Meatless Never Tasted So good! Vegetable Stacks ~ Vegetarian Sheet Pan Dinner!!

Here is a great dinner option for meatless Monday or any day!  Vegetable stacks, vegetarian sheet pan dinner is easy to make and nobody in your family is going to miss the meat!  We really enjoyed this meal and served along with some ancient grains blend that I cooked up in the pressure cooker, this meal was simply delicious!  

We have been wanting to share this for a while and we have had it a couple of times so far this summer and we all really enjoy the simplicity of this meal.  Super simple to make and even the leftovers can be folded into leftover rice, quinoa or couscous for an awesome riff on a tabbouleh salad the next day!

I used some giant portobello mushroom caps from the warehouse store and some thick sliced eggplant, yellow and zuccini squash along with some thick sliced Vidalia onions.  I marinated each veggie in a zip top bag with some of our favorite zesty Italian dressing for 15 to 20 minutes then laid them on a sheet pan lined with a silicone baking mat.  

We baked off the veggies for 20 to 25 minutes until they reached our desired doneness and then created our vegetable stacks on top of the prepared quinoa blend that had been prepared pilaf style.

You can always change up the dressing/marinade and make this with a delicious teriyaki or Asian sesame dressing, or Greek, French or even just some oil and balsamic vinegar would be great!  You decide which direction to take.  No matter what you choose I know it will be delicious!

I hope you give this vegetarian sheet pan dinner a try and I hope you love these vegetable stacks!

Happy Eating!

You can get a printable version of the recipe here:  http://bit.ly/1UwjWb2



You can see how I did this in my YouTube video:

Noreen's Kitchen

Vegetable Stacks

Vegetarian Sheet Pan Dinner

Ingredients

4 portobello mushroom caps 2 medium sized eggplant 2 large sweet onions 2 zucchini

2 yellow squash 2 cups marinade or dressing of choice salt and pepper to taste

Step by Step Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Clean the gills from the portobello mushrooms and set aside.

Slice eggplant, and squash into 1/2 inch slices.

Slice onion in 1/2 thick slices and place on skewers to make turning easier.  I put two slices per skewer.

Place 1/2 cup of dressing or marinade into a zip top bag and add the mushroom caps.  Seal the bag and distribute the dressing to coat the mushrooms.  Set aside for 15 t0 20 minutes.

Do the same with the rest of the vegetables and allow them to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Lay the vegetables in a single layer on two sheet pans that you have lined with either foil or silicone mats.

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the vegetables reach your preferred doneness. 

Remove from oven and allow to sit for five minutes before preparing the stacks.

Build stacks by arranging a bed of quinoa, rice or couscous on the bottom of the plate and stacking a mushroom cap on the bottom then squash, onion and topping of with a slice of eggplant.

You can sprinkle with parsley or drizzle with more dressing or marinade if desired before serving.

This is a dish best eaten fresh, however leftover roasted vegetable can be chopped and mixed with any of your leftover rice, quinoa or couscous to make a version of tabbouleh salad that you can eat as a lunch the next day.

Summer in a Bowl! Avocado, Mango Salad with Strawberries!

Today I want to share a delicious salad that I have been enjoying for a couple of weeks now for my lunch. This avocado mango salad with strawberries, hits all the notes, is super satisfying and will keep you coming back for more. I think you are going to love it!

This salad screams summer! It has all the freshness that you look for in a summer lunch. It smells amazing when you are making it and it looks amazing when you get it all in the bowl together. This one is a knock out the ballpark winner! I personally love a salad that has not greens in it from time to time. I love to have a chopped salad that has lots of veggies and fruits mixed together and this one is the perfect combination.

I know what you are thinking! Mango AND avocado AND strawberries AND onions? Really? Yes Really! Trust me on this one. This hits all those flavor notes you are looking for. Sweetness from the berries, tang from the mango, rich creaminess from the avocado and spicy bite from the onion. Lime juice brings the whole thing together with a palate cleansing citrus burst and married with a little bit of agave nectar to enhance the natural sweetness of the berries and the mango this is a real winner. Top this all off with a sprinkling of homemade chili lime seasoning and you have one out of this world experience in your bowl for lunch or dinner!

Like I said, I have been enjoying this for lunch the last couple of weeks. Normally I only eat two meals a day so Rick and I either enjoy breakfast and dinner or brunch and dinner. This is the perfect afternoon offering. i have been pairing this with a hard boiled egg on the side and this takes me to dinner with no problem. This is light but filling and it will stay with you and give you what you need to get the job done.

This salad is enough for two people as a side dish to a nice piece of grilled chicken or you can even serve this on top of the grilled chicken or a nice filet of grilled or broiled fish! This salad has amazing potential. Make it fresh when you want to enjoy this because it won't keep very well past a day or so because the avocado may get to mushy and disappear if it is ever so slightly too ripe. So you will want to keep that in mind.

If you don't have access to fresh strawberries or they are not in season, you could use blueberries, blackberries or even cubed nectarine, plum or peaches would be great. You can basically make this work with so many different fruits! Don't have sweet onion? Use red onion or green onion to round it out. Don't like onion? Skip it! Make this salad your own and enjoy!

I used a homemade chili lime seasoning on my salad. If you would like to see it, stay tuned because I will be sharing that in an upcoming video! I know you are just going to love that seasoning because it is so versatile in so many different dishes! Keep an eye out for that coming soon!

I think this is the perfect summer salad. I hope you do too! I know that when you give this a try you are going to keep on making it all summer long!

I hope you give this salad a try and I hope you love it! 

Happy Eating!

Get the recipe on my website here:

http://bit.ly/1SlqBjA

You can see how I made this in my YouTube video: