A Better Tuna Sandwich

Some people on a vegetarian diet still eat fish, and some don't. I thought I would include this recipe for those that still eat fish.
A while back we were visiting my parents and my Dad had me try some tuna he had made. It was great! Fast forward to today. There is no school so all the kids were home for lunch. They asked what kind of sandwich they could have and I said "Tuna". My eight year old got really excited and said, "Can we have tuna with carrots in it?!" So we did...here is how to make it.

Finely chop
1 medium sized carrot
1 stalk of celery
Some pickles-my Dad used sweet, but I prefer dill

When my Dad makes this he chops everything in a food processor. I have a hand crank food chopper that I use.
Put your chopped ingredients in a bowl. Add two 5 to 6 oz drained cans of Tuna and mayo or salad dressing enough to moisten everything. Serve on bread, or this also makes a good dip for tortilla chips and such.
Adding the veggies makes the tuna go farther, but it also adds a nice crunch. Chopped small enough the flavors blend together well, and you don't get an overpowering taste from any of them. You could also add onion or bell peppers if that floats your boat, although the flavors of those would come through stronger.
I was surprised that my kids had liked it so much when my Dad made it, but I am happy to give them a tuna sandwich that has less tuna in it and more veggies...

Eggplant and Zucchini Casserole

I got this recipe from a friend who says it's one of her favorites!

2 cups water
4 tablespoons butter
8 ounces bread crumbs
1 large eggplant, diced
2 large zucchini, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 cups shredded Colby cheese
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
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In a microwavable bowl, mix water and butter (cut into pieces). Stir in bread crumbs and cover with a microwavable lid. Cook on HIGH for 8 to 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Place eggplant, zucchini, tomato, onion into a large skillet. Season with thyme, salt, and pepper. Cook and stir over medium low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ( 175 degrees C). Grease a 2 quart casserole dish.

Layer vegetables, cheese, and bread crumbs in the dish until all ingredients have been used, ending with cheese.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes.

Some things to try...

I have been perusing around doing my usual blog reading today and came across this recipe for vegetarian eggplant meatballs. The comments from people that tried it said some of their kids were unaware that it was even meatless, so I thought I would pass it along, but didn't want to infringe on any copyright things, so there is the link instead.
Also, a favorite recipe of ours here that is REALLY easy and vegetarian is Crash Hot Potatoes. I saw in on Pioneer Woman cooks and we all love it. Again with the link.

Minestrone Soup

I have only ever had canned minestrone, and then only a few times, but my husband loves it so I decided to try my hand at making up my own recipe for it. This is what we are having for dinner tonight. It turned out great (I think, as well as my son #1 who is my picky, non veggie eating son), and has lots of veggies in it. I hope you'll try it out and let me know what you think.

½ Cup Butter (or Olive Oil if you live healthier than I do)
½ to 1 tsp dried basil (more or less to your tastes) Fresh would work also
½ to 1 tsp Italian seasoning (more or less to your tastes)
1 med to large onion
2 stalks celery
2 medium sized carrots
One small zucchini (like you get at the grocery store)
2-3 cloves minced garlic
1 can of diced Italian style tomatoes (do NOT drain it)
Four cups diced potatoes
6 to 8 cups of broth (I used chicken, but veggie broth would be lovely)
1 15oz can green beans (drained)
1 15oz can peas (drained)
1 15oz can kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
1 15oz can Great Northern beans (or other similar bean of your choice, drained and rinsed)
1 to 1 ½ cups of small macaroni shells
1 6oz can of tomato paste

In a large stock or soup pot heat butter or olive oil. Chop the onion, carrots and celery finely and add it to the pot, along with the spices and sauté until the onions begin to become translucent. Add the minced garlic and sauté a little longer. Add the can of tomatoes (including the juices) and the zucchini and stir. Let simmer over medium heat while you dice the potatoes (I peeled them, but you could leave the peels on). Add the potatoes to the pot and then 6 cups of the broth. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium to medium high heat for about 5 minutes, until the potatoes begin to soften but are not fully cooked. Add the cans of drained green beans, peas, kidney and great northern beans. If you think you will need more broth for cooking the macaroni noodles, now is the time to add it (I used 8 cups total when I did this, but if you use fewer or smaller veggies it may not need that much) Bring the soup to a boil and add the macaroni shells, stirring. Reduce the heat to just over medium and stir in the can of tomato paste. Cook until the macaroni noodles are soft, making sure that the potatoes are also cooked through. Enjoy!
You can serve this soup with a little Parmesan or Romano cheese grated on top. This makes a huge pot of soup. It will feed my family of 7 not including the baby at least twice. You could cut the recipe in half, but you would have to use only half a can of the veggies and beans, or just use one kind of each. Of course you can use different kinds of veggies or leave out those that you don’t like. I chopped up the celery, carrots and zucchini with a food processor so that they were fairly fine, and my pickiest eater (who hates most veggies) loved the soup.