Traditional Thanksgiving Green Bean Casserole (Vegan)

I made this for my boyfriend's family on Thanksgiving and I'm pretty sure no one even thought about it being vegan :-)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

Beans

• 2 quarts water
• 1 tablespoon table salt (Alanna says it’s essential)
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

Sauce

• 10 ounces fresh mushrooms
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• generous pinch cayenne pepper
• Salt to taste
• Fresh pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon dry sherry
• 3/4 cup soy creamer (I used coconut creamer, bought at Whole Foods)

Topping

• 1 1/2 slices whole grain bread
• 1 tablespoon vegan margarine
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/16 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 3-ounce can of French fried onions

 

Instructions

1. Beans: Bring the water to boil in a large pot.
2. While it’s heating, cut up the beans. Add the salt and beans to the boiling water. Cover and cook for 6 minutes.
3. Drain beans in a colander, and then spray for a minute with cold water to stop the cooking. Let them drain in the colander, shaking every now and then to get off all the water.
4. Sauce: Trim and discard the mushroom stems and chop the mushrooms into pieces.
5. Spray a non-stick pan with oil and heat it. Add the mushrooms, garlic, cayenne, salt, and pepper. Cook until mushrooms are very soft and exude their juices.
6. Whisk the flour into the vegetable broth and add to the mushrooms along with the sherry.
7. Simmer, stirring, until mixture thickens. Add the creamer and simmer until thick, about 5 to 10 minutes.
8. Adjust the seasonings and stir in the beans.
9. Topping: Put the bread, margarine, salt, and pepper into a food processor and pulse until crumbly. Pour into a bowl and add the onions. Stir to combine.
10. To assemble: Put the green beans into an oiled casserole dish and top with the onion mixture. Bake at 425 F for about 15 minutes.
11. If you are not serving this right away, refrigerate the topping separately; bring to room temperature before sprinkling the topping on the casserole and baking for about 20 minutes or until hot throughout.

Lasagna w/ Basil Cashew Cheeze (Vegan)

 

So I had this all ready to go in the oven and was so excited about it, only to discover that my boyfriend's oven was suddenly broken and not heating up!  So we went with plan B for that night but went to my place a few nights later to bake and enjoy this lasagna.  It was AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS.  This is another recipe I found on Oh She Glows (have I mentioned I'm obsessed with that blog?!).  The cheeze sauce is made of a raw cashews base, with lots of fresh basil and nutritional yeast.  It was so creamy and good, I had to stop myself from eating all the sauce before making the lasagna!  WOW... so good :)

 

 

Ingredients

 

Lemon Basil Cashew Cheeze Sauce

 

Makes 1 cup 

• 1 cup raw cashews, soaked in water for 30 mins or overnight (I found these at Whole Foods)
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth or water (or more as needed)
• 1.5 cups fresh basil leaves (lightly packed)
• 1/2 cup nutritional yeast (gives the cheese flavor)
• 3/4-1 tsp sea salt (or to taste) + freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

Lasagna

• 454 g Box of whole wheat lasagna noodles (I didn't use the whole box, but depends on size of your dish)
• 1.5 bottles of pasta sauce or use homemade marinara sauce
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 sweet onion, chopped (2.5 cups)
• 2 small zucchini, chopped
• 1 cup cremini mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large red pepper, chopped
• 2 pre-cooked veggie burgers (Amy's California brand), crumbled (optional, I didn't add this)
• Lemon Basil Cashew Cheeze Sauce (from above)
• Daiya vegan cheese (as much as desired, I used Cheddar flavor)

 

Instructions

Lemon Basil Cashew Cheeze Sauce

1. Drain and rinse soaked cashews.
2. With the food processor turned on, drop in your garlic cloves and process until chopped.
3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth, scraping down the bowl as needed.

