Meatless Monday: Tempeh Sloppy Joes

August 29, 2011 by 6 Comments

 

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Sometimes it’s fun to get sloppy and a little messy when you eat- and these sandwiches definitely fit the bill!  If you aren’t sure what tempeh (pronounced tem-pay) is, check out this post. I’ve seen people crumble up tempeh and use it in tacos and sloppy joes so I thought I would give it a try. Don’t forget you’ll need to steam the tempeh a bit before you crumble it up(see the same post if you want to know why)!

These tempeh sloppy joes are amazing- tempeh is the perfect texture for crumbling up and using in this type of recipe.  If you don’t like tempeh you could just use portabella mushrooms instead.  I really think the meaty-ness of the tempeh fits perfectly with the sauce.  This recipe is perfect for a casual Meatless Monday dinner!

Oh and by the by, any time I make (or think of) sloppy joes I can’t help but sing that Adam Sandler song. (Sloppy joe, slop sloppy joe)

Let’s get sloppy, shall we?

Tempeh Sloppy Joes
makes 6-8 sandwiches
(print this recipe)

Ingredients:
1 package tempeh
1 small onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup chopped mushrooms (I like cremini mushrooms)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetarian worcestershire sauce
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
Salt and pepper
Whole wheat burger buns

 

Directions:
Steam tempeh for about 10 mins- I do it on the stove in a steamer basket.  Let tempeh cool before crumbling.

Over medium-high heat, sauté onion and bell pepper together in a little cooking spray until tender (veggie broth works nicely for sautéing veggies too).

Crumble in the tempeh (it should crumble easily) and add the mushrooms and garlic.  Cook until the mushrooms are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the tomato paste, brown sugar, red wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce, and tomato sauce.  Simmer until sauce is thick.

Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spoon the mixture onto your burger buns and top with your favorite garnish- I love pickles on sloppy joes!  I also like to serve these with sweet potato fries.

 

mmmmmm…….

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Hope you had a great Meatless Monday!!

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Meatless Monday: Quinoa Stuffed Hatch Chiles

August 8, 2011 by 4 Comments

Happy Meatless Monday friends!  After you read this head over to Liz’s blog to see my first ever guest post!  Oddly enough that recipe also feature’s quinoa- and I didn’t even plan it that way!

So if you know me, then you know that I’m completely obsessed with not only extremely spicy things, but also with Hatch Chiles!    See last year’s Hatch Chile post if you want the deets on this amazing pepper (or if you want to make the awesome Hatch Chile Rellenos that I made last year- trust me, you do!)

It’s not quiiiiite time for the Hatch Fest at Central Market yet, but they have already put their chilies out so I grabbed some!  I’ll be out of town during the Hatch Fest this year so this may be all I get!  Sadface.

I’ve been contemplating for months what my first Hatch recipe was going to be this year, and after seeing the Vegan Zombie make stuffed poblanos I knew I had to make Stuffed Hatch Chiles!  This recipe is inspired by that episode of The Vegan Zombie!  Stay tuned for more Hatch recipes over the next few weeks- I’ve already got a Hatch Sourdough in mind, and who knows what else my crazy brain will come up with!

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Without further ado, I give you…

Quinoa Stuffed Hatch Chiles
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
6 large Hatch Chiles (you can use poblanos if you can’t get the Hatch)
15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (+ 1 cup water for cooking the quinoa)
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder(optional, but if you want a little extra spiciness you should add this!)
1/2 cup pepperjack cheese (I like Daiya!)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F and spritz a baking pan with cooking spray.

Rinse your quinoa and cook it- I use a 2:1 water to quinoa ratio and cook it in my rice cooker, but you can cook it on the stove too! 

While quinoa is cooking, slice your peppers in half lengthwise and scrape the seeds out (tip: I use a grapefruit spoon to scoop the seeds out so I don’t have to worry about touching them with my fingers!)

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Sauté onion and bell pepper over medium heat until tender. 

Add garlic and continue to cook until fragrant.

In a large bowl, stir together the sautéed veggies, beans, quinoa, spices, and cheese.

Scoop the mixture into your peppers- don’t be afraid to get your hands in there and really mound up the filling in those peppers!

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Pop the stuffed chiles in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the peppers are soft. (start watching them when you get to the 15 minute mark- you don’t want them to burn!)

If you’re awesome like me, you’ll top your stuffed peppers with some vegan queso and a big scoop of guac!

