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 

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. 

Creamy Jackfruit Casserole

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My cousin,  Debbie,  makes a chicken casserole that is the talk of our family. Every reunion, party, get together, or potluck, she brings this casserole and it is cleaned out before it hits the table. The casserole is so good, she has named it “marriage proposal casserole”  because she had 2 men propose to her after eating the casserole! Before going vegetarian, and now vegan, I would make this dish to take to my husband’s family or for potlucks and I had the same reaction. It was a real family tradition.

 I find it hard to take dishes that have so much tradition and “veganize” them. The main reason is that I know it will be held to the standard of the original dish, no matter how I try to tell everyone to “taste it for the first time” or try it with an open mind. If it’s not exactly like that dish, it will rejected on the spot. Family dishes are “sacred” and must not be touched unless you know you have got it right.

This was a crazy idea I had floating in my head for a little while now, but I was always afraid to try it… I was even afraid to tell my husband I wanted to try and “veganize” my cousin’s famous recipe. I knew the reaction would be “no”. Yesterday I decided I can figure it out and I would make it work.

My husband called me while I was cooking dinner yesterday and asked “what’s for dinner?”. I just replied “I’m making something with jackfruit and steamed cabbage”. That was the safe answer. I was, in fact, making a jackfruit casserole and steamed cabbage. I wanted to surprise him, but I would make pulled jack fruit sandwiches quick if it turned out to be a disappointment. Luckily, it was a HIT! Everyone loved it last night. I had a completely empty dish and my husband ate 3 helpings!!! I hope this casserole will bring you a proposal, or at least, a happy family!

Looking for more great family meals? Try my Baked Enchiladas, Chili & cornbread Casserole, Baked Spinach & Artichoke Pasta, BBQ Tempeh over cauliflower "rice", Vegan Philly & Cheeze Sandwiches  , & Easy Sunday Dinner

Creamy Jackfruit & Poppy Seed Casserole:

*Jackfruit filling:

4 (17 oz.) cans of jackfruit, drained and shredded

Olive oil

½ cup carrots, diced small

½ cup celery, diced small

1 tsp. paprika

½ tsp. garlic powder

½ tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. thyme

½ tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. parsley  

Salt & pepper to taste

*Creamy “chick’n” sauce:

4 Tbsp. vegan butter

4 Tbsp. flour

1 tsp. salt

3 cups plant milk

2 chick’n bouillon cubes

¾ cup vegan sour cream

*Buttery Ritz & Poppy Seed Topping:

2 sleeves Ritz crackers, crushed

½ cup vegan butter, melted

2 tsp. poppy seeds

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Sautee all ingredients for the jackfruit filling in a deep skillet over medium high heat until tender , this will take about 10-12 minutes. ( jackfruit should no longer look “transparent”.)

Add jackfruit to a large mixing bowl and set aside while you prepare the sauce.

Melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and whisk to prevent lumps. Cook about 2 minutes, but don’t allow it to “brown”. You want a blonde roux for this sauce.

Add plant milk, salt and bouillon cubes and allow to come to a boil. Boil about 5 minutes, until thickened. Continue to whisk often to prevent lumps.

Add sauce and vegan sour cream to your jackfruit and mix well.

Pour into a greased 11x13 casserole dish.

In another mixing bowl, mix crushed Ritz crackers, melted vegan butter and poppy seeds together.

Pour cracker mixture over jackfruit evenly.

Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool 5- 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 6 people.

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