Recipe Round-Up: My Top 3 Vegetarian Main Courses

 The recipe round-ups just keep coming. Yes, I need to get back to cooking and posting new things, and yes, I need to show you all the changes I have made to my living room, and all my recent spray painting projects I have been withholding, and awesome etsy buys I have left you all in the dark about...and yet I have been having trouble motivating myself to see things through to the end recently, and actually get the posts set out in writing. It's not quite a writer's block, but perhaps a writer's fatigue-- Which I am sure will sort itself right out when that nice spring weather finally hits and wakes me up! But in the meantime, rounding up my favorite recipes previously posted on this blog allows me not only to share them with you again (and for the first time for some new readers) but also to celebrate my 1 year blogiversary, and perhaps will spur me back into blogging new recipes. So, without further adieu, my top 3 Vegetarian Main Courses blogged in the last year:

Eggplant Rolatini-
 This was a really fun recipe to cook, and to write about. My good friend Jamie and I made this together (with some moral support from her little girl, Lilly) last summer. The result was just delicious, and I can't wait to make this again as soon as I see those tiny eggplants show up at the farmers market.

Meatless Cassoulet- A traditional french cassoulet is far from vegetarian, with sausages and meats galore (and often an abundance of duck fat). Adam from The Amateur Gourmet (I have a big old blog crush, by the way) did an excellent post on the more traditional meat-tastic dish here. It was my familiarity with recipes like that which made me raise an eyebrow at the concept of a "meatless cassoulet" when I saw this recipe from Gourmet. But, mostly, while this is actually closer to a french version of Ribbolita (a tuscan peasant soup made with white beans and bread) what made me love this version is that it is just plain delicious. And super cheap. Really, white beans given time to soak up delicious garlic, fresh and dried herbs, mixed with some slow cooked vegetables, and garlicky bread crumbs just seems like something that can't possibly be bad. And it isn't. An additional note- if you like garlic, this is an opportunity to go crazy. Seriously, add even more.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Chili-
This dish makes me so happy. I have made it now several times, and plan to make it again and again. It is hearty, both sweet and a bit spicy, full flavored, vegan, and just the right balance of filling and healthful. And sometimes it inspires dance parties.




Do you have a favorite vegetarian main course? let me know in the comments, I am always looking to grow my repertoire.

You can also check out my other round ups:
FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES
FAVORITE MEAT MAIN COURSES

and coming soon:
Favorite Vegetable Side Dishes
Favorite Appetizers & Snacks

Recipe Round-Up: My Top 3 Meat Main Courses

I was going to do a round up of my top 3 main courses...But I found I just didn't have it in me to choose between some of the fabulous vegetarian foods I have craved recently, and the heartier meat dishes that to me are pure comfort food. So I decided to create 2 different round ups. If you don't eat meat just hold tight, and vegetarian top 3 will be up soon. :)

But now, MEAT. Yes.

I will be the first to admit that chicken is underrepresented in this blog. I usually either skew towards vegetarian foods or else directly at the opposite end of the spectrum- red meat. I spent a while feeling guilty for my affinity for red meat, but then after a recent doctors appointment, when my lab tests revealed I was anemic, it all started to make sense. I need that iron! Bring on the meat! Maybe you need iron, too. Really, a healthy portion of steak is probably just what you need.

1. Steak with Red Wine and Shallot Sauce-  This was the first recipe I posted to this blog. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of the format (or my camera's settings). I think I may revisit this recipe soon and post some better close ups of the food itself, and the process. But it is still a really easy, delicious meal, that I love to make whenever I want to serve something that feels a bit fancy and rich, without being overly expensive or time consuming. Pan seared steak with a rich sweet red wine reduction and caramelized shallots? Yes, please.

2. Stuffed Turkey Sliders- Thinking about these makes me miss summer. Good thing it won't be too long now! These sliders were two things I hardly thought a turkey burger could be (must be bad turkey burger experiences in my past), flavorful and juicy. With a little soy sauce and garlic powder mixed in with the meat, and a surprise pocket of cheese, caramelized onions and herbs within, they were a perfect light summer-y meal to eat before seeing the fireworks on the 4th of July. I served them on sourdough rolls and alongside a tall glass of homemade blueberry-lemonade spritzer. The meal was refreshing, lean, and packed with flavor. I look forward to making these again soon!

3. Slow Cooker Pot Roast with Coffee and Caramelized Onions - Served over mashed potatoes, this was a perfect winter comfort food. And it is made in a slow cooker so I could do the prep steps in the morning, and then forget about it all day while it cooked away. The flavor was deep and rich, and the meat tender. Don't fight it, you want it. You know what to do.



Do you have a favorite meat main course? More top 3's are coming soon- keep an eye out for vegetarian main dishes, vegetable side dishes, and appetizers & snacks!