Category: Meatless Meals

OG Scrumptious Bombdiggity Vegan Enchiladas

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This is one of my favorites!!! I think I say that about all of the recipes that I blog about haha, but I only post the very best for you. My goal is to teach you how easy cooking whole food plant-based food really is. It’s amazing the flavor you can get when combining whole food with some delicious spices and some cooking techniques that are tried and true. It’s truly one of the best decisions my husband and I have made in this life. We feel better, are heart healthy and LOVE the delicious food we make. Give this recipe a try and tell me your thoughts. I would love to hear from you!

Recently, I took dinner to my neighbor who just had a baby and this is what I made for them. They are meat eaters so I was really nervous that they wouldn’t like a dinner without meat, BUT I got a text from her the following day and she said that they LOVED IT!!! WAHOO!!! IT MADE MY DAY!

This original recipe came from my daughter which was for sweet potato black bean enchiladas, but I like to change things up a bit, so I modified it and added some ingredients to make it better :). I loved the changes and I don’t even miss the cheese that is in the original recipe. This recipe has a lot of homemade ingredients so it takes a bit of time, but I do it in stages, so one day I’ll make the pinto beans in the instant pot and then use it for another recipe, like tacos and then I’ll bake the sweet potatoes earlier in the day so they cool off a bit before putting them in this recipe. Don’t get overwhelmed with it–just take it one step at a time. Please read the whole recipe before beginning.

Vegan Cauliflower Hamburger/Sweet Potato/Pinto Bean Enchiladas

You can make a bunch of these to feed a crowd. I like making two pans–one for me and one for a neighbor or you can freeze these in the pan after assembling them but don’t add the enchilada sauce until the end of the cooking time. This helps your enchiladas stay a little crispier instead of soggy. (Put aluminum foil on them before freezing and use within a few weeks)

For the Cauliflower Hamburger:

  • 2 packs of Frozen Cauliflower Rice (I get them from Costco), cooked for 3 min in microwave to soften
  • 1 small package of white mushrooms (grated in food processor)
  • 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
  • 1 T. Cumin
  • 2 Teaspoons Chili powder
  • 2 Teaspoons Salt
  • 1 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 Degrees. Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. I like to wash my hands really good and mix it up with my hands. Taste it and make sure the spices are to your liking. Add a little extra of what you want. Take a cookie sheet and put a splat mat on it. Put cauliflower mix on top of the spat mat and cook for 15 min. Remove from oven and stir it on the mat and put it back in the oven for 15 min. When it comes out it should resemble hamburger–looks a little brown and delicious. Set aside.

While hamburger is cooking, cook the sweet potatoes one at a time in the microwave–poke holes in sweet potato with a fork all over the sweet potatoes (I prob do this about 4-5 times around the potato–cook 4 minutes for a medium one or 5 minutes for a large OR I like to cook the sweet potatoes earlier in the day or the day before to prep for this meal. Here is the oven instructions for cooking sweet potatoes:

Sweet Potatoes

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Poke sweet potatoes with a fork and put them on a cookie sheet with a splat mat on and bake for about 45-50 minutes until they are soft. I like to poke mine with a fork and if they are fork tender, they are done. I just have the urge here to say to you, “STICK A FORK IN IT!!!” LOL!! Set aside to let cool and then peel them and mash them with a fork. Sprinkle with cumin and chili powder and mix the spices in with a fork until it is well mixed. Taste and make sure the spice is on point to your liking.

Pinto Beans in the Instant Pot

  • 3 C. Raw Pinto Beans
  • 6 C. Vegetable Broth
  • 1/2 Onion, diced
  • 3 cloves Garlic, crushed
  • Jalapeño (optional), cut in very small dices
  • 1 T. Cumin
  • 1 -2 tea. Chili Powder
  • 2 tea. Salt
  • a few sprinkles of pepper

Rinse pinto beans and pick out the beans that are duds. Add a little of the broth to the instant pot and put on saute setting. When it is hot, add the onion, garlic and jalapeño (if using). Saute for about 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent. Add cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. The smell should be very fragrant and make your home smell so good! Just saute the spices for a couple of minutes and then add the beans and remaining broth. Stir well and turn off saute setting.

