Paula Deen's Sausage Pie Veganized

Every year I would make this pie

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/rons-tybee-island-sausage-pie-recipe/index.html

for Christmas morning. It was so good I even made extra for family. Now that I'm on a plant based diet, I wanted to try to recreate it. While it wasn't a smashing success, it was close. With some tweaking, and actually following the recipe, I should get it next year. The original recipe calls for 3 oz of cream cheese. I should have read that before hand. I used 8. (Tofutti I cream cheese). It was very creamy!

1 frozen deep dish pie crust
1 package of Gimme Lean sausage style
1 package firm tofu, drained and cut into pieces
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 oz vegan cream cheese
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt and pepper
1 squirt of yellow mustard.
1/2 a large onion, chopped
1/2 cup almond or soy milk. I used almond.
Handful or 2 of Daiya cheddar shreds.
Poke a few holes in the thawed pie crust. Pre-bake pie crust on 400 degrees for 10 min.

In a food processor blend the tofu, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, turmeric, mustard and milk. Blend until smooth. Mine was still thick, like a thick batter.

Heat vegan sausage and onions until sausage has browned.

In a large bowl combine everything and mix well.

Add mixture to the pie crust and bake 30 minutes or until the top is set.

Let it cool a few minutes before serving.

Christmas Rice

I needed a vegan dish to bring to my family's Christmas Eve meal and this looked so pretty, I had to try it. I'm so glad I did. It was as easy as boiling water and very delicious. Simply beautiful. I found the recipe here:

http://canned-time.com/2012/11/30/christmas-rice-wild-rice-with-spinach-and-pomegranates/

A Healthier Oreo...Cookie Review

I made a recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie today for healthy Oreo-like cookies. The recipe called for coconut butter for the filling, which was yummy, but too coconutty to be a true Oreo knockoff. I think I'll make them again using Earth Balance. The cookies overall were delicious and pretty easy to make, even for this novice. I'll certainly make them again, with a little tweaking.

Here is the link to the recipe:
http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2012/10/24/healthy-oreos/

Chili "Chik'n" Tacos

This was adapted from Clean Eating Magazine to make it vegan.

1 package of Morningstar Chicken Strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into strips
1 red onion, sliced
1 lime, juiced
Shredded lettuce
A small handful of chopped cilantro
1 avocado, chopped
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
Sea salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
Flour tortillas

Place avocado and sour cream in blender with a dash of salt and 1/2 the lime juice. Blend until smooth.

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium-high and toss in still frozen chik'n strips. Sprinkle with chili powder and sauté until browned. Squeeze 1/2 a lime over the chik'n.

Warm tortillas in oven or microwave.

Assemble tacos by placing the avocado cream in the center of a tortilla then top with chik'n. Add green pepper strips, onions, cilantro and lettuce. Sprinkle with sea salt. Enjoy!

The avocado cream made this special. It cooled things off nicely. I had 2 and was left very satisfied but not overly full. I will certainly make these again. It was super quick too.

Tofu Almond Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Tofu Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Source: www.food.com

Course: Desserts

Prep Time: 10 Min

Cook Time: 20 Min

Total Time: 30 Min

Serves: 24

Ingredients

• 1 (12 1/3 ounce) package silken tofu
• 1/3 cup natural-style peanut butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups old fashioned oats

Directions

1. 1 In a large bowl, cream Tofu, peanut butter, brown sugar and vanilla.
2. 2 Add flour, baking powder, oats and stir thoroughly.
3. 3 Drop onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart.
4. 4 Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 102.6
Fat: 23
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 68.8 mg
Carbohydrate: 17.4 g
Fiber: 0.8 g
Protein: 2.9 g

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I had some silken tofu approaching the expiration date sitting in my fridge so a quick Google led to this recipe. Since I had all of the needed ingredients I set to work. I did use Barney Butter Almond Butter instead of peanut butter. This made 33 cookies instead of the 24 it said it would produce. The texture is like a cross between a cookie and cake. They are only mildly sweet so if you are used to super sweet cookies, this would take some getting used to. There was absolutely no taste of tofu at all. My 2 year old liked them and she never likes anything.

