Category: Butternut Squash

Stir Fry Veggies and Quinoa with Seared Tofu

4/6/2015

Stir Fry Veggies with Quinoa and Seared Tofu

I had some of the best tofu ever when eating out the other day - the firmness and texture were amazing. It was hard to tell that I was eating tofu (they had even sliced the tofu on an angle so that it looked like chicken breast). I asked the waiter how it was prepared and he told me that the chef pressed, seared, and baked the tofu. I had to try to recreate it! It turned out great and was not difficult to make. If you have a cast iron skillet (or other oven-safe pan) you can use the same pan from the stove right into the oven and would probably be ideal.

As I have all winter - I had some carrots on hand and some butternut squash that I had shredded and froze. I added some cooking greens and mushrooms. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. Make sure to chop them to approximately the same size so that they all cook for the same amount of time.

I made mine for lunch, so I divided everything into four portions to bring into work with me.

Ingredients:
I block tofu
2 cups cooked quinoa
4 Medium sized carrots
1 cup butternut squash
2 cups greens
1/4 cup mushrooms
Turmeric
Ginger
Sriracha (optional)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Servings: 4

Instructions:
Press your tofu for about 5 to 10 minutes. Slice in fours. Sear tofu for 5 minutes on each side on high heat with a little bit of water or oil. Sprinkle turmeric and ginger on each side. Cook in oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, flipping halfway.

While the tofu is cooking - chop and saute the vegetables with water over medium heat. Start with the carrots and squash. Once again, add a generous coating of turmeric and ginger and stir in to cover all the veggies. When they are soft add the greens and mushrooms and cook until the greens are wilted. I generally need to add the greens a little at a time and let them wilt down until I have room for some more.

Serve the veggies over quinoa and top with a slice of tofu. Top with sriracha, if desired. Enjoy!

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Chik'n and Veggie Macaroni and Cheese

1/19/2015

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Yesterday I posted about Chik'n Alfredo Pizza and mentioned how the sauce that I made was double what I needed. I used the rest of the sauce to make this recipe. It was one of those nights where I needed to make something quick and just threw together what I had. That being said, the vegetables I used are totally interchangeable.

I'd just opened the Beyond Meat chicken so I wanted to keep on using it in case it went bad faster once it was open. It was a nice change of pace to the pasta dishes I've been eating recently and reminded me of the chicken and pasta stir fries that dominated so many of my dinners growing up. I've been really impressed at how long this one package of chicken is lasting. According to the package one serving is 6 strips, but I've only been using 6 strips per recipe, which makes it a much more economical option.

As you'll see below, it comes together really quickly. The timing really depends on what kind of vegetables you use and how soft you want them to be. The veggies and pasta cook at the same time, then you add the pasta and sauce to the veggies just to let the sauce heat up, and voila! You'll notice there aren't a lot of spices you add to this dish, because the sauce has so much flavor in it.

Ingredients:
1/2 Butternut Squash Cheese Sauce Recipe
1/3 Box of Bow Tie (or your favorite) Pasta
6 Strips of Beyond Meat chicken, sliced in thirds
1 Cup Kale
1/2 Cup Sliced Carrots
1/2 Cup Diced Onion

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Servings: 2 servings

Instructions:

Cook carrot and onions in a pan with a little bit of water until the carrots have softened a bit. You don't need to add any seasonings because the sauce is so flavorful.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the package directions. You'll want it a little al dente because the pasta will cook more with the veggies.

Chop up the kale and add it to the pan once the carrots and onions are just about done. Add the pasta and sauce to the pan with the veggies and stir all together. Cook until everything is warmed.

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Chik'n Alfredo Pizza

1/19/2015

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In high school my cross country team would go to Olive Garden for pre-race dinners most Friday nights. Chicken Alfredo Pizza was usually my go-to. It was so rich, creamy, and delicious, and with the amount of running I was doing I had no guilt as I downed the thousands of calories. Even if I still ate meat, there's no way that pizza can be good for you. This pizza is a lightened and way healthier version of that pizza and it lives up to the inspiration!

Like I mentioned in my post on Beyond Meat Tacos, I don't like to eat a lot of processed foods, but I wanted to give these Beyond Meat chicken strips a try, and I wanted to see what Jay thought about them. He was really impressed in both the texture and flavor and I think they were a great addition to the pizza. I'm going to try to make some other classic pizzas with chicken - like buffalo and barbeque. I made a buffalo "chicken" pizza last year using cauliflower as a substitute for the chicken and Jay wasn't a big fan of the texture.

