Baked Vegan(ish) 'Chik'n' Alfredo Pasta

Here's what I attempted the other night...

Check out How to Cook Baked Vegan "Chicken" Alfredo Penne Pasta by Nicole Rizzuto on Snapguide.


My Review...

This was actually the best vegan Alfredo I've had to date. It was fairly easy, included the right amount of veggies, not a horrid big vegan mess (as I had anticipated) and was kid approved. Unfortunately, I didn't get a photo of the finished product, since I was too hungry to think about photography and just wanted it in my belly, but here's a teaser... this beautiful photo of fresh broccoli and cauliflower florets sauteeing with my Quorn Chik'n (I know, Quorn is not vegan - it contains eggs - but we are cool with eggs... hence the reason we are veganish).

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it's the first time I've ever seen a recipe posted in this type of format, The Snapguide. While I loved the end product, I admit it was rather annoying not to be able to see the steps listed out like a regular recipe. I kind of wished there was an option to view it as a list or at least easily skip ahead and back. Anyways, for my ease and yours, I'm posting this recipe in traditional format for future meals.

Baked Vegan(ish) Chik'n Alfredo Pasta
based on a recipe by Nicole Rizzuto

Serves 6-8
(I doubled Nicole's recipe to fit my family, it served 6 of us & had enough leftovers for 2 lunches... depending on how hungry you are for lunch)


Ingredients:

• 1 lb your favorite pasta. Penne was recommended, I used bow ties
• 4 Cups Soy milk
• 1/2 cup  non-dairy cream cheese (Tofutti)
• 6 Tablespoons Earth Balance Spread 
• Coconut/soy Creamer (optional)
• 1-2 Tablespoons Corn Starch (optional)
• Salt & pepper  (or seasoned Salt)
• Garlic Powder
• 3 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Cups Fresh Broccoli Florets
• 1 Cup Cauliflower Florets
• Mushrooms (optional), Spinach (optional) << I didn't use these, but I suppose you'd sautee them along with the broccoli/cauliflower?
• 10 Soy chicken nuggets (or I used a bag of Quorn Chik'n Tenders) 
• 1-2 Cups Daiya mozzarella cheeze (or handfuls, I didn't measure)

 

Instructions: 

1. Fill a large pot with water and a pinch or two of salt. Put it on your burner to boil for your pasta.
2. Preheat your oven to 375.
3. Grab your favorite large saute/frying pan and drop in some olive oil, enough to cover your surface. Start your burner on medium heat.
4. Get a medium sized saucepan and add in your milk, cream cheese, Earth Balance/margarine,  salt/pepper/Garlic Powder to taste, and add in your Soy or Coconut creamer to make as creamy as you want it. Put your pan on a low heat and stir occasionally.
5. When your pasta water is boiling, throw in the noodles and set your timer!
6. Prepare your veggies, chop them up as small or big as you desire. Throw them in your saute/frying pan and sprinkle on a little salt/pepper/garlic powder to taste. Saute until veggies are light brown.
7. Keep an eye on that sauce! Stir intermittently.
8. When veggies are sauteed to your liking, add in your chopped up soy nuggets or Quorn Tenders. I drizzled a bit more olive oil on top and garlic powder. Stir until chik'n is thawed and heating up. 
9. Don't forget about your sauce! Stir it up and break up those cream cheese chunks. At this point, the sauce didn't seem 'creamy' or thick enough to me, so I made a little concoction of 1-2 tablespoons of corn starch mixed well with 1-2 tablespoons of soy milk and drizzled it into my sauce. That should work to make your sauce creamy as you want.
10. The pasta should be done around now, drain in a colander.
11. Mix everything together! A handful of Daiya Cheeze, your pasta, veggies + chik'n, and sauce. You can mix it in your drained noodle pot, your big frying pan or the sauce pan, whichever is big enough or you feel is easy enough. 
12. Spray a big casserole dish (8 x 12 ish?) with light cooking spray.
13. Spoon your mixture into the casserole dish. Sprinkle more Daiya on top to your liking.
14. Bake for 20 ish minutes. The original recipe said 15-20 minutes, I cooked mine for 25 minutes... probably because I doubled the recipe.
15. When the pasta looks a bit browned on top/edges, it's done. Remove from the oven.
16. Enjoy and serve with some Crescent Rolls (vegan!).

