Zucchini and Tomatoes over Rice

Zucchini & Tomatoes over Rice Pilaf

Here is one of my favorite Turkish-inspired dishes.  Turkish food features a lot of vegetables.  Dishes made with a base of tomatoes, onions, garlic &/or peppers are very common.  For this dish, I use tomatoes, zucchini, and garlic.  I serve it over rice pilaf, but basmati rice or brown rice would work too.  I think this dish is hearty enough to be a vegetarian entrée.  If you have a die-hard meat eater in the house, throw some browned ground beef in their portion. 

Ingredients: 

1 can spaghetti sauce

1 can water

3 medium zucchini

3-5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 tsp Lawry’s seasoned salt

Instructions: 

1- Pour spaghetti sauce into a large pan, like a Dutch oven pot.  Add water, seasoned salt, and garlic. 

2- Cover and bring to a low boil on medium high heat. 

3- Scrub zucchini and cut off ends.  Cut in half lengthwise, then cut in thin half-moon slices. 

4- Add zucchini to pot.  Cover and cook on medium high until it reaches a low boil.  Reduce heat and simmer until zucchini is tender. 

5- Serve over rice pilaf. 

Vegetarian Options at Italian Restaurants- Macaroni Grill, Carrabba’s, and Maggiano’s

 

My recent "Create Your Own Pasta" at Macaroni Grill.  Bowtie pasta with garlic cream sauce, artichokes, asparagus, and caramelized onions. 

 

If you’re going out to eat out with friends, and want to increase the odds that you will have multiple options for vegetarian fare, then vote for an Italian restaurant.  Italian cuisine lends itself well to vegetarian friendly food.  I have compiled the vegetarian menu items from Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, and Maggiano’s Little Italy. 

 

Romano’s Macaroni Grill

Romano’s Macaroni Grill has been around since 1988, but I just discovered them around 6 years ago in San Antonio.  The first Macaroni Grill was in nearby Leon Springs, Texas.  The MG menu offers many classic Italian dishes, such as Fettuccine Alfredo and Eggplant Parmesan.  My favorite entrée is their “Create Your Own Pasta”, and my number one favorite ingredient is caramelized onions. 

Macaroni Grill offers a respectable number of vegetarian options: 

Tapas:  Bruschetta crostini, fried mac & cheese bites with truffle dip, crispy artichoke potato cakes, goat cheese stuffed peppadew peppers, zucchini fritti.  My brother and I recently had the mac & cheese bites, which were good. 

Macaroni Grill Fried Mac & Cheese Bites with truffle dip

 

Antipasti:  Crispy fresh mozzarella, Mediterranean olives, pomodorina soup (plum tomatoes, mozzarella crouton, basil pesto)

Pantry:  Caprese salad (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil), Caesar salad.  Ask for other MG salads without the meat.   I really like caprese salad and Caesar salad, so hard to go wrong here. 


Pizza & Flatbread:  Wild mushroom & goat cheese flatbread, Margherita pizza

Artisan Sandwiches:  Caprese Panini (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil)

Fresh Pasta:  These two options sound really good. 

Eggplant Quadratini- square pasta tubes in tomato-based sauce with roasted eggplant.  Check out this photo from the Macaroni Grill website: 

Mushroom Ravioli- porcini mushroom stuffed ravioli, marsala cream sauce, and caramelized onions.  Check out this photo from their website: 

 

Classics: 

Fettuccine Alfredo

Eggplant Parmesan

Create Your Own Pasta

 

Create Your Own Pasta Options: 

Pasta:  Spaghetti, capellini, penne, farfalle (bowtie), whole wheat fettuccine, rigatoni, gluten-free penne, four cheese ravioli

Sauces:  pomodoro, arrabbiata, garlic olive oil, garlic cream, alfredo, basil pesto

Choose 3 Toppings:  roasted peppers, broccolini, fresh spinach, roasted tomatoes, artichokes, roasted garlic, snap peas, roasted mushrooms, cannellini beans, asparagus, caramelized onions, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted eggplant

I like toppings like spinach, mushrooms, and artichokes, but my favorite Macaroni Grill topping is caramelized onions

 My brother's "Create Your Own Pasta" at Macaroni Grill.  Four cheese ravioli, alfredo sauce, roasted garlic, and caramelized onions. 