I added the spinach, which isn't a normal feature of an Olive Garden Chicken Alfredo Pizza, to up the vegetable ante, and it fit right in (I always try to add as many veggies as possible). Adding the mozzarella is optional. Jay still isn't used to eating pizza without some sort of melty cheese item, so I added it. I think it added a lot of moisture. If you don't use the cheese I would add some slices of tomato or caramelized onions.

Ingredients:
Pizza Dough
1-2 Cups Spinach (or other cooking greens)
6 Strips Beyond Meat Grilled Chicken
1/2 Block of Teese Mozzarella (optional)
2 Small Cloves Garlic

Cheese Sauce:
1 Small Butternut Squash
2 Cloves Garlic
3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Large Onion
Ginger Powder
Onion Powder
Garlic Powder
1/4 teaspoon Pepper
1/2 teaspoon Sea Salt

Prep Time: 35 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Servings: 6 slices (I ate two at a time)

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice squash into quarter inch thick pieces and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil the top of the squash, just enough so it doesn't get burnt (if you aren't using parchment paper then oil both sides of the squash). Sprinkle the squash with nutritional yeast (this is not where you use the full three tablespoons), ginger powder, garlic powder, and onion powder. Roast for 30 minutes. Let cool.

While the squash is cooking, prep your toppings and dough. Roll out the dough so that it will fit on your cookie sheet or pizza block. Thinly slice one of your garlic cloves and arrange the garlic slivers on top of the pizza dough. Spray the dough with cooking spray. Set dough aside.

Chop your spinach (or cooking greens) and wilt on the stove with a little bit of water - set aside. Slice chicken strips diagonally. You can cut most of the pieces into 3 smaller ones. If you have time you can slice the cheese as well.

Once the squash is soften and cooled, add it to a food processor or blender along with the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients. Blend until smooth.

While blending the cheese sauce, cook the pizza crust. Increase the temperature to 450 degrees. Put the dough in for about 3 minutes. Flip over and add the garlic slivers from your second clove. Put in the oven for another 3 minutes. You want the dough to be able to hold the toppings, but not be cooked to much.

Once the dough has cooled, spread the cheese sauce over the pizza crust. I only used about half of the sauce I made. I used the rest to make Chik'n and Veggie Macaroni and Cheese. Top the pizza with the spinach, chicken slices, a cheese. Cook for another 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the chicken is warm all the way through. Serve and enjoy!

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Butternut Squash Latkes

12/21/2014

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Happy Chanukkah! Latkes, potato pancakes, fritters, whatever you want to call them, they're delicious. Unfortunately, most recipes call for egg as a binding agent, making them not vegan.

I had a lot of squash that I needed to cook, so I thought since it was Hanukkah I would make a vegan version! This is decidedly not a healthy recipe. I made them the old fashioned way - cooking them on the stove with a ton of oil. It's my first time making vegan latkes so I wanted to make sure I had the ingredient ratio down before I started messing with the cooking method.

Jay thought that the big pile of latkes looked more appetizing than the single latke so he had me take this pic as well

I used Ener G Egg Replacer and was a bit nervous about how good of a job it would do since it normally seems pretty liquidy to me, but it worked great! You could also use flax or chia seeds. I'm interested in how well quinoa or beans would work in place of the bread crumbs and egg replacer as a binding agent. Stay tuned for a recipe using those ingredients! What's your favorite way to make latkes?

Ingredients:
1 Butternut Squash
1 Onion
4 eggs-worth of Egg Replacer
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
Olive oil

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Servings: 4

Instructions:
Grate butternut squash into a large bowl. Dice onion and add to the bowl. Prepare egg replacer and combine with squash and onion. Add bread crumbs and mix all the ingredients together well.

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan over medium heat. Grab about a quarter to a half cup of the squash mixture and form into a patty-like shape in your hands. Place on the pan. I was able to get three latkes on my pan at a time, but put whatever fits so that you have room to flip them. Cover and let sit for about 3 minutes. Check the latkes to make sure they are not sticking and are getting crispy on the bottom. Depending on the thickness of your latke you may need to adjust the heat of your stove so that the inside can cook without burning the bottom of your latke. Once you have gotten a desired about of crispness, flip over and do the same on the other side.

Continue until all of your batter has been cooked. Top with some apple sauce or vegan sour cream and enjoy!

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Butternut Squash Tacos

11/11/2014

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Looking for something to do with the other half of the butternut squash you used for the macaroni? Here's what I made!

I actually made this before I made the macaroni, but since it's based on a recipe from someone else I didn't want to leave off with it on the blog. I thought #TacoTuesday would be a great day to post it!

