Hungry Eyes...

So Nick and I did some cooking today. It was the first time I had actually cooked food from scratch (obviously following recipes from a cookbook... my skills are not that amazing). We did some taste-testing as we went along and it was amazing!! I'm going to some of the recipes here, give them a try. All are completely vegan!
*Disclaimer! These recipes are from the cookbook Quick and Easy Vegan Comfort Food by Alicia C. Simpson. I highly recommend her cookbook, tons of easy ideas for breakfast, smoothies, desserts, salads, soups, sauces, and entrees. These are not my recipes! 


Caesar Salad with Homemade Croutons & Dressing

Croutons

• sourdough bread
• vegan butter
• garlic powder
• sea salt

Butter the bread and sprinkle with garlic powder and sea salt. Put them in the oven and broil them until the bread is toasted. Be careful not to burn the garlic powder

Caesar Dressing

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard (I used honey mustard- same thing? I have no idea)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
• 2 chopped garlic cloves (I used 2 teaspoons of store bought chopped garlic)
• 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 1/2 tablespoons capers (skipped this... had no idea what it was!)
• 1/4 Vegan Worcestershire sauce (also skipped this.. couldn't find any)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth. Pour over the croutons and lettuce. Add some Vegan Parmesan Cheese on top :)

Veggie Casserole

• Canola Oil for the pan
• 10oz package of frozen mixed vegetables
• 1/2 cup of couscous
• 3/4 cup of vegetable stock (we used water... Nick forgot to bring the stock..)
• 1/2 cup of white onion
• 2 cups shredded vegan mozzarella cheese
• Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat over to 350 degrees. Boil vegetable stock and then add couscous. Simmer and Cover until all liquid is absorbed. Combine all ingredients, reserving 1/2 cup of the cheese. Spoon the mixture into the pan and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 10 mins.

Mushroom Gravy

• 5 cremini mushrooms, minced
• 5 shiitake mushrooms, minced (our grocery store didn't have these, used 10 cremini mushrooms)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 1/2 cups of vegetable stock (didn't use this.. see reason above)

Saute the mushrooms in canola oil over medium heat for 2 mins. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, pepper, salt, and cook for another minute, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the stock slowly until desired thickness is reached.


We also made green beans and mashed potatoes. I don't think I've ever been this excited for a christmas dinner. We've sampled everything but the casseroles (Nick wanted to, I refused to let him touch them, I didn't want to serve casserole with a chunk taken out of it), so I'll let you all know how they turn out. I'm hoping to try and convince some of my meat-loving relatives to give them a try!