Lasagna

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. In a large skillet, sautee onion and garlic over low-medium heat for 5 minutes. Now add in the rest of the veggies and sautee for another 10-15 minutes. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. This is key or you will have bland tasting vegetables in your lasagna.
3. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook lasagna noodles al dente, drain, and rinse immediately with cold water.
4. Add 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish. Add a layer of noodles, half the basil cheeze sauce, half the vegetables, more pasta sauce, another layer of noodles, veggie burger crumbles (optional), the rest of the cheeze sauce, the rest of the vegetables, more pasta sauce, and finally a sprinkle of cheese.
5. Cover with tinfoil and prick with fork a few times. Bake at 400F for 40-45 minutes and then remove tinfoil and broil for 5 minutes on medium. Watch closely so you don’t burn the edges.
6. Remove and serve. Will keep in the fridge for at least 3-4 days.

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Harvest Rice

I celebrated Thanksgiving this year with my boyfriend's family and had a great time!  We were assigned to bring a vegetable dish and I ended up bringing four different things because I'm addicted to cooking and baking lately (and it's fun to share it with other people).  I think this was my favorite of the things I made this time! It is a good alternative to stuffing. I found the recipe online and made a few changes as I made it.  I also have to admit I borrowed the top photo because mine was snapped quickly as dinner was already starting!

Ingredients

Serves 8-10 (large batch for Thanksgiving...would 1/2 this normally)

• 3 cups cooked brown rice (about 1 cup measured uncooked)
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 small honeycrisp apple, diced
• 1 small sweet onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup roasted butternut squash (optional)
• 2-3 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• 6-8 Tbsp raisins
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
• 2-5 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it, I went on the high end for the special occasion)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp fine black pepper
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (optional)
• 1 tsp sea salt (to taste)

Instructions

1. Prepare brown rice - set aside in large mixing bowl.
2. Boil some water, add raisins, remove from heat, and let soak for about 10 minutes.  This will plump up and soften the raisins.
3. In a small bowl, combine the pumpkin, maple syrup, cider vinegar, cinnamon and black pepper.  Warm in microwave. Mix well. Add this mixture to the warm brown rice. Fold until well distributed.
4. Prep your apples and onions by dicing.
5. Sautee onions until softened and translucent (optional, you could leave them raw too).
6. Fold into the rice mixture: raisins, apples, onions, walnuts, olive oil, parsley, salt to taste and any other add-in's.
7. Other optional add-in's: nutritional yeast, truffle oil, cayenne, cubes of butternut squash or sweet potato.  I had some butternut squash left over from a different recipe so I added that in!
8. Serve warm or keep in warm oven until ready to serve. But do not over-heat. You want the apples to still have a crispness to them when you serve. 

Santa Fe Spaghetti Squash Casserole

I found this recipe online and liked the idea of trying spaghetti squash with something other than red sauce, Italian style.  It turned out really great!  I served it with salsa on the side.  Yum :)

Ingredients

 

• 1 medium spaghetti squash
• olive oil spray
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup red or green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (14-oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies
• 2/3 cup sweet corn
• 2/3 cup fresh chopped spinach
• 1 tsp chili powder, to taste
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs (or tortilla chip crumbs)

To Note: I roasted the spaghetti squash ahead of time to make this dinner more quickly on a weeknight.  Also, you can cook this in a casserole dish or in the hollowed out spaghetti squash (as pictured)!

Serves 4

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Halve and roast the squash in a 375 degree oven for 50 minutes until fork tender.  I used these instructions for roasting.
3. Cool. Scrape out the squash halves with a fork (in strands) and place the squash in a bowl.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Spray a large skillet with the olive oil spray and sauté the onion, garlic and red pepper over medium heat for 5 minutes.
6. Add the drained beans, green chilies, corn, chopped spinach, and chili powder; heat through 1 minute.
7. Remove from heat and mix in a large bowl with the cooked squash, cilantro, lime juice, and sea salt.
8. Spoon the squash mixture into a casserole or baking dish sprayed with olive oil cooking spray.
9. Top with bread crumbs (or tortilla chip crumbles).
10. Bake at 350 degrees for twenty to thirty minutes – until the casserole is heated through and bubbling around the edges.

