Cheesy mac and rib Sandwich

 Cheesy mac and rib sandwich 

Buttered sourdough baguette with cheesy vegan macaroni, sweet BBQ seitan, and caramelized onions

Happy Friday friends! So I was approached a little while back by Marley at Namelymarley about a fun and interesting project she wanted to put together with a few food bloggers. An article was published recently by the Huffington Post called Americas Top 10 new sandwiches which were less than vegan friendly. One sandwich even called for an ingredient they called suckling pork!  Um...no thank you. Well...not to worry! A group of  vegan foodies and bloggers are coming to the rescue and bringing you Americas Top 10 new Sandwiches Veganized! These are some crazy and really unique sandwiches! So far we have seen

*The Vegan Spuckie by Trina @ Your Vegan Mom

 *The Bulgogi Steak sandwich by Allyson @ Manifest Vegan

*The crispy drunken chicken sandwich by Trudy @ Veggie Num Nums 

These ladies did such great work and put the pressure on for me to deliver something great! I have to say, there is nothing even remotely vegan about a cheesy macaroni and BBQ pork rib sandwich.  But I put on my apron and got to work. And my husband loved this! He said it was real "man's food"  and devoured and loved every bite. So I have to say thank you to Marly for putting me to the challenge and causing me to create something I would have never on my own!

Check it out over at NAMELY MARLY! 

*vegan* Chicken fried seitan with Biscuits and Gravy

Seriously...how good does that look! This is some awesome comfort food people! It is sort of my take on chicken fried steak with biscuits and gravy. Done way healthier though, of course.  I made my own seitan "chicken cutlets" which to me made this meal so extra delicious and amazing, but you could definitely  use Gardein brand vegan chicken scalopinni for this. . It would work great too. And how do you like  my little touch of spinach on the plate. Isnt that nice. LOL  Had to keep it veggified a little bit. 

Hope you all have a wonderful Valentines coming up! I will be spending some dinner/movie time with my handsome Valentine....

 ok now...on to the recipes...

Chicken fried seitan with biscuits and gravy

serves 4-6

printable recipe

For the "seitan"

My homemade seitan recipe, or Gardein vegan  chicken scalopinni. 

1/cup flour (I used white whole wheat) seasoned with a little salt, pepper and paprika (about /2 tsp each)

1 cup almond or soy milk in a shallow dish

1/4 cup coconut oil, or canola oil  (for pan frying)

Heat a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high heat with the coconut oil (or other oil if using). Cut the seitan into pieces resembling chicken breast. Or if using Gardein chicken they are ready to go. Keep the cuts fairly thin. 

Dunk the seitan or Gardein into the milk, then inot the flour, then back into the milk, then back into the flour. (So we are doing a double dunnking here) to get a nice crispy skin when we pan fry. Place into the hot pan and fry until very crispy and golden brown on both sides.

Milk Gravy:

2 Tbsp. Earth balance butter

3 Tbsp. Flour (white whole wheat or any flour will work)

about 2 to 2 1/2  cups of milk of choice (almond or soy)

salt to taste

LOTS of pepper

1/4 tsp dried thyme

In a saucepan, add the butter and flour. Whisk and let the "raw flour" taste cook out for a few minutes. have your milk ready and slowly start adding the milk, whisking the whole time to prevent lumps. Once mixed well, add the pepper (this sauce should e very peppery), salt to taste, and thyme. Let simmer and thicken.

  Adapted and veganized from a Paula Deen recipe

Biscuits:
makes 28

printable recipe

What You Need: 

2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast (or 1 packet) 

1/2 cup warm water

2 Tbsp evaporated cane juice sugar (or regular sugar would work here)

2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 Tbp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cups coconut oil (not melted)

2 cups almond milk plus 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

To Make:

 Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease with a little coconut oil 2 large rectangular pyrex dishes. 

In a bowl, mix the milk and the apple cider vinegar. In a separate bowl mix the water,yeast, and sugar. Set both bowls aside for about 5 minutes. 

Mix your dry ingredients. Cut up the cocnut oil into smaller pieces (like little marbles). Using a potato masher mix the oil and the flour to combine.  The mixture will be dry and crumbly. Stir the yeast and the milk into the mixture

Generously flour a counter top or flat surface. Roll ou the dough very gently (do not overwork the dough). To about 1 inch thick.  Using a round biscuit cutter (orusing a cup) cut out your biscuits. 

 Place into the greased Pyrex dishes, and bake for about 12 minutes.  Serve with butter and or gravy!

Pasta in creamy peppered white sauce

Hello hello all my bloggy people! So, yesterday was officially the "one year birthday" of my Little House of Veggies blog.  I really want to say thank you to all of you (my readers) who read, and support my site. Cooking and creating new vegan recipes is a passion of mine and it is the greatest compliment I could possibly receive to get so much positive feedback from everyone! I am so thankful to have had a part in bringing delicious vegan food to the tables of your homes! I have awesome new ideas just waiting to be created and I am so excited to get them on the blog because I know you will LOVE them! So stay tuned...

What has been your favorite recipe from the blog this year? I would love to know! 