Put lid on instant pot and cook on regular pressure cooker setting for 55 minutes. After beans are done cooking let them sit for about 15 minutes before releasing the pressure.

Now you are ready to assemble the enchiladas.

These are the items you need to have in an assembly line to make the process streamlined:

Tortillas (I like the flour kind from Costco, but make sure you cook them well so they aren’t soggy, but you can use corn for these too if you need gluten free)

Sweet potato

Cauliflower hamburger

Pinto Beans

1 Brown Rice Package or as many as you need, cooked in microwave for 90 seconds (see picture)

32 oz. Green Enchilada Sauce, mild (I like LaVictoria or any other brand that is a favorite)

Put a bit of the enchilada sauce in the 9×13 pan–enough to cover the bottom of the pan.

In each enchilada put a little of the sweet potato mixture, a little of the cauliflower, pinto beans and brown rice and with a large spoon put a spoonful of enchilada sauce on top and roll up by tucking all of the ingredients in and roll it up.

Add rolled tortillas to pan and bake for 30 min on 400. Add remaining enchilada sauce on top of the enchiladas after 30 min and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and top with your favorite toppings.

Here are a few of our favorite toppings:

Pico

Cashew Cream:

  • 1 C. cashews
  • 1 tea. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tea. lemon juice
  • 3/4 tea. salt
  • 3/4 C. water

Mix in high speed blender until well blended. This is delicious and one of my very favorite foods!!!

Avocado

Fresh tomato

Mateos Salsa (from Costco)

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s)

This is amazing Salsa!! I hope you enjoy these enchiladas. They are a lot of work, but trust me–THEY ARE AMAZING!!

Tofu Teriyaki Bowls

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Servings: 4. Time to cook: 45 min.

These bowls are incredibly flavorful and you will love them. The tofu is delicious cooked on a crisper in high heat in the oven, which makes it so delicious and the teriyaki sauce is one I would use long ago for teriyaki spare ribs haha. No more of that! Now I have a new purpose for it and it suits my palate perfectly. This recipe looks complicated, but it really isn’t. First you make the sweet potatoes and if you have a double oven, make the tofu. If you don’t have a double oven, you can use one oven and put the sweet potatoes on one rack and the tofu on the other rack. Make the cauliflower rice, which takes about 15 minutes, cook the edamame and that’s it!

Teriyaki Sauce

  • 1 T. Garlic Powder
  • 1 C. Soy Sauce
  • 1 T. Dry Mustard
  • 1/2 C. Sugar
  • 1 T. Accent
  • 1 T. Corn Starch

Mix sauce together in a sauce pan and heat until thickened.  Set aside.

Sweet Potatoes

Heat oven to 425 to preheat.  Peel and cut sweet potatoes into even squares and dip in teriyaki sauce, take it out of sauce with a slotted spoon and put on a sheet cake pan with a splat mat on top.  Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes, then stir and then place in oven again for another 15 minutes.

(Option:  You can just cook the sweet potatoes without the glaze and just add it as a sauce later.  The hubs likes it that way but I like it cooked with the sauce on.  Try both and see which way you like better :). While sweet potatoes are cooking, prepare tofu.

For the Tofu

Above is the tofu that I love to buy.  It is extra firm and I find it in my local grocery store, Harmons.  Seriously,  YOU HAVE TO BUY THIS KIND OF TOFU!!  It is so much better than the other brands.  You just have to open the package and cut the desired amount you want and then rinse it, dry it off with a paper towel and it is ready to use.

Preheat oven to 425.

  • 1/2 block of tofu, cut lengthwise and then into 1″ squares
  • 3 T. Cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Place cornstarch, salt and pepper in a ziplock bag and give it a good shake. Place tofu in the bag and shake, shake, shake until tofu is well coated. Place on rack roasting pan and put in oven. Cook for 10 minutes, stir, and cook for 10 more minutes until tofu is nice and golden.

