Two Serving Veggie Pot Pie-Thingy

Hey.  I got up at 4am this morning, and couldn't go back to sleep.  Bleck.  The worst part of it is I didn't get to sleep until 10 or so last night, since I was working on an English project, then had to come home and make soup, salad dressing, pizza, and salads (the pizza was AMAZING, by the way.  but more on that later).

 

 

Anyhoo, here's a lovely little dish that makes 2 servings... in an effort to get though all of my saved recipes I am cutting most things down to 2 servings... 

I added a gravy sort of thing, and I think that made this dish taste SOO much better than the original recipe.  But to each his own, I suppose.

 

Adapted from Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes

 

For the crust:

mix 1/4 cup flour, 1 tbsp applesauce, and 2 tbsp cold water.  Spread into 2 ramkins coated with nonstick spray, and bake for 10 minutes, until firm.

For the Tofu:

Mix crumbled tofu, stemmed/wilted spinach, nooch, lemon juice, and garlic.  You should total about 3/4 cup-ish tofu mix

For the veggies:

Peel, cube, and boil a very small sweet potato until tender.

Saute bell pepper, red onion, and mushroom until almost tender.  Add chopped rosemary, paprika, vegan worchestire sauce, home made vegetable broth powder, a few drops butter extract, and a small corn starch slurry.  Add a few tbsp water as needed to make it a sort of gravy.

 

Add the tofu mix to the ramkins, then top with veggies.  Bake at 375 for 25 minutes, until heated through.

Mushrooms and Spinach over Rice

Oi.  So, please tell me WHY I work out for an hour every day and the state still mandates that I be in PE.  Seriously.  It's so dumb. 

 

 

Anyway, I'm NO good at sports, I just like to work out.  Sheesh!  We started tennis yesterday, I have no clue how to play tennis (!)... so my wrists hurt like crap... my left hand is really having a hard time typing right now.  Argh.  Seriously.  Why do I have to take the stupid subject?

Although, it does allow me to eat just a wee bit more in the evenings, which is pretty much the only good thing... more yummies for me!

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Saute chopped onion, garlic, and mushrooms until tender.  Toss in some spinach (washed, destemmed, and torn), fresh chopped rosemary, nooch, soy sauce, corn starch + water, and home made veggie broth powder.  Add enough water to make it a gravy-type thing, simmer for a few minutes until thick, and serve over rice.  Simple but A-Mazing!

Pasta, Pesto, and Broccoli [and Chick'n]

Alright!  I totally got swamped by English for a few days, but that's over now.. So, back to the food. 

Ahem.  Yes, well, this is a good, hearty pasta dish.  With chick'n.  Yes.  And broccoli is on sale right now for me, so win-win...

Oh, yes.  Today is Friday!  Yaaay!

Adapted from Meet the Shannons

Pesto: blend

• 1/4 cup hazlenuts
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/3 bunch spinach, washed, destemmed
• handful fresh basil
• handful fresh parsley
• 1 clove garlic
• 3 tbsp nooch
• 1 lemon

Mix with sauteed broccoli, whole wheat pasta, and chick'n (baked instead of boiled at 350 unitl firm, ~30 minutes)

Rice and Lentil Soup

And the latest addition to out of seasoning cooking...

What?  I had a giant bag of lentils that needed to be used up! ;)

Adapted from All Recipes

Veggies:

• Carrots
• Onions
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Crushed tomatoes

Spices:

• bay leaf
• chopped fresh oregano
• chopped fresh basil
• nooch
• chili powder
• celery seed
• a splash of vinegar
• vegetable bouillon

Etc:

• lentils
• brown rice
• seitan
• cornstarch slurry to thicken



Soup

Is it pretty?

No.

Did it taste really good, MUCH better than expected?

YES!

Adapted from Eating Well

Sauteed carrots, garlic, and onion, then soaked pinto beans.. followed by lotsa water, nooch, sumac, a few dried herbs, veggie chicken bouillon.  Added in whole wheat linguine, torn/stemmed spinach, corn starch slurry, and setian.  Served with a large dollop of pesto (subbing mirin for the olive oil, and adding sunflower seeds to thicken)

This was super good - it kind of reminds me of restaurant wedding soup!  I've been wanting to recreate this flavour for a while, but this totally happened by accident.

PS - I might get a Vitamix soon!

PPS - I totally cut my finger reeeeeeeeeeeeeeally badly on my immersion blender today.  Was trying to clean the blade out, and then I accidentally pushed the button to make the blade spin.  OOOUCH!

Setian Roulade

Gourmet.  And it's quite simple.  Honestly!

Adapted from WTHDAVDEA, Olives for Dinner

For the setain: mix together 1 cup vital wheat gluten, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour, ~1 cup water, vegetable bouillon, thyme, and sage.  Knead [with a spoon] until it forms a ball, and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding water as needed.  Coat a baking sheet with nonstick spray (I forgot to do this, and ended up chiseling it off for a good 10 minutes!), and spread the dough out as thin as possible in the shape of the pan.  It's OK if there are a few holes.  Bake at 400 for 10 minutes or so, until cooked - it should be firm but not crispy.  It's OK if it's slightly burnt... mine was, and it still worked out fine!

