Poblano Vege-Chicken Enchilada Casserole

 
Prep: 15 mins Cook:1 hr Total:1 hr 15 mins Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

•  6 tablespoons butter or margarine divided (you could even use olive oil)
•  2 cans diced vege-chicken (Loma Linda or Worthington)
•  2 fresh poblano peppers, seeded and slice into strips
• 4 fresh jalapeno peppers, seeded and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 lime, halved
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pint half-and-half
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 (8 ounce) package fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 2 ounces sour cream
• 12 (6 inch) corn tortillas
• 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions

Step 1:  In a large skillet melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat. Drain diced vege-chicken. Sautee diced vege-chicken in olive oil in the skillet with poblano peppers, jalapeno and garlic. Squeeze the juice from one lime half over the vege-chicken. Simmer for 25 minutes covered, stirring occasionally.

Step 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Step 3: In a medium saucepan, melt 1/4 cup butter over low heat. Gradually stir in flour and half-and-half. Mix mushrooms, sour cream, cilantro, and the rest of the lime juice. Simmer until mushrooms are tender (about 10 minutes).

Step 4: In a 9x13 inch baking dish melt butter in the baking dish. Cut up and spread 3 tortillas. Pour half the chicken pepper mixture and one cup mozzarella over the tortillas. Pour half the cilantro sauce evenly over the first layer. Add another layer with remaining chicken and pepper mixture. Pour the rest of the vege-chicken pepper mixture and the cilantro sauce evenly over the casserole. Top with remaining mozzarella cheese.

Step 5:  Bake 25 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cheese is melted and lightly browned.

 

 

Southwestern Vege-Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Didn't dice the avocado. got in a hurry. Topped with a little sour cream.

I'm from Texas so I have to have lots and lots of Tex-Mex recipes - especially enchiladas. I have recipes for enchiladas with flour tortillas and corn tortillas. This is one of the corn tortilla types. I used several types of vegetarian chicken including Morningstar Farms chicken strips, Fri-Chik cut up into strips, Morningstar Farms Vege-Chicken Nuggets, and other vegetarian chicken substitutes. The rest of the enchilada recipe is what makes the dish good anyway.  Here we go....

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cups vege-chicken cut up
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder to taste
• 1/4 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp Canola oil
• 1/2 onion chopped
• Red or green bell pepper chopped
• About 10 oz spinach, fresh or frozen chopped
• 1 1/2 cup salsa mild to hot depending on your taste
• Corn tortillas (6 inch)
• 1 cup shredded cheese (Monterey Jack is good but so it cheddar, mozarella and once I grated up some leftover Brie), 
• 1/4 lb cubed Velveeta.
• 1/4 cup evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup diced tomatoes 
• 1 Avocado peeled and diced
• Chopped black olives
• Cilantro for garnish
• Cooking spray

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray
2. In a medium bowl, combine chicke, garlic, cumin and chili powder. Add to lightly oiled skillet and cook over medium high heat for 4 to six minutes until vege-chicken starts to brown. Remove and set aside.
3. Add oil to the  skillet. Add onion and pepper; cook over medium heat stirring occasionally about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the spinach. Add cubed Velveeta, diced tomatoes, milk  and salsa. Stir until melted. Add chicken srips to sauce
4. Coat a 2 quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
5. Fold sauce and chicken mixture by spoonfuls into corn tortillas and roll. Place tortilla rolls side by side in the casserole until you fill up the casserole. Spread the rest of the sauce and chicken mixture over and around the enchiladas. 
6. Cover with shredded cheese and bake 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
7. Peel and dice avocado. Garnish the top of the casserole with avocado, black olives and cilantro. 
8. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Serving Suggestion:

Serve with sweet corn and maybe a salad with a nice Ranch dressing and some tortilla chips, iced decaf tea or caffeine free Dr. P. 

Tom King.

Cottage Cheese Patties

Recipe by Peggy Ray, Tyler, Texas

This one comes from the Tyler, Texas SDA cookbook, courtesy of my friend Peggy Ray. Peggy comes up with some great recipes for potluck.  This one is a combination of oatmeal patties and cottage cheese loaf only it eschews the Kellogg's Special K in favor of oatmeal.  I had a bunch of cottage cheese and no Special K, so I went with Peggy's cottage cheese patties tonight. You really won't believe how good these things are. They have this incredible medley of flavors that is just amazing.  Here's how you do it.

