Snow Pea, Broccoli & Beefless Stir-Fry

I love a good stir-fry for dinner. First, they are quick meals, secondly they let you get rid of the excess produce in the frig and lastly they reheat easily. I had snow peas, broccoli, mushrooms and I always have garlic and onion on hand. I used Beyond Beef Steak tips to make this dish, so it's not WFPBNO. But, if you have some tofu or soy curls on hand you could use them for a WFPBNO recipe. This has been placed on our regular rotation for a bit; it's that delicious. So, go make you some using what you have on hand.

• 1/2 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sherry
• 2 tablespoons cornstach
• 2 teaspoons coconut sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, mined
• 1 package Beyond Steak tips
• 1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium sweet onion, cut into thin wedges
• 1 cup snow peas
• 1 cup broccoli florets
• Hot cooked rice

In a measuring cup, whisk soy sauce, sherry, cornstarch and sugar.

Put 1/4 cup of this into a large bowl. Add garlic and beef tips; toss to coat. Let stand a few minutes.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium high heat. Add the beef tips and stir-fry 2 minutes, stirring frequently to keep from sticking. Remove to a bowl and set aside.

To the same skillet add mushrooms and onions. Cook until mushrooms are tender.

Add snow peas and broccoli. Cook 2-3 minutes until crisp-tender. If need add a tablespoon of water to keep from sticking.

Stir soy sauce mixture into pan. Bring to boil and cook 1-2 minutes until the mixture thickens. Return beef to the pan and heat through. Stirring occasionally. 

Serve with rice and garnish with sesame seeds and/or sliced scallions.

Enjoy!!

General Tso's Tofu (WFPBNO)

I encourage you to make this sometime this week. It's so delicious!!! I found a recipe I based this on but it had oil and sesame oil in it and you know I don't use oil. So, here is my modified version getting rid of the things we don't consume. Be sure to cook have some rice or noodles cooking to serve it over. This can be ready in about 40 minutes and should serve 4. The fresh vegetables make a huge difference since they maintain some of their crunch and the colors are amazing. Go get the ingredients and make this!

For the Tofu:

• 1 14-ounce extra firm (or firm) tofu, press and cut into bite-sized cubes
• 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
• a few grinds multi-color peppercorns
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 tablespoon cornstarch

Add the soy sauce to a bowl.

Add the mixed peppercorn grinds, red pepper flakes and the cornstarch.

Gently toss the tofu to coat each piece. Be careful so you don't tear it up.

Place the tofu on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake at 400F for 20 minutes.

For the Sauce:

• 1-inch piece of ginger, minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic, I buy pre-minced
• 1/2 cup red bell pepper, cut into bite-sized squares
• 1/4 cup green bell pepper, cut into bite-sized squares
• 2 tablespoons green onion, use only white parts, save green part for garnish
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoon coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon mirin
• 1 tablespoon sambal oelek
• 1/2 cup water mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• Garnish: green parts of green onion and sesame seeds

To a medium sized skillet add a couple tablespoons water and add the ginger and garlic. Cook for 10-15 seconds.

Add the bell peppers and other veggies. Toss well.

Add all of the sauces and brown sugar, mix well.

bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Stir cornstarch into water and add it to the skillet.

Simmer for a minute or two. Then afdd the tofu and turn the heat off.

Fold the tofu and veggies into the thickened sauce.

Serve with rice and garnish with green onion tops and sesame seeds.

Enjoy!

Buffalo Cauliflower & Chickpea Casserole (WFPBNO)

I've seen a few of these casseroles on line and wanted to make one that was whole food plant based no oil. This turned out so delicious. We have leftovers for the week. I also made a compliant ranch to drizzle over before serving and forgot to use it!!! So, there will be plenty for those leftovers! This would be about 6 servings but you could cut the recipe in half easily. The rice cooked perfect in the sauce. Served with homegrown collards and pepper sauce.

• 2 cups vegetable stock (low-sodium preferred)
• 1/2 cup buffalo hot sauce
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tablespoon onion powder
• 1 rib celery, thinly sliced
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2 cups cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized florets
• 1 cup uncooked brown rice
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• your favorite ranch dressing for garnish

Mix the vegetable broth, buffalo sauce, nutritional yeast and onion powder together in a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat.

While that is heating up add the chickpeas to a 8-1/2 x 11 casserole dish.

Sprinkle cauliflower and celery over the chickpeas.

Add uncooked rice to the top.

Preheat oven to 400F. Once the sauce is bubbling remove from heat and add the garlic. 

Stir well.

Using a ladle pour the liquid over the casserole. If any rice is not submerged use the ladle and gently push down so that everything is wet. Cover with parchment paper and then aluminum foil.

Bake for 60 minutes on the middle rack of the oven. Remove from oven and carefully uncover.

Garnish with green onions and be like me and forget the ranch dressing. Store leftovers in frig for up to a week. This can be reheated in the oven, toaster oven or microwave.

Enjoy!!!!

Coconut Rice

I made this coconut rice to go with roasted vegetables we had one day last week. It turned out delicious, but it made a lot of rice. If you are cooking for just two people you may want to reduce the recipe or have plans of other things to do with it, like a rice pudding would be delicious! I would say this is 6-8 servings depending on how much you eat. I made roasted fall vegetables and served it over this rice with Siracha.

• 2 cups Basmati rice
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup water
• ginger root, a slice about 2 inches long and about 1/8 inch thick, no need to peel
• 1 bay leaf

I rinsed to rice until the water ran clear, about 3 times, to get rid of excess starch.

Then soak the rice about 30 minutes. Then drain the rice and set aside.

In a heavy pot with a tight lid add the coconut milk, water, bay leaf and ginger. Give a quick stir on turn to medium heat.

Add the rice. Cover with lid and cook according to package directions. You don't want the steam to escape. That steam helps cook your rice. Turn heat to medium low. After about 20 minutes check to see if the rice is done and all the liquid has been absorbed. If there is still liquid in the pan add lid and continue to cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat once it's done and let it sit for 5 minutes.

 Lift the lid and serve.

Enjoy!!

Broccoli & Chickpea Stir-Fry (WFPBNO)

This flavorful stir-fry comes together really quick. You can have dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less. The sauce is a delicious garlic and ginger sauce that slightly thickens upon cooking due to the cornstarch. Be sure to get your rice or whatever you want to serve it over started before you begin the stir-fry. Yummy flavors for sure in this dinner and leftovers heat up easily.

Stir-Fry:

• 1 onion, diced (my homegrown onions were small so I used 2 you want about 1 cup)
• 2 tablespoons garlic, minced
• 1 heaping tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
• black pepper to taste
• pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• 1 medium head of broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1/3 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• Cooked rice for serving

Sauce:

• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Add a small amount of water or broth to a non-stick skillet. Heat, then add onion, ginger, garlic and all the spices. Saute for 3-4 minutes.

While it's cooking add all of the sauce ingredients and mix well. Set aside.

Add broccoli and vegetable broth to skillet. Cook until broccoli begins to get tender. About 8-10 minutes.

Pour the sauce into the pan and add the chickpeas. Stir well. Bring to a boil until sauce simmers for a few minutes.

Serve over cooked rice or grain of your choice.

Enjoy!!!