Bon Appétit

The Best Vegan Green Bean Casserole

(promise it's better than the "original")

  

It was this time last year when I was in a panic to find a vegan side dish recipe. Chris and I were heading to his parents' house for Thanksgiving dinner, and his mom is a vegan. I wanted to charm Dee by making this dish for her, but my honest thoughts were "Oh great... I'm going to make a dish that tastes bland and she will be the only one to enjoy it." Well, to my delight, I was wrong! 

This recipe not only tastes better than the "original" version, but it has a kick to it - thanks to the generous pinch of cayenne pepper. I came across this recipe on Susan's blog, which also has a plethora of other great vegan recipe ideas. Rather than taking up space on here, just click on her link for the ingredients and cooking instructions. There will be photos below to keep you on track. :)

A few changes I made:

1. Used marsala cooking wine since I didn't have dry sherry - worked great!

2. I opted for Oroweat Oatnut bread in the topping mix. 

3. Only used about 6 ounces of button mushrooms since I'm not a huge mushroom lover. 
 

*Side note - In case you're asking yourself "Who or what is a vegan?", here's the definition: A type of vegetarian that excludes meat, eggs, dairy products, and all other animal-derived ingredients from their diet.  

Hope you like!!
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your loved ones. 

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Chicken and Gnocchi Soup

(adios chicken noodle) 

 

 This soup gives "comfort food" a whole new meaning. I can honestly say I don't want another spoonful of chicken noodle from here on out (possibly because I'm die hard gnocchi lover). Between prep and cook time, this delicious meal is in your tummy within 40 minutes! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, but made some preferred changes.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, shredded
1 pound cooked, cubed chicken breast

(*bought pre-cooked whole chicken from store and shredded instead)
4 cups chicken broth
1 (16 ounce) package mini potato gnocchi
1 (6 ounce) bag baby spinach leaves
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
2 tablespoons cold water (optional)
2 cups half-and-half cream
salt and ground black pepper to taste

* add italian seasoning and parmesan cheese if desired

Cooking Steps: 

1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Cook onion, celery, garlic, carrots until translucent - about 5 minutes. Stir in chicken broth and shredded chicken; bring to simmer. 
2. Add gnocchi to soup and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until they begin to float. Stir in spinach leaves, and cook until wilted - about 3 minutes. 
3. Whisk cornstarch into cold water until smooth. Add cornstarch mix and half-and-half into simmering soup. Cook until soup thickens - about 5 minutes.
4. Season to taste with salt, pepper, italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese. Serve with french bread for dipping - Mmmm!  

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Sweet and Salty Pumpkin Seed Salad

(say that 10 times fast)

I made yet another batch of sweet and salty pumpkin seeds today.....

1.  Bake seeds at 300 degrees for 50 minutes
2. Melt 2 T butter in medium bowl
3. Mix 2 T granulated sugar, 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. cinnamon, 1/4 t. cumin into the melted butter
4. Add seeds to butter mix being sure to coat all seeds evenly (turn oven up to 350 degrees)
5. Return seeds to baking sheet and bake for 15 more minutes
6. Allow to cool and try not to eat in one sitting!

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Back to that yummy salad. I had class tonight, so I had to come up with something quick and healthy by using what was handy.

Ingredients:

Mixed Field Greens

Goat Cheese

Dried Cranberries

Sweet and Salty Seeds

Dressing (whisk together 1 T of both olive oil and balsamic vinegar - with a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper)

And there you have it. The bitterness of the dressing paired with the sugary seeds and cranberries make this salad superb!! Enjoy :)

Side note: I would have topped it with some lemon zest, but Chris tossed the lemon thinking you could only zest it for one meal.... wah, wah, wah.