Pizza Time! BBQ and B-Nut Squash

Got two recipes for you guys tonight!  Sorry I haven't posted so long - I got swamped by physics!..

Both of them went on the crust from here, using whole wheat flour for the buckwheat.  (made the full recipe and made 3 crusts with it)

Adapted from here,

Toppings:
BBQ sauce
chopped fresh cilantro
red onion slices
seitan chicken (baked at 350 for half an hour, no oil)
goat cheese
Cauliflower

Second up is adapted from DDD,

Toppings:
sauteed onion
shaved b-nut squash
goat cheese
arugula (added after baking)
pepitas

'Zza with B-Nut Squash

Crust: mix together

• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• scaaant 1/2 cup soy milk
• 2 tbsp apple sauce
• 1 tsp baking powder
• pinch salt (opt)

pour onto a baking sheet, and bake until firm at 420, about 11 minutes

The 'sauce' was roasted butternut squash blended with nooch
Toppings were goat cheese, dried dates, roasted red bell pepper, onions, mushrooms, and sun dried tomatoes.
This was DA BOMB!
Adapted from The Socially Akward Vegan

Lunch Wrap + Blueberry Muffins

Double whammy today! 
A) I'm proud of myself for starting to be braver about eating raw foods - like onion.  I used to be so scared to eat raw foods like onion and cabbage, because I thought it would mess up my stomach (don't ask).  However, my courage is slowly returning.  Thus, I put raw onion in my lunch wraps, and am loving it!
B) Have been searching for frozen blueberries for a llllllooooong time, and finally found them!  I don't like fresh blueberries (I know, don't hate), but decided to try frozen.  Voila, I like 'em!

And with all of that...

Muffins are from HHL, changes are whole wheat flour, baking blend stevia in place of sugar, omitted orange juice and oil, gingerbread cookie tea, and no almonds.  24 mini muffins at 35 calories per muffin.
The wrap is adapted loosely from VegBurgers.  It consists of:

• avocado
• raw red onion slivers
• silken tofu blended with lemon and cilantro,
• iceburg lettuce
• smoky cashew-pesto cheese, using this pesto recipe (omitting the oil, using water instead, and omitting the miso), and adding sun dried tomatoes to it
• tofu, pressed, cooked on the panini press after being smothered in bbq sauce (omitting the oil, omitting the bourbon and adding vegan worchestire sauce and rum extract)

And I suppose that I should go ahead and add in here that I made a pizza with the bbq sauce:
Pizza crust topped with bbq sauce, paninied mushrooms and red bell pepper, arugula, and the cheese from above.

Roasted Pepper & "Feta" Pizza

Featuring bell pepper made two ways...

 

 

And the fabulous feta cheese!  I swear, this stuff tastes like the Tofutti Herbed Cream Cheese.  Weird.  But good.

 

Pizzapizzapizza for me!  (And you, if you make it)

Adapted from Simply Scratch

For the sauce, blend:
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 roasted red bell pepper
Fresh basil and oregano
1/2 cup sauteed onion
1 clove sauteed garlic

Spread onto a pizza crust, top with bell peppers cooked in a panini press, feta, and fresh oregano leaves.  Cook until heated through.

Arugula and Potato Pizza

So, I've noticed that potato pizzas seem to be all the rage right now..

So, OBVIOUSLY, I had to join the fun!

Aren't those fingering potatoes the c-uuu-test things in the world?

Ok, now I'm just blabbering...

Adapted from WTHDAVEA

The usual crust, cooked on the panini press

Topped with the best cheese in the world

Sprinkled with rosemary

Topped with grilled onion and boiled fingerling potatoes

And finished with a bit of arugula

Weeeird Pizza

Is there such a thing as a weird pizza?

Well, my friends, I think I found it.

Pizzas are like stir frys: you can pretty much throw anything on them!

Adapted from That Was Vegan?

(all is cooked on the panini press, except tater tots)

I used the normal crust.

Slathered with bbq sauce.

Topped with cooked setian, bell pepper and onion.

Cheese.

And sweet potato tots.  I WOULD link a recipe here, but the one I used didn't turn out all that great... they kind of fell apart.  But they were seasoned with chili powder and cinnamon - the flavour was excellent!



Pesto + Arugula Pizza

Pizza.

First bite: "FLAVOUR"

Fresh arugula, cheeze sauce, and pesto

BAM, in your FACE

Fresh, home grown arugula is best.

