoy, preferably with a chunk of fresh bread. The prep time is next to nothing in this great dish, and while it is cooking allows for you to get other things done, like a good work out and a load of laundry, which is what I did! 

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Vegetarian Lasagna with Healthy Alfredo Sauce

Lasagna is literally one of my favorite foods on this earth. Growing up, it was always such a big deal when my grandmother made it. It takes all day to make and was only made on special occasions. The number one thing I miss about being a Vegetarian is her lasagna. I've made a few different recipes over the years but this one is my favorite one. I wanted something that had the density of a comfort food, but without the high fat and calories. I use an Alfredo sauce for the majority of the sauce in the lasagna. I know what you're thinking, how can Alfredo sauce be healthy!? Well my friends, it can.



Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes


Healthy Alfredo Sauce
-1 head of cauliflower, chopped (the bigger the better in this case)
-3 cloves of garlic, minced
-1 small onion, chopped
-6 cups of vegetable broth
-Pinch of salt
-Pinch of pepper
-Pinch of nutmeg
-2 tablespoons of olive oil, separated
-1/4 cup coconut milk, or Greek yogurt will work as well


Bring vegetable broth to boil in pot and add chopped cauliflower, cook for 15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft. .

Bring a tablespoon of the olive oil ti heat in a skillet, add onion and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes, until onion and garlic are fragrant.

Transfer the cauliflower to a blender with about 2 cups of the broth. It's best to do this in smaller batches as putting that much hot liquid in a blender can create a huge mess.

Add the sauteed onion and garlic, salt, pepper and nutmeg to the mixture. Blend again and stream in the remaining olive oil. You can add more vegetable broth if the mixture is too thick for your liking, I added about a cup more.

Lastly, add coconut milk or Greek yogurt and blend again.

It tastes amazing and is virtually fat free! Love it!

Set aside until assembling the lasagna.



Vegetarian Lasagna

Serves 12

-12 cooked lasagna noodles
-1 container of fat free Ricotta cheese
-1 egg
-1 head of broccoli
-2 boxes frozen chopped spinach, drained

-1 pinch of salt
-1 pinch of pepper
-1 tablespoon oregano

-1 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese (or a mix of both!)
-4-8 oz. fresh mozzarella (I used this only on the very top of my lasagna, if you want to use more throughout, that is totally up to you!)
-1 jar spaghetti sauce to mix with Alfredo sauce (optional, but it does taste great and is nice if you like a saucier lasagna like I do)


Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, mix Ricotta cheese with egg and add in the drained, chopped spinach and set aside

Blanch broccoli in a pot of boiling, salted water for 2 minutes. Drain and run under cool water. After it is at a workable temperature, squeeze excess water from broccoli and finely chop it into small pieces, mix with Parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper and set aside.



Layer 3 times:
Alfredo sauce
Noodles (4 on each layer)
Ricotta/ Spinach mixture
Chopped Broccoli & Parmesan

Last layer add the fresh mozzerella

Cover with foil

Bake for 60 minutes

Let stand and cool for 15 minutes before serving

ENJOY! :)



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