Vegan Mashers

Potatoes

Cauliflower

olive oil

Almond or soy milk

salt and pepper

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This is a great way to make better mashed potatoes with 1/2 the calories and twice the taste.  Boil chopped potatoes as you would for mashing, steam equal amount of cauliflower until very tender. (Or you can add to boil pot 1/2 way through cocking potatoes).  Drain both and return to pot.  Add 3-4 TBSP olive oil, pepper and salt to taste, and enough almond or soy milk to mash/mix to creaminess.  Taste and adjust with salt.  You will wonder why you ever ate plain, butter laden, mashed potatoes before.

Cookoff-winning Veggie Chili

3/4 Cup frozen corn or corn from 1 ear

3 tbsp olive oil

1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced (about 3 cups)

4 cloves garlic

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced (more or less to taste or if you're working with Tender Tummy Tanner)

1 TBSP cumin

1/2 TSP cinnamon

1 TSP ground coriander (though not needed)

1 TSP paprika

1/2 TSP chili powder

salt and pepper to taste

2 (15oz cans) black beans rinsed and drained

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes (I like fire roasted or chilies added)

2 Cup vegetable broth

1 TBSP lime juice

2 TBSP semi-sweet chocolate chips

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Serves crew of 4, double all for 6-8 people.

In a large heavy skillet, roast corn kernels over med-high heat, stirring constantly, until beginning to brown, 3-5 min.  Remove and place in Crock pot or large sauce pan.  Add 2 TBSP olive oil to skillet over Med heat and cook eggplant with a pich of salt until golden brown, about 10 min.  Add to crock pot.  Heat 1 TBSP olive oil over med. heat.  Add garlic and cook for 1 min.  Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 min.  Stir in Jalapeno, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, paprika, chili powder, salt and pepper.  Cook 1 min stirring frequently.  Add 1/4 cup water to pan and pour onion garlic mixture into crock pot.  Stir in tomatoes, beans, Vegetable broth, and lime juice.  Crock pot on high for 1 hour.  5 minutes before serving, add chocolate, stir to melt and mix.

Serve with cheese, avo, fresh onions cilantro.  Also, try the Vegan corn bread recipe!

RIP’S SWEET POTATO LASAGNA

Preheat oven to 400º. Sauté the onion and garlic on high heat for 3 minutes in a wok or nonstick pan. Add the mushrooms and cook until the onions are limp and the mushrooms give up their liquid. Remove them to a large bowl with a slotted spoon. Reserve the mushroom liquid in the pan. Sauté the broccoli and carrots for 5 minutes and add to the mushroom bowl. Sauté the peppers and corn until just beginning to soften. Add them to the vegetable bowl. Drain the tofu by wrapping in paper towels. Break it up directly in the towel and mix into the vegetable bowl. Add spices to the vegetable bowl and combine.

 To Assemble:

Cover the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch casserole with a layer of sauce. Add a layer of noodles. Cover the noodles with sauce. This way the noodles cook in the oven, saving time and energy. Spread the vegetable mixture over the sauced noodles. Cover with a layer of noodles and another dressing of sauce. Add the spinach to the second layer of sauced noodles. Cover the spinach with the mashed sweet potatoes. Add another layer of sauce, the final layer of noodles, and a last topping of sauce. Cover the lasagna with thinly sliced roma tomatoes.

Cover with foil and bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove the foil, sprinkle with the cashews, and return to the oven for 15 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

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I did this and didn't have any mushrooms, broccoli or spinach.  I used some left over spaghetti squash in place of spinach and left out the shrooms and broccoli.  Also, be liberal with the seasonings and add salt.

1 onion, chopped

1 small head of garlic, all cloves chopped or pressed

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 head broccoli, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

2 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped

1 can corn, rinsed and drained

1 package Silken Lite tofu

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon rosemary

2 jars pasta sauce (see E2-Approved Foods)

2 boxes whole grain lasagna noodles

16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained

2 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed

6 roma tomatoes, sliced thin

1 cup raw cashews, ground

Have you ever wanted to try cooking something other than white rice but didn't know how to do it?

Brown Rice - 1 cup of brown rice to 2 cups of water.  Rinse your rice a few times and add the required amount of water (2 to 1).  Bring it to a boil, reduce and simmer for 45 min.  Yes, I said 45 min.  No peeking.  After 45, check and fluff with fork. 

