Vegan Oatmeal Patties

I have to admit, I have tried several vegan patty recipes and they have either fallen apart or they are really dry. This recipe I found on yummly.com, it was the first one that tasted very good and stayed together without any problems. I did find that they were not as salty as I would like and I don't usually put a lot of salt in my food. I also used gluten free oats to make these gluten free burgers for my children. The girls at three of them in one sitting. So, I will be going back to this recipe and making more. I may also freeze them too. LOVE IT!!!! I hope you enjoy them too.

Ingredients

• 4 cups water
• 4 cups quick cooking oats
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil (I actually forgot to add this and they turned out fine)
• 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 tsps garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsps onion powder
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 tsp active dry yeast
• (I would also add 1/2 tsp. salt.)
• 
  
• Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet.
2. Bring water to a boil and stir in oatmeal. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook 5 to 10 minutes, or until the oats are cooked and all the water has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.
   
   
   
3. To the oatmeal add onion, oil, spaghetti sauce, pecans, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, basil, onion powder, coriander, sage and active yeast. Mix well and form into patties. Place on prepared baking sheet.

4. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn patties over and bake another 15 minutes.

Potato Corn Chowder (Vegan)

As the weather gets colder, I love looking for yummy soups for my family. This week's soup, potato corn chowder was from theveganchickpea.com. The only thing I did different in this recipe was use rice milk instead of soy and it turned out great. My girls thought it was great as well. It is super easy and relatively quick to make. There is a 35-40 minute wait while the soup cooks, but preparation was a cinch. I hope you enjoy as my family has. Sorry I don't have many pictures. I decided this one needed to be posted at the last minute. 

Potato Corn Chowder (Vegan)

Igredients:

 -1/2 vidalia onion, finely chopped 
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1 tablespoon olive oil
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 cup vegetable broth
-4 cups unsweetened soymilk (I used rice milk)
-8 yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1" pieces
-3 cups frozen corn
-1 cup carrots, chopped (I omitted these as my girls are not a huge fan.)

Method:
1) In a large soup pot over medium heat, combine olive oil, onion, garlic, and salt.  Saute until onions are translucent.  

2) Pour in vegetable broth to de-glaze the pot, and quickly stir mixture.  Add soymilk, potatoes, corn, and carrots.  Stir well.  

3) Allow the soup to begin to bubble, stirring every few minutes.  Reduce heat, and allow to simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. 

4) Remove 1 cup of the soup and transfer it to a blender.  Puree until smooth and then recombine with the rest of the soup, stirring well. 

5) Ladle soup into bowls, salt to taste, and enjoy! 

GF Egg Gravy

I have been craving some comfort food lately. With that said, a friend of mine gave me 5 boxes of a gluten free biscuit mix. I was in heaven. Today, I decided that is was a good day to break out one of the boxes. Even though it was not as easy as the Bisquick biscuits, they tasted pretty good. I then needed a gravy to go with it. I usually make a white gravy and put some form of soy meat in it, this time I couldn't use that meat so I chose to make egg gravy. I am not a huge fan of eggs, but I knew my girls would like it. Since it turned out yummy, I have decided to share it with you. This is my own recipe, out of my own head.

1-2-3 Gluten Free Southern Glory Biscuits

Gluten Free Egg Gravy

Ingredients:

6 Tbs. Earth Balance Butter

2 Tbs. White Rice Flour

2-3 c. Rice Milk

1/2 tsp. Black Pepper

Salt to taste

2 Eggs

Method:

1) Melt butter in pan and add white rice flour. 

2) Allow rice flour to bubble for 1-2 minutes while constantly stirring with a whisk.

3) Slowly add rice milk and constantly stir until gravy thickens. You may need to add more milk to get the desired amount of gravy. Always make sure it thickens. If you add too much milk, simply let it boil down. Then add black pepper and salt to taste

4) After gravy gets to the right consistency that you desire take off heat. Scramble the two eggs until well done and mix into the gravy. 

5) Serve over hot biscuits.

Olivia

Juliana

Vegan Corn Chowder

I know that two favorite things my girls love to eat is potatoes and corn. I wanted to make something that our whole family would enjoy. I am sorry, but I can not recall where I found the recipe. It is not my own. I tried looking back on Pinterest and could not find it, so if anyone knows the source, please let me know. The soup turned out beautifully and creamy. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1 Tbs Olive oil
1/2 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup vegetable broth (I used Chicken McKays since I did not have vegetable broth)
6 medium sized potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup diced carrots
1 pkg of fresh corn or 2 cans of corn, no salt added
4 cups unsweetened soy milk (I used rice milk)
1 tsp salt

Method:

1) Place olive oil, salt, garlic in pan and cook until onions are translucent.

2) Add the vegetable broth and stir quickly to pick up the caramelized onions and flavors from pan.