Mushroom Cream Sauce (w/ Pasta and Kale)

 

 

Who knew vegan cream sauce could be so incredibly good... you seriously won't believe it!  I actually was searching for a recipe for spaghetti squash and found this one.  I starting roasting the spaghetti squash but it was taking too long so I ended up just making some spaghetti pasta and sautéed kale quickly to eat with this.  I'll be using the spaghetti squash for another recipe tonight, no worries :)

 

You could eat this sauce with all kinds of things (and believe me, I will be)!

 

Serves 1-2

 

Ingredients

• 1 package sliced mushrooms
• 2 cups almond milk (divided)
• 2 tbsp non-dairy creamer (I found this with the milk at Whole Foods)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp arrowroot or cornstarch
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• few dashes ground sage
• few dashes dried thyme

Instructions

1. Start with 1 full package of mushrooms, and sauté in a little bit of spray oil or Earth Balance.  Let these cook about ten minutes, stirring frequently, so that they are nice and soft and starting to brown.
2. Next up, add 1 cup of the almond milk to start.  Bring it up to a simmer and let it cook down a bit, concentrating the flavor and preparing a good base for the sauce. 
3. Next add the 2 tbsp of nutritional yeast, to give the sauce a protein boost and a delicious cheesy flavor.  Add herbs now as well.
4. Add 2 tbsp of non-dairy creamer, and the other cup of almond milk and stir. 
5. The sauce should have a good flavor, but it will be a little runny at this point.  Continue to let it simmer, and prepare a slurry using 2 tsp arrowroot (or cornstarch) with 2 tsp water in a separate dish, and once it is well combined, add the mixture to your sauce, stirring immediately.  You should see the sauce instantly thicken – make sure you keep stirring! 
6. Adjust your final seasoning with salt and pepper.

 

Warm Fall Farro Salad

This was my first time eating (and making) farro.  It's sort of like a mix between brown rice and pasta.  It's really tasty!  I found it at Trader Joe's and it was super quick to make.  You could put whatever vegetables you want in here!  I think it was the homemade dressing that really made this one though :)  This was another recipe from a Happy Herbivore Meal Plan.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

 

• 1 cup farro
• 4 oz cherry tomatoes (or regular tomatoes), sliced in half (or diced if regular tomatoes)
• few pinches of dried thyme or parsley
• 2 bell peppers, seeded and diced to a medium size
• 3 garlic cloves, minced (divided)
• 1 shallot, minced
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• agave nectar, to taste
• vegetable broth
• sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

1. Fill a medium pot with water (salt if desired) and bring to a boil over high heat. Meanwhile, prep vegetables.
2. Combine 2 tbsp minced shallot with red wine vinegar in a small bowl.
3. Add farro to boiling water and cook 10-15 minutes, until tender. Drain thoroughly.
4. Meanwhile add 1 minced garlic clove to shallot-vinegar mixture, along with 2 tbsp broth, or as much as desired, to make a dressing. If too tart, add drops of agave nectar to taste.  Season with salt and pepper.
5. Heat a (dry) skillet over high heat. When a drop of water fizzles, line pan with a thin layer of broth and add peppers. Cook on high for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until they soften.
6. Then add minced garlic (remaining 2 cloves), and more broth as necessary and cook for another minute or so, until garlic is golden.
7. Add cooked (warm or chilled) farro, herbs and tomatoes to the pan, tossing to combine.
8. Add dressing just before eating. 

Butternut Squash Mac 'n Cheeze

 

 

This is my new favorite thing.  I think about eating it about three times a day!  I just bought another butternut squash so I can make it again soon, this time with kale :)  I got this recipe from Oh She Glows website and now have been looking at all her other recipes for more ideas!!  Soooooo delicious :)

 

Note: I recommend roasting the butternut squash ahead of time to shorten the prep time for this dinner.