Blueberry Strawberry Muffins

Blueberry Strawberry Muffins

Source: vegweb.com

Course: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons powdered egg replacer (I use Ener-G)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup evaporated cane sugar
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 – 6 ounce container blueberry flavored coconut milk yogurt
• 1 tablespoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon almond milk
• 6 sliced strawberries
• 1 cup blueberry granola

Directions

1. 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare a muffin pan with 8 liners.
2. 2) Mix together water and egg replacer in a small bowl. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl, combine yogurt, vanilla, and almond milk. Add all wet ingredients to dry bowl and stir until just mixed and then gently stir in the strawberries.
3. 3) Divide batter between 8 cupcake liners. Top each muffin with blueberry granola. Bake for 22 minutes or until done.

Amount Per Serving

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I had some problems with this recipe. Namely that the batter was far to dry following the above ingredients. I found myself adding 3 more splashes of almond milk to make it more like a muffin consistency. But that worked fine. I also found I didn't care for the granola topping. It ended up with a slightly burnt taste in spots. So next time I'll forgo that. They don't need it. I used Silk Blueberry yogurt instead of blueberry coconut milk yogurt as it was what was available. Next time I'll add in some blueberries to the mix. The muffins are just sweet enough and very moist. I was able to make 9 muffins rather than the 8 the recipe suggests.

Beanball Sub Review

BEANBALL SUB

Source: Veganomicon Cookbook

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 1 (20-ounce) can kid­ney beans rinsed and drained about 3 cups
• 2 ta­ble­spoons soy sauce
• 2 ta­ble­spoons steak sauce or toma­to paste
• 2 ta­ble­spoons olive oil plus ad­di­tion­al for fry­ing or bak­ing
• 2 cloves gar­lic grat­ed or minced fine­ly
• ¼ tea­spoon grat­ed lemon zest
• ½ cup plain bread crumbs
• ¼ cup vi­tal wheat gluten
• ½ tea­spoon dried oregano
• ¼ tea­spoon dried thyme
• Marinara Sauce
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves well washed
• 4 hoagie rolls split open
• 1 recipe pine nut cream

Directions

1. Mash the kid­ney beans in a mix­ing bowl un­til no whole beans are left. (We start with a pota­to mash­er and then use a fork to get any rebel beans that refuse to mash.) You don’t want them to be com­plete­ly smooth, you should still be able to rec­og­nize that they are kid­ney beans. Add the soy sauce, steak sauce, 2 ta­ble­spoons of the olive oil, the gar­lic, lemon zest, bread crumbs, wheat gluten, and herbs, and use a fork to mix ev­ery­thing to­geth­er. Use your hands to knead the mix­ture for about a minute, un­til ev­ery­thing is re­al­ly well com­bined and firm.
2. Roll the bean mix­ture in­to wal­nut-​size balls (you should have twelve to fif­teen of them).
3. Grease a rimmed bak­ing sheet with olive oil. Place the balls on the sheet and then driz­zle them with a lit­tle more oil, to coat. Bake for about 15 min­utes, un­til light­ly browned on the bot­tom, then flip them and bake for an­oth­er 10 min­utes.
4. PRE­PARE THE recipes of the first three com­po­nents. Pre­heat oven to 350º F. Place Bean­balls on a tray and top with about 1 cup of mari­nara and all of the pine nut cream. Bake for 20 to 25 min­utes, un­til pine nut cream is light­ly browned. Spread more mari­nara sauce on one side of each roll and dis­tribute the Bean­balls even­ly among the sam­mich­es, lay­er­ing the spinach leaves over them. Top lib­er­al­ly with more mari­nara sauce. Close your sammiches, slice in half on the diagonal, and serve.

