Naan Bread Pizza

 

(Left: Pesto version; Right: Pizza sauce version)

So this month has been pretty busy with the arrival of our 2nd baby, which is why there has only been one new post a week for over a month. My mom came to town to help us get adjusted and she made us this fabulous dinner.

Ingredients:

• Pesto or pizza sauce, whichever you prefer
• sliced mushrooms
• onions, diced
• tomatoes, sliced (cherry or small roma are my recommendations)
• black olives, sliced
• artichoke hearts, canned in water (not the marinated kind), sliced
• avocado, sliced
• any other veggie you like eating on pizza
• Pre-made naan bread (can be found at grocery stores such as H.E.B., or Harmon's)

Directions:

1. Saute the sliced mushrooms and onions in a tiny bit of olive oil.
2. Spread the pesto/pizza sauce on the naan bread.
3. Add the toppings, except the avocado.
4. Place on a baking sheet and broil for 3-5 minutes.
5. Add sliced avocado.
6. Cut into pieces and serve!

Notes about this recipe:

1. There are no measurements because it's all about how much you like on your pizza. Add as much or as little as you want!
2. You could add cheese if you want. The pesto already has cheese in it, and the pizza sauce version makes for a great lactose-free recipe.
3. If you can't find pre-made naan bread you could always make your own. The pre-made makes for a super easy meal, though.

Butternut Squash Mac n' Cheeze (Vegan)

(Picture by Katie M.)

This recipe was sent in by Katie M. She found it at Oh She Glows. She says that her hubby (who loves his $1 box of Mac n' Cheese) thought this was great.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped (yields: 3.5 cups raw)
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened + unflavoured soy milk), or more to thin out
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 6-7 tbsp Nutritional yeast (provides the cheesy consistency)
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp or a bit more of dried Italian seasoning
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Tumeric powder, optional (gives the orangey colour)
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika + more to season
• Your pasta of choice (I used ~450 grams/4.5 cups dry penne for the casserole) + mix-ins

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet.  In a bowl, season chopped squash with some oil (~1 tsp) and kosher salt (couple pinches) and stir. Add to baking sheet and roast in oven for 40 minutes, flipping once half way through baking.
2. If making the baked casserole: Process 1 slice of bread + 1 tbsp Earth balance until crumbs form in a food processor. Set aside. If you plan on enjoying it straight from the pot you can skip this step.
3. Assemble your cheeze sauce ingredients (cashews, non-dairy milk, garlic, lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, mustard, seasonings) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. Leave the sauce in the processor as you will be adding the squash.
4. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When squash is finished roasting, add it to the food processor and blend it with the cheese sauce until smooth. Adjust to taste. The sauce will thicken up with time. If at any point the sauce becomes too thick, you can add a bit of milk to thin it out.
5. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water. Now add the pasta back into the same pot and add your desired amount of cheeze sauce on top. Stir well. Add in any desired mix-ins like peas or broccoli. You can either heat this up in the pot, or pour it into a casserole dish (I used a 4 cup dish), sprinkle on breadcrumbs + paprika, and bake it at 350 for about 20-25 minutes. The casserole will serve about 4 people if you use 450 grams dry macaroni or penne. Store any leftover sauce in the fridge and use within a few days.

Notes about this recipe:

I followed this recipe exactly and added peas before baking. Although it takes a little time (need to roast the butternut squash ahead of time) it is super easy and I will definitely be making this again.

Tofu Spinach Lasagna

(Don't mind the cut down the middle of my piece of lasagna...I was really excited to start eating it and then decided I should probably snap a picture before I forgot.)

I made a post about this amazing lasagna way back in July 2011. Since then I have adapted it, which means now I can post it on the blog without copyright issues. I adapted it from a recipe found in The Vegan Table Cookbook by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.

Seriously, this lasagna is so good (as in, my hubby and toddler both devoured it). Lactose intolerant friendly, and might I mention, a whole lot cheaper to make than the other meat and cheese types. (Meat and 3 kinds of cheese add up v.s. buying a package of tofu.)

