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Chickwheat Cordon Bleu

8 Feb

It’s a blustery winter day here and my oven is begging to be used. It’s actually been in and out of functional use all week, but today it thankfully decided to cooperate. With Valentine’s day quickly approaching, it’s nice to be able to serve something a little more upscale for a nice candlelit meal. We have two kids now, so we won’t be having a candlelit meal, but the thought is nice I guess. We prefer to snuggle in bed and enjoy a pizza and movie together, with maybe a strong drink. We’ve been doing this for years now and it’s still something I look forward to.DSC_0408dit

This recipe requires a bit of preparation ahead of time, but it’s relatively intuitive. Chicken cordon bleu was never something I had prior to going vegan 8 years ago, but I feel like this is a pretty close replication. Please click through the links for my recommendations for alternatives and for prior recipes!

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Greek Chickpeas and Rice

26 Jan

I think there’s something really comforting about a big bowl of beans and rice. There’s so many different variations from different cultures that it’s hard to choose just one to love. Fortunately for me, no one is making me choose. But if I had to, I’d probably pick this dish because I love tangy Greek tomato sauces and creamy chickpeas.

Greek Chickpeas and Rice

This dish is very similar to the spanakorizo I posted a while ago, but without the spinach and a little more flavorful sauce. It’s an awesome meal for the cold days of winter, especially if you’ve recently been sick and have absolutely no appetite for anything but comfort food. Maybe that’s just me. If you want to make it even more authentic, try a few cubes of this delicious vegan feta on top. You won’t regret it.

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Vegetable Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

29 Dec Vegetable Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

As many vegan bloggers before me, I have discovered the magic that is cashew ricotta. Creamy, savory cashew cheese between layers of soft pasta and marinara…I don’t think there’s anything that could make me happier. If I’m being absolutely honest, I only had ricotta once before switching to a vegan lifestyle, but I definitely don’t think I’m missing out on anything.

Vegetable Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

I love making lasagna because it’s a meal that lasts for days and tastes even better as leftovers. I always used lasagna noodles that require boiling in the past, but we switched to the no boil kind and it makes this meal that much easier.

Vegetable Lasagna with Cashew Ricotta

Like most everything I make, I like to change up the vegetables in this. My only consistency is the spinach and ricotta. Try it with roasted red peppers and portobello mushrooms,  or sundried tomatoes and caramelized onions.

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Quiche with VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart

28 Nov Quiche with VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart

I’m still enjoying experimenting with the Follow Your Heart VeganEgg because as I’ve admitted before, I tend to get “committed” (read: obsessed.) It’s been sold out by most retailers, but it should be coming from back to Amazon and Vegan Essentials soon! I’ll be checking regularly with the rest of you, because I know I’m going to run out!
Quiche with VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart

The carton of VeganEgg contains a recipe for quiche florentine, but I wanted to put my own twist on it by using a hashbrown crust and vegan sour cream. This came out even better than my previous tofu quiche texture, and I usually never admit to improvement. I think I could eat this daily for breakfast and never get sick of it. Like a proper Midwesterner, we ate this with ketchup for dipping, because in the Midwest we put ketchup on everything. Or maybe that’s just me and I’m using my location as an excuse. I guess we’ll never know.

Quiche with VeganEgg by Follow Your Heart

I would highly suggest prepping this early by getting your cold water ready, or even preparing your filling and crust the night before if you want to serve it for breakfast.

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Thanksgiving Stuffed Squash

21 Nov Thanksgiving Stuffed Squash| Avocados and Ales

Thanksgiving is almost upon us, and traditionally we have a “post-thanksgiving thanksgiving.” This year I decided to cook early, since we won’t be picking up any discounted Tofurky’s after Thanksgiving.Thanksgiving Stuffed Squash| Avocados and Ales

I’ve seen the recipe for vegducken circulating around Facebook for a few weeks, but for me, Thanksgiving is mostly about the sides. I thought “screw Vegducken, I just want potatoes and stuffing!” And that’s how this dish was born.

Thanksgiving Stuffed Squash | Avocados and Ales

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Cheesy Ham and Quinoa Skillet

14 Oct

I’m often inspired by the ingredients in my fridge or freezer to make easy weeknight dinners like this. To be more accurate, I’m more often inspired by the LACK of ingredients, so I throw something together like this.

 

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Casseroles are not common in our weekly menu, but I really enjoy recipes like this that are one pan-dishes. The less dishes I have to do the more time I get to spend with my family, and that’s always a win.

You can use any vegan cheese sauce you prefer for this recipe. I am particularly partial to the carrot-potato cheese sauce, but hey, that’s just me. You could also sub the quinoa for rice or noodles. For some reason I always forget about quinoa in the back of my pantry, but it’s delicious and good for you, so I probably should remember it more often.

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Ham and Cheese Quiche

2 Sep

To tell the truth, I’ve only ever eaten quiche once in my life. I remember it’s silken fluffy texture well, but I haven’t thought about it in years. I saw this recipe from Minimalist Baker and I thought, “well, I have an hour before work, might as well.”

Ham and Cheese Quiche

I changed my filling a bit and decided to make the entire thing in a cast iron skillet, because I often think I should cook in cast iron more. Thinking back on it, I should have doubled the filling because of the increase in size. I bet this would work really well in a pie pan as well; it would come out quite a bit thicker. I’d also like to petition that all quiches be made with a hash brown crust, because that stuff is delicious. Pastry crust would work to, but the only downfall is it’s not potatoes.

Ham and Cheese Quiche

This makes a perfect meal for demolishing before work or when you baby wakes you up at 4 a.m. or breakfast, lunch, and dinner for an entire day.

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Mushroom and Onion Risotto

13 Dec

A while ago I challenged The Friendly Fig to face her fear of making risotto, and I would do the same. It’s been over a month now, and I finally figured it was time to attempt a recipe. I’m so glad I did!

This was delicious and creamy and wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be. I discovered the trick to making risotto is not leaving the stove for very long, but it didn’t require the constant stirring that I had been previously afraid of. I added a little almond milk and nutritional yeast to give it a flavor boost that dairy would normally give. I served this with a batch of chickpea cutlets, another Post Punk Kitchen recipe.

Mushroom and Onion Risotto

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Eggplant Parmesan Quinoa Casserole

20 Nov

I was inspired by a post by Princesses and the Peas and I just had to try this recipe. I love quinoa right now (but seriously, who doesn’t) and eggplant is still abundant in my garden. This was a delicious recipe that’s super filling and healthy. I added some zucchini and tomatoes from my fridge. I loved the big bursts of sweet cherry tomatoes in between bites of quinoa. You could easily use regular diced tomatoes or even a can of tomatoes if that’s what you have.

This was perfect with my coconut milk cheese, especially blended into the mixture-I kept finding big chunks of cheesy goodness as I was eating. It was even better the next day, as most casseroles are.

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Chickpea, Broccoli, and Brown Rice Casserole

8 Mar

Hello everyone! It’s been a while!!

I recently graduated from school and began a new job at a large local salon, so I’ve had less time to focus on blogging. I’ve also been devoting a majority of my time to couponing, which has result in a plethora of free groceries. With all this free food, I’ve had to come up with creative ways to use it (because who really needs eight bottles of barbeque sauce?)

Today was sunny and beautiful; the type of spring day that makes me want to wear a skirt and cook a casserole. Yes, the type of casserole your mom used to make with condensed cream of chicken soup and fried onions (those were free too.) However, this recipe replaces the cream with soymilk and the chicken with chickpeas. The brown rice will make you feel less guilty when you top it with extra cheese and fried onions. Feel free to adjust this recipe to your dietary preferences.

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