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Notes: I skipped the pine nut cream to save time and I need to plan to make it when I can use the rest of the cream in something. I used Daiya mozzarella instead and it was great. The bean balls were so easy to make. Next time I'll double the recipe and freeze some. I left out the olive oil and just used olive oil cooking spray to coat the pan and they came out fine. I want to try them with spaghetti. The texture was very much like a meatball. Veganomicon is THE cookbook. Even non-vegans would love it.

Faux Chicken Stuffed Baked Potates

chicken-less stuffed baked potatoes

Source: thetolerantvegan.com

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 4 Russet potatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 garlic cloves chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped bell pepper I used orange
• 2 tablespoons Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread or another vegan butter substitute,
• 1 1/2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons water
• 8 ounces vegan “chicken” strips chopped into 1/2″ pieces. I used Trader Joe’s Chicken-less Strips
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3/4 cup Daiya Cheddar Style Shreds
• 1/2 cup vegan sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Bake the potatoes in a microwave and let cool completely.
3. Saute the chopped onion, garlic, bell pepper and Earth Balance in a skillet until soft, 4-5 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, stir together the tomato paste and 1 1/2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.
5. In a large bowl, stir together the fake chicken, parsley, oregano, sea salt, pepper, chili powder, tomato/water mixture and 1/2 cup of cheddar. Stir in the onions and bell pepper.Cut a thin strip in the top of each potato, roughly 1/2″ wide. Use a spoon or melon baller to scoop out the insides of each potato and add it to the chicken mixture.
6. Stir the potato into the chicken mixture until fully combined.
7. Spoon the mixture back inside each potato, stacking the remaining mixture on the top.
8. Sprinkle the tops of the potatoes with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheddar.
9. Place the potatoes in a baking pan
10. and bake for 20 minutes.

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This was excellent. I didn't have green bell peppers but did have a jar of roasted red peppers. So I used that and added some corn. This is quite a meal. I couldn't finish mine. Hearty and satisfying.

Applesauce Spice Muffins/Coffee Cake

Applesauce Spice Muffins

Source: vegweb.com

Course: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1.5 cups flour (I use unbleached but whole-wheat would probably work just as well)
• 5 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 Fahrenheit.
2. Combine all dry ingredients together. Sift well.
3. Make 3 wells for the vanilla, applesauce, and vinegar.
4. Pour cup of cold water over the whole thing and gently mix all ingredients together.
5. Pour batter into muffin tin…you can lightly grease the pan, put those little muffin paper cups in, or just pour the batter directly into the tin. They might stick somewhat if you just pour it directly but that's okay.
6. Bake at 350 and check after 20 minutes. They may or may not need more time.
7. Serve warm with some vegan margarine spread on top. :)
8. The applesauce makes these a little dense so if you don't like that and don't mind using oil... substitute oil for the applesauce. You can either do 2.5 tablespoons oil and 2.5 applesauce or 5 tablespoon oil.. it's really versatile so do as you please.

Amount Per Serving

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Notes: I made this in a cast iron skillet as a coffee cake. I didn't need to adjust the time at all. I also added a splash of vegetable oil. It was dense but really delicious. The batter was pretty sweet but the cake itself came out only lightly sweet. It's perfect for breakfast, especially if buttered with some Earth Balance Spread. I think next time I'll add some diced apples. The original recipe used white vinegar but I had the apple cider so went with that.

Black Bean Taco Filling

I've been absent due to some dental issues and I also haven't been cooking anything too exciting lately. Tonight I made a taco filling that I found on all recipes.com. I used it in a soft flour tortilla and it was simple but tasty.

1 small onion, chopped
1 small green bell pepper, chopped fine
1 minced clove garlic
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup salsa
1 tbl cumin
1 tbl paprika
1 tsp chili powder
salt to taste
Daiya cheddar cheese


Saute the onions and peppers. Mash the black beans and add them to the cooked onions. Add the salsa and spices, stir, cover and simmer 5 minutes.

That's it. Use for tacos or burritos and top with your favorite toppings.

"Beefy" Mac and Cheese Revised from Food Network Magazine

In my quest to make all things vegan, I thought I'd try this recipe from the October 2012 issue of Food Network Magazine called Beefy Mac and Cheese.

