Korean BBQ & Kimchi Pizza

Remember my Kimchi Fried Rice? Well I had leftover kimchi and leftover Korean BBQ sauce, so I pulled some seitan out of the freezer and made bulgogi, then combined those with a little vegan mozzarella and green onions and voila! Kimchi Pizza!

I used the same BBQ sauce as pizza sauce, so there were literally only 6 ingredients (pizza crust, cheese, seitan, bbq sauce, kimchi, green onions). Easy as (Korean pizza) pie!

Korean BBQ and Kimchi Pizza (makes one 14″ pizza)

Ingredients:

Pizza dough of your choice, rolled out
I batch seitan bulgogi, chopped (alternatively you could just marinate seitan in Korean BBQ sauce, if you want to cheat a little. I wont tell anyone!)
3/4 cup Korean BBQ sauce
3/4 cup (or more!) kimchi
Vegan mozzarella (I used Daiya)
Green onions for sprinkling

Directions:

Spread the BBQ sauce evenly over your pizza dough, then top evenly with the bulgogi and the kimchi. Cover with as much mozzarella as you’d normally put on your pizza then bake for 12-14 minutes at 425 (on a pizza stone!). When done, sprinkle with green onions.

Enjoy!

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Enchilada Pasta Casserole

It’s no secret how I feel about casseroles – I love ‘em! Here are just a few of my favorites…

And to add to that list, I now present my Enchilada Pasta Casserole with sweet potatoes and black beans!

It’s a little spicy and a little sweet, and very filling! This would be perfect to put together on a Sunday afternoon when you have a little time, then throw it into the oven to heat up one night after work (when you don’t have a little time, ha ha).

Enchilada Pasta Casserole (makes 6 servings)

Adapted from non-vegan/vegetarian recipe

Ingredients:

13oz box whole wheat shells
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small bite-sized pieces
4 oz cream cheese
10 oz red enchilada sauce
1/3 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup shredded vegan cheddar (I used Daiya)
1/8 cup shredded vegan mozzarella (Daiya again!)
4 oz chopped green chilies
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup fire roasted tomatoes
1 can black beans
More cheese for sprinkling
Crushed red pepper flakes
Diced green onions

Directions:

Place the pasta shells in boiling water, cooking for about 3/4 the recommended time. When there’s 2 minutes left, add the chopped sweet potatoes. Drain when finished, reserving a half cup of the water. With the pasta and potatoes still in the warm pan, stir in the cream cheese until melted.
In a bowl combine the enchilada sauce, sour cream, both cheeses, green chilies, corn, tomatoes and beans. Add the pasta mix. If it needs more moisture, add some of the cooking water.
Transfer to baking dish, and top with additional cheese and bake at 325 for 15-20 minutes. Broil for 1-2 minutes until all the cheese is melted, then top with the crushed red pepper and green onions.

Enjoy!

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Cheater Vegetable Pot Pie

No, this pot pie wasn’t discovered in some no-tell motel, that’s not why I call it a cheater I call it my Cheater Vegetable Pot Pie because you use puff pastry for the crust, which makes it feel so easy you’ll feel like you’re cheating!

It’s also healthier than a lot of pot pies out there because there’s only crust on the top. You’d be surprised how much fat and calories that’ll save ya. It’s also full of all my favorite veggies including: kale, carrots, celery, potatoes, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers.

Yes, you read that right. I put kale in a pot pie!

This might seem like another seasonally-odd menu choice, but I made it last week during that silly snow storm we had here along the Front Range (and we’re having more winter weather this week, sheesh!). Plus you can totally enjoy pot pies all summer long- just fill ‘er up with your favorite summer veggies instead of the heavier root vegetables they’re usually made with.

“Cheater” Vegetable Pot Pie (makes 7-8 servings)

Ingredients:

1 small sweet onion, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped
2 large carrots, thinly sliced (peeled or unpeeled is up to you)
1 Tablespoon vegan butter
2 red potatoes, chopped (peeled or unpeeled is up to you)
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
6-7 crimini mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 cups vegetable broth
Half cup non-dairy milk (I used almond)
2/3 cup frozen sweet peas
S&P
1 sheet puff pastry crust, thawed and rolled out (Pepperidge Farm is accidentally vegan and available at most stores, or you can make your own!)

