Veggie Recipes

[ArcticChicken]

So, I have this problem where I eat almost no veggies, partially it's because I don't like many of them and partially it's habit, because I haven't eaten/liked them for years, I forget that I actually enjoy eat some of them now.

I'm hoping folks can give me recipes to try that either are new and interesting or basically disguise the fact that they have veggies in them. They don't actually have to be that healthy, 'cause the point here is to train me to eat veggies at all, I can work on actually healthy ones later.

[42_42_42]

One of my DH's friends is notorious for not eating vegetables, with pasta/pizza sauce being pretty much the only exception. I've successfully gotten him to eat both fresh green beans and asparagus by lightly steaming them and then sauteeing in a pan with chopped pancetta that has been cooked enough to have the fat in it to liquify in the pan.

Sooooo, my recommendation is, to try different veggies prepared this way, steam them until almost done, then sautee in a pan with some form of chopped, rendered bacon. Green beans, asparagus, broccoli, and brussels sprouts all work great with this preparation.

Another thing is cheese sauce ("sauce de mornay"). It can be put over cooked carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, yellow squash, and brussels sprouts.

My DH gets most of his veggies by eating chips and salsa everyday. Salsa is actually a great source of essential nutrients and antioxidants. Especially if you get a good quality one that has lots of onions and peppers in it.

[AccountingDrone]

oooo I love salsa =)

it is great on baked potatoes too =)

You can make an almost healthy potato skins by filling the inside with a dollop of cooked beans, top with a pinch of cheese, then a lot of salsa, then another pinch of cheese, bake/broil until hot all the way through, then a small dollop of sour cream. Sort of a potato skin nacho without all the chips - and don't go insane with cheese and sour cream, make it mostly beans and salsa.

A breakfast dish - a disposable foil muffin cup. Blorp in drained and rinsed canned black beans mixed with a bit of salsa for flavor, make a nest in the top. Crack a whole large egg in, then a pinch of cheese, a blorp of salsa, then another pinch of cheese, bake until bubbly and the egg is cooked, and serve. Sort of mexican coddled egg =) It is a variant of the florentine rice and spinach base for coddled eggs, with salsa instead of hollandaise or mornay sauce =)

[ArcticChicken]

My DH gets most of his veggies by eating chips and salsa everyday. Salsa is actually a great source of essential nutrients and antioxidants. Especially if you get a good quality one that has lots of onions and peppers in it.

....I'm an idiot. Just about the only circumstance in which I'll eat raw tomato is in a good pico de gallo. And yet, it never occurred to me that I could just....anyway see my earlier statement.

Also, the bacon thing seem worth a shot.

[42_42_42]

The jarred salsas are usually cooked. Which is actually a good thing because cooking tomatoes does something to them that makes them better for you than raw!

[MaggieTheCat]

My husband doesn't eat a lot of veggies either, but there are three veggie side dishes that I rotate through pretty often that we both like: Cream corn (homemade, it is nothing like the canned variety, you haven't had creamed corn till you've had this stuff), carrot souffle, and sweet potato casserole. I can get you the recipes if you'd like them. The carrot souffle and sweet potato casserole are pretty similar, and I use canned carrots and sweet potatoes for both to speed up the process. They're all a little on the sweet side and the spices in the carrot and sweet potato dishes can be changed up to your liking.

I also make homemade refried beans...not sure if you consider beans a veggie or not, though.

I also try to stick veggies in any kind of stir fry, stew, soup, or casserole that I make. Usually potatoes and carrots, or a mix of frozen veggies. Putting them in something like a stir fry or a casserole that has a sauce is a good way to disguise them.

[AccountingDrone]

Ill take the creamed corn recipe =)

Also, adding pumpkin to spice cake is a great way to slip in more vegitude =)

[Food Lady]

It's all in the preparation. If all you've ever had were overcooked or canned veggies, I can see why you'd hate them. Carrots, mushrooms, and yellow squash are fantastic if you drizzle w/ olive oil and broil until tender. I do it on foil in toaster oven for ease. Carrots get really sweet. An omelelet with mushrooms and onions sauteed in butter/margarine is heavenly. I generally use Smart Balance. Oh, and fresh green beans are good if you sear in a very hot pan with olive oil, then add garlic and a little broth and simmer a bit. Add in butter/marg if you want. Mmmmm, garlic green beans for lunch tomorrow!

[Cazzi]

I worked out I wasn't eating enough veggies like I used to so now I make plenty of veg soups such as tomato, red pepper & chili, potato & leek, broccoli, cauliflower & Stilton. potato, chicken & sweetcorn, or whatever I have lurking in the fridge or freezer...

Soups are pretty easy & filling, I usually just throw all the veggies in a pan, add whatever seasonings I like, cook then give them a blast with a hand blender with some low fat creme fraiche or fromage frais to make them creamy & there you have a nice filling dish

[MaggieTheCat]

Well, all three of the recipes I mentioned are off of allrecipes.com, so I should've just posted the links last night, but I was really tired...I had already corrected like 6 spelling errors in my last post.

