Vegan Wednesday! Vegan Cornbread Stuffing!

Vegan Cornbread Stuffing

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 tbsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups whole wheat bread, cubed
2 cups corn bread, cubed
1/2 cup vegetable broth

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Sautee the onion and celery in the sesame oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the spices with the bread and vegan cornbread, mixing well. Add the onion and celery and stir to combine.
Add vegetable broth just until moistened, adding more or less as needed.
Bake for 20 minutes.

Vegan Cornbread
Ingredients:

2 cups self-rising cornmeal
1 1/4 cups soy milk
Egg replacer for 1 egg
1/4 cup vegan margarine
Preparation:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees and lightly grease a small casserole or baking dish.

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until smooth and creamy.

Pour into greased casserole or baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Vegan Wednesday! Vegan Marshmallow treats!

"Krispy Treats" made with Dandie's Vegan Marshmallows
as seen on Whole Food Vegan blog.

Chicago Soydairy Dandies (vegan marshmallows), Cocoa Brown Rice cereal and Puffed Millet, Earth Balance

1 package Dandies
3 tbs Earth Balance Buttery Spread
6 cups cereal

Over low heat, melt Earth Balance with Dandies until fully melted, Add in cereal while mixture is still warm, Incorporate thoroughly, Press mixture into 9x9 glass baking dish. Chill, cut, serve, devour.

These are great for Halloween party treats!!

Vegan Wednesday! Tofu French Toast!

SUPER-DUPER EASY VEGAN FRENCH TOAST!!!

"Tofu French Toast"

8 ounces of low-fat tofu
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon sweetener (molasses or maple syrup)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 banana
6 slices of whole wheat bread (or other bread of choice)

Mix all ingredients except for the bread in a blender until smooth:
Pour blended mixture into a shallow dish.
Dip the whole wheat bread into mixture and cook on a non-stick pan.

Makes 6 Slices of French Toast.

Vegan Wednesday!

Vegan Macaroni Salad!

You Will Need:

1/2 Lb. Elbow Macaroni Pasta, cooked to your liking. (Whole wheat is okay to use, too!)
2 Cups Vegenaise
4 Stalks of Celery (Sliced)
1/2 Small Onion (Diced)
1/4 Bag Frozen Peas

1 Tsp Celery Seed (or Celery Salt)
Salt and Pepper to taste

This is a simple recipe that can be done in three steps. This first step is to boil the pasta. While it is cooking, use that time to prep all of the vegetables. Put them in a colander together and run warm water over them, just to defrost the peas a little.

Drain the pasta and rinse with warm water, to wash some of the starch off. Mix the vegetables in.

Mix in the vegenaise, celery seed (salt) and salt and pepper. Enjoy!

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and a new favorite!

VEGAN SAVORY COTTAGE CHEESE!

1 14 oz. block of organic tofu

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
1 tablespoon chopped chives
Salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mash the ingredients up with a fork until it reaches the right consistency. You may add more or less olive oil to achieve the correct consistency.

Variations:
chopped green pepper
chopped chipotle
chopped jalapeno
1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
chopped fresh garlic
chopped celery

Vegan Wednesday!

Homemade Vegan "Pepperoni"

(as seen on Recipezaar.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup white kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cold water

1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon paprika (smoked paprika is even better!)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 teaspoon barbecue sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon whole anise seed
1 teaspoon red peppercorns
1 teaspoon green peppercorns

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

Directions:
1.  Start the water in the steamer so it will be boiling when your ready. Finely mash the beans with a fork. Add water, sugar, paprika, olive oil, salt, liquid smoke, bbq sauce, and cayenne - mix well.

2.  Roughly grind anise seed, peppercorns, and red pepper flakes with a mortar and pestle. Add into mixture. Add in wheat gluten and mix well with a fork.

3.  Divide dough into three equal portions. Shape each into a tube and wrap like a tootsie roll in heavy duty aluminum foil. Make sure to wrap it tightly by twisting the ends. Heavy duty foil is needed to keep the pepperoni from bursting out of the wrapping when cooking.

4.  Steam for 45 minutes. Cool and slice. You can use as is or also fry them up a bit on each side to make a crispier pepperoni.

Vegan Wednesday!

