Mexican Polenta Pizza

I'm always looking for ways to incorporate new types of pizza into my life. After all, pizza is my favorite food and it's so easy for a toddler to eat!

Ingredients

Crust
2 1/2 cups water
2 tsp. taco seasoning (make sure it's dairy free)
3/4 cup coarse ground cornmeal, grits, or polenta

Sauce
1 cup vegetarian fat free refried beans
2 Tb. vegan sour cream
2 Tb. hot picante sauce
1/4 cup canned diced tomatoes

Topping
1/2 cup lentil taco meat * (optional, can sub with black beans)
1/2 diced zucchini
1/4 cup diced red onion
1/4 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1/4 cup vegan cheddar shreds
1 handful crushed tortilla strips

Lentil Taco Meat
1 cup cooked lentils
2 tsp. taco seasoning
1 Tb. ketchup (make sure there is no high fructose corn syrup)
1 tsp. mustard
1 tsp. low sodium soy sauce

Instuctions
Make crust
1. Bring water to boil with taco seasoning
2. Slowly add in polenta while whisking and continue to whisk in boiling water for 5 minutes until thick and creamy
3. Spread mixture evenly into a parchment paper lined rectangle cake pan
4. Let cool at room temperature for 5 minutes and then place in freezer for 20 minutes to cool and set (30 if you prefer the fridge over the freezer)

Make Lentil Taco "Meat"
1. While the crust is cooling cook lentils. Mix 1/2 cups dry rinsed lentils with 1 cup warm water and allow to simmer in a covered pot for about 15 minutes until lentils are tender.
2. Transfer to a food processor or blender and pulse to desired consistency
3. Place in a bowl and toss with other "meat" ingredients. Set aside

Make Sauce
1. While the lentils are cooking, place all sauce ingredients in a food processor and blend together.
2. Pour into a bowl and set aside.

Bring it all together
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Slide crust and parchment paper out of cake pan and onto a cookie sheet, bake for 30 minutes
3. Remove the crust from oven and spread sauce on top evenly ( you will definitely have leftover sauce, use it as bean tip or in a bean enchilada later)
4. Top with remaining toppings and bake for another 15-20 minutes
5. Once out of oven immediately slide the paper and pizza onto a cookie sheet otherwise it builds up moisture underneath and gets soggy
6. Slice and enjoy!

Note: this is a very soft crust, it will not taste like the normal pizza dough you are probably used to. Also feel free to experiment with sauces, toppings, and spices!

Black Bean Salad Bowl

So my husband Jordan is the one who turned me on to Pinterest. And even though I am way more of a "foodie" than him, he likes to send me recipes to try and make that will cater to his likes. You see, he does not like fake meat or tofu and often I have to make seperate batches of my meals to ensure we all get dinner. However, this little gem that was modified from the food network's website worked for the whole family. Of course Franklynn isn't quite ready for solids, but when mommy is nourished so is he. Now that we are vegan sometimes it requires creativity to add large doses of protein into our meal routines. But not with this one. The black beans are high in protein and our favorite bean. Plus this recipe requires minimal cooking and most items you will have on hand in your fridge and pantry carnivore, omnivore, and herbivore alike.

Ingredients:

Salad:
1 cup crushed tortilla chips (separated into 2 bowls)
1 cup shredded bib lettuce (separated and placed on top of tortilla chips)

Mixture:
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can corn, drained and rinsed
1 small red onion, chopped
1 small orange bell pepper, diced
1 tsp. olive oil (or water)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small avocado, peeled and diced

Dressing:
2 tsp minced garlic
Juice squeezed from 1 small lime
1 tsp of lime zest
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp. chili powder

Instructions.
1. Warm skillet with olive oil and add onions and bell pepper, cook over medium until they soften
2. Add the black beans, corn, and salt & pepper, stir and cook until heated through
3. Transfer to a bowl
4. Add in the cherry tomatoes and the dressing mixture. Mix everything well
5. Split the mixture over the 2 tortilla/salad bowls
6. Top each bowl with the diced avocado
7. Enjoy

Chickpea Taco Salad

Mine turned out a bit too spicy so I made a few minor modifications before putting the recipe on here.
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
-2 tsp lemon juice
-1 Tbsp Bragg's Liquid Aminos ( or low sodium soy sauce)
-1 tsp ground cumin
-1 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp paprika
-1/4 tsp garlic powder
-1/4 tsp onion powder
-1 Tbsp chili powder
-1/4 tsp oregano
Make the paste (everything except peas). Pour peas and paste in a ziplock bag. Seal and shake around until peas are completely covered.
Place peas on parchment paper and bake for 25 min at 400 degrees.
Place chips out on plate. Top with 2 cups chopped romaine lettuce. Place 1/2 peas mixture on lettuce and then top with quacamole, salsa, and olives.