8 oz pasta medium (This makes a ton of pasta. Feel free to use 1/2 this amount.)

3 tbsp unsalted vegan butter

1 small onion chopped

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp chili powder

8 oz soy crumbles (I used Boca)

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup soy milk

2 1/2 cups Daiya Pepperjack cheese 

2 tbsp panko

1 cup frozen peas

Cook the pasta.  

In a pot that you can also transfer to the oven, cook the onions in 1 tbsp melted Origins "butter."  Once they soften add the tomato paste, chili powder and a little salt.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes.  Add the soy crumbles and peas until heat through, stirring to break up the frozen bits. 

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, melt the remaining 2 tbsp of butter and add the flour. Whisk to for about a minute and then add the soy milk. Whisk until the flour/butter mix has dissolved then add the cheese and stir until cheese has melted.  Add pasta and salt to taste.  Preheat the broiler. 

Add the cheesy pasta to the top of the beef mixture and sprinkle with bread crumbs mixed with cheese. (I forgot that part and just put on the panko. Oops.) Place the pot under the broiler until the breadcrumbs are golden. Warning! That happens fast. 

 Oh so creamy pasta, with a spicy finish. I loved this. So very hearty and filling. The only "complaint" was that the pasta amount was too much for me so next time I will only use half a box. 

Portobello Fajitas

This confirmed my long held belief that mushrooms are yucky. I so wanted to like portobello mushrooms. They have such a meaty feel to them.  Alas, the texture when cooked was very….mushroomy.  So no thanks.

But if you like mushrooms, as my husband does, you'll love these. He did.

2 portobello mushrooms, sliced thin
1 red bell pepper and 1 green, sliced thin (Notice the lack of red? I was so sure I had one when I shopped for this, but I didn't.)
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
tortillas
A splash of oil to keep everything from sticking.

Salsa and cilantro to garnish if you like. The salsa helped me eat them.

Cook the onions first to soften them. Add the peppers and cook a few minutes. Add the mushrooms and the spices and stir so that mushrooms are more towards the bottom. The mushrooms turned a bit darker in color once done.

Place mixture in tortilla and add salsa and cilantro.

Baja Style Tempeh Tacos of Heaven

Looking for THE vegan cookbook? You can't go wrong with Veganomicon.  Tonight I made this:

Tempeh marinated in soy sauce, garlic, grape seed oil, cumin and ancho chili powder for an hour and then pan fried in a cast iron skillet is my new favorite tempeh ever. And once it is combined with the lime crema (I had to use soy sour cream instead of soy yogurt because I couldn't find plain soy yogurt at my usual haunts. It worked), the slaw mix, radishes and avocado….well.   I was in food heaven. There were so many textures and flavors.

It was more effort than I usually put into a weeknight meal, what with the boiling of the tempeh, the marinating, the slicing and dicing. I did use a pre-shredded bag of slaw mix to make the slaw. The most time consuming part was heating all of the tortillas.  One. At. A. Time.  But it was worth it in the end because seriously. So good.

Ingredients used:
Tempeh
Soy sauce
Grape seed oil (I skipped the extra oil: Peanut because one was fine.)
Cumin
Ancho chili powder
Kosher salt and pepper
Minced garlic
Soy sour cream
Lime juice
Cilantro
Slaw mix
Apple Cidar Vinegar
Pickled jalepenos
Radishes
Avocado
Corn torillas
I omitted the beer for the marinade. Didn't miss it at all.

You can find the whole recipe online if you google it, but I suggest you buy the book. You won't go wrong. Even meat eaters would love this.

A revision of Rachael Ray's BBQ Sloppy Chicken Pizza

This is a great "pizza" that I've made in the past using the originally called for ingredient of ground chicken. I decided tempeh would be the best substitute and I was right. You need a vegan corn bread mix and the only one I could found was by ChiChi. I omitted the can of creamed corn it called for and just added a cup of thawed frozen corn. I baked it for 40 minutes at 350 in a cast iron skillet. 