I hope you enjoy this as much as we did!!

<3, Tabi :D

Vegan Cupcakes. nom nom.

Happy Friday!!

Mini Vegan Chocolate Chip Cupcakes.
I was lucky enough to sample one of the leftovers and wish I had a dozen more! They were THAT good. nom nom.

Remember Wednesday... when my Bear turned 5? How could you forget? It's all I've been blogging about it seems. :)

Well, I wanted to bring in a special treat that day for his whole class to enjoy at his preschool. The preschool requires food to be store bought, so it presented a teeny cupcake problem to me. Dairy Free cupcakes aren't readily available at our local Publix, so I almost settled on bringing in a box of Oreos, when I came across an article on our local news site spotlighting a new start up: Guiltless Cupcakes. If you read the article, scroll down, she's below the Snarly Dog. ;) She's in Brandon AND she delivers!!

So, I contacted her for 2 dozen mini chocolate chip cupcakes, giving her only 1 day notice and she was super pleasant, very reasonable and absolutely willing to help me out with my short notice order.

Sometimes, as in this case, it's necessary to purchase specialty items and usually it's not so convenient.  So I really wanted to share this amazing resource with you.

I asked her to share a little bit about herself and Guiltless Cupcakes: 

I've always wanted my own bakery. I went to Johnson and Wales in Miami for baking and pastries, but moved home shortly after. I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I remember one day though, I was sitting in one of my classes and the professor was telling us, "Everyone that wants to be 'The Next Big Thing' comes to JWU. And everyone wants to own their own restaurant or bakery." I remember him going around the room asking us "What sets your bakery or restaurant apart from everyone else?"  Just like everyone else answered, I said I had no idea.

When I moved home, I continued with school at HCC but gave up my dream of owning a bakery. I had no idea what I was going to major in. I still baked here and there, but I left the desire in Miami. All of that was about to change. I had gone to my doctor a few weeks earlier for her to draw blood. She just wanted records of my cholesterol, blood sugar, etc. I remember not being nervous because I watched what I ate and I considered myself somewhat healthy. I had gone back the following week to get the results and what I had heard was devastating. Everything was through the roof. All of my numbers were out of the normal range and pointing closer to pancreatitis or diabetes. I was shocked. I remember thinking how could I be this unhealthy? I was in shape. I watched what I ate. Nothing made sense. My doctor didn't want to put me on any medication because I was young and she wanted to see if I could get this under control first. She handed me a packet of what I should avoid. "No read meat, no dairy, limit intake of eggs, no white flour, no white sugar." I remember crying on the way home because I was so stunned at the news. My mom came to the rescue though. She called a family friend who is a nutritionist and he came right over to inform me on what I could eat. Long story short, that was the day I started to eat vegan and it was the best decision of my life. I just quit everything cold turkey because I had 3 months to get this under control.

That's what sparked my business venture. I loved sweets. I could stop eating it for 3 months, but for the rest of my life? Absolutely not! I knew there had to be other people that were either in the same boat as me or had other issues. So I got to thinking and came up with Guiltless Cupcakes. At first they were just vegan. But as time went on, I started noticing my stomach would hurt after every time I ate. So I went back to the doctor, and come to find out that I might have celiac disease which is an allergy to gluten. So now Guiltless Cupcakes are dairy free, egg free, and gluten free. I guess you could say whatever health issues I go through, my cupcakes get a new make over.

I use all soy based products like soy butter, soy yogurt and almond milk. I get most of my flavor inspiration from Pinterest and experiment with them to make the cupcakes taste good and vegan.

...

I give Guiltless Cupcakes my full recommendation. Tell her I sent you. ;)

<3, Tabi :D

the BEST VEGAN PANCAKES ever

(( Today is day 23 of Thankvember. What are you thankful for? ))

 

It's been a while since I've posted a new recipe on here, and I think I've finally perfected my vegan pancake recipe, so today's a good day to start back up.

I made a batch of these on Wednesday morning before the big Thanksgiving Day prep, so we'd have leftovers to eat on Turkey Day morning while I was making pumpkin pie, prepping a tofurkey, etc.

Did I mention they are great leftovers, too? Just pop them in the microwave for 30-45 seconds and voila!

