Veggie Chicken and Dumplings

T liked this one so much, she uncharacteristically requested that I make it two weeks in a row. So I decided it was a hit, at least around here.

**Veggie Chicken and Dumplings**

1 lb extra-firm tofu, cubed OR 1 package of morningstar chicken strips

1 c chopped onion

3 bay leaves

1/2 t thyme1

1/2 c chopped celery

1 c diagonally sliced carrots

6 c veggie broth

5 sprigs fresh parsley

1 c flour, all-purpose

1/2 t baking powder

1/2 t salt

2 T fresh chopped parsley

1/2 c skim or soy milk

If using tofu, fry cubes in pam until light brown and set aside.

Saute onion with bay leaves and thyme until soft. Add celery and carrots and sautee for 5 more minutes. Add tofu or chicken strips and cook for one more minute. Add broth and parsley sprigs and simmer for 30 minutes.

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and chopped parsley in a medium-sized bowl to make dumpling mixture. Just before adding to broth, add milk and stir until just moist. Do not overstir! Add mixture to simmering stew by heaping teaspoonfuls, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings of about 280 calories each, depending on broth and tofu/veggie chicken chosen.

Stuffed Peppers

Oh, stuffed peppers, why are you so delicious and filling? Make no mistake, these peppers are tasty. But what makes them remarkable to friends is that two halves of these peppers are just over 150 calories. Peppers have a lot of nutrients and fiber, without a lot of calories, and this recipe, adapted from a Weight Watchers recipe, makes the most of it! Sometimes I make a batch of these and heat them up for lunches. And you can also melt cheese all over them to turn them into "cheesy stuffed peppers"--adding cheese and calling something "cheesy" is my secret way to get my family to eat more vegetables. But I like these peppers as they are.

**Stuffed Peppers**

4 bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and seeded (with stem still attached but cut in half)
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic
1 can diced tomatoes (can be with herbs or low-salt)
3/4 C frozen corn
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t salt
1/4 t ground pepper
1 cup cooked rice, white or brown

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook peppers 4-5 minutes until tender, then drain and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, spray a large skillet with pam and sautee onions and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, corn, and spices and bring to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring. Add rice and cook over low heat for 5 more minutes. Stuff pepper halves and place in a casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minuntes in oven.

If you want to, you can add cheese and bake uncovered for 5 more minutes. This will increase the calorie content, but it will be tasty!

Calories: 155 for two halves

Saucey Skillet

I love using cans of soup as the basis for sauces lately. I'm basically combining the ingredients of a veggie stir fry and a protein (tofu or veggie meat), plus a can of soup--it's really low cal. This made four servings at less than 300 calories each.

**Saucey Skillet**

1 onion, diced
1 head cauliflower, cut into florets
1 package Morningstar veggie chicken strips
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 t garlic powder
1 bunch of swiss chard, cleaned and chopped
1/2 cup shredded cheese

Sautee onion in pam in large skillet until soft. Add cauliflower and continue cooking for a few minutes, then add veggie chicken and cook for a few more minutes, stirring well. In a medium-sized bowl, combine condensed soup, 1/2 can of water, and garlic powder. Add to skillet, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to medium. Cook until cauliflower is done, stirring regularly. Then add chard and cover, cooking for 5 minutes or until chard is wilted. Serve topped with cheese.

You could use any combination of vegetables for this dish--broccoli, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, etc. You could use another creamy or cheesy soup (I also like broccoli cheddar). You could mix in cooked rice or potatoes, though I like to keep those to a minimum. This dish can be served over rice, with crusty bread, or alone.

Kitchen Sink Soup

I call this "kitchen sink soup" because everything goes into it except for the kitchen sink. It's more a set of guidelines for making a good vegetable soup than it is a recipe, because it's a little different everytime I make it. But the general premise is always the same: start with onions, add hard vegetables (like carrots and potatoes), then add softer vegetables. Here's how I made it this time:

**Kitchen Sink Soup**

1 onion, diced
3 bay leaves
2 carrots, sliced
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
8 cups vegetable broth
2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1/4 head of cabbage, cut into 1" pieces (purple or green)
1 cup peas
4 cups chopped kale
To taste: thyme, oregano, salt, and pepper to taste

Saute onion until soft, then add carrot (and optionally celery) and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Add can of tomatoes, broth, potatoes, and cabbage and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-30 minutes. Remove bay leaves and add peas, kale, and herbs to taste. Simmer for 10 more minutes, season, and serve warm. Or keep warm for up to 3 hours, and serve with rolls or crackers. You can also add celery, other root vegetables like sweet potato, corn, and canned beans.

Gravy Recipes and Nutritional Yeast

If you haven't tried nutritional yeast, this is your chance. It's high in B vitamins and gives anything a cheesy flavor. We like it so much in our family, we even sprinkle it on toast! It's an important ingredient in these two gravy recipes, and you can buy it bulk at any natural food store. I have to admit, I buy packets of powdered vegan gravy at local health food stores these days--you boil some water, mix the powder in, and you're done. But I have, in the past, been ambitious enough to make my own vegan gravies. Here are two of my favorites, for the upcoming holidays.

