Tempura and Pasta

Two meals we love are totally meat free (many people think that veggies aren't that filling but we all are very filled after eating veg only meals) and cover two whole meals with basically the same ingredients.

Vegetable Tempura
Tempura Batter Recipe:
3/4 c. sifted flour or cake flour if you have it (I just sift my flower a couple of times or you can use rice flour)
3/4 c. cold club soda or cold water
1/2 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1/4 tsp salt

Other Ingredients:
1 sweet potato (sliced 1/4 inch thick)(this is my fave tempura veggie)
1 zucchini or yellow squash (sliced 1/4 inch thick)
1 lb whole mushrooms (quartered)
half pound baby carrots halved
1 large onion quartered and rough chopped (larger pieces)
or any mixture of veggies that are in season or you prefer
canola oil for frying

heat oil in fryer or in a small sauce pan. Slice veggies and mix batter while waiting for the oil to heat. Dip the veggies in the batter and then put them in the fryer, cook until golden and crispy about 3-4 minutes each batch. Drain on paper towels. Serve hot with teriyaki sauce or homemade sauce for dipping. This recipe is very filling with just a few of the veggies and is very tasty! We always have veggies left over and so the next day or--if we have this for lunch--for dinner that night I use the veggies in our next recipe
Note: Try not to cook extra of this recipe, only make what you or your family can eat because it just won't keep in the fridge! instead save the vegs and make this other recipe!

Vegetable Linguine

Left over veggies of any mixture (tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, mushrooms, potatoes, red or Green peppers, carrots, eggplant, green onions, or celery) Large sliced or rough chopped (just remember that carrots and potatoes will cook slower than squash so chop accordingly!).
1-3 tbsp olive oil (I usually try to only use the amount needed to just coat the veggies)
1/4 -1/3 c half and half (or whole milk or even heavy cream whatever you have on hand)
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1/2 lb linguine cooked according to directions.
One pkg onion soup mix or garlic soup mix or whatever your fav mix is (or homemade mix! That's fab too and less sodium!)

Preheat over to 425. Mix veggies and oil in large bowl, add mix and stir to coat evenly. Spray a 9x13 in pan with pam and dump the veggies in. Roast veggies in oven for 20 minutes stirring once during cooking or until browned and tender. pull pan out and add the cheese, stirring while it melts, and scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of pan. Add the half and half gradually throughout the pan stirring and scraping the mixture together. until it takes on the consistency of a sauce. Add the hot noodles and stir. Serve hot.

Note: this is also a good recipe if you have a lot of veggies and don't want to let them go bad--good way to use them up.