VEGAN THANKSGIVING MENU

I am very excited to have Thanksgiving every year.  It is a great day to celebrate all that we've been given in this world and to really appreciate the love we share. I've had a few people ask me how you can have Thanksgiving without turkey?  Do you just eat salad?

There are so many easy and wonderful dishes for this holiday.  I've put together a menu using some recipes from friends, some of my favorite from the past (veganized, of course), and a few new additions.

Since this is PRE-Thanksgiving, I am not posting pictures of these.  If you make them, send me a pic and I'll post it here.

I hope you have a truly blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving!!

MENU

Appetizers: Fruit with Dip, Veggies with Dill Dip, Olive platter, Crackers
Beverages: Hot Cranberry Tea, Cranberry Cosmo, Pumpkin Pie Cocktail
Salads: Broccoli Salad with raisins, Spinach and Strawberry Salad with Spiced Pecans, Brussels Sprouts Pasta Salad
Mains and Sides: Sweet Potatoes with Maple-Orange Glaze, Green Bean Casserole, Corn Casserole, Baby Red Potatoes, Cranberry Sauce, Greens and Beans, Bread
Desserts: Pumpkin Coconut Ice Cream Pie, Fresh fruit with Whipped Coconut Cream

RECIPES

FRUIT DIP
1/2 container of Vegan cream cheese
1 t. vanilla
2 T. brown sugar
Mix all ingredients together until creamy.  Use for dipping berries, apples, bananas, grapes, pineapple, mango, etc. etc.

VEGETABLE DILL DIP
1/2 container of vegan cream cheese
1/4 c. vegan mayo
1 T. dried dill
1 t. sea salt
Juice from 1/4 fresh lemon
Cracked black pepper to taste
(I also like to add just a small bit of fresh or dried garlic, although if you make the dip ahead of time it can get overwhelming. It is optional.)
Mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy. Use for dipping raw veggies such as cherry tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, sweet peppers, carrots, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

HOT CRANBERRY TEA
(thanks to Susie for this one--it is one of my favorites for the holidays and makes the house smell so good while it is warming)
Make in a stock pot or crock pot for holiday parties.
1 container cranberry juice
1/2 large can of pineapple juice
small frozen orange juice concentrate
juice from 1/2 a lemon
3/4 c. sugar/sweetener, water to fill
3 cinnamon sticks. Put it all in the pot or crock pot on low and simmer a few hours before get-togethers. Do not boil. Smells so good and is warm and comforting. (I have actually added tea bags to this before, too.)

CRANBERRY COSMO
Source: Alton Brown (love him!!!)
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/fresh-cranberry-cosmo-recipe/index.html

PUMPKIN PIE COCKTAIL
Source: CocktailTimes.com
Ingredients:
1 oz. coconut rum
1/2 oz. Kahlua
3/4 can pumpkin pie filling
2 oz. milk
Directions:
Blend all of the ingredients together with ice. Can be served as is, or in a graham-cracker rimmed glass.

BROCCOLI SALAD with raisins
(Thanks to Maria for this one. I veganized her recipe.)
In a large bowl, toss together
1-2 heads Broccoli and/or Cauliflower, chopped into bite size pieces
1/2 red onion, chopped finely
1 c. raisins
1/2 c. sunflower seeds
1/2 c. vegan bacon bits
For the dressing, stir together 1/2 c. vegan mayo, 1/2 c. sugar and 1-2 T. cider vinegar (taste as you go to make it as sweet as you prefer)
Toss dressing with other ingredients and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

SPINACH STRAWBERRY SALAD with SPICED PECANS
For the salad:
Baby spinach
Sliced strawberries
Blueberries
Sliced white mushrooms
just a few slivers of finely sliced red onion
Toss all together

For the pecans:
2 c. pecans
2 T. vegan butter
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. orange zest
1 c. sugar
3/4t. vanilla
Place the pecans in a dry skillet and toast over medium heat for 3-4 minutes, stirring and watching to be careful they do not burn. Add in butter and spices and stir until butter melts.  Stir in sugar and vanilla and cook until the sugar is thickened and glazes the pecans.  Spread out on wax paper to cool.

