Vegan Slow Cooker Taco Chili

As is often the case with me, I didn't have a plan for dinner tonight. I haven't done my big grocery shopping trip yet for the month so I needed to come up with something using whatever I had on hand. The chilly weather convinced me that it should be some sort of soup or chili and my list of chores determined it would be throw into the crockpot early in the day. I tend to make our favorites over and over so whenever I can I try to find new recipes to throw into the mix.  I started by looking for 'slow cooker vegan' on Pinterest and eventually found this!

The original recipe came from here: Slow Cooker Taco Soup. I made some slight alterations to the ingredients based on what I had on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 (15oz) can kidney beans (drained/rinsed)
• 1 (15oz) can creamed corn
• 1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (4oz) can green chiles 
• 1 (6oz) can tomato paste
• 1 pkg Birds Eye southwest style protein blends
• 1 lb. pkg tvp
• 1/2 container vegetable broth
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 TBSP garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (2 shakes)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (3 shakes)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Combine all ingredients in crockpot.
2. Cook on 250 (med-low) for about 6 hours. 

It turned out really delicious. Often I like to add crushed tortilla chips, sour cream and/or a sprinkle of non dairy cheese to my chili. But one bite told me I didn't want anything to change the flavor of this one. Both of the boys liked it as well. Definitely one we'll make again! I might even double it next time! 

Vegetable Soup on the fly

I'm TERRIBLE at planning ahead for dinner. I have good intentions. I'll try to start a menu plan where I write everything out for the week or month or whatever and do my shopping based on that. but when it comes time to cook I'm either too distracted to realize it's time to start making food, or I end up working late or I just don't feel like eating what I had planned. Inevitably, I always slack off with the menu. Usually before I even get through my first list. :p That means I'm usually scrambling around at 5, 6 sometimes even as late as 7-730 trying to figure out what to make for dinner. I really need to work on that.-_- 

Tonight I searched through some soup recipes when I got home from work trying to decide on dinner but nothing was really looking all that great. Because the clock was ticking I did what I often do, I just decided to wing it. The result was a tasty vegetable soup that pleased half the family and at least filled the bellies of the other, less pleased, half. ;)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 head broccoli, chopped
• 1 head cauliflower, chopped
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 can no salt added corn, drained
• 1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3 cups dried pasta (I used Radiatore because I saw it on the shelf at the store and thought it would be awesome in soup... cool shape!)
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 4 cups water

DIRECTIONS

1. Add vegetable broth, water, veggies and spices to pot. Stir to combine.
2. Cover and cook on medium for about an hour. 
3. In the last ten minutes of cook time add dry pasta and stir to combine.

Seriously could not be easier! Would work great in the crock pot as well. I really liked it, my 16 year old loved it... my 14 and 18 year olds said, meh. They thought it was bland. Which was especially odd since my middle son and I both thought it was spicy and flavorful. lol SOOO maybe I won't make it too often, or maybe I'll change something up a bit next time, but I will make it again because I thought it was tasty! :)

Tofu Scramble & Home Fries

I've been wanting to try a tofu scramble for a while now. I've never been a fan of eggs, even before I was vegan, but my kids always liked scrambled eggs, especially when they were made for dinner. So tonight I decided it was time to give it a try. I looked at a couple recipes and decided to start with this basic one from PPK, altered slightly to fit my own tastes.

TOFU SCRAMBLE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound extra firm tofu, drained
• 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• black pepper to taste
• sprinkle cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• sprinkle imitation bacon bits
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• handful button mushrooms, sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat a large, heavy bottomed pan over medium high heat. 
2. Saute the garlic in olive oil for about a minute. 
3. Break the tofu apart into bite sized pieces and saute for about 10 minutes, using a spatula to stir often. Get under the tofu when you are stirring, scrape the bottom and don’t let it stick to the pan. The water should cook out of it and not collect too much at the bottom of the pan. If that's happening, turn the heat up and let the water evaporate.
4. I completely missed the step where she said to mix the spices ahead of time with some water so I just measured, added and dumped them all into the pan with the mushrooms and peppers. I cooked for maybe 5 more minutes after I added everything, stirring the whole time to combine all the spices.
5. Serve warm.

I originally wanted to make these into breakfast burritos so I planned to make some potatoes to go with the scramble. But we only had small tortillas so I just served everything on a plate together with some toast. The home fries recipe I used (yes I had to look up a recipe, lol. I've never made them before. Who knew it was so easy?!) was on All Recipes.

 

HOME FRIES

INGREDIENTS

• 3 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 tablespoons Earth Balance
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse potato cubes with cold water, and drain well. 
2. Melt Earth Balance in a large skillet over medium heat. 
3. Place potatoes in the skillet, and stir to coat with butter. Season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the lid, and cook for another 10 minutes, turning frequently until brown and crisp on all sides.

Everyone loved everything. My youngest said we're calling it - 'scrambled fu' from now on and he wants me to make it again... tomorrow and the next day and the next day. lol I think it's safe to say I'll be making this one again in the future. 

Christmas 2013 - prep timeline

Just getting this all written out so I have a solid plan to follow on Wednesday. 



Monday P.M.
-make red sauce for lasagna


Tuesday A.M.
-make hummus
-make orange pecan cake
-make peanut butter bars 


Tuesday P.M.
-assemble (2) lasagnas and refrigerate
-chop vegetables for salad and roasting
-cook lentils and prep veggies for shepherds pie
-bake cookies for Santa (these)


Wednesday A.M.
-make naan
-mash potatoes and parsnips for shepherds pie
-assemble 'bliss in a dish' and refrigerate 


Wednesday P.M.
-saute veggies and assemble shepherds pie
-bake lasagnas 
-bake 'bliss in a dish'
-make mushroom bread

 



Adjusted Christmas menu...

APPETIZERS: 

• Hummus & Naan (recipe 1 or recipe 2)

MAIN COURSES:

• Vegetable Lasagna
• Lentil Shepard's Pie

SIDES:

• Mushroom Bread
• White Beans and Artichoke "Bliss in a Dish"
• roasted veggies (broccoli, carrots, etc)
• salad

DESSERT:

• Cranberry Orange Pecan Cake
• No Bake Peanut Butter Bars 

One Pot Wonder - Tomato and White Bean

I found a couple of these 'one pot wonder' recipes on Pinterest and this one sounded quick and tasty so I decided to give it a shot for dinner tonight. With a few small changes to the original we had a pretty decent meal in record time!

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces pasta (I used thin spaghetti because I had it on hand)
• 1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes with liquid (I used fire roasted garlic flavor)
• 6 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
• 4 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• a handful of chopped fresh spinach
• 1 can Great Northern beans (rinsed and drained)
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Place pasta, tomatoes, and garlic in a large stock pot. Pour in vegetable broth. Sprinkle on top the pepper flakes and oregano.
2. Cover pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a low simmer and keep covered and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring every 2 minutes or so. Cook until almost all liquid has evaporated.
3. Add spinach and beans in the last minute or two.
4. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir pasta several times to distribute the liquid in the bottom of the pot evenly throughout the pasta as you are serving. 

Everyone thought it was pretty good but we decided together that next time we'll skip the beans (my 16 year old just isn't a fan of the texture) and instead add mushrooms and broccoli. I will definitely be making this one again, as well as trying other 'one pot wonder' recipes. They're especially perfect for days I end up having to work late, leaving little to no time for cooking!

Vegetable Lasagna

I happened upon this recipe on Pinterest recently and it sounded so good I decided to throw it into the running for our 2013 Christmas dinner. I've made a few different vegan lasagnas before and though they've all turned out okay, I wasn't thrilled with any of them. SO instead of jumping right in on Christmas day I thought this time I would test it out in advance in case it was underwhelming... and I'm so glad I did! But not because it turned out badly, just the opposite in fact! It was SO tasty I can't wait to make it again! I was surprised to find it tasted very similar to it's non-vegan counterpart! I made just a few changes to the original, here's the recipe as I made it.

INGREDIENTS

• 6 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 8 ounces Mushrooms, sliced
• 4-5 cups veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots)
• homemade pasta sauce (I left out the spices called for in the original recipe because my sauce already had them in it)
• 1 pound Lasagna Noodles, cooked
• 3 Large Sweet Potatoes, baked and mashed
• about 1/2 cup Daiya shredded non dairy mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

1. Start by baking your sweet potatoes. Scoop out and mash with a fork. You can do this ahead of time or use left overs (which is what I did). 
2. Steam broccoli, cauliflower and carrots, then saute mushrooms and garlic in olive oil. In a bowl combine all of the cooked veggies.
3. Cover the bottom of your pan with your pasta sauce.
4. Add a layer of noodles and sweet potato.
5. Next add half of the vegetable mixture, sauce and cheese.
6. Add another layer of noodles and sweet potato, followed by the rest of the vegetables, more sauce and more cheese.
7. Finish it off with a final layer of noodles, topped with sauce and cheese.
8. Cover and Bake for about an hour in a preheated oven to 400 degrees. The last 15 minutes of baking time take the foil off. Let it rest about 15 minutes before cutting and serving.

It was delicious! Though my youngest son wasn't a big fan, my 16 year old ate three big pieces and I liked it so much I was thrilled to have leftovers for lunch the next day! :) The only thing I found it was lacking was a pinch of salt (because I don't add salt to my homemade spaghetti sauce) but sprinkling a tiny bit on my own individual pieces fixed that issue. I look forward to not only making this again on Christmas day, but adding it to our regular meal rotation for sure!

Creamy Potato and Corn Chowder

This is my second shot at a corn chowder recipe, the first turned out to be QUITE spicy, so the mild flavor of this chowder was refreshing. The original was a vegan recipe to begin with so I only had to make a few small changes to suit our personal tastes and it was just what we needed on this COLD snowy night! :)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ribs of celery, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• 4 cups organic vegetable broth
• 5 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 3.5 cups frozen corn
• 2 cans creamed corn
• 3 cups rice milk
• 1/2 cup flour
• sprinkle of salt, pepper, garlic powder (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a skillet on medium heat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the celery and carrots to the skillet and saute 8-10 minutes, until carrots and celery have softened. Add the salt, pepper and garlic powder if using.
2. Meanwhile, bring the 4 cups of vegetable broth to boil in a large pot. Add the peeled and chopped potatoes and boil for about 8-10 minutes, until fork tender. Once the potatoes have cooked, add in the sauteed vegetables.
3. Next, add in both the frozen and the canned corn. Whisk the flour together with the rice milk in a liquid measuring cup and add to the rest of the soup. Return everything to a light boil and stir in the flour. Continue to stir until the mixture thickens, reduce heat and simmer a few minutes more to bring all of the flavors together.

Voila! That's it! The result was a nice, thick, hearty soup with a great flavor. I love that it uses ingredients I pretty much always have on hand so we will definitely be adding this one to the regular Fall/Winter rotation! :)