Directions:

Water saute the onion, kale and carrots for 2-3 minutes.
Add the butter, potatoes, bell pepper, celery and mushrooms and cover with the heat on medium/low for 5 minutes.
Stir the flour into the veggie mix, mixing until it’s all combined, 1-2 minutes.
Pour in the veggie broth and the almond milk. Keep stirring until there are no flour lumps, then bring to a simmer. It’ll start to thicken up in about 4-5 minutes. Add the frozen peas then remove from heat.
Add a bit of sea salt and freshly ground pepper, then stir. Spray your 8×8 baking dish with some non-stick spray, then pour in your delicious veggie mixture. Cover with your puff pastry and cut slits in the top to vent. Bake at 375 until the crust is golden brown, 15-20 minutes (or maybe more depending on your oven). Let cool for a few minutes then serve.

Enjoy!

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“Broccoli Cheese Soup” Grilled Cheese

When Go Veggie! (formerly known as Galaxy Nutritional Foods) sent me some of their new vegan shredded cheese and asked if I wanted to participate in National Grilled Cheese month, it was really a no-brainer. Not that I knew it was National Grilled Cheese month until they told me… but once I found out, I was totally in! And so I present to you (drum roll please)… the Vegan “Broccoli Cheese Soup” Grilled Cheese Sandwich!

It’s got steamed broccoli, sweet onions sauteed with garlic, and a delicious mix of Go Veggies! new vegan Mozzarella and Mexican shreds combined with just a little bit of vegan butter. It’s rich, but it also has a ton of broccoli so we’re going to call it a health food, k? What is absolutely healthy is that delicious massaged kale salad in the background – they went perfectly together!

As you can see from the pictures, the shreds melted perfectly. I still have lots of the mozzarella left, so I’m thinking another crazy pizza creation is in my near future, ha ha. I’ll keep you posted of course!

Look at all that green on my plate!

“Broccoli Cheese Soup” Grilled Cheese Sandwich (makes 2 sandwiches)

Ingredients:

4 slices hearty bread (I used a homemade multi-grain ‘cause I’m fancy)
Vegan butter
1 heaping cup broccoli florets (it helps if they’re sliced thin)
1+ teaspoon garlic powder
Sea salt
2 1/4 inch slices of sweet onion, each sliced in half so you get the long pieces of onion
2 handfuls Go Veggie! vegan cheese shreds (Either flavor would work, I used a mix of both… ’cause I’m fancy!)

Directions:

Schmear butter on one side of each slice and set aside.
Steam the broccoli (I use a colander in a pot of boiling water because maybe I’m not so fancy after all?) until it turns bright green, 5-6 minutes. About halfway through, sprinkle it with the garlic and sea salt and give it a stir.
Water saute the onions just until soft, 4-5 minutes. Give them a sprinkle of garlic too!
In a frying pan over medium heat, lay down your first two slices of bread, buttered side down. Top each with about 2/3 of the cheese, then add the broccoli and onion. Cover the pan and turn the heat down to low, just for a couple minutes. We want that cheese to get reeaaal melty!
Turn the heat back to medium and remove the cover. Add the rest of your cheese and the remaining slices of bread, buttered side up. Now, if you want your sandwich to be a little bit extra decadent, add a little butter to the side of the bread that’s facing the cheese. It’s not required, but it sure is good!
When the bottom slice is browned, flip and continue to cook until the color is the way you like it! Serve immediately!

Enjoy!

*Go Veggie! provided me with free product to review, but the opinions are 100% mine!

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Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios

Oh man, do I love sandwiches. Love ‘em! And quite possibly, the one I love most of all is this Vegan Chicken Salad Sandwich, complete with chewy cranberries and crunchy pistachios!

Back when I was an omnivore, chicken salad was always a favorite of mine, but thankfully those days are long behind me.

Long side story: I still remember the last time I ate chicken, it was chicken schnitzel in Heidelberg, Germany right before climbing the hill to tour Schloss Heidelberg (in flip-flops no less… I don’t recommend it). Such a beautiful city, and an amazing castle. Everything I saw of Germany was wonderful, actually. I would absolutely go back again (any German readers that want me to come visit? I’ll cook for you! )

It’s funny I remember that, isn’t it? I was still transitioning to vegetarianism (this was mid 2008), and had managed to eat veg my whole trip up till that point. Thankfully I was traveling with a co-worker who spoke a lot of German and had a wife who was vegetarian, so he was able to help me out with ordering. I don’t know why I had chicken that day, certainly I could’ve chosen a salad. I suppose this is why I’m so supportive of people who are transitioning slowly – my own journey absolutely had its starts, stops, detours and cliffs!