Cauliflower Rice

  • 2 packages of frozen riced cauliflower (I found this at Costco)
  • 1/2 chopped onion
  • 3 cloves crushed garlic
  • 1/2 c. vegetable broth to prevent sticking
  • salt and pepper

Put cauliflower bag in the microwave one at a time for 3 minutes. Set aside. In a fry pan or I used a wok, on medium high heat about 1/4 c. of broth until hot, add onion and garlic and cook until onion is nice and translucent. Add cauliflower and cook for about 7-10 min or until it appears to be cooked through. You may need to add a little more broth to it to keep it from sticking. Add a little salt and pepper if desired.

  • 2 bags edamame. Cook frozen edamame 3 min., but make sure you poke holes in the bag with a fork (I like the Peggy’s brand from Costco. Sorry, no relation haha)

Assemble the bowls:

  1. Place cauliflower rice in bowl
  2. Place sweet potato and tofu in bowl
  3. Next put the edamame
  4. Top it off with the yummy teriyaki sauce

ENJOY!!! This is seriously one of my all time favorites! Please let me know if you try it! I always love to hear from my readers :).

OG Peg’s Plant-Based Creamy Cauliflower Corn Chowder

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The other night I got home from work and the thought crossed my mind that I have not produced an OG recipe in a while and then the wheels start churning. One of the things that I love to do when making and original is to look at all of the ingredients in my refrigerator and see the food that I have on hand and then create! It is really a fun thing for me to do, but sometimes I put a little bit of this, a little bit of that and a whole lot of this in it. haha. That is just how my mother would cook, but it does not serve those well who need exact measurements, like my daughters lol. Here’s to you girls—–

OG Peg’s Plant-Based Creamy Cauliflower Corn Chowder

Total Time to cook: 45 min

This recipe is comfort food at its finest. Even your carnivores will love it! I promise!

  • 1/2 package Organic Felicetti Cavatappi Pasta, cooked al dente (see pic at bottom)
  • 1 large onion
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 1 t. onion salt
  • 2 t. garlic salt
  • 1/2 t. pepper
  • 1 t. salt
  • 1/2 – 1 t. thyme
  • 3 small or 2 large heads cauliflower, cut into medium pieces
  • 5-6 c. vegetable broth (enough to cover the cauliflower about 1″ above)
  • 2 14.5 cans Great Northern Beans
  • 2 14.5 cans of corn
  • 1 c. whole cashews (I like the organic Costco brand)
  • 1 1/2 c. water
  • 1 t. apple cider vinegar
  • 1 t. lemon juice
  • 3 T. nutritional yeast

Cook pasta. Make sure the water is well salted and boiling before adding the pasta. Cook 9 min. Drain and set aside.

While pasta is cooking cut onion, peel garlic and add to a wok if you have it, but if not just a frying pan. Add a little broth to the pan and saute until the garlic, onion, garlic salt, onion salt, salt and pepper and thyme until onion is translucent about 7-8 min.

Put cauliflower into a large soup pan with the broth and bring to a boil. Add corn and onion mixture and cook for about 10 minutes, checking after about 7 min after boiling to make sure the cauliflower is done to your liking.

While cauliflower is cooking make the cashew cream mixture in a high speed blender (I have a vitamix). Add remaining ingredients in blender and blend well, as in really well. You don’t want any chunks in your delicious soup.

Once cauliflower is done to your liking add the cashew cream and bring to a boil. Taste and adjust seasonings and enjoy.

This recipe may look hard but it really is simple and if you wash your dirty dishes as you go, it’s a cinch! Please tag me if you make this. I always love to know who has tried my recipes, especially my originals.

Love to all.

This is the pasta I order on Amazon for this dish. It’s truly amazing and makes all the difference to have delicious pasta.

Quick & Delicious Balsamic Glazed Seitan

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Can you tell I’ve been on a Seitan kick lately? Haha. I actually am really liking it for a meat alternative. This week I’m bringing you an original recipe that I made up and it turned out to be one of our favorites. I’ll definitely be making it again. It was filling, packs a lot of flavor, and I loved the texture of the seitan.

I love this seitan from Harmon’s Grocery Store (if you live in Utah), as I mentioned in my last post. It comes in chunks, which I love, but some times the chunks are a little big, so I cut those in smaller pieces.

