1st Vegan Lasagna

My husband and I always loved lasagna. But when I stopped eating cheese I also stopped making lasagna because I thought I would really miss the cheese & because my fave Pre-made Pasta sauce had cheese in it and most store bought pasta sauces have cheese...So I gave up on red sauce with pasta all together really....

But my husband has been asking me to make one for some time. So the other day I bought a couple containers of pasta sauce that I thought I would hate... and decided I could always eat something else if it didn't turn out good.

I boiled the pasta (whole box),  Browned the Yves veggie burger (used 2 freezer packs) and added some light life sausage { 1 whole role) , then added the pasta sauce to the burger (whole jar plus some of the next jar) . (I never used veggie burger in my lasagna before, I always used to just use cheese, sauce, and pasta... )

Layered the sauce, pasta, burger mix, small amount of Daiya cheese, and a small amount of vegan parm. Made three layers than throw it it in the oven.. It smelled so good while it was cooking... We couldn't wait to try it....

Ready to go into the oven for 45minutes.. Covered with aluminum foil

And..............Success... It was really good. It filled my husbands craving and even with my husbands appetite we had left overs for the next day... Well two pieces and they were finished for breakfast. Plus I got to use one of my new Friendship casserole/cake/dishes....

All done and ready to go to our tummies! Yum!!!

Next time I will add less Yves, No light life sausage, and add some veggies. I really missed having veggies in it!

And I am also thinking about trying the Spinach Lasagna  recipe in The Vegan Table (Link includes the Spinach Lasagna Recipe) So maybe thats what I will make next time.

This one was my Fave.

As for the pasta Sauce, Surprisingly it was Muir Glen. I have never liked their pasta sauce before but I had never tried their Organic products until that day. It was really good and will now be my pasta sauce of choice!

Pasta with Kale, Tomato, Garlic, & Thyme

Link to Recipe Below!
I loved this recipe so much. It took a couple minutes to make because I made it all in one pot. But it was worth it! Most of the time is inactive and the flavor is awesome! I am excited to make this for my husband because I know he will love it!

This is another Martha Stewart Website Recipe. I changed only one thing I added a couple pinches of dried thyme instead of fresh. Plus the pasta is pictured but not talked about in the recipe... So I used a 16oz pack of Fettuccine. Well Actually half of it since I only made half a recipe.

Simple Yummy Pasta Sauce

I seen this on the Martha Stewart show yesterday and I was craving pasta so I said what the heck and made it. Its simple, good, cheaper than on organic jar and you don't have to stand in the kitchen and chop up a hundred things. I like it :)


Red Pasta Sauce

2- 28oz Cans Whole Tomatoes ( I used organic)
2 cloves garlic (I grated it, She chopped it)
1/4 cup olive oil
I used a little dry basil... She added something green but didn't say what it was.
Optional- Pinch Red pepper flakes
Then I let it boil for an hour. She said to boil it 30 minutes but I wanted more flavor to develop. Then at the end add a small amount of salt and pepper to taste and your done.

Simple and easy. She also added it to the pan with her pasta and a little starchy cooking liquid to let it cook a bit more. I didn't
Next time I might add a few red pepper flakes to give it some warmth. But I really liked it.

The yummy sauce in all its glory :)

This one had a little added Vegan Parm.

Vegan MOFO Day 4- Lightlife Sausage & Cauliflower Pasta

I did cook today I was really busy organizing all the junk that came out of our entertainment center when we finally hung the TV all the wall and just took the rest of the evening easy spending time with my husband watching tv. But I am posting a recipe I tried and really liked.

I seen a recipe awhile back in a magazine that I was browsing while waiting in check out and had to try it. Its not exactly the same and I don't know what magazine it was because I didn't buy it. But I will give the recipe I used and an alternative that would be really good to.

