Going Meatless

No, I’m not announcing that I’m a vegetarian…but we have been trying out a few “vegetarian” meals at our house lately.

Not because we have anything against meat. We love our meat.

But…have you noticed? It’s expensive!

And it’s not getting any cheaper.

So for the past few months I’ve been trying something new. We’re doing “Meatless Mondays”.

Except we do it on Thursday. Because that works better for our schedule.

So…“Meatless Thursdays”…doesn’t have quite the same ring to it, but the principle is the same. Every Thursday night I plan a meal with no meat in it {in case you didn’t understand what I meant by “meatless” }

Dave was skeptical, and honestly, I was too. Like I said, we love our meat.

But I think  {so far} I’ve managed to find recipes that still work for our tastebuds, and even better, are a {little} easier on our wallets!

Some of the recipes I’ve made:

Baked Manicotti
Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Black Bean Salsa Quesadillas
Black Beans and Rice

and, probably my favorite so far, this one:

Corn, Avocado and Black Bean Tostadas
{from the May 20, 2011 issue of All You Magazine}

• 8 six inch corn tortillas
• salt
• 1 {15 oz} can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup frozen corn, defrosted
• 1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
• 2 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 t. lime juice
• 1/2 t. crushed red pepper
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 350. Arrange tortillas on a baking sheet, mist with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt. Bake until beginning to crisp, 5-7 minutes.
   
2. While tortillas are toasting, combine beans, corn, avocado, cilantro, olive oil, lime juice and red pepper flakes in a large bowl. Top tortillas, still on baking sheet, with some bean and corn mixture. Sprinkle with cheddar.
   
3. Turn oven to broil and broil tostadas until cheese has melted and is beginning to brown, 1-2 minutes. Serve immediately. {I made homemade salsa and rice to go with ours}

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I made this pretty much exactly as written, except I added more cheese. Because I’ve never ever heard anyone say, “Hmmm…I think this could use a little less cheese.”

I thought it was super yummy.

And Dave said, “Not too bad.” Believe me, that’s high praise for a carnivore like my hubby

And can I just say? I’m a little bit in love with black beans right now. So versatile, so yummy, and SO CHEAP!

So after several months of experimenting, I think it’s safe to say, Meatless Thursdays are here to stay.

What about you? Got any meatless recipes for me to try?