Quick & Delicious Balsamic Glazed Seitan

Serves 4-6

  • 2 packages chunky seitan
  • 1-2 teaspoons sage
  • Salt and Pepper
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

Take seitan out of the pack and separate. I like to cut the bigger chunks into smaller ones so they are all kind of the same size. Sprinkle it with 1-2 teaspoons sage, salt and pepper and rub the garlic into the chunks. Let sit while you make the sauce.

For the sauce:

Place all ingredients into a sauce pan and let it come to a boil until it’s thickened. This usually takes about 10 -15 minutes.

Place seitan in a skillet with about 1/2 cup sauce, stir and heat on medium high. Once sauce is absorbed into the seitan, add a little more at a time and turn heat down to medium low. Keep adding sauce and simmer until sauce is absorbed into the seitan, but yet there is a little left to use on the rice. I like to simmer it for 10-15 min. It gives it some good flavor.

That’s it! Simple. Easy. Packed with flavor. I like serving this with rice and here I show it served with zucchini and summer squash, but I think I prefer broccoli. Enjoy :).

Vegan Mongolian Seitan

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It’s FRIDAY Y’ALL!! Time for a new recipe and I think you are going to love it. We sure did. I’ve been wanting to experiment more with seitan. I looked up a few recipes and then decided on this one that is adapted from the yupitsvegan.com site. If you haven’t checked out her recipes, you should. She’s got some amazing ones. I made a few changes though in the way you cook the seitan because I wanted it to take on more flavor while cooking. And, of course, I did not use oil.

Also, have you noticed how you can’t buy tofu in the grocery stores? I asked my local grocer, “Where’s all the tofu?” and he said that the tofu plants are closed for 3 weeks. Ummm hello?? I need tofu for my recipes!! I then decided that I’m going to make my own, so stay tuned for that recipe in the near future.

Let’s get back to todays recipe………

Vegan Mongolian Seitan

For the sauce:

  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth (this is to use in place of the oil)
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 teaspoon Chinese five spice
  • 1/3 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup coconut sugar (or a scant half cup brown sugar)
  • 2 teaspoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons cold water

For the crisped seitan:

  • 1 pound seitan, cut into 1 inch pieces (the seitan I bought was in chunks and it was awesome)

For serving:

  • toasted sesame seeds (optional)
  • sliced scallions

To make the sauce:

Heat a little of the vegetable broth in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger and the garlic; stir constantly. After about 30 seconds, add the five spice and the red pepper flakes, and cook for one minute or until fragrant.

Add the soy sauce and the coconut sugar and stir well. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer until the coconut sugar is dissolved and slightly reduced, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Whisk together the cornstarch and the cold water, then add it to the pan and stir. Cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the sauce becomes glossy and thickened slightly. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and keep simmering gently until ready to add to the seitan.

To make the seitan:

In a wok or skillet, heat some of the vegetable broth over medium-high heat. Add a bit of the sauce to the seitan and cook, stirring frequently, for about 4-5 minutes or until slightly browned and crisped around the edges.

Reduce heat to low and add the remaining sauce to the pan. Stir to coat all of the seitan pieces, and continue cooking until the sauce has adhered to the seitan. Remove from the heat and serve hot, with the rice and/or vegetables of choice, and garnish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Serve with rice and broccoli.

Enjoy :).

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

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This week I have been thinking about some creative dinner recipes that I could publish on my blog. Maybe it comes from not having so much to do because of being isolated and 6 feet apart from everyone in my world haha. The struggle is real folks! I hope all of you are doing well and filling your time with the people you love (virtually and real life) and some things that you have time to now do.

Today I am bringing you an original and with this recipe you can get creative yourself and use a different bean other than garbanzo, such as pinto beans (try my instant pot pinto bean recipe) and give it a Mexican twist.

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms (an itsapegslife original 🙂

Serves 3-4 people

  • 6 portabella mushrooms, washed, gills and stems removed
  • 1 sweet potato, baked, sprinkle with a little cumin and chili powder and smashed
  • 1/2 green pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 red pepper, chopped
  • 1/2 white onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 bunch of green onions, sliced thin
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/2 cup raw quinoa, cooked in veg. broth (1/2 c quinoa to 1 c veg broth, bring to boil, cover, and cook on med. low for 20 min.)
  • 2 cans any type of bean. I did a garbanzo bean mixture with sauted onion and garlic, salt, pepper and tumeric and slightly mashed them.
  • 1 can vegan refried beans
  • 1 sliced avocado

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and once it is up to temperature, put mushrooms gill side up on a baking sheet lined with a splat mat or parchment paper. Bake for 15-20 min while you get the remaining ingredient together.