This recipe comes from the great Richa Hingle over at Vegan Richa. I made the butternut squash part almost exactly the same way. I didn't have any Chipotle sauce so I used her alternate of BBQ sauce plus taco seasoning. Jay had an Old El Paso taco kit on hand and I was really worried that the tacos were going to be sweet because of the butternut squash so I used the taco seasoning from that (we don't use the sauce they provide). These are definitely Jay Approved! They were some of the best tacos I've ever had. We both had them for left overs and when I finished them off Jay was definitely upset there were none left for him. I plan on making them again but this time I'll use a healthier taco seasoning - probably this one I've had pinned on Pinterest for a while but have yet to make...

The night I made this it was one of those nights where we had nothing on hand, so I had to scramble to find some toppings to put on the tacos. I had some frozen corn in the freezer, homemade pickles carrots in the fridge, and some salsa so I threw those on and I made some quick vegan mayonnaise using Mori-Nu tofu. Mori-Nu tofu is packaged in an aseptic box so it is shelf stable and is great to have in your pantry for nights like this. Normally I make cashew sour cream, but Jay said that he liked the texture of the tofu sour cream better - it was a lot smoother and closer to sour cream than cashews.

For night 2 I had time to run to the store and grab some avocado to go along with the corn, sour cream, and salsa.

Ingredients:

For Tacos:
1/2 Butternut Squash, peeled, with seeds removed
1 tsp Oil (or water)
1/4 Cup BBQ sauce
1 Package Taco seasoning
1/4 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
Black Pepper
Chipotle Pepper Powder
2 Tbsp Water

Toppings:
1/2 Cup Corn
Avocado
Salsa
Any other toppings of your choice - cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, etc.

Sour Cream:
1 Package tofu
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder

Instructions:
Shred butternut squash with a cheese shredder. Heat oil in pan and add squash. Cook for a few minutes, until heated all the way through.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Make sure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan, but don't cook too much.
While that's cooking, make your sour cream. Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and blend until well combined.
Once heated all the way through, add squash to the taco shell of your choice and add your toppings. Make it gluten free by using corn tortillas or make a taco bowl by putting it on top of quinoa or rice.

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Butternut Squash Macaroni

11/2/2014

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This sauce is so simple I was amazed. I had a butternut squash and a recipe I wanted to make that only called for half of it (to be posted later), so I needed something to do with the other half. I had seen sauces made with butternut squash before, but had never attempted one myself. Since I am always trying to find a vegan cheese/cream sauce that my boyfriend, Jay, will like I thought I would give it a shot.

I thought roasting the squash would add a little something extra to the sauce flavor. In choosing spices to roast it with I thought adding nutritional yeast here could add a little bit more of the cheesy taste that I am always looking for. I wasn't exactly sure what I would add to make the sauce besides some more nutritional yeast and some non-dairy milk - turns out I didn't need a whole lot more - check out below! When Jay tasted the sauce as I was making it he said it really had that cheesy flavor that most of my sauces are missing! The cheesy flavor diminished a bit during cooking, which I'll have to work on, but we both agreed that the consistency was spot on.

Ingredients:
1/2 Butternut Squash, peeled with seeds removed
Olive oil
3 TB Nutritional Yeast
Ginger Powder
Onion Powder
1 Box Whole wheat pasta of your choice (I used shells - elbow or rigatoni would work well too)
1 Cup non-dairy milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
1 Clove Garlic
1/2 Cup Bread crumbs

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Slice squash into quarter inch thick pieces and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly oil the top of the squash, just enough so it doesn't get burnt (if you aren't using parchment paper then oil both sides of the squash). Sprinkle the squash with nutritional yeast (this is not where you use the full three tablespoons), ginger powder, and onion powder. Roast for 30 minutes. Let cool.

While the squash is roasting cook your pasta according to package directions.

Peel and slice the garlic clove into about 4 slices. Once the squash is cool to the touch add it to your food processor or blender (my blender only works well with a lot of liquid so I used my food processor). Add half the non-dairy milk, garlic, and 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast. Blend until smooth. Continue to add the rest of the milk and nutritional yeast until you have the desired flavor.

Combine the pasta with 2 cups of the sauce and place in a casserole dish lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle pasta with a little bit more nutritional yeast and bread crumbs. Cover with aluminum foil and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and broil 5 minutes uncovered. Enjoy!

Note: I've entered this recipe in theVirtual Vegan Linky Potluck 23 - check it out!

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Stir Fry Veggies and Quinoa with Seared Tofu

Chik'n and Veggie Macaroni and Cheese

Chik'n Alfredo Pizza

Butternut Squash Latkes

Butternut Squash Tacos

Butternut Squash Macaroni

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