 

Serves 3-4

 

Ingredients

• 1 fresh butternut squash (peeled and chopped)
• olive oil spray
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy butter replacer)
• 1 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 1 tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
• 6 tbsp nutritional yeast, or more to taste
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1/4-3/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2-1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1/2-1 tsp sea salt (to taste) & ground black pepper (to taste)
• 4 servings whole wheat pasta (8oz or half a 16oz package) makes 3 1/4 cup cooked
• Mix-ins of choice (kale, spinach, broccoli, peas, pumpkin seeds, etc)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Line a casserole dish with tin foil (or olive oil spray). Spray chopped squash with olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 40 minutes, uncovered, or until tender.  For instructions on chopping a butternut squash, look here.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the cheeze sauce in a pot on the stove top. Add Earth balance over low-medium heat.
3. In a bowl, whisk together milk and arrowroot powder (or cornstarch or flour) until clumps are gone. Add into pot and whisk.
4. Stir in remaining ingredients (nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, lemon juice, salt & pepper) and whisk over low heat until thickened (about 5-7 minutes or so).
5. Cook your pasta according to package directions. The sauce makes enough to cover 4 servings of pasta.
6. Cook any mix-ins (I steamed some broccoli and then also used the leftover roasted squash!).
7. In a blender or food processor, blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash.
8. Add cooked, drained, and rinsed pasta into pot, along with cheeze sauce & mix-ins. Heat and serve.

Patagonia Backpacking Dinners (Vegan)

I am getting SOOOO excited for my upcoming backpacking trip to Patagonia (southern tip of South America, in Chile)!!  We will be on the trail for 10 days, 9 nights and will be carrying all our food with us.  For past trips, I've brought the store-bought dinners like Mountain House and Backpacker's Pantry.  While they do taste pretty good, they are loaded with sodium and other ingredients I cannot pronounce.  So I decided that for this trip, I would try making my own freezer bag dinners.

The concept of a freezer bag meal is that you put all the ingredients in a freezer bag (must be shelf-stable ingredients), then when you are on the trail, you boil 1-2 cups of water, pour the hot water in to the freezer bag, give it a few stirs, seal the bag, and let it sit for about 15 minutes.  The hot water will cook the food enough to make it edible :)  Believe me, after hiking all day, it is the best thing you've ever eaten in your life!

I found a website, called Harmony House Foods, that sells freeze dried vegetables, beans, grains and fruits.  After doing a little research, I decided to order the vegetable sampler, bean and legume sampler, and a few of the freeze dried fruits that sounded good to me.

So once I had the ingredients, I spent one Sunday afternoon writing freezer bag recipes, and then assembling!  I based the recipes on other "normal" recipes that I have made in the past, or what just seemed like it would taste good together.  I tried to make each recipe about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of food.  I'll have to give a review of each dinner once I'm back from the trip!!

Sweet Potato & Black Bean Chili

• 3/4 cup freeze-dried sweet potatoes
• 3/4 cup freeze-dried black beans
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried tomatoes
• 1 tsp smoked ground chipotle pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2  tsp ground sea salt

Split Pea Soup

• 1 cup freeze-dried split peas
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried leeks
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried carrots
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried celery
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp vegan bacon bits
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt

Cheezy Bacon Potatoes

• 1 1/4 cups freeze-dried white potatoes
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried peas
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried carrots
• 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• 2 tbsp vegan bacon bits

Northern Bean Stew

• 1 cup freeze-dried northern white beans
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried carrots
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried white potatoes
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried green beans
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• few dashes red pepper flakes
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Mexican Ramen

• 3/4 cup ramen noodles (crumbled)
• 1/3 cup freeze-dried black beans
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried corn
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried bell peppers
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried tomatoes
• 1 tbsp freeze-dried jalapenos
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 tsp smoked ground chipotle pepper
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt

Hawaiian Rice

• 1 cup instant brown rice
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried bell peppers
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried sweet peas
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried pineapples (I used freeze-dried apricots instead)
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• few dashes red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 3 tsp coconut flakes

Tomato Basil Pasta

• 1 cup ramen noodles (crumbled)
• 1/3 cup freeze-dried tomatoes
• 1/3 cup freeze-dried broccoli
• 1/3 cup freeze-dried spinach
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• few dashes paprika
• 1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• few dashes ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried basil

Spaghetti with Vegetables

• 1 cup ramen noodles (crumbled)
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried carrots
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried celery
• 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• 5 tbsp freeze-dried tomato powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 2 bay leaves

