Mexican Lasagna

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Today was one of those days. I couldn't figure out what to cook for dinner & I, honestly,  didn't want to cook dinner. I have been busy this week because my oldest son is getting married this weekend. Cooking has been low on my list, to say the least. This dish helps me to keep my sanity for a few reasons. First, it was easy. Second, used up some left over rice, peppers and onions  I had from earlier this week, along with a container of my white bean queso I had in my freezer. The best part is probably the fact that I can eat off this dish several times and not worry about cooking until after the wedding festivities! I love a good casserole for a busy week! 

Looking for more Vegan Latin Style Dishes? Try my

 Buffalo Jackfruit Quesadilla, Cheezy Cuban Black Bean & Plantians Bowl  Vegan Tacos ,  Vegan Caribbean Burrito, Chick'n & Bac'n stuffed Jalapenos, Chipotle Mac-N-Cheeze & Smokey Lentils

                            

Recipe:

2 cups of prepared Rice 

1 (13 oz. )Gardein beefless crumbles *

1 small red onion, diced 

1 small red pepper, diced 

1 small orange pepper, diced 

5 oz. Fresh spinach, chopped 

1/4 cup Spanish olives, chopped 

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

1 cup of corn 

1 tsp. Cumin 

1 tsp. Paprika 

1/2 tsp. Garlic powder 

Salt and Pepper to taste 

2 cups White Bean Queso sauce **

1 (10 oz) can of tomatoes with green chilies 

8 flour Tortillas 

Vegan sour cream to garnish, optional 

Method :

Preheat oven to 350°

Over medium high heat, brown Gardein beefless crumbles *, peppers, onions, &  corn.

Add paprika, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper  to Gardein beefless crumbles &cook an additional 2 minutes. 

In a large mixing bowl, combine Gardein beefless crumbles,  rice, spinach, olives, and black beans. Mix well.

In another mixing bowl, mix White Bean Queso sauce with tomatoes with green chilies. 

Spray your casserole dish with non stick spray. Layer 4 tortillas to cover bottom of dish.

Top tortillas with 1/2 Gardein beefless crumbles & rice mixture. Spread evenly.

Top Gardein beefless crumbles and rice with 1/2 of the White Bean Queso sauce and tomatoes. 

Repeat thelse layers twice.

Bake 25 minutes. 

Serve topped with vegan sour cream. 

Makes 8 servings. 

* If you can't find Gardein, any vegan beefless crumbles or 8 oz. of chopped mushrooms will work just fine.

** If you don't have time to make my amazing White Bean Queso sauce, substitute any vegan cheese sauce you like or shredded vegan pepper jack cheese.

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