Adapted from Cookie and Kate

Used this pizza dough, cooked on the panini press

Topped with this pesto

Panini press cooked sliced red onion

Dollops of this cheeze

All warmed up on the panini press, and finished off with fresh arugula

Spicy Pineapple Pizza

I've just started loving cooked pineapple.

 You should too! ;)

Adapted from That Was Vegan

My usual crust was topped with a sauce of a little bit of soy sauce, nooch, stevia, rice vinegar, chili paste, and mostly ketchup/bbq sauce.
Then came sliced/paninied onions, pineapple, and this cheese.  All grilled on the panini press for a few minutes... wow! 

Ricotta & Pesto Pizza

Mmm... pizza... pesto... mmm...

Adapted from HHL

Pesto: blend together 1/2 cup walnuts, 1 packed cup basil leaves, 1 hefty cup spinach leaves, 1/4 cup parsley, a bit of nooch, juice of 1 lemon, and enough mirin to make it a pesto consistancey.
Tofu Ricotta: Press and crumble tofu, and mix with lemon juice, Italian seasoning, nooch, and garlic powder.
Grill chopped red onion and mushrooms on a panini press, and wilt some spinach.
On a pizza crust, spread a layer of pesto, followed by spinach, mushrooms, and onions, and lastly the ricotta.  Cook/heat for a few minutes on the panini press.

Ranch Pizza

Mmm, Friday pizza night!

Adapted from Mommy's Kitchen

I used this pizza crust, cooking it on the panini press
Topped with a vegan ranch dressing: tofu mayo (partially cooked silken tofu + lemon juice), a bunch of green dried herbs (think basil, majoram, oregano, etc), onion powder, and garlic powder
The came bell peppers and onions grilled on the panini press
Then tofu marinated in pinapple juice, soy sauce, and maple syrup, then grilled on the panini press
A few olives
And FYH mozzarella cheese/
All cooked together on the press.........

Brussels Sprouts Pizza!

Yes, I know this sounds super weird.  But, honest to goodness, when I took my first bite I started stuttering: "Oh my gosh... oh my gosh... this is so good!  Mmm!  Yum!" ect. It was that good.

Adapted from HHL

Chop brussels sprouts in half; chop onions.  Grill on a panini press until tender.
Mix tofu mayo with balsamic vinegar, orange juice (I used the stuff from the mandarin orange can...) and barbeque sauce.
Mix pizza dough with rosemary, and shape into a crust.  Grill on the panini press until done, ~5 minutes.  Spread crust with mayo mixture, top with veggies, sprinkle with FYH mozzarrella, and nooch.  Grill for a few minutes to heat everything, and then serve.

Black Bean Tortilla Pizza

Yes, I left the broiler on a bit too long... but it still tasted great.  Just goes to show you how good this dish is ;)

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Saute sliced red onion and red bell pepper.  Mix together 3 tbsp soy milk, 2 spoonfuls nooch, garlic powder, onion powder, a smidge of dijon mustard, a smidge of flour and a drop of butter extract*.  Add the nooch mixture into the veggies along with some black beans. 
Spread a tortilla with tomato sauce, then add the veggies. Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, chopped parsley, and FYH mozzarella.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes, and then broil for a minute.  Not more than 2... unless you like burnt crust...

*So, I found some butter extract at Walmart yesterday... appearently it's VEGAN (but still has lots of chemicals... you can't have everything...) .  Who knew?  So, instead of using Earth Balance or some high calorie thing like that, I'll use this stuff... this opens up so many possibilities.

Thursday Night Pizza!

Who doesn't loooove pizza?  Healthy, veggieful pizza?  Heavily adapted from Mommy's Kitchen.

For the crust I made 1 batch of whole wheat pizza crust by I Eat Food.  Basically, you mix together 5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, 2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tsp yeast, 3 tbsp applesauce, 1 1/2 tbsp agave, and 1 3/4 cup water.  Mix until everything sticks together and starts pulling away from the side of the container, adding water or flour as needed.  Then let it sit for 5 minutes, knead for 5 more minutes, and then let it rise for a couple hours.  At this point you can use it immediately, or freeze it for long term storage.  I divided it into 10 balls for 10 pizzas, and froze 9 of them.

The pizza was vegan alfredo sauce (recipe), broccoli, mushrooms, onions, and "cheese".  The veggies were grilled on the panini press, and then the crust was cooked on the press as well.  The pizza was then spread with sauce, topped with veggies, and sprinkled with "cheese", and then grilled on the press for a few minutes.

