Epicurean Vegan

Healthy eating for discriminating palates

Mexican Pasta Casserole January 2, 2013

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 9:03 pm
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I’ve made a similar casserole, but I didn’t have all of the ingredients. I changed things up given what I had to work with. I love how easy and delicious these kinds of casseroles are—they make for the perfect winter meal.

INGREDIENTS:

Sauce:

1  14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or a can of Rotel with green chilies), undrained

1/2 C Tofutti sour cream + any extra for serving on top

1/4 C nutritional yeast

1 packet of seasoning mix (taco, burrito or fajita)

1/2 C shredded  Daiya pepper jack cheese

1/4 C almond milk

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

The rest:

2 C uncooked pasta (any variety—I had a mixture of ziti and elbow mac)

1 Tbs olive oil (I used chipotle-flavored)

2 cloves garlic, crushed or minced

1/2 of a bell pepper (any variety—I used orange), chopped

1/2 C onion, chopped

1-1/2 to 2 C mushrooms, chopped or sliced

1  15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed

4-5 green onions, sliced

1 C cilantro leaves

Optional ingredients: black olives, diced avocados or guacamole

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 375. While cooking the pasta, heat the olive oil and garlic in a large skillet. Over medium heat, saute the bell pepper and onions until they begin to soften, then add the black beans.

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Cook for another 3-4 minutes, then add the mushrooms.

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Cook until the mushroom cook down a little—just a couple of minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine all of the sauce ingredients and mix well. Drain the pasta and add it to the skillet, along with the sauce; blend well. Transfer to a 13×9″ baking dish.

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Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes. Top servings with some green onions and cilantro and any other optional ingredients. Enjoy!

 

Mushroom and Barley-Stuffed Peppers September 26, 2012

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 10:16 am
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I know, stuffed peppers again?! But they’re so easy to change up and try new ingredients combinations. Like most stuffed peppers, these are easy to make, but allow some extra time, especially using barley as it takes 45 minutes to cook.

INGREDIENTS:

3 bell peppers, cut in half and seeds and stems removed

1 C pearl barley

2-1/2 C veggie broth (I like to use Better than Bouillon vegetable base)

1 Tbs olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 a large onion, diced

1-1/2 C mushrooms, diced

1/4 C pepitas (shelled and toasted pumpkin seeds)

2 Tbs fresh rosemary, minced

1/2 to 1 tsp shallot salt

Black pepper, to taste

2 Tbs white wine

3 Tbs of Earth Balance, divided

Parmezano sprinkles, optional

DIRECTIONS:

In a medium sauce pan, bring the broth to a boil. Add the barley, reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375. In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the onions and cook until tender and slightly browned. Add the pepitas, rosemary, shallot salt, and pepper. Cook another 5 minutes over medium to low heat.

 

Once the barley is cooked, add it to the skillet, along with the mushrooms, and stir well to combine. Add the white wine and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes.

Stuff the peppers with the filling and press down, adding as much as possible to each one. Place them into a large baking dish. Add a cup of water to the dish, cover with foil, and bake for about 30 minutes. Once baked, top each pepper with a half a tablespoon of Earth Balance, replace the foil, and let sit for 5 minutes. Top with the Parmezano Sprinkles, and enjoy!

 

Cashew Stir-fry with Noodles July 31, 2012

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 9:42 am
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Sorry for the absence…I haven’t been making new dishes over the last couple of weeks, but instead, have been relying on some old favorites like enchiladas, creamy cashew pasta, and tofu sandwiches. We are leaving Wednesday for Santa Fe and Taos, so it was a good time to use up the veggies in the fridge. I’m excited to bring you lots of wonderful vegan food and news from New Mexico. It’s been ten years since we’ve there and we’re  looking forward to going back. Of course, any road trip is not complete in my household without an accident/injury a day or two before leaving. (Last year, the Eighth Grader got his two front teeth knocked out during a trampoline incident. We were supposed to drive to Southern CO for a wedding. It didn’t happen. Spring Break this year was altered after the kid’s appendectomy). It was my turn, I guess. I got a little too excited trying out my new mandolin slicer Sunday night…

I should have seen it coming. I’ve heard the horror stories associated with the mandolin, but I bought one the other day anyway. First time I use it, I slice a pretty large chunk off my right pinkie finger. I’m lucky though, it could have been worse. I was millimeters short of taking off bone and nail! Yikes. Good thing I married an Eagle Scout. He kept me calm and got it wrapped up. I ended up going to urgent care yesterday morning and they cleaned it up good, wrapped it, and I have to go back today to have it looked at. The doc said it will take several months to heal. :-(  The mandolin is in timeout.

