Vegan Mexican Shepherd's Pie

I'M BACK!! Hey, i've been in it [veganism] for this long; I can't stop posting now!

So before Christmas, my MIL made Mexican Shepherd's Pie... we loved it, and decided to recreate it a few weeks ago. I've discovered that just about any recipe can be veganized... it's fun, nutritious, and (somewhat) easy! Here are links to the inspirational recipes... see below for our vegan version of this all-around awesome dinner recipe!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/mexican-shepherds-pie/

http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-cornbread-115929

All Casseroled Up!

Vegan Mexican Shepherd's Pie
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 30-45 mins
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1 package Boca Crumbles
1 bunch of green onions or 1 large white onion, chopped
1 tbsp oil (I prefer Grapeseed - great healthy fats!)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1-2 cloves of garlic (to your preference!)
pinch of salt
sprinkle of pepper
1 can of corn
Vegan Cornbread Recipe
Daiya Cheddar Cheese  - as much or as little as you like- use the whole package, or just use a sprinkle.
Sliced Black olives- about a can's worth (we didn't have those this time... BUT, very very yummy addition!!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F

In a large skillet, heat oil; add onions and sauté for 1-2 minutes, until soft. Add Boca crumbles + some water (about 1 tbsp at a time- to keep crumbles from sticking). Add spices (these are meant to simulate Taco Seasoning... it is SO hard to find a vegan Taco Seasoning! Grr!) and tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until fragrant.

Meanwhile, mix up your cornbread. (p.s.- I LOVE this recipe and found no necessary edits... use it, love it, eat it-- yum!!) When your "meat" mixture is ready (e.g.- you're done stirring it around...), transfer "meat" mixture to a 9" x 13"baking dish. Spread evenly. Add corn in a layer, then top with the cornbread mixture. This will be very hard to spread out without pulling all of the other ingredients with it, so be sure to put some oil on your spatula or something when you're spreading it around, or you'll end up with a gigantic marbled-mexican mess (which would likely still taste good, but we've got aesthetics to think about, people!!). Once you're managed to get your casserole to look pretty, stick it in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until the cornbread is done. (CHECK THAT STUFF!! I made this once and the cornbread didn't cook because I used too small of a baking dish. It still tasted great, but the cornbread was soupy.. and that's no bueno any way you cut it...)


At the very end of baking, add the "cheese" and sliced olives. Stick back in the oven long enough to get the cheese to melt. Make sure to let this bad boy set for about 5 minutes before cutting and serving-- give your casserole time to "set" a bit and it'll be much easier to serve!!

Top with homemade guac, salsa, or vegan sour cream, and enjoy! (A nice side salad works great too!)

Happy Eating!!

<3
Courtney

Burgers and Fries!

I've been on kind of a comfort food kick recently, and today was no exception! When I went to search the fridge tonight, I was feeling burgers and fries (and beer!) for dinner. I love meals like this, because even with making everything from scratch, it's definitely a 30-minute meal, and it's super yummy and very customizable (use the veggies you've got for toppings, change your condiments, etc.

We started with a Boca burger, added some A1 Cracked Peppercorn sauce with onions, garlic, green peppers and baby bella mushrooms sautéed on top, and finished it off with some rice cheese, nayonaise, tomatoes, and fresh spinach. This definitely fit my craving for a burger! YUM! I made some quick (and very yummy!) oven fries, and VOILA, the perfect, delicious, awesome meal. :)

Easy Oven Fries
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
1 small sweet potato, sliced into "french fry" shape (I like to cut them in half, then cut the halves in half, so you have 4 large slices, then lay the slices out on the cutting board and slice them into 1/2" fries)
2 medium russet potatoes, sliced into fries
           *You can use whatever kind of potatoes you want, of course! I used what I had-- just make sur you have at least 1 medium potato per person. Potatoes can be deceptively small too- be careful! So often I've taken a medium potato, cut it up, and had WAY too much! :)
2 tsp Grapeseed Oil (or olive oil, or vegetable oil- I use Grapeseed for the healthy polyunsaturated fats!)
1 Tbsp Kirkland brand "No-Salt Seasoning" (added halfway through cooking time so it didn't burn! Add whatever spices you like here- I wanted to avoid salt, so I went with this. You could definitely use salt & pepper, or chili powder and cumin, or garlic- the possibilities are endless!!)


Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Slice all potatoes; move to a large cookie sheet. Add oil; drizzle over potatoes. Mix well with your hands, making sure to coat all pieces on all sides. Spread potatoes -- in a single layer. Place in oven, bake for 10 minutes, then flip fries over with a large spatula (turner/flipper). Bake for 10 more minutes. Fries should be crispy and slightly browned. If they look droopy, give them 2-3 more minutes!


Courtney's Quick & Easy Boca Burgers
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:
2 Boca Burgers - frozen (vegan style! check the box to make sure...)
1/2 onion, sliced into thin strips
1/4 green pepper, sliced into largish (1/4" to 1/2" wide) strips
4-5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced rather thin
1 clove of fresh garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Oil (for sautéing; feel free to just use water if you'd like to cut down on the fat)
2 Tbsp A1 Cracked Peppercorn sauce (Makes the finished product taste like a steak! LOL. And yep, it's vegan! You could also use barbecue sauce, or omit this altogether)
2 hamburger buns, toasted - I used Arnold brand Sandwich Thins.. very tasty and very vegan!
Galaxy brand Rice Vegan cheese- any flavor
Tomato, sliced
Spinach or other lettuce-y topping
Nayonaise, spread on the top bun
Any other toppings you like!

Directions:
Slice and dice your veggies, add to a LARGE heated skillet containing the oil. Swish around for a bit, until completely coated in the oil, simmer (i.e. medium heat) until your onions are browning a bit. I added garlic at this point (adding it too early in a sauté will cause fresh garlic to burn, baby, burn. Be careful!). To keep the veggies from sticking (and to help the veggies soften a bit), I added some water to the pan from my teakettle.. this is a trick I use quite often when things act like they want to burn on me!!

Make space in the middle of your skillet for your Boca burgers, and add these when your fries have about 10 minutes left on cook time. You'll want a bit of water in your pan so they don't stick... also, Boca burgers have little to no fat, so they won't "fry" like a ground beef burger would. Keep it moisturized by adding water every now and then (don't soak your pan, a little will do!). Don't forget to keep your veggies moving!! Flip your burgers after about 5 minutes, and add the A1 sauce to the top of the burgers. Flip after 5 minutes, add the cheese to the top of your burgers, cover with a lid (or a cookie sheet... whatever fits!) to get your cheese to melt. Assemble your burger, grab a napkin, and go to town!! Enjoy!

Happy eating, everyone!!

<3
Courtney

Macaroni and Cheese!!

I've mentioned before that I LOVE cheese. It's been a bit of an addiction throughout my childhood and adult life. Going vegan, and the decision to actually do so, was not something that was easy because of this fact. I knew that there was vegan cheese available, but I thought a lot of it (while melty and somewhat flavorful) just wouldn't stack up to the real thing. I was right, it doesn't, but I learned that I don't need to put cheese on freaking everything either (although Bragg's Nutritional Yeast is a pretty okay replacement!

So today, I collected some new ingredients from Woodman's Grocery (Miso Paste and more Nutritional Yeast to name a few...), and decided I'd try a new recipe for a cheese sauce. I've been missing my stand by Mac and Cheese, and can I say... this might just be better than the original. No cholesterol either! :)

All I really needed was a saucepan and a food processor to make this- it was actually easier than making regular cheese sauce to add to macaroni! The base is raw cashews... the result is phenomenal. Seriously!! Check it out:

Vegan "Cheese" Sauce
Prep time: 1-2 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Yields: 4 cups (=LOTS of cheese!!)

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast
2 tsp salt
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp white pepper
3 1/2 cups plant based milk (I used 2 cups of plain, unsweetened soymilk and 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk. Try to stay away from Vanilla flavored milks for this one... might give you an interesting flavor!)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 Tbsp Guar gum (or 3 Tbsp Corn Starch)
1/2 cup miso paste (light! I used a brown rice variation by Eden foods)
2 Tbsp Lemon juice

Directions:
Pulse cashews in a food processor until very finely chopped- do not allow it to turn into a paste! Add the Yeast, salt, onion powder, salt, and white pepper. Pulse a few times until that's all mixed in. (Hint: start cooking your noodles now if you don't have some cooked on standby like we did! Use your favorite shape- anything from Elbow Macaroni to Spirals to Penne will be yummy!)

Combine the milk, oil, and guar gum in a sauce pan. Mix and simmer until it boils, then turn down the heat to low (Keep stirring!! It'll stick if you don't...). You'll want the sauce to thicken a bit- this will take about 10 minutes altogether.