Ingredients:

• 1 c. cottage cheese
• 1/2 small onion chopped
• 3/4 cup pecans or walnuts
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 egg plus 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup multi-grain cracker crumbs
• 3/4 cup oatmeal
• 2 pkgs (2 tbsp) George Washington Golden Broth or powdered chicken flavored broth
• 1 can French's fried onions

Gravy:

• 2 cans mushroom soup
• 1 can of water

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl (except for the fried onions)
2. Let set for 10 minutes or so after thoroughly mixed
3. Form into patties and brown in oil. 
4. Make up gravy in saucepan or skillet
5. Pour small layer of gravy in bottom of a casserole dish.
6. Add a light layer of French fried onions
7. Lay patties over the top and drizzle the rest of the gravy over it.
8. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes at 300 degrees.
9. Layer on top with the rest of the French fried onions.
10. Bake for 5 minutes more

Serving Suggestion:

Peggy Ray

Around here we just go ahead and have them for supper. If you're taking them to potluck, cover the casserole dish with foil or the lid that goes with it on Friday afternoon and refrigerate. Heat it up in the church warmer starting as soon as you get to the church on Sabbath morning so it's good and hot by lunch time. You might want to leave an extra pan of these at home because if you're like most potluck contributing cooks you line up last in line and by the time you get there the good stuff is gone and you're stuck with lentils and cabbage.

Thank you soooooooo much for this recipe, Miss Peggy. We love your culinary work.

Tom King

Cottage Cheese Loaf - Nutty Version

I got hungry for cottage cheese loaf and whipped up this one.  I changed a few ingredients thanks to some suggestions from readers and a couple of ingredients I wanted to try out for a nuttier version. If you guys are allergic to nuts, this one is not recommended. Here's the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 large carton cottage cheese (24-32 oz. size)
• 5 eggs (higher in protein with the extra egg and binds the extra oatmeal)
• 1/2 cup pecan meal (If you have pecans, dump a cup in the blinder and whiz it up till it's meal)
• 1/2 cup slivered toasted almonds
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 packet Lipton's onion soup mix
• 1 regular box of Special K cereal
• 1/2 stick of butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Crush the Special K in a large bowl. Grind up the pecans to make meal if you don't have pecan meal.
3. Stir in oatmeal, peanut butter, oil, soup mix, cottage cheese and eggs. Mix together thoroughly.
4. In 9x13 casserole dish, melt butter.
5. Press loaf mixture into the casserole dish
6. Sprinkle toasted almond slivers over the top
7. Bake in the oven for 40 to 60 minutes until the top is brown and the edges are crisp and pull slightly away from the sides of the pan.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

Cover and hold in the refrigerator for tomorrow's potluck or serve immediately. I tend to go with "serve immediately" as you can tell from the picture above. This version has a nuttier flavor than the original recipe. The oatmeal doesn't much change the taste and gives you more of it if you need to feed a larger group. An extra egg covers the extra ingredients. I love this stuff. If you haven't checked it out, here's the original recipe the way my grandmother and Miss Sheila made it.  (Just click the link).

Tom King

Pat Fine's Vege-Cheese Burger Loaf

Pat Fine was a pastor's wife Sheila knew back in Monroe, Louisiana when she was a new Adventist. Pat was an incredible vegetarian cook. Sheila collected a lot of recipes from Pat and we've never tried one of them that wasn't delicious. I made this up today and it was almost entirely eaten up before I could get a picture. It's an easy recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1 19 oz can of Loma Linda or Worthington Vegeburger, Redi-Burger or 1 package of Morningstar Farms Grillers Crumbles
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sage
• 1 slice toasted bread crumbled up fine
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 onion chopped fine
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 tsp butter or margarine
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp oregano

Direction:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large mixing bowl mix vegeburger or crumbles with sage, bread crumbs, garlic powder, sage, eggs, salt and 1/2 cup shredded cheese.
3. Caramelize onions by sauteeing in olive oil 
4. Add sauteed onions to vegeburger mix
5. Melt butter in 9x12 casserole dish in oven
6. Spread vegeburger mix in casserole dish and cook for 5-10 minutes
7. Mix ketchup and oregano in a small bowl
8. Take out casserole and spread ketchup/oregano mixture over the top
9. Sprinkle cheese over the top of the vegeburger loaf
10. Cook for 15 minutes or until the mixture gets firm, the cheese melted, and the edges bubble.

Serving Suggestions:

Serves 8 or 4 really hungry people. It's good with potatoes (baked or mashed), green beans or broccoli, carrots or salad or maybe Cole slaw. Some fresh hot rolls are all you need to top the meal off. Also, it can be a stand-alone potluck dish, prepared on Friday and heated up during services for a potluck lunch.  Enjoy.


Tom

Chinese Vegetables and Skallops

We've been looking at ways to use Loma Linda and Worthington Vegetable Skallops the past two weeks. Skallops are a versatile vege-meat and I particularly like them when we take them back to their roots. Soy and wheat gluten-based meat substitutes were brought to the Adventist Church by Dr. Harry Miller, erstwhile mission doctor and physician to Chinese leader Chiang Kai Shek. Dr. Miller set up a vegetarian meat substitute production plant that became Loma Linda Foods and from which sprang other brands like Cedar Lake, Worthington, and even Morningstar Farms which is available in almost every grocery store in the nation as a vegetarian meat substitute.

So using Skallops as a protein source with Chinese vegetables is appropriate given it's roots in Chinese food.  Using the basic fried with a corn meal coating version we showed you a couple of weeks ago, making a protein-rich Chinese vegetable dish is simple.

