Tuesday, September 23, 2014

September Craziness!

 ~ Happy Autumn Equinox! ~ 


We don't see too many leaves this color around here and the temps are still in the 100 degrees but things really get hopping this time of year. As you can see I didn't have too much success with Vegan MoFo! We spent a wonderful week in Iowa visiting my hubby's family; I have been busy making teas, incense and other goodies for a local craft show next month; babysitting grandkids and celebrating our oldest grandson's 4th birthday! The cooking I did do used a lot of convenience foods and whatever food I had left in the fridge and freezer after our Iowa trip. So, here's a rundown on the last two weeks! I did try four new recipes with mixed results.

 I found these StarLite cuisine frozen meals at Sprouts. They have a whole line of taquitos and enchiladas. I like to keep my freezer stocked when I don't have time to cook. Very tasty!

 ~ Sauteed Collards ~
I love collard greens! I'm always looking in my cookbooks for different ways to cook them. I found this recipe in Veganomican. Yum! I served the collards with some baked potatoes and Gardein Crispy Tenders.


~ Basic Guacamole ~
I had an avocado ready to expire! and this recipe is another one from Veganomican. Yes, it's really basic; lime (too much), onion, salt and pepper. But it was a quick, easy way to use up that overly ripe avocado. She does give optional ingredients to add like cilantro, jalapeno and garlic which I didn't have which would have spiced it up.


~ Spinach, Peppers and  Cherry Tomatoes with Penne Rigate ~
I was browsing recipes online and found this at vegetariantimes. I had some roasted red peppers I had frozen, so this was a quick meal to put together. Everything gets cooked in a skillet and then tossed with cooked pasta. I sprinkled some red pepper flakes on top for a little spice.

 ~ Hot Tamale Pie ~
I love a good tamale pie and sadly this one didn't turn out. The recipe is from Cookin' Crunk and sounded really good. I think I must have used cornmeal that was too fine because the cornmeal really never thickened up to the right consistency. The filling had pinto beans and lots of spice and was really delicious. I poured the cornmeal mixture over the bean mix and went ahead and cooked it. Not a success. It was like eating cornmeal mush mixed with chili. The flavors were good so that's the way I ate it. I would like to try this again with a different kind of cornmeal.

I was so excited to see these frozen tamales at Sprouts!

Easy to steam in the microwave.


 I served the tamales with some homemade Spanish rice and Smoky Collard Greens with Vegan Bacon from Betty Goes Vegan. Another convenience foods success!

Meatless Hot Dog

I made some Chili Dogs one night using Yves vegan hot dogs and a can of Sprouts spicy vegan chili. I had some hot dog buns in the freezer! and used those. I topped the chili dogs with some chopped onion and Daiya cheddar shreds and served them with some sweet potato fries!


My new favorite frozen "chicken". I used the Southwest Style to make some Chicken-Free Fajitas.

I sauteed a little red and yellow bell pepper in some olive oil along with the chicken-free strips. I would have used more peppers but that was all I had.


~ Chicken-Free Fajitas ~
I layered the sauteed chicken-free strips and bell peppers in a warmed flour tortilla then topped them with Daiya cheddar shreds, cilantro, green onions, chopped tomatoes and romaine lettuce and a few dashes of Tabasco sauce for some hotness! YUM!!!

Here's to a new week (hopefully with more fresh ingredients incorporated-hehe). Well, I did do some green juicing so that counts!



Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Taco Casserole

veganmofo2014

Day 2 of Vegan MoFo 2014
Since we're heading to Iowa in a couple of days I might not be too successful this year at posting every day! Too busy having fun; I'll have to play catch-up when we get home. 

Someone had shared this recipe on FB. Of course it wasn't vegan, so I decided to try and veganize it. 
I usually don't use veggie crumbles as they bother my stomach. But these Gardein Beefless Ground crumbles tasted like the real thing and didn't bother me! 


Lots of easy pantry staples to make this casserole.
Instead of the preservative laden packaged taco seasonings I used my homemade Taco Seasoning from Skinny Bitch Ultimate Everyday Cookbook. I also used the Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe from Cookin' Crunk instead of a can.




Making the beefless ground sauce mixture. (doesn't look too appetizing, yet) 


I used organic corn tortilla chips for the bottom layer. 


I garnished the Taco Casserole with some cilantro and chipotle habanero sauce and served it with a big green salad. 

Taco Casserole:
1 pkg. Gardein Beefless Ground
1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning (or 1 1 1/4 oz. envelope)
1 1/4 C. homemade vegan mushroom soup (or 1 10 1/2 oz. can)
8 oz. vegan No-Beef Broth
1 14 oz. can Ro-Tel tomatoes
4-6 oz. shredded vegan cheddar (I used Daiya)
1 8 oz. bag tortilla chips
chopped cilantro for garnish

       Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix taco seasoning, soup, broth and tomatoes in medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Put beefless ground in large skillet, heat to medium-low. Add sauce mixture and simmer about 3 minutes. Pour chips into bottom of 9x13 pan (leave whole.) Pour beefless ground mixture over chips. Place cheddar shreds over top. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese looks melted. Garnish with cilantro. This tastes great the next day!