Vegetarian Meal, Mediterranean-style

There is a small and unassuming restaurant in Cherry Hill that we used to go to fairly often called Norma's Eastern Mediterranean. It is in a strip mall and has a Mediterranean grocery attached. Behind it is its sister restaurant called CousCous Moroccan Cuisine and Hookah Lounge. There's no escaping the flavors of the Mediterranean in this part of Cherry Hill. 

Photo by UrbanQ

We were at Norma's one time when a belly dancer came out and danced among the tables. I vowed to never return on the night she danced. I just can't get into that. I mean, it's great exercise, but when they started sticking money in her outfit (ala pole dancer), I knew I wouldn't be back for that little bit of entertainment. It just wasn't to my taste.

Speaking of taste, there is something on their menu that is very much to my taste and that is their Mediterranean Medley. It is more like a vegetable stew that consists of eggplant, squash, green pepper, onions and tomatoes cooked in a tomato sauce and served with rice pilaf. Oh my....I so totally enjoy that dish! The flavors are melded perfectly and perfectly paired. 

Moroccan Stew that resembles the Mediterranean Medley. -Flickr on Wikimedia

I usually start out with Harrira Soup (Moroccan Bean) which is a tomato based soup with lentils, chickpeas, onions and fresh cilantro. I totally enjoy my meal when I'm there. I'm in vegetable heaven and that's coming from someone who avoided most vegetables throughout childhood into young adulthood. I love it!

Moroccan Lentil Soup similar to the Harrira soup -Flickr on Wikimedia

I have tried and tried to find a recipe that duplicates theirs, but to no avail. Almost all of them seem to be more sides than main courses and aren't stew-like at all. But, I want to make this at home some time. It is just wonderful. Ratatouille seems to have all the right ingredients, but isn't cooked down like this is. 

I've had other dishes here. I'm not a big fan of their Moussaka, which I generally like. Their Laham Mishwe (grilled skewered lamb) is darned good, but I've only tasted it when Tom ordered it. The flavors in the meat are perfect, the meat juicy and tender. On my budget, I stay away from the pricier options.

But, when I'm on a vegetable binge, Norma's is one of the places I'll ask to go because I know I'll be able to get my fix with Norma's Mediterranean Medley. In fact, I think I'm about due for another visit.

Quick & Easy Meals We've Eaten Through The Years

I did Meals in Minutes recently, but that was more ease of preparation than how soon they'd be ready to eat. I'd like to share with you some meals we've made frequently through the years that don't take long to put together or finish.


The first one is one my ex had me make after we were married. It wasn't anything I'd ever seen before and I did have my doubts about it. But, you know it's really pretty darned good. It doesn't really have a name, so we call it:


Green Beans and Meat

A similar-looking Cuban recipe still in the pan.

All you need is a pound of hamburger, a can or two of green beans and a 15 oz can of tomato sauce. Brown the meat, add the green beans (my daughter likes French style best) with one can undrained and add the tomato sauce. Meanwhile, fry some potatoes - in fact, you could start the potatoes first if using fresh potatoes. You could also use O'Brien style (cubed) hash brown potatoes or even French fries. Once both things are cooked, we're ready to eat and that's usually in less than 30 minutes.


Another one I like that my mother used to make is:


Ham, Green Beans and Potatoes

Green Beans and Ham - PA Dutch recipe
Now I know where my mother got the idea to put vinegar on her green beans.

This would work for after Easter if you have a large piece of ham left from Easter dinner. Put the ham in the pot along with peeled quartered potatoes and a pound of green beans (preferably fresh or frozen) and cook until the potatoes are cooked through and the meat is hot. The potatoes and green beans will be flavored by the ham and the ham will be heated by the cooking process. Eat the potatoes like you would baked potatoes.


Meat Pie

Spicy Beef Stew
An example of what would work in a meat pie.

I mentioned this in yesterday's post. You could call this "stew pie" because it is made from leftover stew. I have deviated from this in that I have bought a tall can of Dinty Moore stew and a pair of frozen deep dish pie crusts, filled the bottom crust and used the second crust for the top. If you're more adept at crust making than I am and have a large family-sized pie plate, you can make a heaping helping of pie to feed your family (one small pie is enough for three people). This is a great way to use leftover stew. Serve with fruit on the side and maybe a salad.


Meat Sauce for Spaghetti from leftover Pot Roast (or steak)

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce -Wikimedia Commons

I've done this several times. If you have a food processor or a meat grinder, run your leftover meat through to a small grind or mince (cut up into smaller pieces so the processor can handle it). When you have lots of minced meat, put your spaghetti sauce together in the pot as you normally would and add the meat to it. The seasonings of the meat will add flavor to the sauce as will the meat itself and it will be wonderful and meaty! 


Chicken Fingers

The method I used to fry mine, but another blogger's recipe.

When I was caring for my mother, I tried to give her variety, meet her wants as well as her needs and get her to eat chicken more often (she would have lived on beef if she could). She liked fried foods, but was supposed to cut back because of cholesterol. One breast of chicken was too much for her to eat, so I decided to try something new. I was already pan frying some things for her using light olive oil. I had also bought some lemon pepper marinade. So, I took a single chicken breast, sliced it across the grain into multiple pieces, dipped those pieces into the marinade and then into bread crumbs. While vegetables were heating up on the stove, I pan fried those pieces in olive oil to give her the texture she wanted with the healthiest oil I could use without actually deep frying. This turned out wonderful! Not only did we have enough pieces to feed my mother and me, but my daughter stopped by and had some as well - just from one single chicken breast. Of course, we also had two vegetables and a fruit plus bread, but that piece of chicken went a long way and didn't take long to put together.


