This year I made a Tofurky (Because that was all that is available in our small town & I haven't perfected a seitan turk'y, yet) that was roasted over carrots in a beer based baste (because I LOVE cooking with beer), garlic mashed potatoes & gravy, Tajin roasted corn, brussel sprouts roasted in a thick, grainy, German Dijon and maple syrup, teriyaki "meatballs" (these are Gardein brand), my famous butternut mac-n-cheeze (link to that recipe is here - Butternut mac-n-cheeze ) and a gingerbread pumpkin cake that is an adaptation from my pumpkin spice cupcake recipe - used a box of gingerbread mix instead of a spice cake mix and cooked in 2 8" cakpans (link to that recipe is here - Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes ). I like to keep these descriptions short so we can get on to the important part - THE FOOD!
Note- for more ideas for your holiday dinners, check out previous posts like My First All Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner , Glazed Meatless Loaf , Sausageless Balls with spicy vegan ranch , Greek Pinwheel Pastries , Apple Cranberry Cobbler , Cheezy Tater Tot Casserole ,Creamy Jackfruit Casserole , Award Winning Vegan Chili , & Cowboy Caviar
Teriyaki Meatballs
3 packages of vegan meatballs
teriyaki sauce (1 cup +/- a few Tbsps)
a small amount of oil - optional
In a skillet, brown your meatballs in a little oil over medium heat. Do not overcrowd the skillet, this should take a few times to brown all these meatballs.
Put the meatballs into your crock pot on low heat as they become ready.
Once all your meatballs are in the crock pot, add about a cup of teriyaki sauce. This should coat your meatballs and leave about 1/2" of liquid at the bottom of the crock pot - adjust if needed
Let meatballs cook while you prepare the rest of your food. They are fine for hours, just make sure you add more teriyaki sauce if the bottom of the crock pot is getting dry.
Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Grainy German Dijon Mustard & Maple Syrup Glaze
4 lbs. of brussel sprouts, halved
1/2 cup of a good German, Grainy Dijon Mustard (not just brown, spicy mustard, but the good stuff!)
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of oil (you can sub this with broth if you are oil free)
Preheat oven to 450.
Mix dijon, maple syrup, and oil in a bowl with a whisk to form a glaze.
Toss your brussel sprouts with in the dijon glaze you just made until well coated.
Spread brussel sprouts out an a greased sheet pan ( I had to use 2 sheet pans, do not over crowd the brussel sprouts or they will not all become brown and roasted). Note - if you don't use oil, you will have to use something to prevent these from sticking because the maple syrup will glue them to your pan and they will be destroyed when you try to scrape them off!
Bake until all your brussel sprouts are brown, like the ones in the picture above. Start checking at 15 minutes, and add 5 minutes at a time until golden.
Tajin Roasted Corn
16 mini ears of cooked corn, defrosted if frozen, and room temperature.
1/2 cup of vegan butter
2 Tbsp. Tajin seasoning (located in the Mexican food section of your grocery store or online)
2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast
fresh cracked black pepper - optional
Preheat your oven to 450.
Place corn on your pan and roast/ fry until golden.
Melt butter and pour into a large mixing bowl. Add tajin seasoning and nutritional yeast (make sure this is almost a powder texture. Mine was a little thick this time, so I crushed in between my fingers as I added it!)
Use a basting brush to coat your corn with the butter. Sprinkle with extra tajin, if desired, and cracked pepper.
Place corn on a baking sheet - make sure there is plenty of room for your corn to roast on all sides. Do not overcrowd.
Bake for 10 mins, then baste with butter again. Continue this process until corn is golden brown.