For the dressing:
1 c. seedless raspberry preserves
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. olive oil
 1/4 of a red onion
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Process or blend all together until combined.  This may separate if you make it in advance, so I usually put mine in a lidded jar so I can shake it at the last minute.

To serve, toss salad ingredients all together with the dressing and top with the pecans.

BRUSSELS SPROUT PASTA SALAD
I use this same recipe, only I leave the dressing cold instead of hot and I blanch the pasta and sprouts in ice water to serve as a cold salad.
http://voyagetoveganism.blogspot.com/2011/12/gemelli-pasta-and-brussels-sprouts-with.html

SWEET POTATOES with Maple-Orange Glaze
2-4 large sweet potatoes or 2 large cans sweet potatoes
Steam or bake sweet potatoes ahead of time, peel, and cut into large chunks. Place sweet potatoes in baking dish sprayed with non-stick spray.

MAPLE-ORANGE GLAZE
(approximate amounts based on 4 large potatoes)
1 c. orange juice
1 c. real maple syrup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. vegan butter
1 t. cinnamon (or to taste)
Add all ingredients to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and reduce until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Drizzle glaze over sweet potatoes and bake until potatoes are heated through.

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE
1 can vegan cream of mushroom soup OR 2 cups homemade mushroom cream gravy
1 t. soy sauce
3-4 cans of green beans (cut or French cut) or 1 1/2 pounds fresh, steamed to crisp tender
1 can French's French Fried Onions (or other brand of crunchy onions) DIVIDED.
Fresh cracked black pepper

Reserve about 1/4 of the fried onions for topping the casserole.  In a casserole dish sprayed with non-stick spray, stir the beans, soy, soup, pepper and 3/4 of the onions together.  Bake at 350 (or so) for about 25 minutes.  Top with reserved onions and bake another 5 minutes until they are crispy.

(Homemade mushroom gravy can be made with a simple flour and vegan butter roux, Better than Bouillon mushroom base and any unsweetened vegan milk.)

CORN CASSEROLE
I've tried and tried to come up with my own version of corn casserole, but this is the best one I've had. My whole family loved it.  You should really check out this great blog!
http://pleasepassthetofu.com/2012/09/25/double-corn-casserole/

BABY RED POTATOES
Boil baby red potatoes (cut in half) until soft.  Toss together with a little freshly minced garlic, melted vegan butter and fresh parsley.  You can serve this as small chunks of potatoes or you can make them into a great garlic mash by adding just a little unsweetened milk and mashing together.

CRANBERRY SAUCE
zest from an orange
1 c. orange juice
1 c. sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
12 oz. cranberries
Add orange zest, orange juice, sugar and cinnamon sticks to a pot.  Cook over medium heat until sugar is all dissolved.  Add the cranberries and cook until they pop open (these splatter, so cover loosely). Remove cinnamon sticks.  Pour mixture into your serving bowl and refrigerate at least 4 hours (overnight is better) for perfect consistency.

GREENS AND BEANS
Using 2 T. olive oil, saute together 1 clove minced garlic and 1/2 chopped onion just until soft. Stir in 1 can white beans and 1 T. balsamic vinegar or cooking wine. Add 1-2 bags of fresh baby spinach and toss together until just wilted but still holds its green color.  Season with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Serve with crushed red pepper.
(feel free to mix up your favorite beans and favorite greens)

BREAD ROLLS
Make ahead of time!
http://voyagetoveganism.blogspot.com/2011/10/whole-wheat-bread-or-buns-or-rolls.html

PUMPKIN SPICE ICE CREAM (PIE??)
(changed slightly, but credit is due to Cathe Olson's book Lick It!)
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 can pumpkin
1/2 c. soy milk (vanilla or unflavored/unsweetened)
1/2 c. real maple syrup
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
2 t. vanilla
Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Cover and refrigerate a couple hours before freezing in ice cream maker according to directions.