OK, so, now you slice ~1/2 lb criminis, chop 2 cloves garlic, chop 1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, and tear/de-stem/wash a bunch of spinach.  Saute all of these until tender with soy sauce and cooking sherry.  Drain well, then spread onto the setian like you're making a pizza.  Roll up the setian, and secure with string or something (I used sewing thread, which worked fine).  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, and serve with gravy.  I used this leftover gravy, and it worked very well.

Wheat Berry Salad

This salad makes you feel healthy.  No, really, I'm not lying.  Those are the first words that popped out of my mouth when I tasted it...  Btw - this has A LOT of protein.

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Dressing: blend together 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, 1/4 cup Silk, a bit of olive oil, 1/4 cup nooch, garlic powder, juice of 1 lemon, and 1/3 cup mirin. 
Cook a generous 1/2 cup wheat berries, then mix with 1 1/2 cups cooked lentils, dressing, sauteed onion, carrots, bell pepper, and garlic, and chopped parsley.  And wilted spinach.  Mix well. ;)

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.

Tofu Quinoa Tortilla

Totally a happy accident that I made this on Cinco de Mayo...
Who cares, really, if the food matches the holiday.  I just want it to taste good.  Don't you agree?

Adapted from HHL

So, first cook ~ 1/2 cup quinoa.  Mix that with wilted spinach, chopped parsley and cilantro, chipotle chili powder, nooch, lime juice, agave, and liquid smoke.
On a tortilla, lay a bit of the quinoa mixture.  Top with salsa, avocado, and tofu bacon.  Wrap and eat.. with a napkin...

Pinapple Stir Fry

Oh, gosh.  NO PICTURE!  I feel really bad... but my camera ran out of power before I got anything, and there weren't any leftovers.  Boohoo.  Oh well, most stir fries look the same, anyhoo...

Adapted from Oh She Glows

Mix together 1/3 cup pinapple juice, 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp ketchup, and 1 tbsp agave.  Cut two slabs of tofu, press, and marinade overnight in sauce.  **So, Wednesday I thought I was going to make this dish, and I got the tofu marinading, but it turned out that I didn't have the energy to throw this together.  So I let the tofu marinade overnight, and made the dish Thurday.  Wow, flavour boost much!  I think, when possible, I will let the tofu marinade overnight, as it soaks up so much more flavour.
The next day, saute onion, bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, broccoli, and spinach.  Grill tofu on a panini press.  Mix corn starch with the leftover marinade, and use as the stir fry sauce.  Serve over wild rice.

Orzo with a Very Flavourful Sauce

So, when I say flavourful, I mean FLAVOURFUL.  This packs a punch.  Not for the faint-hearted... Adapted from PPK.

Heat 3/4 cup pineapple juice, and then add in 3/4 cup TVP.  Allow TVP to soak up liquid, adding more juice as needed. 

In a saucepan, saute 1 small chopped red onion and ~2 cups broccoli florets.  Add in 6 cloves of roasted garlic (smashed with the flat side of a knife), 1 cup white wine, anise, rosemary, 1 cup pineapple juice, veggie bouillon, 1 tbsp flour, 1/2 cup chopped sun dried tomatoes, nooch, and coriander.  Then add in ~2 cups torn spinach, and allow to wilt.  Serve sauce over cooked orzo pasta, and top with TVP.



Starring... Fresh Oregano!

This was yet another good soup.  Yay soup!  Adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen.
Sorry I haven't posted in a few days - I've been so swamped with homework.  AP exams are coming up, and I am going to have a LOT less time for the next few weeks...

The veggies were onion, carrots, cabbage, and garlic.  Spices were vegetarian beef bouillon, vegetable bouillon, fresh parsley, thyme, fresh oregano, chili powder, and cooking sherry.  Other stuff included tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, soaked red kidney beans, and potatoes.  At the end of cooking I added torn spinach and corn starch slurry to thicken.  Served with fake meat.

Spinach, Broccoli, and Quinoa Salad

Mm... this was yummy!  I didn't expect it to turn out all that great, but it was...

Adapted from HHL.

Boil 1 cup water, add 3/4 cup quinoa, cover and simmer for 25 minutes.
De-stem and finely tear 1/2 bunch spinach.  Mix with cooked quinoa to partially wilt.
Saute 1 small head broccoli and 2 cloves minced garlic, and add to the quinoa.
Other stuff to add: 1/2 cup parsley, chopped; 1/4 cup nooch; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 1/3 cup tofu mayo (partially cooked silken tofu blended with lemon juice); 1/4 cup orange juice.

Serve warm, cold, or room temp, topped with chopped blood oranges and avocado.

OMG Ok, so I found blood oranges for a decent price at Target the other day, so I decided to get one... this is where it went!  They taste like a cross between a grapefruit and an orange, and have a lovely deep red colour.  Mmmmm...

Kind-of Soy Milk Quiche

I really have NO CLUE what this is... it's really odd.  However, it tastes good, so I figured I had better post it!  