Pasta w/ Lightlife Sausage & Cauliflower

Head cauliflower, cut into flourets
1 pack Lightlife sausage
1 pd Ritoni
6 Cloves of Garlic
Olive Oil

1. Cook your pasta to al dente, before draining reserve 2 cups cooking water.
2. While your pasta is cooking heat a pot with olive oil, on medium heat. Brown the LL Sausage and then add the garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Do not burn the garlic it will be bitter.
3.Add the cauliflower to the pot and brown the edges of the cauliflower. Then add a cup of cooking water and cook covered over medium heat till the cauliflower is tender. This shouldn't take more than 8 or 10 minutes. Uncover and let the water cook off then add the pasta and stir.

Another way to make this dish would be cook the pasta and cook the LL sausage and cauliflower  like in the first recipe minus the garlic. In a separate small pot melt down 1 stick smart balance on medium heat add 2 bay leafs, 3 to 4 cloves of garlic, and 1tsp of black pepper. When you have mixed the pasta, LL sausage, and cauliflower pour the sauce over and serve.

This dish can be made with many substitutes for the veggies. Brussels sprouts, cabbage, bok choy, nappa cabbage, any of it would be great. You could totally leave out the LL sausage and add potatoes or other veggies. Try different variations with what you already have.

Vegan MOFO Day 2- Brings Sausage Gravy with Biscuits & Homemade Pasta Sauce

Biscuits and  Sausage Gravy

Today I had a craving for an old favorite and so I made the vegan version that I have blogged about in the past but everytime I blog about it I end up making a change to the recipe. Here is a link to the Gravy Recipe I posted. The only change I made today was I used Unsweetened almond milk.. It made such a difference that I ate two biscuits and the combo was dellish!! Using the Unsweetened takes the background sweetness that I never liked out of the gravy. Makes it taste almost exactly like the gravy I grew up with.

These biscuits turn out good everytime.
 I always use the Recipe from
Sarah Kramer's book How it all vegan.

Gravy

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce


I have tried many homemade sauces. Some I really liked, problem is I didn't cook those... and others I really haven't liked. Since becoming vegan I have had a really hard time trying to find a pasta sauce that I like the taste of. I don't like sauce that have tons of spices and that way down the tomatoes. So I found 2 new sauce recipes the other night on Allrecipes.com. I decided to try one and ran right out to the store to pick up the one item I didn't have.

This sauce is easy to make.. But prep does take a couple minutes.

Browned the Yves veggie burger, and cooking the veggies down.

I always use my mortar & pestle to grind up all my herbs. I don't like leafy
dry herbs straight into my food. Its just a picky pet peeve of mine.
So the basil and oregano It turned to powder.

Right after grinding all the tomatoes together and adding the powdered spices.

Starting to cook everything together. Smells so yummy.

Right before serving after cooking for about an hour. It looks and tastes really yummy.
 I loved the sauce by its self but I wasn't very found of the peppers and onions.
Maybe if they had been chopped a little smaller. 

Garlic Bread

I love garlic bread with my pasta. But I really don't like that soggy stick in the oven or just let the butter melt bread. I don't like soggy bread at all! I normally use a hard Italian bread but this night all I had was whole wheat sliced bread. Italian bread does have alot better texture.

Smart Balance

Bread Slices

Butter

Powder Garlic

Whats spaghetti without garlic bread.

Links to recipe later...

Finally Cooking- Vegan Vittles & The 100 Best Vegan baking recipes

I have finally been cooking again. Trying some recipes from the cookbooks that I don't use often enough and some new cook books. In 2 days I tried out 5 new recipes. Some of them I liked some I wasn't to impressed by while some that I didn't like John loved. As always. Even one that surprised me that grew on me. So the two books I have been using this week are Vegan Vittles & The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. All these recipes were pretty quick in active time.

Some of the links below go to the book some of the links go to the recipes.