A bit dry looking….

About 15 minutes before the corn bread was done, I chopped up the tempeh and threw it into a dutch oven on medium-high heat. I added a splash of extra virgin olive oil to prevent burning.  Once it began to brown…..

I added chopped onion and red bell peppers and minced garlic. I let it cook about 5 minutes then added cumin, salt, pepper and chili powder. The recipe calls for 1 tbsp of chili powder, but that's too much for me. 

Once that had cooked for a few minutes I added the liquids: 1 small can of tomato sauce (unsalted), a dash of Uncle Frank's hot sauce, 1 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce, a couple of squirts of maple agave syrup (instead of 3 tbsp of dark brown sugar)…..   Pile it all on the corn bread.

I used 1/2 Daiya Mozzarella and 1/2 Daiya Cheddar to top it….. It was about a cup of cheese all together.  Put it back in the oven until the cheese melts. It took about 10 minutes. 

 Finished product. Smells great.

It did not disappoint. Sweet corn bread and tangy sauce. Cheesy Daiya and spicy tempeh.  

More proof that you can go meatless and enjoy great food!

Creole Style Vegan Pasta

PASTA CREOLE WITH VEGAN SAUSAGE

Source: www.vegkitchen.com

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 10 to 12 ounces pasta any short shape
• 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
• 8 links vegan sausage sliced 1/2-inch thick
• 1 large onion quartered and sliced
• 2 large celery stalks diced
• 1 medium green diced or red bell pepper
• 28 -ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon each: dried basil and thyme
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley or more, to taste
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Cook the pasta, then drain.
2. Meanwhile, heat half of the oil in a large skillet. Sauté the sausage slices over medium heat, turning gently to brown on both sides. Remove to a plate.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the same skillet. Add the onion and sauté until it is translucent. Add the celery and bell pepper and continue to sauté until the mixture is golden.
4. Add the tomatoes, basil, and thyme. Bring to a simmer, then cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
5. Combine the cooked pasta, sausage, and skillet mixture. Add the parsley and toss well to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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I had no idea how good Tofurky brand sausage could be! I used the kielbasa and it was wonderful in this. This would probably fool a meat eater. I used one can fire roasted diced tomatoes and half a box of Pomi tomato puree rather than one large can of diced tomatoes. It still wasn't very saucy. The flavors were perfect. It made a ton of pasta.

Chocolate Cherry Muffins

Cherry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Source: vegweb.com

Course: Breakfast

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 1/3 cup vegan margarine
• 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cherries
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions

1. 1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a muffin tin.
2. 2) In a large bowl combine first three ingredients. In a separate bowl combine the nondairy milk, "butter", sugar, lemon juice, and vinegar. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. Stir chips into batter. Gently fold in cherries.
3. 3) Fill muffin tins 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin come out clean. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes in pan and then turn out on a wire rack.

Amount Per Serving

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The original recipe called for raspberries, but I had frozen some fresh cherries a few weeks back and wanted to use them up. I thawed and chopped them up a bit. These are decadent and delicious. VERY chocolatey so you can use less chips if you want more of the cherry flavor. These are the first vegan muffins I've made and I'm sold! They are so moist and really easy to make. I can't wait to try more variations. Next time I'm going to try using agave or some other sugar substitute. I used Florida Crystals in this recipe.

Yellow Rice and Black Bean Burritos

YELLOW RICE AND BLACK BEAN BURRITOS

Source: www.vegkitchen.com

Course: Main Course

Ingredients

• 2 1/4 cups water with 1 vegetable bouillon cube
• 3/4 cup brown rice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 medium onion finely chopped
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic minced
• 1/2 medium green bell pepper finely diced
• 1 small fresh hot chile seeded and minced,
• or one 4-ounce can chopped mild green chiles
• 15 - to 16-ounce can black beans drained and rinsed
• 1 medium tomato diced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• Eight 10-inch (burrito-sized) flour tortillas warmed
• Salsa Ranchera or store-bought salsa

Directions

1. Bring the water and bouillon cube to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in the rice, cumin, and turmeric and simmer gently, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 35 minutes.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté until it is translucent. Add the garlic and bell pepper and sauté until the onion is golden.
3. Add the chile, beans, tomato, and oregano. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is well heated through and the tomato has softened, about 8 minutes.
4. To assemble, place a small amount each of the cooked rice and black bean mixture in the center of each tortilla. Add a stripe of salsa. Fold two opposite sides of the tortilla over the filling, then roll up starting from one of the open ends. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and serve at once.