I also remember the last time I ate pork. We had gone out for bbq, and I hadn’t eaten meat in a couple of months. Let’s just say it didn’t agree with me, and from that day forward I was pescatarian, which lasted for about a month. I live in Colorado for crying out loud, so the only fish in my life was from McDonald’s and that seemed a pitiful reason for hanging on to eating any flesh at all. In fact, the last fish I ate was from McDonald’s. We had ordered a pizza which never showed up at the house and I was a starving, grumpy mess. And still used to relying on fast food. I know, I know, excuses… but like I said, detours and cliffs! Anyway, that was the last little fishy (or parts thereof) that I’ve knowingly consumed.

Which (somehow?) brings us back around to the Vegan Chik’n Salad Sandwich pictured here:

It’s truly delicious and, in my humble opinion, good enough to make an omnivore ask “That was vegan?”. Soy curls are so chicken-esque it’s a little scary, and as I’ve said before, there are some great vegan mayos out there!. And oh my lordy, those chewy sweet cranberries, crisp apples and crunchy pistachios are the star of the show anyway! This truly is a chik’n salad sandwich, all grown up!

Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios (makes 4-5 hearty sandwiches)

Ingredients:

1.5 cups dry soy curls
1 small granny smith apples diced (about 1/2 cup)
2 scant dashes of apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, chopped
5-6 Tablespoons vegan mayo (more or less, depending on how creamy you want the salad to be)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (such as Craisens)
1 teaspoon sea salt
a pinch of thyme

Directions:

Soak the soy curls in very warm water for 10 minutes. Squeeze all excess water out of them, then roughly chop the larger pieces and set aside.
While the soy curls are soaking, mix the diced apple and vinegar, draining out any excess.
In a mixing bowl, combine the apples with all other ingredients, stirring well. Check for seasoning, then chill for at least 30 minutes, covered. Serve as desired (sandwich, on crackers, etc)

Enjoy!

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“Drunken” Beanie Weenies

Vegan Drunken Beenie Weanies

Yah, yah, yah, mock me if you must, but I just veganized the favorite meal of 5-year olds everywhere. Except I also made them fit for adults! So please, open your minds for a moment and check out these Vegan Beanie Weenies, complete with beer-marinated kielbasa!

My Gramma Josie used to make these for me when I was a little kid (it was a fave, in line behind mac n’ cheese with hotdogs and ketchup all mixed in, and vanilla ice cream microwaved until it was pretty much soup. (Don’t ask – I was a strange child))

They fell out of rotation as I became an adult, but back in 2007 while the kitchen in my last house was being renovated, I had to learn to put dinner on the table with only a microwave, a grill and a small hot plate. This was before I was vegan, and actually right before I went vegetarian, and I’ll admit there was a lot of pizza ordering going on, but hotdogs were my other go-to. They were cheap (hello, that kitchen was pricey!), they were easy, and most important of all, they left little to clean up (because who likes to wash dishes in the bathroom?)

So hotdogs were consumed in buns, wrapped in tortillas, cold with just a squirt of ketchup <blushes>, and most deliciously… in a bowl of baked beans. I’m not bragging (at all, I realize how this must sound), these were simply meals of convenience and necessity.

So now that I’m ready to act like a grownup again and have a functioning stove and all that jazz, I thought I’d revisit them. And, you know, add some beer.

I also switched out the ~~band-aids and broken glass~~ hot dogs for Tofurky Kielbasa, and made my own baked beans. It was easier than I thought it would be, and quite delicious! You could up the Sriracha and make this an even more grownup dish, if you like. Either way, I thought it was kind of a fun comfort food that I wanted to share.

What was your favorite weird food as a child?