Millet - 1 cup millet to 2 cups water or broth.  Put in into a pot together, bring to a boil and back to simmer for 20 min tightly covered.  Check to see if liquid is absorbed.  Let stand 5 min and fluff.

Bulgur Wheat - 1 cup bulgur to 2 1/2 cups water or broth.  Bring water or broth to a boil, remove from heat, add bulger, stir and let sit 30 minutes.  Strain remaining liquid and serve.

Quinoa - 1 cup quinoa to 2 cups water or broth.  Place both in pot together and bring to boil, reduce and simmer 15 minutes tightly covered.  Take lid off and finish until all water absorbed or evaporated.

Couscous - 1 cup couscous to 1 1/2 cups water or broth.  Bring water or broth to a boil, remove from heat, add couscous and let stand 5-10 minutes.

The above grains can be used in grain salads, veggie burgers, stuffed bell peppers, whatever.

Quinoa Loaf with Mushrooms and Peas

Olive Oil

8 oz sliced mushrooms

salt / pepper

1 (15oz) cal garbonzo Beans drained

3/4 cup rolled oats

2 cups cooked quinoa (about 3/4 cup before cooking)

1 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley and/or 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme (dried works too)

10 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped

1 cup chopped red onion (about 1 onion, can be yellow if needed)

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This feeds 4.

Make sure you have an 8 inch loaf pan (2 if doubling recipe).

Heat some olive oil in skillet, add mushrooms, salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, put beans, oats, and 1/2 cup water in food processor and pulse until almost smooth.  In large bowl combine mushrooms, bean mixture, quinoa, peas, parsley, tomatoes, onion, salt and pepper.  Transfer into the loaf pan gently pressing down and mounding it in the middle.  Bake @ 350 for 1 1/4 hours until golden brown and firm.  Let set for 10 min before slicing and serving.

Serve with mashed potatoes (use non-fat milk and olive oil in place of butter for healthy option)

Roasted Squash Soup

1 medium butternut squash

2 medium onions

2 serranto peppers

Olive Oil

Vegetable Broth (or broth made from "Better than Boullion" Vegetable paste)

Spices = Brown Sugar, Cinnimon, nutmeg if you've got it, salt and pepper.

A splash of heavy cream or half and half. But not really needed.

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Peel most of the skin from the squash, cut it, scoop out the seeds and chop it up into 1 inch pieces and place into a bowl.  Chop up onion into same size and chop stems from peppers and place in the bowl also.  Coat all with some olive oil and spread it out on a cookie sheet.  Bake at 450 for about 30 minutes checking occassionaly to make sure it's not burning.  Once tops have browned and fork easily enters squash, remove from oven.  Pour about 3 cups Veg broth into blender and scoop in squash, oinon, and peppers.  Blend until smooth.  Work in batches and pour into pot.  Add about 3 tbsp of brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnimon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 2 tsp pepper, and 1 tsp salt or more to taste.  Bring to a simmer and stir in a cup of heavy cream or half and half if you thin it needs it.

Veggie Lentil Burgers (Feeds 4.  Double for larger crew)

1 cup dried lentils sorted.

2 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup ketchup

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1 small onion minced

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 cup uncooked quick-cook oats

1 large egg

1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper

(Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and 1000 island dressing)

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Combine lentils and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce and simmer Covered for 25 min. Then, uncover and simmer 10 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.  Add ketchup and next 7 ingrediants.  Form into patties with hands and place on wax or plastic wrap, sprinkle with a little flour and chill for at least 1 hour. 

place small amount of veg oil in a pan (or griddle) and put on medium to high heat.  Fry patties until golden brown and flip doing the same.

Again, double recipe to feed 8+.

McVey's Stuffed Bell Peppers

- Enough Bell Peppers for crew. Red and Yellow add a special sweetness to it. 

- Stuffing made from Couscous or Quinoa.

- Onions, Mushrooms

- Parmasean cheese

- Spices = Garlic salt, pepper, cumin, parsley

Carefully core out the top of each pepper and set aside.  Prepare Couscous or quinoa using chicken boullion instead of water.  Saute the onions and shrooms in olive oil.  When the filler is cooked, place it into a bowl and add veggies, spices, and cheese.  Bake in the oven with a foil tent at 350 for about 20 minutes.  Remove tent and watch for doneness.

