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!

Three-Bean Chili

This is an easy, delicious chili to put together from The Vegan Table by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

~ red, orange and yellow bell peppers ~

The chili was really thick so I added 2 cups of No Beef Broth and I also added  3/4 Cup of bulgur for some meaty texture. Lots of spices-garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, oregano and cayenne!

This recipe made alot so I put the leftovers in my freezer containers for future quick meals.

Gimme Chimis~pg 128; Cinnamon Lime Quinoa w/Apricots & Almonds~pg 156

VegCookbookClub July recipes from eat, drink & be vegan by Dreena Burton:

Gimme Chimi mixture-lots of great spices in here; never thought of using cinnamon and cloves along with chili powder, oregano and cumin! The recipe calls for tempeh, but I'm allergic to the fermented tofu so I used Morning Star Farms Chik'n Strips cut into pieces. I didn't feel like frying AND baking my chimichanga so I just rolled the mixture up into warmed flour tortillas and called it a burrito. I topped each burrito with cilantro and Daiya cheddar shreds. Love the flavors in this and it's easy to make. 

 Cinnamon Lime Quinoa- I probably would have never made this recipe but Dreena suggested it as a side along with the Gimme Chimis. I used rainbow quinoa; it seems to have a little more texture than just plain white quinoa. A very interesting combination of lime, tamari (Bragg's), cinnamon, nutmeg, dried apricots and almonds! It complemented the spicy burritos with a sweet, salty, citrusy flavor. 

Cinnamon Lime Quinoa with Gimme Chimis (Burritos)

Larry's Re-Fried Beans~pg 99 & Burnin' Butt Burritos~pg 105

VegCookbookClub April recipes from How It All Vegan! by Sarah Kramer & Tanya Barnard:

Simmering the pinto bean mixture. I think black beans would be tasty to try next time.

Sauteeing the veggies for the burritos.

I used small whole wheat flour tortillas. It made seven plump little burritos.

I'll have two, thank you.

 After taking a pic I loaded them up with some Pace picante sauce!

"Three Sisters" Stew

VegCookbookClub December recipes from Nava Atlas-Vegan Holiday Kitchen:

Squash, corn, and beans~the 'three sisters' in Native American mythology. Love it! I had half a butternut squash left over from the Coconut Butternut Squash Soup I made the other day so this stew was perfect. All of the other ingredients are staples in my kitchen; even the cilantro :)

 

I served my stew over brown rice. You'll notice some extra green surrounding the stew. I had baby bok choy in the fridge that needed to be cooked so I sauteed it with some olive oil and garlic. Yum, it added texture, color and crunch to this dish.

 

 

Pinto Bean Casserole with Tortilla Chip Crust~pg. 156

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This casserole tasted good but it was kind of mushy. It would be better rolled up in a flour tortilla and eaten like a bean burro. I used the new Daiya Pepperjack shreds on top. Another great flavor from Daiya. I wish we could get the new Daiya cubes around here. That would be easier to make slices for grilled cheese  sandwiches!

I served this with the Avocado Tomato Salsa (pg. 297); I love that stuff!

Holy Frijoles Beans~pg. 188

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

I love the smell of the liquid smoke-is that weird? It gives these beans a great flavor; nice, easy side dish.

Florida Slaw, Holy Frijoles Beans and soft tacos made with Boca Ground Crumbles.

Bountiful Beans & Brown Rice~pg. 146

La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

This is my bountiful beans and 'quinoa' instead of brown rice. I had some pre-cooked frozen quinoa I wanted to use and I love the flavor and texture. It tasted really good with the spicy bean mixture topped with some Daiya shredded cheddar. I just noticed that my quinoa has 'chicken feet' and feathers! I used my rooster bowl and that is the only kind of chicken in my kitchen :)

Veggie Goulash~pg. 140

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Bubbling away on the stove!

Sorry it's messy I was hungry!

I added some minced shallots to my chopped onion because I hate to waste food and it looked so lonely in my crisper! I also used a can of tri-blend beans (kidney, pinto, black) instead of just pinto beans. I sprinkled a good helping of No-Salt Shaker (pg. 303) on top and ta-da~ my favorite starch to serve it over~quinoa!

Eat one cup of quinoa (a single serving size), and you’ll consume:

• 220 calories (70 percent carbs, 15 percent fat, 15 percent protein)
• 40 grams of carbohydrates (13 percent daily value)
• 8 grams of protein (16 percent of daily value)
• 3.5 grams of fat (5 percent daily value with no saturated fat)
• A glycemic load (blood sugar spike) of only 18 out of 250
• 5 grams of fiber (20 percent of daily value)
• 20 percent of daily value of folate (various forms of Vitamin B)
• 30 percent of magnesium daily value (beneficial for people with migraine headaches); 28 percent daily value of phosphorous; iron (15 percent); copper (18 percent); and manganese (almost 60 percent)

Quinoa is stocked with life-sustaining nutrients all across the board, including all eight essential amino acids. There are other highly beneficial compounds, vitamins and minerals in this food that the Incas reverently called "chisaya mama" (mother of all grains). www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/stories/quinoa-nutrition-facts

Day 11 Karen's Mexican Burrito Pie ~page 157

Vegan Culinary Institute La Dolce Vegan! Challenge:

Wow! We're are out of the triple digit temperatures here in AZ; still hovering close though. This spicy pie fits right in to the way we like to eat here. I have made this before and we love it.

I used my 9.5" pie plate and 10" flour tortillas and it made a nice little crust up the side of the dish.

I'm sorry but I did not whip up a batch of Faux Sour Cream just so I could use 1 Tbsp. of it. I used Tofutti Sour Supreme sour cream. I also used Pace Picante sauce in place of the homemade salsa. I can whip up a mean salsa but not tonight! I'll share the recipe later with you. This pie was hotter than last time I made it because I used extra-hot pickled jalapenos. I used a blend of pinto, black, and kidney beans for variety. For the vegan cheese I relied on my favorite Daiya shredded; I combined a mixture of cheddar and mozzarella flavor. This pie would have been good with the Cumin Rice I'm making tonight.