Had I not been an idiot and lost part of an appendage, I probably would have used it to make this stir-fry, but I decided to stick with a good old-fashioned knife. It was slow-going, but I had some help. I picked up some East-West Stir-fry Sauce and these awesome ramen noodles from Hakubaku. Both were outstanding. The sauce had a mild flavor with just a tiny bit of zip. I used about 1/2 the jar, but feel free to use as much or as little as you’d like.

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 medium zucchinis, cut into sticks

6 mushrooms, quartered

6 celery stalks, sliced

1 bell pepper, cut into chunks

1 can bamboo shoots, drained

6 green onions, sliced thin

1-2 handfuls of cashews

3 Tbs freshly grated gingerroot

1 jar East-West Stir-fry Sauce

9.5 oz Hakubaku noodles

Olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet. Add the zucchini, celery, and bell pepper. Cook until they begin to get tender, about 7-9 minutes.

Add the bamboo shoots and ginger. Cook another 5 -7 minutes.

The noodles will take four minutes to cook in boiling water, so when you toss them in to cook, add the mushrooms, green onion, and cashews to the skillet. Cook 2 minutes…then add the sauce. Stir well to combine and saute to heat the sauce.

Drain the noodles and serve them topped with some stir-fry. Enjoy!

 

 

Stuffed Cabbage Rolls July 7, 2012

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 10:36 am
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The (soon-to-be) Eighth Grader picked these out from Lightlife. The original recipe is for 12 rolls, but one large head of cabbage had about 8 good leaves to use, so we had some leftover filling. If you plan on making 12, you’ll probably want to pick up 2 heads of cabbage. These we actually pretty easy to make and were really flavorful and delicious, not to mention healthy. One roll is only 275 calories! You can also customize these rolls to suit your tastes—mix it up by adding your favorite ingredients. Next time, I’ll try mushrooms and zucchini. Keep in mind, the recipe calls for cooked rice, so you’ll want to get that going first. Also, you’ll need to steam the leaves ahead of time as well.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pkg Gimme Lean “beef”

2 Tbs olive oil

8-12 cabbage leaves

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 C cooked rice

15 oz can tomato sauce

Salt and pepper, to taste

2 tsp vegan Worcestershire sauce

3 Tbs brown sugar

3 Tbs cider vinegar

2-4 Tbs water

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the cabbage leaves, remove from heat, cover, and let sit for 10 minutes. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onions, and peppers and cook until tender.

Add the Gimme Lean. You could chop it up before adding it, or just dice it up with a spatula in the pan. You’ll want small clumps, or pieces. Add the Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper and continue cooking until the “beef” begins to brown.

Add the rice…

In a small bowl, whisk together the tomato sauce, brown sugar, and cider vinegar. Reserve a 1/4 cup; set aside. Add the remaining sauce to the pan and combine it well with the veggie mixture. After you’ve drained the cabbage leaves, pat them dry. Lay a leaf out flat and add about a 1/3 cup of the mixture in the center.

Fold in the sides, then roll up. You can also secure it with a toothpick if needed, but I found that these rolled up fine and stayed put.

Place the rolls in a 9×13 baking pan. Pour about 2-4 Tbs of water int he bottom of the pan to keep the leaves moist.

Mix 2 Tbs of water with the reserved 1/4 cup of sauce and pour it over the rolls.

Cover and bake for 35-40 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Quinoa-Mandarin Stuffed Peppers April 28, 2012

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 6:04 pm
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The Seventh-Grader was nice enough to share his cold with me. I can’t remember the last time I was out of commission with a cold, and I don’t plan to let this one win. So far, I’ve kept it somewhat at bay with lots of juiced veggies and kale. Never under estimate the healing powers of vegetables. That may be why I was drawn to making these. Bell peppers, particularly orange and yellow ones, are packed with vitamins C, A, and B6. (Although the heating process will deplete them a bit). But I’m certain they still retain many of their healthy benefits. These also have mushrooms which are a great source of B vitamins, selenium, vitamin D, and potassium. Now on to the zucchini…these guys have tons of vitamin C and A which are actually anti-inflammatory agents. Zucchinis are also high in fiber—an added bonus! And let’s not forget that quinoa is an ideal source of protein, too! Let the healing begin!

Oh, and remember Operation Save Basil from October?