If you'd like to try this recipe or many others check out this book.

Beany Enchiladas

If you look at my previous post you can see how the enchiladas are supposed to look at the end. I've made some modifications that you can basically make from stuff in your kitchen. I know most people don't go to the health food store so they won't have access to TVP.

Plus tonight I brought the new and improved enchiladas to a potluck with my Sunday school class this evening.  They were a big hit and I had a few ladies ask me for the recipe, so of course I'm putting the recipe on here.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp water
• 1 cup cooked brown rice ( I use instant because it's way faster)
• 1 can Rotel
• 1 can reduced sodium black beans, well rinsed
• 1/2 can fat-free refried beans
• 1 small can sliced olives
• 1/8 shredded non-dairy cheese (optional)
• 1 - 2 cans of green enchilada sauce
• 10 - 12 corn tortillas

Instructions

1. Cook rice
2. Saute mushrooms, onions, and rotel in the water until the onions are opaque
3. Add the saute mix to the rice
4. Add in beans and mix until all is uniform on low heat
5. Heat corn tortillas in microwave for about 30 seconds 
6. Spoon mixture into tortillas and roll
7. Pour half a can of enchilada sauce in a baking dish
8. Place the rolled tortillas in dish until packed and pour remaining sauce over. Also sprinkle cheese and olives on top
9. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes
10. Enjoy!!!! 

Vegetarian Enchiladas with Dairy-Free Cheese

This is first of many recipes I will provide. Feel free to make alterations as you've needed them. You can do dairy but I've opted to cut it out of my life due to the high calories and cholesterol. I also don't add oil to my recipes so be sure to use non stick pans and glass baking dishes if available

Filling:

1 Cup Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP)* found at any health food store
1/2 a pack standard taco seasoning
3/4 vegetable stock or water
1 Cup cooked wild rice or brown rice
1/2 chopped white mushrooms
1/2 bell pepper chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1 Medium tomato chopped
1 cup  fresh spinach chopped
1/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 - 2 tbsp water, or more if needed to prevent sticking

Remaining Ingredients:

10 - 12 corn tortillas ( dry to avoid any that have oil added, you want to keep it whole grain if possible
1 small can slice olives, drained and rinsed to cut out added sodium
1 can green enchilada sauce, look for low sodium if applicable
1/2 cup grated non-dairy cheddar cheese alternative
10 to 12 toothpicks, optional


Instructions:
1. Heat the vegetable stock or water in microwave for 2 minutes. Add the TVP mix until no more dry granules are present then let set until needed.  You want to give the TVP time to rehydrate.

2. Saute all the veggies from filling on medium-high heat with the water. Stir as needed. Continue until the onion becomes translucent.
3. Add the rehydrated TVP to pan and reduce heat to medium. Mix well
4. Add the taco seasoning and maybe 1 tbsp more of water and mix well.
5. Remove from heat and place in a medium bowl. Add the cooked rice and mix. Let this sit at room temperature until cool enough to touch. You don't want to burn your fingers while trying to roll the tortillas
6. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Pour a small layer of the enchilada sauce on the bottom of an 11 x 9 glass baking dish.
8. Warm tortillas in microwave for about 30 seconds, if they're warm they tend to hold together better.
9. Place some of the filling in the middle of tortilla spreading all the way across and roll up. Use a toothpick for added seal and place seam-side down in the baking dish. Continue until all filling is used. You may need to add a few more tortillas depending on how much filling you put in each.
10. Pour remaining enchilada sauce over the enchiladas trying to make sure that all are covered
11.  Sprinkle the dish with the olives and cheese and place uncovered in oven
12. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes until the sauce is bubbling and the tops of tortillas brown.
13.  Let cool 5 minutes before serving and Enjoy!!!!!


* TVP reminds me a lot of finely ground beef or ground turkey when its cooked. I had some for another recipe and this is where I got the idea to make TVP tacos. They were good but I thought they'd better serve as enchiladas and boy was I happy. Copy and paste the site below if you want to see what it looks like
http://www.bobsredmill.com/tvp-textured-veg._protein.html