BBQ: Vegetable Marinade Kabobs

various vegetables
(potatoes, onions, peppers)
balsamic vinaigrette
kabob sticks

1: Chop veggies and marinade in balsamic vinaigrette for at least a day in the refrigerator, covered
2: Add the vegetables to kabob sticks and barbeque until browned to your preference

3: Serve on kabob sticks (I only do this if I've used wooden sticks) or place in a bowl and serve while hot

Dill Pickle Potatoes

If you love dill pickles, this dish is for you!  Soak these potatoes in the pickle juice for about an hour before baking if you like a little more of a bite!

6 russet potatoes
1/2 cup pickle juice
several sprigs of fresh dill

1: Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2: Peel and slice potatoes

3: Blanche potatoes in boiling water for about 5 minutes and strain

4: Cut up a few sprigs of dill

5: Spread out on an oiled baking sheet (olive oil) with dill and pour pickle juice over potatoes

6: Add any other seasonings you may like and bake for 30 minutes, flipping potatoes halfway through

7: These can be easily reheated or other toppings added as well...

Spicy Potatoes

Nothing glamorous about these potatoes... just a quick delicious comfort food breakfast to go with your pancakes!

6 medium potatoes
1 onion
zesty blend seasoning
salt & pepper

Serves 4

1: Peel and cut potatoes into tiny squares (they cook very fast this way)

2: Add olive oil to pan and cook potatoes and onions on medium with lots of seasoning!

Note: Fried potatoes are pretty self-explanatory, but I just wanted to add them as another breakfast option! :)

Zesty Potatoes Julienne

6 russet potatoes
1/2 chopped onion
1/3 sliced red pepper
3 cubed inches of Daiya Pepperjack wedge
1/3 cup Daiya cheddar shreds
1/3 cup soy milk
zesty blend seasoning -or- Trader Joe's 21 Seasoning Salute

olive oil for cooking

1: Wash and slice potatoes into strips

2: Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat along with potatoes, red peppers, and onion
3: Next add zesty seasoning, stirring well into mix and cover, turning the heat down to medium-low

4: When potatoes are softened (but not too soft-maybe 12 minutes), add both Daiya cheeses, soy milk and a bit of salt and pepper until Daiya is completely melted

Vegetable Tator Tot Hot Dish

1 bag frozen vegetables
1 bag of tator tots
1 can of vegetable broth
1/2 chopped onion
salt & cracked pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Bake tator tots until crisp (about 20 minutes)
3. Saute vegetables and onion with a bit of olive oil.
4. Line a baking pan with the veggies and add the crisp tator tots on the top
5. Drizzle the vegetable broth over the top of the tots along with salt & pepper
6. Bake for 20 minutes to allow flavors to absorb

Alternative: You may also add Lightlife Gimme Lean Ground Beef Style for a heartier casserole

Garlic Red Mashed Potatoes

Oh my goodness!  So creamy and delicious and perfect with a nice herb gravy!

10 red potatoes
1/2 cup Silk Soy Milk (I used Very Vanilla to make them sweet)
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp dried parsley
1 heaping tbsp minced garlic
salt & cracked pepper

1: Clean red potatoes very thoroughly, chop into chunks and boil until soft (maybe 12 minutes).  Strain and return to pot

 2: Add Earth Balance and soy milk and mash ingredients together

 3: Add garlic, dried parsley, lots of salt & cracked pepper and heat on medium, stirring continuously, until garlic has been infused into potatoes (about 5 minutes)
4: Serve warm (with gravy if you'd like!)

Mom's Potato Salad

Updated from a previous recipe, this is a special potato salad that my Mom used to make for family holidays together.  Over the years of helping her make this, I became an expert potato peeler!  It is best to make this the day before it's meant to be served, as the flavors will have time to set in and the salad is best served chilled.  I could eat this morning, noon and night!

10-12 russet or red (or both!) potatoes
2 stalks celery
1/2 red onion
2 large (or 5 small) dill pickles
6 radishes
Vegenaise
mustard
celery seed
salt & cracked pepper

1: Peel potatoes, cut into cubes and boil until medium-soft (very important not to boil too long or your salad will be mash!).  Rinse in cold water and set aside

2: Dice onion, celery stalks, pickles and radishes, then add the mixture to cooled potatoes

3: Generously add the Veganaise, mustard, celery seed, salt/cracked pepper to suit your taste.  I, personally, have a mustard obsession

4: Add sliced radishes for decoration (my Mom's signature!), chill overnight (if possible) and serve cold...delicious!

*Note: My mom's recipe involved Miracle Whip (she does NOT like Mayo!) and hard-boiled eggs.  I added the celery seed.  Also, do not add sliced red peppers...I learned the hard way--it will make it taste like grocery store potato salad!  :-/

Bacon & Havarti Potatoes

My omnivore Bear had a craving for some au gratin style potatoes, inspiration struck and I decided to try my hand at a little vegan variation...and who doesn't like bacon?  These were super delicious the next day as leftovers as well.

