Category: JayApproved

Spicy BBQ Carrot Sticks with Tofu Ranch Dip

1/28/2015

I mentioned in my post last week on the Spicy BBQ Chik'n Bites that I only ended up using about half of the batter and sauce I made, based off of Kristy Turner's Buffalo Cauliflower Wing Pizza. I wasn't sure how long it would last, so I wanted to use it up as quickly as possible. I've been getting a lot of carrots in my vegetable deliveries so I thought this would be a new fun way to use them up - kinda like breaded zucchini sticks. They were a big hit and super simple to make!

I was a little nervous as to how they would turn out since I've never had anything like them, but they were great and Jay loved them - here are a couple of his best quotes:

"Wow, these are amazing!"

"These are the best carrots ever!"

Individually, the carrot stick is spicier than one of the bites I made since they don't have the extra breading or the tofu baked in. They turn out a little bit soft, but still sturdy. These are a great healthy way to add some vegetables to your normal snacking routine, plus you can dip them as much as you want! The tofu dipping sauce is naturally low in fat and calories but high in protein and calcium. I love guilt free snacking!

Ingredients:
About 5 Carrots
1/2 Batter Recipe
1/2 Spicy BBQ Sauce Recipe

Tofu Ranch Dipping Sauce:
1/2 Block Tofu
3 teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice
1 Tablespoon dried Dill
1 teaspoon Onion Powder
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Servings: About 40 carrot sticks

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Slice carrots in half and then into quarters so that you get 8 sticks out of each carrot. Dip the carrot sticks in the batter and then place on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

Once cooled to the touch, dip the carrot sticks in the Spicy BBQ Sauce and then place back on the parchment lined cookie sheet. Cook for another 5-8 minutes.

While the carrots are cooking, make the ranch dipping sauce. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. The proportions I used make a thick dip, so if you want it creamier, add more liquid.

Serve and Enjoy!

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The Sidewalk Cafe, South Boston

1/26/2015

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Last week Jay and I got some take out from one of our favorite places - the Sidewalk Cafe in South Boston. They recently changed their menu and while they got rid of a lot of their vegetable panini options, they did add a falafel. Falafel is one of my favorite take out foods, but it's so easy to mess up and there are few things more disappointing than a bad falafel! I'm always nervous to take a shot on a new place, but I knew I liked this place so I thought I would give it a go.

Great choice! I'm so happy I have a go-to falafel place to get take out from that's affordable and Jay will always be down for ordering from the same place! The falafel was great. It had a good combo of crispiness and moisture. I especially loved the tahini that the put on it. It was a little uneven in the distribution of the tomato and tahini, which left some of the bites to be a little dry, but overall it hit the spot! The only comment I could have would be to put it in a more traditional pits instead of just a regular wrap Jay loved it too - I've slowly been turning him on to what a great sandwich the falafel is! I can't wait to get it again!

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Spicy BBQ Chik'n Bites

1/22/2015

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This is a great party/sports game recipe! I made it last week for watch the AFC Championship game with our friends - aka 5 to 10 carnivorous, buffalo-chicken loving boys. As you know if you've seen my earlier posts, I've been working my way through a package of Beyond Meat chicken strips so I thought this would be a great way to finish it off! I made this Buffalo Cauliflower Wing Pizza recipe last year from Kristy Turner over at Keepin It Kind. Jay liked the taste of it alot, but didn't like the consistency of cauliflower, since he seems to hate all things cauliflower. So what happens when you combine that recipe with Beyond Meat chicken? Near perfection!

Everyone at the party loved the bites and were surprised to find out that they were vegan. I even duped a couple of the guys and didn't tell them it was vegan until after they had already had some and told me it was delicious! All of them were eaten and I was the only vegan there! Being a group of buffalo-chicken connoisseurs, the general consensus was that the flavor was more BBQ than buffalo, so I decided to change the name to Spicy BBQ. I'll have to try another version making a more traditional buffalo sauce!

If you don't have a mini cupcake pan you can roll your bites up like you would with pigs in a blanket, but you may not be able to fit as many ingredients in. That was my original plan, but I didn't have enough dough. With the cupcake pan I could keep the bites together without needing any crust on top to keep everything together.

