Veganized Chicken and Cream Cheese Taquitos

Taquitos original recipe

I saw the above recipe and had to try them! It called for everything processed except the spinach, but it was worth the treat.

1 package Morningstar chicken strips (thawed)
6 oz vegan cream cheese
1 couple spoonfuls of vegan sour cream
1 cup Daiya cheese of your choice (I used a combo)
1/2 cup salsa
2 cups baby spinach (stems removed and chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
12 medium sized flour tortillas

Mix everything together.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.

Put 1-2 spoonfuls of the mixture onto a tortilla and spread it out in the middle. Roll up the tortillas so it looks like a a cigar. Use more or less of the mixture depending on how big you want the taquitos to be.

Place seam side down and make the rest. Spray tops with cooking spray. I ended up with 12.

Bake about 20-25 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp.

Serve with salsa and guacamole.

They are creamy and gooey and yummy.  We had 6 left over so they make great leftovers.

"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. 

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)

Black Bean Pizza on Flatbread

Black bean pizza

Cheeze sauce

I urge you to check out the above links for a wonderful pizza. It's a black bean, bell pepper and red onion pizza on a tortilla. Although I used a whole wheat flatbread. I used Classico Traditional Pizza Sauce and Daiya Mozzarella Cheese.  The avocado was omitted by forgetfulness.

When I tasted the cheeze sauce on its own, I felt it was too salty. All my own doing of course. But actually it worked perfectly once combined with the other ingredients.

The Daiya was creamy and cheesy if not exactly mozzarella-y.  I loved how crispy the flatbread got. It was just like a thin crust pizza. Thankfully I put dairy cheese on the husband's pizza or I would have been tempted to eat more than one!

Pizza on the left with dairy cheese.

It looks prettier but mine tasted just as good!