If you can find vegan graham crackers, make a graham cracker crust for ice cream pie!
16 Graham squares
1/4 c. melted vegan butter
2 T. sugar
Mix all together and press into a pie pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 minutes until all set. Let cool before filling with ice cream.  Then re-freeze until set.  

COCONUT WHIPPED CREAM
1 full-fat can coconut milk
Pour milk into bowl and refrigerate overnight.  The cream will separate from the clear liquid.  Carefully take the cream out and avoid getting any clear liquid.  Whip with a mixer until whipped cream texture (this may take 5-10 minutes depending on your mixer).
Serve with desserts or fresh fruit for dipping.

VEGAN CORN DOG MUFFINS

Yup, you read that right. Corn dog muffins.  They taste like corn dogs but they eat like muffins.  I am the world's coolest child care provider when I make these! : )  Actually, my hubby loved them, too!

CORN DOG MUFFINS
1 package of Jiffy corn bread mix
1 egg replacer (I use 1 T. ground flax in 1/4 c. water)
1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
2 T. melted vegan butter or oil
1 T. agave nectar or maple syrup

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Mix everything together to make a batter.

Add to the batter:
3-4 vegan hot dogs, cut up
1 cup corn (frozen or fresh, or canned if drained)

Spray muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray.  Fill tins 3/4 full.  Bake about 18-20 minutes (using frozen corn make take a little longer).  Serve with a drizzle of mustard and/or ketchup on top.

Vegan Hashbrown and Sausage Scramble

I've been asked to make a breakfast casserole for a swim meet this weekend so I'm testing out a few recipes.  I found some for actual casseroles that you bake up and then end up needing to be cut into serving sizes.  But I wasn't too impressed.  Then I started thinking about my favorite pre-vegan breakfast options. 

I always loved those skillet platters at the restaurants.  They taste great at about 2:15 in the morning when you've been kicked out of whatever establishment you were cruising the night before. : )  Anyway, the skillet idea inspired me to make a simpler dish.

I made a simple tofu scramble with vegan sausage and hash browns.  Then I made a ranchero sauce for the side. I loved it and the child care kids loved it.  It even tasted good sober!  Amazing.

I browned up some GimmeLean ground sausage.  Then I made the tofu scramble by melting a little vegan butter in the fry pan (same pan, I actually left the sausage in it and just added tofu to it).  I crumbled in extra firm tofu and cooked it until it started to brown.  Then I seasoned it with a shake of turmeric (for color), Lawry's seasoning salt, onion powder, salt and pepper.  I layered the "eggs" and sausage in a casserole pan.

Then I used the same pan to cook up my hash browns (as directed on the package) and just put them on top of the scramble.  This was good with shredded hash browns, but I think the next time I'll use country style potatoes.

For the ranchero sauce I sauteed up some green peppers and onion in the fry pan and then added in roasted red peppers and a little pre-made red enchilada sauce I had leftover from the weekend. There are a million ranchero sauce recipes on the web or you can use your favorite salsa or taco sauce.

Easy and yummy.  I think if I make this for my own family I will add in spinach, peppers and mushroom, etc. etc. to the scramble.  But I was trying to make a "plain" version for the test. 

Good stuff!

Meal Plan

This week's meal plan is listed here. A few notes. I provide in-home child care, so I list all snacks and lunches. My day care kids eat mostly vegan, but do occasionally have cheese or yogurt products. My family eats vegan. I always offer fresh fruit and a veggie tray with each meal or snack. We drink soy milk, water or decaf tea.

I try to make my meal plans DO-ABLE for anyone. I use products that I can buy in my small town grocery store and I make foods that I can handle while running around to swim practice, soccer, meetings, and personal training clients. We have a busy life, but we make every effort to sit together to eat all meals. Proper planning helps to make that happen. Otherwise, we would all eat separately. It also helps me to use up what produce we have on hand so I have minimal food waste. We save a ton of money when we stick to a food plan, so I try to do these weekly.