6 red potatoes
1 package of Smart Bacon
green onions
Daiya Havarti-style wedge

Makes: 4 side dish servings

1: Cook Smart Bacon on stovetop until crisp.  Set aside to cool.
2: Thinly slice red potatoes and green onions and place in a medium-sized pan with olive oil

3: Crumble cooled bacon over potatoes and add chunks of havarti Daiya and cover.  Cook on medium-low, stirring occasionally for about half hour, until potatoes are softened

4: Add salt & cracked pepper if you'd like. 

Vegetable Stew

Great for the crockpot...and if you have the time, throw some bay leaves in there and let it sit all afternoon for an even more flavorful soup!

5 red potatoes

1/2 onion

2 peeled carrots

2 cans (or 3 1/2 cups) vegetable broth

1 package of vegetarian brown gravy

salt & pepper

Optional: small garden tomatoes

1: Add broth and gravy mix to crockpot and whisk together

2: Add chopped potatoes (I leave the skin on), sliced carrots and chunked onions to broth mix.  I also added some small red and yellow tomatoes that my friend gave me from her mother's garden
3: Add salt and pepper, cover the crockpot and cook on high for an hour, stirring a few times.  Eventually turn to low heat for another hour or two.  The longer you have to simmer it, the more the flavors will come out.

4: Serve immediately with some yummy oyster crackers (I used Premium brand, as the off-brands of crackers have whey in them)

Garlic Chive Mashed Potatoes

I'm pretty sure this qualifies as a version of a Greek skordalia, but as a side dish instead of a dip... the more garlic, the better!

6 large russet potatoes
4 green onions
1 tsp garlic
2 tbsp Earth Balance
1/4 cup soy milk

1: Peel, slice into wedges and boil potatoes until soft enough to break with a spoon, then strain
2: Pour into a large mixing bowl and mash to your liking
3: Slice green onions and add to potatoes along with Earth Balance, soy milk and garlic

*Season with salt and white pepper

Burgers & Fries

Just a simpler way to make burgers and fries...the healthy way!

tortillas (instead of a bun!)

Vegan Boca burgers

1/2 red onion

lettuce

pickles

6 russet potatoes

olive oil

italian seasoning

seasoned salt

1: Preheat oven to 425º F

2: Peel and cut potatoes into long vertical pieces.

3: Blanche them in a pot of boiling water for about 7-8 minutes, but watch them so they don't get too soft!

4: Strain them and place them in a bowl with 2 tsp of italian seasoning and 2 tsp olive oil.  Mix well, making sure not to break the potatoes.

5: Bake for 15 minutes, flipping midway through for even browning, adding salt and pepper if you wish.

I like to make fries this way because it involves less grease, no fillers that are found in the frozen variety...and they taste much better!

The burgers can be made by simply slicing the onions, adding olive oil to the pan to help ease the stick of the Boca patty and browning on both sides.  I opted to use tortillas instead of a big heavy bun, but you can also use a large lettuce leaf as a bun if you're trying to cut carbs.

Cheesy Chive Potatoes

5 lbs of red potatoes

olive oil

bunch of chives, sliced

Lawry's seasoning salt

pepper

3/4 cup Daiya cheddar cheese

1: Preheat oven to 400°F

2: Peel and cut potatoes into 1/2 inch cubes and place them into a boiling pot of water for about 6-7 minutes, until medium softness (not soft enough to mash though!).

3: Strain and place in a casserole pan with just enough olive oil to lightly coat the potatoes.

4: Add 1/2 the chives and all of the Daiya then bake for 45 minutes, turning potatoes about halfway through.

5: When browned, add fresh chives to the top, cool for five minutes and serve as a delicious side! Yum!

Gourmet Soy-Burgers

I'll be the first to admit that not all Vegan burgers are created equally.  Some are too soy-tasting, meaning they taste like the container they came in.  Some garden burgers taste like a squishy carroty-cabbage sandwich.  I've enjoyed a Boca burger here and there, but nothing compares to making your own!  So here is what I've found to be the ultimate burger for those who like simple American-type foods.



1 lb LightLife Gimme Lean
    (Ground Beef Style)
1 yellow onion (diced)
1/2 cup quick oats
1/2 cup Daiya Vegan cheddar
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
dash of salt & pepper

olive oil (for cooking)

1: In a medium-sized bowl, mix together all ingredients with your hands (minus the olive oil).  Make sure everything is evenly distributed and that the onions stay in the mixture.  Obviously, your tastes may be different from mine, so experiment a little bit, add more herbs and spices, add less...whatever suits you.  Just keep the Daiya in there and the oats because it will really fill out your burger, kind of like a mini meat-loaf patty.

2: On medium heat (very important) in a non-stick pan, add a light coating of olive oil and spread it all around.  Make your mixture into balls and flatten them onto the oil, careful not to pull them apart.  Cover and cook for five minutes:

 

3: Next, slowly lift each soy-burger one at a time, adding a tiny amount of olive oil underneath before flipping it all the way over.  This is important because this soy will stick like you don't know what!  If you'd like to top your burgers with Daiya cheddar, do so after you've done the flip.  Cover and cook five minutes.

  

4: Top with whatever suits you.  I chose Daiya cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes and my very own pickled cucumbers from my garden.

Enjoy with a side of seasoned fries and some corn on the cob (topped with Earth Balance, of course).  :)