Pancake leftovers and lots of Thanksgiving leftovers means no big meal prepping for this Mama!

So today, I am thankful for: Great Food and Leftovers!

Without further ado, let's get to it:

Best Vegan Pancake Recipe on the Interweb (that I've seen anyways)

makes a hearty amount for 6-8 people

 

Ingredients:

• 3 cups Self Rising Flour
• 3 heaping tablespoons of sugar
• 3 pinches of sea salt
• a splash of lemon juice
• 2-1/2 cups of plain soy milk (or almond milk or vanilla soy milk)
• a splash of vanilla (if you like vanilla, or not so necessary if you're using vanilla soy milk)
• 6 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened applesauce
• Cooking Spray
• Vegan Butter (we use Earth Balance)
• Syrup, Powdered Sugar (known around here as: Snow), Nutella or whatever you're favorite pancake topping is.

Directions:

• Preheat your skillet to a medium high setting.
• In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt).
• In a measuring cup, pour in a splash of lemon juice, then fill in your 2-1/2 cups of soy milk and your splash of vanilla if you're using it. Let it sit for a few minutes until it gets sort of chunky.
• Scoop the applesauce in the bowl with the dry ingredients.
• When the 'buttermilk' mixture looks a tad gross and chunky, pour it in the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir well. (I promise it's supposed to look like that. I also promise this tastes deelish.) If the batter seems too thick, add in splashes of soy milk or soy creamer until you get the right consistency. When the batter is stirred well, let it sit for 5 minutes.
• After the five minutes is up, spray your skillet and drop spoonfuls of the batter on to cook. You'll know when to flip when bubbles are peeping through the top of your pancake. Flip and cook the other side for a minute or two. 
• When the pancakes are ready to come off the skillet, I like to butter them right away.
• When I make my batches, I generally make half regular and throw in about a half cup of mini chocolate chips to the remaining batter and cook up chocolate chip pancakes too. They are my favorite. MMmmm. Chocolate for breakfast is the BEST way to start your day.
• Divy out onto plates, top with your favorite pancake topping & ENJOY!

I hope you like these as much as we do. This is a rather large batch, but I love having leftover pancakes in my fridge. I'd estimate they stay for a good week in the fridge in a ziplock bag airtight container.

If you make these & have any questions/suggestions, I'd love to hear from you.

p.s. A big thank you to my friend Nicole who taught me the sub applesauce for eggs trick. :)

<3, Tabi :D

Did you know this was a blog hop? Check out all the other gratefulness going on in blogosphere. Thankvember Blog Hop Linky after the jump...  

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies... mmmmm

I know you were wondering if those cookies from Zoie's party were vegan. Well... yes! Yes, they are.

I like to bake, but historically I never had much luck with cookies, so I was a little nervous to try out a vegan chocolate chip cookie recipe. Lucky for me, this one was easy and muy delicioso!

I found it here.

Left to Right: Pillsbury Ready to Bake Sugar Cookies, Birthday Cake Oreos, Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup dairy-free margarine or shortening (I usually use Earth Balance)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup Plain Soy Milk (or rice milk)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 bag Enjoy Life Mini Chips (I found these at Target!)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. 
2. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add soy milk, cream well, then add vanilla. 
3. Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, then fold in the chocolate chunks with a spatula. 
4. Drop by teaspoons on greased* cookie sheets. I have a mini ice cream scoop that works awesome for this.
5. Bake at 350°F degrees for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove from baking sheet and cool on racks. 

* I did not grease my cookie sheets and they turned out fine, but try this at your own risk.

Enjoy!

<3, Tabi :D

Eat Your Veggies, Children

Note: NOT a sponsored post.

About a week ago, I was trying to pick up an easy dinner option at my local SuperTarget. And there, right next to the Quorn chik'n nuggets were a bunch of Dr. Praeger's items I've never seen before. And, something I wasn't expecting were these cute little SpongeBob Veggie Littles. There are plenty of frozen meat/fake meat items available marketed towards children, but these were veggies! I was intrigued.

I scooped them up to try. My kids will eat their veggies at dinnertime, but it is a bit of a struggle sometimes. Perhaps these cuties will make the struggle a bit easier?

