"Beef" Stew

With the cold weather I just love to curl up at night with a hot bowl of soup.  I've been craving a vegan version of beef stew.  I've never made it before, and it was actually really easy.  I based mine on the delicious beef stew my mom used to make.  The aroma alone will make your mouth water.

For the beef, I used Westsoy brand seitan cubes, but Gardein brand Beefless tips would work really great as well.

What You Will Need:
2 potatoes, cubed
1 cup carrots, diced
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups green peas
1 tablespoon vegan worcestershire
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 box seitan, or 1 bag beefless tips
salt and pepper, to taste

1. In a large pot, add the potatoes, carrots, onion, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil.  Saute on medium high heat for about 5 minutes, to cook the onions. Give it a stir every minute so the potatoes don't stick.
2. Then add the flour, vegetable broth, peas, worcestershire, garlic powder, salt, and pepper.  Bring everything to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. While the stew is simmering, in a separate pan, brown the "beef."
4. After the stew has simmered for 30 minutes, add the "beef" and let it simmer, uncovered, an additional 5 minutes.  

So easy biscuits and gravy

Growing up my dad used to make us homemade biscuits on the weekends.  Biscuits are just a staple of breakfast in the southern kitchen.  I don't cook these often, but every now and then I like to indulge in this delicious, homestyle, comforting meal.  These biscuits are so quick and easy to make, much healthier than those you can pick up at a fast food joint, and in my opinion, much tastier.

Makes 12 biscuits.  If you aren't serving all the biscuits at once, I'd recommend cutting the gravy recipe in half for a smaller serving.

What You Will Need:


Biscuits:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 cup almond or soy milk
1 teaspoon sweetener (optional)
pinch of salt

Gravy:
4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter
4 tablespoons flour
2 1/2 cups almond or soy milk
pinch of salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper


To make the biscuits:

1. Preheat oven to 450.  
2. In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and optional sweetener.  
3. Then stir in the melted butter and milk.  Knead dough, and add flour as needed if the dough is too sticky. 
4. Roll out until about 1/4 inch thick and use a glass to cut biscuit rounds.  Continue re-rolling out the dough and cutting biscuits rounds until all the dough is used.  Place the biscuits on a lightly greased baking sheet, and bake 18 minutes or until the biscuits begin to brown.

 To make the gravy:

1. Over low heat, melt the butter in a small saucepan. 
2. Blend in the flour, salt, and pepper, and cook until it becomes smooth and bubbly.  
3. Stir in the milk. 
4. Heat to boiling on medium-high heat, stirring constantly.  Stir and boil about 1 minute, or until you've reached the desired thickness.

With Lightlife Gimme Lean vegan sausage

*The gravy also goes great with chicken fingers.  I prefer Gardein brand chipotle lime crispy fingers

Veggie Pot Pie

Growing up, one of my favorite meals was my mom's chicken pot pie.  The sweet doughy crust with the delicious creamy vegetables inside, just the smells alone made my mouth water.  It was absolutely delicious.  Last week I was in the new Fairway and picked up an Amy's brand non-dairy vegetable pot pie.  It was good, but not as delicious as the ones I'd had homemade.  So I decided to make my own and I'm glad I did.  My pot pie turned out absolutely delicious!  I've even been sneaking bites of it this morning.  

*I opted for homemade biscuits baked on top instead of pie crust.

What You Will Need:

1 cup carrots, chopped

5 red potatoes, cubed with skins on

1 and 1/2 cups peas 

1 and 1/2 cups corn

1 vegetable bullion cube

3 cups water

Salt and pepper

1/2 large onion, chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cumin

2 cups + 3 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

3 tablespoons + 1/4 cup Earth Balance butter

1 and 3/4 cups soymilk

1 tablespoon Splenda

1. In a large pot with a lid, bring the carrots, potatoes, peas, corn, bullion, water, and a pinch of salt and pepper to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft.
2. While the vegetables are simmering, in a small pan, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions become translucent and start to brown.  Add the cumin and 3 tablespoons of flour and stir until the flour is light brown and the mixture is thick.  Add 3/4 cup soymilk and 3 tablespoons of Earth Balance, bring to a boil and stir constantly for about a minute, until the mixture thickens. Pour the onion mixture into the pot of vegetables and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes, allowing the mixture to thicken.
3. As the vegetables and onion mixture are simmering, in a large bowl combine 2 cups of flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, pinch of salt, and 1 tablespoon of Splenda.  Then add 1/4 cup Earth Balance melted and 1 cup of soymilk.  Add flour if the dough is too sticky.
4. Pour the vegetable mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish.  Place spoonfuls of the biscuit dough on top.  Bake at 450 for 20 minutes, or until the biscuits begin to brown.