Polenta with Shroom Sauce

Polenta with Shroom Sauce

Ingredients

1 tube of pre-made polenta (I used Trader Joe's brand)

Non stick spray

1 tablespoon EVOO

2 cloves garlic

1 shallot

8 shataki mushrooms

1 tub of baby bella mushrooms

1/4 cup sherry

S&P

1/4 cup fresh parsley

2 tablespoons Vegan Parm

Directions

• Pre-heat the oven to 450, cut the polenta into 1/2 inch slices, spray both sides with non stick spray, place on a cookie sheet
• finely chop the garlic and shallots
• 
  add EVOO, Garlic, and shallots to a pan over medium heat
• saute until translucent
• 
  bake the polenta for 20 minute, flip them at 10 min
• thinly slice the mushrooms and add them to the pan with the sherry
• just let the shrooms simmer until soft, add S&P
• once the polenta are a little brown and crispy put them on a serving platter
• top the polenta with the shroom sauce
• 
  sprinkle the top with parsley and a dusting of vegan parm

I served this with some good crusty bread and roasted asparagus, such a nice healthy meal with lots of full flavors and textures, I am just getting into polenta and I am loving it!

ENJOY

Pizza

I really like pizza I think it is a perfect meal with some salad and a glass of good red wine. Last night I made a really yummy pizza and it was so easy I wanted to share it with you all! I was also a really good excuse to drink my new bottle of Sangiovase (SP) that I got from the best wine club ever! Hip Chicks Do Wine, they are a local Portland company, and any company that makes a wine named Drop dead Redhead is ligit! http://www.hipchicksdowine.com/cms/home.html

Ingredients

• pre-made pizza dough from Trader Joe's (I used the one with herbs in it but they have whole wheat as well)
• 4 cubes of frozen chopped basil (Trader Joe's sells this, they look like mini ice cube trays full of basil- genius)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 tablespoons of EVOO
• 1/2 cup of spaghetti sauce (more if you like it saucy)
• 10 thin slices of Vegan Mozzarella cheeze (here is what I used) http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=25

Directions

• To start follow the directions on the back of the bag of dough, its going to tell you to set the oven and let the dough rest out of the fridge for about 20 min.
• take your basil and olive oil and put it in a small bowl to mix (the basil will need time to defrost)
• chop the garlic and mix into the olive oil/basil dish
• once the dough is ready and you have made it look like whatever pizza shape you like (heart, star, square)
• spread the pesto type mixture on the dough
• spread the red sauce all around
• and lay the cheeze around on the top
• I added some cracked pepper on top (I love fresh black pepper.... On everything)
• Bake and enjoy! *as you can see in the pic, I used my well loved baking stone (thank's Mom)

I really loaded it up with garlic I had 2 huge cloves, if that is too much for you cut it back. But I recommend heavy garlic, its good for the heart :) also I normally use Daiya cheeze but I had a block of the Follow your Heart so I used it. I was pleasantly surprised it tastes really good and melts well, and has the texture of what I remember real Buffalo mozzarella  (I am not sure how accurate this is because it has been some time since I have had real Buffalo mozzarella) so for my non vegan follower's try this one and let me know! That's all for now TGIF!!!

Tater Tot Hotdish Vegan Style

Ok so this one is a tribute to Minnesota, North Dakota, and Lutherans across the nation :) I am telling you it may not look good but this is soooooo yummy! It is a must try, such great comfort food and so easy to whip up, after all who does not like tater tots.... The best part about this dish is that I have finally perfected my vegan cream of mushroom soup recipe!!! its perfect for anything you try to veganize that calls for a can of cream of shroom soup!

