Chic pea Omelet

As an Events Manager, I have to plan menus with clients every week.  Unfortunately, most menus are not cruelty free 😐. Last Sunday, at a lady's brunch, I got to plan a vegan meal for a breastfeeding mama. She was a soy free vegan, so I personally prepared her meal to make sure her dietary needs were met completely. As much as I love my team, they don't always have a clear picture of veganism. Best to do it yourself when it's this important. 

I made this Chicpea Omelet stuffed with portabella mushrooms, onions, colorful bell peppers, spinach, Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, and topped with fresh sliced tomatoes and chives. I served this with Annie's all natural organic biscuits (which are accidentally vegan!) and a parfait made with coconut milk yogurt and fresh berries. When the brunch was over, she thanked me for a great meal. This really made my day! 

As a vegan, you never know what kind of meal you will be served at a function. I have had amazing chef created dishes with fruit sorbet as desert... I have also been served salad covered in ranch with rice mixed with spaghetti sauce served with chocolate cake (the same non vegan chocolate cake served to everyone else). I was very happy to have made this event special for this mama. 

RECIPE:

1 1/2 cups chic pea flour

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 tsp. Garlic powder 

1/2 tsp. Onion powder 

1/2 tsp. Turmeric 

2 Tbsp. Nutritional yeast 

Indian black salt to taste(optional)

Salt & pepper

Vegan butter

2 large Portobello mushrooms, sliced

1 Tbsp. Cornstarch 

1/2 cup mushroom or vegetable broth

2 small bell peppers, sliced

1 purple onion, sliced

4 cups of spinach, sliced 

Vegan cheese (optional)

4 roma tomatoes, sliced

Fresh chives 

METHOD:

Mix chic pea flour, water, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, turmeric, Indian black salt (or regular salt) and pepper in a mixing bowl until smooth. 

In a medium sized skillet over medium heat, melt enough vegan butter to coat the bottom of the pan. 

Pour about 1/4 the chic pea flour mixture into the skillet.

Allow the omelette to cook, undisturbed, until it "sets" (becomes solid).

Remove pan from heat. 

Use a dinner plate to cover the pan.

Flip the pan over into the dinner plate to remove your omelette from the skillet.(This is the easy way to flip your omelette without tearing it up). 

Place empty skillet back over medium heat. 

Add a little more vegan butter to coat your skillet. 

Slide your omlette back into the pan.

Cook about 2 more minutes. Do not overcook. Omelette should still be able to fold without breaking. It should appear be light & fluffy. 

Repeat with your next 3 omelettes. 

Set your omlettes aside and prepare your filling.

In deep skillet over medium high heat, sautee sliced mushrooms with a little vegan butter. 

When mushrooms are browned, sprinkle with cornstarch and add broth.

Cook mushrooms in broth until a "gravy" forms. Add salt & pepper to taste. 

Set mushrooms aside. 

Sautee onions, peppers, and spinach together until they are tender. 

Set aside.

ASSEMBLY:

Lay your omlette on a plate

Put your cheese on one side of the omelette 

Layer 1/4 the mushrooms over your cheese

Top mushrooms with 1/4 of your onions, peppers, and spinach 

Fold your omelette over the vegetables 

Top omlette with sliced tomatoes and chives

Repeat until you have 4 vegan omelettes 

**Makes 4 omelettes**

Chili & Cheeze Gnocchi

This dish started out as an accident tonight, but ended up being a new family favorite. 

My son had requested gnocchi with tomato sauce and Gardein beefless crumbles. As I started pulling items out the pantry and refrigerator, I noticed I was missing one key ingredient in this plan: the Gardein beefless crumbles. No problem, I'll just grab some mushrooms. One problem, I didn't have any mushrooms! Mikey doesn't like just gnocchi and tomato sauce, so on to "Plan B".

I started searching the pantry and refrigerator for ideas. Green beans, corn, chipotle Just Mayo, maple syrup, beets, oatmeal.. no. Then I saw 2 cans of vegan chili. Yes. Chili is kinda a vegan "tomato & meat sauce". It was worth a try to avoid a last minute run to the grocery store after a day spent cleaning out the garage in 90° weather .

