Shepherd's Pie and Chocolate Cake

Traditional Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• Mashed potato layer:
• 5 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1/2 cup vegan mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup soy milk
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons vegan cream cheese
• 2 teaspoons salt
•  
• Bottom layer:
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 1 clove garlic, minced, or more to taste
• 1 pinch ground black pepper to taste
• Some sort of meat substitute (I used two cups of TVP)
•  
• 1/2 cup shredded Cheddar Daiya

Directions

1. Place the potatoes in a pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat to medium-low, and boil the potatoes until tender, about 25 minutes; drain.
2. Stir the vegan mayonnaise, soy milk, olive oil, vegan cream cheese, and salt into the potatoes, and mash with a potato masher until smooth and fluffy. Set the potatoes aside.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
4. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and cook and stir the onion, carrots, celery, frozen peas, and tomato until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the Italian seasoning, garlic, and pepper.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, and crumble the vegetarian ground beef substitute into the skillet with the vegetables. Cook and stir, breaking up the meat substitute, until the mixture is hot, about 5 minutes.
6. Spread the TVP mixture into the bottom of the baking dish, and top with the mashed potatoes, smoothing them into an even layer. Sprinkle the potatoes with the shredded cheese.
7. Bake in the preheated oven until the cheese is melted and slightly browned and the casserole is hot, about 20-25 minutes.

Here's a pic before going into the oven.  I give this a Vegan Gal rating of 6 (my roommate says it needs a rating of at least 7).  Add mushroom gravy for more flavor and down home style.

Chocolate cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Cake Ingredients

1 1/4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

Mix the dry ingredients first and then add the wet.  You can even prepare this in the pan you bake it in to save dishes! Bake in an 8x8 pan at 350 for about 30 minutes.  

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting (from Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's) The Joy of Vegan Baking

This cake is divine.  Vegan girl rating of 7.5!  This cake is so good that non-vegans will rave about it!

Enchiladas, Vegan Style

Vegan Enchiladas with Spanish Rice

I give this a vegan gal rating of 8!  It was wonderful!

Enchiladas

One box Fantastic Foods vegan taco filling or other protein filler such as soy crumbles, etc.
One can enchilada sauce
One can of black beans, drained and rinsed
One case of diced tomatoes
2-3 cups of corn
2 teaspoons cumin
Tortillas
green onions
Daiya cheddar or pepper jack cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the cooked taco filling with the beans, corn, cumin, tomatoes and half of the can of enchilada sauce.  Divide mixture into tortillas.  Add Daiya on top, wrap and place into a greased baking dish.  Repeat this step until the mixture is gone.  Cover tortillas with the rest of the enchilada sauce, Daiya and top with chopped green onions.  Bake for 20-25 minutes.  Spanish rice makes a great side dish!

Crazy Good Home Made Lasagna!

Ultimate Lasagna

Ingredients:

• 2 medium onions, chopped (2 cups)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
• 10-oz. bag fresh baby spinach
• 2 14-oz. pkgs. firm tofu, drained
• 1 8-oz. pkg. vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
  
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/2 pound of mushrooms
• black olives, sliced

LASAGNA

• One jar of your favorite pasta sauce
• 12 lasagna noodles
• Soy sausage crumbles, broken apart
• 1 bag Daiya shredded mozzarella cheese

1. To make Filling: Preheat oven to 375°F. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté onions and garlic in oil 4 to 5 minutes, or until golden. Add spinach, and cook 2 to 3 minutes, or until wilted. Transfer spinach mixture to bowl of food processor. Add tofu, cream cheese, basil, and nutritional yeast, and purée until mixture is thick and smooth. Season with salt and pepper, if desired.
2. I cooked the mushrooms with the soy crumbles.  You can do this however you wish. Mix together the tofu mixture with the soy crumbles and mushrooms.  Set aside.
3. Spread one-quarter of the sauce on bottom of 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Cover with 4 or 5 noodles, then half of filling, and ladle on another one-quarter of sauce. Repeat layer of noodles and remaining Filling. Spread sauce evenly over top, and top with sauce and sprinkle with shredded cheese.
4. Cover lasagna with foil, and bake 30 minutes, or until bubbling hot. Uncover, and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, or until noodles are tender and topping is melted. I add the black olives right at the end for fun. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.  The Daiya can get kind of greasy on top, but it still tastes so good!

Rice Crispy Bars with Dandies

Ingredients:

3 tbls. vegan margarine
One package (10 oz.) of Dandies Vegan Marshmallows
1/2 peanut butter (optional)
6 cups vegan (and preferably organic and non-GMO) crispy rice cereal

Melt the butter over low heat.  Add the Dandies and melt those as well.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the peanut butter.  Then add the cereal and mix really well.  Press the mixture into a greased pan and allow it to cool.  Then enjoy!