Nacho Cheese Dogs

Nacho Cheese Dogs

( Serves 8 )

These are fun for a summer barbecue, and they go well with ice cold beer!  I find it works best to use a vegetable grill basket to ensure the safety (and sanitation!) of meatless pups, especially if you are sharing grill space with real meat-eaters.  If you don’t have an outdoor grill, most vegan dog packages include directions for oven broiling, and you can toast the buns under the broiler for a couple of minutes to get them nice and toasty!

Ingredients:

8 veggie hot dogs, (Tofu Pups, Yves)

8 hotdog buns

Olive oil, for brushing

½ container Vegan Cow brand Nacho cheese, warmed

½ cup crushed tortilla chips

¼ cup sliced jalapeno peppers

Directions:

1. Ready your grill!  Grill the veggie dogs until slightly charred, about 5 minutes on each side.  Lightly brush the insides of the hotdog buns with olive oil and grill face down until toasted, about 3-5 minutes.
2. To serve, place each hot dog on a bun, drizzle with warmed nacho cheese, and sprinkle with a tablespoon of crushed chips.  Top with the jalapeno peppers and enjoy!!

Variations:

Bacon Cheese Dogs: Fry 8 strips of vegan bacon separately in 1-2 tablespoons of canola oil in a skillet until crispy (about 2-3 minutes), or brush with olive oil and grill in vegetable basket.  Place on piece of bacon in each bun, drizzle with barbecue sauce, then add the hotdog, drizzle with warmed nacho cheese (or thin slices of Vegan Cow brand Swizz cheese) and top with chopped red onions.

Chili Cheese Dogs: Spoon your favorite warmed chili onto the hotdog before adding the nacho cheese.  Sprinkle with the tortilla chips and top with chopped white onions.

Nacho Supreme Dogs: This can be messy, but if you are a maniac about nachos (like I am), you have to try this!  After the nacho cheese and chips, top the crushed chips with a spoonful of your favorite salsa, drizzle with vegan sour cream, and top with jalapenos and a few crushed olives.

Skillet Macaroni & Hot Dogs

Skillet Macaroni & Hot Dogs

(Serves 4-6)

Macaroni and hot dogs are not just for kids!  This is one of my favorite quick dishes to make and is an extremely easy, crowd-pleasing skillet-style take on standard mac n’ cheese.  For more macaroni ideas see the variations below.

Ingredients:

4 cups water

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 cups elbow macaroni

2 tablespoons soy butter

1 cup chopped onion

½ cup chopped green bell pepper

4 veggie hot dogs, sliced in ¼” rounds

4 large crimini or button mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon chopped pimiento, optional

1 container Vegan Cow brand Nacho cheese

Directions:

1. Bring sea salt and water to a boil.  Add macaroni, stirring to avoid sticking to bottom of the pan, and cook until desired tenderness, about 9 minutes.  Rinse and drain well.
2. Meanwhile, melt soy butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, bell pepper and hot dogs and cook over until onions are softened and hot dogs begin to plump, about 5 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until they release the juices, about 3-5 minutes, stirring often. Stir in pimiento and reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Add noodles and nacho cheese to skillet, stir well, and continue to cook until mixture is heated through, 3-5 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Variations:

Classic Macaroni & Hot Dogs: Omit the onions, peppers, mushrooms and pimientos.  Sauté sliced hot dogs in soy butter until plump, about 5 minutes.  Add cooked and drained noodles to skillet along with the nacho cheese.  Stir over medium-low heat until heated through, about 3-5 minutes.

Hawaiian Macaroni: Omit the hotdogs, mushrooms and pimientos.  Reduce the onion to ½ cup and the green bell pepper to ¼ cup.  Sauté 1½ cups of chopped vegan ham (approximately one whole package) in the soy butter.  Stir in a small can (8oz) of well-drained crushed pineapple along with the noodles and nacho cheese and heat through, about 3-5 minutes.

Nacho “Chicken” Quesadillas

Nacho “Chicken” Quesadillas

(Serves 4-8)

Baked quesadillas not only delicious, but are extremely quick and easy to make!  Use this recipe to make appetizers for a party, a light snack for a group of friends, or serve them as a whole meal for your family.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil or soy butter

1 package chicken-style seitan, roughly chopped

1 cup Vegan Cow brand Nacho Cheese

4 8” flour tortillas, warmed

2 tablespoons sliced black olives, optional

Water, for sealing

Olive oil, for brushing

Fresh salsa

Sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
2. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the seitan and cook, stirring often, until heated through and browning. Lower heat to medium and stir in the nacho cheese.  Continue to cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.
3. Place the tortillas on a clean work surface.  Distribute the seitan chicken cheese mixture evenly onto one half of each tortilla.  Dot with olives, if using.
4. Brush the edges of the tortillas with water, using your finger or a small pastry brush.  Fold the tortillas in half over the filling and press the edges together to seal.
5. Gently place the stuffed quesadillas to the baking sheet and brush lightly with olive oil.  Bake until lightly browned and the filling is hot, about 5-7 minutes. Cut the quesadillas into wedges, if desired, and serve with fresh salsa and/or sour cream.

