Eggplant Non-Parmesan

We got some eggplants last week from a lady at church.  I've never cooked with eggplant before and was kind of scared to try.  But, I found this recipe and decided to give it a try.  And guess what?  It turned out really good!!  Will definitely be making it again!   (Recipe courtesy of: Oh She Glows.)

EGGPLANT NON-PARMESAN

1 large, or 2 medium, eggplant(s), peeled and sliced vertically - keep slices same thickness
1 c. almond milk
3/4 c. flour
1 t. apple cider viengar
1/2 t. salt
black pepper to taste
1/4 t. dried oregan
1/4 t. dried parsley
1/4 t. dried basil
2 c. Panko bread crumbs
Oil for frying
Pasta sauce of your choice
Cooked pasta of your choice


Peel and slice eggplant.  Spinkle each slice liberally with salt and spread it around with fingers.  Let it stand for 30 minutes allowing salt to draw out the water.

Make batter by whisking milk, flour, vinegar, salt, pepper, a seasonings together in a medium sized bowl.

After 30 minutes are up, rinse eggplant with water and pat dry with a towel.  Heat a couple inches of oil in frying pan on the stove top over medium heat.  Dip each piece of eggplant into the batter and then into the bread crumbs on each side.  Place in oil and fry on each side for a couple minutes until nice and golden brown.

Place eggplant slices on top of cooked pasta, and top with heated pasta sauce and optional "cheese" sauce.

***Does not reheat well in microwave.  You will need to bake for 5 minutes on each side at 450 to keep them nice and crispy.


"CHEESE" SAUCE

3/4 c. almond milk
6 T. nutritional yeast
1 T. vegan "butter"
1 T. flour
2 t. Dijon mustard
1/4 t. garlic powder
1/4 t. onion powder
1/2 t. salt
black pepper to taste

In a small sauce pan, melt butter over medium heat.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and milk until all clumps are gone.  Add milk and flour mixture, and nutritional yeast to pot and whisk well.  Reduce heat to low-medium.   Add Dijon, and seasonings and whisk frequently until the sauce thickens up.  If it's still too think you can add more flour to achieve the thickness you desire.

Peanut Butter Cookies

I was craving peanut butter cookies this week, so I veganized my Mom's recipe.  They turned out great!!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

3/4 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. shortening
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
3 T. almond milk
1 T. vanilla
1 flax "egg" (1 T. flax meal + 3 T. water)
1 3/4 c. flour
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. baking soda

Wisk up flax "egg" in a small bowl, then place in fridge to set up for a few minutes.

Combine first 5 ingredients.  Add flax "egg".  Combine dry ingredients and add to wet.  Bake at 375, on ungreased cookie sheets, after making a criss-cross pattern with a flour dipped fork, for 8-10 minutes (until bottom is barely golden brown).

Chewy Sugar Cookies

I tweaked this recipe today.  They turned out pretty good!

CHEWY SUGAR COOKIES

2 3/4 c.  flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1 c. softened vegan "butter"
1 1/2 c. white sugar
1 flax egg
1 t. vanilla extract


Preheat oven to 375.

In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and baking powder.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until smooth.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.  Gradually blend in dry ingredients.  (If needed add additional flour until batter is to correct consistency).

Roll out dough on floured surface and place on ungreased cookie sheet.  Bake 8-12 minutes or until slightly golden.  Let stand for 2 minutes before removing to cool on a rack.

Tex-Mex Spaghetti Squash with Black Bean Guacamole

Sounds weird, I know.  But I gave it a try.  And you should too :)

TEX-MEX SPAGHETTI SQUASH WITH BLACK BEAN GUACAMOLE

1 med. spaghetti squash
olive oil
ground cumin
ground chili powder
dried oregano
salt
pepper

Guacamole:

2 med avacado
1 med roma tomato, seeded and diced
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
lemon juice
seasoned salt
dried minced onions


Preheat oven to 375.  Slice spaghetti squash in half.  Brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Place cut side down into baking dish and roast 30-50 minutes - until flesh is soft and easily able to be scraped out.

Prepare quacamole - peel and dice avacados then smash with a fork.  Add tomato and black beans.  Season with lemon juice, seasoned salt and minced onions to taste.

Remove squash from oven.  Scrape flesh out.  Sprinkle with cumin, chili powder, oregano, and salt and pepper to taste.  Top with guacamole and serve warm.

Jumbo Stuffed Pasta Shells

These turned out super yummy!  I'm excited to have leftovers to eat for lunch this week.

JUMBO STUFFED PASTA SHELLS

2 1/2 - 3 c. favorite pasta/spaghetti sauce
30 Jumbo pasta shells

3 cloves of garlic (I used the bottled minced garlic - 1/2 t. = 1 clove)
1 med. yellow onion, diced
2 t. olive oil
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 c. fresh basil leaves, minced
1/2 c. fresh parsley, minced
1 (14 oz) firm tofu, pressed
3 T. nutritional yeast
salt and pepper to taste
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 t. red pepper flakes

Cook pasta shells until al dente (8-11) minutes.  Drain and set aside to cool.  Preheat oven to 400.

In a large skillet saute garlic and onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add celery, basil, parsley and cook for another 5 minutes.  Pulse tofu in blender and add to skillet.  Stir in nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes.  Over medium heat, cook about 10 minutes until most of the water cooks off.

Spoon 1 c. of the pasta sauce into the bottom of a casserole dish.  Spread around evenly.  Add 1 1/2 - 2 T. of tofu mixture into each shell.  Cover with remaining pasta sauce and any remaining tofu.  Cover dish with foil.  Poke a few air vent holes in foil  Bake about 20 minutes, or until heated through.

The Best Damn Chocolate Cookies Ever

So...I have this chocolate chip cookie recipe that, seriously, is the best damn thing ever.  I've been craving them recently because I haven't made them since ditching all things animal related.  I decided to try an vegan-ize the recipe this weekend.  And guess what?  They're just as good as ever!!

THE BEST DAMN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER

Cream together:

1 c. Earth Balance vegan "butter" spread
1 1/2 c. shortening
3 3/4 c. brown sugar
6 T. almond milk
3 T. vanilla

Add and mix in well:

3 flax meal "eggs" (1 "egg" = 1 T. flax meal + 3 T. water)*

Add combined dry ingredients and mix well:

6 1/2 c. flour
1 T. salt
2 1/4 t. baking soda

Add and stir in with wooden spoon:

2 (12 oz) bags of chocolate chips (I use ghiradelli because they don't use milk fat)

Preheat oven to 350.  Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets.  Bake 12 minutes - until just barely golden and still a little gooey.  Cool on wire racks and enjoy!!

*It's best to mix up the flax "eggs" a few minutes before you start and let the mixture sit in the fridge to set up a little bit before you're ready to use it.

Peanut Butter Frito Deliciousness

Oh.  My.  Deliciousness.

Seriously.  This stuff is like crack.

Beware.

PEANUT BUTTER FRITO DELICIOUSNESS

1 1/2 bags of Fritos Scoops
1 c. light corn syrup
1 c. light brown sugar
1 c. creamy peanut butter
chocolate chips or M&Ms for garnish


Line cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Spread Fritos out on parchment paper.

In saucepan, over medium heat, melt corn syrup and sugar.  Stir constantly until sugar is disolved and mixture begins to boil.  Once boiling, remove from heat.  Stir in peanut butter, until melted.  Pour over Fritos.  Sprinkle chocolate chips or M&Ms (if wanted).  Allow to cool.  Then enjoy!!