 

So many of these items can be cooked once and then used for leftovers or frozen for a future meal.  Think about cooking more than you need.  If you have good containers or ziplock type baggies, many items can be saved in meal-size packaging for future use.  This saves time, money and it really helps when the non-cooks in the house need to eat a healthful meal.  They can just heat up something quickly or grab leftovers.  This keeps us from running to local fast food places for greasy, unhealthful and expensive food.

 

Meals this week that are good for freezing: baked potato soup, pancakes, chili.  Meals good for the frig/leftovers: bean salad, mac 'n' cheese, sweetened couscous (I make a big enough batch for about 3 days), Brussels sprouts pasta (great the next day as a cold salad), chickpea salad (great to make ahead for a quick lunch with pitas, bread, buns, or greens).

 

Happy vegan cooking!

 

Date	Breakfast or  Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Supper	Plan/Notes
Monday   Swimming Soccer	Cereal/pancakes   Cinnamon Toast	Veggie Pizza, colorful bean salad, strawberries	Peanut snack mix	Sloppy Joes, Sweet potato fries, salad
Tuesday   Open House at school	English Muffin/Cereal   Granola bars	Baked potato soup, peas, blueberries	Popcorn	Mac ‘n’ Cheese (cheese sauce) w/ Sauteed mushrooms, kale
Wednesday   Swimming PT	Sweetened Cous Cous/Cereal   Fruit choice	Chik’n patty, rice and veggies, apple slices	Bagels w/peanut butter	Pasta with Brussels sprouts, salad
Thursday   Swimming PT	Pancakes/Cereal     Yogurt w/fruit	Bean burritos, fresh fruit, corn	Blueberry Muffins	Tofu Scramble, Toast, fruit salad	Make muffins
Friday   Work mtg Babysitter	Oatmeal/Cereal     Applesauce	Broccoli cheese rice, veggie dippers, fresh fruit	Graham cracker sandwich, fruit choice	Italian Sausage (vegan) Pasta, veggie dippers
Saturday   Soccer game Soccer party Open house	French toast dippers, fruit salad	Chickpea salad sandwiches, leftover fruit, veggie, soup, etc.	Chips and salsa	Chili, jalapeno corn bread
Sunday   Swim Meet	Bagels w/peanut butter, fresh fruit, granola snacks at meet	Out	Out	Popcorn, smoothies, leftovers
EXTRA	In freezer: white bean enchiladas, refried beans, cabbage soup, chili	Frozen veggies, fruit for smoothies, potatoes and sweet potatoes

 

Vegan Reuben Sandwich

Just a short post tonight.  Had a couple meetings and needed a quick and easy supper when we got home.  I'll post it quickly before my hubby and I finish up the 6 loads of laundry that need folded tonight.  To make it super quick I used Tofurky slices and saurkraut from a jar.  I mixed the sauce last minute and threw it all together in about 5 minutes. We had veggie dippers and fresh fruit on the side.

My son loved this sandwich!  He had a huge mouthful and said, "Momb, oo gob a pub dis on da bog!"  I'm pretty sure that if he had manners and talked WITHOUT a mouthful of food that would translate to, "My dearest Mother, this sandwich is simply divine.  I insist you blog about it immediately.  Oh, and you look particularly beautiful tonight. Have you lost weight?" He's such a great kid!

Marble Rye Bread, then with sauce and vegan cheese, then with meat slices and saurkraut.

 

 

REUBEN SANDWICH

2 slices of rye bread, buttered on one side

1 T. vegan Thousand Island Dressing (2 parts vegan mayo mixed with 1 part each ketchup and relish)

3 slices vegan lunch meat (I used Tofurky peppered turkey and Tofurky mushroom)

1/4-1/2 c. saukraut

vegan cheese to taste

 

Place bread butter-side down on a griddle.  Layer on sauce, meat, saukraut and cheese.  Place top slice of bread on top with butter-side up.  Grill (like a grilled cheese) over medium heat until golden brown and crispy on each side.