Cheesy Broccoli Bake

Cheesy Broccoli Bake

(Serves 4-6)

Just like grandma used to make…only better because it’s VEGAN!  A broccoli bake is comfort food at its best: perfect as a main dish for dinner and tasty enough to impress your friends and family at Thanksgiving.

Ingredients:

4 cups broccoli flowerets, cut into bite-sized pieces

¾ cup Vegan Cow brand Nacho Cheese

1/2 cup unflavored soy milk

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1- 1/3 cups French’s fried onions

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place broccoli flowerets in a steamer basket and steam over an inch of boiling water until bright green and crisp tender, about 3-4 minutes.  Rinse in cold water and let drain in a colander.
3. In a 6 cup casserole dish, stir together the cheese, soy milk, pepper and half of the onions until well combined.
4. Bake uncovered for 25 minutes or until the mixture is hot and bubbling. Stir briefly and top with the remaining onions. Bake an additional 5 minutes or until the onions are golden.

Nacho Casserole

Nacho Casserole

(Serves 6)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 package Gimme Lean ground beef style, chopped

½ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, optional

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

1 cup tomatoes, diced small (or 1 cup salsa)

1 (4 oz) can green chilies, chopped

1 cup refried beans

2 cups Vegan Cow brand Nacho Cheese

½ cup water

4 cups tortilla chips

Garnishes:

Black olives, chopped or sliced

Tomatoes, diced

Vegan sour cream

Green onions, sliced thin

Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8” x 12” baking dish with canola oil.
2. In large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the “beef,” onions, garlic and cumin, and sauté until the “beef” is browned, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the beans, 1 cup of the nacho cheese, the tomatoes or salsa, green chilies and water. Let cook a few minutes longer, and remove from heat.
3. Distribute 2 cups of the chips over the bottom of the baking dish. Spoon the skillet mixture evenly over the nachos.  Top with remaining tortilla chips and spoon the remaining nacho cheese evenly over the chips.
4. Bake casserole 30-40 minutes, or until bubbly.  Let cool slightly.  Just before serving, garnish with olives, tomatoes, sour cream, green onions and cilantro as desired.

Aubergine Parcels (Eggplant Wraps)

Aubergine Parcels (Eggplant Wraps)

(Makes 6 parcels)

These sophisticated looking appetizers are both impressive and bursting with exotic flavors, but they are also surprising easy to put together.  Show them off as a side dish at your next barbecue, or serve them over wild rice as an entree.  Grilled or broiled, they are sure to please!  And because the eggplant slices are boiled first, they actually use a lot less oil during the cooking, so the result is a pretty low fat dish with a lot of flavor!

Ingredients:

2 large Japanese eggplants

6 oz Vegan Cow brand Mockstarella cheese (approx 6 heaping tbsp)

2 medium/small tomatoes

1 small bunch mint or basil

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Wash and trim the ends off of the eggplants.  Using a mandolin or a long-bladed sharp knife, cut the eggplants lengthwise into long thin slices.  Excluding the outer slices which are mostly peel, you will need 12 slices of eggplant.
2. Bring a large pan of water to a boil.  Add a pinch of salt along with the eggplant slices and cook until the slices are just softened, about 1-2 minutes.  Don’t overcook or they will fall apart.  You just want them to be pliable, not mushy.  Drain them and dry them on paper towels.
3. Cut the tomatoes into 12 slices, excluding the outside slices, which are mostly peel.  Have the mint leaves ready.
4. Take two eggplant slices and place them on a work surface in a cross position, laying one over the other.
5. Place a slice of tomato in the center of the eggplant cross.  Season with sea salt and pepper, then add a few mint leaves (or a large basil leaf), followed by a heaping tablespoon of Mockstarella, a few more mint leaves, another slice of tomato, and more sea salt and pepper.  Top with 5 or 6 pine nuts (optional).
6. To close the parcel, fold the ends of the eggplant slices up and over the filling to make a neat parcel, beginning with the top slice and ending with the bottom slice. Repeat until all 6 parcels are made.  Chill for at least 20 minutes.
7. Ready the grill or the preheat oven to broil, depending on your preference.
8. Brush the parcels with a high quality olive oil and sprinkle with balsamic vinegar and freshly ground black pepper.  Grill the parcels for about 5 minutes on each side, or broil the parcels 7-8 minutes on each side.  Serve hot!  Garnish with more pine nuts and mint if desired.