This "mistake" was perfect! My husband and son both had seconds! I love it when a moment of desperate creativity becomes a masterpiece. The bonus part is that it only took a few minutes to prep, a few minutes to cook, and it was very inexpensive to make. This is my favorite kind of recipe - perfect for a busy mom after a hard day!

If you like this easy vegan recipe, try my Easy Vegan Sunday Dinner, Cheezy Tater Tot Casserole, Mediterranean Cucumber Salad, Summer Berry Cobbler, Turkish Lentils and Rice, Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes, & Kale & Almond Pesto Pasta

On to the recipe...

Ingredients:

2 packages of gnocchi
2 cans of vegan chili
1 cup Follow Your Heart vegan cheeze
(That's it!)
Optional: fresh, chopped parsley, to garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oveoven to 450°.

2. Bring a pot of water to a boil over medium heat .

3. Once your water is at a rolling boil, add a generous amount of salt.

4. Add your gnocchi to your salted water & boil 2-3 minutes (gnocchi will float when ready).

5. Drain gnocchi well.

6. Grease an 11x13" casserole dish with vegan butter.

7. Pour gnocchi into your greased casserole and top with chili and cheeze.

8. Cook gnocchi 20-25 minutes ,until cheeze is melted.

9. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Serving suggestion - vegan crescent rolls and salad.

Makes 4-6 servings

Cheezy Tater Tot Casserole

Merry Christmas. This year we have new vegans (yay!!), those limiting their meat intake (yay too!), a baby (!),  and my daughter, who has been diagnosed with Celiac disease. So.. I had to prepare a complete vegan & gluten free breakfast for Christmas brunch. Challenge accepted! 

I probably was great entertainment for the staff at our local Harris Teeter. I walked back and forth through the store,  looking at Pinterest (my saving grace most night!), searching for ingredients, and coming up with a plan to make tge best vegan & gluten free breakfast for my family - one that even the picky ones would eat & enjoy (no pressure 😂).

This was the filling, crowd pleasing recipe I can up with to make everyone happy. My entire meal plan is in the footnotes, if you want to know how to make a gluten free & vegan brunch fir your family.

Recipe:

2 bags frozen tater tots

Olive oil

paprika 

8 oz. Sliced mushrooms, chopped 

8 oz. Kale, chopped & de -stemed

1 Tbsp. Cumin

1/4 cup vegetarian chick'n broth (or veggie broth)

1 tsp. Onion power

1 tsp. garlic powder 

Salt & pepper

1 recipe Easy 5 minute vegan cheese sauce

method:

1. Preheat oven to 375.

2. Pour tater tots into a greased 11x13 pan. 

3. Toss tater tots into a little olive oil and paprika.

4. Bake about 20 minutes, until tater tots are brown. 

5. While tater tots are cooking, make your cheezy sauce (see recipe link above).

6. Once cheese sauce is ready, start your vegetables. 

7. Steam your chopped mushrooms and kale in the vegetarian chick'n broth, paprika, cumin, onion powder,  garlic powder, salt and pepper. 

8. Cover & steam over medium heat until softened.

9. Remove tater tots from the oven.

10. Top tater tots with kale/ mushrooms and  the cheeze sauce. 

11. Toss lightly to mix all ingredients. 

12. Bake 30 - 40 minutes, until golden brown. 

Makes 8 servings. 

* Entire vegan & gluten free breakfast plan:

1. Delicious Scrambled Tofu

2. Vegetarian baked beans

3. Southern style grits

4. Cheezy Tater Tot Casserole 

5. Olive platter

6. Fruit roasted with pecans 

Italian Roasted Veggies over Chive & Turmeric Mashed Potatoes

It's Summer time and vegetables are plentiful. We have so many fresh zucchini, summer (yellow) squash, green beans, & tomatoes. Roasted Veggies is a very frequent meal at our home in the Summer and mashed potatoes are ALWAYS a favorite...so let's have BOTH!

This is an easy meal. I'm taking the short cut of using mashed potato flakes and "doctoring" them for convenience (nothing against homemade, please use homemade if you have the time). All you have to do is cut up your vegetables, toss them in your marinade (which becomes a delicious sauce for your potatoes!), and roast while you do your laundry,  help kids with homework, or enjoy a glass of wine while catching up on one of your favorite shows. This is so simple, it will become a staple in your home too.

