A Very Vegan, Gluten Free 2013 Thanksgiving

Tis the season to enjoy some holiday day favorites!  As Todd is now 100% vegan & gluten free (I'm almost there) we decided to have our own Thanksgiving Eve dinner, with foods we'd both enjoy! 

On the menu:

A Mushroom Bourguignon recipe from Spork Fed 

with homemade Mashed potatoes

-dice and boil Yukon Gold Potatoes

-drain potatoes

-add vegan butter & soy milk slowly, mash until potatoes are the right consistency

-salt & pepper to taste

Martha Stewarts Butternut Squash & Quinoa Pie (minus the Parmesan cheese) http://www.marthastewart.com/313442/quinoa-pie-with-butternut-squash

Sweet Potato Casserole

-1 large can of yams

-cinnamon

-vegan butter

-2 eggs (which I left out)

-bake for 20 min at 375 degrees

while casserole is baking, prepare the topping

-3 cups of corn flakes

-1/4 cup of brown sugar 

-1 stick of vegan butter melted

-1/2 to 3/4 cup of chopped pecans

-cover the top of the casserole & bake for another 10 minutes

Don't forget the Red Wine & Great Company ;)

Lazy Sunday Chicken Tortilla Soup

We were having a few people over to watch the Oscars and I wanted to make something easy, but yummy at the same time. I thought something in the crockpot would do the trick and luckily I stumbled across a recipe online for a simple chicken tortilla soup where you literally throw everything in and 4-6 hours later you have a delicious meal ready to eat. Sounded perfect to me! The recipe ended up working out great and even with four people eating that night it still left a ton for meals over the next few days. I love when that happens! This is a recipe I will definitely make again! And it might have been my favorite chicken tortilla soup that I've ever had! See below for recipe and pictures.

Ingredients:
1 pound frozen chicken breasts (shred near end of cooking time) (omit if vegetarian and possibly add more beans)
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
3(14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth or use vegetarian broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 can black beans, rinsed

Directions:
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in chicken broth, and season with cumin, salt, and pepper. Stir in corn and black beans. Cover and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours. Garnish with crushed tortilla chips, sour cream, shredded cheese, or avocados (I think the avocados made the dish!) Omit tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese if you want to make this healthier. I tried this and it was still very tasty!

Original recipe can be found at:
www.sparkrecipes.com

Crunchy Chickpea Snack!

When you are in the mood for snacking, baked chickpeas satisfy my need for crunching & munching on something tasty! So easy! Preheat oven to 350° degrees.

- 1 can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed

Throw chickpeas in a pan, drizzle with olive oil. Then sprinkle your favorite seasonings on top. I sprinkle salt, pepper, chili powder, & smoked paprika. Bake until they reach desired crunchiness! (Don't bake too long or they will break your teeth!)

Howling Alan's Spicy Butternut Squash Soup!

Made a fantastic spicy butternut squash soup tonight! Paired with a homemade pesto pizza, doesn't get better than this!

Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I love this dish! Todd is a pasta fan and I am not, so with this – we find a happy, yummy medium as we both love squash! A lot of recipes that I make come off of twists of others that I had seen, or made- So I love that I came up with this one all on my own. You assemble this casserole with layers of spaghetti squash, cooked pasta, thick sauce, and cheese or cheese substitute.

There are a few steps that need to be done before assembling:

1. Cook the squash
2. Make the sauce
3. Boil and drain noodles of your choice
4. If you don't have breadcrumbs, you will need to make. I make ours by toasting two slices of Ezekiel bread and then running them through the food processor.

To make:

Cut the spaghetti squash in half and drizzle olive oil and salt and pepper on each half. Put cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake one medium to large spaghetti squash at 350° until you can stick a fork through it and pull the squash out like spaghetti. (It helps if you let it cool before you pull the squash from the rind.)

While you're squash is cooking, make your sauce. I like to throw into the food processor a quarter of an onion, a whole carrot, one portobello mushroom, & half of a bell pepper. Sauté in a pot in olive oil over medium heat. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cup of frozen peas. Then add your favorite jarred pasta sauce and 1 tablespoon of tomato paste. My favorite sauce is Newman's own Soccarooni!

Cook a small amount of pasta. I've done this with whole wheat bowtie, spaghetti noodles, and even substituted with soba noodles tonight. The great thing is you can use whatever you have in your pantry!

Once your squash is cooked, you are ready to assemble the casserole! Spray a casserole dish with Pam, then put a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of the dish. Next add half of the spaghetti squash, then a layer of the pasta of your choice. Then add more sauce, a thin layer of cheese or cheese substitute, and then repeat with squash, noodles, and more sauce. Top it off with a layer of bread crumbs and cheese! Bake at 3:50 for about 20 minutes or until the cheese on top is melted and beginning to brown!

Smokey Black Beans

A twist on black beans & rice!

– Quarter of an onion chopped finely
– One carrot finely chopped
– One chipotle pepper finely chopped
– 1 tablespoon of tomato paste
– 1 to 2 teaspoons of chili powder
– A dash of nutmeg
– A dash of cinnamon
– A dash of salt
– The juice of half a lime
– About 1 cup of vegetable broth
– Two cans of drained Black beans

Sautéed the vegetables with spices, then add tomato paste and vegetable broth.

Next, drain the black beans (drain but don't rinse) add to the veggies. Squeeze in the lime juice and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer for 20 minutes. Salt to taste and serve with rice!

Power Snack!

I've been making this for Todd and I to have as a little snack on the weekends! So yummy and filling, it's so good that we quickly go through it!

-2 handfuls of raw almonds
-2 handfuls of raw pecans
-2 handfuls of raw sunflower seeds
-2 handfuls of raw pumpkin seeds
-1-2 handfuls of raw walnuts
-1 handful of goji berries
-1 handful of dried cherries
-1 handful of chocolate chips :)

Snack & Enjoy! Xo