Vegan MOFO: Barbecue Brussels Sprouts

VegWeb's Barbecue Brussels Sprouts really hit the spot. It may sound bizarre but I'm a big fan of brussels dipped in barbecue so having them roasted in barbecue was really delicious and quick. I left out the garlic this time as I just did this recipe from memory.

Creole Roasted Carrots

I love carrots, especially roasted and if you didn't know already, my favorite seasoning in the whole wide world is Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning!

Directions:

- Preheat oven to 375F
- Get as many handfuls of baby carrots that you feel like eating and put them into a glass baking dish
- Spray the carrots with a bunch of cooking spray and season the carrots generously with creole and shake everything around a bit
- Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, turning the carrots halfway.

Vegweb's Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Rosemary and Garlic

If you love cauliflower, or at least like it, try this recipe: Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Rosemary and Garlic! Please follow the directions and let your cauliflower marinate. The first time I didn't let it marinate, I didn't like this recipe much, the second time I did let it marinate and WOW! Very delicious!

Quick Dinner: Breaded Tofu + Roasted Brussels + Leftover Mashed Potatoes & Gravy

I went shopping for clothes today after work so I didn't have much time to whip up a fancy dinner. I knew I had a block of frozen and thawed tofu pressing in my tofu press as well as some brussles sprouts that I had prepped the night before (Nasty outer leaves removed, stem cut, sliced in half lengthwise). I decided I would make some breaded fried tofu tonight since I had some leftover mashed potatoes and gravy from the night before and thought the two would go together nicely.

Breaded Tofu:

Ingredients:
- 1 block extra firm tofu, pressed and cut into cubes (mine had been frozen and thawed)
- 1 tablespoon Ener-g Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons water
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs, more if needed (I used these bread crumbs they're gluten free)
- 1 tablespoon Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
- Oil for frying, I almost always use olive oil

***I also added a few cups of broccoli florets and seasoned them with some nut yeast, garlic powder, salt, and pepper... probably better without but I have a bunch of broccoli I need to use up***

Directions:

- Coat tofu with Ener-g and water mixture and place coated tofu in a big ziploc bag.
- Add bread crumbs and creole and shake the bag until the tofu is battered.
- Heat a big wok with a few tablespoons of oil, add tofu and fry until golden
- These are yummy dipped in barbecue sauce or ketchup

For the roasted brussels, check out my post on Roasting Veggies. I seasoned these with some minced garlic, creole, and olive oil.

Barbecue Tofu and Lots of Veggies!

Tomorrow I am off to Vegas for my birthday for 3 days, so I will make sure to take lots of vegan foodie pics while I am there and give some restaurant recommendations and reviews!

Tonight, I had some veggies and tofu to use up so I made Barbecue Tofu, Roasted-Garlic-Creole-Flavored-Zucchini, and Pan-Fried-Creole-Seasoned-Broccoli! These are really not even recipes just quick and easy meal ideas.

For creole seasoning THIS BRAND is the most fantastic seasoning on the planet... Great in soups and on any type of veggie! Buy this brand seriously, I have tried others.

The Barbecue Tofu was way easy:

- Press the tofu for about 20 minutes and cut it into cubes.
- Place the cubes into a gallon sized ziploc, add about 1/4 cup of cornstarch and shake the bag for 30 seconds.
- Fry up the tofu in a tablespoon-ish of oil until golden on all sides, turn off the heat, and add 1 cup* of barbecue sauce. Mix the tofu around in the pan until the tofu is evenly coated.

*I used only 1/2 cup in the picture and ended up putting the tofu back in the pan and adding another 1/2 cup... The saucier the better!

For the Roasted Creole Flavored Zucchini: 

- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- Cut up the zucchini (As many as you want to use) width wise in thumb sized slices, then half those slices width wise. Place slices in a large glass casserole dish.
- Press 4 cloves of garlic (Optional) and add that to the dish as well.
- Spray zucchini with cooking spray and sprinkle generously with creole. Shake the pan around for a minute so everything gets coated.
- Roast in the oven for 15 minutes. Sprinkle more creole if needed.

Pan-Fried Creole Seasoned Broccoli:

- Grab as many broccoli florets as you feel like eating.
- Fry them up in some olive oil or cooking spray.
- Once you broccoli is to the crunchiness of your liking, add a generous amount of creole.
- Mix the broccoli around a bit more in the pan to coat the broccoli evenly.
- Broccoli is better on the crisper side versus mushy... Yuck.

