This recipe is FOR REAL to die for…. 

That’s all I really need to say about that. Enjoy! xo, Shannon

1 onion chopped
4 cloves garlic
1-4 oz can chopped green chilis
1-15oz can stewed tomatoes - chopped
2c veggie broth + 2c water
1 tsp lemon pepper
1 1/2 tbl worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cholula hot sauce
1 15oz can corn
1 15oz can black beans (rinsed)
4 tbl flour
1/2 can water
2 gardein chicken breast cut into small cubes
1/3c Follow Your Heart sour cream
1/4c fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper

Saute garlic and onion until soft. Add chilis, tomatoes with juices, broth, lemon pepper, worcestershire, chili powder, cumin, cholula, chicken and cilantro. Bring to boil then simmer for 20 minutes. Whisk the flour and water together and add to soup, bring back to boil and simmer for 4 minutes. Stir in corn, black beans and sour cream bring back to boil then serve.

Tortilla strips optional.

Japanese Curry

This curry has been a staple in my life since I was about 3 years old. My mom’s version included beef, clearly, mine does not.  But it’s just as amazing, and the meal that I request every year on my birthday. Also? Really, really simple. 

3-4 Russet Potatoes, diced

3 Carrots, chopped

1 bell pepper, chopped 

(feel free to add other veggies. I often throw in mushrooms and red bell pepper as well)

1 package Japanese Style golden curry sauce. I use S&B.

Directions:
Place veggies in a pot and fill with enough water to cover (plus a bit-however much curry you are going to want. Just note that the less water, the stronger the flavor)  Bring to a boil.  Add in the curry sauce, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Cook for about 25-30 minutes, or until veggies are tender. 
Serve over rice, or by itself.

XO, Mandi

So, I’ve been on a raw kick lately, where I have been trying to make a large percentage of my meals either juice or uncooked fruits, veggies and nuts.  I have done a lot of research and discovered just how healthy it is. But, as I started trying it out, I also found howdelicious it can be as well. 

This is a meal that I made a couple of weeks ago, and it has become one of my super-easy throw-together meals. 

First, you want to boil water for rice noodles.  Add noodles once the water boils, and cook until tender.  If you want to make this recipe 100% raw, you can make zucchini noodles, but it is so good with the rice noodles. 

Meanwhile, chop whatever fresh veggies you want to add.  Sky’s the limit here, take your pick.  Tonight, mine included (left to right-skip the jalapeños, those are for the sauce-yellow bell pepper, zucchini, sun dried tomatoes, carrots, tomato-yes, I used regular and sun dried-I really like tomatoes-and green bell peppers).  Edamame is a fantastic  to add for protein as well, but I didn’t have any and was too lazy to go get some. 

Now it’s time to make the most amazing sauce ever.  I use this recipe.  It is wonder-tastic, I have to say.  

A couple of notes on the ingredients of the sauce: 

-Instead of Namu Shoya (a raw soy sauce), I got this coconut kind I found at Whole Foods. Verdict is still out on that.  You can also use regular soy sauce.

-The sesame oil is toasted, so not raw. If you want to make it raw, omit that. Though I find it ads greatly to the taste. 

And that’s it.  Once the noodles are done, toss the sauce in with them, and then the veggies. I also add about a tablespoon of pepper once it’s all mixed. That sounds like a lot, but I love how it tastes in this.  

If desired, you can also add some fried tofu or Gardein chicken (I have tried both, they are both delicious, the picture above has Gardein’s Chicken Scaloppini).

If you’re not into the raw thing at all, I have also tried this with the sauce and veggies cooked and it was just as amazing (but you get so many more nutrients with it raw!!) 

XOXO

Vegan Vegetable Slow-Cooker Chowder

In a slow cooker combine the following; 

1 chopped red pepper

1 green pepper

1 diced potato

2 handfuls of carrots

1/2 yellow onion, diced

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

1 can of corn

6 cups of veggie broth

2 cups of almond milk 

2 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1 handful of cilantro (um, about me measuring?  Yeah, I don’t do that) 

1 tbsp of oregano 

(If the liquid doesn’t cover the veggies, add a little water, or more broth)

Let cook for about 4 hours. 

XO, Mandi

Once again, I raided a recipe of my mom’s from my childhood. Don’t worry, I will thank her on your behalf. She was my guinea pig and gave it an enthusiastic thumbs up. She also recommended we try using the Gardein brand Chick’n for a firmer texture on our next go-around.

Cut 20 4” squares of aluminum foil

8 oz of Seitan - torn into small chunks

Whisk together:
1 Tbl Soy Sauce
2 tsp Hoisin Sauce
1 tsp Mirin (orig recipe calls for sherry, but whatever)
1 tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Ginger
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Salt (prob can leave this out)
1 tsp Brown Sugar
1 Tbl Corn Starch
1 Green Onion minced

Coat Seitan with that mix:

Mix:
1 Tbl Oil
1/8 tsp Chinese Five Spices

Lightly brush each foil square with that oil mix
Spoon some chunks in center
Fold in half on the diagonal
Fold over edges to seal

Place them in one layer on a cookie sheet and Bake at 475 for 15 minutes

Enjoy! ~ Lisa

So, I’m making paper wrapped chik’n and I think “I need a side dish”. This is the result of that thought and let me just tell you now…HOLY CRAP this is good, if I do say so myself. Which I just did.

First you have to make the rice/quinoa early enough for it to be refrigerated to a cool temperature. I cooked the mix in the same pot and it turned out just dandy. No need to make them separate.

1 3/4 Cup water & 1 Not-Chick’n Bouillon - Bring to Boil

1/2 Cup each Med Grain Rice & Quinoa (I used a tri-colored quinoa mix for color) - Add to boiling water, cover, reduce temp to low and cook until all liquid absorbed, about 20-23 min.

Refrigerate the cooked rice & quinoa until cool / cold.

Mix 2 Tbl Soy Sauce with 1/4 tsp each of: garlic powder, ginger, white pepper, sesame oil

Chop two green onions (I separate my white and green parts)

2/3 Cup Peas & Carrots (I used frozen mix)

Heat 1-2 Tbl oil in frying pan until hot (I fried white part of onion in this because I don’t like them crunchy, but you can save them for the end if you like)

Add rice & quinoa to hot oil. Stir in seasoned soy sauce mix until well blended. Add peas & carrots. Fry on med/hot for 10 minutes stirring consistently to prevent burning. Toss in green onions in last couple minutes of frying.

Voila! ~Lisa

My inaugural post!  I hope this was worth the wait.  A quick side note - I categorize my recipes as weekday and weekend depending on the amount of time required to prep and cook.  This lasagna is definitely in the weekend recipe pile as you will need several hours to prepare all of the layers.  This is one of my family’s favorites and I hope you enjoy it too.

Tofu Ricotta

14oz med / firm tofu - drained

2 cloves garlic

1/4 c olive oil

1 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp salt

1 grind black pepper

Crumble the drained tofu into the bowl of a food processor.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Pulse until the ingredients are blended and the texture resembles ricotta.

Roasting the Veggies!

This step can be modified to a quick pan saute if you are in a time crunch but the roast makes this dish have an entirely different flavor.  This time I roasted three (3) medium yellow squash, two (2) medium eggplant, three (3) small zuchinni, two (2) onions, six (6) carrots and one (1) large head of garlic.  You can use whatever veggies you enjoy.  The prep is the same.  For a 9 x 13 lasagna pan, you will need about 8 cups raw cut veggies because these will cook down a lot.

Cut veggies in wedges of equal size to allow for even cooking. Separate the wedges of the onion. Evenly set veggies on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can add oregano, garlic or other spices but we like the flavor of the natural veggies.  Bake at 475 for 35-45 minutes stirring every 10 minutes or so until the veggies are browned.  Set these aside and let cool for about an hour then dice into small bite size pieces.

Let the assembly begin

I usually get help from my family with this part because it’s fun.  Gather all of the items together and line your lasagna pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick spray.

