Meal Ideas - Machesney Park,IL

I love lentils!!
You can dice up root vegetables & bake in oven with olive oil, garlic & rosemary YUMMY!!
Vegetable soups or stir frys!!!!

Italian
veg lasagna
cheese or veggie pizza
mushroom ravioli with pesto

Mexican
veg burritos/ quesadilla, enchiladas, nachos, guac

Chinese
brocolli with garlic sauce
stir fry veg

American
tomato soup
grilled cheese sandwiches
vegetarian sloppy joes (chillie on a hotdog bun)

French
french onion soup
peasant tart
salad

don't worry, you will adapt quickly. meatless doesn't have to mean strange or unfamiliar. it can be great fun.

How about Vegetable soup? Pancakes and eggs, or waffles. Grilled cheese and french fries, cheese soup. One of my favorite things to eat which most people find strange is fried cabbage, onion and potatoes so yummy. Mac n cheese with a vegetable on the side, pasta alfredo. Gravy and biscuits with hash browns or home fries. Anything you usually make with dinner just leave out the meat. I could so each stuffing/dressing everyday with some mashed potatoes YUM lol.

I have a few! My husband is entirely vegetarian, and my daughter and I are pescetarian (we eat fish but no meat). The down side is that I don't cook very often, or I would have a ton more recipes. ^_^

What sort of things do you like? Pastas and soups are good, and there are also meat-substitutes on the market if that's the way you want to go. Send me a private message and I can send you a couple recipes.

Another easy way to go meat-free is to take your regular meals and see how the meat can be subtracted. For example, I make tacos using an Old El Paso Taco Kit, but then instead of meat, I use rice with peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions mixed in. Then we just add the standard toppings!

Good luck!

This is a favorite in my house! We recently tried this recipe with portabello mushrooms instead of chicken & love it even more! substitute small grilled portabello mushrooms for the chicken & cream of mushroom soup for the cream of chicken soup. Make a full batch (recipes says 8, but usually makes 12-14) & freeze some for lunches or another dinner!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-chicken-enchiladas-2/de...

Soups for cooler weather (mushrooms, beans, lentils, etc)
Veggie "burgers" made w/minced mushrooms, veggies, and walnuts

Salads for warmer weather
Grilled mushrooms (or baked, stuffed w/cheese, diced veggies, etc)

Check out Mark Bittman's "How To Cook Everything Vegetarian." It covers a lot of ground and most of the recipes are simple. "Peas and Thank You" (cookbook and blog) are great for vegan/vegetarian family friendly recipes.

You can pretty much make all of your favorite go-to meals without using meat or by substituting meat for veggie meat/tofu options:

-Pasta w/ a million different sauce varieties
-Homemade mac & cheese
-veggie tacos
-veggie burgers
-veggie buritos
-veggie meatballs (Trader Joe's has great ones in the freezer section)
-quiche
-"breakfast dinner"
-omlets
-miso soup w/ tofu
-lentil stew over rice
-black bean soup
-stuffed peppers
-grilled, roasted or stir-fried veggies

We usually do a pasta with marinara or veggies (carrots, peas, broccoli, onions). Sometimes we do fish sticks. Other times I do egg sandwiches, or a frittata. If you like eggplant, an eggplant parmesan dish is always tasty. We also do cheese pizza made with the pre-made crust. Tuna casseroles are good, unfortunately I can't get my hubby to eat them. Ugh. What about quiche? There is also the obvious...fish - if you can get your family to eat it. Salmon with a dijon mustard and lemon juice is tasty. Or shrimp with pasta.

We are meat eaters but the only thing we have that is meatless is tostadas. I buy the premade shells, can of refried beans (black is good too), shredded lettuce and cheese. Hubby uses hot sauce and I use salsa, the kids don't use anything else. Everyone LOVES them. They are my quick, go-to when I don't have time, basically no-cook, AND they are cheap! =)

I like vegetable stir fry over peanut noodles. There is a bottle peanut sauce inthe asian aisle that I love. Boil Smart pasta spaghetti noodles and toss with sauce, top with vegetable stirfry. I use the smart pasta for the added fiber, protien, and other nutirtional bonus stuff, especially when going meatless. Tastes the same and is so much better for the kids.

Gramma used to make a giant pot of Beans on Sunday. We would have beans and cornbread. The next day, maybe beans and fried potatoes, then she would add a bunch of chili powder, oninons, garlic, and make chili beans topped with cheese. She would take the rest and mash them up for refried beans to make refied bean burritos and finally huevos rancheros for breakfast. That lady could really strech her grocery budget!