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

Cashew Nacho Cheese!

Found a recipe online for Nacho cheese debt! I made a few revisions. Here are the ingredients:

– One cup of milk substitute (preferably almond milk)
– Half a cup of cashews

Blend until smooth and creamy and then add the following ingredients:

– 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
– 1 teaspoon of lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon of arrow root powder
– Half a cup of water
– 1 tablespoon chipotle in adobo
– 1 teaspoon of cumin
– 1 teaspoon of chili powder
– One pinch of red pepper flakes

Heat on the stove, stirring constantly. Pour in a bowl and serve with chips! We like to mix it with sausage substitute, that has been sautéed in red chili flakes and olive oil! Yum!

Peanut butter banana pancakes!

We made these for Sunday breakfast. They were delicious! Very peanut buttery! The recipe originally called for half a cup of whole wheat flour, 3 tablespoons of oats and a quarter cup of buckwheat flour, and not flax meal but 1 teaspoon of flaxseeds. You can see below how I tweaked the recipe. They were so yummy, can't wait to make them again! The original recipe can be found at: kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2012/06/Peanut-Butter-Banana–oat–pancakes.html

Half a cup of oats
Quarter cup of barley flour
Quarter cup whole wheat flour
Two teaspoons baking powder
Quarter cup flax meal
Three big tablespoons or more of peanut butter
3 tablespoons of a agave or maple syrup
One cup of soy or almond milk
1 teaspoon of apple cider vinegar
Quarter teaspoon of cinnamon
Quarter teaspoon of salt
Finley sliced pieces of banana

For Gluten-Free Pancakes, substitute 1/2 -cup of brown rice flour for the barley & whole wheat flour. They taste just as good!

Chili...My Favorite Cold Weather Meal

I recently read a very inspirational book called "Eat & Run" by Scott Jurek. He's an ultra marathoner who also happens to be a vegan. At the end of each chapter, he includes the recipe. I've tried a few of the recipes and all have been great, but my favorite is his Minnesota Winter Chili recipe! I've made a few modifications, one is adding pearled barley instead of bulgur wheat or a blend of brown rice, quinoa, & amaranth. I also eliminate onions & garlic, and it calls for green & red bell peppers, which sometimes I include and sometimes I don't. Todd loves it so much that now when I make it, he asks me to make a double or triple batch!

•2 tbsp of olive oil
•8-10 mushrooms, finely chopped
•1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
•1/2 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
•1/2 cup finely chopped carrots
•1 jalapeño pepper or other pepper, seeded & minced (optional)
•1 Cup of frozen corn
•1 tsp ground cumin
•1/2 tsp ground coriander
•2 tbsp chili powder
•2 tsp sea salt, plus more to taste
•1/2 tsp black pepper
•1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
•1 15 oz can of kidney beans, drained
•1 15 oz can of black beans, drained
•1 15 oz can of red beans, drained
•2 1/2 cups of water
•1/2 cup of pearled barley

Sauté all veggies & spices in oil until tender. Start adding some of the liquids if the veggies start sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over medium low heat, covered, for 30 minutes. If adding the barley, keep stirring until the barley has cooked, it may take more than 30 minutes. Serve with a dollop of vegan or regular sour cream!