Ingredients:

• Fried cornmeal coated Skallops
• Bag of frozen Chinese vegetables
• Wok
• Olive or vegetable oil
• Rice or fried rice mix

Directions:

1. Prepare rice by package directions
2. Prepare Skallops or reheat them if already prepared
3. Heat oil in wok over medium heat
4. Add vegetables to oil and cook till thoroughly heated
5. Remove from heat and place in serving bowl.

Serving Suggestions:

This dish can be served like haystacks by placing rice, Skallops and prepare Chinese vegetables in separate bowls. Serve yourself by placing a bed of rice on your plate, a pile of Chinese vegetables on top of the rice and then place several Skallops on top of the vegetables. Add soy sauce, teriyaki sauce, sweet and sour sauce or whatever sauce you might like. There are all sorts of things you can add. I like to throw cashews, almonds, or peanuts into the mix. I also use chia seeds, flax seeds or quinoa as a healthy garnish. It's up to you. You can put nuts and the like in later or cook them in with the vegatables. Quinoa, however, is better if you start it in the oil in which you cook the vegetables before you add the veggies. 

With Chinese vegetables, you also stretch the Skallops farther if you're serving them for potluck. They get a little expensive but they are so good. You might station a helper by the Skallop bowl and dole them out sparingly, especially to the kids (and some grownups sadly) who might clean out the Skallops in one go. With a "server", you can share out the Skallops more fairly and without having to single anyone out for being a little enthusiastic in their spooning up the Skallops.  Just a trick I learned in my years of happy potlucking.

Tom

Skallop Kebabs

This is a good summer dish you can cook on the grill. Loma Linda or Worthington Skallops, fried up the way we showed you last week form the protein part of these vegetarian kebabs. There are a lot of permutations and you can use whatever vegetables pop your cork and it'll probably be fine. Here I've offered some suggestions.

Ingredients:

• Loma Linda or Worthington Skallops pan fried with cornmeal coating 
• Green, red, and/or yellow bell peppers. Just about any peppers you like will do.
• Sweet onion cut in large chunks
• Pineapple (for a sweet tang to your kebabs)
• Medium to large mushrooms
• Black olives 
• Other raw vegetables you like and can manage to get on a skewer
• Seasoning you like
• Wooden kebab skewers

Directions:

1. Prepare the Skallops so they are already cooked.
2. Alternately skewer veggies, fruit and Skallops on wooden kebab skewers
3. Sprinkle seasonings you like over the kebabs. Some nice combo seasonings are available to give you anything from a Cajun to Mexican to Italian seasonings or simple seasoned salt.
4. Place skewers in your barbecue grill or grill them in the oven until the veggies begin to soften. Watch them close so that the edges or the Skallops don't get singed.
5. Remove when done and serve.

Serving Suggestions:

Serve Skallop-kebabs on a bed of rice or with potato salad, macaroni salad or whatever starches you like. Set out some sauces like sweet and sour, teriyaki, ranch dressing, barbecue sauce or something more haute cuisine if you desire - anything that makes you happy.   Kebabs are great grilled over charcoal and give you something to grill now that you've become a vegetarian.

Bon appetit'.

Tom

Vegetarian Skallops

Vegetable Skallops are an interesting meat substitute. Vaguely a sort of vegetarian seafood, they are really good and can be used in a variety of ways. SDA Vege-food giants Worthington and Loma Linda both make versions of this basic vege-meat. I send up prayers of thanksgiving for Dr. Harry Miller (the subject of the biography "China Doctor") who imported Chinese seitan and tofu variants and built a vegetarian foods industry that's helped keep SDAs eating vegetarian for comin on a century.


This week we're going to look at the standard preparation method for Vegetable Skallops. I'm not saying you can't make them a different way, but this week's recipe and the recipe for the next two weeks are all based on this basic corn meal coating version. I really do like these things. It's by far the best seafood substitute that either Loma Linda or Worthington do. Fishy products are really difficult to imitate, but Skallops are definitely a tasty substitute.

So here we go:


Ingredients:

• Loma Linda or Worthington Skallops (both come in small and large cans)
• Cornbread mix or corn meal. I like cornbread mix because it has a little flour in it and it sticks to the Skallops better.  Martha White cornbread mix is made with vegetable oil, unlike Jiffy.
• Vegetable oil
• Two or three eggs (optional) and milk
• Season salt or your favorite seafood seasonings

 Directions:

1. If you are using an egg wash (and you don't have to) mix two or three eggs with a little milk in a bowl. You'll use this as a first stage dip for your Skallops.
2. Dump cornbread mix into a big bowl and add spices to taste (optional).
3. Heat oil in large skillet to medium heat.
4. Dip each Skallop into the egg wash (optional) and roll in cornbread mix. 
5. Gently place each corn meal coated Skallop in the oil and lightly brown on each side. 
6. Drain on paper towel and blot gently to remove excess oil

Serving suggestion:

Skallops can be served as you would fish or other fried seafood. I always make up a little tatar sauce out of onions, mayonnaise, cream of tartar and pickle relish.  Ketchup is also nice or eat them plain. You can also make them up into kebabs (see next week) or with Chinese vegetables (two weeks from today).