I’m happy to report that it has bounced back beautifully. It looks like there’s room to add another basil plant, but for now, I’m thrilled the basil’s back, baby!

INGREDIENTS:

3 large bell peppers (preferably orange, red, or yellow) sliced in half and innards cleaned out

1 C quinoa

1-15oz can mandarin oranges (look for no sugar added), juice reserved

1 C water

1 tsp tamari

1 Tbs olive oil

2 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 C slivered almonds

1 C mushrooms, sliced

1 small zucchini, sliced then quartered

1/2 C fresh basil, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

Sauce:

1 C almond milk

2 Tbs arrowroot

2 Tbs nutritional yeast

2 Tbs yellow miso

dash of nutmeg

dash of garlic salt

DIRECTIONS:

Begin with the quinoa: Combine the quinoa, reserved Mandarin orange juice, water, and tamari in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover. Let simmer for 12-15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375. While the quinoa is cooking, heat the olive oil and garlic in a skillet. Add the slivered almonds and cook them for 5-7 minutes, stirring often.

Add the zucchini, mushrooms, salt, and pepper; cook another 6-8 minutes on medium heat.

Once the veggies are tender, remove from the heat and stir in the oranges and basil.

Stir in the cooked quinoa and evenly fill the pepper halves.

Sometimes I pour about 2 cups of water in the bottom of the pan before covering with foil. This will help soften the peppers without overcooking the filling. I think this is especially important when using cheese or fake meats in the filling. Bake 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients over high heat, stirring constantly. After a few minutes, reduce heat to medium-low and let it simmer. Stir frequently so it doesn’t burn. Don’t worry about getting the sauce thickened; it’s meant to seep and ooze into the filling. :-)

Ladle the sauce over the peppers and enjoy!

 

Kale & Cabbage Salad with Lemony-Almond Butter Dressing February 24, 2012

Filed under: Dressings/Condiments,Lunches,Sides — epicureanvegan @ 11:55 am
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Ok, this is probably my favorite dressing I’ve made so far. Love it! It has just a hint of lemon and with the ginger, goes fabulous with the almond butter. There’s some prep work involved here, but if can, make this the night before and you won’t be able to wait for lunch!

INGREDIENTS:

Salad:

2 large bunches of kale, stems removed and chopped

1/4 of a red/purple cabbage, diced

1 bell pepper (red, orange or yellow), diced

1 C carrot, shredded or finely chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

1 small red onion, diced small

1/3 C sunflower seeds

Dressing:

1/4 C tahini

1/3 C + 1 Tbs almond butter

1″ piece of ginger, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2-3 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs miso (light, yellow or red)

1/4 C nutritional yeast

1/8 C water

DIRECTIONS:

In a large bowl, combine all of the salad ingredients.

Combine all of the dressing ingredients in the blender—except the water—just start with a little and add more as you blend it to reach the consistency you want. You may need more than the 1/8 cup. It also depends on how lemony you want it—you can thin it out with more lemon juice if you’d like. Blend until smooth.

You can pour the dressing over the salad, just a little at time to coat the salad, or serve on the side and mix into individual servings. Yields about 1-1/2 cups. Enjoy!

 

Layered (Deep Dish) Pizza January 24, 2012

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 11:13 am
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This brings deep dish pizza to a whole new level; five levels to be exact. Since the Mexican Lasagna turned out so great, I thought I’d make a pizza version. It was delicious! This may be my new favorite way to eat pizza.

INGREDIENTS:

5, 8″ flour tortillas

1 Tbs olive oil

3 Field Roast sausages, Italian Seasoning flavor, crumbled

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 -1/2 C mushrooms, sliced

4-5 C fresh spinach, chopped

1 C fresh basil, chopped

1, 15-oz can Glen Muir pizza sauce

1-1/2 C Daiya cheese, mozzarella flavor

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350. In a large skillet heat the olive oil and add the bell pepper; cook until slightly tender. Add the crumbled Field Roast and heat through.

Add the mushrooms, spinach, and basil. Cook just until the spinach wilts a bit. Bake the tortilla shells about 2-3 minutes per side. Spray the bottom of a 9″ cake pan with cooking spray, then pour a small amount on the bottom. Lay one tortilla on the bottom, add some sauce, veggie mixture, then sprinkle some cheese on it.

Repeat, top with last tortilla, rest of sauce and cheese.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes. Enjoy!

