Scraps and Snippets ~ Deviled Potatoes

Makes 8 deviled potatoes

Preheat to 350

Wash and remove eyes from 4 smallish potatoes. I used red and I left the skin on, but you could peel them.

Pierce the potatoes and place in a covered baker. (It's important to cover them, the potatoes need to stay moist.) Bake for 30 minutes, test for tenderness. When tender remove from oven and let cool.

Into your food processor place the following.

1/2 of a small onion 

several good shakes each of salt and pepper

3 TBSPS of vegan mayonnaise 

1 TBSP mustard to the onions. Give it a few whirs.

When the potatoes are cool, cut the potatoes in half longwise and scoop out a large section from the middle of each of the potatoes and add the scoop to the mixture in the food processor.

The potato shell should look a lot like a deviled egg without the filling. Kind of...a cross between a twice-baked potato and a deviled egg and potato salad. Whir the mayo/onion/potato mixture until creamy. Taste it. Make sure you are happy with the blend. Now, if you are a fan of German potato salad, or have a favorite egg salad, deviled egg or potato salad recipe feel free to use it here. No sense in reinventing the wheel. Also, if you prefer an idea of chunky go for it.

Scoop the filling into the potato wells/holes, heaping it up a bit. Then, come up with some garnishing ideas. I used paprika sprinkled over the top. Coconut bacon would be delicious.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Walking Taco

Back in the day when the kids belonged to 4H we used to go to the local county fair. It was so much fun. And one of the big treats was discovering a thing called walking tacos. They were little sideways slit bags of Fritos with chili and cheese and other assorted goodies on top. I don't know if it was the fun factor or novelty, but every year we looked forward to those walking tacos. 

Now we can have them whenever we want. Veganized and as delicious as we remember. 

6 small bags of Fritos.  Cut the the bag horizontally. 

3 crumbled veggie burgers or veggie meat crumbles. ( I used these)

2 small tomatoes diced

1 small onion small dice

1 tsp fresh chopped cilantro
1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp cumin

Toss the meat, onion, tomato in a hot pan and stir until onion begins to brown. Add the spices and water. Simmer until the water is absorbed. 

Scoop the mixture onto the Fritos in the bag. Top with some of the following: vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, chopped tomatoes, slices of avocado or guacamole, chopped black olives, black or pinto beans, lettuce, salsa... eat with a fork and enjoy. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ All American Burger

One of my pet peeves with vegan burgers is the texture. I don't like biting into a burger and have it squish out the sides of the bun because of a little bite pressure. 

I had a huge zucchini and home prepped frozen chickpeas, so I set out to make a burger that would withstand the simple bite test. And I think I nailed it. 

(I'm sure any shredded veggie would do to replace zucchini, and also the mushrooms. My second time around I used celery instead of mushrooms, the color was lighter but the taste and texture were just fine. 

3 Cups shredded zucchini

1 can drained chickpeas (1 and 2/3ish cup of home done)

1 small onion

1 Cup mushrooms

1 TBSP dried dill

1 TBSP dried parsley

2 TBSP soy sauce

3 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 TBSP garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons mustard powder

1 1/2 teaspoons tumeric

1 1/2 Cuts oatmeal

1 1/2 Cups gluten flour

Shred zucchini in a large food processor (three cups is 1 - 1 1/2 zucchini depending on the size. (I peeled most of the skin off but not all of it). Add soy sauce, nutritional yeast and spices, chunked onion and mushrooms. Whir. When uniform add the drained chickpeas. Blend well and transfer to a bowl. 

Add oatmeal and gluten flour. Stir and then knead the dough until completely uniform and mixed. 

Form into 12 patties. Place these on a greased cookie sheet (or two). Bake at 350 for a total of 1/2 hour, flipping halfway through. These can be frozen for later or kept in the fridge for over a week. 

I also kept some back and experimented with it in a frying pan to see if it would work as "browned" hamburger. Break it up and keep moving it around in a hot pan and it does indeed. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Marinated Summer Squash Sandwiches

Marinated Summer Squash Sandwiches

1 summer squash sliced thin

1 small onion thinly sliced

(thin sliced peppers if desired)

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 tsp oil (I used sesame)

1 TBSP vinegar (apple cider, malt, red wine vinegar)

1 1/2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1 TBSP garlic lemon pepper seasoning, or 1 tsp each of pepper, lemon zest, garlic powder)

Marinade squash and onions, (and peppers) stirring until everything is fully covered. 

Vegan Cream Cheese and Garlic Spread

3 TBSP non-dairy cream cheese

1 tsp powdered garlic

Bread or rolls of choice. (enough for 6 small or 4 medium sandwiches)

Additional suggestions: 

Thinly sliced tomatoes 

Spinach leaves

Romaine lettuce

Avocado

Saute marinated vegetables until browned, golden.