 Skallops are my second favorite vege-meat after Tender-Bits and that says something because there are some really good vegetarian meat substitutes out there.




Tom King

That Old Basagna!

That old basagna!

When  my son, Micah, was about 3 or 4, he came upstairs one Sabbath to check out what was for Sabbath lunch. When he saw his mother extract a pan of lasagna from the oven, he stood there in the kitchen, put his hands on his hips and said, "Are we going to have that old basagna again?"

I really like lasagna and it's an easy Sabbath dinner or dish to take to potluck. Sheila made wonderful lasagna, but Micah, for some reason, didn't fancy it. Not sure why, but it didn't take long before Micah's opinion of "that old basagna" changed and it became one of his favorite Sabbath dishes.

I've done "basagna" before. This version is an easy one and quite good. Just a few changes in the ingredients. Here goes:

Ingredients

• Lasagna noodles
• Jar of spaghetti sauce (to avoid it being a little soupy, use a thicker style pasta sauce).
  
• Large carton of cottage cheese
• Can of sliced black olives
• Package of Morningstar Farms Recipe Crumbles
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 1/2 cup chopped bell peppers
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Olive oil

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°.

   

   It looks like this going into the oven!

2. Cook 9 lasagna noodles according to directions.
3. In a skillet cook Griller Crumbles in olive oil with onions and bell peppers.
4. Place 3 cooked noodles in the bottom of the casserole dish.
5. Spoon cottage cheese in an even layer over the noodles.
6. Spread Crumbles, onion, and peppers over cottage cheese.
7. Spread layer of spaghetti sauce next then a light layer of mozzarella.
8. Next add 3 more noodles and repeat the layers above.
9. Add 3 more noodles on top with the rest of the sauce and a nice thick layer of mozzarella.
10. Cook at 350° for 30 to 45 minutes until the sauce begins to bubble and the cheese is melted with brown spots on top as shown in the photo above. 

Serving Suggestions:

The first picture I posted was only a partial lasagna because we were so hungry that we ate half of it before I remembered to take a picture. Next time I shot the picture right out of the oven and replaced the half eaten one. This is really good with the Grillers Crumbles in it. Serve it with a nice big salad, some garlic bread and iced tea (decaf of course) and you have a really nice Italian meal. It's easy to prepare and keep overnight and reheat for potluck next day. Lasagna is really easy to make and always a hit at potlucks. It's flexible. You can get creative with ingredients if you want. You can use spinach instead of the Crumbles, or make it with several different kinds of cheeses instead. You can hardly go wrong with it. Make it any old time. it's wonderful stuff!

Tom

Stuffed Peppers

Roasted a couple of ears of corn along with the peppers.

I was planning on doing something else this week, but on Friday I happened upon someone with a crate of very nice green Bell peppers they were giving away, so I accepted ten of them with a vague notion of chopping and freezing them or, perhaps, stuffing them. I found a plethora of recipes online, so I cobbled together my own vegetarian version and it came out rather well. It was a bit tomato-ish for Sheila, but her digestive system is a wreck, so pay no attention to her negativity.

The recipe requires the following:

Ingredients:  (Multiply as needed)

• Four (or multiples thereof) Bell Peppers (any color is okay)
• Salt (to taste - I just went with the salt I used to cook the rice)
• 5 Tbsp olive oil (it's virginity level is up to you)
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 bag Morningstar Farms Recipe Crumbles or a can of vegeburger (LL, Worthington, etc.) 
• 1 1/2 cup of cooked rice (I made half brown/half white rice)
• 1 can chopped tomatoes, (drain liquid from the can)
• 1 tbsp oregano (chopped, powdered or dried - go lighter on the powdered)
• 1/2 cup Mozarella Cheese (optional)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/2 tsp of Worcestershire Sauce
• Dash of Tabasco sauce (super optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to directions. Adding a dash of olive oil and red wine vinegar keeps it from being sticky. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Remove the tops and cut out the seedy bits of the Bell peppers. Steam them till they soften. You can put them in a steamer for 8-10 minutes or do as I did and bake them for 10 - 17 minutes to soften them.
3. Saute' the onions in a large skillet or electric skillet. Once they start to soften, add the Recipe Crumbles or vegeburger and brown lightly. 
4. Add the rice and chopped tomatoes to the mixture and stir in. Add the mozarella and let it melt into the rice/vegeburger mixture.
5. There are two ways to do the ketchup and Worcestershire Sauce. One is to mix it up in a bowl with a little bit of water (less than a quarter cup) and mix about half into the stuffing. The other is to wait and ladle it over the peppers after they are stuffed. I put half into the stuffing and saved the rest to put on top of the stuffed peppers.
6. Stuff the peppers with the vegeburger/rice mixture. Put a spoonful of the ketchup/Worcester/optional Tabasco mixture on top of the peppers. 
7. Place in casserole dish and bake 40-50 minutes till they look like the picture above.
   Serving Suggestions:
   
   Serve with another vegetable or salad and maybe some rolls. The peppers look a little wrinkly, but they taste good. You can play with the spices a little bit. Me, I'd have added a little Tabasco, but then I like the pepper flavor and a little heat with some dishes.
   
