Friday Vegetarian Potluck LinkUp & Bruschetta Pasta

What's new with you?

Last week, despite the daily trips to the hospital checking on my dad, I still managed to complete the Lazyman Triathlon one week early.  I've decided to keep doing the triathlon, alternating between biking, running, and swimming to complete 112 miles biking, 2.2 miles swimming, and 26 miles running every five weeks.

I love having a goal and something to motivate me.  This week, I have taken it a little easy, but I know I pushed hard last week to get it done.

Mixing my running routine up with biking and swimming feels great.  I use different muscle groups and they both give my knees and ankles a rest.

Here is what I'm bringing to potluck:

[Print this Recipe]

BRUSCHETTA PASTA

Ingredients:

*3 1/2 c. sliced roma or plum tomatoes
*2 Tb. balsamic vinegar
*2 Tb. olive oil
*3 cloves minced garlic
*1 Tb. fresh chopped basil or 1 tsp. dried basil
*4 oz.  or 1 c. shredded Daiya vegan mozzarella cheese
*14 oz. GF or WW angel hair pasta

Directions:

1.  Combine tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, and basil.  Refrigerate in airtight container for 2-12 hours.
2.  Prepare pasta as directed on the box. While still hot, drain water and combine with marinated tomatoes.  Add shredded cheese and toss until well incorporated.  Serve warm or cold.

How have you been this week?




In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for a virtual supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.
<center> <a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center>
(For help adding the html code above, click here)

Friday Vegetarian Potluck Link Up & Penne Florentine

It has been a whirlwind week.

On Tuesday, a very close family member (he shall remain nameless) finally went to the dr.

As we suspected, he had a severe case of pneumonia. His white cell count was 39 (under 10 is normal), his oxygen levels were low, and his blood-thinning medication was too high.  Quite simply, he was on the verge of death.

Today, a mere three days later, his white cell count is normal, his oxygen levels are up, and his blood-thinning medication is where it should be.  He is sitting up for hours at a time, eating normally, and on the verge of being released from the hospital.

I can't believe that three days ago he was admitted to the local hospital, then moved to ICU, then transferred by blaring-siren ambulance 45 miles to the regional medical center.  After only two days in the new ICU wing of the hospital and under the care of a pulmonologist, he is miraculously better.  I am grateful for the help of all the nursing staff and doctors who helped his recovery.  I also know that dozens of people have been praying for him.  I'm thankful to God and those who prayed on his behalf.

I'm on 13 hours of sleep in three days, so I'm reposting a favorite recipe of mine instead of writing a new post and the bruschetta pasta recipe I had  promised. 



Penne Florentine



[Print this Recipe]



   

PENNE FLORENTINE

Ingredients:

*13.5 oz. box of whole wheat penne pasta

*1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved
*14 oz. can of quartered artichokes, drained
*8 oz. sliced baby portabella mushrooms
 *7 c. of loosely packed fresh spinach
*3 cloves minced garlic
*2 Tb. olive oil
*1 c. alfredo sauce
*1/2 c. pesto sauce

Directions:

1. In a medium stock pot, prepare penne pasta as directed.

2. Heat a large skillet at medium heat. Add oil, tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, spinach, and garlic. Stir often and cook until spinach leaves are wilted and mushrooms are soft.
3. Drain pasta thoroughly. Add alfredo and pesto sauce. Stir well.
4. Serve immediately.




In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.
<center> <a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center>
(For help adding the html code above, click here)

Friday Vegetarian Potluck LinkUp & Easy Cheesy Julienne Potatoes (Vegan)

[Print this Recipe]

Several months ago, I bought four cases of Follow Your Heart vegan cheese.

You read that right: FOUR CASES.

So, I have been trying to use the cheese whenever I can.  My husband isn't crazy for it, so usually I give him and my son regular cheese.  I make my own enchiladas, tacos, pizza, etc. with vegan cheese, using it when the guys have real cheese.

Never had I thought of using Follow Your Heart vegan cheese to make cheese sauce.

One of my husband's favorite dishes is julienne potatoes.  I no longer make them since I ditched the prepackaged foods.  I didn't want to make the effort to make a real cheese sauce, plus I knew all of the cholesterol wasn't doing any of us any favors.

After I came up with this cheese sauce, I immediately decided to make cheesy potatoes for my husband.  When I was finished with the sauce, I used thawed, frozen hash browns and mixed them together, then baked them in the oven for 45 min.

They got rave reviews from my husband and son!