Well, my kids (not Zoie, though) were excited. It's not often at all that Mama (me) succumbs to buying food with cartoon characters on them. I try my hardest to steer clear of all that processed junk, but these are different. The veggie Littles ingredients are: Carrots, Onions, String Beans, Zucchini, Spinach, Expeller Pressed Canola Oil, Broccoli, Red Peppers, Corn Meal, Corn Starch, Potato Flakes, Arrowroot, Salt, Garlic, Rice Starch, Parsley.
All real stuff. All pronounceable stuff.

Fast forward to Cameron weekend. Cameron is my 10 year old stepson who is the pickiest person I've met. His approved list of foods are: nuggets, cheeseburgers, pizza and mac and cheese. Pretty much a typical kid in the US... but that doesn't fly in my house. On Cameron weekends, however, I do try to compromise as much as possible and I have found some things that we can agree on without much of an upturned nose. On Friday, I cooked up the rare French Fries and Chik'n Nuggets meal. Usually I add on a side of broccoli, carrots or green beans, but Friday we had SpongeBob veggie Littles.

To my SURPRISE, Cameron ate his veggies first, before anyone else, and without any hesitation!!!!

If you know this kid... the kid who crumbled on the floor (fetal position) in tears when I told him we had become vegetarians because he thought it meant all we would eat are vegetables, you'd be blown away too.

So, kudos to Dr. Praeger for creating these little gems. If you have a picky kid in your life who refuses vegetables too, I totally recommend trying these out. I can't find the SpongeBob versions on their site for some reason, but it seems they have more generic, kid friendly shapes available too. Click here to see for yourself.

What other tricks have you found (besides hiding the veggies) to get your kids to eat their green stuff?

<3, Tabi :D

 

Vegan Pizza

For me, the hardest thing about Vegan dinners is nixing the cheese. Kids love pizza, and for pizza cheese is a necessity.

We tried the pizzas with Daiya Mozzarella cheese. meh. It's definitely lacking... and wowza that "cheese" is pricey!

A while back, I experimented with making a pizza using The Sexy Vegan's Not-zarella Sauce recipe. We were hooked. This stuff is simple to make, a heck of a lot cheaper and more importantly... a way more tasty alternative to a Daiya pizza.

Here we go with my version of Vegan Pizza...

There are 4 parts to a pizza: (1) The crust (2) the pizza sauce (3) the 'cheese' and (4) the toppings.

The crust. I pick up a ready made pizza dough from my Publix bakery, it's just easier than making my own, but if you feel like making your own, or just buying your favorite pizza shell from your grocery store... either way, you end up with a pizza crust. (Don't forget to preheat your oven according to your dough's instructions.)

The pizza sauce. I like to make my own pizza sauce, it's super easy and cheapy cheap. I start with a small 8 oz. can of tomato sauce, add in some basil pesto and garlic powder to taste (we love our garlic around here). Mix it together with a spoon in a small bowl and set aside.

The 'cheese'. Not-zzarella Sauce!
(makes 3 1/2 cups)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whole raw cashews
• One 12-ounce package soft silken tofu
• 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow miso (this is optional, in my humble opinion)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons nooch (aka nutritional yeast)
• 2/3 cup water

In a small pot, cover the cashews with water, and boil for about 8 minutes to soften them up. Drain and let cool. In a food processor or blender, process the cashews until they're finely ground.  Add the tofu, mustard powder, garlic powder, onion powder, miso, salt, oil, basil, nooch and water. Puree until the sauce is smooth.

Excerpted with permission from
The Sexy Vegan Cookbook: Extraordinary Food from an Ordinary Dude ©2012 by Brian Patton. 
Published with permission of New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

This recipe makes plenty of enough sauce for 2 large pizzas. I usually put half in an airtight container, refrigerate and use it later. It's a good thing to have on hand. I'm thinking about whipping up some version of baked ziti and lathering my leftover Not-zzarella Sauce on top. Mmmmm.

The toppings. I like to keep it healthy, so I slather on the broccoli. For tonight's pizza we used broccoli, diced green peppers, diced onion, Bac-Os, and some Tofurky Pepperoni Slices.
Remember when I said we love our garlic? I like to marinate my veggies in a drizzle of olive oil and some garlic salt. I put them in a large ziploc bag and shake it up to make sure all those little veggies are nice and covered.

Set your toppings aside and prepare your dough.

