Oceanside, California Trip

So this week, I am in Oceanside, California visiting a friend in the Marine Corp. Coleton and I flew out here and we are driving back in a few days. The first two days here we went and tried some of the local food places. I am going to tell you about our first dinner stop our first day here because it was INSANELY good. It is called Hello Betty Fish House, and I highly highly recommend trying this place if you ever go to Oceanside. The nice thing about this place, as I have mentioned, I do not really eat meat/fish so going to a “fish house” was already sounding like I was going to struggle finding food. However, I did find something and I am already wanting more. Here is our dinner (minus the drinks)

 Top left: Coleton saw they had shrimp so he had to get them

Top right: Coleton’s meal, a tuna melt and fries

Bottom left: My side of fries, which let me tell you were seriously amazing

Bottom right: My meal, avocado tacos with cabbage and a sauce that I cannot remember what it was, and limes.

Normally cabbage is not something I eat the way it was on these tacos, but these were so beautifully amazing I can’t even imagine what they would have been like without it.

We also each tried a drink off of their special menu which were equally as tasty.

Grilled Honey Mustard Chicken

So Spring has FINALLY arrived in Wisconsin. And I have just gotten back from my vacation to California, so it is perfect timing! Since it is nice enough to get the grill out and make some food outside I decided I wanted to try a recipe for chicken I have been looking at for a long time. Chicken is one of the few meat items I will occasionally eat, so I figured it was a good time to try it! In addition to the chicken I also made lemon butter brussel sprouts and mushrooms!

Ingredients

• 6 Boneless Chicken Breasts
• 3 Tablespoons of Mayonnaise or Dressing
• 1/3 Cup Dijon Mustard
• 1/4 Cup Honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Lemon Juice

Directions

1. Mix together Dijon, Honey, Soy Sauce and Lemon juice.
2. Remove 3 tablespoons of the Honey Mustard Sauce and set aside.
3. Mix the chicken breasts with the marinade and let sit up to 4 hours in the fridge
4. Preheat the grill to medium and grill the chicken 6-7 minutes per side or until juices run clear and the chicken reaches 170 degrees.

Use extra sauce for serving

9/10 I thought this recipe was really good, and this is for sure something I would try using fake chicken. Coleton also liked it a lot so I am excited to make again!

Thank you www.spendwithpennies.com for the recipe!

Crispy Potato Tacos

As I have talked about, I love tacos, meatless tacos, but I love them. I have done a lot of reviews and posts about recipes I enjoyed, so I thought it was time maybe to do something I was not a fan of! Now, this recipe was good, was it one I will hurry to make again? Probably not, but who is to say someone else may not enjoy it more?

• 2 large russet potatoes, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• Corn tortillas
• Optional toppings: lettuce, tomato, avocado, salsa, onion, jalapeno, cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add chopped potatoes to a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until fork tender, 15-20 minutes. When done, drain potatoes well.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add olive oil, potatoes and all the spices. Stir until all the spices are evenly incorporated and then arrange in a single layer. Let potatoes cook for 3-5 minutes, until crispy, and then flip and repeat.
3. Fill corn tortillas with desired amount of potatoes and top with favorite toppings.

My rating for this would be a 7/10 good but won’t make it into my “make again” pile!

 

Thanks to shelikesfood.com for the recipe!

Pecan Pie

My boyfriend really enjoys pecan pie, his mom used to make it so now I feel I  have a kind of responsibility to make it for him. I am not a huge fan of it myself, I think it is too sweet. However, he loves it so I make it! (This recipe is saying to add a pi symbol on the top- I did not do this)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup Karo® Light OR Dark Corn Syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon Spice Islands® Pure Vanilla Extract
• 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) pecans
• 1 (9-inch) unbaked or frozen deep-dish pie crust
• **extra pie crust, for PI symbol (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350ºF.

In a medium bowl, mix the corn syrup, eggs, sugar, butter and vanilla.  Stir in the pecans.  Pour the filling into a pie crust.

Bake on the center rack of the oven for 60-70 minutes.  The pie is done when the internal temperature reaches 200ºF and springs back when the center is touched lightly.  Cover the edges of the pie crust with a pie shield or foil if the crust is browning too quickly.

