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What, Exactly, is a Spaghetti Squash?

I bet you've walked through the produce section in your local grocery store a thousand times and still have no idea what half of those strange gourds are. What would you use them for anyway? Well, dinner for starters. Vegetarian meal options are so plentiful that you've probably never heard of half the ingredients in some of them. Are you on the hunt for an easy vegetarian recipe to prepare? If so, head over to that mystery gourd section and find yourself a spaghetti squash.

These gourds range from ivory and pale yellow to orange in color, are cylinder-shaped, and usually weigh between 4 to 8 pounds. Select one with an even hue and no spots. While you're at the store you will also need to pick up olive oil, pesto sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, and grated Parmesan cheese.

To start off, slice the squash in half horizontally and remove all of the seeds. Then, cover with cellophane wrap and microwave on high for 10 to 12 minutes (if your squash is larger you will need to add a few minutes). Let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes then, using a fork, "comb" the innards of the gourd into spaghetti-like strands and set aside.

Next, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and add the squash. Mix in the pesto and cook long enough to heat through and then add 4 ounces of the mozzarella cheese and a fourth a cup of the Parmesan cheese. Mix all of the ingredients together until the cheese starts to melt and serve.

Quick Brown Bread

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour each of the wet ingredients into it. Stir vigorously until the wet and dry ingredients are completely combined. Pour the batter into a lightly oiled, 9X5X3 inch loaf pan. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a knife inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool on a rack briefly, then slice and serve while still warm.

Preparing Veggie Dishes Can be a Snap

It's true that you could never get through every great vegetarian food recipe out there but that doesn't mean that preparing one will take you hours on end. Choosing to prepare a fabulous vegetarian dish doesn't have to entail slaving away in the kitchen. In fact, many veggie recipes can be pulled off in less than thirty minutes.

By taking a short trip to you local library, browsing the Internet, or picking up a simple cookbook at the bookstore, you can easily put together a collection of quick and delicious meatless meals to keep in your kitchen. If you really don't have the time to cook at all, there are countless preprepared packaged vegetarian dishes available as well.

Orzo Salad

Cook orzo in pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add sun-dried tomatoes, oil, vinegar and olives and toss to blend. Let stand until cool. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.) Mix chopped radicchio, pine nuts, chopped basil, Parmesan and garlic into orzo mixture. Season salad to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Good Counrty Breakfast, Vegetarian Style

Just because you¡¯ve given up meat, doesn¡¯t mean that you have to give up big delicious breakfasts complete with sausage and eggs (ahem, imitation sausage and eggs). Fantastic Foods offers a mouth-watering tofu scramble that will definitely please any breakfast crew. Want to add a little oomph to that mix? Try this easy vegetarian recipe:

Boil the water and add grits (this is also when you would add the margarine and salt). Simmer the mixture for five minutes. While the grits are cooking, saut¨¦ the tofu and the Scrambler mix together in accordance with the instructions. Add the grits to the fried mixture and saut¨¦ for some more. Allow the grits to brown a little bit around the edges but don¡¯t burn them.

*Serve this dish with some soy-based breakfast ¡°sausage¡± and some sliced fruit to really complete the meal.

Great Veggie Sandwich Idea

Some of the most popular lunch choices today are sandwiches but often times there aren¡¯t very many vegetarian options in that department. If you want to create your own delicious veggie sandwiches, try this low calorie vegetarian recipe for veggie pocket sandwiches:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Then, line a deep pan with aluminum foil and coat with cooking spray. Bake vegetables for about 30 minutes until they are browned. Next, combine vegetables in a bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients in a separate bowl and then drizzle over the vegetables. Toss the mixture until veggies are coated. Stuff spoonfuls of veggies into the pita pockets and you¡¯re done.

Vegetarian Pizza Pie

Do you find it a little hard to believe that a pizza pie can have any flavor without handfuls of pepperoni slices or sausage pieces? Well, believe it or not, there are countless delicious pizza recipes that are topped with items that didn¡¯t once live on a farm. Try this exotic vegetarian recipe for a fabulous Thai pizza that won¡¯t leave room for any complaints:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Coat a pizza pan with cooking spray and spread out the dough on the pan. Combine all ingredients, except the cheeses, and spread them across the dough. Bake the pizza until the cheese is browned (about 15 minutes).

Lemon Roasted Potatoes

A low-fat tasty potato dish.

Wash potatoes and cut each into 8 pieces. Toss in a large bowl with all the ingredients. Bake in an uncovered baking dish at 350 F for 30 minutes or until soft.

The Vegetarian Possibilities are Endless

When many people hear the word "vegetarian" they think of waif skinny people consuming a diet of celery and carrot sticks. People often think that surrendering meat will cause their diet to become bland and boring. All of these ideas are falacies. Rest assured that limiting yourself to a vegetarian diet won't force you to dine on boiled rice and flimsy lettuce leaves every day.

There are hundreds of different vegetables, grains, pulses, nuts, fruits and seeds out there. So many, in fact, that it would be impossible for you to exaust all of the possibilities. You could use ten new exciting and delicious vegetarian recipes to prepare every meal from now until your hundreth birthday and you still wouldn't have experienced all that the wonderful world of vegtarianism can offer your pallet.

Portobello Tacos

Fry up the onions, mushrooms, broccoli, and carrots in olive oil. When cooked to tenderness, remove and make up tortillas with veggies, chopped tomato, lettuce, and guacamole. Tortillas may be warmed up ahead of time in the microwave or on a stovetop pan.

Flavor-Packed Veggie Chili

Chili is one of those meals that is just downright American. The problem is, however, that most chili recipes are packed with meat and a lot of the ones that aren¡¯t just don¡¯t have a lot of flavor. If this has been your experience, then you¡¯re trying out the wrong chili recipes. Try this fantastic vegetarian dish recipe that is chalked full of so many fruit, nuts, and spices that you won¡¯t think anything¡¯s missing:

Melt the butter in a large saucepan then add the onion, and celery and saut¨¦ until crisp. Throw in the corn, beans, tomato sauce, tomatoes, chili powder, pepper sauce, garlic, basil, cumin, bay leaf, oregano, and pepper and bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and allow everything to simmer for 30 minutes. Next, add the cashews & raisins and continue to simmer for around 20 minutes (the nuts and raisins should be tender at this point). Serve the dish with the cheese sprinkled on top.

Almond Loaf

Delicious served with mixed vegetables on the side.

Peel and slice the onions and fry in the oil for 10 minutes over a low heat. Cook the spaghetti until tender, but not overcooked. Drain the spaghetti, and add the remaining ingredients. Stir and put into a greased loaf pan. Cover and bake at 375F for 1 hour.

Light Mushroom Gravy

A great low fat gravy recipe perfect for mashed potatoes or veggie roast.

Saute mushrooms, onion, carrot, celery, and garlic in 2 tbsp of the stock for 5 mins. until the onion is soft. Stir in remaining stock, tamari, parsley, yeast, thyme and sage. Mix flour and water separately, and strain mixture into pan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 mins.

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