Texas Chili

• 1/2 cup freeze-dried red beans
• 1/2 cup freeze-dried kidney beans
• just under 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
• just under 1/4 cup freeze-dried celery
• just under 1/4 cup freeze-dried carrots
• just under 1/4 cup freeze-dried tomatoes
• 5 tbsp freeze-dried tomato powder
• 1/2 tbsp freeze-dried jalapeno
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast

Sweet Potato Lentils

• 1 cup freeze-dried sweet potatoes
• 1 cup freeze-dried lentils
• 2 tbsp freeze-dried onions
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground sea salt
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes

Peanut Butter Vegetable Stew

Another recipe from the Happy Herbivore Meal Plans!  I love how quick and easy most of the recipes in the meal plans are.  This one was extra yummy... not too surprising coming from a peanut butter addict :)

Serves 3-4.

Ingredients

• 2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled (optional) and diced
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced (about 1 tbsp)
• 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon (I think I added a lot more than this...)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 zucchini, cut in half length-wise, then crosswise into half moons
• 1 small eggplant, diced
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
• 4-6 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 green onion, sliced

Instructions

1. Line a medium pot with broth and add onion and sweet potato. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are translucent and softer.
2. Stir in ginger, garlic, cumin and cinnamon (stir for 30 seconds to combine, or until fragrant).
3. Add tomato paste and stir until combined.
4. Add zucchini and eggplant, plus salt and pepper. Cook 3 minutes, or until everything is softer, adding broth as necessary.
5. Add tomatoes, with juices, 1 cup broth and peanut butter. Stir to combine.
6. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until sweet potato is fork tender (and all vegetables are soft), stirring occasionally.
7. Serve over couscous or brown rice if desired. Garnish with green onion.

Veggie Biscuit Pot Pie

Another quick and delicious recipe that I found in a Happy Herbivore Meal Plan, also available on  page 159 of Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook.  I'm pretty sure I added more Italian seasoning and nutritional yeast than the recipe calls for (I pretty much always use more seasoning / spices than the normal person!).  It turned out great!

Serve over biscuits.  I made Applesauce Biscuits, which is also posted on my blog here.

Serves 2

Ingredients 

• ½ tsp garlic powder, granulated
• 1 cup low sodium vegetable broth
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp Italian seasoning
• 3 cups mixed vegetables (frozen)
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp onion powder, granulated

Instructions 

1. Whisk cornstarch into broth until well combined.
2. Combine with all remaining ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Allow sauce to thicken as desired.
3. Taste, adding more garlic or onion powder if desired. Also add salt and pepper to taste.
4. Pour over biscuits and serve.

Easy Enchilada Bake

This meal was super quick and easy for a weeknight dinner.  The sauce soaked in to the beans and tortillas during baking and turned out really great!  The recipe was in one of the Happy Herbivore Meal Plans that I sometimes buy but it's also available on page 166 of the Happy Herbivore Cookbook.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup enchilada sauce - I bought this canned and added agave nectar for sweetness and some smoked ground chipotle pepper for flavor and heat
• 6-10 corn tortillas
• 1 1/3 cup fat-free refried beans (canned) - I used refried black beans and it was delicious :-)
• 3 cups fresh spinach
• 6-12 black olives, sliced 

Instructions

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce in your microwave or oven safe dish.
3. Next, add a layer of tortilla, covering the bottom–a little overlap is fine, or you can cut the tortillas to fit.
4. Spread tortilla with half of the refried beans and top with half of the spinach.
5. Add another layer of tortilla with remaining beans and spinach.
6. Top with remaining tortilla and pour remaining enchilada sauce evenly over everything.
7. Microwave or bake until warm (I baked for about 20 minute), then add olives on top before eating.

To Note:  You can add additional ingredients like corn, green chilies or vegan cheese.

