Shepherd's Pie

There are soooo many recipes out there for Shepherd's Pie. I've tried a few. I knew this one would be a hit when my husband walked through the door and asked what smelled so good? He had two servings. He's kind of a picky eater, so this was truly a testament to how good it is.

Shepherd's Pie

2 zucchini, peeled and sliced lengthwise into thin slices
Mashed potatoes
Vegan grounds (I used a combination of Gardein and Beyond Meat)
One onion, cut into bite sized pieces
3 or more garlic cloves, minced fine
1 T. fennel seeds
1 t. thyme
1 t. savory
1 t. sage
1 heaping t. paprika
3 T. soy sauce
1# spinach, stems removed

Lay the zucchini out on a cookie sheet and brush with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Flip them over and repeat. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

While the zucchini is baking, saute the spinach until wilted. In another pan, saute the onion until softened. Add the vegan grounds, the seasonings, the soy sauce, and the garlic. Heat through.

Lay the zucchini side by side in a casserole dish. Spread the cooked spinach on top. Now spread the vegan grounds mixture on top of the spinach. Lastly, spread the mashed potatoes over the top of the grounds. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

It may not look pretty, but oh my was this delicious! I barely had enough left over for my lunch the next day! Definitely a keeper!

National Potato Day

Today is National Potato Day. We eat a lot of potatoes in my house, just because they are so versatile and pretty darned delicious. People are surprised I will eat a baked potato all by itself with only a little salt and pepper, as if that is sacrilegious! LOL! But sometimes I eat them with butter, too, so, it's cool. My youngest son is truly the potato aficionado, though. He is always trying new ways with potatoes, with often amazing results.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

One 5 lbs. bag of potatoes of your choice
5 T. olive oil
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1/2 c. non dairy milk
10 peeled garlic cloves

In a Dutch oven, cover the potatoes and garlic with water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until soft. Drain. In a large bowl, add the cooked potatoes and garlic, and add the olive oil, salt and pepper. With a hand mixer or potato masher, start mashing the potatoes while slowly adding the milk. Serve. Enjoy!

For fun, I will often add a single sweet potato to the mix. Feel free to try that!

Gardener's Pie

Really more a version of Shepherd's Pie, but with more vegetables.

Gardener's Pie

About 9 potatoes, quartered
1 package sliced mushrooms
2 carrots, sliced
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. thyme
1 t. salt
1/4 t. black pepper
1 c. water
1 T. flour
1 zucchini, cut in half lengthwise and then sliced into half coins
1 c. green peas
1/2 c. vegan milk

In a Dutch oven, cover the potatoes with water and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer about 20 minutes.  In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, carrots, onion, green pepper, and garlic until softened. Add the basil, thyme, salt, and pepper.

In a separate bowl, mix the water with the flour, and stir into a smooth paste. Add this mixture to the vegetables and stir until thickened. Add the zucchini and peas.

Drain potatoes and mash. Add the milk and mash some more.

Place vegetable mixture into a baking dish, and top with the mashed potatoes. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Serve. Enjoy!

The picture isn't pretty, but the taste is delicious!

Baked Sweet and Savory Mashed Potatoes

My family is not crazy about sweet potatoes. While I can't say they are my favorite food, I do like them. Somewhat. This is one of those ways I like them, and in this case, my family really did, too.

Baked Sweet and Savory Mashed Potatoes

3 lbs. potatoes, cut into chunks
One 29 oz. can sweet potatoes in syrup, drained and mashed
One container vegan cream cheese
One container vegan sour cream
2/3 c. vegetable broth
Salt and pepper to taste
Vegan bacon bits

Boil the potatoes in water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain. Return the potatoes to the pot, and add the sweet potatoes and cream cheese. Mash until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, broth, salt and pepper and bacon bits. Place this in a casserole dish and bake, uncovered, at 350 for 20 minutes. Serve. Enjoy!

