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 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

Currently.

Developing. A well rounded mostly vegan menu to please the whole family. Vegan cooking is, well... different. It's a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated. The cooking times for most of the meals I've tried out range from 45 minutes to well past 2 hours. It's involved! I'm not going to give in to the easy, higher priced, less nutrition, pre-packaged frozen foods, either. I'm getting there, and it does seem to be getting easier every day.

For you curious folks, our Vegan Adventure menu this week looks like this:

• Couscous with Chickpeas and Tomatoes (DEELISH!)
• Vegan Enchiladas (OMG, I wanted to eat the whole casserole dish full, they were so yummy)
• Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Aioli with Baked Potatoes (tonight's dish)
• Falafel Balls with Lo Mein type noodles (NOTE: Falafel balls were a falafel FAIL!)
• Vegan Lasagna cupcakes (these I have not attempted yet, excited to try them out tomorrow!)

Watching. We honestly don't watch much TV around here. However, after the children's are slumbering, we have been known to watch Game of Thrones (so addictive). The first episode of this new season seriously made me ponder quitting GOT... with all the infanticide and all...
Also, I just finished up watching the last episode of The United States of Tara. We don't have cable, so pretty much everything is watched via Hulu or streamed to us via Netflix. If there is something I'm missing and should be watching let me know as Tara has left a void that needs to be filled in my nighttime routine. Oh, and New Girl!! I love me some Schmidt. <3

Working On. Bikini season is upon us here in Florida, and I'm determined to be a hot mama at the YMCA splash pool this year. I've been seriously busting my butt at the gym 3 to 4 times a week these past few months. And I do have to say I'm proud of what my booty is doing these days. It's so well rounded.  ;)

The Puzzle I can't Crack. Riley's face rash is seriously my biggest enigma. He's been to the pediatrician and the dermatologist. He's been allergy tested... I don't know what else the doctors can do. It seems to me they are just throwing whatever popular and pricey creams, etc at us to see what sticks. His allergy test came back he was allergic to dust and milk. Well, we've cut out all his milk in his diet and dust regularly. Use the 4 creams as directed and in the almost half a year since this started, the silly rash has yet to clear up 100%. Let me project to you how frustrated I am... >.<

Listening To. Pandora, mostly... to be less vague: my Three Little Birds channel, my No Doubt channel and my Caspar Babypants channel. In that order of amount of playtime. I'm loving my ska, Lily Allen and of course Reggae.

Procrastinating. Cameron's 10th birthday is coming up in 3 weeks. Guess what kind of party he wants... Star Wars... If you recall, it's been done for the Bear and then again for my Roxy. What can I do to switch it up this time? This is why I'm procrastinating it...
(but if you know me, I love all things Star Wars, so I am definitely up for the challenge, just not ready to jump in... yet!)

Wishing. That I could at least see the light at the end of our financial woes tunnel. The light is there, it has to be. I'm just afraid that we haven't hit rock bottom yet. And that really scares me the crap. But the upside is, that we are NOT (thank the universe) one of those couples who fight about money! My family is totally unaffected, at this point, by our financial state. I just hope we never get to that point.

Anticipating. Summertime!! Beach time. Pool time. No school. And my little kiddies to myself all day, every day. <3

This post was inspired by Sometimes Sweet. Thanks for the inspiration!

<3, Tabi :D