Shepard’s Pie

INGREDIENTS
3 potatoes, boiled and mashed
12 oz bag of frozen mirepoix
16 oz bag of frozen vegetables (my bag contained 7 veggies)
3 cloves of garlic
1 zucchini, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
2 teaspoons rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme

DIRECTIONS
Heat water and boil chopped potatoes until soft. While potatoes are boiling heat mirepoix mixture, add frozen vegetables and zucchini. Pour vegetable broth into the vegetables and stir in whole wheat flour, tomato paste and Worcester Sauce. Once you have your sauce mixed into the vegetables add the rosemary and thyme.

Drain boiled potatoes and mash. Stir in some unflavored soy milk, 1 tablespoon of garlic, 1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast and pepper. NOTE: I used a mixer to get a nice, smooth consistency in the potatoes. I also left the skins on.

Pour vegetable mix into 9×13 Pyrex pan and spread evenly. Scoop mashed potatoes into pan, smoothing as you go. Top with a sprinkling of paprika. Heat the oven to 400 and cook for 15 minutes.

SOURCE: Inspired by Sharon Basner Oliver from the McDougall Group on Facebook

Lahmucan (Turkish Pizza)

Ingredients:lahmucan
3 Eggplants, roasted
1 onion, chopped
1 red pepper, sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon tamari (or light soy sauce)
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon kirmizi biber, or combination sweet paprika and cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Dough
1 cup warm water
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or other sweetener)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup spelt flour
1 yeast packet

Directions:
Rinse and dry each eggplant and slice them in half. Score each half in a diamond, cross-hatch pattern. Place all 6 halves on wire roasting rack. Heat oven to 400 degrees and cook for 40 minutes.

While the oven is heating up combine all ingredients in order, in a mixing bowl. Using a mixer on a low setting mix dough until it forms a ball. Cover and set dough aside for 40 minutes while the eggplant roasts.

Let the eggplant cool for about 10 minutes. Add the onion and red pepper along with some water, curry powder and tamari and saute for about 10 minutes. Once the eggplant has cool scoop the inside and place in a food processor along with the tomato paste and kirmizi biber. Puree until ingredients are combined. Add the sauteed onion, red pepper and parsley and pulse to break down. The vegetables shouldn’t be completely broken down, but have some minor chucks.

Once the dough as risen, roll it out and divide into 4 separate pieces. With a rolling pin, roll out each piece of dough to resemble a single serving pizza. Top each piece of dough with the eggplant mixture. Cook each Lahmucan for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Serving Size: 4

Nutritional Facts: 1 Lahmucan
Calories: 463
Total Fat: 2.4 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 588.9 mg
Potassium: 1287.8 mg
Total Carbs: 91.8 g
Protein: 16.5 g

Notes: This was also the second time I made Lahmucan, the first time time from Vegan Magic, which I think lacked flavor. I continued reading other sites and saw a pureed eggplant mixture using assorted spices. Not sure the tamari was needed when sauteing the onion and red pepper. If you are not a curry fan, you could probably do without the powder and not lose much flavor.

You can adjust the amounts of flours to your liking. I do want to try spelt and besan. Lahmucan can be eaten folded up, but with the dough recipe above it was not very pliable and the dough ended up tearing as I ate away.

Source: I pulled this recipe together referencing a few different website including Vegan Magic and Food Network. In the ended I combined what I read into my own recipe.

Mexican Brown Rice with Pinto Beans

INGREDIENTS:
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ onion, diced fine
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup long-grain brown rice, rinsed and drained
1¾ to 2 cups water
1 tablespoons tomato paste or sauce (I used diced tomatoes)
3 cups cooked pinto beans

DIRECTIONS:
Heat a 2-quart pot. Add cumin and chili powder and sauté for a few seconds. Add onion and salt and continue cooking until onion is soft. Add rice and stir well to coat. Add water and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, until all of the water is absorbed (about 40 minutes). Serve warm, alongside the cooked pinto beans.

SOURCE: Culinate.com

Spaghetti

INGREDIENTS:
1 small onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
2 cups water
3 teaspoons basil
2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1 1/2 teaspoons brown sugar (I omitted the sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4-1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
1/4 cup red wine (a good Cabernet!)
1 lb wheat grain spaghetti
Parmesan cheese (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
In large, heavy stockpot, brown Italian sausage, breaking up as you stir.
Add onions and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened.
Add garlic, tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce and water.
Add basil, parsley, brown sugar, salt, crushed red pepper, and black pepper.
Stir well and barely bring to a boil.
Stir in red wine.
Simmer on low, stirring frequently for at least an hour. A longer simmer makes for a better sauce, just be careful not to let it burn!
Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
Spoon sauce over drained spaghetti noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

SOURCE: Food.com