Here is what I'm bringing to Friday Vegetarian Potluck:

[Print this Recipe]

EASY CHEESY JULIENNE POTATOES

Ingredients:

*10 oz. pkg. Follow Your Heart vegan cheddar cheese
*10 oz. pkg. Follow Your Heart vegan mozzarella cheese
*1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk
*1/2 tsp. garlic powder
*1 Tb. dried minced onion
*16 oz. thawed, frozen hash browns

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Grate cheese or cut into small pieces.  Combine cheese, almond milk, garlic powder, and onion in medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring often until cheese is melted.
3. Lightly coat medium baking dish with non-stick spray. Add potatoes and cheese sauce. Mix thoroughly.
4. Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid or foil and bake an additional 15 minutes until potatoes are bubbly and edges begin to brown.

Do you have a dish that you have cut out of your diet because it isn't healthy?  Have you made a healthier alternative that satisfies you?

In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.
<center> <a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center>
(For help adding the html code above, click here)

Friday Vegetarian Potluck & Italian Vegetarian Meatballs

Today, we picked up another young person from Northwest Missouri and moved her into our home.

This is the third time we have moved someone in with us since we moved here.  I come up with these ideas and my husband goes along with me.  What a guy!

Why do we keep "rescuing" people from Northwest Missouri?

First of all, Northwest Missouri is filled with some great people.  I lived there for 5 years and my husband for 10 years.  I met some of my best friends while living there.  Five years after we moved away, we still miss the people we saw in the store, worked with, and had for neighbors.

Unfortunately, having good people in a region isn't enough.  Northwest Missouri (at least where we lived and these young adults lived), there are no jobs.  The economy wasn't good before the economic downturn, now it is really bad.  They have also had three floods in the past five years.  For these kids, there isn't much hope of a better life.

My husband and I were blessed to be born to the right parents in the right part of the country.  Here, jobs are plentiful.  Even in the drought, the irrigated fields above the Ogalala Aquifer receive moisture through pivots and irrigation pipes.  The company my husband works for is expanding.  Many places are hiring in town where the unemployment rate is only 3.3%.  A quarter section of land (1/4 of a mile, squared) sells for over a million and a half dollars.

My husband and I have experienced first-hand the sad truth that many people were not given the opportunities we were.  These are young adults we know and trust, who just needed someone to give them a shot, a ticket out of the poverty they were living in.  We gave them a place to live until they could afford their own apartment.  The living quarters are tight, since now we have two little boys in one bedroom, Mike and I in our room, and Felicia on the couch in our two bedroom house.

The two young men who stayed with us previously are doing well on their own now.  They work hard at the same jobs they started when they were with us.  They never wanted a handout.  They wanted opportunity to work. Now, we are happy to let Felicia have that chance. 

Okay, sorry for the diversion.

Friday Vegetarian Potluck!

This week, I made Italian Vegetarian Meatballs.  These will please any meat-eater (or carnivore, like my 5 year-old calls them). 

(I haven't reloaded the program yet which allows me to make PDF printable recipes. Sorry!)

Italian Vegetarian Meatball with pesto and penne pasta.

For step by step pictures, click here.

Italian Vegetarian Meatballs

by Elle@thewaybyelle

Prep Time: 15 min.

Cook Time: 1 hr.

Keywords: bake entree vegetarian Italian

6050526

Ingredients

• 8 oz. shredded mozzarella
• 1 diced onion
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 5 eggs
• 1 sleeve crushed crackers
• 1 jar pasta sauce (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 1/2 cup red or blush wine (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine shredded mozzarella, onion, garlic, oregano, eggs, and crushed crackers in mixer. Mix thoroughly. Preheat oven to 350 F. Allow mixture to set for 5 min.

2. Spray medium baking dish with non-stick spray. Use ice cream scoop to drop equal-sized balls of mixture into baking dish.

3. Mix wine with pasta sauce, if desired. Cover meatballs with pasta sauce. Cover baking dish and bake for 1 hour.

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Have you ever let someone stay in your home for an extended amount of time?  Why?  How did it go?

In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.
<center> <a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center>
(For help adding the html code above, click here)




What recipe are you going to share?<

Friday Vegetarian Potluck LinkUp & Cardamom Knots Recipe

This week, I am making Cardamom Knots for potluck.

No, the recipe isn't mine, but you can find Tomas's recipe here.

Before you freak out because the referenced recipe blog is in Swedish, let me tell you that there are instructions in English also.

These are easy to make, but they look terribly impressive.

<center> <a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center>
(For help adding the html code above, click here)




What recipe are you going to share?

Friday Vegetarian Potluck Link Up
 




 

Friday Vegetarian Potluck LinkUp & Garlic-Cheese No-Knead Bread

This next week, it will be a year since my second son was born.

