Vegan Fried Chicken Salad and Making a Lunch

In 1 week, I will be walking these hall with hundreds of middle school students.

I like teaching.  I like my students.  I like my job.  I hate having to make a lunch everyday!  I know it's a little thing - I teach teenagers and the one thing that bugs me is making a lunch to take to work.  Even when I write it, I know it's silly but I guess everyone has their little bug-a-boos - mine is making lunch.  So this year, we're trying something different and it starts with dinner.  While making dinner, we immediately pack up the leftovers for lunch or we use the elements from dinner to make lunch.  I have to plan and make sure there are leftovers but we have to clean up from dinner anyway so we feed two birds with one scone (the vegan appropriate saying:).

Last night we made a delicious "Fried Chicken" salad and then used the leftovers to create sandwich wraps for lunch.

First the Salad:  Begin by baking Gardien's 7-grain Crispy Tenders and Sautéing pepper, onion, yellow squash, and zucchini strips in 1 TB of Oil.

Spray pan with a little cooking spray and follow directions on package.
We cooked them in the toaster oven because it was too hot to turn on the oven.

Sauté onion, peppers (we used pasilla), yellow squash, & zucchini.
When veggies and slightly tender, remove from heat and add frozen corn.

Putting the Salad Together:

Start with fresh greens.

Top with fresh veggies: we used carrots, cucumbers, radishes, jicama, & cherry tomatoes.

Add Salad Dressing, We used the Chipolte Sour Cream Dressing.

Add the cooked veggies.

Add extras: Daiya Pepper Jack, olives, and jalapeños.  Then top with 5 of crispy tenders.

And now to make lunch:  All we need to add is whole wheat tortillas and use the fillings to create Vegan "Chicken" tender wraps.  Start with a tortilla, add the lettuce, some cooked and raw veggies, and a little sauce.  Wrap and lunch is ready.

Wrap filled with the leftovers from Salad Ingredients.

Took about 3 minutes and lunch is wrapped and ready to go!

Lunch is ready.  Now I just have to clean my class room, arrange all the desks, put up bulletin boards, prepare lessons, and make copies of everything we need for the first week.  It's a piece of cake (or a chicken wrap) now that I have lunch made.

A Little Bit of Everything Muffins

Mini Muffin with Zucchini, Carrots, Cranberries, and Pistachios

My grandmother made the best zucchini bread.  She had a lot of practice because they grew a lot of zucchini in the garden.  I took her recipe and made a few changes.  I added carrots.  I changed the raisins and nuts to cranberries and pistachios, (because that was what I had).  I used 1/2 whole wheat flour. I reduced the sugar from 2 cups to 1 cup.  I used flax seed meal instead of eggs.  And I changed the bread into mini-muffins.  Okay, I changed it a lot.  And it was still good!  Really!  It would make a great breakfast muffin (as a larger muffin) because it has everything: fruits, veggies, good fats, grains, and nuts!  The best part about cooking is being creative.  However, creativity can be risky, not just in cooking but in everything.  Sometimes the creative adventure is a big ol' flop!  And sometimes, it all comes together and is yummy.  


A Little Bit of Everything Muffins
Ingredients:

3 tablespoons ground flax seed

9 TB reserved pineapple juice + water

2/3 cup vegetable oil

1 8-oz can crushed pineapple, drained, juice reserved

1/3 cup nondairy milk + 2 tsp vanilla

½ cup white sugar

½ cup brown sugar, packed

1½ cups white flour

1½ cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon ginger

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup raisins/cranberries and/or nuts , chopped

1 cup carrot, grated

1 cup zucchini, grated

Directions:

1.  Combine flaxseed and juice + water.  Mix well.  Then beat in milk, oil, sugar, and vanilla until thick and foamy.

2. Mix dry ingredients.

3. Add the carrot, zucchini, and raisins/cranberries/nuts to dry ingredients to coat with flour.  Mix dry ingredients with wet ingredients. Stir until just blended.

4. Put in muffin tins sprayed with cooking spray w/ flour.

5. Bake 25 minutes or more (for regular sized muffins) at 350-degrees.

Vegan Chicken Fajita Salad

There really is a salad under those tortilla chips and its a good one -
lots of veggies, an outstanding salad dressing, and a little zip from peppers!

There is nothing better on a really hot day than a nice crisp salad.  Well, a great air conditioner would be even better but since that isn't an option for me, a salad is pretty good.  Today was a great contrast to my last week.  First, I talked to my best friend from college, I talked to two teacher friends, I talked to my Mom, I talked to my sister, and I had a massage.  It was a wealth of good times!  Which is a good thing because it suddenly occurred to me that I have only 1 week before I start teaching!  So I building myself up.  I've been exercising every morning to build my stamina.  I filled my spirit with the positive words of my friends and family.  I've relaxed with an amazing massage and now I'm feeding my body with a delicious salad.  I think it's important to fill myself up (not just my body, but my mind and spirit too) so I can really be the best teacher and person I can be this school year.

Vegan Chicken Fajita Salad with Chipolte Dressing

 A great mix of raw crunchy veggies and flavorful, tender and slightly spicy fajita veggies.

Here's a close-up of the salad after it was tossed.

Ingredients:

·      1-2 TB Canola Oil

·      1 large Red Bell Pepper, julienne slices

·      1 large Green Bell Pepper, julienne slices

·      1 medium Pasilla Pepper, julienne slices (Optional)

·      1 large carrot, julienne slices

·      1 medium onion, julienne slices

·      1 medium yellow squash, julienne slices

·      1 medium zucchini, julienne slices

·      3 cloves garlic, minced

·      1 small jalapeño, seeded and minced

·      1 tsp chili powder

·      1 tsp cumin

·      ½ tsp season salt

·      2 cups sliced vegan chicken substitute  -(I used FYH Country Smoked Chicken Free Chicken)

·      Pico De Gallo or Fresh Salsa

·      Pickled Jalapeño (optional)

·      You may also like to add some fresh crunchy veggies like radishes or jicama.

·      Romaine Lettuce, torn into bite size pieces

·      Red Leaf Lettuce, torn into bite size pieces  (optional – just Romaine lettuce is ok)

·      1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (more or less to taste)

·      Baked Tortilla Chips

·      Chipolte Dressing (Recipe Follows)

Directions:

1)    Sauté peppers, carrots, and onions in 1 TB oil for 5-6 minutes until just beginning to get tender.

2)    Add squash, zucchini, garlic, jalapeño, and seasonings.   (You may need to add more oil at this time.) Continue to sauté vegetables until they are tender and lightly browned but still have a bite to them (tender not soggy!).  Add chicken substitute and continue cooking until chicken is warm and combined with vegetables and seasonings.  Remove from heat and allow to cool. (warm to room temperature is fine)

3)    Prepare Chipolte dressing.

4)    Arrange Salad by layering Lettuce, Cilantro and Dressing, top with Fajita mixture, Pico de Gallo, and Optional Jalapeño peppers or fresh veggies (we added radishes) and tortilla chips.  Toss and enjoy.

Chipolte Dressing

1/3 cup vegan sour cream

1/3 cup light vegan mayo

2 TB Catsup

1 TB agauve syrup

¼ cup Chipolte Salsa

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp chili powder

¼ tsp season salt

Juice from ½ lime

2-3 TB plain almond milk

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a jar with a lid.  Shake well until everything is mixed well.  If too thick, add additional almond milk until it reaches the desired consistency.

And since I'm feeling so filled with love and happiness (that's what talking to so many wonderful people does to me), here's is another one of the loves of my life: Winnie.

This is Winnie.  I love to read cookbooks.
She just likes to sit near me while I read cookbooks.

Layered Berry Biscuit Dessert

Dessert for a Special Occasion - The End of a Long Week!

For a vacation week, it's been a long week.  It's been filled with things I don't especially like - doctor's visits, blood drawn, backyard pipe burst, cleaning & restocking cupboards, and the list goes on & on.  I've started exercising again and I'm a little sore.  I suppose it seems counter intuitive to eat dessert when I'm refocused on getting healthier.  I certainly don't think one should have dessert everyday.  But I do think it's important to have some "dessert" in your life.  Maybe it's actually dessert, or your favorite treat, or a new book, or a new outfit, or whatever makes you happy.  Life just can't be work, and worries, and too much to do - you have to have a "dessert" now and then.  Here is one of my favorites.  It isn't fancy but I think it's beautiful with the ruby juices soaking into the soft biscuit.  And it is scrumptious - truly a dessert to top of my week.

Berry Biscuit Layered Dessert

Ingredients

·      1 16-oz bag frozen mixed berries or blueberries

·      4 TB of berry jam

·      1/3 cup sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like your berries)

·      2 TB Corn Starch + 2 TB Water

·      Juice of ½ lemon

Biscuits from Sour Cream Biscuit Recipe (recipe below)

Vegan Whipped Topping (I used Soyatoo)

Direction:

*Make biscuits & place in oven while preparing berry sauce.