3) Add soy milk, carrots, corn, and potatoes and bring to a hard boil then reduce to a slight boil (low-med heat). Let cook for 30-45 minutes on stove.

Hope you enjoy.

Potato/Carrot Mac and Cheese

I was rocking the girls this afternoon and thinking what should I make for supper. I was thinking about making some pumpkin pancakes, but then thought that I really didn't want to serve breakfast. After putting the girls down for a nap I had a Facebook status of my friend Oana Jones come through on my phone. I saw that she had made a vegan Mac and Cheese that her daughter really loved, as well as her husband. Now, I had to try this! I am always looking for vegan recipes that taste really good. So, I immediately grabbed my ingredients and started cooking in the kitchen. It smelled so good I wanted to eat it all! I did resist. I served it to my girls and it was a hit! Juliana had two platefuls and Olivia one. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Potato/Carrot Mac and Cheese

• Ingredients:
• 3 -4 large potatoes, peeled, diced large
• 2 carrots, peeled, chopped in chunky pieces
• 1 1/2 cups water (or more if needed)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or more)
• 2 tablespoons poultry seasoning
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 5 cups cooked ziti  (I used penne as this is my girls favorite noodle)

Method:

1. 1
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. 2
   Place potatoes, carrots, water (should be enough to come about 1/2 inch from the top of the potatoes and carrots), salt, chicken seasoning, onion powder and garlic salt together in a pot, mix together, and cook on medium heat till potatoes and carrots are soft.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. 3
   While veggies are cooking, heat water for ziti noodles; when boiling add ziti noodles.
4. 4
   Cook till al dente.
5. 5
   When veggies are done, cool or add a couple ice cubes to cool it down.
6. 6
   Blend together with nutritional yeast flakes and oil until smooth.
   
   
   
   
   
7. 7
   Add more water if it's too thick, add more salt if needed, should be a little on the salty side as the pasta will absorb some of the salt.
8. 8
   Drain the ziti noodles.
9. 9
   Pour"cheese" sauce over ziti noodles in a casserole dish and mix inches.
   
   
10. 10
    
    
    
    Place dish in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Juliana
    
    Olivia
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

Vegan Quinoa Chili

I have always enjoyed my mom's chili and have never tried anything different. However, it would not be right if I didn't try something new. I recently bought some Quinoa, and to be honest, I have never cooked with it before. I knew it to be healthy but I thought it would be more of a hassle in my busy life. Boy was I wrong. I found a recipe for Vegan Quinoa Chili from savvyvegetarian.com. I do have to admit, it is a little more involved with lots of ingredients, but once I had everything prepared I just left it cook in the slow cooker. It was a real hit among my girls.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups uncooked quinoa
• 3 cups water or bean cooking liquid
• 1 1/2 cup cooked kidney beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
• 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (1 can, drained and rinsed)
• 1 cup unsalted tomato sauce OR: 1/4 cup unsalted tomato paste + 3/4 cup water
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 celery stalk, diced
• 1 Tbsp (2 - 3 cloves) minced garlic
• 2 Tbsp minced jalapeño pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced

• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp gr coriander
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried basil leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried marjoram leaf
• 1/8 - 1/4 tsp chipotle pepper powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 Tbsp light molasses
• 1 Tbsp Braggs Liquid Aminos, or soy sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• More Heat: Add more chile powder

Method:

Stovetop Directions:

1. Soak the quinoa 5 minutes
2. Rinse, then drain into a colander
3. If using canned beans, drain into a colander and rinse well
4. Peel & mince the garlic and jalapeño pepper
5. Dice the onion
6. Wash and trim the celery, slice lengthwise, then crosswise to dice
7. Seed and dice the red and green pepper
8. Heat the oil on medium-high in a dutch oven or large sauce pan
9. Fry the garlic, jalapeno, onion and celery until soft (about 5 minutes)
10. Add the peppers and fry 5 minutes
11. Add the spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes
12. Add the beans, water or bean liquid, molasses, tomato sauce, and quinoa
13. Bring to boil, cover, and simmer 20 minutes or until quinoa is cooked
14. Stir in Braggs or soy sauce, and pepper. Adjust seasonings
15. Serve garnished with cilantro
16. Optional: Add a dollop of dairy or non-dairy sour cream to each bowl

Crockpot Directions: ( I did this one)

1. Sauté jalapeno, garlic, celery, and peppers in oil for 5 minutes on med-high

2. Add spices and herbs, stir 2 minutes

3. Combine with water, tomato sauce, salt, quinoa and beans in a 6 qt crockpot

4. Cover and cook on low for 5 - 6 hour.

5. Add Braggs or soy sauce, molasses, pepper

6. Serve garnished with chopped clilantro and sour cream (optional)