Mushroom and Goat Cheese Hand Pies

As St. Patrick's Day approaches, I wanted to create a hand pie that was meat free and had all of the comforts of a simple street food when you want a snack and not a large meal. Thus, the mushroom and goat cheese hand pie! This was incredibly simple to make, and you can make it more simple by using a food processor to chop your veggies and using store bought pie dough. Also, if you have an infused olive oil, that will add to the flavor, but plain olive oil will work, too. I used a portabella roasted garlic olive oil in this dish. Enjoy!



Ingredients:
16 oz. mushrooms (any variety) chopped
1 medium onion chopped
4 cloves of garlic chopped
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tsp. Dried Thyme
Salt and pepper
2 pie crusts (store bought is fine)
2 oz. plain goat cheese










Directions:
1.) Preheat oven to 375
2.) Heat olive oil in a large pan over high heat. Add mushrooms, onion, garlic, and thyme, and, while stirring occasionally, cook until most of the moisture has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to cool.
3.) Line a baking sheet with foil and spray to prevent sticking. Working with one pie crust at a time, cut out  4 in. circles in the pie crust. Do the same with the other pie crust. You should have 6 circles total.
4.) In the center of each circle, place 1-2 Tbsps. of mushroom mixture. Crumble a bit of the goat cheese on top of the mushroom mixture. Fold the dough in half over the mushroom mixture and cheese, and use your fingers to gently press the edges together. Cut a small slit in the top of the pie to let steam escape. Place on prepared pan.
5.) Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the pies are golden brown and cooked through. Let cool for 10 minutes on a baking rack. Serve warm

Corned "Beef" Hash

After over twenty years of being a vegetarian, I still get a wild craving for meat. This was one of those mornings. With predictions of up to 13 inches of snow and negative degree weather, I instantly wanted some corned beef hash; you know, the old school kind that comes in a can, plops out, and is a big mess of lard and preservatives. Thank goodness I was able to come up with a mock version of this classic that is both vegan and mystery meat free! I was quite impressed with the texture, and I think it is about as close as you can get to the saltiness of corned beef. If you have backyard hens, feel free to send another member of your household out in the frigid, snowy morning to collect a few eggs, and serve this up with a fried egg on top. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 16 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 Tbsp. of soy sauce
1 Tbsp. of Vegan Worcestershire sauce or Steak Sauce
1 tsp. of liquid smoke
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. mustard powder
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. nutritional yeast flakes
1-2 small potatoes cut into 1/2 inch cubes (approximately 1 1/2 cups)
1 small onion diced (approximately 1/2 cup)
3 Tbsp. of olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Pour the chickpeas into a large bowl, and with a potato masher, smash the chickpeas completely. You may have to smash a few with your fingers, but try to mash them down as completely as possible.
2. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire, liquid smoke, garlic powder, mustard powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, and nutritional yeast flakes to the smashed chickpeas. Mix well, add salt and pepper if necessary, and set aside.
3. Place cubed potatoes in a microwave safe dish and toss with 2 Tbsp. of olive oil. Cover, and cook on high in microwave for 6 minutes, stirring the potatoes after 3 minutes of cooking. Remove the potatoes from the microwave and drain excess oil and water in colander.
4. Meanwhile, heat remaining Tbsp. of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Sautee the onions until slightly translucent. Add the drained potatoes to the onions and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add salt and pepper if necessary
5. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the chickpea mixture to the onions and potatoes. Continue to cook, frequently stirring, until the chickpea mixture begins to brown. If the mixture sticks, add more oil and turn down the heat.
6. Once the mixture has browned, taste to see if more salt and pepper is needed,  remove from heat and serve with an optional fried egg.

Spicy Tofu and Broccoli (Vegan)

It is a new year and time for a new post! This past holiday season, I bought myself a new deep fryer. Although I hope not to be too much of a fried cook, I think it is a fun and fast way to cook some appetizers or parts of a meal that would normally take three times the cook time without the fryer. Take tofu for instance. Usually when I make a tofu stir-fry, it takes about 30 minutes of watching and flipping the tofu until it reaches a nice brown. This recipe, with the help of my deep fryer, took 5-7 minutes. Sure the deep fryer is not the best for the waist line, but in moderation, I think it will be a welcome time saver in my kitchen! Now that my defense of the fryer is over, I will move on to the dish. This is a simple broccoli and tofu stir-fry, with the main ingredient in the sauce being soybean paste. You can find soybean paste in the Asian section of most grocery stores, or online. It added a nice, but not overwhelming taste to the dish. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. Seasoned Soybean Paste
1 tsp. Chopped green onion
1 tsp. Chopped fresh ginger
1 tsp. Chopped fresh garlic
1 pkg. of tofu drained and patted dry
1 head of broccoli
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. of water

For the Sauce:
Mix the soybean paste, green onion, ginger, and garlic in small bowl and cover. Set aside. (may be refrigerated up to 24 hours)

For the Tofu:
Cut the tofu into one inch cubes. Fry in a deep fryer at 340 degrees for 5-7 minutes or until browned (this may take longer if frying with 1/2 c. oil in a deep frying pan.) Drain on a paper towel and set aside.

For the Stir-Fry:
Heat 2 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium high heat. Sautee broccoli in oil until tender. Add fried tofu and reduce to simmer. Meanwhile, add 1 Tbsp. of water to the sauce, and stir until well combined. Add sauce to tofu and broccoli and stir until everything is well coated. Cook until heated through.
 Remove from heat and serve over rice.

Vegetarian Sausage Gravy

So this holiday season has been a mess of cooking and cleaning, so when the holidays were over, I wanted to take a break from cooking. However, wanting and doing are two different things! On a cold morning, my family was craving biscuits and gravy. Usually I cheat and use store bought fake sausage, but I had none, and I was not about to get out of my pjs to go to the store. I did have some tempeh, though. And now I have a Happy Heffer tempeh sausage gravy recipe to share! Enjoy!





Ingredients for Sausage:
4 oz. of tempeh (half of a package)
1/4c. olive oil
1/8c. soy sauce
1 tsp. vegetarian worchestire sauce (If you do not have any, vegetarian steak sauce is a great alternative)
Splash of liquid smoke
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. of chopped garlic
1/2 tsp. of maple syrup
pinch of fennel
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a medium bowl, crumble the tempeh into small pieces (should resemble ground sausage). In another bowl mix the oil, soy sauce, worchestire sauce, liquid smoke, red pepper, garlic, syrup, fennel, and salt and pepper. Add tempeh to the liquid mixture and let marinade at least 1/2 half hour, but can sit stored covered in the fridge up to 8 hours. Remove the marinated tempeh from the bowl and set aside. You may reserve the marinade for the sausage gravy. However, at this point, the tempeh can be browned like sausage and added to any dish that calls for sausage.

Ingredients for Gravy:
1/8 c. of flour
1 1/4 c. of milk or soy milk
4 oz. of tempeh sausage
1 tbsp. of olive oil or reserved tempeh sausage marinade

Directions:
Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil or reserved marinade in a medium pot over medium high heat. Add the tempeh sausage and cook until browned. Add the flour to the tempeh and stir until well coated. Slowly add the milk, reduce the heat to medium, and stir continuously until thickened. Add more pepper if needed. Serve over biscuits.

Sweet and Sour Tofu

While making the weekly menu this week, it was decided that it would be a week of favorite dinners. By favorite dinners, I mean the meals we do not cook as often because one of us loves the meal, while the other is just OK with it. That being said, I had first pick, which was Sweet and Sour Tofu. Although my husband enjoys this meal, he claims it is not in his top 5. That's fine! It is definitely a top 5 for me, and I hope you enjoy it too. I usually use store bought sweet and sour, but if you have extra time, there are some great recipes online for homemade sweet and sour sauce. Either way, it is the tofu that makes this dish excellent! Enjoy

Ingredients:
1 Block of tofu, drained and cut into one inch cubes
1/4 c. flour
1 1/2 Tbsp. cornstarch
4-8 Tbsp. of water
1 egg
1/2 c. oil
1 green pepper cut into large chunks
1 onion chopped medium to large
1 can of chunk pineapple drained
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Sweet and sour sauce
Rice for serving

Directions

1. Mix the flour, cornstarch, water, and egg in a large bowl. Begin with 4 Tbsp. of water. If the batter is too thick, add more water 1 Tbsp. at a time.

2. Heat the oil over medium/high heat in a large pan. Dip the tofu in the batter, and then gently place in hot oil. Fry until golden, flipping occasionally. Drain tofu on paper towel. Repeat with remaining tofu. Set fried tofu aside.

3. In a second large pan, heat the 2 Tbsp. of olive oil over medium heat. add the onion and green pepper and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. Pour in the pineapple and cook until heated. Add the tofu. Pour sweet and sour sauce over the tofu mixture until well coated. Remove from heat and serve with rice and additional sweet and sour sauce if needed.

Tofu Fish Sticks

So as a new mom of an infant who is now eating solid foods, I am finding it very difficult to find quick meals for when we are in a hurry. Many of the kids frozen meals are either meaty or full of preservatives. I started thinking about what I ate when I was a kid, and I suddenly had a fond memory of fish sticks. We are raising our daughter vegetarian, so I had to come up with something similar that she would enjoy. The nice thing about this is that it is quick to put together, and it can be thrown into the freezer and used by portion size when needed. This would also be good as fish sandwiches, just slicing the tofu into rectangle slices versus the "sticks." Enjoy!



Ingredients:

1 block of extra firm tofu drained and sliced into one inch sticks
1/2 c. of milk
1/2 of a lemon juiced
1 tsp. of soy sauce
1/2 c. of "Andy's" fish and shrimp breading
2 Tbsp. of kelp powder
Tartar sauce for serving

Directions:
Mix the milk, lemon juice, and soy sauce in one bowl. In a rimmed plate, mix the fish breading with the kelp powder. Dredge the tofu into the milk mixture, coat with breading, back into milk mixture, and finally add a second coat of breading. If not using immediately, place tofu sticks in a zip type bag and freeze until ready to use.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 425 degrees. Place breaded tofu on baking sheet and lightly spray the tofu with cooking spray. Cook the tofu for 30 minutes or until heated through and the breading is toasted,  flipping occasionally and adding more cooking spray if necessary. Serve with tartar sauce and lemon wedges

Vegan Pantry Soup

In an effort to clean out my pantry and vegetable bin, I put together this soup. I was quite pleased with the outcome, as well as was my family. In fact, my husband stated that if this soup was at a restaurant, he would want to go back to that restaurant just for the soup. I know that is not an official critic's report, but I will take it! This soup is a simple crock pot recipe that can be made in advance, and sit in the crock pot on low for the day. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
4 c. of vegetable broth
2 cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 c. of chopped celery
1/2 c. of chopped onion
5 cloves of garlic chopped
1 inch of fresh ginger chopped
1/4 c. sliced sundried tomatoes
2 Tbsp. of olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. of curry
1/4 tsp. of cayenne pepper
1 tsp. of garam masala
1/2 tsp. of coriander
1/4 tsp. of cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste




Instructions

1. Heat 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
2. Once oil is heated, sauté the celery and onion until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes)
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook a minute more
4. Add the curry, cayenne pepper, garam masala, coriander, and cinnamon and stir into vegetables until well coated. Remove from heat
5. In a crock pot, add broth, chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, spiced vegetables, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low for 5-8 hours