Vegan Pesto Pizza

Like many, I love pesto. And luckily, pesto can be made vegan really easily. It's so easy that I can make it in under 10 minutes. Yep, this dish can be thrown together and be ready to eat in less than a half hour. Who doesn't love a simple, quick recipe that even carnivore friends will love? 

Vegan Pesto Pizza

 

Sauce Ingredients: 

3 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast 

1/3 cup pine nuts 

4 cups basil leaves 

1/2 small lemon, juiced 

1/3 cup olive oil 

salt and pepper 

 Topping Ingredients: 

a few grape tomatoes, thinly sliced 

1/4 red onion, thinly sliced 

Anything else you think might work, for example sun dried tomatoes, pine nuts, and olives would be delicious. 

 Everything Else: 

2 large pizza crusts (30cm) 

 Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

 2. Add all sauce ingredients to food processor and blend until the sauce is smooth. 

 3. Distribute sauce over two pizza crusts until covered evenly. 

 4. Scatter toppings over pizza. 

 5. Cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the pizzas are browning around the edges. 

 6. Let cool for 2 minutes before slicing. 

 7. Serve with olive oil if needed.

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Have leftovers from the Quinoa Black Bean Patties? So did we. But we weren't in the burger mood, so we decided to improv a bit with these tasty Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers. Turned out awesome! Such an easy way to make one meal turn into two!

Quinoa-Stuffed Peppers

Takes about 1 hour to prepare and serves about 10 hungry people.

Ingredients:

6 tbsp olive oil 

10 bell peppers (we used a variety of colors)

2 cloves garlic minced 

3-4 stalks green onion, diced small 

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves 

1 can black beans 

3 cups quinoa, cooked in veggie broth 

2 cups bread crumbs 

dash of cumin

dash of chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the Quinoa mixture. The detailed instructions with pictures can be found in a previous post, here. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add 3/4 cup diced red pepper and saute until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa. Add garlic and green onion and combine to saute until soft. Remove from heat, cool for several minutes and combine with black beans and cilantro. Add this mixture to food processor and pulse until chunky. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, add it to the black bean mixture in the food processor and blend. Salt & pepper to taste.

This is where things get a little different:

2. Add a dash of cumin and chili powder. If you have any leftover cooked quinoa, add it to the mixture. Don't add more than 1 cup. If you don't, it will still taste great, don't worry!



3. Stuff hollowed bell peppers with the mixture and bake at 375 for 20 minutes.



4. Sprinkle bread crumbs on top of peppers and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Serve with sliced avocado.

Pin this recipes!

Quinoa Black Bean Patties

Brett and I just finished eating some of the tastiest quinoa burgers I've ever had! We got the recipe while shopping at Trader Joe's last week. It was on the back of a package of their Tricolor Quinoa. We thought it sounded good and decided to buy all the ingredients we needed then and there. I think they turned out great. The flavor was amazing! I will warn you, though, if you like a meaty, rough consistency, these might not be the best choice for you! I would not try to grill them, but they turned out perfect fried up in a pan. We used ciabatta rolls instead of regular buns and topped them with avocado! Yum!

Quinoa Black Bean Patties
Takes about 1 hour to prepare and feeds about hungry 6 people.
Ingredients: 6 tbsp olive oil 3/4 cup red bell peppers, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 large shallot, diced small (I used green onion) 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves 1 cup black beans 3 cups quinoa, cooked in veggie broth 2 cups bread crumbs salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet, add red pepper and saute until slightly soft, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa.
 

2. Add garlic and shallot (green onion) and combine to saute until soft.

3. Remove from heat, cool for several minutes and combine with black beans and cilantro. Add this mixture to food processor and pulse until chunky.





4. Once the quinoa has finished cooking, add it to the black bean mixture in the food processor and blend. Add salt & pepper to taste.

5. Divide into 7-8 patties and refrigerate for about 10-15 minutes. I suggest making the patties on the small side to make frying a bit easier.

6. Once the patties are cooled and a bit more firm, dredge them in bread crumbs that have been seasoned with salt & pepper.
7. Fry patties in remaining olive oil (or use more, if needed), about 3 minutes each side.


Hungry yet? Pin this recipe for later!

Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole

Wow, so it's been a while. A long while. Although I am no longer vegan, I am still vegetarian and have been attempting to cook at home more frequently again. So here's my attempt to start this blog back up. Tonight Brett and I made Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole, which is a recipe I got out of one of my favorite new cookbooks by Jeanne Lemlin, Quick Vegetarian Pleasures.

Crusty Cauliflower and Ricotta Casserole

Takes about 1 hour and serves 4 people.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 c finely diced, drained tomatoes

1 medium cauliflower, cut into small flowerettes (about 6 cups)

3 large eggs

1 c part-skim ricotta cheese

3/4 c milk

1/4 c grated parmesan

1 tbsp freshly minced parsley

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

dash cayenne pepper

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 c grated Muenster cheese

1/4 c bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Do not brown the garlic. Add the tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the cauliflower and toss to coat all over with tomato mixture. Pour in a few tablespoons of water and cover the pan. Cook for about 7 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender. Mine took a lot longer, probably about 12 minutes, but I kept my heat pretty low to avoid the spitting. Let sit for several minutes, until it is warm or room temperature.

2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Butter a 12 x 7 x 2 inch ovenproof dish or other shallow 2 1/2 quart baking dish. I used a 3 quart dish and it was fine.

3. Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Beat in the ricotta, milk, parmesan cheese, parsley, nutmeg, cayenne, pepper, and Muenster cheese. Stir in cauliflower mixture. Spread in the prepared dish and sprinkle on the bread crumbs.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Do not overcook, or the casserole will dry out.

5. Enjoy!

Hungry? Pin this recipe for later!

Vegan Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Two posts in one night!! I'm on a roll!

Spur of the moment cupcakes! Woooo!!

Amanda and I made these very decadent vegan salted caramel cupcakes tonight. They're super rich and tasty! 

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

Takes about an hour and a half total and serves 12. 

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:

1/2 cup vegan butter

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy yogurt

1/2 cup soymilk

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

For the frosting:

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/2 cup Earth Balance Natural Shortening

3 cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp soymilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

For the caramel:

2/3 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup soymilk

1/4 cup vegan butter

1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla

1 pinch sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

2. Make the cupcakes: Combine the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and cream with electric beaters. Add the soy yogurt, soymilk, powdered sugar, and vanilla. Continue beating until fluffy. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt. Continue mixing until just combined.

3. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners. Using a cupcake scoop or a large spoon, distribute the batter evenly throughout the liners. Bake for 18 minutes or until firm in the center.

4. Make the frosting: While your cupcakes are cooling, beat together the vegan butter and shortening with your electric beaters. Gradually add the powdered sugar while mixing. Add the soymilk and vanilla. Continue to beat for 8-10 minutes, or until completely smooth and fluffy. Set aside and prepare the caramel.

5. Make the caramel: In a saucepan over medium heat, combine the brown sugar and soy milk. Stir constantly until the sugar dissolves and the mixture begins to thicken, 10-12 minutes.

6. In a separate bowl, dissolve the cornstarch in the water, then add to the sugar mixture. Stir constantly until the caramel begins to thicken and bubble, and cook for 2 more minutes.

7. Remove from heat and add the vegan butter and vanilla, stirring until completely melted and incorporated. Set caramel sauce aside to cool.

 

8. Frost the cooled cupcakes with either a knife or a pastry bag. When the caramel is cool, drizzle a spoonful over each cupcake. Let set. Sprinkle each cupcake with a bit of salt, then serve!

Vegan Slow Cooked Bombay Potatoes

Another fabulous recipe from my lovely friend, Katie Boswell. I actually made this a couple weeks ago, but I'm just getting around to posting it now. It was super simple and very tasty!!! Will definitely be making again.

Slow Cooked Bombay Potatoes

Takes about 30 minutes to prepare and 4-6 hours to cook. Serves 4-6 people.

Ingredients:

3 lbs potatoes

1 can chick peas

1 medium onion

4 tomatoes

2 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp dried chili flakes

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 to 2 tsp kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

coriander (or flat-leaf parsley)

Directions:

1. Preheat your slow cooker.

2. Mix up all seasonings, except the mustard seeds, in a bowl. Don't worry if you already accidentally added the mustard seeds. I did too. It still turned out.

3. Mince the onion. Peel, wash, and cube the potatoes.

4. Wash the tomatoes, squeeze out the seeds and chop 'em up. Don't worry about peeling them.

5. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add the mustard seeds, and wait for them to start popping.

6. As soon as they pop, add the onion. Cook for a minute or until the onion turns translucent.

7. Add the spice mixture and cook for another 3 minutes.

8. Add the potatoes and mix, making sure every potato gets some of the spice mixture.

9. Transfer the potato mix to your slower cooker and add the tomatoes, can of chick peas, and the salt & pepper. Stir together.

10. Cook on low for 4 - 6 hours, depending on your slow cooker. When done cooking, add the corriander or parsley all over and serve with rice.