While mushrooms are cooking saute garlic, onion, red pepper and green pepper on medium high. To do this, first add a little veg broth to the pan and let it get hot, then add garlic and onion. Saute for 2 minutes and then add peppers. I like to add a few shakes of cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper to taste (1/2 tea. each approx.) at this point. Saute until peppers are cooked through (about 10 min).

Add whatever bean you want to this mixture.

After mushrooms are done cooking, remove from oven and let sit while you get your ingredients in order for the “stuffing.” This is also a great way to use up some of the leftover stuff in the fridge. For example, the sweet potato, garbanzo mix and refried beans were leftover from other meals that I had prepared last week.

First blot dry the inside of each mushroom with a paper towel to absorb the moisture. Now for the assembly–

  • Refried beans
  • Sweet potatoes
  • Bean, pepper, onion mixture
  • Quinoa
  • Green onion

Put back in the oven and bake for 10 min on 425. Remove from oven and enjoy. I like to serve this with some greens. So delicious. Please let me know if you make these and tag me at itsapegslife.

Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

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This recipe is coming to you from one of my favorite cookbook authors, Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Her newest cookbook is called, “I Can Cook Vegan,” and it’s a winner!

Let me tell you, Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie is definitely a keeper and one of our new favorites. And for those meat eaters in your family—they won’t even know that it’s Vegan :).

I prefer to leave the oil out of recipes, so I subbed veg. broth to saute the ingredients. I actually didn’t even oil the pan before putting the ingredients in and it was great. You can choose for yourself what you would like to do.

Lentil and Mushroom Shepherd’s Pie

Serves 8

  • 2 cups cold vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped into medium dice
  • 3 medium carrots, thinly sliced into half moons
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
  • 1 pound cremini mushrooms, chopped into pea-size pieces
  • 3 tablespoons fresh thyme
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 cups cooked lentils, cooked in vegetable broth (do not add salt)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1 recipe Classic Mashed Potatoes (at the bottom of the post)
  • Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)

1. In a measuring cup, mix together the broth and cornstarch until the starch is mostly dissolved. Mix in the tomato paste and set aside.

2. Preheat a large pan over medium heat. Saute the onion and carrots in a bit of veg. broth with a pinch of salt until the onions are lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so, just until fragrant. Add the celery, mushrooms, and thyme with a bunch of fresh black pepper and salt. Let cook for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms have released a lot of moisture.

3. Add the lentils and use your spatula to mush them in the pan to create a “ground beef” effect. Add the corstarch-broth mixture and mix well. Let cook until the filling is thick and gravy-like, about 7 minutes. Fold in the peas. Taste for salt and seasoning.

4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease an 11 x 13 inch casserole dish. Transfer the filling to the casserole in an even layer. Dollop the mashed potatoes over the top, starting at the edges and working your way in, and then use a rubber spatula to spread them relatively smoothly.

5. Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet to collect any juices that bubble over. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the potatoes are browned. Let cool a bit before sprinkling with parsley, if desired, and serving.

Classic Mashed Potatoes

  • 2 1/2 lbs. new potatoes, peelings on (cooked in instant pot for 13 min. with natural pressure release or you can boil them)
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews (if you own a high speed blender, you don’t have to boil these beforehand. If you don’t own one, then boil for 20 minutes to soften.)
  • 2/3 cup vegetable broth, at room temperature
  • Freshly ground pepper

1. Cook potatoes.

2. While potatoes are cooking, place cashews and vegetable broth in a high-speed blender and blend until completely smooth, scrapping the sides occasionally with a spatula to get everything.

3. When the potatoes are done cooking, drain and return to pot. Mash them with a potato masher to break them up a bit. Add half of the cashew mixture and the salt and pepper. Mash with potato masher until relatively smooth and no big chunks are left.