Yogurt Mashed Potatoes

Before I became vegan, I loved Greek yogurt. My daughter has since introduced me to vegan Greek yogurt, and I couldn't be happier!

Yogurt Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes (however many you want)
One container of vegan Greek yogurt (the one I found uses coconut milk)
Vegan butter

Cut the potatoes into chunks. I don't peel them. Cover them with water in a Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20-30 minutes. I had half a cabbage and a few green onions leftover in the fridge that I also cut up and added to the potatoes before boiling. I've added carrots in the past for some color. When soft, drain the potatoes and dump back into the pot.

Add the yogurt and some vegan butter, and mix well, using a hand mixer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve. Enjoy!

Cajun Fried Tofu, Horseradish Mashed Potatoes and Creole Green Beans

In my pre-vegan days, it was not unusual for my husband to stop off at a local chicken place and bring home dinner. I was actually often grossed out by it, and tended to consume more of the rice and beans and biscuits than anything else. The spicy flavors, however, I did like.

I decided the other day I wanted some crispy fried tofu. Remembering those days of spicy goodness, I decided to try out something new.

Cajun Fried Tofu

One package extra firm tofu, frozen, thawed, pressed, sliced
1 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. hot sauce
1/4 c. water
1 c. flour
1 t. salt
Oil for frying

Combine mustard, hot sauce and water in a large ziploc baggie. Add the tofu pieces and let marinate overnight.
Combine flour and salt in another ziploc baggie. Add the marinated tofu pieces and shake until the tofu is well covered.
Fry in the hot oil until nicely browned on both sides.

My kids loved this, but I'll admit to it being much spicier than I like.

Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

9 potatoes, baked
1/4 c. vegan butter
3 T. horseradish
2 T. vegan sour cream
2 T. non-dairy milk
1/2 c. Daiya cheddar shreds
1 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper

When potatoes have cooled, cut in half and remove the pulp. In a large bowl, mix the potato pulp with the remaining ingredients and mix well until it resembles mashed potatoes. Serve with a sprinkle of fake bacon bits.

Don't worry about the horseradish - it is very mild in this and you might not even really notice it.

Creole Green Beans

1/2 of an onion, chopped
1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
2 T. flour
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. vegan Worcestershire sauce
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/8 t. dry mustard
One can diced tomatoes
One can cut green beans, drained

Saute onion and green pepper in olive oil until soft. Add remaining ingredients and stir until dry ingredients are dissolved and everything is well mixed. Cook until sauce is thickened.

National Fried Chicken Day

I love these foodie themes for days, weeks or months. They make it kind of fun to plan my meals. Today is National Fried Chicken Day. I'm not sure how the day originated, but since it is also National Picnic Month, maybe it started there. Seems like a perfect opportunity to fry up a cruelty-free version, don't you think? I served mine up with some mashed potatoes and green beans.

Fried Chick'n

1 t. salt
1/2 t. onion powder
1 t. pepper
1 t. garlic powder
2 c. flour (I used whole wheat)
2 T. nutritional yeast
Rice milk
One package of extra firm tofu, frozen in package, boiled, sliced into wedges

Mix everything but the milk and tofu in a shallow bowl. Pour the milk into a separate shallow bowl. Dip the tofu wedges in the milk, then coat well in the flour mixture. Fry over medium high heat in olive oil until nicely browned.

Tex Mex Mashed Potatoes

2 lbs. potatoes, cut into chunks
Vegan butter
Rice milk
One package Daiya Pepperjack Cheese
1/4 c. green onions

Boil the potatoes until soft (about 20-30 minutes), drain. Mash them together with some salt and pepper, vegan butter, rice milk and the pepperjack cheese. Mix in the green onions and some vegan sour cream, if you like.

Country Green Beans

Vegan bacon (I used three slices), cooked
Half an onion, cut into chunks
3 cans of whole green beans, undrained
1/2 t. pepper

Mix everything in one medium to large sized pot and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes.

Enjoy!