Now it's time to put it all together. Gather the pizza sauce, your Not-zzarella and your toppings and build your pizza. Tonight, we made two. Since my kiddos aren't keen on the large amount of broccoli I like on my pizza, we just put a little bit of veggies on theirs. As you can see, I like to put my veggies under the Not-zzarella Sauce, but you can build yours however your heart desires. Once your pizza(s) are built, pop it in the oven and cook according to the dough's instructions.

Ta Da!!!

Slice it up and serve with a tall glass of icy lemonade... or whatever you like to drink at dinner. :)

There are bunches of yummy recipes in The Sexy Vegan Cookbook. It's one I totally recommend checking out at your library, downloading to your iPad or buying the book. Book recommendations don't come lightly from me... this is the first book I checked out from my library after going 'Veganish' and I ended up buying it because the library wanted it back.

Enjoy!

<3, Tabi :D

A Yummy Summer Treat

What's the Word June
Today's word is: (sensitive)

Here at the Deneweth house, during the warm months, we make smoothies pretty much every single day. The kids love them (Zoie even asks for them by name), they are icy goodness perfect for cooling off after playing and getting dehydrated. I feel good making smoothies for them because it's a guaranteed serving of fresh fruit and some added calcium from the soy milk I add in.

If you feel like you'd like to get into making your own smoothies (and I totally recommend it), I've put together some pointers for you.

• I usually buy bags of frozen fruit for our smoothies, but sometimes I use fresh fruit (frozen is cheaper and just as good). Some of the fruits we use on a regular basis are: bananas, strawberries, raspberries, mango, peaches, pineapple, blueberries*, and raspberries.
  
  *I only use blueberries because my son is a serious blueberry head. Blueberries in smoothies work much better if you can find a blueberry juice. When whizzing up a fresh or frozen blueberry, you always get the millions of chunks of blueberry skin... blech! I have strained the juice before to get the chunks out, but it is a pain in the rumpus.

• I've personally found that it's almost impossible to make a bad smoothie as long as you add a banana. Bananas are essential to a good smoothie.  Fresh or frozen, it doesn't matter. I generally buy lots of bananas, because they go fast around here. If I do happen to buy a bunch that gets brown particularly fast, you can save those suckers by peeling them, putting them into a freezer safe ziplock and popping them into your freezer. 

• Some juices I generally use for our smoothies are: apple juice, orange juice, strawberry kiwi V8 splash. And I've lately been experimenting with some of the other healthy juice mixtures they have out there. V8 makes a mango peach juice that makes a bangin' smoothie. I always try to stay away from the juices containing High Fructose Corn Syrup, though. We are anti HFCS in this house (for the exception of Oreos).

• And don't forget the splash of soy milk! I used to use plain lowfat yogurt until we found out about the Bear's milk allergy, but soy, almond, vanilla soy, etc, works just as well. 

So go ahead and whip one up! Here's How: In your blender, start with your banana, add your mixture of the fruits that sound yummy to you today, you can add in a spoonful or two of sugar to your taste, pour in the juice until it fills the blender almost to the top of your fruit, then add in a healthy splash of your milk (you can leave the milk out, but we find it makes the smoothies creamier and less acidic), then fill the blender to the top with ice. 

If you happen to be sensitive to acidic fruits, a good option for you is: bananas, peaches, watered down apple juice and a splash of vanilla soy. It's creamy, yummy and non acidic.

Whiz up your concoction until you don't hear the ice breaking up anymore. We use a Ninja Blender (which is the BEST blender I've ever owned), and it doesn't take very long, but with our old blender, the whizzing could take up to 5 minutes (good riddance old blender).

Pour the smoothies into cups (we always use cups with lids for the kiddies), add a straw and enjoy. Straws are another necessity to a good smoothie. 

BONUS: if you happen to have any leftovers, you can either pour it in a cup and freeze for tomorrow (put it in the fridge to thaw in the morning and it should be perfect by lunchtime), or pour it into a popsicle mold and have healthy popsicles. <-- My kids LOVE smoothie popsicles. :)

Enjoy! And please feel free to leave me any questions you may have in the comments.

<3, Tabi :D

Veganish Hash Brown Casserole

What's the Word June
Today's word is: (rudimentary) 

Picture and Original Recipe found here.