“Drunken” Beanie Weenies (2 hearty servings, or 3 modest)

Ingredients:

2 links Tofurky Kielbasa
1 can or bottle of your favorite vegan beer (I used 90 Schilling cuz I love me some Colorado beer!)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 can navy beans, drained and rinsed
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon sriracha
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 Tablespoons molasses
1/2 vidalia onion, well-chopped but not quite diced
pinch of applewood smoked sea salt
1/2 cup water (plus more if it’s still too thick)

Directions:

Poke holes in your kielbasa with a fork. Mix the beer and garlic in a tupperware large enough for the sausages, then add them. Let sit for at least 2 hours.
Mix the beans and all remaining ingredients in a pot over medium-high heat and bring to just barely a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Slice the kielbasa and add to the pot, then continue to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

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Swiss Chard Spaghetti with Field Roast Sausage

Didn’t I just say something about not posting too many pasta recipes? Ahh well.

Swiss chard pasta with Field Roast sausage #vegan

Vegan Swiss Chard Pasta with Field Roast Sausage

Sorry for the crummy picture but I really really really wanted to share this recipe! It comes from the fabulously talented Laura Beck of VegNews/Vegansaurus/Jezebel fame and I suggest you make it immediately. I followed her recipe almost exactly, except I water sauteed my swiss chard and skipped the oil. Here’s the recipe.

Also, here’s your last chance to see my Cocker Piddlers with their winter fuzzies, cuz they’re getting groomed this weekend! By a veeeeegan groomer!! (How happy does that make me? I think you know!)

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“BLT” Baked Spaghetti

Vegan “BLT” Baked Spaghetti

Technically speaking, this isn’t actually BLT Baked Spaghetti, it’s more of a TKT Baked Spaghetti – Tempeh bacon, Kale and Tomato, that is. I used Tofurky maple tempeh bacon which I love, sprinkled with a bit of applewood smoked sea salt to get it sooo good and salty, and I just felt like kale would hold up better than actual lettuce.

I made my first spaghetti pie about a year ago and really liked it, although for some reason I just never made it again. Actually, I think that’s pretty common for food bloggers. We need to keep churning out the new content for you ravenous readers

I suppose that I also try to limit the number of pasta dishes I make and post. I know that a lot of omnivores think we eat nothing but pasta and that’s just not true! That said, I do love me some spaghetti.

In my ~~thinner~~ younger days when I was an undergrad and working 3rd shift at a lightbulb factory (that sounds like the setup for a joke, but I swear it’s the truth!) my friend Ellen and I used to eat spaghetti every day during the summer, when we didn’t have classes. We’d get out of work at 6am and as soon as we had procured our Kahlua and skim milk (bad, bad choices but what can I say? Working overnight makes you a very strange person!) we’d head to my mother’s house because a.) that was where I was living after a gnarly breakup, and b.) she had the nicest kitchen we knew of. Well, it was nice until we got there, anyway. See, I was convinced that the only way you could tell when pasta was done cooking was by throwing it against the ceiling. And I couldn’t reach the ceiling, obvs, so how was I supposed to get it back down afterwards?

If you haven’t figured out yet, my mama is a saint. She’d come home and ask “Why can’t you just throw ONE strand? Why do you have to throw HANDFULS!?” She also had some commentary about why we refused to cover the sauce pot to keep it from splattering all over her cabinets, but she never banned me from her kitchen. I guess a mother’s love really is unconditional

In case you’re wondering how the rest of the day would go, it was a whole lotta Kahlua, skim milk, carbs and Clueless on VHS (hey, this was the 90s!) until 2 or 3 in the afternoon when it was time to go to bed again. I don’t miss working third shift or skim milk, but now that I’m thinking about it I’d like nothing more than to go home and put my jammies back on and visit with Cher and Dionne and the gang. There might be some Kahlua and So Delicious mixed in there as well, but I’m not telling.

Ooooh, and look at my pretty dish! $2.98 at a local thrift store, thankyouverymuch! I love the detail of the little flowers inside where you don’t even see them until the food is all gone.

Anyway, file this one away for when you need a simple meal and or some serious comfort food, cause it’s both.

“BLT” Baked Spaghetti (makes 4-5 servings)

I used a 1-qt baking dish which worked out perfectly. If you don’t mind an extra dirty dish, I recommend mixing everything together in a large mixing bowl and then transferring to your baking dish before topping with the extra vegan cheese!

