Avocado Alfredo

Prep Time: 20 min

Serves: 2

• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice from half a lemon
• Dash of salt
• 3 fresh basil leaves
• 1 avocado
• Brown rice noodles

It's as easy as this...

1. Boil water for rice noodles and cook until al dente.
2. While pasta is cooking, in a small food processor or bullet mixer, add garlic, oil, and lemon juice and puree.
3. Add sliced avocado, chopped basil, and dash of salt to the mixer and puree.
4. Dollop alfredo onto noodles and mix so that all of the pasta is coated.
5. Top with a little lemon zest and cracked pepper.

Voile! Vegan Alfredo!

Sweet Tater Black Bean Burgers

Yields 8 burgers

·       15 oz black beans, drained + rinsed

·       3 cups cubed sweet tater, cooked + skin on [~1.5lbs]

·       ½ cup frozen or fresh corn

·       2/3 cup finely chopped onion [1/2 medium onion]

·       2 large garlic cloves, finely minced

·       ½ cup cooked quinoa

·       6 Tbsp. rolled oats, partially ground

·       2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds

·       ½ tsp. salt

·       Black pepper

·       1 tsp. cumin

·       1 tsp. oregano

·       ¼ tsp. coriander

·       1 tsp. chili powder

·       ¼ tsp. cayenne [optional]

·       1 Tbsp. olive oil

1. Preheat your oven to 375* once you finish cooking the quinoa + potato.
2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
4. In a large bowl, mash the sweet tater. Each cube should be mashed, but you don’t want it creamy.
5. Stir in the salt, pepper, oregano, coriander, chili powder, cayenne [if using] and olive oil, until combined.
6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, sunflower seeds, and ground oats, until just combined.
7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties. This should make 8 medium/large patties.
9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through.
10. Remove from oven and serve!

*To freeze them – Place in a sealed container for the fridge, or wrap in saran, then foil, then in a bag for the freezer. If reheating a frozen burger, let it thaw completely. Re-heat in a greased pan, over medium heat for ~3-5min per side, until hot throughout.

*To make the ground oats – Pulse your blender on + off, until you have the consistency about half way to flour. Instead of ground oats, feel free to sub – millet flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, whole-wheat flour, etc.

*To pan cook – Heat a pan to medium and lightly grease. Cook on each side for 5-8min, flip + cook another 5-8min until golden brown.

*For the grill – Bake burgers for 15min on one side, flip burgers once and bake another 10min. While baking, preheat your grill slightly above medium [~350-375*] Grease the grates and cook burgers for ~3min per side.

Easy Vegan Pancakes

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup spelt flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking power
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or any flavor of your choice!)
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons water


Directions

1. Add the soy milk to a blender, followed by the spelt flour, all-purpose flour, oil sugar, baking powder, extract and salt. Blend for a few seconds until combined.
2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, or the lowest setting and put an oven safe plate on the middle rack.
3. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, then pour the batter directly into the center of the pan. The batter should create fairly thin pancakes.
4. After a few minutes of cooking, you’ll see the bubbles form on the top of the pancake. The batter will start to set, and it will change color from white to dull yellow. This is when you should flip the pancakes. While cooking the pancakes, place the finished ones directly into the oven on the plate. Stack the pancakes as you go. This will keep the whole stack warm while you’re cooking them.

Vegan Tortilla Stew

Prep time: 15 min

Cook time: 15 min

Yields: 4 servings

The thing I love most about this recipe

(other than how quick and easy it is to

make) is that you can play with the

 quantity of the ingredients to make it

 either more like a soup or more like a stew.

Ingredients

1 (19 ounce) can green enchilada sauce

1 1/2 cups water

1 cube vegetable bouillon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes

1 cup frozen corn

1/2 cup vegetarian chicken substitute, diced (optional)

4 (6 inch) corn tortillas, torn into strips

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In a pot, mix the enchilada sauce and water. Dissolve the bouillon cube in the liquid, and season with garlic powder, chile powder, and cumin. Bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low. Mix in the beans, tomatoes, and corn. Simmer until heated through. Mix in vegetarian chicken and tortillas, and cook until heated through. Stir in cilantro, and season with salt and pepper to serve.

Maddie's suggestions - First of all, I doubled the recipe because I love to have leftovers and this is so yummy and easy to pack for lunch. Also, instead of using water and vegetable bouillon, I used about 2 cups of veggie broth. I added a can of dark red kidney beans to the mix and an extra can of diced tomatoes and another cup of corn to make it a little heartier. Let it simmer for about a half hour to release all of the flavors. I garnished it with some shredded vegan mozzarella cheese and cilantro. YUM!

