Magical Vegetable Garden Lasagna

 

 

 

This lasagna is packed with over 8 cups of vegetables! And this is not counting the fresh spinach, which all good vegans know shrinks an insane amount when cooked. Let's just say, if I could shrink as well as spinach does, they'd be writing comic books about me.

 

 

 

 

Also this is probably one of the most delicious things ever. And I used to hate lasagna. Like detest it. But this lasagna(original recipe credited to Ashleigh), is so magical, it reformed me. I used to have so much hate in my life, but now there are only unicorns and happy, vegan lasagna thoughts. That's just the magic of this lasagna.

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

 

-1 box lasagna sheets(I used no-precooking needed rice sheets)

-4 1/2 cups sauce(I used 1 recipe each of my It's Time To Get Sauce-y Balsamic Red Sauce, Pesto With Pizzazz and Wowzers White Sauce, but you can use all red or a combination of any)

-About 8 cups chopped veggies(I'm just guesstimating on the measurement, but I used 1/2 a ginormous yellow squash from a friends garden, 1/2 box mushrooms, 2 carrots and 2 small heads of broccoli)

-One 5 oz bag spinach

-1 1/2 cups Daiya mozzarella style shreds(Click here for nutrition facts and ingredient list)

(Fun fact: Dayaa means "loving, kindness and compassion" in Sanskrit)

 

 

Method:

(I'm going to write this as I made it, with all 3 sauces, but if you're not using all 3, just sub for the ones you are using)

 

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread a small amount of red sauce at the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Arrange a single layer of lasagna noodles. Spread 1/2 of white sauce over sheets and top with 1/2 of each type of vegetable and dollop with 1/2 of pesto. Wash, rinse and repeat. Top this amazing pan of delicious with your Daiya shreds and pop into the oven covered with foil for 40 minutes, then cook 20 minutes longer uncovered. Enjoy the magic.



It's Time To Get Sauce-y

 

 

 

 

In honor of my recent -and weird- obsession/cravings for every type of pasta dish known to mankind, I thought I'd post recipes for my three favorite, basic vegan pasta sauces.

 

 

So I used to be almost afraid to eat pasta. Yes, I know that's weird. For some reason I was convinced that it was horrendously bad for you in every way, shape or form. And if I ate it, I was going to explode... or something to that effect.

 

 

I'm not a huge fan of white flour, or white flour products anyways, which probably added to my pasta weirdness, so when I discovered brown rice pasta my mind was blown. BLOWN. It opened me up to a whole world of more nutritious pasta products including quinoa pasta and mung bean pasta(I haven't actually tried this one yet, but it intrigues me).

 

 

 

 

But I digress. The star of this blog is the sauce, not the noodles. I also healthified those. And let me tell you, although they are all delicious, the Wowzers White Sauce recipe(which I invented on the spot -not to brag or nothin') is sooooooooooo good. These are winners. And they go really well in my lasagna recipe: Magical Vegetable Garden Lasagna

 

 

 

 

 

Balsamic Red Sauce(Makes 2 cups):

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-1 onion, diced

-4 cloves of garlic, minced

-2 big tomatoes(I like heirloom), cubed

-1/2 cup canned tomato sauce

-1/4 tsp. salt

-2 tsp. dried basil

-2 tsp. dried oregano

-1 Tbs. balsamic vinegar

 

 

Method:

 

 

Sauté onion and garlic in a little water until softened(you can do this in olive oil as well if you prefer). Add tomatoes, sauce, salt and herbs. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low/medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and mix in balsamic vinegar.

 

 

Pesto With Pizzazz(Makes 1 cup):

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-4 cups packed fresh basil

-4 cups spinach

-1 cup nuts(I've used almonds, walnuts and pecans with good results. Pine nuts are traditional, but too expensive for my sad college student budget)

-1/4 tsp. salt

-4 cloves of garlic

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-2 Tbs. nutritional yeast(I have made pesto without nutritional yeast, but it adds a really nice flavor)

-The juice of 1/2-1 lemon(I use 1 or sometimes more because I like my pesto super pizzazzy)

 

 

Method:

 

 

Throw all ingredients into your handy dandy food processor and blend until as smooth or chunky as your heart tells you.

 

 

Wowzers White Sauce(Makes 1 1/2 cups):

(This white sauce is so good, it'll make you say "wowzers!" Sometimes even I can't believe how amazingly cheesy I am.)

 

 Ingredients:

 

 

-2 cups non-dairy milk, up to 3 if needed(I use unsweetened almond milk)

-1/2 cup cashews

-1/4 cup nutritional yeast

-2 cloves garlic

-1 Tbs. olive oil

-1 1/2 Tbs. brown rice flour

-1/2 lemon(1 if you're feeling tangy)

-1/2 tsp. salt

-Pepper

-1/2 tsp. garlic powder

-1/2 tsp. onion powder

-2 tsp. mustard

 

 

Method:

 

 

Blend first 4 ingredients on high in your vitamix if you have one, or blender if you don't. Meanwhile heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in brown rice flour and cook for a minute or so until browned. Add milk mixture, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic and onion powders and mustard. Bring to a boil and simmer until sauce reaches desired thickness. If too thick, add more milk to thin out.