Cream Corn: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cream-C...er/Detail.aspx
Carrot Souffle: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Cafeter...le/Detail.aspx
Sweet Potato Casserole: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sweet-P...-3/Detail.aspx

I do modify each of them a bit...for the cream corn, I don't use parmesan cheese and I probably add a little extra sugar than what the recipe calls for.

For the carrot souffle, I use 2 regular-sized cans (I think they're maybe 15oz each? They're like the size of a soup can) of canned carrots. Mash them up with a potato masher then add the rest of the ingredients. I also cut back the eggs to 2, use less sugar, and add a couple pinches of cardamom. Cinnamon or nutmeg or ginger would be nice too.

For the sweet potatoes, I use 1 large can (maybe 26oz? It looks like the big cans of pumpkin pie mix by Libby) of sweet potatoes, again mashed up, less butter (2~ tablespoons melted), no milk, 1 egg, no white sugar in the base and instead a drizzle of maple syrup. Also good with spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. And instead of the brown sugar/flour/pecan topping, you can top it with marshmallows and stick it under the broiler for 20-30 seconds to brown them.

Yeah, I modify my recipes pretty heavily. I also don't bother measuring anything for any of these recipes anymore, since I've made them often enough that I just go by sight and texture.

ETA:
One more thing I was going to add to the OP: You can try making various kinds of breads flavored with veggies. Pumpkin and zucchini are the first two that come to mind, but there are probably others out there too. Also, I have a yummy homemade foccacia bread recipe that can be topped with all sorts of veggies like sun-dried tomatoes, black olives, spinach, etc.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Easy-Focaccia/Detail.aspx
It also makes a good pizza dough!

[ArcticChicken]

It's all in the preparation. If all you've ever had were overcooked or canned veggies, I can see why you'd hate them.

That, and I have some really odd texture issues. For instance, while I love the flavor of mushrooms, I cannot stand the texture and either have to remove them after cooking or cut them up so small I never have to chew them.


The recipes you guys are giving me look great, and I have a really good feeling about trying this stuff at home where I can tweak everything to meet my own tastes.

[trailerparkmedic]

Roasting vegetables makes them sweet. Like someone else said, carrots get especially sweet when roasted and are really good with a bit of brown sugar. Maple syrup also works well, especially on "winter" veggies like sweet potatoes, winter squash, etc. If going that direction, try some real maple syrup, not pancake syrup.

For acorn squash--cut in half, clean out seeds, put brown sugar, butter/margarine, and raisins in the center, and bake until squishy (at 350, I think it's 45 minutes-ish). There are many variations on this if you don't like some of the ingredients.

Do you like ketchup? My fiance will eat most any vegetable with ketchup on it. Salsa goes well over some veggies too--he especially likes salsa + green beans. Salad dressing also works (not just ranch, but italian, 1000 island, etc).

Look through your spice cabinet and pick out spices you like, then try different ones on veggies. Lemon pepper and broccoli go really well together.

[Food Lady]

That, and I have some really odd texture issues. For instance, while I love the flavor of mushrooms, I cannot stand the texture and either have to remove them after cooking or cut them up so small I never have to chew them.

I gotcha. Yeah, I broiled some asparagus too long yesterday and it was stringy. I'll stick to steaming. Whereas I love roasted carrots (eat 'em like candy) but hate them steamed or boiled, barely tolerate them sauteed. IMHO, best roasting veggies are potatoes, carrots, red onions, squashes. Saute zucchini, shrooms, celery, onions. Steam asparagus. Peas and corn get added to soups/ casseroles and greens are best in salad. I love raw baby spinach.

[r2cagle]

Veggies in soups, covered in cheese, or as my husband is wont to do-- favorite salad dressing on top (yuck).

I make a broccoli/cauliflower/carrot cheese soup with instant mashed potatoes as the thickener (instead of flour or corn starch). Found that the best way to chop the veggies is to use my food chopper while the veggies are frozen... gets the pieces small enough to cook really quick.

And try different spices such as garlic, cajun/creole, onion, thyme, etc. You never know what you'll like until you try it. Best cooked yellow squash dish I ever had was boiled and had cajun seasoning in it. It was amazing.

[Plaidman]

Hmm. What kind of vegetables do I like? I need to eat them more. Though I do eat alot of raw veges.

I like

Cucumbers. God I love these...
Carrots.
Broculi.
Tomatos (Salsa, BBQ, or Soup Form only)
Potatos
Radish
Mushrooms
asparagus
Green beans
Corn
Lettace
Onions
Celery

Huh... I Like more veggies then I thought. Kinda... sad. My mom's last boyfriend taught me a small trick with cucumbers was to soak them in salt water. They were pretty tasty that way too. But raw is best.