Minestrone Soup

4-5 cups of veg broth
1 28oz can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 onion diced

2-3 cloves garlic
 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 half teaspoon sage (optional)
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1 can kidney beans drained

1 can great northern beans (any beans work, I sub black beans all the time)
1/2 cup ditalini pasta (shells, or other short noodle)
1 zucchini chopped
1- 1/2 pkg frozen spinach

Sautee onion and garlic. Add veggie broth.
Cook broth carrots, tomatoes, celery, thyme, sage, bay leaves, salt, pepper and beans. When veg are tender add ditalini, zucchini and spinach.

Other Veggies I add:

Potatoes

Yellow squash

Frozen corn

Frozen peas

green beans

Bell peppers

Broccoli

Califlower

usually whatever I have around, the more the better

Grilled Personal Pizzas

This is a great meal for when we have non-Vegan guests for dinner. (or for when my husband gets sick of eating Vegan, he's not as thrilled with it all as I am).
Because you make your own little pizzas, you can have topping for everyone.

Pizza dough: (basic Cuisinart recipe)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
2/3 cup warm water (105 to 115°F.)
1 2/3 cups flour
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
¾ teaspoon salt

1. In a liquid measuring cup, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until foamy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
2. In a bowl combine flour, olive oil and salt.  pour the liquid mixture into the bowl. Mix, adding a bit more flour until you are able to knead the dough. Dough may be slightly sticky.
3. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll into desired crust sizes.

Pizza Sauce:

Sautee 1 small onion, diced and a few cloves of garlic in a large skillet

Add 1 can diced tomatoes and

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Then, Add 1 tsp (or to taste) Italian Seasoning 
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon Earth Balance soy-free butter

To cook:
Grill one side of the pizza dough. (without any toppings on it yet!)
Add the sauce and toppings to the grilled side of the pizza and then take it back out to the grill to cook the other side. You may also cook it in the oven. (sometimes I like to put it under the broiler for a min or two even after its been grilled) The grill gives the dough a slightly crunchy texture and awesome flavor.

Baked Ziti

This is something I throw together on a night when I don't have much time to cook.
Kids always eat it too, so that's a plus.

1 pkg short noodles, cooked according to pkg directions
Sautee an onion, chopped small and a few cloves of minced garlic in a large skillet.
I also like to add some chopped mushrooms, and a zuchinni (you can puree any veggie you want in a food processor and add it to the sauce, carrots, broccoli, califlower, etc. I hide veggies all the time so my kids will eat them.)
Also, spinach is always good in pasta as well.
add:
If you have a jar of vegan friendly pasta sauce you can use that
or I usually use:
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce
1 small tomato paste
Oregano, to taste (about 1 tsp)
Basil, to taste (about 1 tsp)
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 tsp brown sugar makes it really tasty:)

Add noodle, stir, then transfer all to a 13 x 9 baking dish. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 mins.

Waffles and Hashbrowns

WAFFLE Ingredients:

1 C. Flour (Sometimes we do all wheat, most we do 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white, works good both ways)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 C. Almond Milk (1 T of vinegar or lemonjuice added to it, let sit for 5 mins makes "buttermilk")
1/2 C. Applesauce
1 T Ground Flax Meal (mixed with 2 T water, allow to sit for 5 mins, makes "egg")
2 tsp Baking Powder

Directions: Mix together flour, cinnamon, salt. Then add the Milk, Applesauce, and Flax. Last add the Baking powder. I find that adding the powder last makes them more fluffy. Cook in waffle iron. Longer if you want them more crispy.

Hashbrowns:
I always do about 1 potato per person. Peel and dice potatoes. Also cut up some red and green peppers and some onions. Place in skillet. You can spray the skillet with a little cooking spray if you want. But you DONT have to cook the potatoes in oil! They turn out really great, if you just add a little water to them and cook with a lid. When the water is gone, if they are still not done, add a little more. Make sure not to put too much water though. Keep adding little bits of water when needed until the potatoes are golden brown and soft.

Quinoa Veggie Stew (chili)

 I got the Chili recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod. Go HERE to view it.
Obviously, omit the cheese, sour cream as toppings.
This is delicious, packed with protien, and we calculated that it's only about 160 calories per CUP!!

I've been meaning to try a few homemade vegan cornbread recipes...but haven't done it.
For now, I have been buying a milk, egg, dairy-free vegan friendly cornbread mix at the store. And then I just add Almond milk(instead of the milk) and make a "flax egg" in place of the eggs.

This salad above is my favorite right now: Spinach, cherry tomatoes, red onion, mushrooms, and avacado. I usually pair it with a Blush Wine Vinegarette, or Annie's Balsamic Vinegarette. The sweetness of the dressings makes it takes like a dessert to me:)

Mexican Salad

The easiest thing for me to make since going plant based (that the whole family is happy with) seems to be variations of different mexican dishes. You still get all the flavor and I find I don't really miss the meat, cheese, and sour cream as much as I thought I would. Whenever I am struggling with cravings for bad things, if I make a mexican dish, it usually satisfies me and reminds me that I am not missing out on anything eating this way (and after 30 days now, not one headache or my usual stomach issues, it is SO worth it!!)

 

 

Mexican Salad

 

Ingredients:

~Lettuce

~Black beans

~tomatoes, diced

~grilled red, green, yellow pepper with onions

~Rice (I make mine using veggie broth instead of water, and I add a little cilantro, garlic, and lime juice. Sometimes if I am in a hurry I just mix some of my homemade salsa with the rice and it is good that way too)

~Fresh Salsa

~Homemade guacamole (I mix some of my homemade salsa or some Herdez salsa with mashed avacado, sprinkle on a little salt and pepper and some lime juice. This is just as good as the lenghty guac recipies I have tried and way less work)

 

-The salsa and guac act as your "dressing". SO YUMMY!!!!

 



Homemade French Fries and BLT's

Homemade Fries:
Cut potatoes into 1/4 in long strips.
Place on a baking sheet covered with either parchment paper or aluminum foil.
You can spray the fries with cooking spray if you want, but it isn't neccessary.
Sprinkle with salt.
Bake @ 400 degrees. 15 mins on one side. Flip the fries and cook about 15 mins more on the other side. Until the fries are golden brown (or too your liking, I like mine a little too done:) )

BLT's:
I can't say that I love using meat substitutes. Honestly, I'd rather just not have "meat" at all.
However, I can say that my family loves "Smart Bacon".
We make our BLT's by toasting some good vegan bread (we use Dave's Killer Bread)
You can use some Veganaise (I do for the kids)
My hubby and I would rather just smear some smashed avacado on as a sub for the "mayo".
The place your "bacon", lettuce, and tomatoes. Sprinkle a little pepper and salt and your good to go.
Easy!!