**To make the PI symbol – use a stencil and a paring knife to cut the symbol out of pie dough.  Place the symbol in the middle of the pie after the pie has been in the oven for about 40 minutes.

Let the pie sit for 2 hours before serving. 

Boyfriend approved! 10/10 he says I should make again! Yay for being my first time!

He also wanted whipped cream with his, so I had to buy that as well. So that is an option to add!

Recipe credit to tasteandtellblog.com

Asparagus Mushroom Quiche

Who doesn’t love breakfast for every meal? I know I do! My boyfriend prefers breakfast for breakfast but, since I do a large part of the cooking- I get to chose. I found this recipe that combines a lot of things that I love, I could eat mushrooms daily if I could. As I was making this my boyfriend saw the very few ingredients and asked how he was supposed to fill up with this, he then ate half the pan so I am thinking he liked it. I loved how this turned out, and it was so delicious!

• 1 9- inch Pie Crust
• 2/3 cup chopped Asparagus
• 1/2 cup sliced Mushrooms
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar
• 5 Large Eggs
• 1/2 cup Heavy Cream
• 1/2 cup Whole Milk
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• dash of Black Pepper

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees. There is no need to precook the pie crust. If it is frozen let it thaw for 15 minutes first.
2. Layer the asparagus, mushrooms, and cheese in the pie crust.
3. Mix the eggs, cream, milk, salt, and pepper. Either beat them by hand for 2 minutes, or use a mixer for 1 minute. You want the eggs to be light and fluffy.
4. Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables and cheese and into the pie crust. Fill the crust as much as possible, without letting the egg spill out.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the center of the quiche has firmed up.

9/10 will for sure make again!

Recipe found on thekitchen.com

Taco Pizza

Who doesn’t love tacos and pizza? I definitely like tacos more than my boyfriend does, and he could eat pizza like nobodies business (I am not even joking, he would eat it daily if I didn’t say no). This is one recipe I was able to make to our liking. Ground beef is something I cannot eat, I have never been able to eat it even before I started to cut out meats. So for this recipe I made one pan of dough, but put half ground beef and half Gardein™ Beefless Ground. We also adjusted the toppings a little bit. It was a hit!

• 2 tubes (8 oz each) refrigerated crescent rolls
• 1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
• 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
• 1 envelope taco seasoning mix or 2 Tbsp homemade taco seasoning
• 1 medium tomato, chopped (we didn’t use many tomatoes)
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup shredded lettuce
• Olives
• Jalepenos
• Black Beans
• Onions
• Avocado/Guac
• Salsa
• Extra Sour Cream

Preheat the oven to 375° and pull out a large cookie sheet.

Unroll the crescent roll dough and lay out in the ungreased cookie sheet. Pinch the perforations together to seal. Don’t worry about it being perfect; you just don’t want any big gaps.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until light golden brown and cool.

Beat together the softened cream cheese and sour cream until it’s easy to spread.

Spread over the cooled crust.

Chill in the refrigerator for 10-20 minutes, while you’re working on the next step.

Brown the ground beef in a skillet and drain any grease. Stir in the taco seasoning and water (according to the package directions on the taco seasoning packet.) (Do same with beefless grounds)

Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pull the cream cheese/crescent roll crust out of the refrigerator and sprinkle evenly with the ground beef. (beefless grounds)

You won’t completely cover the cream cheese layer with the ground beef; there’s plenty of other toppings so don’t worry.

Sprinkle other toppings, cut and serve!

Recipe credits to livingwellmom.com

*could even do refried beans instead of beef/beefless grounds

9/10

Baked Honey Garlic Cauliflower “Wings”

Few words…my boyfriend already knew going into this recipe he was not going to like it, cauliflower is not a vegetable he really enjoys to begin with, so I made him real chicken.

I on the other hand, am in *LOVE* with this recipe! The cauliflower got crispy like regular wings, and they weren’t too heavy either.

The recipe doesn’t call for any other veggies to be put with the sauce, but I made a double batch of sauce so I had extra to make some carrots, mushrooms and baby corn to go along with the “wings”. I served everything with rice, and it was amazing!

