Christmas Dinner 2012

Sweet banana peppers it's been a looooong time. There's been some serious computer and camera issues, plus a stressful and demanding job. Well, I am no longer at that job, and I've got a new amazing computer. I still do not have a new camera so I'm using my iPhone. But I'm back to attempting to share yummy normal food that is free of cruelty. First up is Christmas Dinner 2012!

Menu
Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower
Green Bean Casserole
Smokey Mac and Cheese
Cream Corn
Brown Sugar and Bourbon Seitan

Mashed Potatoes & Caulifower
3 large Russet Potatoes
1 Large head of Cauliflower
2 small heads of roasted garlic
1/4 cup non dairy butter
1 cup non dairy sour cream

Peel, cut and boil potatoes till soft. Cut and boil cauliflower in separate pot till soft. While those are cooking, cut garlic into thin slices, and roast in the oven till slightly brown. Set garlic aside.

Once potatoes and cauliflower are soft, drain out water and place in food processor. This is a large amount, so if you have a small processor, process cauliflower first then place in large mixing bowl. Then process potatoes with garlic. Add to mixing bowl and add in butter, sour cream and salt and pepper.

Spread mashed potatoes and cauliflower into a 9x13 baking dish. Top with bread crumbs (I'm addicted to garlic so I sprinkled some garlic power on the bread crumbs). Bake at 350 until crumbs begin to brown (about 30 min)

This tastes just like mashed potatoes. You'd never know it was made with cauliflower.

Cream of Mushroom
8 oz soy creamer
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
1 cup chopped mushrooms

Since I actually hate mushrooms, I mixed all ingredients in my food processor and mixed until there were no chunks of mushrooms. Then I left in fridge overnight. If you like the bits of mushrooms in your recipe, then don't process. Instead bring to low boil on stove till cream cheese is melted, then store in fridge overnight.

Green Bean Casserole
24 oz Green Beans
1 batch homemade cream of mushroom (above)
Fried Onion to taste
pepper to taste

Mix fresh green beans with cream of mushroom and pepper, and place in 9x13 baking dish. Top with fried onions, as much as you like. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Boom! Done.

Smokey Mac & Cheese
16 oz Elbow Macaroni
1 cup soy creamer
16 oz shredded vegan cheese (I used mozzarella)
1/2 vegan cream cheese
3 tbsp Smoke Flavor
Bread Crumbs
Pepper to taste

Cook elbow macaroni till al dente. In large mixing bowl, mix noodles, soy creamer, shredded cheese, cream cheese and smoke flavor. Spread into 9x13 baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and pepper. Bake at 350 for 30. Simple and delish! It's a pretty mild smokey flavor. So add more or less to your taste.

Creamed Corn
24 oz corn
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese
salt & peper to taste

Simple. In a medium sauce pan, on low heat, cook corn with cream cheese, salt and pepper. Cook until cream cheese is melted and corn is hot!

Brown Sugar & Bourbon Seitan
12 oz large pieces of seitan
1/2 light oil (grape seed, olive, etc)
1/2 water
1 packet Brown Sugar & Bourbon seasoning by McCormick

In a large ziplock bag, or tupperware, place seitan, oil, water and half the packet of seasoning. Mix and let sit in fridge over night.

Uncooked:Cooked

Place entire content of bag in metal baking dish. Pour remaining seasoning over seitan. Cook at 350 for 30 minutes. Drain remaining oil and water and serve.
Seitan is amazing! And this was some of the best I'd had. It really has a meaty taste and texture without having the gross feeling of tearing into flesh. It satisfied my meat eating in-laws.

Adam also made a chocolate pie. I didn't bother with the recipe since this was something he did on his own. But it was delicious. We were all pretty proud of him.

Dinner was amazing! Everyone was happy and full. And that's my favorite thing.

7 Days of Perfetto Pizza! Day 2: Pizza Rolls

Welcome to day 2 of our week of pizza. Tonight I present something a little different and fun: Pizza Rolls. No, not like the kind that come in a box. These are roll ups. They're bite size goodness! It's a great cooking project for kids as it's super fun and easy. And of course, yummy!


Ingredients
16 oz dough
1/4 cup pizza sauce
1 cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese
your favorite topping (cut up very small)

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Roll dough out over floured surface. Roll into a flat rectangle. Spoon sauce over dough, staying away from the edges by about an inch.

Place cheese and topping on over sauce. Now, starting from end closes to you, begin to roll the edge of the dough over, all the way to the end. Press the rolled edge a bit so it sticks closed.

I split my dough into 3 and rolled them that way.

Next cut the rolled dough into 1-2 inch slices. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Eat and enjoy!

Now how easy is that? I used basil and roasted tomatoes in mine. It works best with ingredients that are not to large or heavy. Have fun and get the kids involved. They'll love it!