**Traditional Gravy--vegan style**

2 T margarine1 onion, diced

2 T flour

1 t garlic salt

2 T cornstarch dissolved in 1 1/2 cups cold water

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 T nutritional yeast

salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt margarine and saute onions for a few minutes. Add flour and garlic powder and saute for 8 more minutes. Gradually add cornstarch mixture, add bouillon cube, bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add nutritional yeast and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Serve warm.

**Cheesy Gravy**

This is so cheesy, you can pour it over macaroni and bake it to make a delicious vegan mac and cheese. It's super-easy, too--one pot. It's adapted from the fantastic _New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook_ edited by Louise Hagler and Dorothy R. Bates, published first in 1975.

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup nutritional yeast flakes or powder

1/8-1/4 c vegetable oil (not olive oil--I use canola)

2 c water

1 T soy sauce
black pepper (and, optionally, garlic powder) to taste

In large saucepan, cook the flour over medium heat until it begins to smell fragrant. Mix in the nutritional yeast and then the oil. Cook for a few minutes until it bubbles. Then add water, bring to a boil, and simmer while whisking until it bubbles and thickens. Add soy sauce and other ingredients to taste. Enjoy over pasta, mashed potatoes, or, my favorite, mixed with cooked rice and broccoli to make a delicious cheesy casserole.

Amanda's Moroccan-Style Tagine

This is a story of how a simple butternut squash becomes a delicious meal. I won first prize in a Hallowe’en recipe contest with this entry as a graduate student at the University of Minnesota in 1997. The contest required a dish with at least one orange ingredient, and this has squash, carrots, and turmeric. It’s a delicious combination of flavors and textures that I love—the softness of the vegetables, the firmness of the chickpeas, the chewiness of the raisins, and the crunch of the almonds. Yum! This is a crowd-pleaser, and non-vegetarians will never notice that it’s vegan.

**Amanda’s Moroccan-style Tagine**

1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced (not diced)
3 cloves garlic, diced
1 t turmeric
1 t ginger (powdered or fresh)
½ t cinnamon
½ t salt
4 medium carrots, cut into 1” chunks
1 butternut or acorn squash, cut into 1” cubes
1 15-oz can of diced tomatoes, with juice
1 c vegetable stock
2 medium zucchini, sliced
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ cup raisins
Slivered almonds for garnish

Prepare all vegetables before beginning and combine dry spices in a small bowl (turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and salt). Then heat olive oil and saute onion until soft. Add garlic and bowl of spices and cook for one minute, stirring. Immediately add carrots, squash, tomatoes in juice, and vegetable stock, and bring to a boil. Simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add zucchini, chickpeas, and raisins, cover, and continue cooking for 10 minutes or until all ingredients are soft. Serve with couscous or brown rice and garnish with almonds.

Unstuffed Cabbage

This recipe is simple, delicious, and very low in calories. Cabbage is a wonder food; it fills you up without fattening you up! I usually use green cabbage, but red makes a pretty presentation and a nice change. I posted this recipe online elsewhere, and people who tried it liked it a lot. Let me know what you think!

**Unstuffed Cabbage**

1 large chopped onion

1 lb/bag veggie ground beef (I like Morningstar Crumbles best)

1 small head of cabbage (at least 7 cups)

1 can diced tomatoes

1 T packed brown sugar

1 T white vinegar

1 t thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

In large saucepan sautee onion in pam for 4-5 minutes, add a little water and ground beef crumbles. Cook for a few minutes. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for at least 15 minutes, until flavors combine.

Variations on this recipe include the addition of cooked carrots, fennel seeds, or nutritional yeast, depending on your preference. I have served it with toast or rice but usually just serve it as is as a light meal.

Calories: 119 for 1 cup

Easy Apple-Walnut Stuffing

My sister and I decided to create a "Mini-Thanksgiving" when I was visiting Pennsylvania last week. I live in Seattle now, so I won't be with my family when Thanksgiving arrives in earnest. We took a few hours to create a small feast to share with everyone. The menu included: tofu cutlets, turkey, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, peas, cranberry sauce, rolls...and stuffing. The stuffing was my "I don't have a recipe today" creation that everyone loved, and I thought some of you might enjoy it, too.

**Easy Apple-Walnut Stuffing**

1 onion, diced

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

2 apples, diced

1 t poultry seasoning or sage

1 package seasoned cubes of stuffing mix (I used Pepperidge Farms)

2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or 3 cubes veggie bouillon, like Knorr, mixed with water)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet sprayed with pam or other cooking spray, sautee onions until soft. Add walnuts and sautee for 2 more minutes. Add seasonings and apple, and continue sauteeing until cooked through. In a large bowl, combine dry bread cubes, sauteed mixture, and vegetable broth. Mix until cubes are moist. Place mixture in a pam-sprayed casserole dish with a lid, cover, and bake for one hour.

Vegetarian Recipes to Come!

Let's keep this simple. I love to cook, and I love to create new recipes. I am entirely vegetarian, mostly vegan, and I cook low-calorie, low-fat, easy meals for my family everyday. I want to share these recipes with you! These recipes are what you will find on this blog, and some comments on my daily antics mixed into the batter, too.