A vegetarian dinner for a new mom and dad? ?

Question

A girl at our church just had a baby a week ago. She and her husband are vegetarians. I would like to make a dinner to bring to her home. What are some ideas?

I'd like something besides a salad, something very tasty.

They do eat dairy products, but not eggs.

Anything you can tell me would be much appreciated! Thanks

Answer 1

Check out www.vegweb.com.  They have tons of recipes, including soups, stews, and dinner pies.  There's a portabello pot pie recipe in Sarah Kramer's "La Dolce Vegan."  I double the dough recipe and make it an open-top pie instead.  It's really, really good.  I also use sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes, but Yukon Gold or red potatoes might work here.

Congrats to your fellow congregants, and thank you for wanting to bring them a delicious vegetarian meal.

EDIT:  Don't use Quorn for them, as it has eggs.  There are companies that do vegan crumbles that will also do well.

Answer 2

Well congrats to them! :) Are they raising the baby vegetarian?

Anyways, I'd suggest making them an eggplant lasagna. It has dairy in it, but you said that was ok. I'm a vegetarian and I love eggplant lasagna. For dessert, make a blueberry pie. You can find ways to subsitute for eggs in recipes, all you have to do is google it.

1 medium eggplant, fresh

1 head spinach or 1 package frozen

1 pkg. lasagna noodles

1 pint cottage cheese (low fat if you prefer)

1 jar Favorite meatless sauce

1 sm. pkg. Mozzarella cheese

Salt and pepper

Several plump tomatoes

Parsley, oregano, etc.

Preparation: Cut eggplant in rounds thinly sliced, lay on paper towels and lightly salt, lay another paper towel on top and continue layering with eggplant rounds, salt, paper towel etc. Place a heavy pan on a cookie sheet on top of stack, let sit for at least 1/2 hour to 2 hours. This makes the eggplant softer and tastier.

Wilt spinach (or defrost spinach) and drain as much water out with a colander as possible).

Cook lasagna noodles until tender. Mix cottage cheese with spinach in a bowl, salt and pepper and season to taste. In a casserole pan, spread a light layer of sauce. Add layer of noodles, layer of eggplant, sauce, layer of cottage cheese, spinach mix, another layer of noodles and repeat process until pan is full or desired height achieved. Top with remaining Mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce and cover evenly with thinly sliced peeled tomatoes. Sprinkle on parsley flakes.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes, until eggplant is soft and has changed a brown color.

and

Crust:

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 2/3 cup salad oil

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Pie Filling:

1 quart fresh blueberries, washed

3 tablespoons cornstarch

3/4 cup sugar

Dash ground cinnamon

Dash freshly grated nutmeg

1 teaspoon lemon juice

4 teaspoons butter

Crust:

Into a 9-inch pie plate, sift together the flour, sugar, and the salt. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup salad oil and 3 tablespoons milk with a fork. Pour that over the flour mixture in pie plate and mix with a fork until all flour is evenly dampened. If it is still too dry to work with your hands, mix a little more oil with a little milk and add to flour mixture. With your hands press the dough evenly against the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan, allowing the excess to fall on the counter. (This will be the top crumble crust and is about 1/3 of the total crust mixture.) Sweep it into your hand and reserve in a small bowl. Crimp the edges of the bottom crust or use a fork dipped in milk to flatten the crust along the rim.

Berry pie filling:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To the washed berries add cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg. Stir gently.

Place the berry mixture in the bottom crust and sprinkle lemon juice over it. Then with an ordinary teaspoon, place little 1/2 teaspoons soft butter evenly over the top of the berry filling.

Crumble the reserved crust on top of the pie.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes. If crust is getting golden but pie filling is not quite congealed, tent the pie with aluminum foil to keep crust from getting too brown.

EDIT: To the person below me, VEGETARIANS DO NOT EAT SEAFOOD. Please do not make them a recipe with seafood! They will be very offended!

Answer 3

Ok...I know everyone has said lasagna but the great thing about it is you can eat on it for days and I seriously have a GREAT recipe! Its out of a vegetarian cookbook called Enchanted Broccoli Forest. The recipe is called Lasagna al Pesto.

~a little oil for the pan

~about 16 gree lasagna noodles...I can never find green so I use regular

~1 lb fresh green spinach or 2 10oz packages of frozen, chopped spinach - defrosted

~2 lbs (4cups) ricotta cheese or cottage cheese

~1 cup pesto

~4 large cloves of garlic, minced

~1/2 tsp. salt

~fresh black petter to taste

~3/4 cup toasted pine nuts or minced walnuts

~1 lb mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven t 350. Lightly oil a 9x13 inche baking pan.

Bring a large potful of water to a boil. Add the noodles, and cook them for 4 or 5 minutes. ( they will be undercooked) Drain them, and lay them flat and straight on a table, counter or tray.

Meanwhile, thoroughly wash and dry spinach. Remove and compost stems and finely mince the leaves. If using frozen defrost and drain well and squeeze out extra water.

Place the ricotta or cottage cheese in a large bowl. Stir in spinach, pesto, garlic, salt, black pepper, 1/2 cup of the parmesan and nuts. Mix well.

Place a layer fo the noodles int he bottom of the prepared pan. Spread about 1/3 of the filling over the noodles (ok if uneven) and sprinkle about 1/3 of the mozzarella on top. Follow with abother layer of noodles and another 1/3 of the filling and another 1/3 of the mozzarella. repeat pattern one more time with a third layer of everything. Top with one final nooodle layer and the remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan ont he very top

Bake for 50 minutes. If the top brown too quick cover loosly with foil. Sometimes mine get too crispy too fast so I cover it from the begining and then take it off for the last 15 min.

THIS IS SOOO GOOD. Its one of my favorite dishes to make for guest. They always love it.

Have fun and so nice of you too~

Answer 4

A lasagna made with meatless ground "beef" is delicious, easy to heat, serve and store.  

Answer 5

The veggie lasagna option is always a good choice.

Along those lines, some good pasta stores well and is easy to reheat. It could be something as simple as buying some refrigerated spinach & cheese stuffed tortellini noodles. Cook them according to the package and add some tasty pasta sauce on top. Throw in some breadsticks and you're good!

Veggie stir fry is a good choice as well. If you're not well-versed with making tofu tasty, you can always buy soy-based chick'n strips and add to the mixture. You can also give them some veggie egg rolls on the side.

You could also make a tasty tex-mex taco bake of sorts and just replace the ground beef with veggie "crumbles". Works like a charm!

How sweet of you to do that! Good luck!

Answer 6

Lobster and Shrimp over Pasta Recipe  





1 pound baby shells pasta

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 pound mushrooms, thickly sliced

1 whole white onion, sliced

1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic

1 tablespoon dried herbes de Provence

Sea salt

8 ounces cooked lobster meat

8 medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tablespoon white wine

4 medium fresh tomatoes, quartered

1 cup chopped fresh basil leaves

1/2 cup heavy cream

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to package directions until it is al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, herbes de Provence, salt, to taste, and cook until softened, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the lobster, shrimp, and sausage, reduce the heat to low, and cook until the shrimp turn pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the white wine and tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add the basil and cream and cook on high heat for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the pasta, taste and adjust seasoning. Serve in large pasta bowls.

Answer 7

I'm a vegetarian & my favourite meal is chilli non carne! Made with quorn mince, baked beans, kidney beans, tinned sweetcorn, peppers, mushrooms a bit of cumin & oregano & of course plenty of tomatoes & chilli powder to taste! Easy to freeze & re-heat & can be served with rice, tortilla chips, potato wedges or jacket potato!