Fake Meats, Vegan Casseroles, Awesome Vegan Buffalo Sauce, Smoothies, Apple Adventures

As many of you know...I'm NOT generally a fan of "Fake Meats".  Mostly because I was never a fan of "Real Meats" to begin with.  For me...the transition to Vegetarian was the EASIEST thing I have EVER done.  Many people don't believe me when I say that I never liked "meat" from the start.  But that is another story for a different day.  Another reason I don't usually like meat alternatives is because they are usually too salty for my taste.  I tend to 'eventually' try products from time to time more-so to be social or convenient - for example - while camping.  But I saw this Soyrizo which is Melissa's Brand and it was on sale for a really good price and I had not seen it anywhere else so I thought I would grab it.  I ended up making a few things with it.  

 

First...I made this in my skillet on the stove top.  I combined The Soyrizo (cooked) with some Frozen Kale, Canned Diced Tomatoes, and Onion and Garlic.  

Because I made up all of the Soyrizo at once this made a HUGE amount of this.  So...I used this as my base, really.  I started out eating this as a "side" as-is.  Then I THOUGHT to use it as a 'stuffing' for Acorn/Butternut Squash and I should have (instead I used it in a FAILED attempt in Squash/Apple Soup!)

But THEN...I took what I had left and added just a little bit of Spiral/Elbow Pasta (about a cup) and cooked that up and added it to the mix.  I then baked it in the oven but not before I was done adding a few more things to the top of this Casserole!  I topped it with Vegan Bread Crumbs AND just a very little bit of Daiya Shredded Cheddar.

I have to say...this turned out REALLY REALLY GOOD!  I was quite surprised!  It had a Mexican or Spanish type flavor to it already and then with the additions it made a very hardy meal as well as a nice comfort food!

Speaking of my Soup FAIL here is a photo of it.  It looks harmless enough, doesn't it?  Either Soups with Apple in them are NOT my forte and/or I am just NOT a fan of sweet/fruity soups!  Either or Both could certainly be the case!

This had Onion, Garlic, 1 Apple, 2 Small Butternut Squash(s), a bit of Thyme, Nutmeg, Almond Milk, Black Pepper, etc in it.  I won't bore you with the actual recipe because it won't be something I will do again nor is it something I would suggest! LOL

Because I had to do QUICK foods last week and didn't want to buy a lot of additional produced - not only because I wanted to finish up what I had on hand - but also because we were 'here, there, and every where' - I didn't want it to go to waste if we were not going to be around.

Because I have been making White Rice and Jasmine Rice so much for Hubby I decided to eat it, too!

I found some Sun Dried Tomatoes with Garlic in a glass Jar at one of our discount stores and thought I would give them a whirl.  The flavor is WONDERFUL and so I thought I would try a tablespoon or two mixed in with the white rice.  It complemented it NICELY!

 

 I know, I know...TWO Fake Meats in the same posts!    Well I actually had these a while back.  They are Wegman's Brand and are VEGAN Chicken Nuggets of sorts.  I've now tried them baked as well as in Grapeseed Oil in a skillet (fried).  I think I prefer baked but both ways are fairly good!  They're made of soy protein, spices, wheat gluten, grains, various veggie fibers, wheat flour and rice flour.  It does have canola oil in it but not as bad as some alternative meat products.  They are high is protein and fiber and fairly low in sodium considering the packaged/fake meat thought behind it.

My FAVORITE part of making these was the sauce I made.  And the reason I am posting about them on my blog!  It's my Vegan Version of Buffalo Sauce and I am totally LOVING IT and think it will be my go-to Buffalo Sauce Recipe from now on!

2/3 C Frank's Hot Sauce

2 T Earth Balance

1/4 tea Vegan Worcestershire Sauce (I used Wizards)

1/4 tea Cayenne 

1/4 tea Garlic Powder

Dab of Balsamic (not very much at all maybe 1/4 to 1/2 tea)

AND...FINALLY...a Smoothie Recipe for you!

This is the SWEETEST Smoothie I have EVER tasted.  I prefer them toned down a bit but enjoyed the attempt.  I will know for next time NOT to go as hardcore with everything, I guess!  

I used...

1 C Strawberry Banana Soymilk

1 Scoop Garden of Life's Perfect Food RAW - Apple

2 T Apple Sauce

Ice to taste/consistency 

 

Again...this is SUPER Sweet!  I ended up finishing it and my mind was STILL focused on the dreaded BANANA that was in the Soymilk!  HA!  The Apple was nice but next time I will do it GREENER.  I was thinking about using the Apple Flavor from GoL with some Apple Sauce and Cinnamon and doing some sort of "cookie" in my Dehydrator!  So many thoughts...so little time!