 

Try one of these sauces on its own or mix 2, or all 3 together if you're feeling brave.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Apple Pie Breakfast Cookies

 

These are yum. They taste like muffins. But apple pie flavored. And cookie shaped. And healthy. So you can eat them for breakfast. You're welcome.


Oh look! An Apple Pie Breakfast Cookie:

 

 

Oh look! Peanut butter:

 

 

 

 

Oh look! A knife:

 

 

 

 

 

Oh no! I spilled peanut butter on my Apple Pie Breakfast Cookie:

 

 

 

 

 

Whoops!

 

 

Best mistake of my life. Make this.

 

 

(Makes 4, big 1/4 cup cookies)

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

Cinnamon apples:

-2 large or 3 small apples

-2 tsp. cinnamon

-1/2 cup apple juice

-Optional: 1 packet stevia

 

Cookies:

-1/2 cup old fashioned oats

-1/2 cup oat flour

-1/4 tsp. salt

-1/4 tsp. baking powder

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-A pinch of ginger

-1 1/2 tsp. ground flax + 1 Tbs. and 1 tsp. water microwaved 15-30 seconds or until thick(this is a flax egg; vegan egg replacement. 1 Tbs. flax + 3 Tbs. water = 1 egg)

-1 tsp. vanilla

-2 Tbs. non dairy milk(I use unsweetened almond)

-2 Tbs. agave

-Optional: 2 Tbs. chopped walnuts or pecans

 

 

Supplies:

 

 

-Pot

-Spatula

-Measuring cups and spoons

-Mixing bowl

-Cooking spray(I like coconut oil or olive oil)

-Baking sheet

 

 

Method:

 

 

For apples: Dice apples and combine all ingredients in a pot and cook on medium until apples are tender.

 

For cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix ingredients together in a mixing bowl. Fold in apples and form into 1/4 cup mounds on greased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly into discs and bake for 12-15 minutes or until firm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pretty In Pink Roasted Veggie Dip

 

 

This dip gets it's vibrant color from roasted beets although most of it's volume comes from yellow summer squash.

It turned out so pretty Ashleigh and I thought we'd almost rather look at it than eat it... But then we tasted it. As she remarked,


"This is probably the most magical dip I've ever made."


She pretty much ate half the dip before getting around to photographing it. And this from a self proclaimed squash hater. It's creamy, garlicy, and full of good things for you without tasting like "health food". Believe me, and if not me, believe the reformed squash hater. You've got to try this dip! 

 

(Makes about 1 cup of dip)

Ingredients:

 

-1 beet

-2 yellow summer squash
-1/4 of a large purple onion

-6 cloves garlic(This dip is pretty garlicy so cut down if you want a milder dip. I like the flavor of roasted garlic though)

-1 Tbs. olive oil

- 1/4 tsp garlic powder

-1/2 tsp salt

-1/4 cup vegan cream cheese(or sub regular cream cheese if you like)


Supplies:


-Metal baking sheet
-Food processer
-Spatula
-Measuring cups and spoons


Method:


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Meanwhile, coat your baking sheet with 1 Tbs. of olive oil. Slice the yellow summer squash, beet, and onion, and add to baking sheet along with whole garlic cloves. Toss to combine. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until squash is tender, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Scoop mixture into a food processer and add salt, garlic powder and cream cheese. Pulse until mixture is combined. Enjoy as a dip for crackers, chips, veggie sticks, or however your beautiful heart desires.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread Oatmeal

 

 

 

This oatmeal is to legit to quit. It's the bomb dot com, the bees knees, the cats pajamas and every other colloquialism that would indicate this-oatmeal-is-so-good-I-want-to-punch-someone-in-the-face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So I get the urge to punch people when I become excitable. Don't judge me. I'm working on it.

 

 

 

 

But really, this oatmeal is delicioso. Chock full of pumpkin, cinnamon and chocolate, who wouldn't want to eat this for breakfast?

 

 

(makes 1 serving)

Ingredients:

 

 

-3 Tbs. oats(I like my oatmeal on the thinner side, but if you don't, I'd recommend adding 2 Tbs. or so more oats)

-3 Tbs. oat flour(if you don't have oat flour, you can grind oats in a food processer or blender)

-1/2 cup non-dairy milk(I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)

-1/2 cup water

-1 Tbs. agave or maple syrup(or sub 1 packet stevia)

-Optional: 1 drizzle molasses(for a brown sugar flavor)

-1 tsp. cinnamon

-Pinch salt

-Chocolate chips

-Optional: Cinnamon sugar for topping(I use raw sugar or coconut sugar)

 

 

Supplies:

 

 

-Pot

-Measuring cups and spoons

-Spatula

-Small oven safe dish

 

 

Method:

 

 

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips and cinnamon sugar topping in a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium low heat and cook until oatmeal has reached desired consistency(for me this took about 10 minutes). Once you are happy with your oatmeal, you can sprinkle with chocolate chips and eat as is, or, to make it fancy: pour into an oven safe dish, lightly swirl with chocolate chips(I cooled oatmeal slightly so the chips wouldn't melt as fast), top with cinnamon sugar and broil until caramelized on top.