Tofu Ricotta (recipe above)

Roasted or pan sauteed veggies diced (above)

lasagna noodles boiled and cooled (no boil noodles will also work but you’ve spent all this time already so you might as well boil the noodles)

2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce (I’ll try to dig up my fav marinara sauce recipe soon)

3/4 c Daiya Mozzarella cheez shreds

Spread 1 c sauce in the prepared lasagna pan. Add a layer of noodles, cover with 1/2 - 3/4 c sauce,  arrange 1/2 of the roasted veggies over the noodles, spread 1/2 of the ricotta mixture over veggies.  Repeat all the layers.  Add another layer of lasagna noodles and sauce.  Sprinkle with the Daiya shreds.

Bake covered in foil at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the layers are bubbling.  Remove the foil and bake another 10 minutes until the cheez is melted and slightly browned.  Eventhough you’ll be tempted to dive right in, this tastes better and serves so much easier when cooled for 10 minutes. 

♦ Cyndie ♦

Inspired by my lost love…Chili’s Skillet Queso…I will never cry over that again! I really can’t believe it took me over 4 years to think of trying this at home.

1/2 Tube = 6oz of El Burrito Soyrizo (Try their SoyTaco if you can’t take the heat of Soyrizo)

1 can drained whole Pinto Beans

1 8oz. Pkg of Daiya Cheddar shreds

1 Cup Unsweetened Plain Soy Milk

1 tsp of Taco Seasoning Mix

1 Tbl Tofutti Plain Better Than Cream Cheese (optional, I find it makes for a creamier cheeze sauce)

1 Tbl Oil - to fry soyrizo and beans in

1 Tbl Oil -for cheeze sauce

Melt Daiya shreds with soy milk, oil, cream cheese & taco seasoning on low/med heat until well blended.

Fry Soyrizo and pinto beans in 1 Tbl oil until soyrizo has crispy edges (5 min on med/high should do it). Add cheeze sauce to the pan and stir together until it’s the warm delicious gooey creamy goodness you see in the pictures!

Keep on low heat and stir occasionally if eating directly from the skillet. Otherwise I’m sure it will be a great crock pot dip to serve at parties.

WARNING: I don’t recommend making this alone, you will want to eat it all ~Lisa

This is one of my all-time favorite packaged mixes to play with: Fantastic Foods Tofu Scrambler

This batch is using El Burrito Soyrizo as the meat alternative, but I have also used the LightLife brand bacon, sausages, and hot dogs as well as crumbled up Gardein Ultimate Beefless Burgers all with great success. If not using Soyrizo, you may want to doctor up the seasoning of the tofu. I often use Mrs. Dash Original Blend.

You will need:

Tofu Scrambler = 1 packet

12-14 oz Extra Firm Tofu (disregard the ‘Silken’ type shown in the pic, it was on-hand and I’m not picky!)

1 handful of Chopped Spinach (I always have this frozen and on-hand for soups, sauces, scrambles, etc. because it’s an easy way to sneak in a wee bit more green veggie)

Soyrizo (I use 1/2 the tube = 6 oz)

1 Cup Diced Potato, any variety and more potato = heartier scramble (you can use frozen country potato mix if you’re lazy…Mandi…)

1 - 2 Tbl oil to fry potatoes in (follow directions if using frozen mix)

1/2 Shallot chopped (or onion, or skip if using frozen mix because it should have onions & peppers)

I’m more of an “eyeballer” when it comes to seasoning potatoes, so here’s what I used: Garlic Powder, Chili Powder, Paprika, Salt & Pepper and here’s what it looks like:

Fry potatoes, shallot & seasonings in oil for about 10 minutes (or frozen pkg as directed). Add Soyrizo and fry until you have crispy edges. Set aside.

Mix Tofu Scrambler packet with Tofu and heat on med heat with frozen spinach and heat up until hot, add potato/soyrizo mix and heat until all is piping hot.

It’s fabulous as is, but I would never call it pretty. Add Daiya cheeze, salsa/avocado…go crazy!! NOTE: It also makes a fabulous burrito and enchilada filling. Enjoy! ~ Lisa