Ingredients:

12 ounces spaghetti
1 cup torn kale, packed
a couple pinches of garlic powder
8 strips Smoky Maple Bacon Tempeh
Non-stick spray
Applewood smoked sea salt
1/4 cup Daiya mozzarella shreds, plus more for sprinkling on top
1.5 – 2 cups your favorite red sauce
Oregano, to taste
Herbamere or sea salt, pepper to taste
2 roma tomatoes, chopped

Directions:

Put pasta in boiling water, cook per package instructions, minus 1-2 minutes.
Water saute kale with a couple pinches of garlic powder for 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Spray a frying pan with non-stick spray and cook tempeh 2-3 minutes on each side over medium heat, until browned. Sprinkle with applewood smoked sea salt if desired. Remove from pan and chop into medium bite-sized pieces.
Drain the pasta and add to the baking dish along with the sauce, oregano, S&P, 1/4 cup Daiya shreds, chopped tempeh and kale. Mix and check for flavor, then add the tomatoes and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 6-8 until the cheese is melted.

Enjoy!

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Smokey Kale and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

Whew, that’s a mouthful to say!

If this sounds familiar, it should: it’s a variation of my Layered Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole from last May. They’re both very similar, only this one has both kale and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, so it’s spiiicccyyy. And smoky. And really hearty with all those potatoes and tortillas- kind of perfect for the cold snowy month of March.

Smokey Kale and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole (8 hearty servings)

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale, washed, destemmed and torn
1 teaspoon powdered garlic
3 medium sweet potatoes (about 2.5 cups smashed)
2-3 chipotles in adobo sauce, plus about 1 Tablespoon of the sauce, diced
15 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
10 oz can rotel with green chilies, drained (if you want the dish a little less spicy, get the mild with no chilies)
1 cup sweet corn kernels, thawed or drained
1/2 cup taco sauce (medium or hot, your call) plus a couple of Tablespoons
Juice and zest of 2 limes
Sea salt
12-14 taco or fajita sized flour tortillas, all sliced in half
1.5 cups salsa (again, you pick the heat)
Daiya mozzarella for topping

Directions:

Water sautee the kale with the powdered garlic until tender, then set aside.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, then boil until tender.
In a large bowl, combine the beans, rotel, corn and taco sauce, mixing well.
When the potatoes are cooked, mash them and add lime juice, sea salt, chipotle peppers and adobo sauce and set aside.
Drizzle the bottom of a 9×13 casserole or baking dish with 2-3 T taco sauce, making sure the entire bottom is covered. Arrange tortilla halves across the bottom.
Cover the tortillas with half of the sweet potato mixture, gently spreading to get maximum coverage. Next, add a layer of the kale followed by a layer of the bean/corn mix (half of what you have), followed by another layer of tortillas.
Repeat once, ending with a layer of tortillas (this makes 3 layers of tortillas, 2 of everything else), then cover with salsa and cheese.
Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes, remove foil and bake for another 5-8 until the cheese is fully melted.

Enjoy!

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Green Chile-Chickpea Tacos

Vegan Green Chile-Chickpea Tacos

The Chickpea Tacos are a recipe from the Happy Herbivore- although I did make some small adjustments. The biggest change is that I didn’t bake the beans to make them crispy. I figured since I was serving them in crispy taco shells that I might enjoy them more if they were still soft.

The other adjustment? Why, I added some Hatch Green Chilies, of course!

So, basically just do this:

Take the HH recipe, and instead of baking the chickpeas just heat them in a pot with all the same ingredients, plus 2 green smallish chilies (roasted, cleaned and diced). If you’re using canned chilies, use about 1/4 cup.

Easy, eh?

I served mine with some mexi-rice (which was good… gotta share that recipe!) and a small side salad. A very healthy, low-cal meal!

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That Was Vegan?

Recipes so delicious you'll never think twice!

Category Archives: Comfort Food

Korean BBQ & Kimchi Pizza

Enchilada Pasta Casserole

Cheater Vegetable Pot Pie

“Broccoli Cheese Soup” Grilled Cheese

Chik’n Salad with Cranberries and Pistachios

“Drunken” Beanie Weenies

Swiss Chard Spaghetti with Field Roast Sausage

“BLT” Baked Spaghetti

Smokey Kale and Sweet Potato Enchilada Casserole

Green Chile-Chickpea Tacos