 

 

 

Crockpot Sweet Potato Lentils

A friend posted this recipe on Facebook, originally from Pinch of Yum.  I will definitely be checking out that blog for other recipes ideas!!  This recipe was awesome and so easy.  You can eat it with Indian bread, tortillas, crackers, or just by itself.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

 

3 large sweet potatoes, diced (about 6 cups)
3 cups vegetable broth
1 onion, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoon each ground coriander, garam masala, and chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups uncooked red lentils (masoor dal)
1 can coconut milk
1 cup water

 

Instructions 

1. Place the sweet potatoes, vegetable broth, onion, garlic, and spices in a crockpot.
2. Cook on high for about 3 hours, until vegetables are soft.
3. Add the lentils and stir once. Replace the lid and cook on high for an additional 1 1/2 hours.
4. Stir in the coconut milk and as much water as needed to get the right consistency.

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili

This recipe was originally from EatingWell.com but I find that a lot of the recipes on that site could be improved upon so I made a few changes and it turned out great!  This is a perfect meal for a fall weekend and tastes fantastic leftover too :)

To note: one of the changes I made is to use SMOKED ground chipotle chile powder.  You can't find the smoked version as easily (I ordered it online) but the flavor that it adds to recipes is TOTALLY worth the extra effort!

2 servings, 2 cups each   
          

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked ground chipotle chile (I think I added about 3x this amount but I'm not normal!)
• 1/8 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed
• 1 cup canned diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons lime juice
• olive oil spray

Preparation

1. Spray olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and potato and cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly softened, about 4 minutes.
3. Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, chipotle and salt and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add water, bring to a simmer, cover, reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
5. Add beans, tomatoes and lime juice; increase heat to high and return to a simmer, stirring often.
6. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer and cook until slightly reduced, about 4 minutes.

Pasta with Sun-dried Tomato Cream Sauce

This is one of the best things I've made in awhile. The recipe for the Sun-Dried Tomato Cream sauce is available on page 208 of Everyday Happy Herbivore but I've included it below too.  You will be eating this sauce non-stop with a spoon as you make it, believe me!  Also, if you can make it ahead, the flavor intensifies overnight.

Sauce Ingredients (makes 2 cups, serves 4)

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (make sure to buy the kind in a pouch, not in a jar with oil)
2 cups non-dairy milk
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
2 tsp yellow miso
1 tsp onion powder
few dashes of paprika
1/2 tsp Cajun seasoning
pinch of salt
few dashes of black pepper
2 garlic cloves
juice of 2 lemon slices
basil flakes or chopped fresh basil for garnish (optional)

Instructions

1. Rehydrate tomatoes by filling a small saucepan with water halfway and bringing it to a boil
2. Once boiling, add tomatoes and turn off the heat.  Tomatoes should be ready in about 10 minutes.
3. Drain water off and combine rehydrated tomatoes with remaining ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
4. Transfer to a saucepan and gently warm over low heat.
5. Taste, whisking in another 2 to 4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast if desired.
6. Serve over pasta or use as a dunking sauce with crusty bread.  Garnish with a few dried basil flakes or a pinch of fresh chopped basil if desired.

Nutritional Information (1/4 cup)

76 calories, 1.7g fat, 10.2g carbs, 3.1g fiber, 3.3g sugar, 7.3g protein

I added the following to complete my dish:

• whole-wheat spaghetti
• sautéed vegetables (onion & garlic sautéed in a little olive oil spray, then added asparagus, sun-dried tomatoes and artichoke hearts)

Toss it all together with the sauce and you will have a gourmet meal that will please just about anyone!!

Eggless Salad

I have to admit I was a little nervous to try this recipe but I was shocked at how good this salad was and tastes like the original version!  Black salt is the secret ingredient here and really does make tofu taste like eggs!  I had trouble finding it locally so just ended up ordering online.  It was well worth it!!  It's fun to try new things :)

 

You can find the recipe on page 74 of Everyday Happy Herbivore or online here.

