Wolfman Jack
Assistant Cook
SierraCook said:Some recipes can be made vegetarian by just omitting the meat: spaghetti with marinara sauce, taco salad, burritos made with vegetarian refried beans, etc.
I made the recipe below when working down at the dispatch center on my forest. I made one pot vegetarian and the other with meat. Everyone loved it.
Jambalaya
Also, some recipes that we eat for everyday are vegetarian. Like for example minestrone soup, red beans and rice, etc.
I personally love veggie burgers. I dress them up like I would a hamburger with all the traditional fixings and they are great.
Good luck and don't be afraid to experiment!!
An excellent suggestion SierraCook! I'm a vegetarian myself and the choices are virtually limitless!
I would add that you can also make vegetarian recipes "meatier" by substituting other ingredients for the meat. For instance, I make a lot of vegetarian jambalaya myself and simply substitute red kidney beans (or whatever beans you like) for the meat. A lot of people use things such as tofu or eggplant (tofu sounds awful and if you just eat it as it is, it is awful, but once you get a little olive oil and spices working with it and let it pick up those flavors, it's quite good). Same thing with vegetarian paella or almost any rice or pasta based dish. I end up with a lot of broccoli in things too. Whatever you both like, use it! Chances are once you get all the spices and flavors mixed together you won't even really miss the meat (unless you're one of those folks determined to make a point of it, although it seems you have an open mind).
Also, it's important to know what category of vegetarian your girlfriend falls into. If she's a vegan, you'll have to avoid the cheese and other dairy products, as well as the eggs. So it's just a matter of determining what's off-limits to her. Good luck and I hope everything turns out great for you!