French Onion Brie Pan Pizza

This recipe makes two 10″ deep dish pies, or one giant beautiful pizza that will impress your friends!!  If you have a favorite pizza dough, feel free to use it instead.

French Onion Brie Pan Pizza

Serves 4-8

Pan Pizza Dough:

1-2/3 cups warm water
2-1/2 tsp active dry yeast
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup olive oil
4 cups all-purpose flour

1. In large bowl whisk water and yeast until foamy.
2. Whisk in olive oil and sea salt.
3. With a wooden spoon, mix in flour until the soft dough begins to hold together.
4. Turn dough out on floured board and knead for about 5 minutes, adding flour if necessary until the dough is no longer sticky or tacky.
5. Shape dough into a ball, and place dough in well-oiled bowl, turning to coat completely on all sides with oil.
6. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until double in size, about 45-60 minutes.  Meanwhile make the topping:

Caramelized Onions:

 ¼ cup olive oil
6 cups thinly sliced onions (approx 3 pounds)
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons fresh herbs
1 bay leaf
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoon brown sugar
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Over medium heat, sauté onions, garlic, herbs and bay leaf in olive oil, stirring occasionally until the onions are very soft, about 35 minutes.
2. Add vinegar and brown sugar, and continue to cook until most of the moisture is evaporated and the onions are caramelized, about 10 minutes.
3. Remove and discard bay leaf.  Season to taste with sea salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.

French Onion Brie Pan Pizza:

1 recipe pan pizza dough (above)
2 cups Vegan Cow brand Brie, sliced
freshly ground black pepper, lots and lots!!
1 recipe carmelized onions (above)
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts, optional

1. Preheat the oven to 475.
2. Punch down dough and turn out onto lightly floured board. Knead out bubbles.
3. Cut the dough half.  Note: Unused dough can be wrapped tightly and frozen for up to a month, or refrigerated for use the next day.
4. Grease the inside of two large deep dish pans or skillets with olive oil, and press the dough into the pans, pulling the edge of the dough up the sides of the pan to form a 2” lip.
5. Let dough rise in pan for 20 minutes before filling and baking.
6. Prick dough all over with the tines of a fork and place pans on the bottom rack of preheated oven for 4 minutes.
7. Remove the crust from the oven and brush surface of pizza dough all over with olive oil.
8. Spread 1 cup of vegan Brie over the top of each pizza, and sprinkle generously with black pepper.  Top with caramelized onions and sprinkle with pine nuts, if using.
9. Return pizzas to bottom rack and bake 5 minutes.  Move pizzas to middle rack and continue to bake until crust is golden, about 20-25 minutes.

Woah!

Marinated Cheese

I made this recipe with the Swizz cheese and was so excited about the results that immediately emailed it to my employee, Sarah.  It’s just bursting with flavor. Serve it either as a plated appetizer, or as a light meal: it’s extremely filling, especially if you serve it with slices of a high quality crusty bread and some Greek olives.  Sarah now claims she makes it every Monday to eat while watching her favorite show on television.  It also happens to be the reason her cat is completely covered in a $20 bottle of Italian Olive Oil, but that’s another story…

Marinated Swizz Cheese

Serves 2-4

• 12 bite-sized pieces of Vegan Cow brand Swizz cheese
• 5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• 1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
• 1 clove garlic, sliced very thin
• sea salt, to taste
• fresh tarragon sprigs, to garnish

Directions:

1. In a small bowl or glass measuring cup, whisk the olive oil, vinegar, peppercorns and garlic together.
2. Place the Swizz cheese bites in another small bowl and pour the marinade over them.  Cover and chill at least one hour or up to several days.
3. Garnish with tarragon sprigs, and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt to taste.
4. Serve with slices of a good quality crusty artisan bread and Greek olives.
5. If plating, divide the cheese equally among 2-4 plates and drizzle with the marinade for dipping!

Lasagna Alfredo

Dave and I have a friend over every Monday while her husband teaches a night class on Astronomy.  We made this from scratch last night – it was beautiful and held up well, though I suspect, like most vegan pasta, it will be even better after sitting a day.  I’ll ask Dave about his lunch when he gets home from work!