So, have any of you made the cashew cheese from my previous post yet? If not, you have got to make this one, not necessarily for spreading on sandwiches, but for this pasta recipe! It is the bomb! Think cheesy white peppered sauce. mmmmmm. My kids loved this so much, and my husband said it is the best vegan cheesy pasta he has had. I am constantly trying to create a cheesy pasta that doesnt taste "off" or like vegan cheese. And this was finally it! Even better, if you make the cashew cheese you can do sandwiches one night and then make this pasta the next with some chopped tomatoes or olives on top and have a whole new meal. This takes just seconds to put together and no effort whatsoever once the cashew cheese is made. I hope you all give this a try! This is some cheesy mac that is made entirely from healthful whole foods!

Whole grain pasta in creamy peppered white sauce

serve 4-6

printable recipe

What You Need:

1 box of whole grain pasta noodles, any shape (I used fun shapes for my kids)

1 cup herbed cashew cheese

1 cup of  soymilk, almond milk, rice milk, etc.  (use what you like)

2 Tbsp. Earth Balance vegan Butter

salt to taste and lots of cracked pepper to taste

Sliced olives or tomatoes for topping the pasta

To Make:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain the pasta and add it back into the pot. Add teh cashew cheese, milk, and butter and stir to combine and thicken a little. Add lots of pepper (to your liking) and salt to taste. Top with olives or tomatoes and serve! 

To reheat this pasta, just add a splash of soymilk and reheat to create creamy perfect reheated pasta.

Super Bowl Snackies

Of course it would not be a Super Bowl party without some delicious eats! Here are some ideas to kick your party up a notch!

Spicy Buffalo "chicken" wraps with Ranch. My suggestion would be to either make these wraps OR just make the buffalo chicken by itself and serve as finger food with ranch dip.

Loaded Nachos with Roasted Peppers and Smokey Hummus Cheese. These are the BOMB. Everyone will love you for these!

Cashew cheese served with celery, crackers, pitas and other veggies for dipping. Or for an even quicker snack go with hummus...

Morgan's Veggie Chili  Serve with a side of tortilla chips.

Spicy Black Bean lettuce wraps.   from the Health Seekers Kitchen.

Stuffed Mushrooms from the Veggie Full Kitchen.

Chocolate peanut Butter Bon bons from The Fitness Dish. These look amazing!

For more Super Bowl snack inspiration check these out.... They have some great ideas to share!

The Fitness Dish

The Ordinary Vegetarian

Have a great weekend!!! Hope you all have some good Super Bowl fun!

English Muffin Sandwich with marinated tofu and herbed cashew cheese

Not only is this sandwich bursting with tons of flavor, but its also bursting with lots of nutrition as well. The English muffin is a fun change from bread for this. The marinated and dry fried tofu is infused with lemon, garlic, and miso. And the herbed cashew cheese adds an amazing texture and flavor to the whole dish and is full of probiotic goodness. I get a lot of emails from other parents asking me what kinds of things I give my kids for snacks and in lunches. This fermented cashew cheese is great as a dip for crackers or veggies or whole grain pitas  for young kids and for children's lunches, and they will never know they are eating something so good for them! It does take a little prep work to make a few of these things, but they will last you all week and it is so worth the effort! Enjoy and have a wonderful week!

English Muffin Sandwich

with marinated tofu and herbed cashew cheese

Serves 4-6

printable recipe

For the sandwiches:

1 recipe for herbed cashew cheese (recipe below)

1 recipe for marinated tofu (recipe below)

whole grain or Ezekiel sprouted grain English muffins

Sliced tomatoes

spinach

Toast the English muffins. Spread with cashew cheese on both sides. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the sliced tomato and layer onto the sandwich. Add the tofu and spinach. Enjoy! Healthy deliciousness!

Herbed Cashew Cheese

Makes a few cups

printable recipe

What you Need:

3 cups raw unsalted cashews

1 3/4 cups water

1 tsp. vegan probiotic powder (about 6 capsules, broken open) (if you can not find vegan probiotic powder, this can easily be made without it.)

Soak the cashews for at least 2 hours, Rinse well. Place cashews in a blender with the 1 3/4 cups water and the probiotic powder. Mix in a vitamix blender until very smooth. Do not add to much water.  Place the cheese into a cheesecloth and then into a fine mesh strainer, cover the top of the cheese with cheesecloth also, and place the strainer on a plate or in a bowl. Place a weighted plate on top of the cheese and let sit over night to drain a little of the water and also to let the cheese ferment. In the morning, scoop the cheese that is in the cheesecloth into a bowl. At this point add...

juice of 1 lemon

1 green onion, white and green parts, chopped

large handful (about 3/4 cup) chopped parsley

1 clove of garlic, minced

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 tsp sea salt

cracked black pepper

Mix everything well and place in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Marinated and dry fried tofu

serves about 4

printable recipe

What You Need:

1 block of extra firm tofu

juice of 1 lemon

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp miso paste

cracked pepper

Drain the tofu and slice about 1/2 inch thick. Lay out on a plate or dish. Whisk together all the remaining ingredients and pour over the top of the tofu. let marinate for about 1 hour. Using a non stick pan (because we are dry frying, meaning using NO oils) heat the skillet. Cook tofu on both sides. This can be done with a regular skillet but just make sure you use some oil so that the tofu doesn't stick.