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.

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.

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. 

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.