   If you have a late summer harvest of green peppers, you can make up multiple batches of the stuffing mix, core the peppers and make as many as you'd like to. It's kind of ambitious, but it's a nice single dish for a potluck. 
   
   
   © 2017 by Tom King
   
   
   
    

Make Your Own "Wheat Meat"

Wheat Gluten

Kneading the dough

If you're vegetarian or an Adventist who wants to not look like a heathen at church potluck, you probably eat tofu or soy products. Tofu is easy to find. Most grocery stores carry it and it's a good protein source that is relatively easily to find. You can get it in most grocery stores. The trouble is that tofu is not really firm enough to work with as a meat substitute. Wheat gluten is a great addition to a vegetarian diet. Like tofu, wheat gluten is a vegetarian protein source. Like tofu wheat gluten or "seitan" also originated in Asia. Unlike tofu, however, seitan, sometimes called "wheat meat", has a satisfying, firmer texture that makes it work in ways tofu doesn't work well. Seitan can be used in casseroles, on the grill, or cooked up and added to Chinese food or on sandwiches. Seitan isn't seen very much in most supermarkets, but fortunately, it's easy to make your own wheat gluten steaks at home. Grocery stores that sell bulk items often carry high gluten wheat flour that makes it way easier to make your own seitan. If not, you can make it from unbleached flour by washing it. I know that sounds weird, but this recipe shows you how.

Note: If you do have celiac disease or other gluten sensitivities should not eat wheat gluten. Otherwise it's an excellent source of vegetable protein.

Let stand for five minutes after the water is white and opaque.

How to Make Your Own "Wheat Meat"

Ingredients and Tools Needed: 

• All-purpose unbleached flour
• Whole wheat flour 
• Water
• Chicken, beef or other seasoning according to taste (you'll have to experiment)
• A large mixing bowl (Kitchen-aide mixer is even better

​

Basic Recipe (multiply amounts as desired):

1. Mix two cups unbleached white flour with two cups whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Add enough water to make the flour the consistency of bread dough. 
3. Knead the dough about 20 minutes with a dough hook or by hand to fully develop the gluten. 
4. Put the dough ball in a large bowl and cover it with water.  Place in the refrigerator overnight. 
5. Remove the dough from the fridge, pour out the water you soaked it in and cover it with lukewarm water. 
6. Knead the gluten dough under the water. The water will turn white as the starch is released. Wait five minutes, pour out the water and refill the bowl. Knead the dough again till the water is white. Wait five minutes, pour off the water and knead again. Keep repeating until the water no longer turns white. 
7. Cut the gluten dough into pieces. The dough should be a little rubbery by now. Cut it into the size and shape you have in mind - patties, cubes, strips, or balls as desired. The gluten will grow almost double in size during the next step. 
8. Make a big pot of boiling water with seasoning added so that the gluten will absorb the flavor. Add the gluten pieces to the pot. Make sure they are fully covered by the broth. Simmer the gluten for about two hours. You will need add water the gluten soaks up the broth.

Serving Directions:

Keep pouring off the starch water till it runs clear.

Once it's done you can chicken fry it, chop it and saute' it with vegetables, barbecue it or use it virtually anywhere you'd use meat.  It has the texture of meat and costs you just a few pennies to make. You can store the gluten in a plastic Tupperware or glass container with a sealed lid. Pour some of the liquid you simmered it in over the gluten pieces and seal it up. It will keep for up to a week in the fridge.  You can also put it in freezer bags and freeze it.  It does take a while to make, but if you learn how to do it, it's worth your time.

Roll out the dough and cut it up in pieces
then simmer for two hours (picture at top of page)

If you go with the high-gluten flour, you don't have to wash the flour. You just make up the dough, knead it, cut it up and boil it in the pot with seasonings. It's a lot quicker and less time consuming.

Anyway, it's nice to know you can make it up and don't have to drive all the way to the ABC or wait for the ABC truck to come to the church or pay Amazon's exorbitant prices. And it's fun to do at least once so you can brag at potluck that you've made your own gluten (not that you'd brag about that sort of thing or anything).

Vege Chicken Wings

This was an experimental dish I tried with some Morningstar Farms Chicken Strips. It's pretty simple and my head chef tasted it and approved, so you know it's good. The MSF strips are pretty small, but you could adapt the recipe to use cut up strips of Fri-Chik or pretty much any other vege-chicken substitutes including both canned or frozen types. The trick is how you prepare it.