4. Add the remaining cashew mixture, mix it in and mash some more until it is mixed well. And there you have it! Enjoy!

P.S. All of the recipes I make from other bloggers/cookbook authors/instagramers (you get it 🙂 have a Peg twist to them, so if you look up the recipes on line they will be slightly different :).

You Won’t Believe Its Vegan Chili

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Recently I set on a quest to perfect my chili recipe so those who are not whole food plant based people, would not miss eating meat in their chili. This original chili recipe came from https://eathealthyeathappy.com/killer-vegan-chili/ but I modified it a little bit. It’s quite a process to make but just like most anything in life that takes a lot of time—it’s sooooo worth it!!

I cooked the recipe for my pinto beans in the instant pot the night before. The recipe link is here https://itsapegslife.com/2019/03/09/delicious-instant-pot-pinto-beans/ They are my family’s favorite, so I thought the added flavor of these beans would just enhance the taste of the chili.

Next step is to make the cauliflower hamburger recipe as follows:

  • 1 head cauliflower, grated in food processor or you can just use your blade, whatever works best for you to make the cauliflower the size of rice grains
  • 6 oz. of button mushrooms, washed, dried and grated/blade in food processor
  • 1/2 c. walnuts, chopped medium (again you can use your food processor)
  • 1 -2 T. cumin
  • 1-2 tsp. chili powder
  • salt and pepper as needed

Put all ingredients in a large bowl and mix together well. I like to use my hands and mix it really good. Taste the mixture to see if it is to your liking. Spread mixture out on a cookie sheet with a splat mat or wax paper on it. If you don’t have a splat mat or wax paper, just spray the cookie sheet with Pam and spread a thin layer of cauliflower mixture on it. I like to use two cookie sheets so the layer isn’t too think.

Cook on preheated 425 degree oven on the upper rack so it’s close to the element for 15 min and then turn the mixture. Cook again for another 10-15 min. And there you have it–cauliflower hamburger. Let cool.

Now for the Chili—–

You Won’t Believe Its Vegan Chili

Ingredients:

  • 2 medium onions, chopped
  • 2 1/2 Tbs chili powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 2 tsp dried basil
  • 1/4 tsp chipotle powder
  • 2 Tbs cumin
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock)
  • 2 c chopped bell pepper, any colors

45 oz. cans Pome chopped tomatoes (you can find these at your Harmon’s for those of you that live in Utah)

  • 2 Tbs brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs low sodium tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
  • 4 c water
  • 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 c uncooked quinoa (wash throughly)
  • 2-3 c cooked pinto beans (the homemade beans above)
  • 1 15 oz. can of kidney beans
  • 1 15 oz. can of black beans
  • 1 can sweet corn

Toppings like fresh homemade cashew cream, cilantro, avocado or vegan cheese shreds (optional)

Instructions

  1. Add a small portion of the broth to a large lidded cooking pot. Add onion and saute over medium heat for about 3 minutes.
  2. Add the chili powder, paprika, garlic powder, basil, chipotle powder, cumin, oregano salt and pepper. Add a few splashes of the veg. stock to deglaze the pan and simmer 3-4 minutes. Reduce the heat slightly and/or add more if the spices are burning at all.
  3. Stir in the bell and poblano peppers and the rest of the stock. Simmer about 7 minutes.
  4. Add the Pome tomatoes, brown sugar, soy sauce, salt, liquid smoke and water. Loosely lid the pot and simmer about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Stir in the lemon juice, quinoa, beans, and corn. Reduce the heat to medium low, lid the pot and simmer about 60-70 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add enough water to make it the consistency you like as you need to.
  6. When soup is done simmering add cauliflower mixture. I like adding about half of it but you can add as much as you want.
  7. Serve with your favorite toppings.

I like to make this the night before I serve it and then reheat in the slow cooker. Sooooo good!

Delicious Instant Pot Pinto Beans

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Delicious pinto beans with no overnight soaking needed.

You are going to LOVE these flavorful and delicious pinto beans. They are so so easy to make in the instant pot and NO SOAKING NEEDED! WOO HOO!

