Vegan Food

This weekend I tried several dishes that I printed from other vegan sites. I've given full credit from the blog I found the recipe and took my own pics (although some aren't that great.) It was a great weekend of cooking.

1) Friday night I made Spicy Whole Wheat Sesame Noodles with Chicken, Green Onions, and Cilantro from KalynsKitchen.com

My substitutions: cubed seitan instead of cooked chicken and Spicy Chili & Garlic Sauce instead of the Thai Chili Garlic Paste. This was delicious!!!

2) Saturday dinner was the Vegan Pea Soup - Homestyle from the Healthy Happy Life blog. I forgot to take a pic but this was so warm and delicous.

My Substitutions: I didn't soak the peas, just rinsed them and started cooking. I used baby bellas instead of shiitakes. I let this soup simmer for hours checking to make sure it didn't need more liquid and to stir the bottom well.

3)  This morning I wanted to make a breakfast burrito and I had this recipe for Field Roast Sausage and Vegetable Hash laying on the bar. This recipe is from Epicurean Vegan.

Sorry for the blurry photo

 My substitutions: Smoked Apple and Sage instead of Italian Sausages and 1 yellow crooked-necked squash instead of zucchini.

Italian Sausage & Veggies Pasta

I was looking for a pasta dish to use you some veggies and came across this from CookingClub.com -- I decided to make it vegan and see how it turned out. The flavor is awesome and it makes a lot of sauce. Store your pasta separate from the sauce so the pasta doesn't soak up all the liquid. You could also add a can of  fire roasted tomatoes to this for more tomato flavor.

1 package Field Roast Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 ribs celery, diced
1 yellow summer squash, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 zucchini, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 carrot, shredded (1/2 cup)
1 (26-oz.) jar marinara pasta sauce
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon Smart Balance
1 teaspoon Italian Seasonings
1 box rotini (corkscrew pasta)

Heat large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Crumble sausage into skillet and cook about 6 minutes until  brown, stirring occasionally. Remove sausage.

Add oil to skillet; heat over medium heat until hot. Cook onion and garlic 4 minutes or until softened, stirring frequently.

Add celery; cook 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally.

Stir in yellow squash, zucchini and carrot.

Return sausage to skillet; stir in marinara sauce, vinegar, Smart Balance and Italian Seasonings. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low to low; simmer, covered, 30 to 35 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

 Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Serve sauce over pasta with Italian bread and your favorite vino.

Frig for the Lightlife contest...

I am entering the Lightlife give away. They are giving away 1 of each of their products (23 in all) to one lucky person. Contest is today only!  All I had to do was take a photo of my frig contents and upload it somewhere they can see the pic. So fellow bloggers, this is what my frig looks like right now -- I took a pic of just the frig open and one with frig and freezer open. Now remember WE are vegan, but other family members aren't - so there is stuff in there for everyone.. OH CROSS your fingers, I really really want to win this!  I'll post if I'm the lucky winner.

Inside the frig

 

 

freezer on the left side, frig on right

Beef Broccoli Stir-Fry

This comes together so fast. Be sure you have all of your ingredients out and cut, measured, whatever. Also, get your rice going since it can sit for awhile if needed.  This is just plain delicious!

• rice, cooked according to package directions
• 2 tablespoons vermouth, divided
• 2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 package Gardein Beef(less) Tips, cut each piece in half
• 1/2 cup vegan beef broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sriracha
• 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 1 tablespoon bottled ground fresh ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 cups broccoli florets,  cut into bite sized pieces
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup sliced green onions

Get your rice cooking. While rice cooks, combine 1 tablespoon vermouth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sugar, and beef.

Stir together 1 tablespoon vermouth, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, broth, cornstarch, hoisin, and Sriracha.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef mixture; sauté 3 minutes or until browned. Remove beef from pan.  (No pic - sorry)


Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pan. Add ginger and garlic; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add broccoli and 1/4 cup water; cook 2 minutes.

Add onions; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Add broth mixture and beef mixture; cook 2-3 minutes or until beef is thoroughly heated and sauce is slightly thick.

Serve beef mixture over rice.

Enjoy!

Easy Black Bean Soup

This is the most simple, most flavorful soup that can be made in under 30 minutes. Of course if you let it simmer a while longer the flavors have longer to marry. Serves 4.

• 2 cans (15.5 oz.) black beans, undrained
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine
• 2 tablespoons recaito
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 packets Sazón
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 cup water
• sliced scallions for garnish
• dollop of sour cream (optional)

Combine all ingredients, except onion (and sour cream) in a saucepan.

Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer uncovered until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. about 15 minutes or so.

Discard bay leaves. Garnish with onion (and sour cream if desired).

While the soup was cooking I canned 8 more jars of jalapenos (and my plants are still blooming!!!)

Minestrone Soup

Last Sunday it was warmer than I thought it was going to be, but I'd planned on a big pot of soup to eat while watching the football games. I took a Minestrone and used the fresh produce I had and then used some canned goods. This was delicious and made a huge pot - use whatever fresh, canned or frozen produce  you have and make a pot.

• 3 large potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes 
• 5 carrots, scraped and cut into chunks 
• 2 cloves garlic, minced 
• 2 cups penne 
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes 
• 1 (15 oz) can red beans, undrained 
• 1 (15 oz) can English peas, undrained 
• 1 teaspoon dried basil 
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme 
• 1 large onion, chopped 
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 (5 oz) package fresh baby spinach 
• 6 cups water 
• 1 cup water (to be added later) 
• 1 (15 oz) can cut green beans, undrained 
• 1½-2 teaspoons dried oregano 
• ½ teaspoon dried tarragon 
• 1 bay leaf 
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Combine potatoes, onions, carrots, zucchini, garlic, spinach, penne and 6 cups water in a large Dutch oven; bring to a boil. 

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir tomatoes and 1 cup water into potato mixture. Add kidney beans and all remaining ingredients except Parmesan cheese and simmer 15 minutes. 

Remove and discard bay leaf. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese. Serve with bread or rolls. Yield: 5 quarts

King Ranch Casserole

I remember making King Ranch Casserole when we ate chicken and boy did I love that gooey Tex-Mex dish. Chez Cayenne, one of the blogs I follow on a regular basis had this Vegan King Ranch Casserole and I knew without a doubt I was printing it and making it. Ummmm - delicious is all I can say. I wanted to take my own pic but we've eaten it all. So no pic from me but be sure to check out Chez Cayenne's blog for good stuff.

Pic by Claire (Chef Cayenne)

I wanted to make a soup to go with this (although it is plenty filling on it's own) and revisited my Black Bean and Quinoa recipe. These two filling dishes were awesome.

Red Curry Chik'n

I found this recipe in Southern Living and made it before we went vegan. It was so yummy, I knew I wanted to attempt it as a vegan and here is my version. If you aren't a fan of heat you may want to start with less red curry paste.

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain rice
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter (Earth Balance)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 cups vegan chicken broth
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/2 cup light coconut milk
• 3 tablespoons red curry paste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 bag Morning Star Chik'n Strips (or whatever your fav is)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 1" pieces (I only had frozen ones, so I thawed and used 'em)
• 1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Lime wedges

 
 Prepare rice according to package directions.

Meanwhile, melt butter in a heavy saucepan over low heat; whisk in flour until smooth. Cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Gradually whisk in chicken broth, milk, and coconut milk. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and bubbly.

Stir in curry paste and next 3 ingredients.

Stir chicken, green beans, and red bell pepper strips into curry mixture; cook 2 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro. Serve chicken mixture over rice. Sprinkle with remaining chopped cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.