Ingredients:

• Vege-chicken strips or cut into strips
• Two eggs
• 3 tbsp milk
• Martha White cornbread mix (no lard in that one)
• 1/8 cup flour 
• Pinch of salt (to taste)
• Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. If frozen, thaw the chicken strips
2. In Fry-Daddy or deep pan, heat vegetable oil - enough to cover the strips
3. Set out two wide flat bowls 
4. In the first bowl mix two eggs and the milk - stir with a whisk
5. In the second bowl, pour the box of cornbread mix and flour and salt if desired
6. Lay out the vege-chicken strips or cut up the vege-chicken pieces into strips 
7. Set the vege-chicken strips into the egg wash bowl. Coat the pieces evenly with the egg wash. I cover the bowl with a plate and shake it so everything gets covered.
8. Put the strips into the cornmeal mix and flour mixture and coat the strips evenly.
9. Place the strips into the hot oil and fry them till they are golden brown. 
10. Drain the cooked pieces on layers of paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Serving suggestions:

Eat them like you would chicken wings. They make a nice appetizer or part of a snack tray or as a main course. I even got to try out an odd bottle of wing sauce somebody gave me. Hot but tasty. You can also make dipping sauces with those little cups like they give you at the Mexican restaurant. You can buy them four for a buck at the Dollar Store.  They go great with ranch dressing, barbecue sauce (Bull's Eye or KC Masterpiece is the best), sweet and sour sauce or wing sauce.

See, even vegetarians can have fun foods!

© 2017 by Tom King

Vegeburger Marzetti

Vegeburger Marzetti

This recipe comes from Sandy Hancock Weir who comes from my little Adventist college home town - the home of many an excellent vegetarian recipe. I'm going to make this one soon and I'll get back to you on my personal opinion, but in reviewing the ingredients and preparation techniques, I see no way this won't taste absolutely wonderful. Sandy says this one is a family favorite and you can hardly go wrong with someone's family's favorite Adventist potluck recipe. Sandy thoughtfully sent along photos of the stages of the Marzetti-making process. I love Adventists cooks. No one prepares food with more love and enthusiasm. Don't you just love living in America where a Texas Adventist gal of English lineage is an expert cook with an Italian dish as her specialty? Now THAT is how the melting pot works!

Ingredients:

• 1 Medium onion (finely chopped)
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 can Worthington^® Burger
• 2-14.5 oz can Hunt’s Diced Tomatoes with
• Rosemary & Oregano or Basil, Garlic & Oregano (I use one of each)
• 1-2.25 oz can Black Olives - sliced
• 1-6 oz jar Mushrooms - sliced
• 3 cups Cooked Barilla^® Thin Spaghetti
• 1-32 oz bag Grated yellow cheese

Directions:

1. Use a Dutch oven to cook the spaghetti. When done drain and set aside. 
2. Using the same pan, add the onion and celery and simmer in oil until soft. 
3. Add burger, tomatoes (and juice), mushrooms, black olives and spaghetti. 
4. Fold mixture together until well mixed. 
5. Spoon ½ of mixture in a large baking dish and cover with a layer of grated yellow cheese. 
6. Pour remaining mixture over cheese and top with another layer of cheese. 
7. Bake at 350^◦ for 40-50 minutes. 
8. Let sit for 5-10 minutes after you take it out of the oven to let the cheese harden. It is hard to get out of the dish otherwise.

Serving Suggestion:

Serve with a salad, Italian dressing, garlic toast or French bread, and a drink.

Serves 12-15 at potluck - (Less if served at home, and using larger portions)

©  2017 by and with thanks to Sandy Wier, San Antonio, TX for the recipe. 

Pizza Ring

Here's a kind of spectacular dish that looks really good on the potluck table.  It's not terribly hard to make and just requires a few basic ingredients and some very simple tools.  I've included a link to a video showing a version being prepared. The one I did is healthier and lacto-ovo vegetarian. Really it's just a pizza crust wrapped around some tasty stuff in the middle. Here's how it goes.

Ingredients:

• Pizza crust  (Here's the basic recipe - I use 1 1/2 cup white flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour in my variant of the dough recipe).  If you've got a stand mixer with a dough hook, it's really easy. You don't have to let the dough rise.
• 1 pkg. - Cream cheese (I like Neufchatel myself)
• 1/2 pkg - Morning Star Farms Vege-Steak Strips®
• 1/2 red or green bell pepper chopped or cut in strips
• 1/2 large sweet onion chopped or cut in strips
• 1/2 jar pizza sauce
• 1 cup Mozarella (vary according to your taste)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp milk
• Oregano
• 1 tsp olive oil
• Cheese sauce or your favorite marinara

Directions:

