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. 

"Crab" Cakes, Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Vegcookbookclub January 2014

~ Everyday Happy Herbivore: "Crab" Cakes; Remoulade 

Love these 'crab' cakes! A delicious combination of pressed shredded tofu, chopped oyster mushrooms and lots of seasonings; these definitely take the place of fishy crab cakes. Her recipes use no oil but instead of using the vegan mayo recipe she suggests, I used Vegenaise so my 'crab' cakes do have some oil. Maybe that's why they tasted so good! I also made the Remoulade sauce to smear on top of these. Again, I used Vegenaise along with the ketchup, dill pickle, mustard, Old Bay seasoning, lemon juice and Tabasco to make a tasty, spicy topping.

 ~ The Happy Herbivore: Dirty Mashed Potatoes; Dijon-Herb Green Beans

Mashing the Dirty Potatoes

These are called dirty because you leave the skins on the potatoes. This recipe called for 2 Tbsp. of garlic powder; I cut that down to 1 Tbsp. Of course no "butter" is called for so I added some Earth Balance margarine when I ate mine! 

Mixing the green beans in the Dijon-Herb sauce. 

Instead of all the herbs and spices this calls for I used 2 1/2 tsp. of my Italian seasoning blend. 

I thought the flavor of the sauce was great but the hubby wasn't particularly fond of it. Maybe the combination of Dijon mustard, lemon juice and the herbs was too much for him. He likes things "plain jane". I should have just cooked some plain ol' green beans for him! 

"Crab" Cakes, Remoulade, Dirty Mashed Potatoes and Dijon-Herb Green Beans

November Parties!

I thought I would wrap up the end of the month with a rundown of get-togethers and parties that filled November! Now that my anxiety, OCD and bipolar symptoms are on the wane (for now) it's time to get back to some cooking. 

Nov. 9th ~ Guy Fawke's Bonfire at my sweet English friend's home. The actual day they celebrate is Nov. 5th but that was a Tuesday so it was moved to Saturday. Such fun! Lots of food and an awesome bonfire burning of the Guy Fawke's effigy. I always try to bring a casserole or other substantial dish so I know I have at least one thing to eat. I made Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tortilla Casserole from Vegan Holiday Kitchen and Cowgirl Cookies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar. 

This is an alternative to the Cowboy Cookies using cranberries and vegan white chocolate chips.

The Black Bean-Sweet Potato Casserole is always a hit. I even had one lady come up to me and tell me that her husband loved this dish! The pan was empty at the end of the night.

Nov. 15th ~ Rehearsal dinner at Macayo's Mexican restaurant for my son and his fiance'. They make a California Burro that I always order. I have them substitute the refried beans for black beans. And yes, I do include the cheese and sour cream. 

Nov. 16th ~ Wedding! A beautiful ceremony and reception at the Golf Club of Estrella for my baby boy (25 in February) and his beloved. Lots of great food; appetizers of hummus, pita bread, veggies, cheese, crackers, green salads, roasted veggies, scalloped potatoes, rolls and meat. And the wedding cake was delicious along with the champagne! Not too worried about watching what I ate that night. Celebrate!!!

Nov. 24th ~ Potluck Birthday/Bon Voyage Party at another dear friend's home. There is always a ton of food at these potlucks. Again, I made a casserole dish; Baked Chili with Cornbread Biscuit Topping from La Dolce Vegan. 

A wonderfully, sweet and spicy chili. This time I used Butler's Soy Curls instead of the frozen veggie crumbles (which bother my stomach.) Loved the addition of the soy curls; they gave it that meaty, hearty texture this dish needed. And it fooled all the meat-eaters! Again, another empty casserole dish. 

I love using these because they are just dried soybeans; nothing else. 

They are very kind to my stomach! 

Nov. 28th ~ Thanksgiving Day. My mom likes to cook a huge meal for everyone. I always bring the Tofurky with roasted carrots, potatoes and onions along with some Tofurky gravy. I also made Green Bean Casserole Redux from 1000 Vegan Recipes and Cranberry-Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting from Vegan Holiday Kitchen. It's a nice, easy trip to Mom and Dad's; they live right across the street! 