I only ended up using about half of the breading and sauce mix that I made so I saved each one and used them again to create this recipe: Spicy BBQ Carrot Sticks with Tofu Ranch Dip.

Ingredients:
1 Package crescent roll dough or other dough of your choice
1/2 Package Beyond Meat chicken strips
Breading:
1 Cup Almond Milk
1 Cup Chickpea flour (I'm not sure how it would work with other flour since this is the only one I tried)
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Spicy BBQ Sauce:
1/4 Cup Sriracha
3/4 Cup BBQ Sauce
1 Tablespoon starch - corn starch, arrowroot powder, etc.
Salt
Pepper
Tofu Blue Cheese:
1/2 block tofu
3 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast
Juice of Lemon Half
1 teaspoon Miso
1/2 teaspoon Tahini
1 teaspoon Marjoram
1 teaspoon Oregano
1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 24 bites

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine all the breading ingredients in a shallow bowl and mix together well. Slice the chicken strips into about 24 bite size pieces and coat in the batter. Place in a casserole dish or cookie sheet with parchment paper. Make sure that the batter doesn't run together (like mine did...) or else it will be hard to keep the batter on the chicken when you pick it up. Bake for 20 minutes.

While that is cooking, prepare the Spicy BBQ sauce by mixing all of those ingredients together in a shallow bowl.

Add all of the Tofu Blue Cheese ingredients to a food processor and blend them together. Add more marjoram to taste - it's what adds the most of the blue cheese flavor.

When the battered chicken strips have cooled, dip them in the Spicy BBQ sauce and put them back in the oven for another 5-8 minutes.

While that is cooking, roll out your dough and cut it into about 2x2 inch pieces. Divide the tofu blue cheese evenly among each of the bites. Once the chicken strips have cooled, divide them evenly among the bites. Put back in the oven for about 10 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!!

I submitted this recipe to the Virtual Vegan Linky Potluck

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Loaded Nachos

1/22/2015

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The other night Jay and I were starving and running errands after work at Target. I knew when I got home I would want to eat as quickly as possible and I didn't want to put too much effort into it, but I didn't know what I wanted to make. Then I saw a bag of tortillas and thought - Bam - that's it! I had a block of Teese vegan nacho cheese that I accidentally opened (I thought it was the mozzarella...) and needed to use. One of the best decisions ever. Jay loved both the cheese and sour cream substitutes. The cheese was buried under a lot of stuff so I'll have to make another recipe that allows you to taste the cheese more.

If you saw my post about Champ's Diner from last week then you know that I don't each nachos very frequently. I guess I was on a kick from my nachos last month and wanted some more! As usual, I went a little overboard on the portions and toppings and made a humongous amount of nachos. This recipe is great for sharing or for a night when you are beyond hungry (I do not recommend trying to eat this all by yourself... in one sitting). There is so much great protein in here! Beans! Quinoa! Tofu! Plus avocado - this one healthy (well except for the chips...) and filling pile of nachos!

Jay and I ate just about half of it for dinner. We were skeptical about how good leftover nachos could be but I couldn't part with my amazing creation, so into the fridge it went. I actually portions of heated it back up in the broiler and it was great!

Ingredients:
About 7oz. of Chips
1 15oz Can Black Beans
1 Block Teese Nacho Cheese
1 15 oz Jar Salsa
1/2 Cup Cooked Quinoa
1 Avocado
1/2 Block Tofu
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar or Lemon Juice

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 4 as a meal

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spread chips out on a cookie sheet. Break apart the Teese nacho cheese and spread/sprinkle over the chips. Put in the oven for about 5 minutes. It just needs to be in long enough for the cheese to melt.

Drain and rinse beans. Add beans and quinoa to pan over medium heat and stir together so that the beans break down a bit and look kinda like re-fried beans.

Combine tofu and apple cider vinegar in a blender or food processor until smooth. Slice the avocado.

Layer the chips and melted cheese with the beans and quinoa mixture, tofu sour cream, salsa, and avocado.