For you meat eaters, you can add ground turkey.  Also, always taste the filling before putting it into the pepper.  You can tweek it to your liking.

Hummus consists of a basic recipe but all you have to do to jazz it up is to add your favorite spices and seasonings.

BASIC RECIPE -

2 cloves of garlic minced in food processor

Add 1 can of drained Garbanzo Beans with salt and pepper

Add juice from 1/2 lemon

Blend the beans adding olive oil until you get the correct consistency

RECIPE IDEAS for flavors -

FIRE HUMMUS - Add more garlic, cayenne pepper, chili powder and Siracha asian hot sauce

GREEK HUMMUS - Add 1 jar artichoke hearts, 6-8 Kalmata olives

ASIAN HUMMUS - Add wasabi powder and ginger

RED PEPPER HUMMUS - Add Fire roasted red peppers and sun dried tomatoes

Best Salsa Ever

1 large can diced tomatoes

1 large can crushed tomatoes

1 can Hunts fire roasted tomatoes

(Mash all up in a bowl)

1 white onion diced

1 bunch cilantro

2 yellow and 2 green peppers adjusted to heat (Not ciranto peppers)

Spices = granulated garlic, lowrey's seasonsalt, pepper,

juice from 1 lime

Chipotle Tabassco if you've got it

Easy Baby Back Ribs

First things first... This recipe is for baby back or pork back ribs because those are the best.  Don't waste your time or money on those St. Louis Style or Country Style ribs.  Baby/Pork Back ribs come from the top of the hog nearest the spine (hence, eating "High on the Hog).  They are most tender and easiest to cook and eat.

Get yourself a big casserole dish and splash in some white vinegar to tenderize the meat during cooking.  Place your ribs in the dish careful not to overlap them too much.  Here's where you baste on some of the cheap BBQ sauce (save the good stuff like Sweet Baby Rays for later) or go with a basic rib rub including brown sugar, paprika, cayenne, pepper, salt, garlic, onion and whatever else.  Cover tightly with foil and bake low and slow.  For thin ribs, go 220 degree for 3-4 hours, for thicker Costco ribs, go 300 degrees for the same time.  Always check them after 3 hours and test there "Fall off the bone" potential with a fork.

When they are done baking, transfer them to the grill set on low.  Now you can baste the ribs with your favorite BBQ sauce.  When the sauce is sticky and a bit charred, you're done.

Moistened towels at plate side add a special and necessary touch.

Ok here we go,

All of the measurements are approximations….. I don’t really measure, I usually taste while cooking. It’s really all about the love you put into it that makes these enchies reallllllly tasty. So get ready for some love……..

Green Sauce – this is usually enough for two pans

2 cans of chicken broth

2 cans cream of mushroom soup (condensed)

(More/less of the following if you want)

½ white onion

4 to 5 cloves raw garlic

Jalapeno or green chilies or both

Cilantro….. making the connection yet? Anything green that can be considered from Hispanic origin.

One whole bunch or spinach….. or buy the bag - it saves time, if you get the fresh bunch wash hella good and get rid of the stems (they sometimes stay stringy and make you sterile)

Put it all in a blender or food processor and blend well, you may need to do two batches depending on the size of your blender/processor.

Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a light simmer for no less than 30 min, stir frequently.

Stuffing

Any type of chicken will do, it just depends on how much work you want to make for yourself. I usually boil it with some garlic salt

1 medium tub cottage cheese

1 bag of Mexican cheese

Black olives sliced

The other ½ of onion diced fine

Cilantro

1 med can diced green chilies

or anything else you might think you would like, just check out the fridge for any leftovers…..no one will even know at this point

because of the smell from the simmering sauce

Mix together in a big bowl, but before you mix it try to let the chicken cool a bit.

I usually use flower tortillas, I have tried the corn but they fall apart really easy – if you really want to use corn try lightly frying them up first – its too much work and makes it unhealthy(er)?

Also, try to let the sauce cool down or you will burn your fingers

Dip the tortillas in the cooled green sauce, stuff with chicken mix and roll

Pour the leftover green sauce over the top of the enchies but not too much - they will get soggy

Top them with more shredded mexi cheese/cilantro/olives/green onion……..again anything of Hispanic decent that will make your presentation more appealing (you gotta make it look good right?!)

Everything is pretty much cooked at this point so I bake at 350 for 20-30 min till the sauce is bubbling.

 Ma Ligtenberg’s Potato Dish