Now, turn on the food processor, and (through the lid, of course..) gradually add the milk mixture to your cashew mixture. I used an 8 oz ladle for this and it worked quite well. Once the milk is all in, leave the processor on until the mixture is creamy (it will be pretty thick too!). Turn off the processor; add the Miso Paste and lemon juice. Blend until throughly mixed; about one minute.

All done! This could have extra thickener added to it and be formed into a block for slicing or grating... this is on our list of things to try!!

At this point, you'll have a creamy, cheesy looking and smelling, and wonderfully delicious concoction. I'm still amazed at how rich, creamy, and freaking filling this was!!! Add this to your favorite noodles (we used bow tie noodles!), mix, and enjoy.

Who needs (dairy) cheese?  :-D

(This is definitely one to try- if you do, let me know how it goes!!)

Happy Eating!

<3
Courtney

(Easy Peasy & Vegan) Hot Chocolate

Here's a vegan spin on one of my childhood favorites! This is super easy to Vegan-ize... just sub your regular (cow's) milk for a plant based milk, and use your normal Hershey's products (syrup or powder- they're vegan- surprise!!) for the chocolate component. See my blog on Our Vegan Journey about how this is possible... and check out Peta's "Accidentally Vegan" for a list of naturally vegan foods that you can find in any grocery store. 

OMG, so yummy!! (Hershey's Chocolate Syrup, Coconut and Soy Milk)

Unsweetened Silk (no added sugar- bonus!) and my mixing apparati! 

(Easy Peasy & Vegan) Hot Chocolate

Prep time: 2-3 minutes

Cook time: 2-3 minutes

Serves: 1

Ingredients:

3/4 cup soymilk (used for it's rich, nutty flavor)

3/4 cup Coconut milk (used for it's creaminess!)

2 Tbsp Hershey's Chocolate syrup

Ittttttt's Vegan!

Yummy coconut milk!

Preparation:

Super easy! Put all ingredients in a microwave-safe mug, stir, and microwave on high until steaming (about 2 1/2 minutes). Enjoy!!

I was so thrilled to discover that Hershey's Syrup is Vegan!! It still should be used in moderation as it has no real nutrition to speak of (anti-oxidants??). Also, we are attempting to eat a plant-based diet (not a junk food based one..), but this was a nice treat. I love me some chocolate!!!

Happy eating!

<3
Courtney

Garden Salad- A complete meal!

We got creative the other night! Part of eating vegan is using plants for all your nutrition- otherwise referred to as the "plant based diet." To achieve proper nutrition, you need to be cognizant of nutrient sources (I have a book I use: Idiot's Guide to Plant Based Nutrition), probably keep track of what you're bringing in to ensure that you're getting all the nutrients you need, and as a failsafe; eat every color veggie out there all the time, and ensure that your meals are more than 50% greens and/or fresh veggies. This is a simple concept, but can be somewhat difficult in this convenience food era of American society; you're gonna have to chop some veggies!!

My other favorite book taught me, in a very blunt fashion, that I should be spending about 15 minutes a day chopping veggies. There's no reason why I can't (I have time..), and by doing this I'm making sure that what I'm eating is the freshest and best option available to me from the store- fresher than pre-chopped veggies, for sure! This book also taught me that a chopped veggie doesn't lose nutrients any quicker than a non-chopped one- and you're more likely to use a vegetable if it's already chopped for you! So- when you're preparing something with a new veggie, chop the whole thing up, save what you're not using, and use it later! Veggies (chopped or not) do start to lose their nutrients after 4 or 5 days, so be sure to eat them up quickly!!

So, going off the advice of the book mentioned above, I had a bunch of chopped veggies at my disposal. When contemplating dinner, I pulled all my prepared vegetables out of the fridge and onto the counter to see what I could build... and this was the result:

Garden Salad with a baked sweet potato (and a glass of merlot, of course!) on the side

And here's how I made it!


Easy Garden Salad
Prep time: 10-20 minutes (chopped vs. not yet chopped)
Cook time: None!
Serves: 2


Ingredients:
3-4 cups of dark green, leafy stuff (I used spinach, spring mix, and fresh kale) {vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein}
1 cup of "crumbles" or other meat replacement (I used our Apple Sage Sausage crumbles) {protein, fiber, healthy fats}
1/2 cup of fresh chickpeas {protein, fiber, minerals}
1/4 cup pecan pieces {protein, fiber, healthy fats}
1/8 cup (=2 Tbsp) Panera Poppyseed Dressing
A generous sprinkle of Bragg's Nutritional Yeast {B vitamins, fiber, yumminess}
As many veggies as you can find! {vitamins, minerals, fiber, protein} I used:
-red, green, and yellow peppers
-tomatoes
-avocado
You could add:
-onion
-carrots
-celery
-ginger zest
-etc, etc- use your imagination (and what you have in your fridge!)

