Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna!!!

     Italian, anyone?!?  A go-to dish, that is filling and delicious, oh and did I mention, can be made ahead of time!!! (another upside to making in advance, no cleanup during the mad rush, at least that's what I call mealtime around this joint, LOL)

   This is a CLASSIC in our household and I love making this because it really can be done the night before or during nap time in the afternoon and be ready to go in the oven at dinner.  The best part is watching my kids literally inhale this!  I just made this recently for my neighbors who just had a baby(Congrats and welcome to the neighborhood little man:)!!  So I have pics of the making, but not the actual finished product, which is odd because I make this once a month, at least.  The next time I make it, I will take pics too!!
  Anyways, I took this over to my parents house for a sunday night get together with all my family(brothers, sisters, their spouses, nieces, nephews), i.e. a bunch of non-vegans and well they were all raving about how good it was!!  I had them officially fooled:)
   Whenever I make this I really do think of my family; it is such a homey dinner and makes the best leftovers!  I distinctly remember one time I was at my sisters house (it had to be about college age for me), but I hadn't been cooking a whole bunch and she wanted me to help.  I told her no, I haven't cooked in ages, I would probably mess it up.  Well she didn't let me get out of it that easy, she said ''this is the easiest thing to make, you can't mess it up"  and she was right, it was a piece of cake and I loved it.  Now that I have it VEGANIZED, it's hands down the best you've ever had!! Enjoy:)

p.s. This is one of those recipes that keeps getting better over time because of how much you make it and you figure out all the little tweaks and changes, so you are welcome in advance because this is ready to go:)))

Mai Mai's Vegan Lasagna

"Ricotta Cheese"
1 block extra firm tofu (pressed and crumbled)
2 cups Fresh (not frozen) Spinach and processed fine
1/2 cup veganise ("follow your heart" is best tasting brand IMO), you could get by with using a bit less too
1/2 cup Daiya shredded mozzarella vegan cheese
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (this is a dried flake that will give it a good cheesy taste, you can find at whole foods in bulk section)
1-2 tsp dried herbs: Garlic, Basil, Oregano(I just sprinkle to taste with this)
dash of salt and pepper and braggs amino acids(similar to soy sauce, but less sodium)

Once you have pressed tofu (I just wrap in paper towel and squeeze excess water out or you could put a plate with some weight on it to press out more, but I find it works the same:)
Mash the tofu with a potato masher (you want it to be a fine crumble, no big chunks, but not silky smooth either), then mix in the veganaise, cheese, yeast and herbs.  It should be creamy and you can taste and make sure it is seasoned enough.

"Meat"
1 cup Textured Vegetable protein (again in the bulk dept)
1/4 cup onion
3 cloves garlic
2 cup broth (veggie)
dash of vegan worcheshire, braggs, and hickory smoke

Saute the onions and garlic until translucent and fragrant, then add the tvp and broth, this just needs to be a medium heat, you do not want to boil the tvp as it will lose its shape. After the tvp is soft, mix into the sauce.   OR you could buy the frozen boca crumbles in the freezer section of the nature dept at kroger or any grocery!!

Assemble all ingredients in layers, starting with a thin layer of sauce, then noodles (I get uncooked or oven ready from giant eagle, make sure they don't have egg in them!!!), then "ricotta", then sauce and continue on until you get to the last layer of noodles and then top with just sauce!  Please post any questions or comments!

INGREDIENTS

MIXING UP THE "RICOTTA"

READY FOR DAIYA CHEESE SHREDS

TVP READY TO GO!

VEGAN CHEESE!!!

MORE SAUCE!!

SPINACH

ALMOST FINISHED!! YUMMY IT IS LOOKING GOOD!!

"Sausage" Country Gravy!!!

Biscuits and Sausage Country Gravy!!!

 I know, I know, this is not on anyone's list of "healthy foods" but let me just say, what is life about if you can't splurge occasionally?!?  This used to be my favorite dish at Bob Evan's when I was a little girl, but even before going vegan I just couldn't allow myself to truly enjoy it knowing that some type of lard and all that junk would be apart of the dish.  So about midway through this winter, my hubby and I had an itching for some good old breakfast comfort food.... and this became a new classic!!!  I found a recipe online, but tweaked the ingredients a bit to make it perfect and that's exactly what it is, Perfect!  I even found its great with rice or part of a casserole, basically you can't go wrong with this!  Even better my kids loved it and by the end of it our bellies were happy and content:)  You can definitely make your own biscuits(more power to you, I have done before and it's worth the extra time), but as I was short on time I ended up using Bisquick (yes its vegan, omg!)... I will post a recipe for biscuits next time, but let's focus on the real star of this dish, the GRAVY!!!

Country Sausage Gravy

2 TBSP.  "butter" Earth Balance
1/2  small onion (diced)
4 TBSP. Flour (use whole wheat or all purpose)
1 package of veggie sausage (8 oz)
1/2 tsp. Maple Syrup
3 cups plant milk
1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast
1/2 tsp. Salt
dash of Bragg's
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Sage
1/2 tsp. Thyme

Melt the "butter" in a saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions and saute until translucent.  Sprinkle in the flour until mixed well and then add the sausage, just enough to brown or heat through.  Pour in the milk slowly and add the syrup, nutritional yeast, bragg's, and seasonings and whisk until well incorporated.  This should be at a medium heat and thicken as you whisk, you want to make sure to do this for at least ten minutes, whisking every so often, so as not to burn and the flour taste to be cooked out.  Then once the gravy covers a spoon and stays put, you are ready to enjoy.  As I said this is great with biscuits, rice, bread, casserole... your imagination is the only limit!! Enjoy!!  It is also great the next day too:)

The gravy should stick on the spoon when you dip it....MMM.. ready to eat...

The kiddos enjoying and soo big since the last time I posted!!! Time is flying:)

I'm Back!!

Mai Mai's Sugar Cookies (I know again:)I just made these for my sister in law's baby shower (I am soo excited to meet him or her, too) and wanted to share some pics... of the cookies that is :)

Ok, so it has been a long time, a whole year and another baby later... but I am hoping to get back on track this time as I have discovered quite a few new recipes that we are loving in our house!!! We are still on this vegan journey... and really love to see how our children are flourishing.  I hope you are ready to come back and see what we have cooking here at the Vegan Kids Kitchen house:) I will try to update as often as time  allows (and with three little ones, it is hard to come by;) LOL

Mai Mai's Sugar Cookies
1 cup Cane Sugar
1 1/2 sticks of Earth Balance (which is one and a half cups)
1 Egg Replacer Equivalent (this is found in any grocery store in the natural dept.)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 3/4 -2 cups flour (I mix whole wheat and all purpose, more all purpose than whole though)
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt

Preheat the oven to 350 F
    Beat the "butter"(Earth Balance) and sugar together until creamy, add the egg replacer, vanilla, salt, and baking powder.  After it is well combined slowly add 1 3/4 cup flour (then use the additional 1/4 cup as needed in mix or to use while rolling the dough to prevent sticking, you want the dough to be firm and not sticky, but also not too crumbly).  Roll our the dough in small batches keeping the dough at least a quarter of an inch thickness (this is key for cookies to really shine!!)  Use the cookie cutters and place on parchment paper or silpat, to prevent sticking.
    Bake for 9-12 mins or until bottoms are golden brown.  Remove and place on wire racks to cool.  Frost after they are completely cooled.

Mai Mai's "Better" Cream Frosting
2 TBSP Earth Balance
1-2 TBSP Plant Milk
8 oz. Powdered Sugar
(food coloring if desired)

    I cream the "butter" first and then add the milk, adding in the sugar slowly as needed.  I never really measure this part, I just start with the butter and then add a little milk if I need or more powdered sugar. I like the constistency to not be runny or sticky, but firm enough so that the frosting can harden up and make it easier to stack cookies after the frosting has dried.

Mixed Up!

Ready to Bake!

Done!