Friday, June 26, 2015

Easy Sunday Dinner



My daughter asked for her favorite meal pre- vegan : beef tips over mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy, sweet & smokey green peas, and lemon roasted veggies. Challenge accepted!! Anything can be veganized, trust me.
We are in love with all things Gardein. They make great meatless products and help make those pre-vegan meals happen again. We don't use a lot of "fake meats", but this meal was so delicious, it was totally worth it!


Recipes:

Vegan garlic mashed potatoes:

8 cups potatoes, cubed
1 tsp turmeric
Olive oil
2 cup plant milk
1/2 cup vegan butter
5 cloves fresh garlic, pressed
Salt & pepper

Beefless tips & gravy:

2 (9 oz.) Bags of Gardein beefless tips
8 oz. of sliced portobella mushroom
Oil to sautée
2 Tbsp. flour
2 Tbsp. Earth Balance ( or other vegan butter)
1/2 tsp arrowroot  (or corn starch)
1/2 tsp each- cumin, garlic powder & thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 cup vegetable stock

Lemony Roasted Vegetables:

6 cups fresh vegetables  (whatever you have on hand will do)
1 large lemon, juiced
1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning 
Salt and pepper to taste

Smokey Sweet Peas :

2 cups of frozen sweet peas
1/4 cup of vegetable broth
1 tsp paprika

Method:

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large mixing bowl, toss potatoes with turmeric, salt and pepper and enough olive oil to coat potatoes.

Pour potatoes on to a baking sheet.

On another greased, sheet pan, add mixed vegetables. 

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over vegetables. Add Italian seasoning, and pepper to taste.

Place both sheet pans in the oven to roast for about 30 minutes.

While vegetables and potatoes roast, prepare your beefless tips *and gravy...

In a deep skillet over medium high heat, brown Gardein beefless tips *, mushrooms and onions in a little bit of oil.

Remove beefless tips, mushrooms and onions from the skillet and set aside. * Do not remove liquid from the pan, it will help flavor your gravy!

Add butter and flour to the skillet. Whisk until the lumps are gone.

Add vegetable broth, cumin, garlic powder, thyme, arrowroot, salt and pepper to skillet. Whisk again to combine.

Allow to come to a boil.

Reduce heat to medium.

Add 1/2 cup of plant milk and whisk again.

Add beefless tips and mushrooms back to the gravy. Cook an additional 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, to allow gravy to thicken.

While gravy thickens prepare your potatoes:

Melt 1/2 cup of butter over medium heat. Add crushed garlic.

Allow garlic to flavor butter, but do not let it burn. Once you smell the garlic, it's time to add the milk.

Add 2 cups plant milk to the butter and bring to a simmer.

In a large bowl, blend roasted potatoes, warm milk, salt and pepper with a hand mixer on medium, until smooth and creamy.

In a sauce pan over medium heat, warm up peas, vegetable broth and paprika.

Assemble :

Pour beefless tips and gravy over potatoes. Serve with peas and roasted vegetables.

Makes 4-6 servings

* If you can't find Gardein beefless tips, you can use any beefless tips, seitan, tofu or even just extra mushrooms. 

Serve with crescent rolls Or my Vegan cheddar Biscuits

Monday, June 22, 2015

Lazy Vegan Beer Cheese Sauce




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I'm a busy vegan mom who loves sports and nachos. Short cuts are my friend! I have been making the amazing cheese sauce recipe from veggie on a penny for months, but I hate peeling and boiling veggies. So I used my busy mom skills to come up with a solution for snacks with my husband that will get me back to the game quick. (This recipe does call for beer, so if you're making it for kids, sub it out for water or veggie broth since it will not cook out).


Lazy Vegan Beer Cheese Sauce:

1 can (15 oz) potatoes, drained
1/2 can (15 oz) carrots, drained
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup of your favorite vegan beer ( or veggie broth)
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/2 tsp.  paprika
1-2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 
Pickled or fresh jalapeños to taste (optional)

Toss it all in the blender on high until smooth.

Heat in a microwave safe dish and serve with your favorite chips or toss with warm pasta for a delicious vegan mac-n-cheese.

This recipe freezes and reheats well.

You can add to a ice cube tray to freeze into individual servings. 

Makes about 4 cups.

Monday, June 15, 2015

Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes




Living in NC, I have grown up around the most amazing soul food cooks in the world. Trust me when I say you don't know soul food until a southern grandma cooks for you!! This is a southern classic. One of my friends, Traci Carr, taught me 15+ years ago & something every Southern lady must know how to cook. Tonight I was inspired by my husband to create an amazing fried green tomatoes recipe worthy of a true southern kitchen & I impressed myself in the process!!! 
None of this would have been possible without the discovery of  aquafaba... The liquid in a can of chic peas! Anyone interested in learning more about cooking and baking with this vegan magic, check out the Facebook page - Vegan Aquafaba & Meringues


Vegan Fried Green Tomatoes:

2 green tomatoes, sliced
1/2 cup unsweetened plant milk
3 Tbsp aquafaba
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup corn meal
1/4 - 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional )
Salt & pepper
Oil to fry

Heat oil in deep frying pan over medium heat.

Combine milk, aquafaba, flour, corn meal, chili powder, salt & pepper in a bowl. Stir to make a wet mixture similar to a pancake batter.

Test oil to make sure its ready to fry by dropping a few drops of water into the pan, if it sizzles, it's ready.

Pat your tomato slices dry with a clean dish towel.

Dip green tomatoes into batter to coat.

Place in warm oil to fry.

Fry until golden brown on each side and allow to cool on a paper towel.

Sprinkle with salt while fresh out the oil if desired.

Serve hot with a spicy vegan ranch or top with hot sauce and layer between bread for a delicious vegan sandwich.

Makes 4 servings.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Cheesy Cuban Black Bean & Plantain Bowl



I wanted plantains. I wanted spicy. I wanted black beans and rice. I had fresh peppers in my garden. I had an avocado in the refrigerator. I have a batch of my cheese sauce ready. Sounds like the perfect set up for a rice bowl with lots of flavor! No real introduction today because the family is ready to eat this lovely dish.

Cheesy Cuban Bowl:

2 plantains, peeled and sliced into strips
chili powder (optional)
Oil to pan fry
1 1/2 cup of rice
1/2 cup salsa Verde
1 tsp turmeric
2 cups water
1 med. onion thinly sliced
1 fresh jalapeño, chopped
1 fresh red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup corn
2 (15 oz) cans of black beans, drained& rinsed
1 large avocado, peeled & chopped
1 recipe Lazy Vegan Beer Cheese
Salt and Pepper to taste 

Prepare your rice with the turmeric, salsa Verde and water.

Heat oil over medium heat. Toss plantains in pan and fry until browned on both sides, about 12 minutes.

Sprinkle plantains with chili powder whole still hot. Allow to cool on a paper towel.

You can reuse the pan you just used for your plantains to sautée your onions, peppers, and corn. Cook until browned over medium heat. 

Layer rice, black beans, peppers & onions, fried plantains & avocados. Top with vegan cheese sauce.

makes 4 servings