Mini Pizzas

Sorry I didn't post this last night, because I was faced by these two REALLY hard precal problems, and didn't really want to do anything after I gave up on them.. so, here's last night's dinner...

Adapted from HHL

On a panini press, cook mushrooms and broccoli until tender.  Then split an english muffin type thing in half and coat with barbeque sauce.  Top with wilted spinach, mushrooms and broccoli, vegan cheese, and a bit of Italian seasoning.  Grill on the panini press until toasty, and serve.

Pizza

Christmas Dinner - Pizza

I used this crust (nixing the oil), which I had frozen some time ago, and grilled it for about 10 minutes.  The sauce was a mixture of tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, fresh parsley oregano, fennel seeds and garlic powder.  The veggie toppings consisted of grilled mushrooms, onion, and bell pepper, and some wilted spinach.  Topping everything was some black olives and vegan mozzarella cheese.  The whole thing was grilled for around 10 minutes.  Slice and serve!

Just an FYI - if you split the crust into 10 balls, each one will be about 200 calories.  Then you add your toppings etc., and split it with a friend.  You have yourself a 150 calorie pizza!

Obession With Potato Pizzas?

Here's yet another potato pizza recipe.  I love these things- they are so good for my lunches, and fun to eat and make.  I love how the broccoli on these shriveled up to practically nothing, and became a sort of cumbly thing on top.  But, oh, these did taste really good.  I loved the cheese in place of the tomato paste, as it made a nice change.  I cannot say enough that I am so grateful to have discovered potato pizzas.  They are such a useful thing.
BTW: That's asparagus in the picture.  Yum yum!!

Cheesy Broccoli Potato Pizzas

Adapted from Happy Healthy Life

Serves about 8

2 large russet potatoes, sliced longways, 1 cm thick
1 1/4 cups broccoli florets
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tbsp Italian herbs, dried or fresh (thyme, basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage)
pinch of salt
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, shredded

Preheat oven to 415 degrees.
In a bowl, combine broccoli, vinegar, garlic powder, and herbs.

On a baking sheet, lay the potatoes out, and then top them with cheese. Add the broccoli on top of the cheese. Pop them in the oven for 35 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.

Another Potato Pizza

Here's something new to try: a potato pizza.  These are a lot healthier than normal pizzas, and, I think, a lot better.  Plus they are more fun to eat.  This version was better  than the first type that I tried, and I would totally try several different variations on these.  And they are quick to throw together.  I loved taking them for lunches, too, because they traveled well.  The addition of a few spices to the veggies made all the difference to make this dish stand out.

 Potato Pizzas #2

Adapted from A Dash of Flavour

Serves 8

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large baking potatoes, sliced the long way into flat pieces about 2/3 cm thick

1 small can tomato paste
1 small onion, chopped

1/2 red bell pepper
1 cup mushrooms, sliced

8 black olives, sliced
dried chilli flakes to taste

½ cup mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven 350.
Heat a small, frying pan over medium heat, and add the onion.  Sauté for 3 minutes, and then add the mushrooms and bell pepper.  After those are tender, about 5 minutes, add the cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and chili flakes. 

Put the potato slices on a baking sheet coated with nonstick spray, and then top them with the tomato paste.  Add the veggies, and then olives and cheese.  Bake for 35 minutes or so, until the potatoes are tender.

Mini Potato Pizzas

These are so cute!  I got home kind of late when I wanted to make these, and yet I still had no clue how they were going to turn out.  And then I decided to make some last minute decisions about how to make the sauce - which, I have to say, saved me about 15 minutes of prep time.  I was really pleased with how these babies turned out, and they are really fun to eat and make.  I finally have found something that will serve as a pizza crust that I don't have regrets about eating.  Potatoes are one of the most amazing foods, I think. 

Another random tidbit that I found in the Taste of Home magasine that someone has given me a subscription to - appearently, black rice is even healthier than brown.  I guess I would buy that.  I just thought that was rather interesting, and now I feel like I should try it.  The really ironic thing, though, was that I saw that writeup in TOH, one of the least healthy magasines that I know.  Go figure.

Mini Potato Pizzas

Serves 4

Adapted from Practical Pasta and Italian by Fiona Biggs

1 large baking potato
1 cup crushed tomatoes
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp onion powder
2 tsp Italian seasoning

1 small can mushrooms, drained

½ cup skim mozzarella cheese, grated

Salt and pepper, to taste
Basil leaves, for garnish

Slice the potato into ¼ inch thick pieces, and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Mix the tomatoes, garlic and onion powder, and Italian seasonings in a small bowl.
Preheat the oven to 380.
Top the potatoes with the sauce, mushrooms, and cheese. Bake for 25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the potatoes are tender. Serve, topped with basil leaves and salt and pepper.