Green Pesto Pasta Spirals

Serves 4 with leftovers



1 bag (16 oz.) tri-color spiral pasta




Veggie Sauté:

2 tbsp. EVOO


3 tbsp. apple cider vinegar


1 cup shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin


2 garlic cloves or 1 tbsp. garlic powder


1 cup sweet onions, ring sliced

Pinch of black pepper


1 red bell pepper, diced

1 lb. asparagus

Fold in: 


1 tube Amore Pesto Paste


1 tbsp. EVOO


6 oz. raw assorted leafy greens, chopped


*About 2-3 big handfuls of raw greens


6-8 marinated artichoke hearts



1/2 cup of EVOO marinated sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup Vegan White Cheese


*Mozzarella or Monterey Jack


Garnish: dash of vegan Parmesan cheese 


Directions:

1. Prep your veggies.

2. Boil your pasta water with a pinch of salt. Add pasta to water.

3. While pasta is cooking, add 2 tbsp. olive oil to sauté pan. When oil is hot, add in your onions, mushrooms, red pepper and asparagus. After a minute or so, add in the vinegar and garlic (chopped clove or powder). Sauté until tender and mushrooms begin to brown on edges. Turn off heat, toss in a pinch of black pepper, and set aside.

4. Drain pasta. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Toss warm pasta with your pesto paste and 1 tbsp. of olive oil. 



5. Once the pesto paste is well coated on pasta, drop in your fresh raw greens. Fold them into pasta well. The still-warm pasta will begin to wilt the greens until they are delicately blended into your pasta dish. I used about 3 large handfuls of greens. 2-3 bold handfuls is a good amount.

6. Next, fold in your sautéed veggies and artichoke hearts. Also fold in a pinch of your cheese and sun-dried tomatoes.

7. The last step is to bake pasta in your oven. Transfer the pasta to a large casserole dish. Top your pasta with your remaining vegan cheese (add more for a super cheesy topped pasta) and a few pinches of red pepper flakes if you'd like.

8. Broil the pasta for 3 minutes - to bubble to cheese. Then cover dish with lid and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. This will soften the pasta and marinate all the flavors into the greens.

9. Serve with a pinch of vegan Parmesan cheese. Store in the fridge.

Leftovers! Tastes great served cold (my favorite) or warm the next day.

Easy Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

YUMMY Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies


1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups chocolate mini chips [I used dairy, nut, and soy free chips: bag called "enjoy life"]



1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease two large light metal baking sheets.

2) Mix together sugars, oil, milk and cornstarch in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk and mix really well, for about 2 minutes, until it resembles smooth caramel.
*There is a chemical reaction when sugar and oil collide, so it’s important that you don’t get lazy about that step:) Mix in the vanilla.

3) Add the flour, the baking soda and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips. *The dough was a little sticky for me so use a small spoon to create the small balls.

4) For 3 inch cookies, roll the dough into about ping pong ball size balls (makes about 16 cookies). Flatten them out in your hands to about 2 1/2 inches. They will spread just a bit. Place on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes - no more than 9! - until they are just a little brown around the edges.  Let cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes then transfer to a cooling rack.

ENJOY with some homemade vegan vanilla ice cream (recipe will be added by Carol!)
(Julya's Favorite!)

Vegan Banana Bread

Easy to bake & super yummy!

Prep time: 15 Mins

Cook time: 1 Hr

Yields: One 8×4 loaf

Ingredients:

• 2 cups All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Allspice or Cinnamon, ground
• 1/2 cup Margarine, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup White Sugar
• 3 Bananas, medium sized, mashed well
• 1/4 cup Non Dairy Milk (I used Almond)
• 1 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 1/2 cup Walnuts, chopped

Procedure:

1. Combine together the non dairy milk and apple cider vinegar; set aside.
2. Preaheat the oven at 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Grease an  8—4 inch loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.
3. In a large combine together the flour, baking soda, salt and spice.
4. In another bowl, cream together the margarine and sugars. Then add the bananas, vanilla and milk-vinegar mixture.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Mix in the nuts and stir until just combined.
6. Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and bake for about 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. Mine was done shortly after 60 minutes.
7. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cooling rack for about 15 minutes. Then transfer the bread from the pan to the rack and let it cool completely before slicing (preferably overnight)

Carol's Favorite

Welcome!

Hello and weclome to Colorful Cooking! We hope you enjoy our favorite vegan dishes!