1)   Dissolve cornstarch in lemon juice and water

2)   Place bag of berries, sugar, and jam in saucepan and cook over medium heat.

3)   Cook blueberry mixture until bubbly.  Add cornstarch mixture and continue cooking until thick and bubbly.  Allow to cool.

To Serve:

Slice biscuit in half.   Layer 1/2 biscuit, berry sauce, and non-dairy whipped topping.  Top with 2nd half of biscuit, more berry sauce, and more non-dairy whipped.

Sour Cream Drop Biscuits (The BEST vegan biscuits I've ever eaten)

Makes 6 large biscuits 

(I used the Sour Cream Biscuit Sticks from Betty Crocker Quick and Easy Cookbook as a base to create this recipe.)

 Ingredients

1  cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

3 teaspoons baking powder   

½ teaspoon salt

1/3 cup vegetable shortening

1¼ cups vegan sour cream

¼ - ½ cup plain almond milk (make a very wet drop batter)

1) Heat oven to 450 degrees.  

2) Mix flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Cut in shortening until mixture looks like fine crumbs.  

3) Stir in sour cream and stir until mostly mixed.  (Stir as little as possible).  Add milk until you have a very wet batter that will still hold the shape of a drop biscuit.

4) Drop dough in a glass casserole dish. 

5) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

And here's another treat: a beautiful view from Hurricane Ridge in Washington.

This was mid-July and seeing this lovely lady truly was a treat.
The picture's from far away because I didn't want to disturb her.

Garlic Basil Spaghetti with Tomatoes and Spinach

Simple Fresh Spaghetti Dish with Garlic Toast and Gardein Tuscan Breast with Daiya Cheese

I'm cleaning and organizing my kitchen cupboards.  It sounds so simple.  It's not!  Right now my counters are covered with containers that need to be washed and food that needs to be put back in the cupboards.  And of course, it is hot, hot, hot!  And I don't have air conditioning.  I've decided this is a two day job!  And I needed to fix a quick but satisfying meal before everyone got home for dinner.  This meal requires very little prep:  chopping some garlic, dicing some tomatoes, and boiling some pasta and it comes together quickly. With a few additions like fresh artichokes, Garlic Toast and Gardein's Tuscan Breasts and we had a great meal without too much work.

Garlic Basil Pasta with Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients:

1 box Whole Wheat Spaghetti or Angel Hair Pasta

3 TB Olive Oil

2 TB Vegan Margarine

5-6 cloves of garlic, minced

½ cup Basil, cut in chiffanade strips

6 Roma tomatoes, cored & seeded and diced

2 cups fresh spinach, roughly chopped

½ cup white wine

Directions:

1.     Prepare spaghetti.

2.    Sauté garlic in olive oil and margarine on medium low heat until garlic is fragrant but not burnt. Add tomato, and basil.  Sauté for 3-4 minutes until tomato is heated.  Add spaghetti and wine.  Sauté until everything is heated and flavors have developed.

3.  Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and Vegan Parmesan.  (I used a homemade topping of nutritional yeast, ground almonds, garlic and onion powder, salt, and lemon juice.)

And just because it is so hot and the weather report says it's going to continue to be hot, which made me think about (and dream about) of one of my very favorite, cool green places: the Hoh Rainforest in Washington.  We got a chance to visit there this summer and it was wonderful!  So here are a few of my favorite pictures.  I almost feel cool just looking at them.

Vegan "Beef" and Mushroom French Dip

Comfort That's Almost Healthy

So I woke up on the day of my physical and a pipe had broken in the backyard.  Water poured down the terraced back yard, under the ground, and out the lower level garage.  I quickly called our plumber, (really a wonderful company that has always been fair to us) and he quickly came to save the day.  It all worked out and I got to the doctor's office on time but by the time I got there my blood pressure was way too high.   Still, I survived.  If I was a different person, I would go for a run to relieve my stress or maybe I would do yoga or meditate.  But I'm not that person, so I made a veganized version of a French Dip Sandwich for dinner.  And, I ate it on a lovely slice of fresh Ciabatta bread!  However, I didn't eat it with French Fries.  Small Steps - that's my motto this year.  So I ate every bite of this delicious sandwich and I enjoyed it completely.  And then I stopped.  I didn't snack after dinner or eat dessert or eat french fries with it.  So if you are having one of those days and need a little comfort but don't want to go too crazy, try this simple but very filling and satisfying sandwich.