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers with Field Roast, Ricotta & Spinach August 1, 2011

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 6:29 pm
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I love stuffed pasta shells, but I don’t always love filling up with carbs and wheat from the pasta. This is a fabulous and healthy alternative, which the family raved about. My hegans agreed that these were the best stuffed peppers I made. You can check out the other recipes here.  I used my go-to ricotta recipe, as well as The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook’s Parmezano Sprinkles–both very easy to whip up.

INGREDIENTS:

My go-to ricotta:

1 14-oz pkg extra-firm tofu, press and drained

1/3 C nutritional yeast

1 C fresh basil

2 Tbs fresh rosemary

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

2 Tbs lemon juice

1/4 C Daiya mozzarella

Parmezano Sprinkles:

1/2 C blanched almonds

2 Tbs nutritional yeast

1-2 tsp light miso

1/4 tsp salt

The peppers:

4 bell peppers, washed, tops removed and innards cleaned out

1 tsp olive oil

2 tsp garlic, minced

1 C onion, diced

2 Field Roast sausages, Italian flavor

2 C mushrooms, diced

4 C fresh spinach, chopped

1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, drained

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

To make the ricotta, crumble the tofu into a food processor. Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the Daiya) and blend until somewhat smooth. You don’t want it too smooth. Stir in the cheese.

To make the parmezano sprinkles, grind the blanched almonds to a fine consistency. Add the nutritional yeast, miso, and salt. Combine well. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. When you get read to use it, give the container a shake to loosen it all.

Preheat oven to 375. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the onions and cook until they just begin to get tender. Using your fingers, crumble up the Field Roast sausages and add to the skillet. Cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and diced tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften. Stir in the spinach and cook 5 minutes, or until the spinach cooks down a fair bit.

Remove from the heat and let sit for about 10 minutes. Drain any excess tomato juices if you need to. Then, stir in 1 cup of the ricotta mixture.

Stuff each pepper with the mixture, pressing down with every scoop.

Bake for 30 minutes. Top with some of the parmezano sprinkles and bake another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

 

Grilled Vegetable Fajitas April 20, 2011

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 7:46 pm
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It’s that time of year to fire up the grill! For its 2011 inaugural grilling, we went with vegetable fajitas. Since I do most of the cooking, the Husband revels in the opportunity to be King of the Grill. I’ll gladly delegate that method of cooking to him. This is an easy, healthy meal to jump start your spring (as well as your grill)!

INGREDIENTS:

2 bell peppers, sliced

1 large onion, sliced into strips

1 medium zucchini, julienned

2 avocados, diced

1-1/2 C vegan cheese, shredded

Tofutti sour cream

Salsa

Fresh cilantro

6 flour tortillas

Marinade:

1/4 C olive oil

1/8 C red wine vinegar

1/8 C lime juice

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Ancho chili powder

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 tsp cumin

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large Zip-lock bag, or bowl, combine all of the vegetables.

In a small bowl, whisk together all of the marinade ingredients. Coat the veggies with the marinade and let sit for about an hour. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. We used a grill basket and while stirring often, we (I mean, the grill-master) cooked them for about 20 minutes.

On a warmed tortilla, add some Tofutti, veggie mix, cheese, avocado, cilantro, and salsa. Makes 6. Enjoy!

 

Barley-Stuffed Bell Peppers April 17, 2011

Filed under: Dinners — epicureanvegan @ 9:52 am
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Stuffed bell peppers are one of my favorite meals. They’re easy and versatile. This time, I decided to try something different: barley. In addition to being high in fiber, barley is also high in selenium, phosphorus, copper and manganese. And also because of its high B vitamin content, it has also shown to help lower cholesterol. Go barley!

INGREDIENTS:

1 C pearled barley

2-1/2 C water or vegetable broth

3 large peppers, or 4 medium ones

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 C pimentos, diced

6 large mushrooms, diced

1 Field Roast sausage, Apple Sage flavor (excellent source of protein)!

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp olive oil

3/4 C vegan cheddar, shredded

1/3 C Tofutti sour cream

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

In a large saucepan, bring the broth to a boil. Stir in the barley, reduce heat to low, cover, and cook for 45 minutes.


Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375. Cut the tops off the peppers, clean out the innards, wash, and set aside. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil and garlic. Add the onion and Field Roast, which I just chopped up.

Add the mushrooms and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the barley, pimento, cheese, and sour cream. Combine well.

Stuff the peppers with the barley mixture. Press down with every scoop to maximize the full capacity of the pepper :) Place into a baking dish.


Cover and bake for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 5 minutes. Enjoy!

 

 
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