I once again looked through Vegan Vittles and made a huge list of recipes I want to try. So I figured I would start with a pasta called Igors Special for Breakfast/lunch. Recipe on Page 167. I wasn't sure about this recipe because it had balsamic vinegar and curry powder. Two ingredients I'm not to fond of. But I was surprised after I took a few bites that the salty background was really nice. The tangyness of the vinegar reminded me of the edemame, corn, and tomato salad that I really like. So I guess I shouldn't judge balsamic vinegar just by the Portabello & onion recipe from one of Sarah Kramers books. I do like that recipe too. But I'm not a big fan of to much balsamic vinegar on the onions... Anyways. I didn't add the green onions the recipe called for. I don't like raw onions. But the walnuts, tomatoes, curry, Cayenne, soy sauce, and what ever other ingredients were in the recipe turned out nice. I kept the sauce in a separate bowl so when I heated the pasta back up the sauce stayed cold and was a nice topper. The warm pasta warmed the mixture just enough. I did heat it up all together once and I didn't like it as much. After you eat a few bites you also feel just a touch of the Cayenne. A nice background feel.


Click Link for Recipe.
The next recipe I tried was Not you Mamas Meatloaf. Recipe on page 150. My husband had been wanting me to find a meatloaf alternative. Even when he did eat meat when we first moved in together I would never fix meatloaf for him. yuck... And before this I had never had any meat loaf vegan or meaty... I had really high hopes for this recipe. But when I mixed up the sauce I really wasn't sure how everything would taste. One simple ingredient was what turned me away from this recipe.... Peanut butter. This I think is used for the sticky texture to hold the loaf together. And it does work in the flavor. My husband liked it but I didn't. I couldn't get around the peanutbuttery flavor. I have a really strong since of taste & smell. So to me if any one ingredient sticks out it can ruin a meal for me. But for someone with a normal since of taste or small like my husband he really likes it. He had half of it for dinner and took the other half for work. So I would still call it a success but I will be looking for a different "meatloaf" recipe. The outside of this loaf also got really crunchy and almost burnt when left in the entire time at the given cooking time.


Click Link for Recipe.
And the next recipe I tried was Messy Mikes. Recipe on page 98. These were not bad. We haven't had Sloppy Joes or it equivalent in a while. I used to purchase the Manwich mix and mix it with the Boca Crumbles but I stopped doing that a few years ago. So I really wanted this to work out. I used TVP as the meat and made the recipe. It was pretty good. I am just used to the stronger taste of the manwich. Plus to me it wasn't messy enough. It needed more sauce. The recipe said to cook it for 10 minutes after you place the sauce in but I had to take it straight off the burner because of the lack of sauce. But it tasted pretty good just a little bland. Needed more tangyness. John again really liked it and finished off the rest of the meal. I forgot to take a picture of these till John was eating the last one. oops

I will say I still do like this cookbook. One of my favorite comfort recipes is in Vegan Vittles. When I am sick its almost like Chicken Noddle would be for other people. That recipe is called Creamy Potato kale Soup & its on page 127. Check this book out on amazon and click the "Search inside this cook " and "surprise me" link. Many recipes can be seen and tried.

The one recipe that stuck in my mind from one of the new cook books I just purchased was Mocha Stripes Pg 38 of The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. I hasTh been eating at me... saying make me make me..lol. So I finally purchased some instant coffee and went for it. The dough was really really coffee tasting. Not bitter but very strong coffee like mocha without the chocolate. It was pretty yummy. Although I probably ate a little more than what I should have and ended up having heart burn from it. The recipe does have alot of butter.. 3/4 a cup. I tend to stay away from really buttery cookies. But I still had to make these. I cooked them up one tray at a time and ended up with 30 - 1tbsp sized nice cooking. The flavor of course kinda sobers after you bake it like most baked goods. So it was still good, a little less coffee tasty, but kinda oily to me. But they were nice and chewy while they were still warm and even still chewy when they cooled. I started melting the chocolate and put it into a pastry bag and went to squeeze it onto the cookies and it was super super hot through the bag. I didn't think of it at the time but you could put a towel around the bag and that would help some. With the chocolate it definitely finishes the Mocha flavor. I do really like them. I ended up having to put them in the fridge to get the chocolate to set. So I think next time I will make them like chocolate chip cookies and see how it works out. Less dishes, less clean up, less mess that way. Wish they were not so oily but I will fix them again. Nice alternative to a regular chocolate chip cookie for anyone who likes mocha. Coming from a person who doesn't like coffee... :) I will probbaly make these in the future for family events and bake sales.. I think they would be nice at a bake sale because I have never seen a mocha cookie at one.