7 Days of Perfetto Pizza! Day 1: Calzones

I'm back to cooking and blogging. And what better way to reenter the world of competitive vegan blogging then with one of the most loved foods ever-Pizza! But oh my friends, that is not all. How can that be? Even better than one delicious pizza recipe. I'm going to give you 7! Yes, it's another week of recipes. First off, a stuffed pizza to stuff your face (and belly) with. Enjoy!


Ingredients
16 oz dough
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1cup shredded vegan mozzarella cheese
1/2 shredded vegan cheddar cheese
favorite pizza toppings
flour

Preheat oven at 350 degrees. Divide dough into 4 parts. Lay a bit of flour down and roll out each part of dough over it. I used some corn meal and added garlic powder too it for extra flavor. Once dough is nice and flat, spoon equal parts of sauce and cheese over half of each of the 4 rolled doughs. Then place topping on top.

Fold over the other half of the dough, and seal the edges by pinching with your fingers or pressing down with a fork. Place on baking pan and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until dough is a golden brown.

(After baking at 350 for 20 minutes)

I made two. One was bbq chicken with fake chicken, onions and bbq sauce instead of tomato. The second one was olive and pineapple (my favorite toppings) with tomato sauce. They were amazing. We ate them all even though it was enough for 4 people. That's how awesome they were.

Spinach &Artichoke Dip [Vegan]

Spinach, I hate on it's own. Artichokes, I really hate on their own. But spinach and artichoke together in a creamy cheesy mix, is amazing. This was my first attempt at making a spinach and artichoke dip, ever. I did a little research on different ingredients and found that the most common things used to make it creamy are: mayo, cream cheese, sour cream, alfredo, and shredded cheese. I needed this recipe to be simple as I didn't have a lot of time to make if before it was to be consumed, so I went with 2 of the items on the list. The only hard part was cutting up the artichoke because it kind of creeped me out. But it was worth it in the end.

Ingredients
1 14oz can of Artichoke Hearts
1 1/2 cups Frozen Chopped Spinach, thawed
8 oz Vegan Cream Cheese
10 oz White Vegan Cheese (Mozzerella or Montery Jack), Shredded


Preheat oven at 350. Cut artichoke hearts into small pieces. Mix all ingredients together and place in an 8x8 baking dish. Bake for 20 minutes, then stir dip to help the shredded cheese melt and blend. Bake for another 15-20 minutes.

Once it's done cooking, mix one more time and place in serving dish. Serve with tortilla chips or bread.

I was really nervous about this dish. It's the first vegan dish I've served to a group of people, none of which are vegans or even close to being. And unless they are GREAT liars, they all really enjoyed it. They was only about a 1/2 cup left by the end of the night.

7 Days of Super Simple PastaDay 7: Spaghetti with Tomato sauce

for our last recipe, here a simple tomato pasta sauce that can be used with any pasta dish.

Ingredients
1 8oz can of diced tomatoes
1 6oz tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried basil


Heat diced tomatoes and tomato pasta in a medium sauce pan. Mix in remaining ingredients and cook until warm.

7 Days of Super Simple PastaDay 6: Baked Ziti

Baked ziti is a wonderfully gooey, cheesy dish. Vegan cheese doesn't melt like real cheese, but that doesn't matter in this dish. Cooked long enough, it turns liquid-y so it blends well with the noodles and sauce. This is a great alternative to ziti made with real cheese.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups uncooked Ziti Noodles
3 cups Vegan Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
2 Cups Tomato Sauce


Preheat oven at 350. Cook ziti noodles until al dente. Mix cooked noodles with sauce and 2 cups of shredded cheese. Place in an 8x8 baking dish. Use remaining cup of cheese to cover top of noodles. Bake for 40 minutes then enjoy.

This recipe only has 3 ingredients. How awesome is that! It's so simple to make. The only hard part is being patient while it's cooking.

7 Days of Super Simple PastaDay 5: Parmesan Orzo Pasta

Orzo pasta is not to be confused with rice. It's not rice. It looks like it, but it's not. It's a pasta. Orzo means 'barley' in Italian. It's a wonderful nontraditional pasta that you can use like rice. It is not so good when you try to treat it like a pasta noodle. So no red sauces and don't drown it in alfredo. Orzo is best with light cream sauces. I made this recipe a while ago when I was preparing a Greek dinner. It's a great side dish and went well with a veggie burger.

Ingredients
1 cup uncooked Orzo Pasta
1/4 cup Vegan Cream Cheese
1/2 tsp Onion Powder
1/2 tsp Dried Chives
1 tbs Vegan Parmesan
1/4 cup Chopped Green Onions

Cook pasta according to directions. Meanwhile, mix remaining ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Once pasta is done cooking and has been drained, pour into bowl and mix ingredients.

The last time I made this we had it with some fried tofu. It was amazing! One cup or orzo makes a lot of pasta. Its a great side dish and would feed 4 people.