Falafel Waffles

Falafel Waffles  Rating: 8

This is fun and healthier spin on falafel, a Middle Eastern dish of spiced mashed chickpeas that is typically deep fried.  Now mine looks a bit intimidating because, for the life of me, I cannot limit myself to the called for amount of herbs and I double if not triple it.

 I go ahead and soak dried chickpeas because I feel the canned would be mush.  But in a pinch, I may go there.  Just haven't yet.  It's fun to use the waffle iron and I think a regular iron rather than a Belgium waffle iron would likely give the best results.

We served it with a big Greek salad and a dollop of homemade tzatziki or raita sauce (Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and herbs).  Pictured above is leftovers.  A quarter of a waffle is filling enough if accompanied by the salad or fresh cut veggies but we usually use 1/2 a waffle for dinner.  Have fun.

Pumpkin Stuffed Shells

Pumpkin Stuffed Shells  Rating: 8

Here's another easy vegetarian meal.  We used panko bread crumbs with Italian seasoning mixed in and the sauce is Neal's veggie packed spaghetti sauce.  Filling meal.  We've had this at least 3 times and like it.  My mother-in-law left some on her plate and did not comment on the meal so I don't think it is as well received by steak and potato people.  I would be interested to see what variations there are out there for this meal.  Pictured are leftovers.  Served this for dinner with a big green salad.

Tofu Peanut Butter Pie

Tofu Peanut Butter Pie  Rating: 10

If a picture is worth a thousand words...

This was great!  thick, creamy, sweet, smooth, crunchy--it was great.  I served this up with only a couple of hours of chilling and it didn't hold together.  But the next day it was set just right. 

Topped it with crushed pretzels and a dark chocolate drizzle and served it in a chocolate graham cracker crust--a total cheat and worth it.  I used a 14 oz. block of soft tofu instead of a 16 oz. one because that is what I had and I reduced the sugar to 2/3 cup of demerara sugar.  I'd even reduce it more next time if I used the same brand of natural peanut butter because it runs sweet for my taste.  No body knew there was tofu in it, not that I hid that fact from them.

UPDATE (9/13/12): We've made this once again.  We used a touch less PB, maybe 3/4 cup and still about 2/3 cup demerara sugar and it was still sweet and creamy enough for us.  And this is what it looked like before we ate it!

Fresh Cranberry Orange Scones

Fresh Cranberry Orange Scones  Rating:7

What's an English Tea without freshly baked scones?  Well, I wouldn't have a clue, honestly.  But these made a nice meal with spinach scrambled eggs on the side.  They were fine plain and best out of the oven.  Not amazing but okay to good.  I think I'll keep looking for a similar recipe.  They were sweet but needed a bolder cranberry orange pop in my opinion.

Golden Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Golden Veggie Shepherd's Pie  Rating: 8

This was another nod to the London Games but meatless.  And it's approved by Britons.  I got it off the BBC for goodness sake!  We liked it and it was well received by kids.  Good flavor, quite comforting. It freezes well which is great because it makes gobs!  We got two meals out of this dish and froze another 3 meals worth.  If you are in the United States like us, you'll need to convert.

Oven-Fried Fish and Chips

Oven-Fried Fish and Chips  Rating: 8

It is a rarity for us to cook fish.  This may be the third time in 10 years of marriage.  We actually liked it this time.  We did this during the Olympic games in honor of the host country, Great Britain.  It was good and I even served it up with malt vinegar. 

It's made with corn flakes which we don't consider a "real" food, but it gave it that texture we were hoping for without frying.  We used frozen cod. Served it up with Blue Cheese Cole Slaw.

Barley, Corn and Haricot Vert Salad

Barley, Corn and Haricot Vert Salad  Rating: 6

Don't be intimidated. Haricot Vert is just skinny green beans.  Although we enjoyed the freshness of the veggies it was pretty disappointing.  This combination did little to tantalize.