Yet Another Pizza

This is a very simple, all-veggie pizza.  How you ask?  With one of those lovely portobello mushrooms playing as the crust!  I love portobellos- they are so meaty, and make a great holder for... stuff.  Like pizza sauce.  I used up the last of the leftover sauce from this recipe to top off mine and M's portobellos, along with some sauted spinach and, of course, pepperoni!  Baked in the oven at 375 for about 15 minutes, and they turned out marvelous.  So simple, and you could pretty much use any combination of vegetable that you want.

Just make sure to have nicely sized, meaty mushrooms...

Pepperoni, Pizza, and Tofu

Yup- lots of recipes today.  But none of them were very labour-intensive, so it sounds a lot more impressive than it really is. 

The pepperoni came from Vegan Dad, a most excellent website.  This is actually his second seitan recipe that I have made, and they have both turned out to be delicious and very realastic.  I was especially pleased with how the pepperoni looked- it almost cute, coming out of it's foil wrapper in a long cylandrical shape...  and the texture was very meaty.  The spices also resemble what pepperoni tastes like. 

I was originally wanting to make sausage, but then M requested pepperoni, so that's how I ended up making this!  And it went great on the potato pizzas that I made from Fat Free Vegan. 

The potatoes hit just the spot today, too; I can never seem to get enough of a baked potato, even if it is a sweltering hunderd degrees outside, and I am still overheated as I type this.  Summer's here for the next three months... and it's HOT.  Ah well.  Anyway, back to the potatoes.  Loaded with vegetable goodness!

And finally, the Mapo Dofu.  This one I adapted from Vegan Ronin.  It looked nothing like what she had posted, but still tasted great all the same.  I have never actually heard of this "mapo dofu", but the picture was just so tantilizing!  And it turned out to be just the thing, too.  I added some snap peas, even though you don't typically find that, because I seemed to be craving those at the moment I made the recipe...  And it turned out to be quite heavy on the onions, but that's OK, because who doesn't love a whole bunch of onions?

Pepperoni

Adapted from VeganDad

8 servings

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup of white or red kidney beans, mashed well

• 1 tsp liquid smoke

• 1 tsp BBQ sauce

• 1 tbsp paprika

• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1 tsp five spice powder

• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

• 1 1/4 cups vital wheat gluten

1. Mix together everything except the gluten.  Add the gluten, and continue mixing until it becomes a dough-like substance.

2. Divide dough into four equal portions. Roll each portion into a log and wrap tightly in foil, tootsie roll style.

4. Steam for 45 mins. Cool and slice.

Mapo Dofu

Adapted from The Vegan Ronin

4 servings

Ingredients

• 12 oz tofu, pressed and cut into 1 cm cubes

• 1/2 C burger crumbles

• 1 tsp peanut oil

• 2 tbsp broth

• 1 tsp chili garlic sauce, or to taste

• 1 tsp chili powder, or to taste

• 1 onion, sliced thick

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup water
• ¾ lb snap peas
• 4 green onions, chopped, for garnish

1. Heat oil on medium heat in a wok and add tofu, cooking until lightly browned on all sides (about 10-15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, mix together the chili garlic sauce, chili powder, soy sauce, sugar, cornstarch, and water.  Set aside.

3. Stir fry onions, peas, and garlic in broth until the onions have become slightly tender.

4. Add crumbles and sauce, and heat through..

5. Add tofu, and continue cooking until all veggies are tender and everything is hot, hot, hot!

6. Garnish with green onions.

Potato Pizzas

Adapted from Fat Free Vegan

2 servings

Ingredients

• 1 large baking potato, or two really small ones

• Pizza toppings

Sauce (you will have extra, but it tastes really good)

• 1/2 large onion, chopped

• 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

• ½  28 oz can crushed tomatoes

• 1/2 tsp. oregano

• 1 tsp. basil

• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bake the potato(es) in the microwave.

Pizza sauce: Sauté the onion in a non-stick saucepan until it becomes translucent. Add the garlic and sauté one minute more. Mix with remaining ingredients, and keep hot.

When the potato(es) is/are done, cut in half spread each face with sauce, and load with toppings. Put them into the oven and bake for 15-20 more minutes at 350 if you are feeling ambitious, or just eat as is.