 

Carrabba’s Italian Grill

The first Carrabba’s opened in 1986 in Houston, Texas.  Another Houston restaurant was followed by the addition of 10 Carrabba’s in Texas and Florida.  Now there are over 200 Carrabba’s Italian Grill locations nation-wide.  Carrabba’s offers a respectable 5 vegetarian appetizers and 5 vegetarian pasta dishes. 

Complimentary sourdough bread, olive oil, herbs & spices.  Very good. 

 

Appetizers:  Tomatoes caprese, bruschette, slow-roasted tomato & ricotta flatbread, zucchini fritte, mozzarella marinara.  Their complimentary bread with olive oil, herbs, and spices is very good.  The herb & spice blend is one of the best I've had. 

Soup:  Minestrone, Tomato Basil.  I had the tomato basil, which was quite good.  I like that it was fairly smoothe.  I don't like huge chunks of tomato. 

Carrabba's Tomato Basil Soup

 

Salads:  House, Italian, Caesar, citrus arugula salad.  I opted for soup, and my brother had a Caesar.  Next time I think I'll have the arugula salad. 

Caesar Salad

Paninis:  Caprese Panini

Wood-Fired Pizzas:  Choose from:  kalamata olives, mushrooms, sweet peppers, onions, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, fresh milk mozzarella, basil

 

Stuffed Pasta: 

Manicotti:  Four cheeses, pomodoro sauce, mozzarella

 

Signature Pasta: 

Tag Pic Pac:  Tagliarini in our Picchi Pacchiu sauce with crushed tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and basil

Spaghetti:  Topped with pomodoro sauce (tomatoes, garlic, fresh basil)

Penne Franco:  Mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and black olives, in garlic and oil with ricotta salata cheese

Pasta Sostanza:  Tagliarini with sautéed mushrooms, artichoke hearts and spinach in tomato basil sauce topped with seasoned breadcrumbs.  I had this pasta, and truthfully I wasn’t blown away.  I found it to be a little bland.  I took my leftovers home and gave them to a friend who thought it was fabulous.  Maybe my taste buds were muted that day. 

 

My Pasta Sostanza recently at Carrabba's

Pasta Carrabba:  Fettuccine alfredo with sautéed mushrooms and peas (ask to omit the grilled chicken)

 

Maggiano’s Little Italy

The first Maggiano’s opened in 1991 in Chicago.  There are now over 50 Maggiano’s Little Italy restaurants, located in over 20 states.  Maggiano’s offers an impressive 7 vegetarian appetizers and 7 vegetarian side dishes, as well as 5 vegetarian pastas. 

Maggiano’s has lots of options geared toward family-style meals.  I thought this restaurant had a really nice atmosphere, and very attentive wait staff. 
Appetizers:  Bruschetta, spinach & artichoke al forno, tomato caprese, mozzarella marinara, crispy zucchini fritte, stuffed mushrooms, crispy onion strings

Flatbreads:  Margherita flatbread

Salads:  Italian tossed salad, Caesar salad, spinach salad (skip the bacon)

Sides:  crispy red potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, sautéed spinach, broccolini with lemon & garlic, spaghetti marinara, angel hair aglio olio (olive oil and garlic), fresh grilled asparagus

 

Classic Pastas:  If you order Marco's Meal for Two from the Dinner menu, you get one appetizer, one dessert, and four classic pasta choices!  My brother and I did this and each ordered a classic pasta entree for dinner, and each got a complimentary classic pasta to take home. 

Spaghetti Marinara:  Spaghetti served with MLI’s classic blend of tomatoes, basil, oregano and olive oil

Four Cheese Ravioli:  Ravioli stuffed with Ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella and Provolone. Served in a pesto-alfredo cream sauce with a touch of marinara.

Eggplant Parmesan:  Sliced eggplant, breaded and fried, layered with Provolone cheese and marinara sauce.  This dish seemed to me like the eggplant was battered and layered like a casserole and baked.  I especially appreciated that the pasta was firm, just like I like it. 

