Recipe 16: Vegan Lasagna

This lasagna is definitely something I will be making for my kids one day. It's easy, can be prepped, and put in the oven in just 30 minutes!  

 

Vegan Lasagna

 (adapted from Jessica on Allrecipes.com)

Prep Time:
30 Min

 Cook Time:
30-40 mins

Ready In:
1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 package (12 ounces) of meatless ground beef 
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 5-6 bella mushrooms
• 4-5 cloves of minced garlic
• 1-2 cans (approximately 28 ounces) of marinara sauce (I used Trader Joe's Toscana Marinara Sauce)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (16 ounce) package lasagna noodles
• 2 pounds firm tofu
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• dried Italian herbs 

Method

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the lasagna noodles for 9 minutes, then drain and rinse well.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan. Add chopped onion and cook for 2 minutes. Then, add in mushrooms and continue to cook for approximately 3-4 minutes. Season mushrooms and onion with salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Remove from heat. Place mushrooms and onions in a food processor and blend for 2 minutes (Note: If you do not have a food processor, you can add the mushrooms and onions into the sauce or tofu mixture unblended).
4. Place the tofu blocks in a large bowl.  Add blended mushrooms and onions. Add the garlic, basil and parsley. Add the salt and pepper, and mash all the ingredients together by squeezing pieces of tofu through your fingers. Mix well.
5. Assemble the lasagna: Spread 1 cup of the tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch casserole pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles, sprinkle one-third of the tofu mixture over the noodles. Distribute the spinach evenly over the tofu. Next ladle 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce over the tofu, and top it with another layer of the noodles. Then sprinkle another 1/3 of the tofu mixture over the noodles, top the tofu with 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, and place a final layer of noodles over the tomato sauce. Finally, top the noodles with the final 1/3 of the tofu, and spread the remaining tomato sauce over everything.
6. Sprinkle some nutritional yeast and dried Italian herbs over the top for some extra flavor!
7. Cover the pan with foil and bake the lasagna for 30-40 minutes. Serve hot and enjoy.

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Recipe 15: Vegan Fried "Chicken"

My boyfriend is a huge fan of comfort food! Fried chicken cutlets and fried rice is one of his favorite meals that his Mom made for him growing up. This was my trial run to make sure this fried chicken was up to par. I found the recipe from Pinterest done by The Sweetest Vegan. I adapted the recipe a little bit using what I had on hand. It turned out well, but lacked seasoning. I think next time I'll try some Lawry's seasoning salt, Louisiana chicken wing seasoning, onion powder, and garlic powder to season the batter. Check back to see an update on the fried chicken!

Vegan Fried "Chicken"

(Yields: 2 Vegan Fried "Chicken" Breast)

Ingredients

• 2-3 cups canola oil, for frying
• 2 teaspoons salt free seasoning blend or seasonings of choice
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 vegan "chicken" breasts (I used Gardein chick'n scallopini)

Method:

Heat canola oil over medium - high heat in a large pot or deep fryer.

Whisk your seasonings, all purpose flour, and nutritional yeast in a shallow bowl.

Mix together mustard and water in a separate bowl. Stir 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard.

Whisk baking powder into the remaining flour mixture.

Dredge, dip and coat, the chicken breast into the mustard and then the flour, one at a time.

Fry the chicken until crispy and golden brown.

Serve with some maple syrup, ketchup, hot sauce, or BBQ sauce! Yummy!!!

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Recipe 14: Vegan Pesto Fettuccine

I celebrated my birthday earlier this month, and my boyfriend got me a Cuisinart 4-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Processor. I finally can make homemade sauces, salad dressings, marinades, hummus, and much more! I'd been waiting to receive the processor from an acquaintance who got us an awesome discount on the product. I knew the first thing I was going to make as soon as I got it was pesto! Vegan pesto is hard to find premade at health food stores, and if it is premade it is usually quite costly. Plus, fresh pesto is much better!

 

 

Vegan Pesto

(modified from Cuisinart 4-Cup Mini-Prep Plus Processor Recipe Booklet)

"It is a favorite for dressing pasta but is also wonderful on boiled or steamed potatoes, steamed fresh vegetables, or as a spread on a fresh tomato and mozzarella sandwich. You may vary your pesto by using other herbs such as cilantro, mint or parsley and by using other nuts such as almonds, pecans or hazelnuts."

Makes enough for 4-6 servings on pasta

• 2 cups nutritional yeast
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts (heat in non-stick pan on medium until golden brown to toast)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 cups (packed) fresh basil leaves, washed and dried completely
• 2⁄3 cups extra virgin olive oil

Place the nutritional yeast in a bowl and set aside. Add the nuts to the work bowl and pulse on chop 5 times; remove and place in bowl with nutritional yeast. Add the garlic and salt to the work bowl and process 5 seconds on chop; scrape the bottom and sides of the work bowl. Add the basil leaves and half the olive oil. Pulse on grind 10 times, then grind continuously for about 15 seconds. Scrape the work bowl. With the machine running on grind, add the remaining oil slowly, in a steady stream, through one of the holes in the recessed area of the lid. After all the oil has been added, process on grind for an additional 10 seconds. Add the reserved nutritional yeast and nuts to the mixture. Pulse 10 times on chop to blend. You may need to stir and add a little bit of olive oil if the nutritional yeast is not completely blending. Let the pesto sit for 30 minutes or longer to allow the flavors to develop. Pesto sauce will keep refrigerated for up to a week, or may be frozen. Transfer the sauce to an airtight container.

