Eggplant Stacks

I stopped by Trader Joe's and they had some beautiful eggplants in stock. I decided to try my hand at something different. I've made eggplant rollatini, eggplant parm and a few casserole before but I had never made stacks. I've seen several recipes for these and used some of one and some of another for the dish below.

• 2 teaspoons olive oil 
• 1 large sweet onion, chopped
• 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium zucchini, chopped
• 1 14.5-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 large eggplants, sliced 1/4" thick
• soy milk
• 1/2 cup panko crumbs
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 8 tablespoons Daiya mozzarella shreds

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a large saute pan over moderate heat. Heat the pan, then heat the oil. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes (we're sweating not sauteing them, so we don't want them to get any color).

Add the mushrooms and zucchini to the pan, stir to combine, and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the spices and tomatoes, stir again, and simmer for 8 minutes.

While the tomato sauce is simmering, prepare the eggplant. Place the soy milk in a saucer and the bread crumbs in a second saucer. Dip each slice of eggplant into the soy milk using one hand, then coat in the bread crumbs using the other hand. Heat a griddle over moderate heat. Cook each slice of eggplant until the panko is brown (a couple of minutes per side.)

Place a eggplant slice in a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Top slice with 1/4 cup sauce.

Top with another slice of eggplant (you're creating eggplant stacks).

Add another 1/4 cup of sauce.  Sprinkle on nutritional yeast and the cheese.

Repeat with remaining eggplant slices.

Bake covered for 20-25 minutes, until the eggplant is tender and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Serve with any additional sauce.

I served these with Gardein Crispy Chick'n Fillets .
Enjoy!!!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah,etc

I just wanted to take a moment and wish everyone that visits my kitchen a happy and joyous holiday season. However, you celebrate I hope you will be surrounded by family, friends and loved ones. I've been so busy I've not posted any new recipes lately but I promise to do better once Christmas is behind me. So, today I leave you with a link to my Creamy Tortilla Soup which was the "Recipe of the Day"  over at eRecipe.com.

Thank you to everyone that makes this little blog so much fun for me!!! Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!

Whole Wheat Spaghetti with Sausage & Roasted Peppers

I saw this amazing looking recipe over at Skinnytaste and wanted to make it vegan. There wasn't a lot to switch out but I did change a few things and amounts. This is my amazing version of this delicious pasta dish.

• 1 package Tofurky Italian (vegan) sausage, cut into half-moons, about 1/3 inch thick
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 large can or jar roasted peppers in water, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, diced
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 1 large can (20 ounce) crushed tomatoes 
• 3/4 cup no-chicken chicken broth
• 1 box (13.5 ounce) whole wheat spaghetti 
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes , plus more for serving

Heat a large skillet over medium heat and cook the sausage until browned. Set aside.

Add the oil, onions, roasted peppers, garlic and kosher salt and black pepper to the skillet and cook until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes and broth and return the sausage to the skillet. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer on low 15 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. I like to serve my sauce over my pasta OR you can add the sauce to the pasta and give it a good stir. Garnish with extra nutritional yeast if desired.

Serve with a side salad, garlic bread and your fav wine!

Garlicky Garlic Bread

I love Garlic Bread and found a loaf of Garlic Bread at Ward's that had entire cloves of roasted garlic baked into the loaf. OH my GOSH! I brought it home and made this to serve with baked ziti. I forgot to take a pic after it baked and before we devoured it. It is so good, make this today with a loaf of French or Italian Bread or if you can find this type of loaf more power to ya!

• 1 loaf Garlic, Italian or French Bread
• enough Earth Balance to cover each half of bread with a nice smear
• 1/2 package Daiya mozzarella shreds
• 4-5 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• Garlic Powder 

Cut bread in half lengthwise.

Spread each half with Earth Balance.

Bake 7-8 minutes til margarine is good and melted.

Cover with mozzarella cheese and nutritional yeast.

 

Bake until cheese melts about 7-8 minutes.

Enjoy!!

Beefless Stir-Fry

Here's a delicious meat free stir-fry using Gardein. I love their products. The beefless tips will absorb more flavor if you marinate them for 2-3 hours. So plan ahead for this dish. The cooking goes very fast so have all of your ingredients ready before you start the cooking process. I based this recipe on the one over at Homemade Levity.

• 1 package Gardein beefless tips (defrosted 15 minutes), cut each tip in half
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1 tablespoon sriracha sauce
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup celery, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 cup carrot, thinly sliced diagonally
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into bite sized chunks
• 1/2 large sweet onion, sliced into vertical strips
• 3 scallions, sliced
• rice or rice noodles as accompaniment
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds, toasted, for garnish, optional

In a small bowl, combine garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, hoisin sauce and sriracha.

Be sure to cut each beefless tip in half.

Transfer mixture to a heavy duty plastic Ziploc bag and add Gardein beefless tips (already halved). Seal bag and transfer to the refrigerator. Marinate 2-3 hours, turning occasionally to ensure all pieces are covered.

Cut your carrots and celery on the diagonal to make them pretty and give them more surface area. I sliced my onion in half vertically and then made slices of it and chunk-ed the bell pepper.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add marinade and Gardein beefless tips mixture. Cook about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

Stir in veggies and cook an additional 3-5 minutes until vegetables are softened but still crispy.

Remove from heat. Serve over rice or rice noodles and top with scallions. Garnish with sesame seeds, if you like.

Enjoy!

Southern Greens

I love greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, you name it. I grew up eating greens, but not everyone knows how to cook them. I did skip a step and buy ready to cook greens. If you have fresh ones from the market just be sure to wash them well (than can be sandy), strip out the middle tough stem and then roll them up like a cigar and slice them.

We love a big pot of greens served with hot pepper sauce and onions. Usually when we eat greens we also have some kind of peas (with hot chow-chow) and a protein. We love Gardein products and they have so many varieties to choose from. This dinner was a mustard greens and turnip greens mix, zipper peas and Gardein  wings. UMMMMM....

• 1 package mustard & turnip greens mix
• 3 cups vegetable broth

Bring broth to a boil.

Add greens (I had to add half, wilt them down and then add the other half.)

Cook about 45 minutes until very tender.

Enjoy!!

Blueberry Banana Bread

Over the weekend I did a lot of cooking and somehow not much picture taking so that I could add to this blog. I did manage to make this Blueberry Banana Bread to have something a little on the sweet side around the house. You can make this with whatever flour you wish, but I wanted to also make it a little more healthy and opted for whole wheat flour.  This bread can be eaten for breakfast, as a snack or I guess you could sprinkle with powdered sugar and/or syrup and use as a dessert.

• 3 large bananas***
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
• 1/3 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of agave nectar
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup of blueberries or a few more to taste

***The reason my bananas are black is that they were frozen. I take over ripe bananas and toss them in the freezer. When you want bread just put them on a plate for 30 minutes or so til they thaw enough to use.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, grease a loaf pan. Mash your bananas well with a fork. It's okay if there are some small lumps.

Mix the milk and half the lemon juice and let it stand to make vegan buttermilk. To the mashed bananas add the remaining lemon juice, milk/buttermilk and agave nectar. Stir well.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients, stir well.

Toss the blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour. This will keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan while baking.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Fold in the blueberries.

Spread into the loaf pan.

  Bake for 50-60 minutes until brown and well-risen.

Cool on a wire rack. This is delicious served warm.

Enjoy!!