Recipe makes enough for 6 good size sandwiches
Ingredients:
3 8-oz cartons of sliced mushrooms (Button, Crimini)
2 bags of Gardein Beef-less Tips
1 medium brown onion, sliced into strips
Cooking Spray
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 32-oz carton Mushroom Broth (I used Pacific Natural Foods)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 packet dry onion soup mix (make sure it doesn't contain beef)
        or homemade onion soup mix (recipe below)
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
Good French Bread or Ciabatta Rolls


Homemade Onion Soup Mix:
1/4 cup dried onion flakes
1 TB Bill's Best Beaf Flavoring (Optional)
1 TB onion powder
1/4 tsp celery salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper


Directions:
1)  Brown mushrooms in large frying pan in 3 batches.  (If you try to cook all the mushrooms at once they will steam and get soggy.)  For each batch, spray pan and cook on medium high heat.  Don't stir until they are brown on one side.  Then add 1 teaspoon or oil and continue to sauté until mushrooms are brown and tender.
2)  While cooking the mushrooms, place the mushroom broth in a saucepan with the  crushed garlic cloves, and onion soup mix.  Bring to a simmer.  Add Gardein Beef-less Tips (frozen) and allow to simmer in broth.
3)  When mushrooms have been cooked and set aside, add onion slices to pan and last teaspoon of oil.  Reduce heat to medium and cook onions until soft and lightly browned.  Remove onions from pan.  Deglaze pan with 1/2 cup wine or mushroom broth.  Add deglazed liquid to broth in sauce pan.
4)  With a slotted spoon remove beef-less tips from broth and place in frying pan with mushrooms and onions.
5) Toast bread.  Top with "beef" and mushrooms.  Place mushroom broth in bowl for dipping.


*Honestly, trying to eat this sandwich and keep everything inside it was impossible.  We ended up pouring the "Au Jus" sauce over sandwich and eating it with a knife and fork.  It still tasted delicious!

Sharing another joy in my life besides cooking, bird watching.
Life seems brighter when you watch a bird in a bird bath.

Vegan Green Chili Chicken Pasta Casserole

The Flavor of Green Chili Enchiladas in a Pasta Dish

It's Sunday night and a new week begins.  And I have a doctor's appointment this week.  Maybe it just me but going to the doctor for my yearly physical makes me feel inadequate!  I should have lost weight but I didn't.  I should have exercised more but I didn't.  So I'm nervous and I need comfort.  And maybe a little adventure - something new and interesting that will take my mind off my troubles but not so adventurous and weird that it add to my stress.  And where do I find comfort?  In pasta - which is why I worry about my visit to the doctor.  I found a recipe -Green Chili Chicken Pasta but it wasn't quite what I wanted and it wasn't vegan.  I've taken the very basic recipe - there are many versions on the Internet, added some veggies, a little spice, and switched the chicken and dairy ingredients with vegan options.  With its creamy sauce, tangy but mild green chili flavor, and comforting "chicken" and pasta, even a non-vegan would enjoy this dish.

Recipe
Ingredients:

1 16-oz bag pasta, cooked al dente and drained

1 TB oil

1 cup diced celery ribs (2 stalks)

1 cup diced bell pepper (1 medium)

1 cup diced onion (1 medium)

2 cups diced zucchini (1 medium)

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (optional)

1 TB chili powder

1 tsp Mrs. Dash Table Blend

4 Gardein Chik-n Scallopini, thawed and diced

1 can whole roasted green chili, drained and diced

1 16-oz container sour cream (vegan)

½ cup Vegan Mayo (light)

1 8-oz prepared green chili sauce (canned or bottled)

1 can diced tomatoes with jalapeño, drained completely

2 cups vegan cheese (cheddar, pepper jack or combination)

Crushed Corn Tortilla chips + 2 TB melted margarine

Directions:

1)     Cook pasta until al dente & then drain.

I used a combination of plain and spinach pasta ribbons
instead of noodles because noodles are usually made with eggs.

2)    While the pasta cooks, sauté celery, pepper, and onion on medium high heat for 5 minutes.

3)    Add zucchini and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

4)    Add diced “Chik-n”, garlic, jalapeño, and seasonings.  Continue to sauté mixture until vegetables are tender and slightly browned.

5)    Return cooked pasta to pan and add vegetable and “Chik’n” mixture.