Delish Summer Pasta Salad
1 box pasta (rotini, penne, spiral)
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 bell pepper (any color), chopped
1 large cucumber, cut into quarters, then chopped
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 medium onion, chopped finely
1 cup vegan Italian dressing
1/4 cup Vegenaise
1 Tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon dill weed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
freshly cracked pepper, to taste
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Cook pasta according to box.

While pasta is cooking, wash and chop the celery, pepper, cucumber, tomato, and onion. You want nice chunks of the veggies.

After pasta is done cooking, drain and rinse under cold water to cool the pasta. I also take the empty cooking pot and run it under cold water so that the pot can cool down and I can use it to mix the pasta salad.After pasta is drained well, return to cooled pot.

Add chopped veggies. Next, whisk together the Italian dressing, Vegenaise, Dijon mustard, dill weed, salt, and pepper until smooth. Add to pasta and veggies.Finally, mash your chickpeas with a potato masher until crumbly. Add chickpeas to pasta and veggies and mix well.

Enjoy!
Serves: 5-6
Preparation time: 35 minutes

Vegan Wednesday!

Festive Stuffed Butternut Squash

1/2 cup brown rice

1 small/medium butternut squash

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 celery stalk, chopped

1/2 small green bell pepper, chopped

1 tbsp oil

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1/4 tsp cumin

1 tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos or tamari

3 tsp tahini

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup pecans, chopped

1 slice of bread, cubed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium pot, cook the rice. While rice is cooking, wash the outside of the squash thoroughly. Cut the squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, and place squash cut side down on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 20-35 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove squash from the oven (do not turn off oven) and place on cooling rack. Let sit until squash cools down enough to handle, then scoop out flesh (reserve squash shells for later) and place in a large bowl. Set aside. In a large saucepan on medium high heat, saute the onions, garlic, celery, and green pepper in the oil until onions are translucent. Add the squash, cooked rice, and remaining ingredients and stirl together well. Stuff the mixture into hollowed out squash shells. Return shells to baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 2 large or 4 small servings.

*Recipe taken from "Vegan A Go-Go" by Sarah Kramer (available at Food For Thought!)

Vegan Wednesday Recipe!

*Vegan* Jalapeno Poppers from The 30 Minute Vegan cookbook (now available at Food For Thought!)

(Makes 10 poppers)

10 Large jalapeno peppers

1/4 cup tahini

1 teaspoon soy sauce

3 tablespoons water

3/4 cup bread crumbs (or pretzel crumbs)

Filling:

3/4 cup grated vegan mozzarella (I Like Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese)

1 tablespoon vegan cream cheese (optional) (Follow Your Heart or Tofutti brand)

2 tablespoons finely diced red onion

1 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Preheat oven or a toaster oven to 425 F. Cut off the tops of the jalapenos. Use a paring knife to remove the seeds and ribs.

2. Place the tahini, soy sauce, and water in medium-size bowl and mix well.

Place the bread crumbs in a separate bowl.

3. Prepare the filling by combining all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mixing well.

4. Lightly oil a baking sheet. Using your hands or a small spoon, scoop the filling into each pepper. Also using a spoon or your hands, spread the tahini mixture onto the peppers and place them on the baking . Liberally pour the bread crumbs over the peppers. Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until slightly crispy.

Vegan recipe: Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

Ingredients:
1 pkg Gimme Lean® Sausage
2 c water
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion coarsly chopped
6 stalks celery chopped fine

1 Tbsp fresh sage 1 tsp dried

1 Tbsp fresh thyme 1 tsp dried
6 oz plain stuffing cubes or 8 cups toasted bread crumbs
1/2 c unsweetened applesauce
1 medium apple diced, any kind
1/3 c apple cider
2 large acorn squash cut in half and seeded
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450°. Brown Gimme Lean® Sausage in a non-stick skillet sprayed with a little olive oil, breaking it up and crumbling it with a spatula as it browns. Set aside. Bring water and olive oil to a boil in a covered pot over high heat. Stir in onion, celery, sage, and thyme. Cook, covered, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in stuffing cubes, salt and pepper, applesauce, apple cider, and the browned sausage, mixing to combine. Taste for seasonings.

Divide the stuffing evenly among the acorn squash halves. Arrange the halves in a roasting pan and pour water around (not on) the squash to 1 inch. Spray a piece of aluminum foil large enough to cover the pan with olive oil spray. This will prevent it from sticking to the stuffing. Cover the pan tightly, tending slightly with the sprayed side down. Bake for about 1 1/4 hours, or until the squash is tender when pierced with a fork.