Broil or toast plain bread. Spread the garlic cream cheese mixture evenly over both sides of the bread. Place under broiler and heat. Watch and warm for 30 seconds to a minute. It might bubble but don't let it burn. 

Layer the sautéed squash and onions and any of the additional add ons you desire. Put sandwiches together and serve. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Flexivegan Again ~ Potato Pancakes with Celery Sage Gravy

I'm guessing once a week I'll be bringing you flexivegan posts. What is flexivegan? Well, for me it's ideas that are fails but are then saved because, darn it, I'm not going to waste x amount of $ in ingredients. 

I introduce you to Potato Pancakes with Celery Sage Gravy

Pancakes 

1 1/8 Cup vegetable broth

2 medium potatoes

1/2 stalk of celery

1 - 2 cloves garlic

2 TBSP chopped onion 

2 TBSP soy sauce

2 TBSP nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp tumeric 

1/2 Cup oatmeal

1/2 Cup vital wheat gluten

Chop potatoes, celery, garlic and soy sauce to the veggie broth in a saucepan. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12-15 minutes.

Cool and transfer to a food processor. Run and when smoother add nutritional yeast, pepper, tumeric, oatmeal and process again. Add gluten and run just a few seconds. 

Spoon a few TBSP each onto a hot griddle, when side browned, flip and press with a spatula. 

Gravy

1 Cup vegetable broth

1 stalk minced celery

1/4 cashew pieces

1/4 tsp dried sage

1 TBSP flour

2 TBSP cold water

Simmer celery and cashews in the vegetable broth until celery is tender, add sage. Mix the flour into the water then pour into the simmering gravy mixture. Stir until the thickness you desire. 

Pour gravy over the pancakes and serve. Makes about 8 pancakes.  

Scraps and Snippets ~ Buffalo Jack Squares ~

Back in the day one of my favorite meals that my mom made was chicken squares. They were cream cheese, chicken packed little hand held chicken pot pies. I'm going to work on a vegan version...stay tuned...but first, I thought I'd try the technique with a spicy bunny trail. And here it is. 

Buffalo Jack Squares

2 Cans crescent rolls or other type dough (vegan)

1 Can green jackfruit packed in brine (not the ripe in syrup)

1 Cup vegetable broth

1/3 Cup minced celery

2 TBSP minced onion

2 TBSP vegan mayo of choice or non-sweetened non-dairy yogurt or sour cream 

1/3 Cup hot sauce (Frank's, siracha, pepper sauce) (this ratio is spicy...if you want a milder taste increase yogurt and decrease hot sauce)

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp dried dill

1/4 tsp dried parsley

1/4 tsp ground celery

1/8 tsp basil

Drain jackfruit. Place jackfruit in a saucepan and add the veggie broth. Simmer until the fruit softens and most of the broth is absorbed. (20 minutes or so.)

Preheat oven to 350

Shred the jackfruit in the pan. (You can dump out the extra liquid if any remains). Add all the other ingredients (except crescent rolls) and stir well. 

Separate the crescent rolls into rectangles. There are four in each can. You will basically press out the line between two triangles, forming one rectangle. Place 1/8 of the mixture on each rectangle. Fold the four corners in, twist in the middle and pinch each seam closed so they become little packets. Place each packet on a slightly greased cookie sheet.  

Bake for 18 minutes. Then turn the squares over and bake an additional 2 minutes so the bottoms don't get soggy. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Peanut Butter Brownies (Warning: Jack Kryptonite)

 Peanut Butter Protein Brownies

1 Cup coconut oil

1 Cup peanut butter

1 Cup brown sugar
2 Flax eggs (2 TBSP ground flax, 6 TBSPS water, combined and set aside to gel)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 Cup whole wheat pastry flour (or flour of your choice)

3/4 Cup Arbonne vanilla protein powder (use a protein powder that is palatable on it's own, and vegan, if you don't have Arbonne's...or contact me and I can hook you up.)
2 Cups old fashioned oatmeal
1 Cup chocolate chips
1  Cup of dried fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts, chia seed, etc.

Preheat oven to 350. Very lightly spray a 9 x 13 pan.

Cream the oil, peanut butter, and sugar together. (it's best that you use everything at room temperature)

Add the flax eggs, salt, soda and stir. Add vanilla and mix well. Blend in flour and protein powder and add oatmeal and chocolate chips and mix until incorporated.

Bake for 45 mins. Remove from oven and let rest for 10. Cut into 24 squares. Refrigerate for chewy deliciousness.