Directions:
Couldn't be easier- mix it all together and serve! Here are some step by step pics I took:

All chopped up and ready to go!

There you go.. Simple, beautiful, and nutritious! I added the sweet potato to our meal for added satiety and nutrients {vitamins, protein, fiber} with a teaspoon or so of Earth Balance Soy Garden butter- an excellent vegan butter! 

This was one of my favorite meals so far, and definitely the easiest!! 

Happy Eating!

<3

Courtney

Kale Chips! (Who needs potato chips?? These have VITAMINS and PROTEIN and MINERALS (oh my!))

These are quickly becoming a favorite in our household. We bought a huge bunch of Kale last weekend (or so we thought!!); we have never been able to get through an entire bunch of kale before we tried this recipe. Now that we know how to make the best superfood in the world into the most delicious, amazingly awesome (and healthy- better than potatoes!) snack, that kale bunch all but disappeared in about 3 days! I've also tried kale in green smoothies... more on that after we get a better blender...

So good! They don't look like potato chips, but they have the salty and "greasy" (olive oil) goin on- Delish!!

SO- if you're thinking these are worth a shot (and they are!!), here how to make these lil green noms:


"Potato"(Kale) Chips
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Kale (found in the produce section, look by the greens)
1 tsp Olive Oil
Salt, to taste
Nutritional Yeast, to taste/preference (optional!) (Bragg's brand is great! We use this for supplement and flavor purposes. It's kinda cheesy tasting!)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Meanwhile....

Tear kale into bite size pieces (think chips) and place in colander as you go. Rinse kale REALLY well (don't skip this step- kale is very "curly" and can hide dirt, bugs, etc from you amazingly well!) with veggie wash if you have it, just water if you don't.

Place a pad of paper towels on the counter (2 wide, 2 thick should do the trick) and lay your rinsed kale out-- blot with another paper towel until kale is mostly dry. Transfer to a LARGE mixing bowl.

Add the oil, salt, and any other seasonings you like (feel free to experiment here- garlic would be fantastic, as would chili powder, cilantro, paprika, etc) to the bowl. Mix very well with a spoon or your hands- kale should be completely coated in oil when you're finished. Lay prepared kale out, single layer, on a cookie sheet (you may need two!). Throw in the oven!

I can almost smell the yummy!!

Bake for about 10-15 minutes. Keep an eye on them and check if you think they're close to done. Chips should be crispy, but not burnt. You're essentially dehydrating the kale by baking it... keep that in mind and you'll get these perfectly crisply baked!

FYI- the oil will keep your chips from sticking to the pan... Let the chips cool a bit before removing- store in a bag, a bowl, or your tummy. Enjoy!!

p.s.- let me know how this went if you tried it!

Happy Eating!!

<3
Courtney

Lunchtime Yumminess! (a quickie post! more yums to follow...)

Well, who knew that vegans can enjoy sandwiches? A little known fact, perhaps, but with all the alternative food that can be found in many stores, we too can enjoy the best of the sandwiching world.

Here's a quickie sandwich I threw together this morning for our lunches.. super easy, very low in calories (around 210-300), and very vegan! Enjoy :)

A perfect lunch for the career woman! If you have a napkin handy, anyway... it can get a bit messy!

Peppered "Meat" Sandwich
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: none! :)
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

It's REALLY good!!

2 slices of Natural Ovens 100% Whole Wheat bread

3 slices of Peppered Tofurkey Deli Slices

1 slice Galaxy Rice Cheese (Cheddar flavor)

1 tsp Nasoya Nayonaise

1 tsp fresh avocado

spinach; a handful will do

one small tomato, sliced

 Directions:
Assemble as desired and enjoy! Feel free to add or subtract any condiment or veggie- it's a mix and match kind of food-- love it!!

I personally like to layer my tomato and spinach close to the mayo layer so they stick a bit better.. I really really dislike sandwiches that slip and slide all over my lap!

As always, Happy eating!

<3
Courtney