Vegetarian recipes on the run!

Bean burritos: Grab a tortilla, open a can of refried beans, heat them up, put some on the tortilla along with whatever else you like on a burrito.

Pasta, sauce, and beans: Boil some pasta, toss it with some sauce and canned beans. Add whatever fresh/frozen vegetables you like.

Hummus sandwich: Put hummus on bread, add whatever vegetables you like (not hot, but very fast).

Bag of frozen edamame in the shells. Microwave 5 minutes. Great snack high in protein!

I had a delicious vegetarian quesadilla from 54th Street Grill the other night that I've started replicating at home. Crumble a cooked veggie burger (or you could use crumbles), add cheese and cook on both sides in a non-stick pan that is sprayed with cooking spray. Dip in salsa and enjoy.

You can make a vegetarian burrito bowl with any combo of beans, rice, quinoa, frozen corn, salsa, cheese, Greek yogurt, avocado, etc.. there are endless possibilities. You can cook some tofu in oil and seasoning if you want to add extra protein. Also google "Power Bowls" for lots of other ideas on ingredients that can be thrown together in a bowl.

I also second that a crock pot is a great tool for a busy student.

It's almost cool enough to start really enjoying vegetarian chili too. That's always an awesome thing to make a big pot of. Freeze or eat it for a week.

DanyellMcGinnis wrote: »

I like using the Crock Pot. Sometimes there is a little prep work (sauteing a few vegetables in oil before starting up), but you can cook it largely unattended and most of the recipes I've tried so far make good leftovers and/or are freezable. And you usually end up with a lot of food.

Seconded. Crock Pots are the best friends of busy students. You can cook anything from soup to homemade seitan in one. I like to use mine to cook a big batch of dried beans and then freeze them for later. It's cheaper than buying cans of beans, and I like being able to control how much salt I add.

I also cook big batches of freezer-friendly meals. Chili and spaghetti sauce are my favorites because they require very little effort (just throw everything in a pot or Crock Pot, let it cook for a few hours, stir occasionally) and they freeze well. Then when I'm too busy to cook a hot meal, I can have something ready really fast.

I make bissara in huge batches, freeze it and eat it with aish baladi (homemade wheat bread). The recipe's pretty easy:

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas)/110g dried fava beans
2 tbsp (30mL) olive oil
10g (3 cloves) garlic
100g (1 medium) onion
2 tbsp (30 mL) lemon juice
chili powder to taste

Add the oil, garlic and onions to a pot. Rinse and drain the beans, then cook them (or heat them if you're using canned) on low to medium heat with the other ingredients. Add lemon juice if that's your thing. Definitely add chili powder. When the beans are cooked through, use a fork, potato masher, or bean masher to create a smooth puree. (Alternatively, you can add your beans to a food processor once cooked and add the mush to the other ingredients to cook.)

Makes 2 servings, but the recipe doubles well. It's my favorite fall soup!