 

Question: If you could turn any dessert into oatmeal, what would it be?

 

 

 

 





 

Oven Kale Chips (Kind Of)

 

 

 

 

Okay, okay, so maybe calling this particular recipe kale chips is a bit of a stretch. These don't generally come out of the oven with quite that level of crunchiness that the term chip calls to mind. But that's what I've always called them, and I'm putting my foot down.

 

 

 

I've recently become obsessed with creating gourmet flavors of raw, dehydrator kale chips, which turn out much crunchier, because they are kept at such a low temperature that all the water is able to evaporate without the unfortunate side effect of burning, but this recipe is much simpler, quicker, and non-dehydrator owner friendly. It's also the first recipe my sister and I ever created for kale chips during our early veganing days. And we liked it so much, we still make this snack on a regular basis 3 years later. I'm definitely going to post a "cheesy" or ranch dehydrator kale chip recipe in the near future, but this recipe still yields delicious and vitamin K-tastic results.

 

 

Ingredients:

 

 

-1 bunch kale(or you can use a bag of pre-cut, but I find the bunch easier to stem)

-2 Tbs.-1/4 cup plain white, apple cider, or even red wine vinegar

-2 Tbs. olive oil

-A generous sprinkling of salt, pepper and garlic powder

 

 

Supplies:

 

 

-A big bowl

-Measuring cups and spoons

-2 metal baking trays

 

 

Method:

 

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Stem your kale by puling the leaves off the woodiest stems and discarding stems. In my personal opinion, the less stem the better. Tear your kale into chip sized pieces and place in a big bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar(I usually use 1/4 cup, but I'm a pretty big sour fan) and seasonings. Use your hands to massage the kale for a minute or 2. This might sound weird, but it's not. It helps to tenderize the kale which is especially important for more mature kale. Once your kale is adequately massaged, divide the mixture between 2 metal trays and bake for 20-40 minutes, or until crispy, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poppin' "Cheesy" Popcorn

 

 

 

*This recipe was modified from Whole New Mom's blog: http://wholenewmom.com/recipes/dorito-flavored-popcorn-dairy-free/

 

 



-Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see!

 

 

-If you were a booger I'd pick you first.

 

 

-Kiss me if I'm wrong, but dinosaurs still exist, right?

 

 

I thought I'd start this blog post off niiiiice and cheesy. This is my cheesiest recipe so far after all. It seriously tastes just like nacho cheese. And it is cheesylicious.  But on a more serious note:


-Do you have any raisins? No? How about a date? ;)

Tired of cheesy pick up lines? That's okay, because this recipe gets it's "cheesy" from nutritional yeast. What is nutritional yeast you ask? Excellent question.


Nutritional yeast is an inactive yeast that is yellow in color, has a flaked appearance, and is often described as having a nutty, cheesy flavor. The closest comparison I can think of is somewhere between a swiss and a cheddar cheese. Now it isn't an exact flavor match, but the taste is surprisingly cheesy for not being cheese or a copycat product. It is a very popular ingredient in vegan cooking. And I promise it tastes better than it sounds. I made a huge bowl of this nutritional yeast coated popcorn and it was devoured in minutes. It even got the non-vegan stamp of approval.

 

Health benefits of nutritional yeast? Let me tell you:


Nutritional yeast contains high levels of:

-Protein
-Fiber
-Thiamin
-Riboflavin
-Folic acid
-Niacin
-Vitamin B6
-Vitamin B12(In fact, nutritional yeast is one of the only vegetarian sources of vitamin B12)


And it just tastes so good. No, really, trust me it does. Actually, don't take my word for it. Try out this recipe and discover the joy of delicious, nutritious, nutritional yeast for yourself.

 

 

 

Ingredients:


- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
-1 tsp. garlic powder
-2 tsp. onion powder
-heaping 1/2 tsp. cumin
-1 tsp. paprika
-1 tsp. chili powder
-1 tsp. salt
-Popcorn kernels
-Olive oil(to drizzle)


Supplies:


-Vitamix(You can use a blender, but the powder may not come out as smooth)
-Popcorn air popper(if you don't have one of these you can pop your corn on the stove and omit the olive oil drizzle)
-Spoon
-BIG popcorn bowl


Method:


Combine the first 7 ingredients in your vitamix and blend on high for 30 seconds to a minute or until powdery. Next pop your popcorn. This recipe makes enough powder for a MASSIVE bowl of popcorn so pop as much as you like.


Go crazy. Invite the neighbors over. Have a vitamin B, cheesylicious party. Or keep it all for yourself, because once you taste this popcorn, you'll probably eat the whole bowl in one sitting. I know I could. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.


 Once you're popcorn has popped, pour into a bowl and drizzle with olive oil (if air popped). Sprinkle with as little or as much cheesy powder as you'd like and mix to coat.


Are you blown away by the flavor? Because I was.


*I haven't tried any of Whole New Mom's other recipes, but if they're as good as this one was I may have to add her to my favorite blog's list.