6)    In the frying pan that cooked the vegetables, add diced green chili, sour cream, vegan mayo, green chili sauce, tomatoes, and cheese.

7)    Combine the pasta & sauce and mix.

8)    Place pasta in casserole dish.  Crush tortilla chips and mix with melted margarine. Top casserole with crush corn tortilla chips.

Since I didn't have any tortilla chips, I crushed crunchy taco shells.

9)    Bake in 350-degree oven covered 20 minutes.  Remove cover and continue cooking 10 minutes until casserole is bubbly and corn chips are lightly browned.

Starting Again.

"I Have Not Failed.  I've Just Found 10,000 Ways that Won't Work."  Thomas Edison

I haven't blogged since January so I obviously haven’t been successful with my goals.  Like Thomas Edison, I’ve found a few more things that don’t work.  But I haven’t failed because I haven’t given up – I’m just reworking the plan.

Sometime no matter how much we want something,  
our current method just isn't going to lead to success.

My new idea – think small!  Big Ideas! Grand plans! Huge Successes! – Would all be great but those grandiose ideas have been hard to maintain so maybe small can be good too!  I’m trying little changes!  Smaller Goals!  Shorter Blog! (Even shorter sentences!)

Small Can Be Good Too

Here’s one of my goals:  Cook really delicious home-cooked foods I really like and enjoy every bite – just pack a portion of it for lunch the next day and stop eating after dinner.  Tiny change – I’ll see how it works.

And here is a really delicious meal:  Vegan Chili Cheese Sweet Potato Fries.  I know it has a lot of ingredients but the seasonings add so much flavor and the veggies add the illusion of health.  And once you get the chili in the pan, it pretty much takes care of itself.

Photo doesn't do it justice - This is REALLY YUMMY!

Smoky Mexican Seasoning “Packet”

3 TB Mild chili powder

1 TB flour

1 TB nutritional yeast (optional)

1 TB Bill’s Chick-nish seasoning (optional)

2 teaspoons smoked paprika and/or 1 teaspoon chipotle chili powder

1 teaspoon each: cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend, sugar, and oregano

Ingredients - Chili 

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium bell pepper, diced

1 stalk of celery, diced

1 jalapeño, seeded and minced

1 carrot, grated (optional)

1 zucchini, grated (optional)

1-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2 8-oz cans tomato sauce

1 16-oz can diced tomatoes (any flavor)

1 cup vegetable broth

1 8-oz can salsa (or 1 cup any brand)

1 cup Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese (or your favorite cheese)

Additional Ingredients:

Alexia Sweet Spicy Julienne Sweet Potato Fries (Frozen)

Additional Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese

3-4 Green Onion, chopped

Sour Cream (Your Favorite Vegan brand)

Chopped Fresh Cilantro (optional)

Pickled Jalapeño Slices (optional)

Directions

Step 1: Prepare Sweet Potato Fries

a.     Prepare Alexia Spicy Sweet Julienne Sweet Potato Fries according to package directions and to desired crispiness.

Don't crowd the pan if you like crispy fries.

Step 2:  Prepare Smoky Mexican Seasoning “Packet”

a.  In small bowl, mix chili powder, Arrowroot powder, nutritional yeast, smoked paprika and/or chipotle chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, Mrs. Dash’s Table Blend, sugar, and oregano.

Step 3: Prepare Chili

a.     Sauté onion, peppers, celery, & carrots in 1 TB of oil until just tender.

b.     Add zucchini and/or garlic. Continue cooking until vegetables are tender and lightly browned.

c.     Add 1 package Gimme Lean Smart Ground Original and seasoning “packet”.  Continue cooking for 1-2 minutes.

d.     Add Tomato Sauce, Tomatoes, Salsa, and Veggie Broth.

e.     Cook on medium heat for 30 minutes.

f.     Add 1 cup Daiya Pepper Jack Cheese, and continue cooking until Daiya is melted.

Brown the veggies - it adds lots of flavor.

Add the soy crumbles and seasoning and 
continue to sauté to allow the flavors to develop.

Add all the other ingredients 
and just allow it to bubble away - your work is done for now.

Step 4 Assemble Chili Cheese Fries

a.      Place fries on oven safe dish and top with Daiya Cheese.  Spoon chili over cheese.  Place in oven for a few minutes until cheese is melted. (This step is not necessary however, even though Daiya Cheese melts very well for a vegan cheese - it sometimes needs a little extra help with a little extra heat.)

b.      Top with Sour Cream, cilantro, jalapeño slices and green onions.