These cooking would also be really good with some salty nuts cooked in. :)

I also made another Strawberry Pie this week. This is the third strawberry pie I have made in the last month or so. But this is the first one we got to keep for our selves.

Thai Peanut Butter sesame Noodles w/ Tempeh & The Tomato Massacre

Pictured this about a year ago and never posted the recipe. I have now lost and made up new concoctions for the last year and every time I make one I like I end up losing. So this time I am blogging it while the noodles are still cooking. Granted this is easy. If you get a little to much of one ingredient its no longer very appealing...


Thai Peanut Butter Sesame Noodles w/ Tempeh

1 Package any pasta, Try Soba, They are really yummy buckwheat noodles that are used in Asian food.

1 Pack Tempeh per 2 or 3 people

Sauce
4 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
4 Tbsp Reduced Sodium Soy soy
1 Tsp Ground Ginger

Start Preparing pasta. And start frying Tempeh. While everything is cooking mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside.

Coat noodles in sauce.

To make the Tempeh make a half recipe of the sauce. Coat tempeh in sauce and then mix tempeh into pasta. This way there is a nice kick of sauce on the tempeh.

This dish is good cold and hot. I really like it cold. I also really like it with Broccoli, bean sprouts, shredded carrots and/or snap peas.


My weird cat love tomatoes. The other day I went to the grocery store and bought an organic tomato. Paid $2.45 for the one tomato. Then I left it on the counter. Not thinking that the cat would bother it because he has never bothered a whole tomato before. Well John walked into the kitchen the next day and found it. Laying on the floor with all kinds of teeth marks and big wholes taken out of it. That poor tomato never seen it coming.

In the next week I will also have another Post. one I am really excited about. But Just watch to see!

Lima beans & Corn, Sweet Potato Pasta, Oven Zucchini, and Grilling out

Lima bean & Corn - Makes 5 cups

I had these at the dinner after my Grandfather's funeral. They were really good. Although I am really hoping they did not have chicken broth in them...! I am really kinda wondering now if they did. I had never had lima beans before and this has quickly become a go to side dish me me. Or if I am home alone I boil up some beans add some frozen corn and eat it as a meal... I like to boil the limas in advance and freeze them. that way it doesn't take an hour and a half to cook them first or a $2 can of beans.

3 cups g Cooked Lima beans
2 cups g Frozen corn
Enough Veg broth to cover all the beans and corn
1 tbsp Vegan Butter of choice
1 tbsp Flour
1/2 to 1 tsp pepper
Salt to taste

Bring veg Lima beans, Corn , Veg broth, & Pepper to a boil. Melt Better add the flour to it and add to boiling pot. Make sure not to let it clump. When it thickens which should be fast it its done. Maybe about 10minutes all together if the beans where cooked in advance.


Sweet Potato Pasta

This was an accidental find. I was going to have some buttered noodle and beans for diner but accidentally opened the wrong can. But I love it. I really like to have it as a side to the Morningstar Farms vegan BBQ riblets. Or I just like it plain. It is a nice replacement for Mac & Cheese. I don't really like the nutritional yeast mac & cheese. But this turns out creamy and yummy... and sweet... :)


Box of whole wheat Pasta
1/2 cup Sweet Potato Puree
1/4cup soy milk
2 tbsp Smart Balance light
Salt to taste

Cook pasta as normal. Put the sweet potato puree in a pot with the soy milk and smart balance light. Let come together. Stir a little. Then add it to your pasta. If you don't want to make it on the stove top you don't have to. Just put it in a boil and stir together. If you put it in the microwave make sure you don't spoil the soy milk.


