Pizza

I have been meaning to post my pizza recipe for a long time, but the pie is usually eaten before I get a chance to take pictures. I have used several different toppings for pizza in my day, but the most recent and most popular lately is cremini mushroom and sausage-style seitan. I also threw some leftover black olives and jalapeno on as well, and it was delicious. If you choose to make your own pizza dough, which I do, more recently with the aid of a bread maker, you can find a good recipe in Vegan Planet. If you use a store-bought crust, which I used to do, you are still fine. But I think the homemade crust is better.

Ingredients (to make one 12-inch pie):
pizza sauce, storebought or homemade, enough to cover the crust, or more if you like a saucy pie
vegan mozzarella cheese (one again, I used FYH)
sausage-style seitan (from La Dolce Vegan)
five or six cremini mushrooms, sliced thinly
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
whatever other ingredients you may have hanging around

Method:
Saute the onion, peppers, cooked seitan, and mushroom in a bit of olive oil for about five minutes. Prebake the crust at 450* for about five to seven minutes. Spread pizza sauce on the crust, followed by grated cheese, then the toppings. Bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into eight slices and serve.

"Chicken" Quesadillas

I am always so proud of myself when I come up with a recipe that is all my own. Granted, someone else somewhere in the world may have at some point thought of it too, however I don't know about it, and that means that it's mine. I was making the wonderful vegan mexican pizzas last night and thought that it might be fun to have something else along with it, a quesadilla perhaps. I had some Morningstar Farms Chicken Strips in the freezer, a few extra tortillas, leftover enchilada sauce from the pizzas, and some Tofutti cream cheese. The lightbulb above my head: visible and flashing. The end result: absolutely delicious.

"Chicken" Quesadillas
Morningstar Farms chicken strips (one bag will make several quesadillas)
1/2 C Tofutti cream cheese
1/4 C enchilada sauce
1 tsp each of garlic, cumin, and paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne
tortillas
1 C vegan cheese (I combined Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack and cheddar)

Method:
Combine the cream cheese, enchilada sauce and spices. Saute the chicken in 1 tbl of olive oil until heated through and browned on both sides. Place one tortilla on a cookie and spread the cream cheese mixture across it. Place strips of chicken ontop of the cream cheese mixture, then sprinkle with cheese. I also added a few scallions and jalapenos. Bake in the oven at 450* for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and place another tortilla ontop the mixture. Brush the top tortilla while a light layer of olive oil, and cook for ten more minutes.

Potato-Cheese Perogies and Brats

Jeffrey loves these perogies like you would not believe. He actually stated, "These are one of the best things in the world." I don't know if he was referring to things other than food, but I must agree, perogies are generally delicious. I adapted this recipe from How It All Vegan and served it with some sauerkraut and a Tofurky brat. Although you should consult the cookbook for the recipe, I will give you my adapted version, as it is a slight bit different.
Dough:
2 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
egg replacer equal to 3 eggs
6 tblsp vegan margarine, softened
1/2 C water

Filling:
1 large Yukon Gold potato, peeled, chopped, and boiled until tender
1 C vegan cheese, grated (I used Follow Your Heart Monterey Jack)
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp dill
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbl soy bacon bits

Mash the cooked potatoes in a small bowl and add cheese, lemon juice, dill, and mustard. Stir until well-combined. Set aside. Sift together flour and salt, then add egg replacer, water, and margarine. Knead for a few minutes until you have a nice, smooth dough. Separate dough into sixteen small balls. Roll out each ball individually and place 1 tsp of filling into the middle of the dough. Fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. Boil perogies 5 at a time, then fry on each side in a little olive oil for a few minutes each.
While your pan is still hot, fry a Tofurky brat until brown on both sides. Warm up some sauerkraut. Put all the perogies you want on a plate with the brat and saurkrat. Dip your perogies in sour cream and salsa and smother your brat in the aforementioned condiments. Enjoy.

Chili Stuffed Green Bell Peppers

I am proud of myself. I worked a little later this evening, arriving home at 7pm from a meeting on 99th Avenue and Peoria. I had to stop at the store for some soy milk first. Upon my arrival, I fed two whining cats and started the dishwasher, which was completely full. I then set about making homemade chili and homemade rice. I then followed the recipe from Vegan Planet
for stuffed bell peppers, and had it done by 8:15pm. AND I'm sick, to boot! Anyway, these bell peppers are stuffed with a mixture of chili, rice, and vegan cheese (like Follow Your Heart), then doused in a sweet and sour sauce consisting of tomato juice, chili powder, sugar, and apple cider vinegar. I won't post the recipe for the bell peppers, but I will post the recipe for the rice I made (I always make rice this way, in fact). This way of cooking rice was taught to me by my friend Cici, who just happens to be an amazing cook and is studying culinary/restauranty type things in Italy. It's very simple: Simply chop one clove of garlic and fry it in one tablespoon of olive oil until it is brown. Remove the garlic, but for the love of God, don't throw it away! Munch on it while you're cooking. Add 1 cup of rice to oil and fry it for a minute or so. Then add 2 cups of water (yes, it was sizzle, don't be alarmed), as well as salt and garlic powder to taste. Stir and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low and cover. Cook for twenty minutes. I really should have taken a picture of the rice, but I forgot. That's okay, I'm sure you know what rice looks like.

Mexican Pizza

I am super excited about this recipe. It mimics the Taco Bell version of the mexican pizza (yes, I know, but just because one is vegan does not necessarily mean that one is healthy) and the part that is best is the flaky tortilla. I played with the idea of frying the tortillas in olive oil on the stovetop, but I do have somewhat of an affinity for my arteries, so opted instead to put them in the oven and bake them (although I did brush them with a not-so-thin layer of olive oil).

Ingredients (to serve two fat people):
olive oil
4 flour tortillas
1 12-oz. can of enchilada sauce
1 12-oz. can of vegetarian refried beans
1 cup veggie ground beef (I used Boca)
1/2 cup each of vegan cheddar and Monterrey Jack cheeses, grated and combined (I used Follow Your Heart)
6 scallions, chopped

Method:
Brush olive oil over tortillas and bake at 400 degrees for approximately ten minutes. They will puff up; this is fine. It is good that way. Remove from oven and dry on brown paper bags or paper towels. When the tortillas have cooled, spread them out on paper towels and assemble as such: spread beans on one tortilla, followed by veggie meat, then enchilada sauce. Place another tortilla on top of this and then place cheese, followed by enchilada sauce, then green onions. Repeat with other two tortillas. Broil in the oven until the cheese has melted as much as it will. Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and pico de gallo.