Pitas

Makes 4 servings

2 chipotle black bean burgers - thawed
1/4 sweet onion chopped
1/2 bell pepper chopped
2-3 mushrooms chopped

Chop black bean burgers into small pieces and add to frying pan with other veggies. Sauce in a little but of Italian salad dressing (or we like Newmans own light balsamic). cook till onion is transparent.

Put it on a Papa Pita's pita bread (Costco) - one line down the middle

You can add any veggies on top. We like

Chopped tomatoes, cucumbers, pickles, artichoke hearts, pineapple - the sky's the limit.

Top with mustard or your favorite sauce.

Super easy and keeps for a week in the fridge.

Vegan Cheese Sauce AND Vegan Shephards pie

Made with potatoes and carrots! 

Great over noodles for mac and cheese, baked potatoes with broccoli (we add meatless chili too). Keeps for about a week in the fridge. 

AMAZING (NONDAIRY NO NUT) CHEESE SAUCE

• 16 oz Yukon Gold Potatoes (about 3 medium)
• 2 large Carrots
• 3/4 to 1 cup Water (used to boil potatoes) or Almond milk
• 1/3 cup Nutritional yeast
• 
  
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
• 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
• 1/2 tsp Brown Mustard (Yellow mustard works great too)
• 1/8 tsp Turmeric

Scrub potatoes and remove any eyes. Cut into halves or quarters to expedite cooking. 

peel carrots and break in half. Put in a sauce pan and cover with water. 

Boil potatoes and carrots in water pan until soft - about 10 minutes. Allow to sit in hot water with lid on for a few more minutes while you combine the rest of the ingredients.

Add all ingredients to high powered blender or magic bullet. Blend until smooth. 

Here is one recipe that uses half a recipe of cheese sauce! 

GARDENERS PIE (VEGAN SHEPHARDS PIE)

Cook 1 1/2 - 2 lbs of red potatoes either along with the potatoes and carrots for the sauce or you can microwave them if you already have the sauce made. I like to cook a few extra to have with broccoli and meatless chili and cheese sauce later in the week. 

While the potatoes are cooking, chop and sautée in a pan:
1 sweet onion chopped
2  carrots peeled chopped 
1 bell pepper chopped
4-5 mushrooms
2 zucchini or yellow squash peeled and chopped 
2 cups broccoli, cut into small flowerlets and steamed (you can steam them in a colander over the boiling potatoes)

Season with 2-3 tsp season salt. 
Add 1/2 recipe cheese sauce, put in a deep 2 quart baking dish.

Mash the potatoes with a little vegan butter (I can't believe it's not butter, it's vegan is really good). Add almond milk and salt. I like them a bit chunky. Spread them with a fork over the  veggie/cheese mixture. Cook at 375 for 30 minutes until potatoes are golden and the cheese bubbles around the edges. 

Veggie Coconut Korma

Rich, creamy and a little spicy.

1 1/2 TBS Coconut oil
1 small onion diced

Cook until onion in coconut oil until transparent and add:
1 tsp minced ginger root
4 cloves minced garlic
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 carrots sliced or diced
1 small/med zucchini chopped or diced
5 or 6 mushrooms chopped
4 tsp curry powder
2 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/4 tsp turmeric
 cardamom - start with 1/2 tsp - up to 1tsp. Some brands are stronger and can taste soapy.
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/8 tsp nutmeg
dash cloves

Cook until fragrant and add:
1 can full fat coconut milk
1 TBS salt
2 TBS sugar
1 1/2 cup cauliflower chopped in bitesized pieces
1/4 cup ground cashews

Simmer until cauliflower is tender and you are ready to serve. At the last minute add
1 cup frozen peas
Sprinkle with
chopped cilantro and serve with lime juice
cooked rice

Unstuffed Tomatoes

This is one of the first meatless recipes I made and my family loves it! 

It takes about 30 minutes and has minimal mess. Great with fresh in season tomatoes!