Oven Baked Zucchini

I love oven baked zucchini and though it is probably easy for everyone but me... I still make it. I have a horrible track record. I seem to either always forget about it and it turns into burnt zucchini chips or I get impatient and take it off early and eat it...

Zucchini - 1 whole for each person
Onion
olive Oil
salt

Preheat oven to 400. Slice onion and chunck up zucchini into bite sized pieces, or slices. Or you could just leave them cut long ways in to two or four pieces. the bigger the pieces the longer they take to cook. Put a little oil on the veggies and mix. lay on baking pan add salt. Then bake for 30 minutes or till desired doneness.


Tofu Nuggets- Pictured above with Zucchini

This recipe has been converted from the Deceptivley Delicious Cook Book.

1 Cup Bread crumbs
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 tbsp Vegan Parm like galaxy- optional- or try nutritional yeast
A pureed veggie of your choice. Dependeing on what you make it with.
1 tsp paprika
Egg replacer mixed with water- enough for all tofu
1 Pack extra firm tofu- this may work with tempeh
1/2 salt
oil

Mix all dry ingredents. Mix egg replacer with veggie puree in another bowl.
Slic tofu into bight sized chucks. Heat the oil. I like using unthawed tofu. But tofu that had been frozen to give it more texture. Then dip into bread crumbs. Then put in pan with just a Tablespoon of oil. Do not use to much oil. They will fall apart or just be totally soked with oil. Then enjoy with your fave dip.

Grilling Out....
This is the first time we have cooked on our charcoal grill in 4 years... Because it just takes they thing to long to get hot.. Then I can't seem to keep it hot. Maybe I need Charcoal Grills for dummies or something. Maybe next year I will just invest in a gas grill. Although propane tanks are a little scary. lol... I use my parents and they turn it on and off for me.. Anyways I decided while we were out working onthe coop we might as well cook out. Chey was all excited. And I quess in all honesty John and I were a little bit too... since it had been so long... Well everything started out bad... We didn't have any fluid so John decides to put a ton of zipo lighter fluid on it. He won't listen to me of course. I went to go up town to buy some actually grill starter and when I come back all I can small is zipo fluid.... after I told him to stop... I mean come on.... So we had a big blow up about that. Like I want to eat zipo fluid!!! .. So then I decided I didn't even want to grill out and I went in the house. But later I cooled off and then decided to cook out. He had started the grill with the starter fluid ater I had went in the house and it had a ton of time.. like an hour to get hot so... We made corn, veggie hot dogs, zucchini, asparagus, potatoes, and Helens Tofu steaks... didn't like the asparagus or the helens tofu steaks... But loved the zucchini, hot dogs, & potatos.. on the other hand smoky corn was ok too. But I also managed to catch the corn on fire..lol... yes corn is flammable.. or atleast their husks are. I was planning on taking a pretty picture of the corn with grill marks and the husks pulled back but instead they went up in flames and I freaked out. john came over and saved me back slamming the lid closed.... Maybe its not such a good idea for me to use a charcoal grill....

Rigatoni, Crimini Mushrooms, & Asparagus

This was a really good dish. "J" loved it. I enjoyed some of it. It kinda had a meaty flavor to it from the mushrooms. But the mushrooms had that weird texture that creeps me out a little bit ( But they always do). Next time I will cook them down a little more and cut them up a little smaller. This was also the first time I had asparagus. I used a can (yes very sad I know. But I do have a good excuse. I bought fresh and couldn't find it. "J" had put it on top of the water cooler and I didn't find it for another week after I made the dish. "J" kept telling me I was imagining even buying it.) I will never use canned again. It was mushy and kinda tasted like a green bean.