I had a craving for a rudimentary hash brown casserole last night... I found a recipe online, switched it up and actually created a banging dinner last night! I want to make sure I remember what I did, so I will post the recipe here, but silly me... I forgot to take a picture of my yummy invention. dun. dun. dun. (The picture you see up there is from here.)

If you're wondering why I called this recipe "Veganish Hash Brown Casserole", it's because I used the yummy stuff pictured above (which strangely is not on their website, wha??): Quorn Meatless & Soy Free Tenders. This is the best fake chicken stuff I've found. It's vegetarian and dairy free so it totally works for us, but it does contain eggs. You could, of course use your own vegan chicken substitute or even some diced up seitan to make a true Vegan meal. Without further ado, the recipe:

(Serves about 6)
Ingredients:

• 1 lb. hash browns (I used Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns)
• 1 package Quorn meatless & soy free tenders
• 5 Tbs margarine, divided (I use Earth Balance)
• A handful of diced up onions
• 4 Tbs flour 
• 3/4 cup vegetable broth 
• 3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast 
• 1 Tbs oregano (This was good, but I think next time, I'll try Parsley or maybe even Rosemary)
• 3/4 cup soy milk 
• A few shakes of Bacos (optional)
• A bag of Steam in Bag Broccoli Florets
• 1/2 - 1 tsp salt (to taste)
• Black pepper, to taste 
• 1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs (or more to your liking)

Directions:

• Generously spray a 9 × 13" casserole dish or similar with cooking spray. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Microwave the Quorn tenders on a microwave safe plate for about 2 minutes. Gently toss the hash browns and Quorn tenders together and place in the casserole dish.
• Shake your Bacos on top of the hash brown/Quorn tenders mixture if you are a Bacos loving person (like me).
• Pop your Broccoli Florets in the microwave according to bag instructions.
• In a saucepan over medium-low heat, melt 4 Tbsp. of the margarine and sauté the onions for 1 minute. Whisk in the flour, creating a roux, and cook for 1 minute, or until browned. Gradually whisk in the broth, nutritional yeast, oregano, and soy milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened (the sauce shouldn’t be so thick that it sits on top of the casserole instead of steeping through).
• When the broccoli is done, spread evenly on top of the hash brown/Quorn tender mixture.
• Now, the sauce should be about ready... season it with the salt and pepper. Pour the sauce over the casserole.
• In your scraped out saucepan (the one you used for making the sauce), melt the remaining 1 Tbsp. margarine and toss with the Panko bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the casserole and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the top is browned.
• Let cool for 5 minutes and then enjoy!

We paired this meal with some Pillsbury Original Crescent rolls (which are vegan)!

The kids were happy, Mommy was happy (because this is an easy one) and it came out yummy! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

<3, Tabi :D

Kid Approved: Vegan Tofu Lasagna

What's the Word June?
Today's word is: (mushroom)

I wanted to share a few recipes I've found that work for my family. Being meat-free and dairy-free, it's sometimes really tough to figure out what's for dinner. I know we aren't the only family that eats this way, so if you are, please (please?) share some recipes with me that your kids love, too.

This lasagna is surprisingly easy to make, the kids love it, and I didn't miss the cheese at all. Cheese was the thing I missed the most when we first started cooking dinners this way, so this is important. A lot of vegan lasagna recipes use mushrooms as a main ingredient. Here at the Deneweth House, we are not big fungus fans (at all). I found this recipe in the Whole Foods Market Recipes iPad app and modified it just a teeny little bit. You can also find it here.

( Serves 8 )

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 (14-ounce) package firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast (don't skimp on this part, it's important)
1 teaspoon garlic granules
Salt and pepper to taste
2 (25-ounce) jars vegan marinara sauce (We like this kind)
3 bell peppers, cored, seeded and chopped
12 no-boil dried lasagna noodles
Daiya Mozzarella Style Cheese (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a (9- x 13-inch) baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.

Wrap tofu in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels and gently press out as much water as possible, changing the paper towels once or twice as needed. Transfer tofu to a large bowl and add yeast, garlic, salt and pepper and mash with a fork. Set tofu mixture aside. Put marinara sauce into a medium pot and bring to a simmer. Add peppers and continue simmering until tender, about 10 minutes.