Ready for the oven

1. Preheat oven to 400°
2. Roll out pizza dough on pizza pan or stone
3. Cut three 4 inch cuts in the center of the dough with a pizza cutter. The three cuts should cross at the center and make six wedge shapes with the points at the center.
4. Place a dollop of cream cheese in each of the wedges halfway between the center and the edge of the dough. Spread it with a spoon or spatula to make a ring of cream cheese.
5. In a skillet, brown the vege-steak strips and spread evenly over the cream cheese circle.
6. Caramelize the onions and peppers on low heat in the skillet and then spread them over the vege-steak and cream cheese evenly around the circle.
7. Spread pizza sauce lightly over the top of the mixture around the ring.
8. Cover the ring of filling with mozzarella cheese.
9. Fold the outside edge of the dough up over the filling and let the dough make a large flute opposite the base of each center cut. 
10. Lift the tips of the inner wedges as shown in the video up and over the outside dough and press into the dough. Press the flutes down against the wedges to help hold the ring together firmly.
11. Make an egg wash with an egg and milk. Whisk till smooth, then spread the egg wash over the top of the dough to give in that golden brown color you want.
12. Bake 20 minutes or until the top turns a nice golden color.
13. Make up the cheese or marinara sauce you like best.

Serving suggestions:

It's a ring. Put something in the middle. Serve it on the pizza pan or a pizza stone. Place a bowl with a nice sauce in the center as shown above.  It can be reheated, but I wouldn't recommend the microwave for the job or the dough gets rubbery.  Provide guests a sharp knife for cutting a slice of the ring and a spoon for the sauce. 

The pizza ring is pretty impressive for the work involved, and it's tasty too and, of course, we don't make this kind of thing to show off at church potluck.  Do we?

Click on this link to see a video of how this is made. I changed the recipe some to suit me, but once you see the basic steps you can easily adapt it to your personal tastes.

© 2017 by Tom King

Ten Layer Mushroom Lasagna

You could call this a "Dump" Lasagna, as it is made with a lot of stuff I had lying around the house and is loosely adapted from a Campbell Soup label recipe. It's actually pretty good right out of the oven and probably will taste better after it sits overnight in the fridge and is reheated. If you are not a mushroom fan, there are plenty of ways to substitute the elements of this recipe (see "Variations" below). It's not as hard to make as you think and doesn't take very long to put together. And most of us vegetarian cooks have most of this stuff already in our pantries.

First three layers - noodles, cottage cheese and sauce

This recipe is an equal opportunity offender. The recipe uses milk, mozzarella, provolone, and cottage cheeses (which upsets the anti-dairy Vegans), pasta with gluten (which sends the anti-gluten crowd into low Earth orbit), and sets off the anti-mushroom folk with it's use of mushrooms and mushroom soup (which sets off the anti-salt faction). It uses vegeburger which sets off the anti-soy crowd. One would think I set out to make a dish that is certain to draw criticism. Actually, I just like lasagna and don't care what the food Nazis think. It's healthier than lasagna with hamburger or Italian sausage in it, so I am content.

Lasagna is a fun dish to get creative with if you have any head at all for substitutions. You could, for instance, substitute fresh spinach for fresh mushrooms. You can take out the cottage cheese if you want and just use the mushroom soup sauce or do it the other way round. You probably shouldn't substitute chocolate chips for the vegeburger, though. That would be silly.

Have fun with this and see you at potluck!

Ingredients:

Layers 4 & 5 - Sliced Provolone & slice mushrooms

• Sliced black olives
• 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce
• 1/2 bag Morningstar Farms Recipe Crumbles
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1/2 chopped Bell Pepper
• 1 can Mushroom soup 
• 1/4 cup milk
• 9 Lasagna noodles 
• Sliced fresh mushrooms or small jar of mushrooms drained
• 2 slices Provolone Cheese (or more mozzarella)
• 1/2 large carton cottage cheese  

Directions:

Layer's 6-9: Mushroom sauce, noodles vegeburger
and spaghetti sauce

1. Heat over to 400 degrees.
2. If the lasagna noodles you use are not "oven ready", you'll need to prepare the noodles according to the package directions. I used both oven ready rice gluten-free rice lasagna noodles and regular whole wheat lasagna noodles because that's what I had. I put the oven ready noodles on the bottom of the casserole dish and put the wheat noodles on to boil.
3. In a skillet put a little olive oil and heat. Add Griller Crumbles, onion and bell

   

   Griller crumbles, onion and peppers sauteed in olive oil.

   pepper and brown the crumbles and soften the onions and peppers. 
4. First layer - In a large casserole dish, cover the bottom of the casserole with lasagna noodles.
5. Add second layer - Spread cottage cheese over the noodles.
6. Add third layer - Spaghetti sauce over cottage cheese, spreading evenly.
7. Add fourth layer - Provolone strips or mozzarella strips laid flat on top of what you have so far.
8. Add fifth layer - Mix can of mushroom sauce and 1/4 cup milk and pour over mixture.
9. Add sixth layer - Slice fresh or canned mushrooms and spread sliced 'shrooms over the top of the cheese slices.
10. Add seventh layer - Spread lasagna noodles over the top of the 'shrooms.
11. Add eighth layer - Spread vegeburger crumbles, onions, and pepper mixture over the top of the noodles.