Here's what you'll need: (all veggies are washed and chopped)

HOT LAYER:

1 TBS Olive oil (basil infused if you have it)

1/2 chopped sweet onion

1 clove garlic minced

3 or 4 celery stalks 

2 or 3 carrots peeled 

1 med. sized zucchini (I like to leave the peel on for color)

1 med. sized yellow squash

6-8 mushrooms 

1 med red bell pepper 

sugar snap peas 

2 tsp season salt

1 cup uncooked orzo pasta (can use rice or couscous but the pasta is the best)

 - feel free to substitute as needed

FRESH LAYER

4-6 fresh tomatoes

1 TBS garlic salt

Fresh basil leaves

TOPPING

2 slices of dry or toasted bread  (Dave's killer bread with seeds or any will do)

1 TBS nutritional yeast

2 tsp jacks garlic seasoning

2 tsp coconut oil (basil infused olive oil is also really yummy)

1/2 cup shelled pistachios

COOK PASTA: In a Med sauce pan add some salt to water and bring to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to directions. Drain but do not rinse.

PREPARE HOT LAYER:Chop veggies. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over hi to med hi heat.  When it's hot add chopped veggies and season salt. Don't be afraid to get a char on the veggies. Stir until tender.                           

While veggies and pasta are cooking add the TOPPING ingredients to a food processor until the bread is mostly chopped. Add the pistachios and chop until the bread is in fine crumbs but there are bigger chunks of pistachios remaining. 

When the veggies and pasta are done, combine them in the fry pan and set aside with a lid to keep warm.

Wash and slice the tomatoes, (*edited* it's best to cut them in bite sized pieces)and place into a colander with the salt. Allow the excess moisture to drain from the tomatoes for 10 minutes or so before adding the basil and transferring to a serving dish. Chop the basil while the tomatoes are draining.

 

 Put the vegetable/pasta mixture on the tomatoes and top with the bread crumbs. (My crumbs got more brown than golden.) Serve!

* I have recently been putting the hot mixture on the bottom, then added the tomatoes and then the breadcrumb topping on top.

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Vegetable Barley Soup

This soup is hearty and so yummy. You can eat it cold or hot. It's a great replacement for a salad. You can put any veggies you want in it but I really like this combination. This recipe involves a lot of chopping but if you use the slicer attachment on your food processor it goes really fast. Also, I cook the barley separately and rinse it in cool water before adding it to the soup. I have found that it prevents the barley from swelling and taking over. It has become a staple around our house. It makes about 6 quarts of soup, make sure your pot is big enough. Mark and I go through this in a week, easily.

BARLEY
In a med sauce pan, bring water to a boil to cook 1 cup pearled barley. I let the barley soak in a mesh strainer in a bowl while water comes to a boil. When the water boils, lift the barley out of the soaking water and rinse it for a minute before adding it to the boiling water. Let barley cook while making the soup. Check the package for the amount of water to cook it in and time. When it's done, rinse it in cold water. It should be chewy but not crunchy.

SOUP
In a large pot over med high heat bring to a boil:
1 qt. vegetable or tomato juice
2 cups broth of your choice
2 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 tsp oregano
1 TBS dried basil
2 bay leaves
2 TBS Worcestershire

While the tomato base is heating, chop and add the following in this order:
(do wait for it to boil, stir the vegetables in as you go)
1/2 onion chopped
4 stalks celery chopped
1 cup chopped carrots
2 red bell peppers, seeds and stem removed and chopped
1/4 head of cauliflower cut into flowerets
about the same amount of Broccoli cut into flowerets
1/4 of a med or 1/2 of a small head of green (or red cabbage) thinly sliced/shredded
1 zucchini (I leave the peel on) sliced in half the long way and chopped.

Allow soup to come to a boil, turn the heat down and simmer for 10 minutes until vegetables are crisp tender. Taste broth and add salt and/or Worcestershire (if you want more heat).

Add a proportionate amount of barley to the soup you are going to eat right away. Allow the remainder of the soup to cool before adding the rest of the barely. Refrigerate.

Meatless Chili

Active prep time 20 minutes. Total time 60 min.
Makes 8 servings. Using a food processor to chop veggies makes it go really fast.

