Tostadas with Chili-Spiced Greens & Potatoes

Wow~can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything. Busy, busy month. I threw a big bash for my 50th birthday which was actually last month but we celebrated this month. I had everyone bring their favorite finger food to share. I made my favorite vegan ranch salad dressing with veggies and dried veggie chips and Cilantro Jalapeno Hummus with pita bread. I also served Grilled Tofu Veggie Kabobs. I marinated the tofu and my mom grilled them up for me on a grill pan. They were delicious! Now if only I had taken pictures of everything. :(  

I've had this cookbook for awhile now and decided to try a few recipes out of it. The first one I tried, "Quinoa with Chard & Chickpeas" wasn't a success so I'm not including it in my blog because I won't make it again. Tonight I tried the tostada recipe; the combination of ingredients sounded a little strange but it turned out great.

 

The potato and greens (I used baby spinach) mixture. The recipe called for a mashed avocado to be added into the mix but I didn't have one and I really didn't miss it.

Love the flavors of lime, cumin and cilantro! I topped my tostada with a little Daiya cheddar shreds.

 

Baked Ziti~pg. 160

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

This is one of those recipes you can make when you just don't feel like cooking. I even used bottled marinara sauce instead of making my own. The only pasta I had was some gluten-free that I wanted to try. The GF pastas that I've tried in the past always turn to mush; so I thought I would try a different brand. No luck; still mushy. Oh well, I'll just put up with a little intestinal discomfort to enjoy some good old wheat pasta from now on. 

I substituted my own "Italian Seasoning" for all of the herbs the recipe calls for. There are lots of great herb blends in the cookbook Herb Mixtures & Spicy Blends. I used about 3 tsp. of the seasoning blend.

The last 10 minutes I uncovered the casserole and added shredded Daiya mozzarella and sprinkled some Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top. 

Baked Ziti with steamed broccoli and Faux Parmesan garlic bread. I use the Faux Parmesan recipe from How It All Vegan. It makes great garlic bread! You can see the pasta is just a pile of mush but it still tasted good! 

Gold Bar Cookies~pg. 218

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

A better name for these would be "PB & J Bars". Scrumptious!! I used peach preserves for the filling but I could see using strawberry jam or grape or.... Very easy to make since you toss the ingredients into the food processor. It calls for ground peanuts so I even ground those up in the food processor first.  We had a BBQ at my brother and sister-in-law's yesterday and I brought these along with Massaged Kale Salad and Creamy Tropical Fruit Salad. 

Skillet Hash~pg. 129

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

Browning the hash; that looks like cheese but it's shredded carrots. I used the Simple Simmered Seitan I had made and frozen into portions. So easy to take out of the freezer and use when I need it!

This recipe seemed a little blah to me so after browning the hash I added Daiya mozzarella shreds and mini sweet peppers on top. I covered with a lid until the cheese melted. 

I served the Skillet Hash with Sauteed Chard from Crazy Sexy Kitchen. I also used a little Sambal Oelek to add a little more spice.

Black Bean Soup with Kale and Rice~pg. 200

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

Loading up the slow cooker with all the yummy ingredients.

I love using the slow cooker; the delicious aroma of everything cooking all day is wonderful. Great tasting soup that I served with my "Faux Parmesan" Garlic Bread. This recipe made quite alot so I froze the leftovers in portions for future quick meals.

Indian-Spiced Lentil Ragu~pg. 139

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

Finally can get back in my kitchen to cook after having new tile installed! Yay! Every square inch of my kitchen has been cleaned and dusted but it was worth it to have a floor. We've been walking on painted concrete for three years now. 

Any recipe that uses curry powder, coriander, cumin and fresh ginger is a hit with me! The aroma of this dish while simmering is mouthwatering. Even after washing up the pots and pans and putting away the leftovers the scent lingers. Hmmm, maybe someone needs to bottle that scent. I added chopped yellow and orange bell peppers along with the onion and used fresh spinach instead of frozen. I also had a can of roasted diced tomatoes that gave it an extra smoky flavor. I served my Lentil Ragu over some jasmine rice. 

Simple Simmered Seitan~pg 50; Savory Vegetable Cobbler~pg 166

VegCookbookClub May recipes from Vegan on the Cheap by Robin Robertson:

New month, new cookbook! Or rather a cookbook I've had a long time and made one recipe out of it-Mu Shu Burritos. Now I've made a whole list of recipes I want to try.

I had alot of energy yesterday and decided to tackle making some seitan (wheatmeat). It's easy but it takes an hour to simmer. I like this particular seitan recipe because it makes about 2 pounds. I divided it into 4 portions so I can freeze for later use. I love the texture; it's not as hard and chewy as other recipes I've tried.

Simmering the seitan.

Draining and cooling seitan.

Chopped and ready to go in recipe.

Veggies and seitan waiting for the sauce.

Hot and bubbly from the oven.

Yum! This reminds me of the frozen pot pies I ate as a kid. I even added some ketchup to mine like I always did. This is the kind of food my hubby likes to eat; so I aim to please! I usually don't like to make long drawn-out recipes and this took over 2 hours to cook everything but it was worth it.