Another bad picture. All I can say is, I was hungry.

This is a super simple sandwich that tastes like there was a ton of effort put into it, minus the effort. I think this would be good with some sauteed onions as well, but hubs isn’t a huge fan of them, so I left them off the menu this time. Really, you could add in all kinds of additional veggies, if you prefer (green peppers, spinach, etc.). Get creative!

Vegan Meatball Sandwich

Ingredients

8-10 Nate’s Zesty Italian Meatless Meatballs
1 jar pasta sauce of choice
Daiya mozzarella style shreds
3 large portobello mushrooms
Garlic Gold (or vegan garlic butter)
1/2 tbs Earth Balance
2 Italian sandwich rolls or Hoagie buns

Ingredients

• Warm 1/2 – 2/3 jar of sauce in small saucepan
• Add frozen meatballs to sauce, cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 10 min
• Meanwhile, slice mushrooms and melt butter in small pan
• Add mushrooms to butter and saute 5-6 min or until mushrooms are softened
• Coat each side of buns in garlic gold and place on small tray or baking sheet
• Add meatballs to each bottom bun. Spoon a line of sauce down the center of top buns. Add mushrooms and top with cheese
• Toast in a toaster oven or bake until cheese is melted

Yield: Serves 2

You know that killer mac and cheese recipe I’ve been hinting at practically since I started this blog? Here she is.

Mac and cheese was one of the first things I tried to veganize after I made the switch. That inaugural experience was so disastrous, I may have actually cried thinking that I’d never again get to enjoy one of my favorite foods. Many, many, many recipes later, I still haven’t found the perfect stove top version of this dish, but as far as baked macaroni and cheese goes, I knew after the first bite of this recipe that victory was mine!

Interestingly enough, this recipe features absolutely no vegan cheese substitutes and zero nutritional yeast. Do a Google search and you’ll quickly find out how incredibly rare that is. Instead, the creamy, cheesy flavor and texture of this dish comes from a smooth blend of veggies, Earth Balance and cashews.

Honestly, this is the BEST. I’ve served it to non-veg friends and family I don’t know how many times and never has there ever been any trace of it left (my sister will actually lick the serving spoon clean – it’s that serious). That’s why it’s taken me so long to post. I can’t ever manage to get a picture of it before it disappears!

Vegan Macaroni & Cheese
Recipe courtesy of VegNews

Ingredients

4 quarts water
1 tbs sea salt
8 oz small, whole wheat pasta
2 slices of bread, torn into large pieces
1 tbs + 1/3 cup Earth Balance
2 tbs shallots, peeled and chopped
1 cup yellow potatoes, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup carrots, peeled and chopped
1/3 cup yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp garlic, minced
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbs lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne
Paprika, to garnish

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: After I made this a few times, I thought it could really benefit from just slightly more sauce. Now I make about one quarter more sauce and stir it in before baking, as usual. The ingredients list above does not reflect that because it makes for some weird measurements (1/16 tsp, etc.). If you decide to make a little more (and you should!), just eyeball it.

Directions

• In a large pot, bring the water and salt to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside
• In a food processor, make breadcrumbs by pulverizing the bread and 1 tbs margarine to a medium-fine texture. Set aside
• Preheat oven to 350°F. In a saucepan, add shallots, potatoes, carrots, onion and water and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 min. or until vegetables are very soft
• In a blender or food processor, process the cashews, salt, garlic and 1/3 cup margarine, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper and cayenne. Add softened vegetables and cooking water and process until perfectly smooth
• In a large bowl, toss the cooked pasta and blended cheese sauce until completely coated. Spread mixture into a 9 x 12 casserole dish and sprinkle with prepared breadcrumbs and paprika.
• Bake for 30 min or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top has turned golden brown

Yield: Serves 6

I haven’t had sloppy joes in I don’t know how long. It was never something my mom made, so I think I only ever really had them at school. I did recall though, that I liked the taste of them back in the day, so when I saw this recipe in my go-to cookbook, I decided to give it a go.

These were good. But you know what I had forgotten about sloppy joes that instantly came back to me as we started to eat? They’re messy. Yeah, despite them actually having the word “sloppy” in their name, I forgot that.

Note about me: I have a SERIOUS issue with getting food on my hands – especially any kind of sauce (It’s a personal weirdness, I know). So how someone with a hang-up like that could somehow be responsible for planning a meal like sloppy joes is beyond me.

Anyway, if you are not weird like me, you will probably find these delightful – as will your children. Just do me a favor and never talk about how many napkins you went through. It gives me the willies just thinking about it!

Vegan Sloppy Joes
Recipe courtesy of Skinny Bitch: Ultimate Everyday Cookbook

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tbs safflower oil (or any flavorless oil)
1/3 cup minced onion
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 cup seitan, finely chopped
1 6oz. can tomato paste
1 tbs dijon mustard
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
2 tbs tamari
1/4 cup ketchup
6 whole wheat burger buns
pickles, sliced for garnish

Directions

• Heat water over high heat in a medium saucepan. Once water is boiling, add lentils. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until tender, about 30 min.
• In a separate sauce pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion, bell pepper and carrot until tender, about 10 min. Add in seitan
• In a medium bowl, mix together the tomato paste, mustard, vinegar, tamari and ketchup
• Add mixture to the pan of vegetables and seitan. Combine thoroughly
• Drain the lentils (reserving the cooking liquid in case needed) and add to the pan of vegetables, stirring carefully to combine. If the mixture seems too dry, add some of the cooking liquid. Simmer 5 min.
• Toast the burger buns and serve mixture on the toasted buns with sliced pickles

Yield: Serves 6