Cheesy Quinoa and Seitan Casserole

There is A LOT going on with this recipe, but trust me, it is SOOO filling and SOOO good!  We have been working a lot lately, so when we get home we are HUNGRY.  Enter this rich, creamy, and protein packed casserole that is absolutely bursting with flavor.  I can honestly say this is one of my most favorite recipes I've every come up with.  

Cashew cheese was pretty much the catalyst that made me fall in love with vegan cooking.  I had cashew cheese on a sandwich in a vegan restaurant one day and I thought, I want to learn how to make that!  Since then I've fallen in love with cashew cheese sauce, or nut cheese as we jokingly call it, but I always feel a little guilty knowing how much fat are in cashews, albeit the good kind.  I sought out to cut my standard cheese sauce recipe from one full cup of cashews to half a cup in order to make the recipe more fat friendly friendly for a two serving portion because I knew it was already going to be very rich.  Throwing quinoa and seitan into the mix packs this casserole full of plant based protein while the flavorfully seasoned cheese sauce brings it all together.  Feel free to omit the hot sauce if you are really nervous about it, but trust me, it really adds to the flavor and there's so much else going on that it isn't enough to make your mouth burn.

TIP:  This is also really good and faster on it's own without the onion topping, but if you really want that rich comfort food effect, go for the extra effort!

Without and With the Crispy Fried Onion Topping

TIP:  Try making a big batch of seitan cutlets at once to always have some on hand and take some of the prep work out of this recipe.  They freeze really well!  After steaming them, allow to cool for an hour or two in the fridge.  Individually wrap each cutlet tightly in foil and place in an airtight container or bag in the freezer.  If you are really pressed for time or don't like making your own seitan, any store-bought seitan cutlet will do.

Ingredients
Serves 2

• Cheese Sauce Ingredients
• 1/2 c raw cashews, soaked for 2+ hours and drained
• 1/2 c unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric 
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• several grinds of freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T nutritional yeast
• 1 T hot sauce
• 1/2 c veggie broth

• 1 seitan cutlet, sliced into small, thin slices
• 3/4 c quinoa
• 1.5 c water or veggie broth
• olive oil
• reduced sodium soy sauce, 

• Crispy Fried Onion Topping 
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1 medium onion, sliced thinly
• 1/4 c bread crumbs
• 1/2 tsp italian seasoning

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. First, add one and a half cups of water or vegetable broth to a small pot and stir in the quinoa.  Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce to a simmer.  Simmer until all of the liquid has been absorbed.  About 10-15 minutes.
3. While the quinoa is cooking make the cheese sauce by first blending the soaked and drained cashews together until smooth and creamy.  Add in all remaining cheese sauce ingredients and blend until completely mixed and smooth.
4. In a medium skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat.  Add the seitan and cook for about 7 minutes or until the seitan is slightly crispy and browned.  Use a wooden spatula to break up the seitan into small pieces while it cooks, almost like the texture of a philly cheese steak.
5. Sprinkl about a tablespoon of soy sauce over the seitan.  Stir and cook for about 2 minutes more.
6. Once the quinoa is done cooking combine it in a mixing bowl with the cheese sauce and seitan.  Stir to mix evenly.
7. Pour into two oven safe ramekins or a small casserole dish and bake for 10 minutes.
8. Meanwhile, heat another tablespoon of olive oil in the same skillet over medium high heat and add the onions.  Cook for about 7 minutes until softened and browned.  
9. Add the bread crumbs, italian seasoning, and a few dashes of hot sauce and stir to coat the onions evenly.
10. Cook for about another two minutes, stirring very frequently.  You want the onions to be coated and the the loose breadcrumbs to be toasted but not burned.
11. Just as your onions are finished cooking the ramekins should be ready to come out of the oven.  Split the onion and breadcrumb mixture evenly over the tops of the two dishes and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

Apple Seitan Sausages with Balsamic Sauerkraut

The more I've been cooking the more I've wanted to move away from pre-packaged foods.  Sometimes you come home from work and you just want something quick and easy to pop in the microwave, but when I have the time I feel so much better making dinner from scratch with whole food ingredients.  This recipe is a great example of that desire to branch out from the package.  I've been working on a sausage recipe to replace our old standby soy Italian Sausages from Trader Joe's and I think this is it!  The sausages are smoky, spicy, and sweet and topping them with this sweet and sour balsamic sauerkraut is the perfect pairing.  A little bit of apple goes a long way in both the sausage and the kraut and really brings it all together.  I was anxious about how they'd turn out, but David said he liked them better than the store bought sausages, so mission accomplished!

Ingredients

Makes 4 Sausages

• 1 c vital wheat gluten
• 1/4 c chickpea flour
• 1/4 c nutritional yeast
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/4 tsp coconut sugar
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T maple syrup
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 2/3 c water or veggie broth
• 1 sweet red apple, divided 
• 1/4 c shredded for the sausages, remainder of apple diced for sauerkraut

• 1/2 head red cabbage, sliced thinly
• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 T coconut sugar
• 1/3 c balsamic vinegar
• 4 whole wheat buns
• Vegenaise

1. Mix all dry sausage ingredients together thoroughly in a mixing bowl.
2. Combine the oil, syrup, soy sauce, liquid smoke, and water/broth in a small bowl and set a side.
3. Wash and remove the stem of your apple and shred it until you have 1/4 cup shredded apple.  Dice the remainder of the apple and set aside for the sauerkraut.
4. Add the apple and wet ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix until a spongey moist dough has formed and all ingredients have been incorporated.
5. Use your hands to knead and mix the dough for about another 3 minutes to makes sure the ingredients are mixed and the texture toughens up slighltly.
6. Tear off four 1ft x 1ft squares of aluminum foil
7. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and roll and shape each piece into sausages about 6 inches long.
8. Roll up the sausages in the foil pieces and twist on the sides (see photo) like a tootsie roll.
9. Set up a steamer on the stove top and steam the sausages for 30 minutes.  When done remove from the steamer and allow to cool for about 5 minutes before handling them.
10. While the sausages steam, heat the coconut oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the cabbage and wilt it for about 5 minutes.
11. Add the coconut sugar and apple and mix through the cabbage before adding the balsamic vinegar.
12. Cover and reduce the heat to medium low and cook for 30 minutes, stirring frequently.
13. When the sausage and sauerkraut are ready, smear each side of each bun with some vegenaise, place the sausage in the bun, and top liberally with the cabbage.  (Optional: Grill the sausages for about 5 minutes on a grill pan over medium heat before serving.)

Artichoke and Kale Hemp Seed Dip

We have been big fans of the artichoke dip from The Kind Diet, but at the end of the day, you are still eating a whole bunch of fatty oily type mayo even if it is Vegenaise. This dish is rich and creamy too but the fat comes from cashews and hemp seeds instead, a much healthier and beneficial alternative.  I’ve also added crushed red pepper, nutritional yeast, and turmeric instead of mustard.  We like to top any dip off with some panko and some sort of seasoning like paprika or italian seasoning.

Serve the dip with tortilla chips, pita chips, or make your own crostini by slicing a whole wheat baguette into 1/4 in slices, brush with olive oil and garlic, and bake in the oven at 425 until toasted golden brown.

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain unsweetened non-dairy milk
• 3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 large cloves garlic
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
• freshly ground black pepper to taste
• ¾ cup raw cashews, soaked
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 2 cups frozen artichoke hearts, measured frozen, but let them thaw before cooking
• 2 cups loosely packed chopped kale
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

• 1/4 c panko crumbs
• paprika or italian seasoning

1. Soak the cashew for 2-5 hours.  When ready to use drain and discard water.
2. Preheat oven to 425.  Drain Use an immersion blender or a high speed blender to to blend the cashews, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, garlic, sea salt, turmeric, nutritional yeast, black pepper, and hemp seeds until completely smooth.
3. In a large bowl mix the cashew cream through the artichoke hearts.  Blend until mostly smooth leaving a few chunks for texture.  Add the chopped kale and pulse the blender but don’f fully blend smooth in order to keep a slightly chunkier texture.
4. Transfer to an oven proof dish and sprinkle the panko crumbs evenly over the dip.  Lightly sprinkle seasoning of your choice.  
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until the edges are starting to get brown.  

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Crispy Baked Wonton Cups

Wonton wrappers are such a quick and easy way to create visually appealing and tasty appetizers and sides.  I've tried a couple of different recipes for homemade baked wontons and while the effort is always worth it in the end, it does take a long time to seal each individual wonton, especially when making a bunch for a party.  Enter a muffin tin and you get the same textures and taste with a lot less work, plus they are pretty to look at!

Most wonton wrappers you find in the store are not vegan (the dough contains eggs) but a quick google search will net you a simple recipe for a veganized version, although you will need the kitchen space and right tools to get the desired result.  You could take this idea a million ways.  Fill up the wonton cups with your favorite vegan dip like spinach and artichoke or spicy buffalo chik'n, simple sautéed veggies, or asian inspired wontons.

       

Pictured above are my takes on cheese wontons and nachos.  For the cheese wontons I made a vegan cream cheese from silken tofu and cashews and mixed in some garlic powder and chopped chives.  For the nacho cups I used leftover walnut "taco meat" from a previous meal, a small spoonful of cowboy caviar, and topped it with a nut and diary free roasted jalapeño nacho sauce.

To make your wonton cups:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Spray a standard size muffin tin with cooking spray.  Use a pastry brush to make sure each muffin cup is lightly oiled all around.
3. Place one wonton wrapper in each cup and gently press down to form a cup shape.  Make sure you have some wrapper coming up each side to ensure a bowl shape to hold the fillings.  Spray each wonton again lightly with cooking spray.
4. Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes.  They should be beginning to look "dry" and just starting to be golden but not brown.  
5. Take out the muffin tin and add your fillings.  (A heaping teaspoon is usually enough.)
6. Return to the oven and cook for about another 5 minutes.  Keep a close eye on them, you want the wontons to be browned and crisp, but they go from browned to burnt very quickly!  Serve immediately.