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

Cheesy Chickpeas go Tex Mex!

I just LOVE it when things come together!! This was a super quickie lunch, using all the ingredients I had leftover from all my cooking today. Bryan loved it, I loved it, and we WILL be making this for lunch tomorrow :)

Cheesy Chickpeas go Tex Mex!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 3 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients:
1/2 cup brown rice
1/2 cup chickpeas
1 Tablespoon Coconut milk (or any other plant milk- I used this for it's creamy texture)
1 Tablespoon Veganaise (vegan mayonaise)
1 tsp Cilantro
1/4 cup Apple Sage Sausage Crumbles (or other meatless crumble product)
1 Tablespoon salsa
1 Tablespoon Daiya pepper jack vegan cheese
2 slices fresh avocado, for garnish

Directions:
In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the rice, chickpeas, coconut milk, crumbles, cilantro, and veganaise. Microwave for 1 - 1/2 minutes, until hot; stir. Add the salsa and cheese on top, microwave for an additional 30 seconds or so, until the cheese is melted. Top with fresh avocado, and dive in!!

Happy eating!

<3
Courtney

Tofu "Egg" Spanish Scramble

A vegan twist on an old breakfast standby. Of course, this won't actually taste like eggs, and don't expect it to or you will be sorely disappointed! This dish features tofu, a curd (cheese) product of the soybean that likes to soak up any flavor that's nearby. On its own it's rather bland, so always spruce up your tofu with a marinade! Today's recipe featured a Spanish inspired tofu marinade of lime juice and cilantro (thus the non-eggy taste!). I combined it with kale and red pepper in a saute, and added Turmeric for the classic "egg yellow" color. We topped it with Daiya Pepper Jack vegan cheese and fresh avocado for a little kick :) I suppose salsa and vegan sour cream garnishes would be tasty as well!

Tofu "Egg" Spanish Scramble
Prep time: 30 minutes (plus overnight freezer time for your tofu!)
Cook time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients: 
1/2 pound Extra Firm tofu, frozen overnight and thawed
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic
1 Tablespoon fresh Cilantro (or 1 tsp dried)
2 cups Kale, chopped finely
1/2 cup Red Pepper, chopped
1 tsp Grapeseed Oil
1 tsp Turmeric
Pepper to taste

Directions:
Cube your tofu; combine with salt, garlic, lime juice, and cilantro in a bowl or quart-sized baggie. Marinate for 30 minutes. In the meantime, chop your veggies, do some laundry, paint your nails, etc. :)

Marinatin' baby!

Festive, no?

Once the tofu has absorbed most of the liquid, you can start sauteing your veggies. In a medium skillet, add the grapeseed oil and let it heat until watery looking (this means it's hot!). Add the red pepper first and push around for about 2 minutes, then add the kale and keep it moving for an additional 2 minutes. The kale will start to (seemingly) shrink and wilt a bit at this point. Add your tofu + all the marinade into the skillet!

Almost there!!!

Tofu eggy goodness in a pan :)

You'll want to break up the hunks of tofu with your spatula/fork/whatever you're using to cook with. Cubes are really not egg-like ;) Once your tofu's a bit smaller and it's heated up (about 4-5 minutes), add the turmeric to achieve the "egg-like" color. Stir.... and Serve!!

And that's it! Garnish with some vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, salsa, or avocado for maximum yumminess.

Serve with your favorite breakfast standards: toast, vegan sausage, muffins... whatever your heart desires. We had ours with Overly-Healthy Hash Browns and Apple Sage Sausage Links. See the picture below? Happy eating, everyone!

<3
Courtney

Our breakfast! Tofu "Egg" Spanish Scramble, Overly-Healthy Hash Browns, and Apple Sage Sausage. Read about our adventure HERE!

Overly-Healthy Hash Browns

I love fried potatoes. It's a fact about myself that I somewhat despise, since I'm sure it's somewhat genetic (there's some Irish in my lineage..), and it's not very healthy. Hash Browns can be vegan naturally, depending on how you prepare them. If you go the route of buying "Hash Browns" in the Potato section of any supermarket frozen aisle, throw them in a pan with oil and swish around until mushy, it's already vegan. 

I, on the other hand, being a homemade-food nut, love to make Browns from scratch. This requires a binding agent, like an egg. Since my recent food epiphany excludes eggs and all their creamy, cholesterol laden goodness, I decided to attempt a Vegan version today based on my old stand by recipe, using Bob's RedMill Egg Replacer in place of eggs. 

Awesome stuff!! Think of the possibilities :)

Pretty ingenious stuff, really! Mix 1 Tablespoon of this with 3 Tablespoons of water, and VOILA! .. you have a slightly eggy looking mixture that acts like an egg in recipes! All the binding, leavening fun, none of the fat or cholesterol. Me = happy. 

To keep in the mind-set of plant-based nutrition (where all your nutrients come from your food...), I made sure to include red onion (lots of good lycopene [amino acid], and vitamins and minerals) and a titch of Kale (LOTS of vitamins, minerals, protein, iron, etc. Kale is a nutritional powerhouse). While this did give our hash browns a slightly green tint, it wasn't enough to be unappetizing. It looked... festive! :)

So, enough narration already!! Here's the recipe. 

Overly-Healthy Hash Browns

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves: 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 large russet potato

1/4 of a large red onion

1/2 cup to 1 cup kale

Garlic (about 1/2 tsp or to taste)

Salt (about 1/4 tsp or to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

1 egg's equivalent of Bob's RedMill Egg Replacer (or other egg replacer!)

1 Tablespoon Grapeseed oil 

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the Grapeseed oil on medium heat. This will be heating while you're grating your tato, so no need to crank the heat. (p.s.- Grapeseed oil can withstand SUPER high heat without breaking down the heart healthy fats it contains, which is a great thing.. but don't test the theory today!)

In a food processor with a grate function (or the old fashioned way with a grater), grate the potato, onion, and kale. Transfer to a bowl. Combine with egg replacer and spices. Toss to coat. 

By now, your skillet should be hot and ready for the potato mixture. The oil should be watery in appearance (meaning it's HOT! The hotter the oil, the more it'll simply cook your food and not soak into it instead), and not smoking (... if it's smoking, the fats have gotten too hot and broken down. No worries, you can still cook with the oil, the health benefits will just be decreased.) Add your potato mixture to the pan, forming patties. Heat should be at a medium-high setting. 

Keep in mind that the egg replacer likes to stick (as I discovered!!), so every few minutes or so try to slide a spatula under each Brown to keep it from adhering to your pan! Flip over after about 7 minutes. Brown the other side for about 7 minutes, making sure both sides are browned (these are Hash Browns, after all). When the potato is thoroughly cooked (don't be afraid to lop off a piece and test its doneness), remove from heat and blot with a paper towel to remove excess oil. Serve with ketchup or BBQ sauce if you like. Enjoy!!!

The finished product! This is from our breakfast today... YUMMY!

Breakfast Adventures in Veganism!

Today we ventured into the kitchen again, unsure of what to make ourselves for our first vegan breakfast. The only artillery we had on our side of this brave new food world was the Apple Sage Sausage mix that we prepared last night. But I had a fridge full of veggies, a freezer full of tofu (freezing makes it tougher and more adept to marinades), and all my prior food prep experience behind me-- so I charged forward and made a pretty awesome breakfast, if I do say so myself. Recipes are linked below. Also, read my blog post in "Our Vegan Journey" for the full story... Happy Reading!

<3

Courtney

Apple Sage Sausage Links, Tofu "Egg" Spanish Scramble, and Overly-Healthy Hash Browns