Spoon enough marinara sauce into prepared dish to cover the bottom and then arrange 4 noodles on top. Spread one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles and then spoon more sauce over the tofu. Repeat the process 2 more times, ending with sauce. Optional: sprinkle top with Daiya Mozzarella Style Cheese. Cover with foil and bake until noodles are tender, 45 to 60 minutes. Set aside to let rest for 10 minutes and then serve.

This also makes really good leftovers. Yum.

<3, Tabi :D

Day 27: A Favorite Recipe

We love ourselves a yummy, homemade, easy treat around here. And, in my opinion, pumpkin makes everything better (pies, curries, lattes...). We usually make these a bunch in the fall, but I had a craving yesterday for some Pumpkin Brownies and I think I just might whip up a batch.  Here's my recipe:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Brownies

Yield: 24 small brownies

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 whole egg
2 egg whites
1 tbsp vegetable or canola oil
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice ( I usually sub Pumpkin Spice for this)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350˚F.  Line an 11″- x 7″-inch pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine pumpkin puree, eggs and oil until smooth.  Set aside.
In a separate medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt and brown sugar.  Add to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly incorporated.  Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until passes toothpick test.  Cool completely before cutting.

(Except for I use my Perfect Brownie Pan ... I love that thing)

( Source:  Small Home Big Start )

For more recipe yumminess, click here.

<3, Tabi :D

Day 21: 10 Favorite Foods

Food is actually a very complex subject in my life right now. In the past 3 months, we have pretty much completely overhauled the food we eat in our family. We have gone from a meat, cheese, yogurt loving bunch to a family that eats mostly vegan.

Perhaps I should define "mostly vegan" a bit. First, we found out our Bear was allergic to milk, so we immediately cut back on the dairy products. Then, a few weeks later, Roxy had her revelation about the moral aspects of eating meat, and since then we've been vegetarians. Vegetarians that rarely have dairy. But eggs are okay in our book. For the ease of our suppers, I've been cooking vegan dinners. Vegan makes everyone happy.

Simple Vegan Tofu Lasagna

So, finding and preparing vegan dinners that everyone enjoys and don't take me 2 1/2 to prepare has been a challenge for the past 3 months. So far, here are my top 10:

1. We call this Mac and Not Cheese. Usually I serve the broccoli on the side. For some reason the kids like it much better not mixed together. And, somehow the process gets easier every time I make this.
2. Vegan Enchiladas. I love me some Mexican food, so I was ecstatic when this one came up a winner! The kids aren't the biggest fans, but they choke it down like champs. I'm in LOVE with the Cilantro Avocado Cream Sauce.
3. Spaghetti with Vegan Pasta Sauce cooked with Boca Crumbles. Who doesn't love a good spaghetti? When I don't make my own sauce, this is a great alternative and is vegan.
4. Noodle Stir Fry with Asian Veggie Mix. Served with Egg Drop Soup. (Okay, so the egg drop soup is not vegan, but we love eggs and the kids ADORE egg drop soup.)
5. Simple Vegan Tofu Lasagna. This is really yummy and surprisingly simple to prepare!
6. Quinoa with Chickpeas and Tomatoes. Except I totally switch up this recipe. I use couscous cooked in vegetable broth, and add in sauteed red onions and swap the parsley for cilantro.
7. Vegan Pizza. I usually make this with my own easy pizza sauce, dough from the bakery, The Sexy Vegan's Nottzarella sauce and fixins of my mood. Usually, I top on some broccoli, Bacos, peppers, onions, sometimes Tofurkey Pepperoni slices. 



Orange Smoothie

8. Smoothies. This one's not a dinner, but we serve smoothies daily around here. Everyone loves a good smoothie and it's super fun to mix up different fruits, juices, soy milk, etc and see what the outcome is. I haven't found a smoothie I dislike yet.
9. Fajitas made from peppers, onions and sliced boca chicken patties. Sounds weird, but totally yum. I sometimes serve this with corn or some version of my mexican rice invention.
10. On super duper easy nights, my go to isn't the healthiest, but it's okay because it doesn't happen so often. Crispy Crowns served with either a veggie burger patty, chik'n patty or some chik'n nuggets. We like Gardein a lot. Add in some steamed veggies and it's a complete meal!

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 <3, Tabi :D