This year I basted the Tofurky and veggies with a mixture of my Poultry Seasoning, Bragg's and Roasted Garlic Infused Oil. My New York friend sells Tastefully Simple products and this Garlic Oil is delicious. It added a subtle sweet garlic taste to the veggies and Tofurky. I want to try it the next time I roast asparagus or green beans. Confession time~this is the last year I am making a Tofurky. Well, I'm the only one who eats it and also, it really gives me intestinal distress! Next year, I'm going to try making some stuffed squash but I like the roasted veggies so I'll keep making those.

Basting marinade. 

Fresh, organic green beans for the Green Bean Casserole. Instead of the usual cream of mushroom soup (which isn't vegan) you make a yummy sauce using chopped fresh mushrooms, seasonings and unsweetened soymilk. Of course you have to use a can of fried onion rings!

This tastes just like I remember a good old fashioned green bean casserole should!

The Cranberry-Carrot Cake hot from the oven. She suggested using a springform pan to make a prettier presentation. I mixed up the Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting according to the directions but it just tasted and had the consistency of the soymilk. Maybe a typo? I added about 3/4 cup powdered sugar and it turned out alot better. After drizzling on the cake I added toasted, chopped walnuts. 

Loved the flavors; the fresh cranberries were a nice, tangy contrast to the sweet frosting. Hubby especially liked it! 

Nov. 30th ~  Last but not least! As I was typing up my post, my son texted me and said "drinkin beer and eatin turkey tonight at my house". Heeheehee. I texted back and said "is that an invitation?" So I better bring something to eat for myself because who knows what else there will be to eat?! I'm going to whip up Wolffie's Fiesta Macaroni Bean Salad from La Dolce Vegan for tonight. 

Wow! What a month! I'm sure December will be just as wild and crazy. I'm getting all of my fall decorations gathered up today while I've got the hubby out in the garage bringing in all of the winter holiday decorations. I think tomorrow will be busy! 

Thai-Flavored Coconut Vegetable Soup

It's finally cooling down for some soup weather; still wearing shorts and tank tops though! This recipe is from Nava Atlas' Vegan Soups & Stews for All Seasons. Lots of great ideas for soups and stews. There are even recipes for muffins and breads to accompany the soups. I wanted to try this one because I had two cans of coconut milk getting ready to expire in my pantry. It called for light coconut milk but I only had the full fat kind-oops! What's a few extra coconut milk calories. 

Simmering the veggies in the coconut milk broth.

Optional ingredients I added were cilantro and red curry paste.

This soup only takes about 25 minutes to make and it's so creamy and delicious. I served it with some vegan garlic naan bread. Well, I enjoyed it anyway.  The hubby didn't really care for it so I'll be eating left-overs for lunch!

Sunday Supper Frittata

So I'm literally making this frittata for "Sunday supper."  I had some tofu that was getting ready to expire and I found this recipe in Vegan On the Cheap by Robin Robertson. 

I like this recipe because it's so versatile. You can add whatever veggies you have on hand. I used potatoes, mushrooms, spinach and broccoli. 

The frittata has a tofu, nutritional yeast, spice mixture combined in the blender and spread over the top of the veggies. It creates an eggy like texture over them. I have some Vegg powder which I should have added to the mixture to give it an eggy taste. I definitely will try that next time.

This is supposed to make 4 servings but my hubby and I ate the whole frittata ourselves; I would say this was a success!

Cooking In the Cabin

Our cozy little cabin in Sedona. It's been in our family for over 40 years! My hubby and I have been working hard as she's been neglected the last few years. We've spent many hours giving this old girl lots of TLC! 

Cooking in the cabin is an adventure. Lots of vintage cookware and utensils; I had to update a few of them. The stove is half functioning as the gas stovetop works but the oven doesn't. So any meals I cook right now are one-pot meals. 

Here is the extent of counter space I have for cooking. Just enough room for my cutting board and ingredients. My hubby installed the undercounter light this time. It was a black hole before and you took your life in your hands trying to chop veggies in the semi-dark! 

I brought a couple of cookbooks; Sarah Kramer's Vegan A Go-Go and an extra copy of How It All Vegan. I ordered another copy of La Dolce Vegan (my favorite cookbook) to keep at the cabin. And my three ring notebook with copies of some of my favorite recipes. I didn't want to try any new recipes from the Veg Cookbook Club cookbook this month. I'll save that for more familiar and larger surroundings. 