I can hardly believe how fast it has gone by.  Each milestone he reaches fills me with wonder. 

This week, he is really moving.  Only a few months ago, he learned to crawl.  Now, he toddles away from me toward the furniture. 

He once choked whenever I tried to give him anything to chew other than infant "puffs. " Today, he grins and squeals in delight when I give him a piece of homemade bread to chew on.  He gnaws on the buttered bread for a few minutes before easily swallowing it.

Because of my son's newfound love for bread, I'm taking a my Garlic-Cheese No Knead Bread recipe to potluck this week.  This cheese bread pleases almost any crowd.  The savory garlic and slightly sour cheese flavor makes it a perfect bread for slicing and eating or as the basis of a yummy sandwich. 

I also like making this bread because it requires little effort.  I just mix the ingredients up in my KitchenAid mixer, allow it to rise for one hour, then bake. 

I probably won't have time to make it into sandwiches.  Instead, I will set out slices of it that can be spread with butter or margarine, a splendid side for a full potluck plate.

[Print this Recipe]

GARLIC-CHEESE NO-KNEAD BREAD


Ingredients:

*1 1/2 c. warm milk or unsweetened almond milk
*2 Tb. olive oil
*3 c. white whole wheat flour
*1/2 c. gluten flour
*1 Tb. yeast
*1/2 tsp. house seasoning
*2-3 cloves minced garlic or 1 tsp. garlic powder
*1/4 tsp. dried oregano
*1/4 tsp. dried marjoram
*1/4 tsp. dried basil
*8 oz. shredded Colby Jack Cheese
*1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
*Non-stick spray

Directions:


1. Add warm milk and yeast to bowl of Kitchen Aid or other high speed mixer. Stir with beater attachment on lowest speed for 1 minute.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Stir on low until incorporated then increase speed to medium for 1 minute.
3. Grease 2 bread pans with non-stick spray or olive oil. Add dough. Place in microwave proofer or cover with greased plastic wrap and place in a warm room. Allow to rise for 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 375F. Bake for 35 min.

Substitution: You may use 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning in exchange for the oregano, marjoram, and basil.



In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.


We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.




<center><a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center> (For help adding the html code above, click here) What recipe are you going to share?

NEW LINK UP: Friday Vegetarian Potluck!

I love going to potlucks.

I never just grab some packaged potato salad from the grocery store. Instead, I show-off by creating my tastiest recipes and trying to give them pleasing presentations.

Sampling the best dishes of my friends and family is also a treat. Inevitably, by the end of the meal, I’m stuffed, begging others for their recipes.

This week, I'm going to bring a batch of my Zucchini Patties.

I get asked about this recipe a lot, since many zucchini patties fall apart when cooking. These stay together well because the water is wrung out of the shredded zucchini before adding the other ingredients. The flour and bread crumbs bind with the zucchini and egg, creating a savory patty with a firm texture.

Zucchini Patties. Yum!

[Print this Recipe]



ZUCCHINI PATTIES

Ingredients:

*2-3 medium zucchini
*1 egg, beaten
*1 cup bread crumbs
*1/4 cup green onion, minced
*1 clove garlic, minced
*1/2 cup all-purpose flour
*1/2 cup vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions:

1. Shred zucchini with a grater or use a food processor with a shredder attachment, enough to yield 2 1/2 c.
2. Put shredded zucchini in a kitchen towel, wring out all the excess water. Remove from towel and place in mixing bowl.
3. Add egg, bread crumbs, green onion, garlic, and flour. Mix well.
4. Heat skillet on medium for 5 minutes. Add oil.
5. Spoon out portions of zucchini mix and shape into patties. Fry until golden brown.

In the spirit of a delicious potluck dinner, I’m hosting Friday Vegetarian Potluck. Mix up a batch of your favorite recipe and bring it over for supper. You can bring a main dish, a salad, bread, a dessert, any food you want to share.

We do have a few rules for our meal.

1. Your recipe needs to be vegetarian, but it can also be dairy-free, vegan, or gluten-free. Any recipe made without meat will do.

2. Your blog does not have to be about vegetarian food recipes. If you regularly write about gardening, that’s fine. If you usually post recipes with pork and poultry, you are welcome, too.

3. This doesn’t have to be a new recipe post, but I ask that you bring it to the blog only once.

4. Since potlucks are all about sharing, I ask that you post this invite on your blog post. It fits nicely into your html.

<center><a href=" http://thewaybyelle.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src=" http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7576556030_011284ffe4_m.jpg "/></a></center> 

I'm looking forward to seeing what delicious recipe you bring!