 



(Ignore his hair--he just got out of swim practice)

Meal Plan

This week's meal plan is listed here. For those new to the blog, WELCOME! and a few notes. I provide in-home child care, so I list all snacks and lunches. My day care kids eat mostly vegan, but do occasionally have cheese or yogurt products. My family eats vegan. I always offer fresh fruit and a veggie tray with each meal or snack.  We drink soy milk, water or decaf tea.

I try to make my meal plans DO-ABLE for anyone.  I use products that I can buy in my small town grocery store and I make foods that I can handle while running around to swim practice, soccer, meetings, and personal training clients.  We have a busy life, but we make every effort to sit together to eat all meals. Proper planning helps to make that happen.  Otherwise, we would all eat separately.  It also helps me to use up what produce we have on hand so I have minimal food waste.  We save a ton of money when we stick to a food plan, so I try to do these weekly.  I apologize this one is posted  few days late, but you get the idea! 

HAPPY VEGAN EATING!!

Date	Breakfast or  Morning Snack	Lunch	Afternoon Snack	Supper	Plan/Notes
Monday	Cereal or Bagel   Granola	PBJ Picnic in the Park	Rice Cakes with cream cheese or jelly	Tofu and Shitake stir fry, rice, garlic green beans	Drain tofu
Tuesday	Blueberry Pancakes, fruit   Painted bagels	Veggie Patty, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas, blueberries	Cinnamon Popcorn and raisins	Pita Pizzas (veggies and vegan sausage, vegan cheese)	Pizza prep
Wednesday	Cereal or Pancakes     Banana Muffins	Tomato Soup, breadsticks, broccoli and carrots	Celery and PB or apples	Taco Casserole (with refried beans and corn cake), Spinach salad	Make crockpot beans
Thursday	Muffins or cereal   Animal crackers, raisins	Tortilla roll-ups, spinach salad, veggie dippers	Fruit choice	Reuben sandwiches, sweet potato steak fries, kale
Friday	Pancakes or cereal   Orange slices	Veggie fried rice, Edamame, fruit salad	PB Muffins	Chili, corn bread, any leftover fruit/salads	Make PB muffins
Saturday	French Toast dippers	Chickpea Salad pitas OR cucumber sandwiches	Veggie Dippers	OUT
Sunday	Muffins or French Toast Dippers	OUT	OUT	Leftovers, popcorn, veggie tray

Potatoes and Cabbage with White Beans

I saw a similar recipe to this on a vegan support group on Facebook.  I thought it looked good, but made a few changes to the ingredient list and the cooking process to make it more appealing to my family.  It seems a little weird to think that my kids would like cabbage, beans and onions all mixed up together.  But my family of four ate two whole fry pans full of this!  They loved it.  It was a great one-pot meal that I served with a little fresh fruit.  It was warm and comforting and very, very good.  They insisted that I get this one on the blog right away and get it on the meal plan again soon.

I'm sorry I didn't get a picture yet.  I was afraid if I walked out of the kitchen to grab the camera they would have it all gone before I could eat!

 POTATOES, CABBAGE, WHITE BEAN ONE POT
(amounts may vary slightly depending on what you have on hand, this amount was enough for about 6 large servings)

2 large potatoes, cleaned and cut into 1/2" cubes
olive oil and/or vegan butter for browning

1 large onion (any variety), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans white beans (Cannelini or navy), drained and rinsed
1/2 of a large head of green cabbage, sliced thinly
1/4 - 1/2 c. white wine
2-3 t. Italian seasoning
Salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

In a large fry pan, heat the butter and/or oil.  Add potato cubes and cook until golden brown and crispy on all side.  Set aside.

Add a little more oil/butter to pan and cook onion and garlic until soft but not brown.  Add in beans, cabbage, white wine and seasonings.  Stir to coat cabbage, then cover and cook about 5 minutes over medium heat until cabbage is softened.  Toss together with the potatoes and re-season with salt and pepper to taste.