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These were delicious and very easy to make. I used instant brown rice so it only took 5 minutes to cook the rice.

Baked Rice and Hummus

BAKED RICE WITH HUMMUS

Source: vegweb.com

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

• 3 cups brown short grain rice
• hummus
• grated vegen cheddar cheese
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 leek
• 2 spring onions or 1 onion
• 1 zucchini
• 1/2 green pepper
• 1 carrot
• 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• ground pepper

Directions

1. Start off by boiling the rice. Add rice to hummus and grated cheese.
2. Heat about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in pan. Saute garlic onions and leeks gently. Add carrot and green pepper and finally the zucchini. Cook for about 10 mins. Add tomato puree, vinegar and ground black pepper and leave to simmer for another 10 mins. Pre-heat oven to 350. Pour in half of the rice mixture in a casserole dish, then top with the sauce mixture. Finally finish off with the rest of the rice mixture and grated cheese on top. Cook in the oven for around 30 mins.

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Or use a jar of organic mariana sauce, which is what I did this time to save time. This dish was so good. Really outstanding. I never would have thought to mix hummus and rice but it made it so creamy. This is a wonderful and complete meal.

Mediterranean "Chicken" and Saffron Rice

My first foray into turning a cookbook meal, starting with a Rachael Ray cookbook, into a vegan meal is Mediterranean Chicken and Saffron Couscous Rice.   (Turns out my couscous had been in the pantry too long..there were….inhabitants. So rice it was!)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 package of Morningstar "Chicken" Strips
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 pinch of saffron (I had red saffron)
• 4 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 3 chopped
• 1 1/4 cup couscous brown instant rice
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 15-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 10 kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half ( I used a jar of pre-sliced and just scooped out a healthy spoons worth)
• 1/2 pint grape  tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 20 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Boil 2 cups vegetable broth with a pinch of saffron, 1 clove crushed garlic and some pepper.  Add rice to boiling liquid, cover and cook 5 minutes or until most of liquid has been absorbed and rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, heat up the "chicken" in a dutch oven, with some olive oil to prevent sticking/burning. Heat it until browned, which only takes about 5 minutes on medium-high heat.  Remove  "chicken" from pan and keep warm. 

In the dutch oven, add the extra virgin olive oil, onions and garlic and thyme. Let it cook until onions have softened then add the 1 cup vegetable stock and 1 cup of wine.  Add artichoke hearts, olives, and tomatoes and let it simmer until the liquid has reduced by half and the tomatoes burst open. 5-10 minutes.  Toss in the  "chicken", the rice, the basil and parsley and stir to combine.

Not having had artichokes before, and being a trying-to-reform picky order, I wasn't sure what to expect. But no one single flavor stood out here. It helped that I chopped the 'chokes up. It was a nice blend of everything. It was fragrant and really quite good. 

Vegan Eggplant Subs

This eggplant sub was a variant from a recipe in Clean Eating Magazine.  It was super messy but really good.

Preheat your oven to broil. Take one eggplant and cut into thin slices.  Spray them with an olive oil cooking spray and sprinkle with a little salt. Spread the slices onto a baking sheet and broil them, 6 minutes, flipping them over half way.

Change the temp of the oven to 350.  (This would be a good time to put in some green beans to roast. Toss them with olive oil, garlic, and a little salt.)