Looking for more easy vegan family meals? Try my Vegan Cabbage Rolls, BBQ Tempeh over Southwestern Cauliflower "Rice", Baked Crispy Tofu, Kale Stuffed Eggplant "Parm", Chipotle Mac-n-Cheese with Smokey Lentils, Creamy Jackfruit Casserole & Baked Ziti

RECIPE:

3 small yellow squash, chopped 

1 large zucchini, chopped 

8 oz. Mushrooms 

2 cups green beans, chopped 

2 cups carrots, chopped 

1 large purple onion, chopped 

1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes w/ juice

1 head of garlic cloves, pealed

1 cup Italian dressing 

Salt, pepper, paprika to taste

6 servings of mashed potatoes 

Fresh chopped chives 

1 Tbsp. Turmeric 

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 450°

2. Toss chopped veggies with diced tomatoes (do not drain!), Italian dressing, salt, pepper & paprika.

3. Pour veggies into a large roasting pan. 

4. Cook 30- 40 minutes (depending on how large you chopped your veggies), stirring once about half way through.

5. Prepare your mashed potatoes adding fresh chives and turmeric. 

6. Once your veggies are "fork tender", remove from oven.

7. Layer your mashed potatoes & top with roasted veggies. Make sure you get the pan sauce to pour over your mashed potatoes because it's delicious!

Makes 4-6 servings

Vegan Breakfast Burritos

Breakfast burritos are great! You can make large batches and freeze for later. You can eat them as "breakfast for dinner". You can pack them up for a "breakfast on the go". This is a great recipe to use up leftover veggies too! Breakfast burritos are good for you and make your life easier too, gotta love that!

Looking for more vegan breakfast ideas? Try Chocolate Protein Pancakes , Veggie & Tofu Quiche with a Crispy Potato Crust, Maple & "Sausage" Bites, Green Coconut & Citrus Smoothie, Big Family Style Breakfast, Blueberry Breakfast Cookies, & Spicy Tempeh & Grits with Cheddar Biscuits

Recipe:

2 (14 oz.) Extra firm tofu, drained well

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance vegan butter

3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast 

1 tsp. each- garlic powder, turmeric, chicken seasoning, paprika 

Ground black Sea salt (regular salt if you don't have it, but black salt is preferred)

Fresh cracked pepper 

4 cups cooked, cubed potatoes

 8 flour tortillas 

2 cups cooked, shredded kale (optional)

I prepared package vegan bac'n or sausage, crumbled (optional)

Leftover veggies like mushrooms, onions and peppers (optional)

Vegan cheese (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Method:

Melt vegan butter over medium heat. 

Add your tofu, crumbling as you add it to the pan to resemble scrambled eggs.

Add nutritional yeast, spices, salt & pepper to tofu.

Turn heat to medium- high and cook tofu until all liquid is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes, depending if you liked a softer scramble or a hard scrambled texture.

In a large mixing bowl, combine tofu, potatoes, kale, vegan bac'n or sausage, leftover veggies, and vegan cheese (or any combination you like with your tofu).

Mix well and divide evenly between the 8 tortillas. 

Top tofu with salsa (optional) and roll up tightly into a burrito. 

Serve immediately, or freeze once they are completely cooled.

Makes 8 servings 

Tuscan Gnocchi Bake

I love gnocchi.. this is not a secret to anyone who knows me. I also love olives  (especially kalamata olives!), spinach, sun dried tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and vegan cheese sauce that's extra garlicky.  This is my perfect dish. Creamy, salty, loaded with veggies and soft gnocchi.

This us my dream dish for you.. and it's EASY to make. 

Looking for more great vegan recipes? Try my Kale & Almond Pesto Pasta, Vegan Fajita Soup , Mushroom Egg Rolls , Mediterranean Hummus Pizza, Basic Marinara Sauce, and Chocolate Covered Cherry Cupcakes 

Recipe :

2 (17.5 oz) packagesof gnocchi 

1 bunch of fresh spinach 

1 large zucchini, chopped 

1 onion, chopped 

Italian seasoning 

3 Tbsp. Vegan butter 

3 Tbsp. Flour 

3 cups unsweetened plant milk

5 cloves of garlic, crushed 

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

1 (3 oz.) package of sun dried tomatoes*

1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped 

1 (8 oz.) Daiya mozzarella shreds**

1 cup panko breadcrumbs  (optional)

1/2 cup of vegan Parmesan  (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 400°

2. Sautée onions and zucchini over medium heat with Italian seasoning until tender. Set aside. 

3. In a large skillet over medium heat,  melt butter and flour together to form a roux. Stir with whisk to prevent lumps. 