From Vegan A Go-Go I made Creamy Curried Veggies. 

A mixture of cauliflower, carrots, onions, cremini mushrooms,coconut milk and lots of curry powder and spices. The recipe called for peas but I used edamame instead. I served this over soba noodles and garnished it with chopped cilantro. Mmm, mmm! This made plenty for leftovers. There is an awesome natural foods store in Sedona- "New Frontiers". I'm in heaven as soon as I walk in the door! All the organic veggies you could ever want and anything else you can think of. I even got to finally try some Daiya Havarti Wedge cheese. Yum! The only Daiya I can get where I live is the shredded. 

The other recipe I made was Smoky Tomato & Kale Soup from VegNews-Nov/Dec 2012 magazine.

This makes a big old pot o' soup! 

Onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, yellow potatoes, canned tomatoes, quinoa and kale makes a hearty, filling soup. We ate leftovers a couple of times and then I froze the rest and brought it home for a future quick meal.

I served the soup with some sourdough garlic bread toasted in my new toaster oven.

Can't wait for more adventures in "Cooking in the Cabin!"

Malloreigh's Mushroom Gravy~pg. 181

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

So easy to make and tastes delish! I added about 1/4 Cup of water to thin it out a little.

I served the mushroom gravy over mashed red potatoes with garlic and Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts (LDV pg. 185). Even my hubby who claims he doesn't like mushrooms, liked this. I found the recipe for the mashed potatoes at http://allrecipes.com/recipe/garlic-mashed-red-potatoes/ . Instead of butter I used Earth Balance margarine and for the milk I used soymilk; I also omitted the parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Pate'~pg. 60

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I wasn't going to make this because my husband says he doesn't like mushrooms. Who's going to eat all of this then? But I went ahead and made it. I only used button mushrooms instead of shitake because I couldn't find any. It was delicious! Great flavor to spread on crackers, bread or whatever. I served it with the Sassy Sandwich Bread (pg. 271) and soup for supper. I told my husband it was a 'veggie' spread to put on the bread. He ate it and loved it! LOL!!

Mushroom Pate' on Sassy Sandwich Bread

On Golden Pond Mushroom Soup~pg. 105

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I made this soup for lunch because my husband really doesn't like mushrooms. It was delicious! I reduced the salt in mine; the tamari and vegetable stock give it enough saltiness. I'll definitely make this again.

Peacefrog's Artichoke Heart Pasta~pg. 133

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I know we are all busy with the holiday season but it's so nice to know what I'm making for dinner.  If I didn't have this plan I would be tempted to eat something very, very bad for me!!

I have made this pasta several times; I love the fresh taste of the basil, tomato and parsley. I used Italian parsley this time which I like alot better than curly parsley.

Time to eat!

Hot & Sour Soup~pg. 104

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This was surprisingly delicious! I tend to stay away from recipes that call for mushrooms. My husband really does not like to eat them so I made this for lunch. I had never tried oyster mushrooms before; they tasted good and I loved the sweet/sour/hot taste of the soup.

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls~pg. 165

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Quick All-Purpose Garlic Tomato Sauce (pg. 179)

Be aware there is a typo when the sauce recipe is listed in the Stuffed Cabbage Rolls. The can of tomato paste is listed as (1) 15.5 oz. can instead of (1) 5.5 oz. can. That would be a mighty big can of tomato paste if you used a 15 oz. can! I have made this sauce before and added fresh basil and Italian seasoning. It's a good, quick pasta sauce.

A nice side view so you can see the cute little cabbage rolls.

I ended up making eight cabbage rolls. I've always hesitated making this recipe because it looked too time-consuming. But everything went together fairly quickly.

A close-up of all the yummy goodies inside the roll.

I love using bulgur; it gives it a nice, chewy texture along with the mushrooms.

Melissa's Stuffed Mushrooms~page 58

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Yummy! I topped my mushrooms with a little Daiya cheddar style shreds and cooked them for 5 minutes longer to melt it. I served them with pasta, marinara sauce, some mixed veggies and Faux Parmesan garlic bread.(See Another Awesome Seasoning post). I think I can get my husband to eat these if he mixes them in with his pasta. Mushrooms aren't his favorite. But I enjoyed them!