I think I would really like asparagus fresh. But never again canned... Anyways. This is really all I have tried new is year. I am running behind on one of my resolutions (actually 2 to tell you the truth) but the one I am talking about is to make at least 1 new dish a week. It is week 3 and I think I have made 2. But I don't have a picture of the other and I don't even remember what it was .... oops.. This recipe came from Everyday Italian on food network. I will post the name of it later when I find the recipe again.

Nothing Big

Left over whole wheat pasta & diced tomatoes. Something quick and simple on a lazy day.

Cauliflower Sauce and Whole Wheat Pasta (NV)

Tonight I am finally taking the time to sit down and fill out some blog pages. So here is what we had for dinner on Thursday.

Sorry the pictures a little blurry..oops!

I watch a lot of cooking shows and when I'm not watching addictively I am on the web pages browsing for recipes. I ran across this one on Rachael Rays 30 min meals. I love to watch her even though she really doesn't cook that many veggie meals. But a lot of the stuff you can cut and replace to make it veggie friendly. At least thats what I do. Anyways on to the Goods...

1 Box Whole Wheat Pasta ( Try WW-pasta not the WW Mixed)
1/4 Cup EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil)
3 Gloves Garlic (Skin off/ Cracked)
1 Onion, Finely chopped
1 Head of Cauliflower, chopped(I used a good sized head)
1 Cup Veggie Stock or No- Chik Broth
4 Sprigs Rosemary (The only spice I don't own. Oops..)
3/4 Cup Romano
Salt & Pepper to Taste

Boil water. Add salt and pasta. Cook till al dente. Don't over cook. Drain and save 2 ladles of the starchy water.

While Cooking pasta make the sauce. Heat oil in skillet w/ oil throw in the garlic and let infuse for about 5 min. Chop onions and Cauliflower ( Take all greens and stems off the cauliflower). Then take out the garlic add the onions and cook them till they are translucent and soft. ( I cook mine a little longer. I don't like crunchy onions so I make sure they are really done.. lol) So cook onions for 5 to 10 min. Add cauliflower, stock/broth,& rosemary. Cover and cook for 15 min or until tender and ready to smash. Smash with a potato masher or blend up a little. ( Put in water if you want it. I didn't use the water) Mix in cheese if cheese is desired. Mix pasta & serve.
We also had glazed carrots as a side.
"J" and I enjoyed it. "C" helped me make it but the carrot went in her mouth and came right back out into my hand..... and the pasta she wouldn't even look at so...

Cabbage, Pasta, & Potatoes

Today new dish was quite tasty. It came from Rachael Rays cooking show and "J" and I loved it. My mother gave it a thumbs down though.

You will need:
2 to 4 Potatoes
1 Box Whole Wheat Pasta
1 Small head Savory Cabbage (Cored and thinly shredded)
1 stick margarine or butter
3 to 6 cloves Garlic, skinned and halved
16 sage leaves ( I always use powdered )
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 to 2 cups Romano

Bring water to a boil. Add potatoes and thick cabbage. Cook for 7 min and then add the pasta. Cook WW pasta for 8 min. Stir in cabbage let simmer for 5 to 7 min. Strain.

While the other stuff is boiling. Put the margarine in a separate pan to melt. Add the garlic and 6 sage leaves. Cook for 3 to 5 min. Remove the garlic and sage leaves. Add some sliced up sage leaves. Also put 2 ladles of the starchy pasta water in w/ the butter. Mix with the pasta mixture and add the cheese if desired.

Update Oct 2, 07:
This is really really good and we have had it 4 or 5 times since the first time. So we really love this....!

Spaghetti & garlic bread

OK So. I guess I lied a little yesterday. I never ended up cooking today. I did how ever cook on the 14th and it was a simple quick meal. Vegetable spaghetti sauce, Whole wheat pasta, and turned some frozen bread into garlic bread sticks. It turned out really good. "J" Had been buggy me to have spaghetti for a week so. There is was.. He was all excited.. But i will try to cook in the next few days.