Ingredients:

• 9 lasagna noodles (about half of a 1 lb pkg), regular or no-boil...either is fine
• About 9-12 oz. of fresh spinach, chopped, blanched, and drained
• 1 pkg firm tofu (16 oz)
• 1 Tb. sugar
• 1/4 c. rice milk...or any kind of milk really (regular, soy, etc)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 Tb. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. dried basil (or you can use 2 Tb. fresh, minced basil)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1-24 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce, I prefer a tomato and basil type but any kind will work

Directions:

1. Cook lasagna noodles according to package.
2. Meanwhile, blanch spinach.
3. Next put the tofu, sugar, rice milk, garlic powder, lemon juice, basil, and salt in a blender and blend until thick and smooth. This is going to be your "tofu ricotta," as the author Colleen Patrick-Goudreau calls it.
4. Put the "tofu ricotta" and the blanched spinach together in a large bowl and mix together.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees (my oven heats up really fast...so to make it less hot for me in the kitchen I wait until I absolutely have to before turning it on. If it takes your oven a while, then turn it on as step 1 in the directions.)
6. Now it's lasagna assembly time. Use a 9 by 13 baking dish. Start with a little bit of the spaghetti sauce and cover the bottom of the pan. Then put 3 noodles down, covered with 1/2 the "tofu ricotta." Repeat the layers with about 1/2 of the remaining sauce, 3 more noodles, and the rest of the "tofu ricotta." Last put on 3 more noodles and use the rest of the sauce to cover the noodles up.
7. Bake for 40 minutes.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

(Picture from The Peaceful Kitchen)

This recipe was submitted by Tracy G. She says, "I think I may have found a new staple in my diet!" She ate it on her green beans but thinks it could go on a lot of other items. She found it at The Peaceful Kitchen. The Peaceful Kitchen says "It is very versatile, healthy, unprocessed and tastes delicious!" The blog lists using it for quesadillas, macaroni and cheese, grilled cheese sandwiches, etc.

Ingredients and Directions:

• 1 small yukon gold or russet potato
• 1/2 c. carrots
• 1/2 yellow onion

Fill a pan with about 1/2 inch of water, bring to a boil, put veggies in water, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer until veggies are soft. 15 minutes.

When veggies are soft, drain the water but reserve it, pour them into a blender and add:

• 3 Tb. water
• 1/4 c. nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• 1/3 c. cashews

Blend until creamy, You may need to use the reserved water to get the blender going, usually about 1/2 c. is enough.

Notes about this recipe:

I replaced the salt and galic powder with 1/2 tsp of galic salt.

Curry & Coconut Vegetable Stew

This recipe comes from Kim (of Kim's Kitchen Concoctions). Her recipe is adapted from thekitchn.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium white or red potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tablespoon curry powder
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno chili, seeded and minced (for milder curry, I used a 4 oz can of mild green chiles)
• 2 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 (16-ounce) cans beans, drained and rinsed (originally chickpeas, but I used a combo of chickpeas and pinto, you can use any beans you like)
• 1 bell pepper, diced (I used red)
• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with their juices
• 8 ounces baby spinach (most of a 10 oz package)
• 1 cup coconut milk (I used my imitation recipe here)

Directions:

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion with one teaspoon of salt until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the potatoes and another teaspoon of salt, and sauté until just translucent around the edges.

Stir in the curry, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and chili and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in 1/4 cup of broth and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Pour this onion-potato mixture into the bowl of your slow cooker.

To the slow-cooker, add the rest of the broth, beans, pepper, cauliflower, and the tomatoes with their juices. Stir to combine. The liquid should come half-way up the sides of the bowl; add more broth as necessary. Cover and cook for 4 hours on HIGH. (Kim's Note: At this point, if you'd like a thicker sauce, remove some of the liquids, wisk them with 1 Tbs cornstarch, then return them to the slow cooker, stirring to incorporate.)

Slice spinach into thin strips, then again into chunks. Reduce heat to warm, stir in the spinach and coconut milk. Cover with lid for 1 minute to allow the spinach to wilt. Serve, or leave in the warm slow cooker until ready to serve. Taste and adjust salt, pepper, and other seasonings as needed.

Serve on its own or over cous cous, rice, or quinoa.