I have to say, the night I baked it, Wednesday, it came out really watery.  Like soup in a crust.  So I was like Okaaaay... and stuck it in the fridge, hoping it would firm up, and ate leftovers that night.  Thursday, I saw it was solid, and then decided to heat it up for dinner.. and it kind of liquified again.  But once I tasted it, the liquification of the quiche was alright by me, because it tasted marvelous!  Tonight, Friday, I had it again, and decided to try it cold so it wouldn't be liquidy.  Mistake - after one bite, it went in the microwave.  So, I like it hot and soupy... yes, this is an odd quiche type thingy.  But, like I said, the taste is good, so that makes up for everything.  Adapted from here.

(The picture is of the cold quiche... it totally deflates.  Trust me.)

To make the Spinach and Soy Milk Liquidy Quichey Thingy... de-stem, tear, and wilt 1 bunch of spinach.  Saute 1 small, finely chopped onion and 3 cloves garlic.  Add in 3 cups soy/almond milk, 1/2 cup at a time - add 2 tbsp corn starch to the first half cup.  Add the next half cup when the liquid has thickened slightly.  Once all the milk is added, add 1/3 cup nooch, Spike seasoning, and Italian seasoning.  Pour into pie crust, top with cheese and paprika, and bake for 25 minutes at 375F.

For the pie crust: spray your pie plate, then in the pie plate mix 1/2 cup each sesame seeds, oatmeal, and whole wheat flour.  Add applesauce to hold the dy stuff together - I think I use about 1/2 cup.  Mix all this together in the pie plate, and shape to form the crust.  Bake for 12 minutes at 350, until firm.

Chili-ish Soup

Om nom nom!  This was good!  Adapted from HHL

Veggies were onion, carrots, and garlic.  Added to that red kidney beans, yukon gold potatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vegetable bullion, vegetarian chicken bullion, 1/4 cup mirin, 2 tbsp chili powder, chipotle chili powder, allspice,, 2 bay leaves, apple cider vinegar, 1/4 cup nooch... oh yes, and lots of chopped parsley.  Finished off with a bit of torn up spinach and veggie ham, thickened with corn starch slurry.

And some pictures of asparagus.  I made it, but it didn't taste that good, so no recipe.  The picture was nice enough, though...

Chickpea and Pasta Soup

This soup had a very memorabe flavour.. :)

Adapted from WTHDAVEA

The veggies were onion, carrot, spinach, and broccoli.  Spices were vegetarian chicken bullion, and lots of smoked paprika and Italian seasoning, fennel, and a vegetable bullion cube.  I also added spiral whole wheat pasta, chickpeas, and vegetarian ham.  Thickened with cornstarch slurry... wow!  Flavourful, much...

Fail Ravioli, but Good Sauce

Yeah, I don't like boiled wonton wrappers.  I found that out tonight - I used them to make ravioli, but didn't like their slimyness.  But the filling/sauce was good over pasta, so here that is!

Adapted from WTHDAVEA

For the tofu mixture: wilt 1/2 bunch spinach.  Mix with 10 oz crumbled tofu, nooch, nutmeg, parsley, and pepper.
For the sauce: mix 2 tbsp corn starch with Silk, and add that to a kettle with more Silk and Toffuti sour cream.  Turn to medium heat, and keep stirring until it gets really thick.
Heat the tofu, and serve with the sauce over pasta.

Lentil Sheperd's Pie

So, this was supposed to get mashed potatoes on top... but the soup from last night had used them all up!... so I ended up putting a crust on it instead.  And now, because of my stupidity, I have two almost-full bags of whole wheat flour open.  Oops... oh well, I think that means I will be making some bread tomorrow...

The pie was adapted from here.

Soak and cook 1 cup dried green/brown lentils (not the red kind).
Saute up 1 onion, a couple of carrots, and garlic.  Add the lentils, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 cup white wine, dried basil, Italian seasoning, Spike seasoning, and thyme and mix well.  Make sure to use lots of seasoning, because the lentils tend to turn out bland in my opinion otherwise.  Then fold in 1/2 bunch spinach.  Pour in the crust, and any leftover in a ramkin.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

For the crust, I used my no-fail super-easy super-healthy pie crust.  Spray a pie pan with nonstick spray, and then mix together (yes, in the pan) 1/2 cup each whole wheat flour, oatmeal, and sunflower seeds.  Then add about 1/2 cup applesauce to start, and add more until the mixture holds together.  Press the dough in the form of the pie pan, and then bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

Tofu Tacos

:)  M told me to put this one on the favourites list...

Press 19 oz tofu and cut into strips.  Marinade in a bunch of mirin, a bit of soy sauce and syrup, 1 tbsp chili powder, garlic powder, and 1/2 tbsp cumin. 
Grill the tofu on a panini press, along with red onion and red bell pepper.
Blend together about 2 cups black beans with the leftover tofu marinade until they resemble refried beans.  Mix with 1/2 bunch wilted spinach.
For assembly: In a hard taco shell, put tofu, bean mixture, and grilled veggies.  Top with grated vegan cheese.

Crunch...

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.