While the eggplant is cooking, make the sauce. In a sauce pan heat up 2 cloves minced garlic in a splash of oil until garlic is cooked. Add tomato sauce (I like to use Pomi.) Season it with Italian Seasoning Herb Blend and 2 tbsp Vegan Parmesan Cheese. Let it simmer for a about 10 minutes.

Cut a whole grain french bread baguettes into sandwich sized pieces.  Split them open and assemble the sandwiches. Place sauce on bottom slices, top with eggplant, a bit more sauce, and sprinkle with vegan mozzarella cheese. Put the top slice on and place in oven for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients used:
Eggplant
Extra virgin olive oil, spray and oil
Salt
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Pomi tomato puree
Galaxy Foods Vegan Parmesan Cheese
Daiya Mozzarella shreds
1 teaspoon Italian Season Blend…..or thereabouts…..I didn't measure
Whole grain french bread baguette from grocery store bakery
Fresh green beans for roasting (an alternative to french fries)

Thai Chick'n Quesadilla

I found this recipe on Gardein's website but my grocery store didn't have their product so I bought Morningstar "chicken" strips, not the fried kind. I am so impressed with how….chickeny…..they were.

Take 1 package of the fake chicken and put it, frozen, into a frying pan on medium. You might want to add a little oil if you aren't using a non-stick pan. I added a pinch of smoked sea salt.  Cook until browned on all sides and take off of the heat.

Mix together:

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp hot sauce
2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
Juice of one lime

Pour it on the chicken and mix until well coated.

Chop up some cilantro and green onions. You want about 4 tbsp of each.

Cheese is important here. I used Daiya mozzarella for mine and regular shredded mozzarella for B's.  1-2 cups of each is good.

Grab some whole wheat tortillas and heat up a pan.  Build your quesadillas:

1 tortilla in pan, topped with a sprinkle of cheese, then the chicken mix, then the onions and cilantro, followed by more cheese and a final tortilla.  Cook until the tortilla gets browned and then flip carefully. I say that because cheese will go flying if you just slap it down

Slice it up and serve. Great for lunch or supper.

Delicious.  You'd think the hot sauce would make it too spicy but it was just right. The peanut butter must balance the heat.   I plan on taking the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Taco Layer Dip with Gardein

This was a fast recipe using Gardein "burgers." While I find them too smokey as a standalone, they were great in this.

Heat up the burgers in a pan, breaking them up into crumbles. Season it with salt, 2 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tablespoon chili powder, 1 tsp oregano and 2 tsp paprika.

Dice a green bell pepper and tomato and toss them in the pan to heat through.

Heat up some refried beans.

In a shallow dish layer the "meat" first, then a layer of cheddar cheese. I did half with dairy cheese and half with Daiya. Top with refried beans and then a layer of kidney beans, which have been drained and rinsed. Top that with your fave toppings. Avocado, tomatoes, onions, olives....Somehow I bought chopped olives instead of sliced. I also added some cilantro.

Serve with blue corn chips, because they are pretty. Vegan sour cream is also an option.

Gardein burgers crumbled and spiced.

Cooked "meat" with peppers and tomato.

Added extra tomatoes on half for the tomato lover in the family.

Black Beans and Polenta

Keeping things brief as the toddler is tired and cranky!

I have this recipe for black bean polenta cakes but it involves letting the mix set for an hour and I didn't have that kind of time so I just threw all of the ingredients into a pot and ate it as a mush. And it was great. Funny how all the foods I've been making lately make such great comfort food. I always miss those I've lost around this time of year (more than usual) so I guess I was needing it.

Take 1 pre-made polenta "log" and mash it up in a pot with a little bit of water. Just enough to get it less solid. Add a can of rinsed black beans, 1/2 cup salsa and a handful of chopped cilantro. Toss in a pinch of red pepper flakes and serve with sour cream (vegan of course.) I think this was the fastest thing I've ever made. Very little clean up too.

This would be great as a casserole, topped with Vegan cheddar.