    

    Layer 10: Cheese and olives - ready to pop in the oven

12. Add ninth layer - Spread spaghetti sauce over vegeburger layer
13. Add tenth layer - Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over all and sliced olives over that. I count them as one layer, though technically those few olives might make it eleven layers. I just like the symmetry of ten layers.
14. Bake for 30 minutes at 400 degrees till sauce bubbles and cheese is melted.
15. Switch oven to "broil" and broil at high for 2 minutes. Watch closely or it will burn on top. This helps brown the cheese a little bit and looks nice.

Serving suggestions:

Set the casserole on a hot pad to cool and cover with aluminum foil or the casserole lid if you have one. Once it reaches room temperature, you can put it in the fridge overnight, which will allow the flavors to spread throughout. Heat it to 170 degrees in the oven or warmer about an hour or so before potluck.

Variations:

You can actually leave out any of the layers you want to. If you hate mushrooms, leave 'em out or substitute something else. You can make a basic cream sauce or use another cream sauce with any flavor you think suitable. This recipe uses less cheese, so you can substitute extra cheese for the mushroom soup sauce if you want. You can leave out the vegeburger or substitute Loma Linda or Worthington vegeburger, with or without the onions and peppers. You can even substitute spinach for the fresh mushrooms if you want. It works pretty well any way you want to (except, of course, with chocolate).

(c) 2017 by Tom King

Spinach Enchiladas

This recipe I based on one by Niki Lorenz in the Tyler SDA Church Cookbook. I modified it a little to suit the ingredients on hand, but it's a pretty easy recipe to play around with and it's got a lot more fiber and vitamins than most enchiladas. Anyway, her we go...

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Small onion chopped fine
• 3 tsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup evaporated milk 
• 1 oz. Velveeta Cheese
• 1 pound cheddar cheese
• 12 corn tortillas
• 1 can spinach
• 2 green onions
• 1 can Rotel Tomatoes and Chilis
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 can of sliced olives

DIRECTIONS:

The sauce!

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain out the spinach in a collander and press out the excess water
3. Place spinach, green onions, Rotel, soup, and sour cream in the food processor and process until smooth and creamy sauce is formed.  
4. Pour enough sauce into a large casserole to cover the bottom of the dish
5. In a skillet, saute chopped onions until tender. Add Velveeta cut in small cubes.
6. When the cheese starts to melt, add 3 1/2 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese and milk and simmer till melted. Stir till smooth.
7. Heat the tortillas in the microwave for 50 seconds to soften them.
8. Divide the cheese and onion mixture between the 12 tortillas roll them up, then place them side by side in the casserole dish. 
9. Cover with the rest of the green sauce, then cover with the rest of the cheese. Sprinkle the olives on top.
10. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling slightly.
11. Cover with foil and set it aside. 

Ready for the oven...

SERVING DIRECTIONS:

Store overnight in the fridge.  Heat to at least 170 degrees. If the church has warming ovens, then get your enchiladas in before Sabbath School so it will be warmed up by potluck. This is an unusually colored enchilada what with the green sauce, but it's quite good.  I intended to take a picture when it came out of the oven, but we were hungry and by the time I remembered to take the picture, we'd already eaten half of it.  The spinach really gives it a lot of really good flavor.


© 2017 by Tom King

Vege-Strip Steak Egg Noodle Stroganoff

This stroganoff recipe is loosely based on Peggy Ray's stroganoff recipe in the Tyler SDA Cookbook. Peggy's a terrific cook and the recipe was a good starting point, making it easy to modify. I don't use the onion soup because it makes it a little salty and I don't need the salt at this stage of my life. It's hard to keep any leftover stroganoff around. People can't stop getting into it.

INGREDIENTS:

• Morningstar Farms Vegetarian Steak Strips (Choplets also work great for this recipe)
  
• 1/2 Chopped onions
• Egg noodles
• 6 oz sour cream
• Sliced fresh mushrooms
• Mushroom soup
• 1 Tsp. beef seasoning in 1/4 cup hot water
• 1/2 package of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (optional)
• Butter, margarine, olive oil
• Small can of sliced olives 
• Cup of crushed potato chips 

DIRECTIONS:

1. Caramelize onions in a skillet while cooking the egg noodles according to directions.
   
   
2. Cook the noodles slightly al dente' and drain.
   
3. Dice onions and slice mushrooms and add to onions before they are quite caramelized.
   
4. Add water and beef seasoning when mushrooms and onions are well cooked. 
5. Add 1/2 bag of Vegetable Steak Strips and cook well.
6. Add can of mushroom soup and sour cream and stir mixture well and heat till it bubbles.
7. Add sliced olives, stir well. 
   
8. Pour noodles into large casserole dish and stir in sauce.
   
9. Sprinkle crushed potato chips over the top of the casserole and cover with foil.

SERVING DIRECTIONS:


Put in the oven at 170 degrees and heat before the potluck. Keeps well in the fridge overnight and actually tastes better the next day if you make it on Friday.  Morningstar Farms' meal starter frozen vegetarian meat alternatives are really useful, given that you can buy them at Walmart and various grocery stores - handy if there isn't a nearby health food store.

© 2017 by Tom King