Scraps and Snippets ~ Pumpkin Pasta Salad

Pumpkin Pasta Salad

16 ounce box of macaroni cooked according to package and rinsed

3 TBSP minced onion

2 TBSP minced celery

1 Cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling with the seasonings)

1 Cup mayonnaise

1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder

1 ½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoon sage

Mix pumpkin, mayo and spices together with chopped veggies. Toss in pasta and stir well. In addition you could add some of the following. pepitas (toasted pumpkin seeds), diced mushrooms, chopped kale, fresh chiffonade sage instead of the dried (use 3 Tablespoons)

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Shepherds Pie

I decided to put some vegan leftovers to use and recreate a whole different delivery system. 

Used:  

Mashed Potatoes

Leftover Seitan Roast

Added. Chopped Veggies. 

What and How.

I had a few cups of dirty, garlic mashed potatoes (dirty = skin on) (garlic mash = garlic cloves boiled in the potato water and whipped into the potatoes. I thinned them out a bit with vegetable broth so I could spread them easily. 

I chopped up the seitan roast. There were about 6 meatloaf sized slices and I crumbled them in the bottom of a greased casserole dish. 

I sauteed diced celery (2-3 stalks small dice), carrot (1 small dice) and onion (1 small) until caramelized. 

I placed the veggies over the crumbled seitan and covered that with the potatoes. I added salt and pepper to the top of the casserole along with a few shakes of paprika and dried onion. 

I baked it in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes. Yum. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Okay, Not Pretty, But EASY and Pretty Tasty ~ Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

This is one of those almost embarrassing recipes. You know, open a bag, toss in a canned item, apply heat, Bammo!

Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

1 Package LightLife Smart Dogs (Or other of choice) (8 dogs)

1 16 ounce can of chili spiced beans (I used chili sauced pinto beans)

Approx 1/2 Cup shredded Vegan cheese (I used Daiya's Pepperjack) 

Hot dog buns

Toppings: 

Ketchup

Mustard

chopped onions

dill or sweet pickle relish

Preheat oven to 350. Semi-slice the hot dogs longwise down the middle. Slice only half way through the dog. Open the dog and lay sliced side down and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. I'd line the pan with parchment paper or grease the pan, as my hot dogs stuck a bit. 

This will heat the hot dog through a bit and give a nice warm surface for the beans and cheese. 

Flip the hot dogs over and spoon beans over the dogs. Sprinkle cheese over them. With vegan cheese, in my opinion, less is better. 

Place the pan back in the oven for 14 minutes. If desired, turn oven to broil until cheese is fully melted. 

Open hot dog buns, slide a chili dog onto each bun and top as desired.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Spicy Curry Garlic Cereal Mix

Spicy Curry Garlic Cereal Mix

3 Cups cereal (a mix of Chex flavors if wanted, puffed rice or Cheerios)

1 and ½ Cups or additional add-ins. Nuts, seeds, pretzels, crackers

2 TBSP melted Earth Balance (or oil of choice)

1 TBSP garlic flavored oil (or more butter)

1/2 TBSP worcestershire sauce (find a vegan one, last time I checked Whole Foods 365 brand was. Traditional worcestershire contains anchovies)

½ TBSP soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Melt the butter, add the spices. Mix well. Dump the cereal in a bowl, add nuts, pretzels or crackers of choice. Pour the buttery spice mixture over it and mix very well. Bake at 250 for 1 hour and stir every 15 minutes. Dump onto paper towels and let cool. Store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Serials and Scenario ~ Product Review...Lightlife Smart Dogs...

Sometimes "junk" just calls your name and you have to answer right? One of the only meat products I actually liked back in the day when I was a meat eater was a beef hot dog. I could pretend that a beef hot dog was purer and somehow nobler. Because we all know and refuse to think about what's really in a $.99 package of hot dogs. 

I didn't really crave them very often. But if there was a picnic or a BBQ I'd hope someone went the classy route and supplied beef hot dogs for the gourmets in the bunch. 

A few weeks ago while wandering through Natural Grocers I discovered they had a markdown section. What the Wha?  Bargains on vegan foods or organic veggies/fruit? Oh yeah. So now I hit the spots every time and nosh on $2.00 bags of organic peppers, onions, tomatoes, lettuce and 1/2 price non-dairy items that are at the end of shelf life. Happy. Makes me very happy. 

So I found a package of vegan hot dogs. I wouldn't have purchased because sometimes faux meat is just kind of a cruel sleight of hand. But back two years ago when & and I went to Portland for VegFest we were given a sample of a chunk of hot dog in a bun and were able to put toppings on it and scarf it down. The dang thing was great. But was this sale package the same brand? At 1/2 price I was willing to risk it. I brought the little hummers home and popped them in the freezer for the right occasion. 

Last night was that occasion. 

I pulled them out because we had white processed non-food buns. (Why does uber processed sometimes just taste so good?) And I had a hankering. And I also had to rearrange some stuff in the freezer because things had gotten out of control. I won't tell you the details...but let's just say I need to check my freezer before going to Trader Joe's. There are apparently items there that convince me that they NEED to go home with me on EVERY trip.  But I digress....

My cast iron griddle has a smooth side and a grill side (is that proper? Would it be corrugated? Because that's what it feels like it should be...whatever, we will call it grill -- it leaves little bumpy sear marks on whatever you cook on it.) So I grilled them up. And slapped them on the buns and squirted mine with mustard and spooned on dill relish (organic, of course, ha ha). This is my perfect hot dog scenario. 

And. It was stinking delicious! Seriously. Rob looked at the little flesh colored, striped tubes on the griddle and raised an eyebrow. "Vegan hot dogs." I said. He picked one up and gingerly took a bite. (without any frills and toppers) He chewed. And put them on his plate. And ate them. 

Can I recommend these? Seriously, yes. You have an itch to scratch and only a hot dog will do? ... I don't think you'll be disappointed. On a side note, I took a picture of the back of the package. They aren't as trashy as one would think. Non-GMO soy, 13 grams of protein and 100 calories.  

Thanks Lightlife. Me likey Smart Dogs