Tofu Rancheros: Vegetarian Times

Vegetarian Times Recipe

Wanting to try out more tofu recipes I thought this one sounded pretty simple and tasty. I was right. Tofu is the perfect substitute for scrambled eggs. The texture is perfect and tofu basically taste like what ever you make with it. 

Here's what I did:

• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 2 tsp. vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, minced (1 cup)
• 1 Tbs. Ancho chili powder
• 2 tsp. cumin
• 2 tsp. oregano
• 1 15-oz. can tomato sauce
• 1 cup diced extra-firm tofu (14 oz.), press the tofu before dicing to get as much liquid out as possible.
• Juice of one lime
• 1 15-oz. can Vegan Refried Beans, warmed
• 6 6-inch corn tortillas
• 2 tomatoes, diced (2 cups)
• 1 avocado, diced (1 cup)
• ¼ cup chopped cilantro

First you need to get some of the moisture out of the tofu. Wrap it in a clean towel or paper towels and place it on a plate. Put another plate on top and weight it down. Let it sit at least 20 minutes.  Unwrap it and dice it up or just crumble it. 

Saute the onions in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder and oregano. I also added a pinch of salt.  Stir to coat the onions then add the tomato sauce, lime juice and the tofu. Stir to combine. Let it simmer for 10 minutes while you work on the rest.

Put the vegetable oil in a skillet and heat on medium-high. Cook the corn tortillas one at a time in the oil until they get crispy.  Or just skip this part and by tortilla chips. That is probably what I'll do next time because at the frying was smokey work!

Heat up the refried beans.  Spread the beans on each tortilla and top with a spoonful of the tofu mixture. Top with your favorite toppings such as diced tomatoes, avocado and cilantro.  (I chopped up the cilantro and added it to the sauce because B. and I eat at different times and I knew he wouldn't go to the trouble to chop up cilantro. It worked fine.)

Yummy tummy! (as my 2 year old would say)

This was filling and would make a great comfort food. It could be for breakfast, lunch or supper. 

Rachael Ray Vegan Make-over?

When I first discovered that I loved to cook, it was Rachael Ray's cooking show, 30 Minute Meals that motivated me. I know she bugs a lot of people but I have never made a recipe that we didn't like. When I "went vegan" I thought I would have to give away my cookbooks. Not just RR's either. But tonight I was thinking about her Smokey Turkey Shepherd's Pie, a family favorite. And I thought, what if I tried to veganize it? And then...what I tried to make ALL of them vegan friendly? I grabbed the closest cookbook, RR's Book of 10. Glancing through it made it clear this would be a challenge. Almost every recipe has either meat or dairy. Some things are easy to substitute with things like tofu or soy milk. Others...not so much. And then there are some recipes that simply don't appeal to me. I'm not really a soup person.

So ok. It won't be every recipe. But I believe I will attempt one recipe a week and see if I can successfully make it vegan.

Stay tuned.....

Spinach and Bean Quesadilla

Spinach and Bean Quesadillas

Source: vegweb.com

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Vegan

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen chopped spinach defrosted OR fresh baby spinach
• 1 (15 ounce) can fava beans or black beans
• garlic to taste
• cumin to taste
• chili powder to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• oil as needed or cooking spray
• 1/2 cup diced roasted red peppers
• 1/4 cup salsa
• 2 cups shredded vegan cheese divided
• tortillas to serve

Directions

1. 1. Using blender, add spinach and half the beans with some of their liquid. Pulse until smooth, then add rest of beans.
2. 2. Add in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper all according to your taste. Pulse in blender briefly. Meanwhile, heat frying pan on medium high with your choice of oil.
3. 3. Pour blender mixture into bowl and add peppers, salsa, and one cup of vegan cheese. Mix well. (you can even make this the night before if you like.)
4. 4. Spread some mixture on 1/2 tortilla, and sprinkle extra cheese on top of mixture. Fold tortilla in half and cook a few minutes on each side until golden brown

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This was tasty and easy. I used about a tablespoon of cumin and a teaspoon of Ancho Chile Powder. I used Navy Beans and baby spinach. Daiya Cheddar rounded it out.