Teriyaki Portabella Burgers

A few years ago my friend made some fantastic portabellas that still make my mouth water today. I haven't had much success in the past with them, until now. The key is to marinate them prior to cooking, and not to overcook! Who knew?

Ingredients:
big portabellas, one for each person
teriyaki marinade or sauce
olive oil
1 Tbsp. finely shredded ginger
Your favorite fixin's for burgers

Marinate the portabellas in a healthy mix of olive oil and teriyaki sauce (with the ginger) for about 30 minutes. Then oil a frying pan (I used a cast iron one) and saute until the bellas are carmelized on top, about 2 minutes or so. Don't overcook and don't push them down (they'll break, as you can see by my photo below).

Then flip and repeat on the other side. Top with your favorite burger toppings and you're good to go!

Tortilla Soup

I've been living off of tortilla soup for three days, it's that good. So I finally decided to stop procrastinating and post the recipe already. Here it is:

1 onion, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 bag frozen corn, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 can chopped green chilis (or 3 fresh chilis, roasted and chopped)
1 can fire roasted tomatoes
1 box veggie broth
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the corn until charred around the edges, then add in the onion and bell pepper, cook until soft. Add in the spices and saute another minute or so, to release the full flavor of the spices. Combine the rest of the ingredients and cook until bubbling. Serve over fresh tortilla chips and top with sour cream, cheese, a slice of lime, chopped avocado, cilantro and hot sauce. Or skip dairy and have it vegan!

Irish Nachos

A teensy  (hey I said teensy!)  bit better for you than traditional nachos, this "Irish" version is made with potato slices and then topped with traditional nacho toppings. It tastes almost like an exploded baked potato supreme from heaven.

To make the potatoes:
 Slice 4-6 potatoes thinly and place in a single layer on 1 or 2 oiled baking sheets.
Bake at 425 for 12 minutes, then flip. Bake another 12 minutes or so, then remove from heat and pile them up onto one baking sheet.

Top with cheese, beans, chilis and bake until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Remove them from the oven and finish by topping with salsa, sour cream and/or guacamole!

Seitan from Scratch and Seitan Guinness Stew

Just in time for St. Patty's day!

Seitan is a "vegan meat" made from flour and water.

To make, mix 4 cups whole grain flour with 1.5 cups water, to make a ball of dough. Let rest for 30 minutes or more.

Then place the dough in a collander, with a bowl underneath it and rinse with water until the water runs clear. What is left is the vital wheat gluten.
From here, boil the seitan in a bit of veggie stock and spices until cooked through, about an hour.

Use some as you would any other meat, saute, stew, etc.

Guinness Stew
3 each, carrots and stalks of celery, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
2 potatoes, chopped
1-2 bottles of Guinness, depending on taste
1.5 cups broth
2 tbsp. steak sauce or soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp. thyme or mixed seasoning

Saute seitan in olive oil until browned. Add in steak sauce or soy sauce and turn to coat. Remove from heat and set aside. Meanwhile, saute celery, carrot, potato, onion, garlic for about 5 minutes. Combine the rest of the ingredients (sans seitan) and stir. Add in seitan and simmer until thickened, about 45 minutes.

Favorite Breakfast Smoothie

I'm not huge on breakfast, unlike my husband, who can jump out of bed and scarf down a stack of pancakes quicker than I can get to my cup of coffee. My tummy just isn't ready for that level of commitment in the morning.

So that being said, the best way for me to get my metabolism going is with a smoothie.

This one is quick, packs in my antioxidants and vitamins into one fell swoop! Smoothies are super easy, you can mix 'em up with what you have on hand. Be sure to add a scoop of something packed with vitamins for an added energy boost!

1 cup soymilk

1 cup frozen berries
1 banana

1 scoop Super Green powder

1 packet of Emergen-C

1 tbsp. flax oil

Blend and enjoy!

Stroganoff

Reminiscent of my childhood, I haven't had stroganoff since I became a vegetarian, almost 10 years ago. This version uses veggie sausage (I love Trader Joe's brand, they are so flavorful) but you can also use tofu, seitan or any other veggie alternative. Or leave it out and enjoy a mushroom stroganoff. It's up to you!

1 package veggie sausages, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp butter alternative (optional, you can use olive oil here too)

1 onion, sliced

1 small package of sliced mushrooms

1 can lite cream of mushroom soup

1 cup lite sour cream

1 tbsp. flour

1 cup of veggie broth

1 tsp. creole seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

Brown the sausage in olive oil and then remove from heat and set aside. Then saute the onions and mushrooms in butter until soft. Add flour and return sausages to the pan and stir to coat. Add in the broth and soup, simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes. Stir in the sour cream and cook on low for another 5 minutes. Serve warm, over noodles.

Vegan Philly

It usually happens that the best meals come from an empty fridge and some ingenuity. Such is the case with this one! I love this meal so much I could eat it every day for lunch and never get tired of it. It doesn't look like much, but the taste is phenomenal, plus if you do eat meat, you won't miss the cheese, or the steak, but you'll have to try it to believe me!

1 onion, halved and sliced

1 red bell pepper, halved and sliced

5 baby bella mushrooms, sliced

1/4 cup (or to taste) of Soyaki teriyaki sauce, or similar

Saute the onion until soft in a few tbsp. of olive oil. Add in the mushrooms and bell pepper and continue to cook until it begins to caramelize. Then add in the teriyaki sauce and stir to coat. Cook about one more minute, then remove from heat.

Serve on top a bed of greens and your favorite bread.