Tofu Ricotta Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

I adapted parts of a White Pizza Grilled Cheese recipe over at Kitchen Treaty. This is a great grilled cheese compromise for those of us who must avoid cheese or all dairy.

Ingredients:

Tofu ricotta:

• 1 pkg firm tofu (16 oz)
• 1/4 c. rice milk...or any kind of milk really (regular, soy, etc)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tb. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. dried basil (or you can use 2 Tb. fresh, minced basil)
• 1 tsp. salt

 The sandwich filling:

• 1 cup of the tofu ricotta above
• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp dried basil (or 1 Tb fresh)
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano (or 2 tsp fresh)
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Your favorite bread--I recommend Ciabatta bread sliced thin, but it also tastes great on whole wheat sandwich bread too 
• margarine or butter replacement (for spreading on the outsides of your bread before grilling)

Directions:

1. Make the tofu ricotta by placing all the ingredients in a blender. Blend till creamy.
2. Take 1 cup of the tofu ricotta and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
3. Warm a skillet over medium heat. Take your bread slices and butter the outsides. Then add a thick layer of the tofu mixture to the inside of the bread. Close the sandwich and place on a skillet. Flip until both sides are a nice crispy brown.

Note about this recipe:

1. Let it cool for a good 5 minutes. The tofu retains it's heat very well!

Avocado-Tomato Melt Sandwich

This recipe was sent in by Vanessa H. She found it at What's Cooking America.

Ingredients:

• 4 English muffins, split
• 1 ripe avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced
• 1 to 2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced thin
• Coarse salt
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
• Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• Fresh ground black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven broiler to high. Under the broiler, toast English muffin halves on a baking sheet until golden brown. Remove from oven.

Top each muffin half with sliced avocados and sliced tomatoes; lightly salt the tomatoes.

Sprinkle chopped basil leaves over the tomatoes. Put a layer of mozzarella cheese over the basil, sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese, and top with black pepper.

Broil prepared muffin halves for approximately 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese has melted. Remove from oven and enjoy!

Makes 4 servings.

Farfel

(Picture from Martha Stewart)

I found this recipe off of Martha Stewart. My husband and I thought it was yummy.

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups Cooked Dried Chickpeas, or 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 small yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 2 tablespoons chopped mint
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
• 1/2 cup safflower or canola oil
• For serving: pita bread, sliced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion, romaine lettuce leaves, and store-bought tahini sauce.

Directions:

1. Place half of chickpeas in food processor and pulse a few times until chopped, transfer to a large bowl.
2. Place remaining chickpeas in food processor with garlic, onion, herbs, spices, baking soda, salt, and lemon juice. Pulse to a thick, chunky paste, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl with chopped chickpeas.
3. Add egg and sesame seeds to bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill batter in fridge 30 minutes.
4. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When oil shimmers, drop heaping tablespoons of batter into skillet and gently press batter into 2-inch-round patties. Cook, turning once, until deep golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes total. Transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain.
5. Serve falafel with pita bread, sliced tomatoes and red onion, romaine leaves, and store-bought tahini dressing.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I had to add water to get the mixture into a paste, but that made it too liquidy so I ended up adding 2/3 cup of bread crumbs.
2. Instead of dropping the batter into the oil and gently pressing it, we found it easier to mold it into a flat patty by hand and then put it in the oil.
3. We also found that they cooked just as well if you only had a tiny bit of oil in the skillet, much less than 1/2 cup.
4. We didn't use tahini dressing.

Bean and Veggie Sliders

I found this recipe at Martha Stewart's website. Great alternative for a meat-free sandwich, and I loved that they were sized small enough to fit on rolls.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups cooked kidney beans
• 1 cup steamed jasmine or basmati rice
• 1/2 cup shredded carrot
• 1/3 cup shredded broccoli
• 2 tablespoons grated ginger
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 recipe flavor base
  
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 12 small whole-wheat rolls, split
• Garnishes: Chili Mayonnaise (see below), lettuce, mango, red onion, and cilantro
• For the Chili Mayonnaise: Stir together 3/4 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 teaspoon Asian chili paste (such as sambal oelek), and a dash of toasted-sesame oil.

Directions:

1. Pulse beans in a food processor until mixture resembles ground meat. Pulse in rice. Stir bean mixture in a bowl with carrot, broccoli, ginger, cilantro, and flavor base. Form into twelve 2 1/2-inch round patties (1/4 cup each). Cook in hot oil over medium-high heat until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Sandwich in rolls, adding garnishes.

Notes about this recipe:

1. I used black beans instead (needed to use them up). Still turned out yummy, but I'm looking forward to trying it with the kidney beans next time.
2. I used brown rice.
3. The ginger was REALLY strong, so next time I would do maybe 3/4 Tb.
4. I used mini sandwich thins instead of rolls.
5. I did not try the Chili mayonnaise.
6. Yummy when made fresh but not good as left-overs. If you don't think you will finish off all 12 in one meal then I would 1/2 the recipe.

Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches

This recipe was submitted by Anne J. She found it years ago in high school. She serves it as a main dish with fruit or salad. She says, "It doesn't sound super special but man is it good. All the flavors just come together, and it's a great way to get a lot of vegetables in one delicious sandwich." I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 pound eggplant cut into 1/4" slices
• 1 medium zucchini, cut on diagonal into 1/4" slices
• 1 medium yellow squash, cut on diagonal into 1/4" slices
• 3/4 t. salt
• 3/4 t. pepper
• 1/4 c. mayonnaise
• 1 t fresh rosemary chopped
• 8 slices Italian bread (or any other bread you prefer)
• 1 cup arugula
• 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese shaved
  

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray the eggplant, zucchini, and yellow squash lightly with nonstick spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil (4 inches from the heat, on a baking sheet) until tender and browned, about 8 minutes. Turn the veggies over at 4 minutes so they get browned all over. You can also use and indoor grill or panini press, just be sure to oil and season the veggies.

Meanwhile chop the rosemary and combine with the mayonnaise. Spread on 4 slices of the bread. Layer grilled vegetables over the bread. Top with arugula, tomatoes, and onion. Lay shaved Parmesan on top and cover with remaining bread.