Hungry Jill Casserole

I really wanted to try this recipe from Cookin' Crunk because I loved the "Hungry Jack" version growing up. If you don't know what that is - ground beef, pork n' beans, cheese, and canned biscuits! There are a few steps before you can actually put this casserole in the oven. 

 Recipe for Ground TSP Beef. (I call it TVP-texturized vegetable protein) 

This makes a savory beef substitute rehydrating the TVP with water, soy sauce (Bragg's), vegan Worcestershire, and onion powder. I might make some and keep in the freezer. 

 I then made her recipe for Memphis-Style Barbecue Sauce. 

A tasty tangy, sweet flavor. 

 The next step is to make the biscuits for the topping and then combine the TVP, Great Northern beans, BBQ sauce and some other seasonings and top it with the cut biscuits and some Daiya cheddar. Finally, it cooks for 30 minutes! I made the barbeque sauce and Ground TSP Beef in the morning so it didn't take too long to put together for supper. 

~ Hungry Jill Casserole ~

A hearty casserole which the hubby loved. 

I still miss the original "hungry jack" version though. :(

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!

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!

White Bean & Collard Soup and Cornbread

I had a bunch of collard greens I needed to use and I'm always looking for new ways to cook them. I love collard greens! I found this soup recipe in Cookin' Crunk. She also suggested serving the Jalapeno-Corn Buttermilk Cornbread with it. 

I used my cast-iron skillet to bake the cornbread. It has chopped pickled jalapenos and corn in the batter. You make a "buttermilk" with soymilk and cider vinegar.  

 ~ Jalapeno-Corn Buttermilk Cornbread ~

Nice and crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. 

Topped my cornbread with some Earth Balance margarine and my favorite Bee Free Honee! I was so excited to see the honee in my local Sprouts. I don't have to order it online anymore. It has the consistency and taste of bee honey. It tastes better than using agave as a honey replacement.

~ White Bean and Collard Soup ~ 

This soup used dried Great Northern beans. I never cook with dried beans so this took a little preparation. I just put my beans on to soak in the morning and they were ready to cook in the afternoon. She didn't specify, but I waited to add the canned tomatoes and salt after the beans were cooked. I've read that the beans won't get done with the acid and salt in them. They turned out perfect. I like the addition of ginger, red pepper flakes and a little nutmeg for the seasonings. You cook the collard greens separately and then add them in to the cooked beans. Yum! I froze the leftover soup and cornbread for a quick supper later. 

Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole

This recipe from Cookin' Crunk reminded me of the cheese laden casseroles I used to make so I had to try it to see if it measured up. The only negative is some advance prep before you can eat! 

The day before I went ahead and cooked the brown rice and made the Vegan Cream of Mushroom Soup recipe. It makes 4 cups so I halved the recipe as the casserole only uses 1 cup of it. I still had some leftover soup so I froze it in 1 cup size. Hopefully, it will thaw alright and I can use it in another recipe. It will be really convenient to have on hand as I can never find vegan cream of mushroom soup at the store. 

For the cheese component you have to make the Basic Cheesy Sauce. Again, I halved the recipe since I only needed one cup. Very flavorful cheese sauce using nutritional yeast. 

 Saueeting the broccoli and onion. 

Finally, on to the casserole! Really easy to mix everything together now and put in a casserole dish. The mixture is topped with some breadcrumbs. The recipe called for whole wheat but I used some panko. 

After baking, the breadcrumbs get golden brown under the broiler. 

~ Cheesy Broccoli-Rice Casserole ~

Yum! A very healthy, tasty substitute for my old-style broccoli cheese casserole. 

Lentil Stew & Mess O' Greens

It's been a busy week! We welcomed a new granddaughter into the world; little baby Blake Lynn. She joins her big brothers James-3 1/2 and Max 2 1/2. Grandma is going to be busy babysitting! 

I found this Slow-Cooked Lentil Stew recipe in the McDougall Quick & Easy Cookbook. So easy to add everything to the Crock Pot and let cook all day. 

Ingredients for the lentil stew. Instead of a vegetable broth it uses 5 cups of V8 juice. 

This makes a Big pot of stew! The first night I served it over some brown rice. The V8 juice gives it a nice hearty flavor. I added 4 cups of chopped spinach for some contrast and extra nutrients. 

The next night I made this recipe for Mess O' Greens from Cookin' Crunk. Collard greens, liquid smoke and turnips.These are really tasty! You let them cook for a good 35 to 40 minutes. 

The Mess O' Greens tasted great with the Lentil Stew and brown rice. I still had some stew left so I put it in the freezer. Three nights of leftovers is too much for me!

This week I also made a favorite cool salad using buckwheat soba noodles.


~ Asian Noodles with Black Vinaigrette ~
from Crazy Sexy Kitchen

I thawed out my previously frozen black beans and made a quick dinner along with some garlic bread.