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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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Champs Diner, Brooklyn New York

1/18/2015

2 Comments

Jay and I were in New York at the end of December and made a point of stopping by Champs Diner in Brooklyn. An old friend of mine works here so it's been on my list for a long time. I typically get overwhelmed when I go to an all vegan restaurant, since I've become accustomed to only having an option or two on the menu to choose from. As you can see, I went a little overboard at Champs.

We started out with the loaded nachos. I haven't had nachos in the longest time, so I figured this was a great place to get my fix in! It's not too difficult to order vegan nachos at a restaurant - simply omit the cheese and sour cream and our left with tomatoes, avocado, beans, onions, etc. - most people aren't too thrilled at the idea of sharing a plate of nachos with no cheese on it. They were delicious. Great ratio of chips to toppings. Jay loved the cheese and sour cream. The sour cream was really thin and smooth, which is one of the main criteria Jay judges my sour cream substitutes on - great consistency. It was not readily apparent what you were eating was vegan - job well done.

Jay went for the grilled cheese. As you can see from the pictures. It was quite decadent. Look at that melty cheese goodness in the photo above! Jay absolutely loved it. It had that amazing quality of being so good you kept on eating it even though you swore you couldn't fit anything else in your stomach. You just couldn't imagine leaving any on your plate and you didn't want the taste to stop.

One of the things I liked about the menu was the ability to add toppings to your grilled cheese. As you can see, Jay went with tomatoes - other options included avocado or jalapenos.
Jay's comments - "it's awesome! So cheesey and melty!" That's high praise coming from a grilled cheese connoisseur.

I went for the Eggs Benedict, since they're something you can really only get if you go to an all vegan restaurant. They were awesome. I don't really know a lot about Hollandaise sauce, but this was great. It had a lemony twist to it, which helped offset the richness of the dish. The tofu eggs were thinly sliced and crispy, so they had a great consistency, although I was expecting more of an egg flavor. There wasn't anything to replicate yolk.

There were enough other things going on in the dish that you didn't miss it too much, but I had been expecting some yolk. I really liked whatever was used for the ham. Ham was one of my favorite breakfast meats before I went vegan, and I always looked forward to baked ham at Christmastime. Vegan ham isn't something you see too often, so I appreciated the thought and the execution!

Vanilla sundae with chocolate sauce and whipped cream may be my favorite dessert after a big meal. It's simple but delicious, with so many different flavors and textures. When I saw it on the menu I knew I had to have it even though it was getting late and we had to head back to Boston (I got it to go). The Brownie Sundae took me right back to my childhood. Everything in it was done perfectly - the whipped cream was light and fluffy, the ice cream was rich and smooth, the sauce was chocolatey, the brownie was moist on the inside with a great crust. The only change I would make about it is the ice cream to brownie ratio. There was way more brownie than ice cream, I would have preferred it to be more balanced.

One comment Jay had about the menu was the descriptions. The menu items were in large part described using non-vegan words. Jay's grilled cheese was said to be a cheddar-mozza mix, but clearly there was no cheddar or mozza in it. We were both very curious about what it was. Is it store bought vegan cheese? what kind? Did they develop it themselves? What is it made out of? Soy? Cashew? Rice? Almond? Tapioca? Same goes for the ham that came with my dish. It was simply described as ham. I've never seen vegan ham at a grocery store or found a recipe for it online, so I don't even know where to start in guessing what it was made out of. Take for instance the Buffalo Chik'n Sandwich - "spicy buffalo chik’n, greens, tomatoes, sautéed onions, ranch dressing on a hero" - what is it exactly? Tofu, seitan, tempeh, TVP? Is it Gardien or made in-house? I think one reason I decided to go with breakfast instead of lunch was that for many of the sandwiches I wasn't exactly sure of what I was getting.

I often hear many non-vegans comment on this - "You say your recipe is vegan cheese or vegan chicken or vegan meatballs, but what is it actually? Why don't you just call it what it is?" I think as vegans we tend to use non-vegan descriptions because we think that it will be easier for others to understand and relate to, but I think it might turn people off because they don't know what they're eating. Thoughts?

Overall we loved Champs Diner. It was tough making a decision on what to pick and there's a ton left of the menu we want to try. Jay said he would go back to New York to eat there again - I'd say that's high praise coming from a non-vegan!