 

This four-layer, deep dish white “cheese” lasagna is enough for a party of four with lunch leftovers.  The neutral color warrants serving it on a richly colored plate and is complimented by a leafy green salad and a good crusty bread.  Feel free to add or substitute your favorite red or green vegetables, but remember the key to a white cheese pasta dish is the liberal use of freshly ground black pepper!

 

Lasagna Alfredo

Makes 4-6 servings

 

9 lasagna noodles

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups chopped mushrooms

1 tablespoon tamari or soy sauce

1 pound firm tofu, crumbled

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar or lemon juice

½ teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons soy butter

1 cup unflavored soy milk

2 containers Vegan Cow brand Mockstarella

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

½ teaspoon granulated garlic

1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

3 cups baby spinach leaves, shredded

¾ cups sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

 

1. Preheat oven to 350°.  Have ready a deep dish 8” x 8” casserole dish with a fitted lid.  Spray lightly with canola oil or wipe with olive oil.
2. Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions, or in salted boiling water for approximately 10 minutes until al dente.  Drain and rinse with cold water or separate the noodles immediately.
3. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet (large!), and sauté the onions and garlic over medium heat until the onions begin to turn translucent.  Add the mushrooms and tamari or soy sauce and continue to cook until the mushrooms start to release their juice.  Add the tofu, nutritional yeast, rice vinegar, sea salt and black pepper and stir until heated through.  Remove skillet from heat and stir in fresh basil.
4. In a saucepan, over medium-low heat, melt the soy butter.  Add the unflavored soy milk and Mockstarella cheese and stir together until smooth and creamy.  The sauce should be thick, but pourable. Add more soy milk if necessary to reach desired consistency. Stir in black pepper, garlic and nutmeg.  Remove from heat.
5. Place enough cheese sauce in the bottom of the oiled casserole dish to just cover the bottom.  Take six of the lasagna noodles and cut approximately 4 inches off each of the noodles. 
6. To layer the lasagna: Line the bottom of the pan, on top of the cheese, with the six short pieces, overlapping the rippled sides.  Add enough cheese sauce to cover these noodles.  Place one-third of the tofu-mushroom filling over the cheese.  Top this with 1 cup of the shredded spinach and ¼ cup of the chopped tomatoes.  Top this with 3 of the longer pieces of the six cut noodles, tucking the ends of the noodles down on the sides.  (Don’t worry if you cut your noodles too short – just cut a few small pieces off the three remaining large noodles and “fix” it!).  Repeat this layering until you get to the top layer.  The three large noodles should fit nicely across the top.  Tuck the noodles down on the sides, top with the remaining cheese and sprinkle liberally with freshly ground black pepper.
7. Cover, and bake 45 minutes.

Brie Walnut Muffins

I have been making a variation of Vegan Cow brand Brie muffins daily now for a week, and they have been selling like nobody’s business…well, except mine! I haven’t yet experimented with herbs and savory flavors, but the fruit and nut combinations are winners.

Brie Walnut Muffins

Makes 12 regular or 6 Texas-sized muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon sea salt

1½ cups Vegan Cow brand Brie cheese, chunked

1¼ cups unflavored soy milk

½ cup blended silken tofu

6 tablespoons soy butter, melted

1 cup toasted walnuts

Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray muffin pans with nonstick spray or line with paper muffin cups.

In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and sea salt. Add the chunks of Brie and stir to coat well with the flour.

In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk, tofu and soy butter until blended.

Using a rubber spatula, gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just blended. Gently fold in the walnuts.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pans. Bake for 22-24 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Note: Because these muffins contain very little sugar, they don’t brown, so take care not to over-bake them! Cool muffins in pans for 5 minutes. Run a knife or cake spatula around the edges of the muffins to loosen before carefully lifting them out. Serve warm, if possible!

Variations:

Apple Brie Walnut Muffins: Add up to one cup of peeled and diced green apple. Increase sugar to ½ cup. Reduce walnuts to ¾ cup.

Blueberry Brie Muffins: Omit the walnuts. Fold in 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries. Increase cooking time to 24-26 minutes. Note: You can leave in the walnuts if you want to, but reduce both the blueberries and walnuts to ½ heaping cup, or your muffins might overflow.

Raspberry Brie Pecan Muffins: Substitute toasted pecans for the walnuts. Spoon about 1/3 cup of batter into each prepared muffin cup. With a wet spoon, make an indentation in the batter. Place 1 tablespoon of raspberry preserves in the center of each portion of batter, taking care not to let the preserves touch the sides of the cups. Spoon remaining batter over the preserves.