Vegetarian Nut Loaf

2 large onions, finely chopped
1 cup chopped fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper
2 Tbs butter
3 cups grated carrots
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup unsalted sunflower kernels
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
3 cups soft whole wheat bread crumbs

1) In a nonstick skillet, saute onions, mushrooms and green pepper in butter until tender. In a bowl, combine the mushroom mixture, carrots, celery, eggs, walnut, sunflower kernels, salt, basil, oregano and pepper. Stir in bread crumbs.
2) Coat by 9x5x3 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray, then line with waxed paper. Transfer vegetable mixture to a prepared pan. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until a meat thermometer reads 160F. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing.

Review: This was exciting, as it's seriously the first time I've made a loaf of any sort that was actually able to stand on it's own! I also used parchment paper for the first time (worried wax would have smoked) and I think it's awesome!!! This was super yummy. I'm tempted to tweak the recipe and add more nuts. Hm, walnuts, almonds and cashews?

Savory Spinach & Artichoke Stuffing

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 lbs spinach, washed (3 cups cooked and roughly chopped)
2 cups chopped yellow onion
1 Tbs roughly chopped garlic
1 Tbs, plus 2 tsp, Italian seasoning blend
2 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
3 (8 1/2oz) cans quartered artichoke hearts, any tough outer leaves removed
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbs lemon juice
12 to 14 cups cubed (1 inch), day old French bread (1 loaf)
1 lb Brie, rind removed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley leaves

1) Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish with 1 Tbs olive oil.
2) Bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water. Once cool, squeeze as much water from spinach as possible, then roughly chop and reserve.
3) Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until golden brown and tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, 2 tsp of Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, and cook, stirring, until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the artichokes and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and reserve.
4) Combine the eggs, cream, broth, lemon juice, remaining 1 Tbs Italian seasoning, remaining 2 tsp salt and remaining 1 tsp pepper in large bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the bread, spinach, artichoke mixture, brie, 1/4 cup Parmesan and parsley. Stir to combine. If bread does not absorb all of liquid immediately, then let rest until this happens, about 20 minutes.
5) Pour the bread pudding mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top and drizzle with remaining 2 Tbs olive oil. Bake until firm in the center and golden brown, about 1 hour. Serve warm.

Review: Once again, we omitted the lemon juice. It just works better. We used a big bag of croutons (the only unseasoned bread cubes we could find), instead of a loaf of bread. It worked well. This was unbelievably yummy and I can't wait to have it again as leftovers. I definitely have plenty!!!!!!

Roasted Vegetables With Thyme

2 lb baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut into medium-sized chunks
1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut into medium-sized chunks
1/2 lb parsnips, trimmed and cut into medium-sized chunks
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1) Preheat oven to 375F.
2) In a large bowl, toss potatoes, carrots and parsnips with olive oil and thyme. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer vegetables to a large roasting pan.
3) Roast for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork.

Review: Oops, forgot to take a pic! We omitted carrots and substituted one turnip. Yay, it was uniform white chunks and tasty. It did take longer than expected to bake, but I suspect we may have used too many potatoes. We do have a large box of them and have added more than necessary to most of our recipes to use them up!

Decadent Peanut Butter Pie

1 cup creamy peanut butter, plus 2 Tbs divided
8oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
12oz container (4 1/2 cups) frozen whipped topping, thawed and divided
1 prepared chocolate pie crust
11.75oz jar hot fudge spoonable ice cream topping, divided

1) Beat together 1 cup peanut butter, cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with an electric mixer on medium until well combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Gently mix in 3 cups whipped topping until thoroughly combined. Spoon mixture into pie crust. Using a spatula, smooth mixture to edges of pie.
2) Reserve 2 Tbs of hot fudge topping in the corner of a resealable food storage bag; set aside. Microwave remaining topping on HIGH for 1 minute. Stir. Spread topping over pie, covering entire peanut butter layer. Refrigerate until set. Spread remaining whipped topping (1 1/2 cups) over hot fudge layer, being careful not to mix the two layers.
3) Cut a small corner from bag containing topping. Squeeze bag to drizzle topping over pie. Place remaining 2 Tbs peanut butter in a resealable food storage bag; cut bag corner and squeeze to drizzle in opposite direction from topping. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Review: Careful with the hot fudge - mine exploded out of the jar in the microwave! This was unbelievably rich and very strong on the peanut butter taste. Yum!!

Soba Noodle Salad With Ginger Peanut Dressing

6oz soba noodles
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tbs agave nectar or maple syrup
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 tsp soy sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbs lime juice
1 tsp fresh lime zest
1/2 cup chopped cilantro, divided
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 small red bell pepper, sliced
1 large carrot, grated
2 Tbs chopped peanuts, optional

1) Cook noodles in boiling salted water according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold running water.
2) Puree peanut butter, vinegar, agave nectar, ginger, soy sauce, garlic, lime juice, lime zest and 1/4 cup of cilantro in blender or food processor until smooth and creamy, adding 2 to 3 Tbs warm water to thin, if necessary.
3) Toss together noodles, cucumber, bell pepper, carrot and peanut butter mixture. Garnish with remaining cilantro and chopped peanuts, if using.

Review: I substituted zucchini for the cucumber, because I really don't like cucumbers. Mike actually made the recipe, which was my favorite part. A whole box of spaghetti was used instead of the soba. It was good to increase the pasta, as the sauce is pretty potent. It was yummy, but had quite a distinct taste.

Vegetable Moussaka

1 4-lb eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch rounds
salt and pepper
1/4 cup plus 2 Tbs olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 10-oz container white mushrooms, sliced
1 cup diced zucchini
1 cup diced yellow squash
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup, plus 4 Tbs, grated Parmesan
4 Tbs unsalted butter
5 Tbs all-purpose flour
3 cups milk
7 oz Greek yogurt
2 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten

1) Preheat oven to 425F. Lay eggplant slices on paper towels and salt both sides; let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. Brush both sides with olive oil (1/4 cup total) and place on 2 baking sheets. Bake 20 minutes, turning slices and rotating pans halfway through. Remove eggplant from oven and let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.
2) In a large skillet with a lid, heat remaining oil. Add onion, mushrooms, zucchini and squash, season with salt and pepper and cook, covered, over low heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Remove lid, turn heat to high and cook until liquid evaporates. Add garlic, oregano, tomatoes and puree and parsley and cook until sauce has thickened, about 10 minutes. Check seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
3) Mist a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Cover bottom of dish with eggplant rounds, spoon half of vegetable sauce on top and sprinkle with 2 Tbs Parmesan. Repeat with remaining eggplant and sauce and 2 Tbs Parmesan, finishing with a top layer of eggplant.
4) Melt butter in pan and whisk in flour. Cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and cook, stirring, until mixture comes to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup Parmesan and yogurt and stir until smooth. Whisk in eggs and yolks.
5) Pour cheese sauce over eggplant. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until heated through and top is browned, about 70 minutes. Let rest for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Review: I replaced the eggplant with zucchini, doubled the yellow squash and omitted the 1 cup diced zucchini the recipe originally called for. I've never liked eggplant and have found that zucchini typically works well instead. It seemed to do the job for this dish! Because I used zucchini, I omitted the step of roasting, but I did sweat the zucchini. This dish made about 8 servings, so we had plenty of delicious food.

Sesame-Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges With Broccoli

4 cups bite-size broccoli florets, halved lengthwise
2 small sweet potatoes, each cut into 16 wedges (1 lb)
6 green onions, each cut into 4 segments
3 Tbs toasted sesame oil, divided
1/4 tsp coarse salt
2 Tbs orange juice
2 Tbs tamari or soy sauce
1 Tbs rice vinegar
1 Tbs mirin
1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups baby spinach

1) Preheat oven to 450F. Place broccoli, sweet potato wedges and green onions in a large bowl. Add 2 Tbs sesame oil and salt; toss well to coat. Spread vegetables on baking sheet, and roast 20 minutes, turning with spatula 2 or 3 times. Increase oven temperature to 500F. Roast vegetables 10 minutes more, or until tender and browned.
2) Meanwhile, whisk together orange juice, tamari, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame seeds, ginger, garlic and remaining 1 Tbs sesame oil in small bowl. Place spinach in large serving bowl, add roasted vegetables and orange juice mixture, and toss well to mix.

Review: My broccoli began to burn at 20 minutes and the potatoes were done, so I did not roast them for another 10 minutes. This was really yummy and had a great flavor, though I am a big fan of sesame oil. I served this over some bulgur to stretch it into more servings. I think it would have been better to have less spinach and more potatoes and broccoli!