Ingredients:

  • 5 C. Pinto Beans, rinsed with water
  • 1/2 Anaheim Pepper or 1/2 Jalapeño Pepper
  • 1 T. Minced Garlic
  • 1 Large Onion, Chopped
  • 3 T. Cumin (I love cumin so if you don’t, add just 1 T.)
  • 2 tsp. Chili Powder
  • 2 tsp. Salt
  • 10 C. Vegetable Broth or enough to cover 1″ above pinto beans

Put a little vegetable broth in the instant pot and turn pot on the “sauté” setting. When pot is hot, add garlic and cook until fragrant (approximately 2 minutes). Add pepper and onion. You may need to add more broth here so it doesn’t burn. Sauté for approximately 5 minutes and then add cumin, chili powder and salt. Cook until you smell that luscious smell of spice. OOOOO do you smell it? I LOVE that smell.

Add beans, stir with a large spoon, and then add the broth. Stir again. Turn instant pot off and then push “manual”. Set the time to 55 minutes. When instant pot beeps and it’s done cooking for the 55 min, release the air vent out after 10-15 min. Taste beans to make sure they are spiced to your liking and add more salt if needed.

For this burrito, I layered it with mashed sweet potato, quinoa, and beans. Roll it up to eat like this. Or, to make a taco salad out of it, top with avocado, lettuce, salsa, vegan cashew sour cream, and your favorite vegan dressing. Enjoy!

GNOCCHI WITH ROASTED BROCCOLINI IN WHITE WINE SAUCE

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My daughter introduced me to gnocchi in Portland. She is an amazing cook and has introduced me to a lot of different foods. Well, she is a dietician and that helps too. Gnocchi has come to be one of my favs.

The other night when I got home from work and the “What’s for dinner?” question entered my head, as my stomach was growling, I needed to make a quick dish before I smacked myself to death, I remembered I had some gnocchi in my pantry that I’ve been wanting to cook. I originally was thinking of a mushroom marinara for this dish, but at the last minute I changed my mind (definitely a woman’s prerogative haha) because when I tasted the white wine mixed with the mushroom broth and spices it tasted fantastic.

If you want to make this sauce creamy, blend up 1/2 c cashews in about 1/4 c vegetable broth in a high speed blender and add it to the dish at the end. Make sure you blend this up well so you don’t get that gross grainy texture. Another trick is to soak the cashews for 15 min in boiling water, drain it before adding it to the blender with broth. Now to the recipe…..

GNOCCHI WITH ROASTED BROCCOLINI IN WHITE WINE SAUCE

Serves: 4 but if you have big eaters I would double.

Cook Time: 30 min.

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 small red onion

2 c. mushrooms sliced

1 bunch broccolini or regular broccoli (see recipe below)

1 package gnocchi, prepare as directed on package and set aside

1/3 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. vegetable broth (I like to make this with the “Better than Bouillon” brand

1 T. oregano

1 T. parsley

(Or in place of oregano and parsley add 1T. Italian seasoning)

1 tsp. salt

Prepare broth. Add 1/4 c. broth to a medium size Dutch oven or large rim pan and turn heat to medium high. As soon as pan is hot, add garlic and sauté for 2 min continuously stirring until it smells fragrant.

Add onion and sauté about 5 min or until slightly translucent. If you need to add more broth here to keep it from burning, do so. Add mushrooms and sauté these for 10-15 min or until a nice liquid broth forms from the mushrooms, add white wine and keep sautéing for 7 min or so until the alcohol burns off.

Add oregano, parsley and salt. Taste the mixture to see if it is to your liking. From here you can make a the cashew cream as mentioned above or leave it out. I thought it tasted good as is, so I opted not to. Add gnocchi and roasted broccolini. Mix well and taste once again to make sure it is properly salted and spiced. Enjoy.

ROASTED BROCCOLINI

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with baking rack on the top slot of the oven.

Place as much broccolini on a baking sheet pan as you want to serve.

Sprinkle broccolini with vegetable broth and salt and pepper.

When oven is up to temperature, place broccolini in the oven and set timer for 7 min. After 7 min stir broccolini on baking sheet and put back in oven for about 4 min or until it’s cooked to your liking.

Remove from oven and serve or add to cooking dish.