Ingredients
1 bag of Boca crumbles
1 bag of frozen corn
1 tub of vegan sour cream
1 small can of mushrooms
1 box of imagine creamy portabella mushroom soup
1 envelope of onion soup mix
1 bag of tater tots
S&P to taste

Directions

• In advance to making this you need to mix your dry onion soup mix into your vegan sour cream, like you are making french onion dip (i mixed mine the morning of)
• Pre-heat the oven to 375
• Mix the sour cream/onion soup mix with the portabella soup and the can of mushrooms (mix well)
• stir into your soup mix the bag of corn and the Boca crumbles, add S&P to taste
• dump the mix into your 9x13 pan
• top the mixture with your tots (I made nice little rows, but you can do whatever you want)
• Bake uncovered for 1 hour
• take it out and dig in!!!! Some say its good with a helping of ketchup but I like it strait up :)

Vegan Summer Quiche

I am proud to say I made this one up all on my own, I had some zucchini, squash and shrooms that I needed to use up so I thought I would try my hand at quiche. I grew up eating quiche, I loved the yummy mix of veggies and fluffy eggs with a flaky pie crust. This one is nice because it has the bright squash and zucchini in it, this feels light and fresh to me! Like summer, after all it's already in the 80/90's here in phoenix!So this is my take on a classic quiche. Give this one a try!

Ingredients
1 pie shell - I used Marie Calenders  frozen deep dish pie crust (its vegan)
1 block of silken tofu
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 small onion
1 cup of chopped mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of Daiya Cheeze
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon turmeric (this gives the tofu the yellow egg color)
S&P to taste

Directions

• take the pie crust out of the freezer
• pre-heat the oven to 375
• grate the zucchini and squash with a cheese grater (i used my food processor grater)
• chop onion, garlic and mushrooms and put into a pan with the olive oil at medium heat, saute until the shrooms release the liquid

• add the grated squash and zucchini to the pan, just cook until soft
• drain the veggies until most of the liquid is gone

• in the food processor mix the tofu, turmeric, S&P, and nutritional yeast. pulse until smooth
• mix the tofu, and veggie mix in a bowl

• put half the cheeze in the bottom of the pie shell
• place the tofu, veggie mixture into the pie shell
• top with remainder of the cheeze
• pepper the top and toss it in the oven

• bake for 30-40 min (until the mixture firms up)
• cool and cut, enjoy!

Molletes

Moletes are toasted bean and cheeze open faced sandwiches, to me this is the perfect dish. Good crusty bread, homemade re-fried beans and gooey cheeze, all topped off with homemade pico de gallo.

Ingredients

• 3 cups cooked pinto beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 or so of water
• 1 medium loaf of good crusty bread
• 1 1/2 cups shredded daiya cheeze 
• Pico de Gallo

Directions

Preheat a broiler.
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add the beans. Using a potato masher, mash the beans until they become a spreadable mixture, adding water, if needed.
 cut the bread into 4 slices for the open face sandwiches, put the bread on a baking sheet and broil until lightly golden, about 3 minutes. Spread each half of the bread with about 1/2 cup of the re-fried beans. Top with shredded daiya cheeze. Return to the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and starting to bubble. Then top the open face sandwiches with home made pico de gallo. (I will post my pico de gallo recipe next)

This was sooooo good, I have to say making homemade re-fried beans is he way go go!!! they are so much better. this is a perfect little lunch or snack, you could make them on smaller pieces of bread and serve as appetizers. Bottom line if you used my bean recipe from my last post, you have to make this one with some of your beans! So good!

Beans

Beans are a staple in any Vegan kitchen, I have started buying dry beans in the bulk bins and cooking them up in big batches so I have them ready to go for the week! In the picture below I have a mix of beans, some pinto, black and other varieties. I really like beans and these are easy to use for a bunch of good dishes. Stay turned for some easy re-fried beans (home made, its so much better) So if you are a fan of canned beans give the dry ones a try, you will save money and be able to control the salt! Enjoy! I think that I should note that as I was getting my beans together this morning a clove of garlic shot off my cutting board and on to the kitchen floor.... needless to say Boone devoured a clove of garlic this morning... I guess he will have a healthy heart!

Ingredients

• 3 cups dried pinto beans (i used a mix of black beans as well)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed
• 1/4 large onion
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Combine the beans, garlic, onion, and bay leaves in a medium pot. Add enough water to reach about 1 1/2 inches over the beans. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 2 hours. Add more water if the beans are absorbing too much liquid. The beans should be soupy when done, with plenty of liquid remaining. Season the beans with salt and pepper, to taste.

