Stuffed Mushrooms

We love mushrooms, big ones, little ones, button ones, baby bella ones, shitake ones, oh well you get the idea. I had two 8-ounce packages of baby bellas and wanted a fast and yummy appetizer. I've made these before we went vegan and just by using vegan cream cheese and parm these were simple to veganize (is that a word?). The amount of mushrooms you will need for the filling depends on the size of the shrooms. If you have leftover filling just stick it in the frig until you can get more shrooms.

• 12 whole fresh mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 (8 ounce) Toffuti cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup grated vegan Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a baking sheet alumiinum foil that has been coated with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. 

Set aside to cool.

When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parm, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. 

Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps. 

Mango Coffeecake

I promise after Christmas I'll get back to my two post a week average, there has just been so much going on I've cooked but not had time to photo each step, etc. This is a delicious, moist coffeecake from an old Better Homes and Garden's issue that I made vegan.

I forgot to take a pic when it came out of the oven, or when we had some on our plates. But this is what it looked like after everyone had some!

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup vegan butter

1 cup sour milk (put 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a measuring cup, add you favorite non-diary milk to equal 1 cup. Let stand for 5 minutes.)

2 Ener-G egg replacements

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups coarsely chopped seeded and peeled mangoes (about 3)

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, the 2 cups sugar, baking powder, soda, nutmeg and salt. Using a pastry blender or two knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumb. 

 

In a small bowl combine sour milk, eggs and vanilla. 

 

Add to flour mixture all at once; stir just until moistened. 

 

Fold in mangoes. 

 

Spread in prepared pan. 

 

Combine the 1/3 cup sugar and the cinnamon. 

 

Sprinkle evenly over batter. 

 

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. (Mango pieces will sink to the bottom of coffee cake.) Cool slightly. Enjoy!

Quinoa & Roasted Pepper Chili

I discovered this vegetarian recipe in Cooking Light (one of my favorite magazines) and modified it using the ingredients I had on hand. It is full of fresh flavors and if you have any leftovers they are even better. I love soup, chili, stews, one-pot wonders of any kind!

• 1 - 12 oz. jar roasted red bell peppers, drained
• 2 poblano chiles
• 4 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 cups chopped zucchini
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/3 cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup low-sodium V8

Preheat broiler.  Chop bell peppers and set aside. Cut chiles in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet, and flatten with hand. Broil 10 minutes or until blackened. Place in a paper bag; fold to close tightly. Let stand 10 minutes. Peel and coarsely chop. (Sorry, no pic)


Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add zucchini, onion, and garlic; sauté 4 minutes.

Stir in chili powder, cumin, and paprika; sauté for 30 seconds.

Add roasted peppers and chiles, 1/2 cup water, and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until quinoa is tender.

Serve with crackers, cornbread, rolls, whatever you have on hand.

Chipotle-Sweet Potato Shepherd's Pie

We had several baked sweet potatoes left over from Thanksgiving. I was checking out some of the blogs I follow on a regular basis and came across this recipe from The Vegan Chronicle. I had most of the ingredients on had so this was Sunday nights dinner.

This is comfort food on a plate! I just used the smushed up sweet potatoes instead of cooking from scratch. I only had 1 package of Lightlife ground beef so I used that and one package of Boca crumbles. No frozen peas in the freezer so I drained a can and used them. Also, no crushed tomatoes so I used 1 can of tomato sauce.

We really loved this and Jack deemed it a make again right off the bat. In fact we are reheating leftovers for dinner tonight. Head over to The Vegan Chronicle and check out the great blog.

Chicken Seitan and Hominy Verde Stew

Even though the weather is still pretty warm I wanted to continue with my month of November soups/chili's and stews.  I didn't plan it that way, it's just how things went down. This was delicious but I could have used a little more heat. If you like heat you may want to use poblanos instead of the Anaheim chili.I found this recipe in a Cooking Light magazine and made some changes including making it vegan.

• 2 Anaheim chiles
• Cooking spray
• 1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, remove papery skins and rinse
• 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 cups Better Than Bouillon chicken broth, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/2 cup chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 package Westsoy Chicken Seitan, drained and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, divided
• 2  cans white hominy, rinsed and drained
• 6 tablespoons Toffuti sour cream (garnish)
• Cilantro leaves (garnish)

Preheat broiler to high. Halve, stem, and seed chiles. Place chiles, skin side up, on a foil-lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray; broil for 5 minutes or until charred.

Place chiles in a paper bag; seal. Let stand for 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins.

Arrange tomatillos on prepared baking sheet, and broil 14 minutes or until blackened, turning once.

Combine the chiles, tomatillos, 1/4 cup cilantro, cumin, and oregano in a blender.

Add 1 cup broth; process until smooth.

Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons olive oil; swirl to coat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and bell pepper; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in flour; sauté for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add garlic; sauté for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add seitan, remaining 1 cup broth, tomatillo mixture, and hominy to the onion mixture. Bring to a boil.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Ladle 1 2/3 cups stew into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Enjoy!

Beef and Bean Chili

Yeah, I know it's another chili post, but I could eat soups, stews and chilis every day! This is one I found in the Better Homes and Gardens magazine and I made it vegan. The original calls for 2 pounds of ground beef and 2-4 chopped jalapenos. I used 1 package Smart Ground Beef and 2 Field Roast Chorizo's and left out the jalapeno's. It was really delicious and was ready in less than an hour.

• 1 pound Smart Ground beef
• 2 links Field Roast Chorizo   
• 2 large onions, chopped (2 cups)  
• 6 cloves garlic, minced  
• 2 tablespoons chili powder  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce
• 2 cups water  
• 3 15-ounce cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro  
• 1 semisweet chocolate, chopped

In a Dutch oven add beef and crumbled chorizo, cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. Add onions and garlic to pan; cook about 5 minutes or until almost tender.

Add the chili powder and cumin; cook for 1 minute, until fragrant. Add tomato sauce and water; bring to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Stir all beans into chili. Return to simmering; cook about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in the chopped cilantro, chocolate and salt (if needed to taste) until chocolate is melted. 

Serve with some sort of crackers, corn bread, etc. Yummy!

Cincinnati Chili

I love a good bowl of chili and the added chocolate to this served over pasta is really different, but in a good way.

• 1 box uncooked spaghetti
• Cooking spray
• 1 package Boca Ground Crumbles
• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped and divided
• 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 2 1/2 tablespoons chopped semisweet chocolate
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Daiya cheddar cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain; set aside. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add crumbles, 1 cup onion, bell pepper, and garlic; sauté 3 minutes.

Stir in chili powder and next 4 ingredients (through cinnamon); cook 1 minute.

Add broth, beans, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Remove from heat; stir in chocolate and salt. Serve chili over spaghetti; top each serving with remaining onion and some cheese.

Chocolate Pumpkin Loaf

This is so delicious and moist I've made it twice in the last 3 weeks.

I found this recipe on the Post Punk Kitchen blog - one of the blogs I follow on a regular basis. The only thing I did different was to add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts! Yummy! Go get the recipe, you won't be sorry! I do believe you could use the batter for muffins, or small loaf pans to make nice gifts.