Shepherd's Pie

8 red potatoes, cut into chunks

1/2 cup milk

4 tablespoons butter

salt and pepper

2 teaspoons canola oil

1 12-oz. package vegetarian meat crumbles, thawed

1 onion, diced

2-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed

3 tablespoons ketchup

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon thyme

1/2 to 1 cup vegetable broth

1 cup cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese, shredded

1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Boil potatoes in large pot of water for about 15 minutes.

Drain. Put potatoes back in pot and mash until smooth.

Add milk, butter, salt and pepper.  Mix well.

Heat oil in large pan over medium heat.

Saute onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes.

Add meat crumbles, peas, carrots, ketchup, mustard and thyme.

Add enough broth to keep moist.

Add salt and pepper.

Spread mixture into baking dish.

Sprinkle with cheddar/Monterey Jack cheese.

Spread potatoes over cheese.

Score potatoes with fork.

Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over potatoes.

Bake uncovered for 30 minutes.

Let cool for a few minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve.

Baked Asparagus

Ingredients

1 pound asparagus

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Chop off tough ends of asparagus.

Spread asparagus on baking sheet.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Bake for about 18 minutes.  

Remove asparagus from oven.

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Bake for another 2 minutes.

Chipotle Tamale Pie

Ingredients

Nonstick cooking spray

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 12-oz. package vegetarian meat crumbles, thawed

1 onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, diced

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 15-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes

2 chipotle chiles, plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce, from canned chipotle in adobo

1 cup grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 8.5-oz. package cornbread mix

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.  Add onion, green pepper and garlic.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  

Add meat crumbles and cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Sprinkle with cumin.

Add beans, tomatoes, chiles and adobo sauce and bring to a boil over high heat.  

Reduce heat to medium and simmer for a few minutes until heated through. 

Turn off heat and stir in cheese and cilantro.

Spread mixture in baking dish.

Mix cornbread mix as directed and spread over meat mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Let stand for a few minutes.

Cut into squares and serve.

Veggie Spaghetti

1/2 pound whole-wheat spaghetti

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

1 carrot, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

1 6-oz. can tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1 teaspoon dried parsley

2 cups frozen peas, thawed

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

Heat a large pot of salted water over high heat until boiling.  Cook pasta according to package directions but a little al dente (firm).  Drain pasta, reserving several cups of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat.  Add onion, garlic, carrots, salt and pepper.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

Add tomato paste and 2 cups of pasta water.  Stir until tomato paste melts, creating a sauce.  Add more pasta water if necessary.

Add oregano, thyme and parsley.

Add pasta, peas and cheeses, adding more pasta water if necessary.

Mix well and serve immediately.

You can also add veggie meat crumbles to the recipe if you want some more protein.  This time we served it with a fake chicken cutlet.

Pear Crisp

Ingredients:

6 pears

1/4 cup dried cranberries

2 tablespoons sugar

Topping:

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup rolled oats, uncooked

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter (or low cholesterol vegetable alternative), melted

Directions:
Heat oven to 400 degrees F.
Peel, core and slice pears into bite-sized chunks.  Toss them with 2 tablespoons sugar and cranberries.  Pour into buttered baking dish in an even layer.

In another bowl,  combine flour, oats, brown and white sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.  Add the melted butter and toss with a fork until a crumbly mixture forms.  Do not overmix like we did :-P.

Sprinkle oat mixture over the pears.

Bake for 30 minutes until topping is browned.

Serve with whipped cream, ice cream or frozen yogurt.

"Chicken" Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 12-oz. package of vegetarian chicken tenders
1 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 zucchini, diced
1 onion, chopped
3-5 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
1 28-oz. can stewed tomatoes
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
4 cups vegetable tock


Garnishes:
Blue corn tortilla chips
Shredded cheese
Plain yogurt
Avocado
Cilantro or parsley

Directions:

Saute onion, garlic, bell pepper and zucchini in oil for about 5 minutes.

Add chicken, seasonings and chipotle peppers.   Stir and let the chicken warm up for a few minutes.
Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock.  Heat until bubbly.  Reduce heat to medium low and add corn.

Serve with chips, cheese, yogurt, avocado, cilantro/parsley.

Easy Peasy Lumpia w/veggie 'meat' crumbles

Inspiration: Mom

Ingredients:

1 package eggroll wrappers (30 count), thawed

1 onion, chopped

Minced garlic to taste (4 cloves for us)

1 lb. ground meat (We use veggie 'meat' crumbles obviously)

4 cups frozen mixed veggies, thawed (peas, carrots, corn, green beans)

salt

pepper

other optional spices and herbs to your taste (garlic or onion powder or whatever you like)

1 egg or flour/water mixture (for sealing the lumpia)

Brown meat and set aside.

Saute onion and garlic.

We used veggie meat crumbles so we sauted the onions and garlic and then threw in the veggie crumbles to warm up.

Mix the meat, spices and mixed veggies together with onions and garlic.

Turn off heat.

Now for the pictures and more instructions.

Here are some of the ingredients pictured.

Saute the onions and garlic until the onions are translucent.

Mix in the browned meat or do what we did.

Add in the veggies.

Mix it all together with the salt, pepper and whatnot. Then turn off the heat and allow it to cool.

The next step is to carefully separate the lumpia wrappers. Look! Instructions on the package for how to roll.

Then stack them with staggered corners for easier handling.

To roll lumpia, place one wrapper on a plate with a corner facing you so that you see a diamond shape. Put one heaping tablespoon of the meat mixture on the wrapper close enough to fold the bottom corner over it and leaving enough room on the sides to fold over as well. Fold the bottom corner up, tuck the mixture in tightly, then fold each side over, then roll up but leave enough room to apply the sealant (egg or flour/water mixture). Brush a little of the sealant on the top corner, then roll up completely.

Now here is a quick little animated gif we made that shows the rolling technique:

After rolling the lumpia, wrap them in foil and freeze until ready to eat. To cook, fry in oil until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve with sweet chili sauce.