VegWeb's "Beef" Teriyaki Stir Fry & Cauliflower Poppers

 

I have made this recipe for "Beef" Teriyaki Stir Fry off VegWeb a few times now. I always switch up the veggies to what I have on hand. This time I used a few cups of frozen broccoli, about half a pound of halved baby carrots, 1/4 a white onion, and 1/2 a red bell pepper.

I think the seitan needs to be cooked a bit longer in the oven as mine was a bit chewy this time (Though maybe my pieces were too big... I might do 20 minutes in the oven next time flipping after 10). I also added 1/2 cup water to the sauce to make it saucier and used about 1 tablespoon powdered ginger since I didn't have fresh. Good recipe just watch out for chewy seitan.

Cauliflower Poppers is one of the recipes off VegWeb I make almost weekly. I never measure anything anymore and definitely add more dijon mayo and dill than suggested since I always tend to like things that are drenched in flavor. I also use cooking spray instead of olive oil to keep the veggie dish fat free like it should be!

Easy Peasy Pasta Bake

So I kinda just threw this together and thought it turned out pretty good... My BF really liked it and said I should post it! Quick comfort food... Though next time I would add more veggies... Maybe even an entire extra bunch of asparagus or some broccoli. I will list exactly what I used this time, feel free to add more veggies if desired. Serve with salad for a perfect vegan meal.

INGREDIENTS:

- 1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends snapped off, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 white onion, sliced
- Garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper to taste
- Cooking spray
- 12 oz box medium pasta shells
- 10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup + 10.75 oz can worth of water
- 1/2 to 1 cup fried onions
- Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

- Prepare asparagus and onions.
- Preheat oven to 400 F and get a big pot of water boiling for the pasta.
- Once pasta water is boiling add pasta and cook until al dente, then drain in a colander (Save the pot).
-Meanwhile, put the asparagus and onions in a large rectangular caserole dish and season generously with garlic powder, onion powder, sea salt, fresh cracked pepper, and crushed red pepper. Spray your seasoned veggies with cooking spray and mix the veggies around until everything is evenly coated. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, until asparagus is tender crisp (Save the casserole dish).
- Turn stove down to 350 F.
- Thoroughly mix condensed soup and water in the pot, add cooked pasta and mix until pasta is evenly coated. Add this mixture to the asparagus and onion mixture in the casserole dish and mix thoroughly. Once mixed, cover with fried onions (You can mix the mixture around again if you wish or leave the onions as a topping).
- Bake for about 20 minutes or until the tomato soup has thickened a bit.
- Generously season casserole servings with creole.

Makes: 8 Servings
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Roasted Breakfast Potatoes

I have made this recipe from VegWeb a few times now, whenever I am feeling like a hearty breakfast, and it always turns out fantastic... This time I used cooking spray instead of olive oil to cut down on fat and it turned out perfect again!

I also made some scrambled tofu to go along with my potatoes, but didn't like the flavoring of that particular recipe... For scrambled tofu, I like this recipe off Vegweb much better (I would halve or even quarter the cheeze sauce though) or even this one. Scrambled tofu is the bomb... you should try it! Eggy-ness sans the cholesterol!

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Sweet Dijon Mustard Sauce

I love this recipe from VegWeb... It's magical... You could also coat the veggies with the mustard sauce before popping them in the oven (this is what I did) instead of coating them afterwords.

Roasting Veggies

Believe it or not, I had never had a roasted vegetable until going vegan, which probably explains why I despised so many veggies before... I'm talking to you brussels sprouts and asparagus... Now I always roast my veggies, it's the best way to eat them! I prefer to save on fat by coating my veggies in cooking spray instead of using oil.

A cookbook I own, called Mollie Katzen's Vegetable Heaven, has a few pages (96-99) dedicated to veggie roasting times and temperatures for veggies of all types... So I am sharing a few of my favorites with you!

Zucchini or Summer Squash (sliced down the middle, lengthwise):

375 F for 20 minutes

Asparagus or Mushrooms (whole):

400 F for 5 to 10 minutes (you want asparagus to be tender crisp not mushy!)

Cauliflower (florets) , Broccoli (2 inch chunks, stems peeled), or Brussels Sprouts (small ones whole, larger ones cut in half lengthwise):

375 F cauliflower 15 minutes, broccoli 20 to 25 minutes, brussels sprouts 15 to 20 minutes (do not let them get mushy!)

Carrots (2 inches long):

375 F for 30 minutes

Coat all the veggies listed above with cooking spray and your favorite seasonings before roasting them... My all time favorite vegetable seasoning is Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning!