Tater Tot Casserole

This is the first new cookbook I've bought this year! I'm so proud of myself but I couldn't hold out any longer. I love the recipes in here. Easy, recognizable ingredients and lots of photos. 

I knew the first recipe I had to try was the Tater Tot Casserole. I grew up on those little processed spuds! I did buy organic Cascadian Farms Spud Puppies for this; so they're a little healthier. There are a few steps to this recipe before you can put it all together and get it in the oven. First, I had to make my Savory Broth Mix which will be used in future dishes. 

The Savory Broth Mix has 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes and thirteen other spices and seasonings in it! You whirl it all up in the blender and it makes about a cup. 

The next step is preparing the soy curls. They simmer in the Savory Broth, drained and then are browned in a little oil. 

A sauce is made with onions, soymilk and a tablespoon of the Savory Broth Mix. Then it all gets mixed together with the soy curls and some peas and topped with the tater tots. This makes a big 9x13 pan so we have plenty of leftovers. 

Mmm! mmm! A yummy, meaty down-home casserole. The hubby loved it. 

Pasta and Green Beans

I bought some Spinach Basil Garlic Fettucine that is handmade right here in Arizona by DeCio Pasta that I thought would be perfect with this creamy vegan alfredo sauce recipe. 

Mmm~creamy and delicious! Ingredients include artichoke hearts, peas, and Gardein Chick'n. You can find the recipe here at Meet the Shannons.

Vegan Smokey Garlic Alfredo with Chicken & Springtime Vegetables

I served the pasta with some Lemon-Broiled Green Beans from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan.

Aloo Mattar Potatoes & Peas~pg. 142

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This is a little mild for my taste. I added a healthy dose of Sriracha sauce and some Bragg's Liquid Aminos to mine. I love quinoa and found some Rainbow quinoa (red, black, and white) at the store the other day. Love it!!! It has a little more texture and crunchiness to it rather then just the plain white quinoa. I would rather eat it than brown rice.

Veggie Pot Pie~pg. 153; Merciful Miso Gravy~pg. 182

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Simmering the filling for the pot pie.

I have one of those metal pie rings that you put on the edge of the crust the last 15 minutes of baking so the edges don't get too brown. You can tell I don't like to fiddle around with a "pretty" pie edge; just used the edge of a fork. I have made this pot pie before. I wrote in my cookbook that my husband likes this so I knew it was safe to make again!

Merciful Miso Gravy

Love the flavor of this gravy, will have to use this recipe again.

Pot Pie & Dancing

I was right in the middle of making this 'Curried Vegetable Pie with Chickpea Crust' from The Garden of Vegan when I got a text from my friend asking me "Where are you?". My brother has a classic rock band and they were playing for a benefit and I was missing the party! So I finished making my pot pie, ate a piece, squeezed into my 'nice' jeans and boots and went dancing. So, I got my cardio in for the day!

Of course it's always the girls who like to have a good time and dance while the guys sit around!! We ended the night with 'Mustang Sally'-"ride, Sally, ride". I'm on the far right workin' it!

This was an excellent pot pie. It had a chickpea pie crust that was really good and chickpeas in the filling. It reminded me of the frozen chicken pot pies I used to eat. I don't know what I was thinking because we're supposed to make another pot pie today for the La Dolce Vegan! Challenge. I'll do a taste comparison.

Cumin Fried Potatoes~pg. 192

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I love cumin so these potatoes with cumin seed were really good. I wanted something else to go with them so I found a recipe out of The Garden of Vegan, Sarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard's previous cookbook.

Chickpeas & Swiss Chard

(The Garden of Vegan~pg. 117)

I had never tried swiss chard before but I saw some good looking organic rainbow swiss chard at the grocery store so I brought it home. Sorry kale, swiss chard is my new favorite greens! I served it on top of the Cumin Fried Potatoes with a dash of liquid Braggs.

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.