My Maggiano's Eggplant Parmesan

Fettuccine Alfredo:  Fettuccine tossed with garlic in an Asiago cream sauce

Mushroom Ravioli al Forno:  Mushroom ravioli in alfredo sauce

 This is a small serving of my Mushroom Ravioli carryout

Specialty Pastas: 

Our Famous Rigatoni ‘D’:  (Made to order, so ask to skip the chicken) rigatoni pasta, mushrooms, caramelized onions, marsala cream sauce

 

Our Tiramisu at Maggiano’s.  I’m usually lukewarm about Tiramisu, but this was fabulous.  It had a really rich espresso and cocoa flavor. 


 

Vegetarian Options at Olive Garden, Carino’s, and Zio’s

See also my blog post summary of vegetarian appetizers, soups, and entrées at Olive Garden, Johnny Carino’s, and Zio’s Italian restaurants. 

My Eggplant Parmesan at Olive Garden.  It was outstanding.  So far my top pick for Eggplant Parm.

 

 

Getting Started- Vegetarian Dinner Ideas

Spinach and mushroom tortellini in alfredo sauce.  (Personal Photo)

 

My mom often said she didn’t mind cooking dinner.  The problem was deciding what to cook for dinner.  When getting started on a plan where you are trying to eat more vegetarian food and less meat, you might have the same problem.  Hopefully my list of vegetarian dinner ideas will inspire you. 

 

Veggie burgers:  There are scores of recipes for homemade veggie burgers.  Beans, such as garbanzo beans, black beans, and lentils are a common base.  Brown rice and oatmeal are also fairly common, and chopped mushrooms.  Check out my article on vegetarian burgers for summaries of over 30 homemade veggie burger recipes. 

 

Blue Plate Diner Classic Veggie Burger. (Personal Photo)

 

 

Entrees with eggplant:  Eggplant is great base for a meatless meal.  My best eggplant dish is eggplant ravioli, made from Rachael Ray’s recipe using wonton wrappers.  Another great vegetarian eggplant dinner is Greek moussaka without meat.  Just layer slices of potato and eggplant, top with a béchamel sauce, and bake. 

Homemade Wonton Eggplant Parmesan Ravioli from
Rachael Ray's Recipe. (Personal Photo)

I probably have eggplant more often from restaurants than from my kitchen. My Chinese delivery standby is eggplant in garlic sauce. I’ve had eggplant parmesan from several Italian restaurants, but my favorite is from Olive Garden. 

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce (Personal Photo)

Eggplant Parmesan from Olive Garden (Personal Photo)

 

Entrées with potatoes:  I love potatoes and find them very satisfying.  A great dish that incorporates potatoes keeps me from feeling deprived (of meat).  A baked potato sure makes a satisfying meal.  There are lots of choices of toppings such as the classic butter, sour cream, and cheese, or broccoli and cheese.  Jason’s Deli has the most enormous baked potatoes I have ever seen.  Another favorite meal of mine is green beans with potatoes, and cucumber salad.  I also like okra, fire roasted tomatoes, and potatoes over rice. 

 Tomatoes, okra, and potatoes, which I serve over rice. 

(Personal Photo)

Entrées with ancient grains:  Plan a meal with ancient grains like millet, amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat as the centerpiece.  Visit my article with links to many recipes, or check out my Pinterest board. 

Beans and peas:  When I was growing up, one of our favorite meals was a pot of beans, like pintos, with potato salad and cornbread.  I think baked beans would go well with potato salad too.  I like to cook lentils with a can of diced tomatoes.  This would be good with couscous or millet.  Beans and rice, or beans and dark leafy greens make a great meal too. 

 

Black-eyed Peas, Collard Greens, and Rice, served with

cornbread and raw onion (Personal Photo)

Pizza:  When I was a daily meat eater, I never considered having a veggie pizza, just like I would never go to Baskin & Robbins and have vanilla ice cream.  In the last year or so, I have had some surprisingly good veggie pizzas.  My favorite is spinach, mushroom, and onion, with either tomato or white sauce.  The Dominos Artisan spinach and feta is fantastic, as is the spinach cheesy bread. 