Heat in a large pot over med high heat:
1 TBS Olive oil

Add:
1/2 med sweet onion (red or yellow) chopped
2 tsp Cumin
2 TBS Chili powder
2 TBS Dried Oregano (Mexican if you have it)
1 TBS Salt
2 Stalks Celery Chopped
2 Red Bell Peppers diced (Can use green)
2 Jalapeno peppers chopped (wear food handler gloves while cutting)
3 cloves garlic chopped
Cook with lid on, stirring occasionally until onion is transparent, about 5 minutes

Add:
2 4oz cans chopped green chili peppers (choose heat depending on how spicy you like your chili)
3 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1 (15 oz) Can kidney beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Black beans drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) Garbanzo beans drained and rinsed
Heat to a boil and turn heat to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
Taste to check heat. If you want it hotter add tabasco or ground pepper.
5 minutes before serving add:
1 (15 oz) Whole kernel corn

Serve in a bowl or over a baked potato.

Won Ton Soup

Mostly Homemade War Wonton soup.
(with Lisa's Eggrolls - one baked and one fried)

1/2 of a large pkg frozen potstickers
( I use the chicken/vegetable ones from Costco)
Bring 10 cups chicken broth to a boil and add two flavoring packets from the potstickers.
While that is heating:
Chop about 8 green onions and add to broth
When water boils add about 1/2 pkg won tons (I figure about 3-4 per person) and start timer for 8 min.

While that cooks wash, chop and set aside the following:

1/2 head or so of Broccoli
1 Small head Bok Choy (in fruits and veggies near the lettuce)
1 cup carrots chopped
Mushrooms - to taste (if they are small you could leave them whole)
Drain one can of sliced water chestnuts and set aside
Drain one can of baby corn and set aside

NOTE: You can add diced firm tofu or any kind of leftover (all ready cooked) meat if you like but avoid any with strong seasoning as it changes the flavor of the broth. Char shu pork is awesome if you can find it.

When timer dings. take the soup off the heat and add the veggies (and tofu or meat) making sure they all get submerged in the boiling broth. Put lid on and allow to sit for a few minutes off the heat while you set the table and round up the kids.

DINNER'S READY!

Note: We like our veggies crisp tender - if you like them softer, allow them to cook in the broth until desired tenderness (or mushiness:)

The only Weight Watcher points in this is the Won Tons - 4 points for three
If you add meat there are also points for that.

Sesame green beans

1 pound fresh green beans
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper

heat 1 inch water to boiling in a 2 quart sauce pan. Add beans. Boil uncovered 5 mins. Cover and boil about 5 minutes longer or until tender crisp.

While beans are cooking, heat seame seeds in a small skillet about 2 minutes, stirring frequently until browning begins, then stir constantly until golden brown. Stir in remaining ingredient: heat through. (The longer you leave the crushed red peppers on the heat the spicer they get.) (leave them out if you don't like spicy/hot foods.) ( this only takes about 5 mins)

Drain beans. pour sauce over beans, tossing until evenly coated.

Calories 40; Fat 1 g; Cholestrol 0 mg; sodium 140 mg; Carbs 8g; protien 2g
diet exchange 1 1/2 vegs.

Tips on storing veggies

This came from a recent Deseret News article shared by my Sweet heart:

Storage tips Not all produce should be stored in the same place, according to an August 2008 Cook's Illustrated article.

These should go in the front of the fridge where temperatures are warmer: berries, citrus, corn on the cob, melons, peas.

These do best in the crisper's humid environment: Artichokes, asparagus, beets, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chiles, cucumbers, eggplant, fresh herbs, green beans, leafy greens, leeks, lettuce, mushrooms, peppers, radishes, scallions, summer squash, turnips, zucchini.

Store anywhere in the fridge, provided it's not freezing: Apples, cherries, grapes.

Leave these on the counter, as they are subject to chill-injury: Apricots, avocados, bananas, kiwis, mangos, nectarines, papayas, peaches, pears, pineapple, plums and tomatoes.

Keep at cool room temperatures to prolong shelf life: Garlic, onions, potatoes, shallots, sweet potatoes, winter squash.