Serves 6

Eggless Salad Ingredients

 

• 12 ounces extra-firm tofu
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1 whole celery stalks, minced
• 1¼ tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1½ tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp relish (dill pickle)
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ¼ tsp mild curry powder
• ¼ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp black salt
• 2 tbsp vegan mayo (fat-free)

 

Eggless Salad Instructions 

 

1. If using firm tofu, press for at least 20 minutes.  I do this by taking the tofu block out of the package, wrapping the block in a kitchen towel, placing between 2 cutting boards, and then placing heavy books on top.
2. Give extra-firm tofu a good squeeze before starting. Crumble tofu into a large mixing bowl.
3. Add remaining ingredients and stir until well combined. Let set for a few minutes (this allows the flavor to merge but also enhances the yellow coloring).
4. Stir again. Taste, adjusting spices as necessary. Add black pepper to taste and serve.
5. I used the fat-free vegan mayo from Everyday Happy Herbivore Cookbook (page 272). However, Nasoya makes a commercial fat-free vegan mayo and there are several low fat varieties by other brands.  I'm including the recipe below:

 

Vegan Mayo Ingredients

• 1 12.3 oz pkg Mori-Nu tofu
• 2-3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp distilled white vinegar
• lemon juice, to taste
• agave nectar, to taste

Vegan Mayo Instructions

1. In a blender or small food processor, blend tofu with Dijon and vinegar until smooth and creamy.
2. Add a few drops of lemon juice and a few drops of agave nectar and blend again.
3. Taste and add more lemon juice, agave nectar, or Dijon as needed or desired.
4. Chill until you're ready to use.

Mexican Chowder

 

This is one of my favorite dinners to make and it's so quick!  You can find it on page 112 of Everyday Happy Herbivore!  A few of the secret ingredients are yellow miso, nutritional yeast and for the corn, use Trader Joe's Frozen Roasted Corn.  The roasted aspect of the corn gives this a little extra flavor.  YUMMY!  Regarding things like yellow miso and nutritional yeast, you can find them at stores like Whole Foods but once you buy it, you'll have it for awhile and know where to find it next time.  Just got to build up the pantry!!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

• 1 small sweet onion, finely diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 2 tbsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp yellow miso
• 1 cup corn (I used frozen Roasted Corn)
• 1 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
• juice of 1 or more lime wedges
• salt and pepper, to taste
• corn chips (optional)
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Instructions

1. Line a large pot with a thin layer of water and bring to a boil.
2. Add onion and garlic and sauté until onion becomes translucent, about 2 minutes.
3. Add bell peppers and spices and reduce heat to medium, continuing to cook.
4. Meanwhile, whisk 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast with non-dairy milk and ketchup, then pour over bell peppers, stirring to combine everything.
5. Add miso, corn, and black beans and stir in.
6. Squeeze the juice out of a lime wedge and stir in.
7. Taste, adding more lime as desired plus salt and pepper to taste.
8. For a stronger cheese flavor, whisk 1 to 2 more tbsp of nutritional yeast.
9. Serve with corn chips.  You can garnish with chopped cilantro if desired.

To note: if the soup is too thick, add tomato sauce, vegetable broth or more non-dairy milk.

Cherry Quinoa Salad

This photo is courtesy of Leah Arrington (my one and only sister)!  I didn't take a photo of this when I made it so I'm very happy that she made it too and snapped the photo :)  This salad is soooo good.  You basically soak dried cherries in hot water, then use this water to make the red quinoa.  The result is the most delicious quinoa ever!  The rest of the salad is spinach, cucumbers, chickpeas if you want them, and top with lemon juice and few extra dried cherries.  You can find the recipe on page 122 of Everyday Happy Herbivore.

Serves 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 4 cups baby spinach
• 1 cup chickpeas
• 1 cucumber, cut in half lengthwise, then sliced
• dried cherries, for garnish
• juice of 1 or more lemon wedges

 

Instructions

1. Bring water to a boil
2. Once boiling, add the cherries, cover, turn off the heat, and let sit for 10 minutes.
3. After 10 minutes, the water should take on a pink hue, some of the cherries should be floating, and all of them should look bloated.
4. Transfer water and cherries to a blender and whiz until smooth (a few cherry bits are OK).  Look at the markings on your blender to make sure you have 1 cup of liquid but if not, add a little more water.  If you have more than 1 cup, drain excess off.
5. Return to saucepan and add quinoa, stirring to combine.
6. Bring to a boil and once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until water has cooked off, about 15 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, toss spinach with remaining ingredients and plate.
8. Sprinkle with quinoa (warm or chilled) and squeeze lemon juice on top.