For the Vegan Pesto Fettuccine meal I used Organic Fettuccine - Whole Foods Brand. I also mixed in some finely diced sauteed zucchini and broccollini into the pesto sauce before serving. Then I served the pasta with a mixed green salad dressed with Follow Your Heart vegan caeser dressing (which I also purchased at Whole Foods).



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Recipe 13: Vegan Sloppy Joes

A semi-healthy comfort meal that vegans and non-vegans are guaranteed to enjoy!

Vegan Sloppy Joes

(Serves 4-5 people)

• 1 package of soy ground beef of choice
• 1 chopped yellow onion
• 1 chopped green bell pepper
• 1 1/2 cup tomato sauce of choice (I used a mushroom marinara)
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• garlic salt to taste
• pepper to taste 
• hamburger seasoning to taste (I used Grill Shakers Hamburger)  
• hamburger buns of choice

Method: Sautee chopped onion with small amount of olive oil in a pan until golden brown. Add in green bell pepper and ketchup. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until green bell pepper is soft. Stir in soy ground beef and cook for 3 minutes. Add in remaining ingredients and serve on buns of choice. I used onion hamburger buns. Yummy!

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Recipe 12: Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad

This past weekend I visited my Grandpa in San Diego for a Bastille Day Party. I had a great time, and got to harvest some vegetables from my Grandpa's garden! He's an avid gardener and grows a variety of things. I hope one day I can have a nice garden to grow fresh food. He sent me home with red onion, zucchini, yellow squash, eggplant, and tomatoes. He also gave me a bottle of rosé wine. I usually prefer red wine, but this wine is perfect for summer time! It's called Quinson Fils Cotes de Provence Rosé. I enjoyed a couple of glasses at the party, and you can pick it up at Trader Joe's for only $4.99!

With the vegetables just one day old (awesome!) I decided to make a cold quinoa salad. I used most of the ingredients for this recipe from my Grandpa's garden. I wish I could cook with produce like that everyday!

Garden Fresh Quinoa Salad

-2 cups organic quinoa
-4 cups water
-3 diced zucchinis
-1 diced yellow squash
-1 diced eggplant
-3 diced tomatoes
-1 diced red onion
-3-4 segments/cloves of minced garlic
-1 3/4 teaspoons cumin
-1 teaspoon red pepper
-Salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
-olive oil
-red wine vinegar
-dijon mustard

Method: Sautée garlic in pan with olive oil until golden brown. Stir in the zucchini, squash, and eggplant. Cook for approximately 8-10 minutes or to desired. In rice cooker, cook 2 cups of quinoa and 4 cups water. Mix cooked vegetables and quinoa together in a bowel. Top with tomatoes and red onion. Chill salad for about an hour. Mix dressing in when ready to serve.

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Recipe 11: Blueberry Flaxseed Smoothie

Flaxseed is a great source of non-animal Omega-3 fatty acids.

10 Benefits of Flaxseeds and Flaxseed Oil  

1. Flaxseeds are a a great source of fiber and work as a natural laxative. They are a great way to keep things regular.
2. Flaxseed oil contains concentrated amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fat. Vegetarians and vegans often use this as a substitute for fish oil, although there are differing opinions over whether the Omega-3 in flaxseed oil is as beneficial as that in fish oil.
3. Ground flaxseed has been shown to work just as well as statins in lowering cholesterol.
4. Flaxseeds are a good source of magnesium.
5. Flaxseeds contain high levels of lignans. Lignans may protect against estrogen-dependents cancers such as breast cancer.
6. An ounce of ground flaxseed per day was shown to regulate estrogen levels in post-menopausal women.
7. Flaxseeds have been shown to protect post-menopausal women from heart disease.
8. Flaxseed decreases insulin resistance and may protect against diabetes.
9. Preliminary research in mice shows that flaxseeds may prevent or slow the spread of prostate cancer.
10. Studies in mice show that flaxseed may prevent or slow the spread of melanoma.

Blueberry Flaxseed Smoothie

• 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's flaxseed with blueberries (or flaxseed of choice)
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup strawberries
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1 cup vanilla almond milk (or nondairy milk of choice)
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter (or almond butter)
• 1 1/2 cups ice

Blend all ingredients in a blender. Enjoy anytime of the day!

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Recipe 10: Texas Caviar

I hope everyone had a nice 4th of July! I went to a friends house for a party and brought along some Texas Caviar!

Sara's Texas Caviar

• 1 can black-eyed peas
• 1 can corn
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 4-6 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 3 avocados
• 1 large English cucumber, chopped
• 2 tsp. garlic salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp. pepper
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. (or to spice preference) Tabasco sauce or Trader Joe's Jalepeno Pepper Hot Sauce
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Drain and rinse black-eyed peas and corn. Combine in a large bowl chopped peppers, onions, cucumbers, avocados, and tomatoes.

Mix red wine vinegar, hot sauce, sugar, garlic salt and pepper. Pour over salad and stir gently to coat. Refrigerate for several hours to overnight before serving.

Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or as a side dish.

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