~ Black Beans ~
from Give Them Something Better

Cinnamon-Pecan Waffles (Pancakes) and 4th of July

I was hungry this morning! I didn't have any backup pancakes or waffles in the freezer so it was time to make some more. This recipe is from Cookin' Crunk for waffles. I didn't want to mess with the waffle iron and it was much easier to make pancakes. These are yummy! Whole wheat pastry flour, cinnamon, and toasted pecans make these pancakes nice and hearty. Lots of extras to freeze. Of course you have to top them with Earth Balance margarine and maple syrup! 

~ Cinnamon-Pecan Pancakes ~ 

4th of July is also my brother and sister-in-law's anniversary. They had a BBQ/swim party at their house and my brother loves these cookies I make. So I brought them a big plate of cookies for their anniversary. He was so excited! I have made them countless times; they are the best gingersnaps. 

~ Triple Ginger Gingersnaps ~ 

Since it was a barbeque I brought my own veggie dog and this broccoli salad from Give Them Something Better. It's always a hit whenever I make it.

The night before the 4th of July we had a huge thunderstorm. My little chihuahua, Lily, is petrified of them. I had read about these Thundershirts for a long time but never bought one because they were kind of pricey. After the thunderstorm though I called my local Petsmart and they had them. I picked one up for her and also one of my other dogs, Penny, for her anxiety. 4th of July evening started with a bang as our neighbors decided to have their own (illegal) fireworks show. Ugh! I put the Thundershirt on Lily and it was like a miracle. She settled down beside me and went to sleep. It's like a swaddling blanket that wraps snugly around them. I wish I would have had it for the thunderstorm; but I'm prepared now. Now I just need to buy two more; one for my basset hound, JoJo,  and one for Jet, the shih-poo!

Chickpea Tacos and Dirty (South) Rice

I've been wanting to make these tacos for awhile now and I finally got around to doing it! Such an easy recipe with tasty results from Vegan's Daily Companion by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Ingredients for the chickpea tacos: mashed chickpeas, spices, lemon juice and chopped spinach. 

Cooking chickpea taco mixture.

Lots of yummy toppings: Daiya shredded cheddar, shredded cabbage, green onions, cilantro and chopped cherry tomatoes. And you can't have tacos without some hot sauce. I like chipotle habanero hot sauce! 

I was just going to make my usual spanish rice to go with my tacos and then I found this recipe for Dirty (South) Rice in Cookin' Crunk. Finally, a successful recipe from that cookbook. I'll have to try some more of them now. 

I used short brown rice so it gave it a nice chewy texture. The rice is cooked in vegetable broth and spices to give it lots of flavor, then I tossed in some chopped tomatoes and corn. 

~ Chickpea Tacos & Dirty (South) Rice ~

White Chocolate Almond Bark & Pimiento Cheese Sandwiches

I've been revisiting some of my favorite recipes from  La Dolce Vegan by Sarah Kramer; one of the cookbooks I use the most. I made my hubby's favorite Veggie Pot Pie and Cranberry Apple Crisp. I have used dried and fresh cranberries when making this crisp, and both are delicious. One of the few recipes I hadn't tried yet is White Chocolate Almond Bark. It's so easy to make with just three ingredients-vegan white chocolate chips, toasted almonds and raisins. A yummy sweet treat. 

White Chocolate Almond Bark

La Dolce Vegan

I have only tried one other recipe so far from Cookin' Crunk. The Vegan Ranch Dressing wasn't a success.  I had the Pimiento Cheese Sandwich recipe tagged for awhile so I thought I would give it a go. I have always loved pimiento cheese with tortilla chips. Yeah, I could eat the whole tub of it in one sitting! So I thought, great! now I can have a vegan version. 

Ingredients for the pimiento cheese. 

The consistency is rather like hummus. 

I ate my Pimiento Cheese on a sandwich like she suggested. It kind of squished out the sides. My verdict is that this tastes nothing like pimiento cheese! It is just a roasted red pepper hummus. Why did she have to tease me so?! Now I want to go out and get a tub of real pimiento cheese and some tortilla chips. hehe! I've been eating it like hummus using some naan bread, cucumbers and sweet peppers. *sigh*

The Battle of the Vegan Ranch Dressings

Just got Cookin' Crunk by Bianca Phillips from Vegan Crunk in the mail! My hubby is at the football game and I'm just sitting around watching random movies on TV. I was craving some veggies and ranch dip so I thought I'd try out her recipe for vegan ranch.

 

I followed the recipe for making it a thicker dip and not the dressing by leaving out the soy milk and vinegar. It should have said decrease the salt also because 1/4 tsp. salt is way too much for the dip. Duh, I should have figured that out for myself but didn't.  I added a tsp. of vanilla coconut creamer to sweeten it a little. Sorry, this ranch recipe lost. The winner so far is Veganize This! Ranch Dressing .