Spinach & Fruit Salad w/ Balsamic-Dijon Dressing

 

This salad was so fresh and pretty too!  As you can probably see in the photo, it was made with baby spinach, sliced almonds, fresh strawberries, blackberries and blueberries.  I made homemade Balsamic-Dijon Dressing from page 126 Everyday Happy Herbivore.  The dressing really brought out all the flavors of the salad!

 

Serves 1 (I think I did this recipe 4-5x for the large salad pictured)

 

Balsamic-Dijon Vinaigrette Dressing Ingredients

 

• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp. water
• agave nectar, to taste

 

Instructions

 

Whisk Dijon with vinegars and water.  If it's too tart, add a few drops of agave to taste.

 

 

 



Vegan Crab Cakes w/ Remoulade Sauce

This recipe honestly surprised me... I was skeptical so I made them just for myself, just in case it was gross.  LOL!  In reality, it was so delicious that I practically ate the whole batch right away!  The recipe is on page 187 of Everyday Happy Herbivore but it's also posted online here.  I wasn't able to find kelp at any local stores but I did find dried seaweed at the local Asian store.  This is what gives the recipe a seafood flavor.  It seemed to be a great substitute!  If you do want to buy kelp, try ordering here.

I also made the Remoulade sauce which is on page 271 of Everyday Happy Herbivore.  I highly recommend making the sauce too - it totally made the meal!

Serves 7

Crab Cakes Ingredients

• 10 tbsp fat-free vegan mayo (see recipe also posted on my blog here)
• 10 ounces extra-firm tofu
• 3 whole celery stalks
• 1 whole onion, small
• 1¼ cups oyster mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 3 whole whole wheat bread slices
• 1 tsp kelp (I used dried seaweed)
• 1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper

Crab Cakes Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place tofu in food processor and pulse until coarsely crumbled. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
3. Process celery, onion, mushrooms and bread as you did the tofu.
4. Add vegetables and bread to tofu, add spices and mayo, stirring to thoroughly combine.
5. Scoop mixture with a 1/2 cup measuring cup, packing it in tightly to form a cake. Turn out on cookie sheet and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown.

 

Remoulade Sauce Ingredients

Makes 1/4 cup

• 1 tbsp vegan mayo  (see recipe also posted on my blog here)
• 1 tbsp plus 1/4 tsp ketchup
• 1 tbsp dill relish
• 1/4 tsp yellow mustard
• 1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
• juice of 1 lemon wedge
• hot sauce, to taste

Remoulade Sauce Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients together, including a few drops of hot sauce.
2. Taste, adding more Old Bay seasoning or hot sauce as desired.
3. If your relish isn't very salty, you might want to add a pinch of sea salt.

Chickpea Noodle Soup

I made this one day when I was feeling under the weather.  It was SO YUMMY and comforting as well.  The mushrooms and other veggies had a great consistency and added a lot of flavor.  Also, it comes together really quick!  I ended up freezing some and it tasted just as good after defrosting.

The recipe is posted online here.  I'll definitely be making this one again as the weather turns colder!

Ingredients

• 1 whole carrot, skinned
• 2 whole celery stalks, sliced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 10 whole cremini (brown) mushrooms
• 8 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tsp yellow miso paste
• 1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 whole bay leaf
• 4 ounces whole wheat pasta, uncooked
• 15 ounces chickpeas, drained and rinsed

 

Instructions

1. Line a large soup pot with broth, about 1/4 cup.
2. Add carrots, celery and onion and saute over high heat until onions are translucent, about 3 minutes.
3. Add mushrooms and more broth if necessary. Continue to cook over high heat until the mushrooms are soft, about 3 minutes.
4. Add remaining broth, bay leaves, miso and soy sauce.
5. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add pasta and reduce heat to medium. Cook for another 6 minutes, or until pasta is al dente (adjust time accordingly).
6. Stir in chickpeas and taste test. Add more miso or salt if necessary or desired.
7. Allow soup to thoroughly heat the chickpeas. Fish out bay leaves and serve.