4. Once you have a blonde colored roux, add plant milk, crushed garlic, red pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper to form your sauce. 

5. Whisk well as the sauce comes to a boil. This will prevent lumps.

6. Add your Cheese and allow to melt and become thickened.. about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. 

7. Pour your packages of gnocchi into an 11×13 casserole dish. 

8. Add fresh spinach, zucchini and onions, sun dried tomatoes, olives and your cheese sauce. Toss well.

9. Bake gnocchi for 20 minutes. If using breadcrumbs (see below), add to your gnocchi when there is 10 minutes left to cook. 

optional topping: 

1. In a small dish, mix panko breadcrumbs with Parmesan cheese. 

2. Pour breadcrumbs over gnocchi. 

Makes 4-6 servings.

* if you don't have sun dried tomatoes in your grocery store.. substitute 1 (15 oz) can of  petite diced tomatoes, drained well. 

** You can use any vegan mozzarella you enjoy. If you don't like processed vegan cheese, you can use 1/2 to 1 cup of nutritional yeast in its place.. adjust to your tastes. 

Vegan Fajita Soup

Who doesn't love all the flavors of fajitas? I know we do! This is a easy recipe to pull all those flavors into an simple, one pot meal. Just serve with some colorful tortilla strips and a few chunks of avocado and you have a new "go to" soup for those lazy nights. 

This soup can be easily modified to fit your tastes and time schedule. If you prefer to use a vegan protein like Seitan or chick'n in this dish, it will still work perfectly. Just cut your vegan protein into bite sized pieces and cook as you would the mushrooms. I just used mushrooms because that's what we had on hand & they are easy to find in all parts of the world. You can substitute the vegan cream cheese for silken tofu and my vegan cheese sauce for any vegan cheese you can find at your local store, nutritional yeast, or just leave it out if you're not a fan. To make it easier, a bag of frozen bell peppers and onions can be used in place of fresh, chopped peppers & onions. 

All my recipes are open to your own personal interpretation. Just use the recipes as a guide as you learn to cook vegan meals. As you get used to the substitutions, please, make it your own! I love it when readers leave comments on their adaptations they have tried & enjoyed so others can try their creations too... that's how we learn 💜

Looking for more great vegan recipes? Try my Cheesy Cuban Black Bean and Plantain Bowl, BBQ Tempeh over Southwestern Cauliflower Rice, Spicy Ramen with Tofu and Asian Veggies, Vegan Fried Chick'n and Gravy, Vegan Comfort Soup, & Orange Creamsicle Cupcakes

Recipe:

1 (8 oz) package of mushrooms, chopped 

1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained 

1 pobalno pepper, seeded & chopped 

1 purple onion, chopped 

2 bell peppers, seeded & chopped 

1 (1 oz) package of taco seasoning

1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed well

1 (15 oz) can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed well

2 (32 oz) vegetable broth 

1 (10 oz) can of diced tomatoes with green chilies 

1 (8 oz) container of vegan cream cheese 

1 cup of my Easy 5 minute vegan cheese sauce  

1 bunch of fresh spinach, chopped 

**Optional add ins & toppings**

1/2 tsp of liquid smoke  

1 fresh jalapeño, chopped 

Vegan sour cream 

Crispy tortilla strips 

Chopped avocado

Lime wedges 

Fresh chopped Cilantro 

Method: 

1. In a deep, soup pot over medium heat, cook your mushrooms, poblano pepper, bell peppers, onions and corn until tender. 

2. Add black beans, pinto beans, taco seasoning, diced tomatoes with green chilies, vegan cheese sauce, vegetable broth, vegan cream cheese, liquid smoke (optional), spinach, salt and pepper to your soup pot. 

3. Reduce heat to medium low and cook an additional 15 minutes, until warm and bubbly.

4. Top with chopped jalapeños, tortilla strips, vegan sour cream, lime juice, Cilantro, and avocado (or other desired toppings) before serving. 

Makes 6 servings