Nana's Bean Sprout Salad!!!

 In honor of Mother's Day, (Happy Mother's Day to all the mother's I know, you are incredible people;), what else is more fitting than a ode to my mom, the one who instilled in me the love of cooking and being a good mommy?!?  I just can't say enough about how being a mother has changed my whole outlook on life and how I want to give the best of everything to my children, especially the food they eat!!
   Anyways, my Mom or Nana as my babies call her, doesn't actually measure anything for this so its more a taste as you go type recipe. Just consider yourselves very lucky as this is so yummy and it goes real quick any time it is on the table:)  Let me just say my mom has to buy two BIG bags of bean sprouts for it to last!!!LOL
  On to the real topic, the bean sprouts!  Last year we were sprouting our own and they were delish, but if you don't have time just buy at the store, you should buy at least two containers full for it to be worth it though!! The key to this is blanching the sprouts, but not too long, that they get cooked...  Oh and I am warning you now, once you start on this, you can't stop!!!:)

Nana's Bean Sprout Salad
2 containers of Bean Sprouts or As much as you want!!!
1-2 Tbsp. Bragg's Amino Acids
1 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Sriracha Chili Paste
2 tsp. Agave or sweetener
Salt and Pepper to taste
   *This is a starting off point, I usually just eye it and go by taste, but the next time I make this I will and update!
Boil water, then put sprouts in for 5-6 minutes, then remove and run cold water over them, to stop them from cooking.  Mix Bragg's, Sesame Oil, Chili Paste, and Agave or Brown sugar, and S&P to taste!!  This is so simple, yet so good!

Up Close!!

This were our homegrown sprouts!!Amazing!!

Finished Product!!! YUMMY!!!

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:)