More Meatless Monday recipes

If you haven't signed up for Meatless Mondays yet, click here to visit their website and find out why you should. When you pledge to go meatless on Mondays, you'll receive a weekly email that contains news of the week, plus some great recipes. They've got a new feature that I love, which is a video demonstration. I can't wait to make the spinach and corn enchiladas, she makes it look so easy!

I've been sharing some of our favorite meatless meals, since we go meatless several times a week, and it's no deprivation for us. Think stir-fry, scrambles, pasta, and soup, and the possibilities are endless.

Here are a couple of our favorite main dish salads:

1. Greek salad. This is a great summer dish, but it's delicious year-round as a light meal. Arrange thinly sliced English cucumber, tomatoes, and red onion in an attractive pattern on a plate. Layer with crumbled feta and 6 or 8 pitted and sliced kalamata olives. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and oregano.
2. White bean/escarole salad. Tear escarole and saute with olive oil and garlic until soft (cover and add broth or water if necessary). Add white beans and cook another 5 minutes. Serve with a generous squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper.

And here are a few meatless recipes from Reader's Digest:

3. Tagliatelle with veggies & blue cheese. Cook 8 ounces of spinach tagliatelle (or other pasta) al dente. Add a cup of broccoli florets and another of cauliflower during the last 3 minutes of cooking time. Then drain pasta and vegetables in a colander. Rinse pot and over low heat melt 6 oz. blue cheese and stir until it's a smooth sauce. Then add the pasta and vegetables back to the pot and stir to coat and heat through. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
4. Open-Face grilled vegetable sandwich. Preheat grill or broiler. In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper. Brush sliced portobello mushrooms, asparagus, and red pepper with mixture. Grill or broil veggies until tender (about 10-12 minutes). Let cool and slice pepper. Grill bread just until warm. Spread goat cheese on bread, top with mushrooms, bell pepper, and asparagus. Serve warm.

There are an infinite variety of meatless meals to enjoy. The only limit is your imagination. And your palate, I suppose. I know from experience that the more you eat this way, the more you will come to love it. And the fresher the produce, the more delicious eating meatless will be.

I don't have any reader suggestions this week. I'd love to keep sharing them, so if you have any great meatless recipes that are easy to explain, please send them in a Comment. We'd love to try them! And click here if you want to check out the recipes from previous installments.