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Beyond Meat Tacos

1/12/2015

5 Comments

I try to eat whole, unprocessed foods as much as possible, but I like to try a new vegan product at least once. I find it exciting when I see advancements in vegan food options and I think vegan meat alternatives are a great way to help those making the transition from omnivore to vegetarian or vegan diets.

These Beyond Meat beef crumbles are so close to the real thing its amazing. Plus they're so convenient. They come frozen and defrost so quickly. You just dump the frozen crumbles right into your saute pan with a little bit of water and they're quickly ready to go. As you'll see in the instructions below, this was a super quick dinner came together in a breeze. The longest part was chopping up the tomato and avocado and putting everything in little bowls!

Cashew sour cream is a great alternative for those trying to avoid soy or if you just don't have any tofu in the house. That's how I found myself the other night, so I decided to whip up some cashew sour cream. Jay loves cashew sour cream more than regular, although tofu sour cream is his favorite, since it's naturally creamier. When I make cashew sour cream I make sure so blend it for as long as possible so that it gets creamier, since it can tend to have more of a grainy texture. Soaking the cashews beforehand can help with this, but I didn't have any time - the crumbles cooked so quickly and we were hungry!

Ingredients:
1 Package Beyond Meat Frozen Beef Crumbles
6 Taco Tortillas (I used La Nina Tortillas)
1 Packet Taco Seasoning (I used Ortega 40% Less Sodium)

Toppings:
1 Avocado
4 oz Cherry Tomatoes
Spinach or other green

Cashew Sour Cream:
1/2 Cup Cashews
1/3 Cup Water
1 Tablespoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Servings: 6 tacos

Instructions:
Slice the avocado and tomato.

Cook frozen Beyond Meat Crumbles on the stove with a little bit of water until it is no longer frozen. Add the taco seasoning a stir until well combined.

Add the cashews, water, and lemon juice to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Heat a second pan over the stove. Place a tortilla on the pan for about a minute, or until crispy, then flip to the other side and repeat.

Tear the spinach and place it on the tortilla, add a quarter cup of taco mix, sour cream, avocado, and tomato. 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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Slow Cooker Vegan Lasagna

12/15/2014

3 Comments

What a winning recipe! I like making slow cooker recipes when I'm home on the weekend. I was looking through my cookbook Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Patalsky and was inspired to make a vegan lasagna. I used tofu to make the ricotta and added tempeh to tomato sauce to make it resemble a meat sauce. Jay loved it! Here are some of his quotes while finishing his plate:

"Definitely Jay Approved!"
"I can't tell that this is vegan at all!"
"The tempeh tastes exactly like ground beef!"
"One of your better ones!"

He kept on raving on the texture of the tempeh and how it worked perfectly for ground beef!

This lasagna has tofu and tempeh in it - so it's packed with protein! Definitely a hearty meal. It doesn't serve quite as easily from the slow cooker since your slices will be taller than from a lasagna dish, so not every piece will include every layer. You can also cook this in the oven if you prefer.

Ingredients:
1 small onion
1 package tempeh
1 teaspoon vegan Worcester sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 large bunch of fresh cooking greens (I used kale) or two packages frozen
2 jars tomato sauce
1/2 package no boil lasagna noodles

Tofu Ricotta:
1 package firm tofu
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon onion powder

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Servings: 6 generous portions

Instructions:

To make the tempeh meat sauce: Dice onions and cook over medium heat until translucent. Crumble the tempeh and add to the pan. Add the soy sauce and Worcester sauce and stir to coat the tempeh. Combine with the tomato sauce.

To make the tofu ricotta: Press the tofu to remove excess water. Crumble it into a bowl and add the nutritional yeast, minced garlic, and onion powder.

If you're using fresh greens, chop them up and heat them in a pan with a little water just to wilt them a bit.

Oil the bottom of your crock pot and layer the ingredients inside. Start with the tomato sauce, then a layer of noodles, followed by the tofu ricotta and greens and then start over again with the sauce. After you've placed the top layer of noodles pour the rest of the sauce on top. Cook on high for 1.5 hours or on low for 3 hours. Serve and enjoy!