Pad Thai

I have been super sick lately so I wanted to make something spicy!!! so here we go this one can be as hot as you want, I went a little crazy and added like 3 times the Sriracha..... OOPS :)

Pad Thai

   1 pound rice noodles (see picture)
    warm water
    1 pound extra firm tofu (I use the Pre done tofu from Trader Joes, check the Pic)
    canola oil
    1/2 cup soy sauce
    3/4 cup sugar
    3/4 cup white vinegar
    3 teaspoons Sriracha (more if you like it hot)
    8 green onions
    1 cup shredded carrots
    3/4 cup roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
    lime wedges, to serve 

1.     Cover the noodles with warm water in a large bowl and allow them to soak for 30 minutes. They should be flexible and soft, but not soft enough to be mashed with your fingers. Drain them and put them aside.

2. For tofu, I like to use the tofu that comes pre-marinated from Trader Joes, I use the soy sauce one, and 2packs should do just fine. Cut up and set aside.

3. Mix the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and Sriracha in a bowl. Stir until well blended. The sugar won't dissolve completely, but that's okay. Heat several tablespoons of oil in a medium hot wok and add the noodles coating them with the oil. Add the soy sauce mixture into the wok and bring to a boil while gently folding the noodles.

4. Lower the heat a bit and keep the liquid boiling while frequently folding the noodles. Try not to break the noodles. When almost all the liquid has been absorbed, add the tofu and cook for about two minutes longer--until the tofu is warm.

5. Serve the Pad Thai with a heavy garnish of carrots and peanuts with lime wedges on the side.

 

Best Friends Cookbook

This recipe is from a cookbook that is a compellation of my childhood memories. My mom and some of her dearest friends got together and compiled some of the recipes from all the old church potlucks and family get-togethers. It is fantastic but not Vegan so of course I view that as a challenge so this one was fun and really tasty!  

Sour cream enchiladas

·         2 package of fake chicken (I used Morning star farm’s meal starters, I had some leftover so I think you need like on and a half bags)

·         Flour tortillas

·         About 3 cups of cheese ( I used a mix of “cheddar” style and a “Jack” style shred)

·         1 tub of vegan sour cream

·         1 cup veggie stock

·         1 can  mushrooms

·         1 can green chilies

·         1 onion

·         1 tablespoon olive oil

·         S&P

Chop the onion and add it to a skilled with the EVOO, sauté and add your Chix to heat though.

Mix in a bowl, sour cream, stock, mushrooms, ½ the green chilies and S&P.

Dump a little of the sauce into your 9x13 dish and then start the process of making enchiladas (I will try to explain)

Put your tortilla in the dish get it sauced up, place some of the chix mix, a little sauce, cheese and a little of the remaining green chilies in and roll it up, continue to do this till your pan in full.

Dump the remaining sauce over the top and cover with the remainder of the Cheez (more if you like)

Cover with foil and bake at 325 for 45 min. at this point it should be nice and gooey. Uncover and bake another 10-15 min till desired brownness J

Let them cool a little bit then dig in!

Italian Taco's

This is a fun one! I have been sick for a week now and not really cooking or eating anything worth posting, but I really wanted to make this one cause it is easy and makes a load of food that is perfect for leftovers!  I remember eating this one first at my Aunt Teresa's house, and my sister reminded me of them last week so I thought I would give them a shot and Veganize them!

Italian Taco's

1 bag of Morning Star Grounds
1 cup Italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup vegan Parm
1 1/2 cups any pasta sauce you like
1 small onion diced
2 packs of hard Taco shells
1 cup of vegan mozzarella cheese I like Daiya

Mix up in a bowl, Grounds, Breadcrumbs, sauce, parm, onion, S&P and mix up until it all binds together (I defrosted the ground's before hand so they were room temp)

Fill the shells with the mix, and top with cheese

Bake on a cookie sheet for about 20-30 min, till they get a little brown and the cheeze gets gooey.

That's it, serve with a salad and enjoy. I have to say they are even better when you put the leftovers in a Ziploc and eat them cold the next morning :)

This is a must try, what I found by veganizing them is that unlike ground beef there is no cooking ahead of time, just mix and bake, what could be better!!!