My Vegan Thanksgiving Plate 2017

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate and for those who don't I hope you are having a nice Thursday!

As I have done in previous years I am sharing my Thanksgiving plate with you.  Mine being vegan, of course!

Starting with the Mashed Potatoes and moving clockwise to the Green Bean Casserole, then Carrots, then Yams, and finally Vegan Stuffing!  Everything was YUMMY!

Here's another look at the plate!  DH and I went over to my parents for dinner.  I helped my mother with some things.  I have to say I'm pretty proud of the vegan options I made this year.  This year my sister, her husband, and Trinity (my niece) didn't spend Thanksgiving with us.  But they stopped in the evening when we were getting ready to leave.  At least I got to see my niece for about a half hour.  Then again I took one of my remaining vacation days yesterday and spent a good portion of the day with her.  

Vegan Green Bean Casserole Ingredients:

Green Beans (of course)

1/2 C Cashews

2 T Vegan Margarine

1 Small Onion

10 Ounces Mushrooms

2 t Thyme

1/2 C Dry White Wine

1 1/2 T Nutritional Yeast

2 C Almond Milk

2 t Lemon Juice

1 t Bragg's Liquid Aminos

1/4 C Flour

Nutmeg, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Old Bay Seasoning all to taste

I put everything (except green beans and flour) into a high speed blender until smooth.  I heated the mixture on stove top and whisked in flour.  Just for good measure I did throw it back into the blender one last time. I then coated the cooked green beans with the mixture and baked for about 15 minutes at 350.  I also topped with store bought fried onions that just so happened to be vegan!

This was VERY rich!  I didn't use all of the mushroom cream but I have a plan for the leftovers already!

Vegan Stuffing Ingredients:

2 C Bread, chopped

2 T Grapeseed Oil (I used Garlic flavored Grapeseed Oil)

1/2 t each of Dried Minced Garlic, Sea Salt, Black Pepper, Old Bay Seasoning

I took these ingredients and worked them together and put the seasoned bread on to a baking sheet at 350 for 10 minutes until slightly crispy.

I then took 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 chopped carrots, 1 small onion and cooked them down on the stove top.  I then add it to 1 C Vegetable Broth, 1 T Vegan Margarine for another 5 minutes on stove top.  I then combined everything and mixed well.  I put in the oven for another 20 minutes at 350.

This may have been my favorite stuffing EVER if I do say so myself.

It was not too moist but not dry either.  Plus there were a few little crispy ones on the top!  YUM!  So YUM I thought I would do a close up!

With the carrots we just added some Earth Balance (Vegan Margarine) and BAM there's a side!  For the Yams we added a little Earth Balance and a handful of brown sugar.  For the mashed potatoes I used - you guessed it - Earth Balance, Almond Milk, and a few tablespoons of Vegan Sour Cream!

If you blogged about Vegan Thanksgiving dishes and recipes feel free to slap the direct URL in comments!!!  CHEERS!

Chocolate Chia Pudding OR Triple Thick Vegan Milk Shake, Tahini Veggie Stir Fry, Black Bean & Corn Salad, Tomato Cucumber Salad, Jalapeno Italian Dressing, Jalapeno Corn, Farmers Markets, Superman!

I posted a little bit about Chia Seeds last week and I had some questions about them so I will do a little break-down for you!  Because...guess what!?  I have another Chia Seed Recipe!  Chia Seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 fatty acids, carbohydrates, protein, fiber, antioxidants, and calcium. They have a mild and nutty flavor and they can be added to just about anything.  When you mix them with water - they gel.  You do want to make sure you drink a lot of water when you consume Chia as they do 'take' water from your system as you digest them.  Some people say they curb your hunger.  Some people say they are good for digestion and weight loss.  Others just really love the nutritional benefits of them!

As you can see here, I did some Chocolate Chia Pudding!  Sometimes I am not really in the mood for the texture of whole/gelled Chia - it's much like Tapioca or some have compared the texture to caviar.  What I did for this Chocolate Chia Pudding is I used about 4 to 6 T of gelled Chia Seeds and put them in my Ninja Blender and flooded them with Chocolate Soy Milk.  This made it very thick.  SO you could say it's a Pudding or even a Triple Thick Milk Shake.

Friday Night I wanted something QUICK and decided to do this Veggie Stir Fry.  I decided to cover it in a Tahini Sauce.  It's a little different than the last few I have done and applied it right to the frying pan while I was cooking it.  I used 2 to 3 T of Tahini, 2 T of Bragg's Liquid Amino's, Splash of Grapeseed Oil, 2 T Minced Garlic, Red Pepper Flakes to taste, I did add a little water, as well.  This turned out pretty good!  I think I added a little Lemon Juice towards the end to taste, too!

Yesterday I made some Vegan Sides for a Picnic type thing my hubby's family had.  This was one of them!  Black Bean and Corn Salad.  It's quick and easy, too!  I used about 8 ounces of sweet corn, 15-ounces of Black Beans, 1/4 C Wildtree Balsamic Dipping Oil, 1/2 teaspoon of Organic Raw Cane Sugar from Wholesome Sweeteners, 3 T Cilantro, and Chili Powder to taste.  It seemed to be a hit!  And I got a little crazy with the Vinegar's this weekend apparently!  The Vinegar Fun Continues...check it out...

For this Tomato, Cucumber, Onion Salad I used 3 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar, 1 Tablespoon of Grapeseed Oil, 1 teaspoon of Agave Nectar, Black Pepper to taste, 1 Cucumber, 2 Tomatoes, 1 Vidalia Onion, and 1 teaspoon of Wildtree's Italian Seasoning Blend.  Right at the end I added a little of the Balsamic Vinegar to kick it up a notch!

This was also a hit!  There was not much left but what was left of both of these dishes I mixed together and ate for lunch today.

Many of you know I am NOT afraid of spicy foods.  I wanted to do an Italian Type Dressing but a spicier one!  So what I did with this one is quite simple!

I used:

1/3 C of Coconut Vinegar (Coconut's Secret)
3 T Water
2 T Wildtree's Italian Seasoning/Dressing Mix
2/3 C Wildtree's Jalapeno Grapeseed Oil

This was DARN tasty and just enough Jalapeno to get me excited!  I had a few ideas right away but have been thinking about other ways to use this prepared dressing ever since I mixed it together!


Here is one thing I did with this dressing!  I used it as a marinade!  It was VERY tasty!  I added a little bit of Nutritional Yeast to it as well to give it a little cheesy flavor and to thicken it up a bit.  I ate a small dish - just to see what it tasted like - after eating a bit of it - I knew I wanted to save the rest to use on salads this week!

This past weekend I was able to get to our local Farmers Market and I bought Collards, Green Garlic, and Pak Choi.  I'm super excite to 'play' with those this week!  I also visited one of our local produce stands that does not participate in the Farmers Market as they have full time seasonal hours.  There - I bought a few others things.  Later Saturday I went to a Produce Store in Lakewood and was able to pick up some great deals on fresh produce as well.  I was especially impressed with the Watermelons at $1.99...they were so flavorful! 

And we FINALLY saw the NEW Superman Movie!  Man of Steel!  LOVED it!  What did you do this weekend!?  Hope you had a great one!  I have a feeling this week is going to be another CRAZY one!  Game On!