I feel like a "real" vegetarian today. For lunch my hubby and I grilled up Morningstar Grillers soy burgers. This was the second time I had bought them. On purpose. So that tells you that they are a pretty decent substitute. We also grilled up red onion and mushrooms. I topped our burgers with american (and 3 pepper cheese for my hubby). I added lettuce, tomato, ketchup, and mustard. These burgers are pretty filling too.
Normally I plan a meal by starting at the entree. I felt all over the map tonight. I wanted to try butternut squash. I have never had it before. Our friends gave us one from their garden and tonight was the night to give it a try. I peeled and cubed the squash. I tossed them in olive oil and seasoned with salt, pepper, and a local maple sugar. I threw them into the oven at 415 degrees for 20 minutes. I then realized I still had no clue what else I was making. Ha. I looked in the freezer and saw vegetarian riblets. I grabbed those for my hubby and me. My daughter had mentioned chicken nuggets (vegetarian ones) so I grabbed those for the kiddos. I stirred the squash and then turned the oven down to 350 and added the "meat". Hmmmm. What else? I am a rice hoarder. I fully admit to it. On any given day, I have at least 5 types of rice.
*Side note: After writing the previous sentence, I had to go check. I have a brown/wild rice mixture. Arborio rice for risotto. Jasmine rice. Two kinds of sushi rice. I don't even make homemade sushi. Ha. Mahatma rice - I love that one for spanish rice. I also had a bag of brown rice. I didn't even bother checking the cupboards for rice a roni. Ha! I figured I would stop counting at 7.
Ok, back to dinner. I settled on trying the brown and wild rice mixture. I seasoned it with salt, pepper, thyme, and garlic & wine seasoning. I had never cooked it before and figured I should give it a try too. It's a little time intensive for my taste (ok, so it's not really that intensive, just more than simply stir and simmer). You bring it to a boil, simmer for 35 minutes and then let it rest for 15 minutes. I'm too impatient for that which is why I have passed it up until now.
My hubby said the riblets were pretty good. My son took a bite and said they were good. I thought they were surprisingly a good substitute. Even the texture was good. The rice was good too. We were running a little late for cub scouts so it didn't have very long to rest. It would probably be better with more rest time in order to make it a little more fluffy. The butternut squash went over well too. My hubby said it tasted like sweet potato. My daughter cleaned her plate. As I was halfway through dinner, I realized that every item on my plate was new! Overall, a successful vegetarian day.
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