Shepherd's Pie on the Fly

Another blogger's Shepherd's Pie (actually Cottage Pie because it's beef)

Sometimes we're in the mood for Shepherd's Pie but really don't want to put it all in a casserole and put it in the oven when it's already cooked and ready to eat, so we will make a quick pan full of what amounts to a hamburger stew (hamburger, gravy, peas and carrots) in one pan and mashed potatoes in another and serve them just that way, topping the potatoes with the stew.


Finally, there's our all-time favorite:


Burritos

Vegan burrito filling, but no recipe in the blog.
You can also use what I make as a hot chip dip, which is how I was introduced to it. I just used it a different way.

Again, I'm using hamburger. Sometimes I add onions or onion powder, but I always add salt and pepper. Once the hamburger is finished cooking, I add a can of refried beans and a cup of salsa. I stir it all together. I used to add shredded cheese in the pan as well, but my daughter has limited her dairy intake, so the cheese gets added during the assembly of the burritos. We put our own burritos together rather than have one person assemble them for us. My daughter likes to add diced tomatoes and lettuce to hers. Since I don't, I let her get those ready. It's really all ready to go in under 30 minutes. You can heat the tortillas in the microwave or individually on a flat griddle. No matter what, it's really good!

Those a few of the meals we rely on to cook up quickly and easily. I hope you like them.

An Online Benefit for the USO and our Troops; plus FOOD!

I have another blog that is newer than this one. It is for my Avon business while this one is personal. But, I do want to tell people about the benefit.


Avon has a variety of fundraisers that representatives can do. Sure, they can be lucrative if you connect with the right group, but I really don't pursue that. However, ever since I first saw this particular program, I have had an interest in participating. 


This is a type of "gift in kind" fundraiser wherein part of the funds go to the organization and part of the funds are used to purchase a product gift pack that the organization will hand out to our overseas troops. 90% of the price of the item goes directly to either the USO or to cover the cost of the merchandise to be given to our troops. The remaining 10% covers the cost of taking the orders and processing the payment to Avon. Avon takes care of the rest.

You don't have to ship anything, you don't have to donate huge quantities of money, you don't have to worry about who's getting the money. You know up front where it's going.


There is a PayPal link on the other blog for placing the order and making payment. You DO NOT have to have a PayPal account. The payment can be processed without your having an account, so there's no fussing with having to link it to your bank account and what have you. Just fill out the info and, after verification, the payment will be received. Debit cards or credit cards are fine. You don't have to be rich to help out, but if you're able and want to, you CAN purchase more than one kit to be given to more than one serviceman or woman. It's entirely up to you.


Here is the link to the other blog. You can read more there about the program and about the products our service personnel will receive. As I say there, the sales will benefit me with my Avon standing, but I'm not going to be getting rich with this. It's just something I want to do, that I don't feel like there is a financial ulterior motive for me to do it. The link is here.


Of course, I'd love if you bought some Avon using my storefront link, but not everyone is a fan. And, that's OK. But, I doubt there are many people who don't appreciate that our troops are willing to risk their lives (even if we don't agree politically with the reason they've been sent) or that the USO sends entertainers into some dangerous theaters of operation in order to give the troops a morale boost. Seriously, is there anyone out there who never saw or enjoyed Bob Hope entertaining the troops? The men loved it!! So, would you please consider giving something back to the men and the USO for all they've done for us?


AND NOW.....TONIGHT'S DINNER


Of course, I have to add something about food. I didn't have my dinner finished when I posted the first part, but now it's done. We've finished eating and I now have the obligatory photo to share with you all.


I wanted to use some of the hamburger that was in the freezer. I took it out a couple days ago to thaw and it's been in the fridge ever since. I decided I needed to use it and found just the thing online. Hamburger Stew!


I took the pound of burger out, put it in the pan and started the fire. I love my potato masher (one of those curly ones, not those ones with the square holes in it that I wouldn't even use on potatoes) because I use it to break down ground meat that I'm cooking. I hate having huge lumps of ground meat in my recipes. So, I started cooking the meat, added onions, a can of stewed tomatoes, a can of sliced potatoes and some powdered beef base for added flavor. Then I got out the leftover corn and carrots I had frozen a couple weeks ago for future use and added them. Once all that was hot and simmering, I added some leftover broccoli and the smidgen (not a precise measurement, naturally) of lima beans that were still frozen along with some more powdered beef base and water. Once all of that came to peak heat, I added some ditalini pasta (again, no measurement - just until it looked like enough), turned the fire down and let it slow cook while I worked on the first part of today's blog entry. Eventually, I turned the fire off completely and waited for everyone to come home.


My son was the first to arrive. I asked him to look at the pot and tell me if he thought I should thicken it or if we should eat it more like soup. That's when I learned that "looks like enough" can be too much. The ditalini had absorbed all the water!!! So......I added two more cups of water, some fresh ground salt and pepper and some pot herbs along with a can of tomato sauce. I reheated the pot and stirred it thoroughly and supper was ready. Of course, I forgot to take the picture until two of us had already had some, but there's plenty in there, so I got a decent photo of the stew/soup (I REALLY don't want to call it "stoup". I mean, I like Rachael, but there is a line I draw.) 

You can see how many little pastas are really in there. 

So, tell me - is this something you'd eat? Seasoned to your tastes, of course, but do you like one pot meals like this - easy to throw together, no constant attending necessary? My kinda cooking!