So here it is…

• 1 medium head cauliflower
• 1 egg white
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups almond milk, unsweetened
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• For the Honey Garlic Sauce:
• 1/2 c Sriracha
• 1/4 c honey
• 1/3 c hoisin sauce
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 1/2 tbs cornstarch
• 3/4 c water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut cauliflower into bite-sized pieces and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, milk, salt and egg white. Pour into a large Ziploc bag along with the cauliflower, seal and shake until all of the cauliflower is coated in the batter. You may want to break this down into 3 batches in order to make this process easier. Lay cauliflower out on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Gently spray the top of the cauliflower with cooking spray and bake for 15-20 minutes or until batter is golden brown.
2. While the cauliflower is baking, mince the garlic and saute until golden brown. Add sriracha, honey, hoisin sauce and onion powder. In a separate bowl, mix together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Pour into the sauce. Heat on medium-high until the sauce starts to boil and thicken, stirring occasionally. Remove sauce from heat.
3. Once cauliflower is golden, flip over, spray the other side with cooking spray and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes to ensure the cauliflower is crispy on all sides. Remove from the oven and gently toss in the honey garlic sauce.
4. Garnish with scallions and toasted sesame seeds or if you choose.

I did find this recipe on itscheatdayeveryday.com but I know there are a few other recipes out there!

I would definitely recommend this recipe to someone if they are trying to cut down on how much meat they eat, 10/10!

Caramalized Onion, Mushroom and Swiss Melt

I love mushrooms, so I will find any way to put them in my food. So, when I found this recipe I was all for it. My boyfriend however, was not so sure, he is one of those people who wants meat in almost every meal. I was determined to change his mind, and I did! He loved this, and so did I!

*I added more mushrooms and less onions than the recipe called for

INGREDIENTS

• 3 teaspoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1/2 large onion, sliced into half circles
• 5 ounces baby portabella mushrooms, sliced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 cup freshly shredded Swiss cheese, divided
• 4 slices thick of bread (Italian French, sourdough, or your favorite)
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, room temperature

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 tsp. of vegetable oil. When oil is hot, add the onions and 1/2 tsp. of salt and cook until dark brown in color and softened. Halfway through, you’ll want to turn down the heat to medium heat. Caramelizing onions will take about 20-30 minutes. If you notice that your pan is getting slightly dry, adding a tablespoon of water will help the caramelizing along. The water should sizzle and quickly evaporate. You’re not trying to have the water stay in the bottom of the skillet while cooking the onions.
2. When the onions are caramelized, remove from skillet and place in a bowl. Add the remaining 1 tsp. of vegetable oil to the skillet and add the mushrooms and remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt. Cook the mushrooms until softened, about 5 minutes. Remove from skillet; keeping the liquid that has accumulated in the skillet.
3. Preheat broiler in oven.
4. Take the room temperature butter and butter both sides of bread. Place bread on to a baking sheet and place under broiler for about 1 minute each side. Carefully remove bread from baking sheet and on an even surface, begin to assemble your sandwich.
5. Place caramelized onions on one slice of bread, then the mushrooms on top, then 1/4 cup of shredded Swiss cheese. Gently place on baking sheet. Repeat with another slice of bread. Place baking sheet into the oven and broil for 1-2 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
6. Remove from oven and place the remaining two slices of bread on top of each and gently press down.
7. Slice sandwiches in half and serve!

Huge thank you to Table for Two for blessing me with this recipe ( https://www.tablefortwoblog.com/caramelized-onion-mushroom-swiss-melt/)

Rating: 10 out of 10

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

My name is Caitlin Van Haren and this blog is going to bring you through the, what is surely to be a rough, journey through vegetarian recipes with my hunter boyfriend. Some of the recipes will be vegetarian, some won’t be, and some will be healthier options.

A little more about me, I am a college student in Wisconsin, cooking is not something I see myself pursuing a career in but it surely is a hobby of mine! Finding new recipes is always fun! I am trying to get my boyfriend to realize there is food out there and recipes out there that do not have to include meat. I am categorizing myself as a vegetarian for the most part, I am not strict but I am slowly making the changes.

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton