Chili & Cornbread Casserole (Vegan potluck)

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I have been making this recipe for over 20 years for my family. It started out as a cheap meal for us right after we got married. I was a server and my husband delivered pizzas back then, so, money was tight. We always had rice, cans of chili, and the cheap (2 for $1) boxes of cornbread muffin mix. I used to make this with hamburger, eggs and milk, but I have adapted it easily to a vegan recipe. 

I decided this Sunday that I would be brave and go to the once a month potluck at my church. I always skip it because I figure there is nothing for us to eat. (We are the the rural country area of North Carolina where everything is cooked in ham or covered in gravy). This time we decided to take a meal for our family and just enjoy seeing everyone and the program that followed the meal. I decided to make this recipe because it had always been a hit in the past. People had ate it many times as a omni dish and even as a vegetarian dish and never knew the difference ( I just used veggie chili). I also made my delicious Banana Pudding Pie topped with coconut whipped topping. If there was nothing else there, we could have a good meal still.

 Turns out, there was a hummus and veggie tray there that no one else really touched, but we loved it. That dish stood out here in this town...looked far too healthy to taste good I guess. Funny part was, the actual healthy dish (mine) was cleaned out. People went back for seconds! My dish was a hit. I kept hearing the cornbread topping was amazing and the dish was delicious. My pie was all gone except 2 slices, but that was a surprise too on a desert table full of southern classics like coconut custard pie and homemade chocolate cake. Definitely a success! No one even knew it was vegan!

I'm sharing this EASY vegan casserole with you all in hopes you will take it to a potluck or just share it with your family. It's a meal that won't seem "too healthy" or "odd" to share with everyone.

Looking for more great Vegan family recipes? Try my Buffalo Tempeh over Cauliflower "rice", Creamy Baked Spinach and Artichoke Pasta, Cheezy Butternut Macaroni , Vegan chick'n ( Jackfruit) Casserole & "Beefless" Pies . Don't forget desert! Try..Vegan S'mores Pie

Chili & Cornbread Casserole: 

2 (8.5 oz.) packages of cornbread muffin mix 
2/3 cup unsweetened plant milk
6 Tbsp. aquafaba (chic pea juice )*
1 (15 oz ) can of corn, drained
2 (13 oz )cans vegan chili
1 package frozen veggie crumbles**
1 package frozen onions and peppers
3 cups cooked rice
1 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Cumin
1 fresh chopped jalapeño (optional )
Salt& Pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Cook veggie crumbles ,onions& peppers with cumin, paprika, salt and pepper over medium heat.

Mix cornbread muffin mix, plant milk, aquafaba, and 1/2 cup of corn together in a mixing bowl.

In a large mixing bowl, combine chili, rice, remaining corn, and veggie crumbles mixture. Mix well.

Spray a 13x9 casserole dish with non stick spray.

Pour chili mixture into casserole dish and top with Cornbread. Spread cornbread out evenly across chili.

Cook for 25 minutes, until cornbread is golden brown.

Serves 8

*If you don't have aquafaba, use same amount of applesauce.

**If you don't like to use "fake meats", just add 1 (15 oz.)can of drained and rinsed chic peas 

Lemon Garlic Pasta with Tempeh & Broccoli

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This recipe is full of good "cold fighting" ingredients, which happen to be some of my favorite ingredients too ( fresh lemons, turmeric, garlic and parsley). In our house, lemon juice go with everything- salad, steamed veggies, rice, pasta, chick'n, fishless filets, potatoes, water, tea. We keep a bowl of them in the kitchen like most people keep fruit. We also keep enough garlic to kill an army of vampires...maybe this is why we are never sick. 

My children and husband all cleaned their plates tonight with this simple dish. It starts with infusing the lemon zest and garlic into the oil. Once you flavor the oil, it becomes an amazing "sauce" to toss with your spaghetti. We used Tempeh, but if you are not a fan of it, you can leave it out, or substitute extra broccoli. This is a simple meal, but one that's perfect for a busy family with different schedules and tastes (like ours) because it can be reheated easily and served later. Hope you enjoy this easy meal with your busy family and make sure to leave me comments if you try my recipes, I LOVE feedback!

Looking for more great Vegan pasta dishes? Try myVegan "Meaty" Spaghetti, Kale Stuffed Eggplant Parm, Cheezy Butternut Macaroni, BBQ Tempeh with Cauliflower "Rice", &

Recipe:

3/4 cup of olive oil 
Zest of 2 medium lemons
6 cloves of garlic, freshly pressed
Juice of 4 medium lemons
2 (8 oz.) packages tempeh, cubed
12 oz. Frozen broccoli florets, thawed
1 bunch of fresh parsley, chopped fine
Salt & lemon Pepper to taste
1 box pasta ( I used fettuccine)

1 Tbsp. turmeric

Brown tempeh with a little oil over medium high heat.

Add salt & lemon pepper to taste and set aside.

Boil pasta in salted water with turmeric, cooking according to package. Drain well. The turmeric will turn your pasta a beautiful bright yellow color once cooked.

In a sauce pan over medium low heat, simmer oil with lemon zest, garlic, and lemon juice. Sauce is ready once the garlic becomes fragrant. This only takes a few minutes. Do not overcook your garlic, or it will be bitter.

Add tempeh, parsley, broccoli, and lemon sauce to pasta.

Toss well.

Serve with lemon slices.

Makes 5 servings.

Cheezy Butternut Macaroni

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This was a recipe I had seen floating around the vegan recipe pages and thought it was worth a shot. My husband, as you probably know by now, loves all things butternut squash and my daughter is very picky, so, this seemed like a good way to hide a few veggies. I followed the recipe I saw online and I was not happy with the way it turned out. I was very sweet and my daughter would pick out the flavor and turn her nose up quick. My husband poured hot sauce on it and ate it anyways, but I knew I had to work on this recipe before feeding it to the kids. 

This recipe is similar to the one I saw online, except I made it more of a Mac-n-cheese with hidden butternut squash. If my daughter could taste the cheesiness first, she would be fine ( she pours ketchup on her mac-n-cheese anyways). This batch passed with fling colors! In fact, the ENTIRE pan was cleaned out and my daughter ate 2 helpings. I truly enjoyed this recipe once I reworked it and made it more family friendly. 

Looking for more great family friendly meals? Try my "Baked & Loaded" Stuffed Burritos, Vegan "Meaty" spaghetti, "Beefless" Pies with Roasted Butternut Squash, Vegan "Chick'n" (Jackfruit) Casserole & Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Cheezy Butternut Macaroni:

Recipe :

4 cups butternut squash, cubed
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves Chopped fresh garlic
1 cup nutritional yeast

Salt and pepper to taste
4 cups veggie broth
1 cup unsweetened plain plant milk
8 oz. vegan cheddar style shreds
1 tsp. Paprika

1 tsp. Chili powder (optional)
1 (16oz )Box pasta

**For the breadcrumbs :

5 slices of bread
2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast
1 Tbs. groundflax seeds
Sea salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp. Paprika
Olive oil to drizzle

Preheat oven to 350.

Boil water and cook pasta about 7 minutes... just slightly under cooked.

In a deep skillet over medium high heat, cook butternut squash, onions, garlic, nutritional yeast and paprika in veggie broth & chili powder (Should cover all veggies, add more if needed).

Allow to boil, then reduce heat to simmer and add plant milk, salt & pepper to taste. Cook 10 minutes.

Drain pasta and pour into a greased 2 quart casserole dish.

Transfer butternut squash and all the liquid it cooked in, to a high powdered blender and puree until smooth.

Pour over pasta. Add vegan cheddar shreds. Stir to mix well. Mixture will seem a bit "runny", but it will absorb during baking.

Toast your bread. Let cool completely. 

Add bread to a food processor with nutritional yeast, salt,ground flax seeds, pepper, and paprika.

Process on high until it becomes breadcrumbs.

Sprinkle breadcrumbs over pasta and drizzle with olive oil.

Place in oven and cook for 25 mins.

Serves 6-8.

** you can substitute 1 cup of premade breadcrumbs if you don't have time to make them.