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mmmmmmmm……

 

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Meatless Monday: Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms

August 1, 2011 by 2 Comments

Happy Meatless Monday friends!

On Wednesday I promised an awesome stuffed mushroom recipe and here it is!!  Hope you enjoy!

Pizza Stuffed Mushrooms
(Print this recipe!)

Ingredients:
4 Portobello mushrooms (you could also do this with baby bellas)
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup of your favorite pizza or pasta sauce
1/2 cup mozzarella (I like Daiya), plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top
1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

Lightly scrape the gills out of your mushrooms (you don’t have to if you don’t want to, but I find the gills kind of oogey so I like to scrape them out) and wipe them down with a damp towel to clean them.

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Sauté onion and bell pepper on medium heat until tender. (I like to sauté my veggies with a little vegetable broth instead of oil!)

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Add garlic and sauté until fragrant.

Remove veggies from the heat and place into a bowl with Italian seasoning, sauce, breadcrumbs, and cheese.

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Divide the mixture between the mushrooms and sprinkle the tops with a little more cheese.

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Bake in the 400 F oven for 45-50 minutes.

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We served ours with a big pile of steamed broccoli and some salad!

So. Good.

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Mushrooms.  Pizza.  Cheese.  Can’t go wrong there my friends!

Have a great week!

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Meatless Monday: Don’t Wanna Cook?

July 25, 2011 by 7 Comments

 

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Happy meatless Monday friends!!

We all know how much I love to cook.  But honestly, sometimes I just don’t really feel like cooking.  I think we all feel that way sometimes, am I right?

So let’s talk about some ways to still have a Meatless Monday without cooking!

Take Out, veggie style!

Obviously this would be the first thing we think of when we don’t feel like cooking!  It’s not as hard as you might think it would be doing a meatless take out!  A few options…

  • Subway!  Easy peasy!  Get the veggie delight and stuff that sucker FULL of your favorite veggies!
  • Asian food… you may be surprised at how many veggie dishes an Asian style place can have!  Veggie stir fries, black bean sauce, vegetable dumplings, steamed rice, tofu, veggie sushi, edamame, spring rolls…   If you have one of those Mongolian stir fry places near you they’ve got TONS of veggie options!!
  • Pizza!  This one’s much easier than you think!  Some pizza places even have whole wheat crusts and non-dairy cheese now!  When we have pizza delivered Pizza Hut is the only place near enough to deliver so we usually do the veggie lovers without cheese.  Sometimes I’ll add my own non-dairy cheese but most of the time I eat it sans cheese!  I think you might be surprised at how delish pizza is without meat and cheese.  It really lets the flavor of the sauce and the veggies shine through, not to mention the fact that it won’t clog your arteries!!
  • Grocery store salad bars!  There are so many grocery stores that have amazing salad bars now!  It’s an easy and quick meal to go!  Whole Foods, Central Market(these are only in TX), natural foods stores, and I’ve even seen several Kroger’s with salad bars!  Pile up those veggies peeps!  (I love to add lots of beans, baked tofu and grain salads to my grocery store salad!)
  • If you haaaave to do a fast food place (ugh), Taco Bell’s beans do not have lard so they have several vegetarian options.  Bean burritos(vegan without cheese), Seven layer burrito (vegan without sour cream and cheese), a taco salad without meat are just a few.  I’ve done taco bell in a pinch and it’s pretty easy to do veggie style.

Leftovers!

Freeze Meatless Monday leftovers so that you’ll have them on hand for nights that you don’t feel like cooking!  Easy!

Sandwiches/wraps

I always keep sandwich and wrap ingredients on hand so that they’re easy to grab if I don’t feel like cooking!  You should keep your fridge stocked with veggies anyway (cause, duh, they’re good for you!).  Things I keep on hand for veggies and wraps…  Bread, California Lavash wraps, lettuce, tomatoes, cukes, sprouts, avocado, pickles, hummus, etc… Pretty much any veggie you can think of!

Convenience Foods

I try not to do too many convenience foods because they tend to have a lot of fat and sodium in them.  Not to mention that most of them are highly processed!  A few things I sometimes keep on hand are Amy’s products!  The whole line is vegetarian, with many dairy free options as well.  And they don’t have weird unpronounceable ingredients in them!  I like their enchiladas, their burritos, and their veggie pot pie is to die for!  I usually also keep some type of veggie burger in the freezer as well, just in case.  The Dr. Praeger’s California Burgers are phenomenal!

 

Anyone have a go-to noncook item to add to the list??

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