Domino's Artisan pizza with spinach, onions, and feta cheese. 

 (Personal Photo) 

Chicken-less Classics:  Many classic chicken dishes adapt well into vegetarian versions.  I especially like vegetable pot pie, and chicken-less noodle soup with vegetables.  Why not make a Chicken Divan without the chicken? 

Vegetarian Pot Pie.  (Personal Photo)

 

Breakfast for Dinner:  From time to time, we have breakfast for dinner at our house.  This usually means cheese grits and scrambled eggs.  Sometimes I make a strata, which is casserole of leftover bread, vegetables like mushrooms and onions, milk, eggs, and cheese.  Another great treat is to mix in pureed pumpkin or sweet potato into pancake batter. 

 Strata made with broccoli, mushrooms, onions,

and cheese.  (Personal Photo)

 

Traditional Italian pasta dishes:  I’ve always loved spaghetti and other pasta dishes.  Vegetarian spaghetti is my “go to” vegetarian meal.  My favorite is sautéed purple onion, mushrooms, and baby spinach in Arrabbiata sauce with vermicelli pasta.  I also like spinach and mushrooms with tortellini or gnocchi.  When we have fresh basil from our organic vegetable program, I enjoy lots of pesto with pasta.

 Vermicelli with spinach and mushrooms.  (Personal Photo)

 

Meatless Versions of Classic Casseroles:  Make a veggie Shepherd’s Pie.  Make a loaf of beans, chopped mushrooms, and oatmeal, or just fill the bottom of your baking dish with a mixture of chopped vegetables, such as root vegetables.  Top with peas, corn, and mashed potatoes. 

Make a vegetarian lasagna with zucchini or spinach and ricotta.  Tomato sauce or cream sauce both work well with lasagna. 

Zucchini lasagna (Personal Photo)

 

Make a vegetarian moussaka.  To make Greek moussaka without the meat, layer eggplant and potatoes, and top with a béchamel. 

Make a vegetarian pot pie.  Use the classic combo of green beans, peas, carrots, potatoes and corn, or try vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, artichokes, butternut squash, and sweet potatoes. 

 

Stir Fry with Rice or Noodles:  We do a super simple stir fry at our house.  We just fry off cabbage, onions, and mushrooms in the wok.  We serve over rice or vermicelli noodles with soy sauce.  You could get creative and add vegetables such as carrots, broccoli, snow peas, bamboo shoots, or water chestnuts. 

 Vegetable stir fry with rice (Personal Photo)

Mexican Food:  Enjoy vegetarian Mexican food selections such as cheese enchiladas, chile rellenos, spinach and cheese quesadillas, and grilled vegetable fajitas.  Don’t forget the guacamole, beans, and rice, but be aware many Mexican restaurants put pork lard in their refried beans. 

Grilled Vegetable Fajita (Personal Photo)

Indian Food:  There are loads of vegetarian choices in Indian cuisine.  My favorites are Saag Paneer, or spinach and cheese, potato curry with peas and carrots, and finally cabbage.  There are also tasty dishes made with chickpeas, lentils, and eggplant, as well as vegetable dumplings, fried vegetable balls, and samosas stuffed with vegetables. 

Potato curry, lentil dal, zucchini, spinach (saag paneer), chickpeas,

and cabbage.  (Personal Photo)

 

 

Baked Macaroni & Cheese:  I grew up with homemade baked macaroni and cheese.  No packaged product with cheese powder.  “Real” mac & cheese is made with milk and eggs and has a soufflé texture when it’s fresh and hot out of the oven. 

My homemade baked macaroni and cheese (Personal Photo)

 

Vegetable Casseroles:  One of my cousins always makes “veggie casserole” for family dinners, with cream soup, mixed vegetables and mayonnaise.  Squash casserole made with zucchini or yellow squash are also popular, as well as broccoli casserole.  These are usually made with cream soup, sour cream, cheese, and stuffing mix. 

Squash casserole (Personal Photo)