"CHEEZY" BROCCOLI SOUP

"CHEEZY" BROCCOLI SOUP

Today is the first day of Fall so I figured my soup was a suitable post. Plus we had it for dinner last night haha. It was amazing! First time I've ever made a quick soup and a blended one. This recipe is super filling and healthy as well extremely easy to make. I was really pleased with the way it turned out. Next time I'm making bread bowls.

Recipe

makes 4 servings

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 white onion, chopped

4 mushrooms, sliced

2 heads of broccoli

1 head cauliflower

2 celery stalks, chopped

6 red skin potatoes, peeled, cut

2 carrots, sliced

3 cups vegetable broth

2 teaspoons poultry seasoning

handful of fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon chili spice

4 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 piece of Daiya sliced cheddar

For the CHEEZE sauce I used the same one that I use for my COCONUT CREAM MAC N CHEESE recipe but I used a whole can of coconut milk instead of a half to make it more creamy. I also add 2 tablespoons of spicy mustard to add to cheezy taste for the recipe. See my recipe:) 

In a large pot add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and turn on to low-med heat. Add your garlic, onion and mushrooms and saute for 5 minutes. Next add your broccoli, cauliflower, celery, carrot and potatoes. Stir together and cook for another 5 minutes. Add your vegetable broth and spices. Bring to a low boil. Once its boiling add your daiya to melt it in. Cook for 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft enough to poke with a fork. 

While that's cooking you'll have time to make your cheeze sauce. 

Once your soup is ready and your potatoes are soft enough its time for blending! Separate your soup into two bowls. *Its way too hard to get the right consistency you blend both at the same time.* Blend the first bowl. I left mine a bit chunky and it was perfect that way. I barely blended it for thirty seconds. If you want yours creamier blend it for longer! This part is totally up to you:) Once you've blended both parts combine them again in your pot and add the entire cheeze sauce to the soup. Stir together really well!!

ENJOY!

VEGAN GRAVY

VEGAN GRAVY

I thought I'd do something easy tonight for my recipe. This is just a simple quick vegetable gravy recipe. We ate ours on mashed potatoes but it would work great to bake with seitan like a vegan steak or on steamed vegetables. Have fun trying it with different things:) Happy cooking.

Recipe

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon canola oil

3 mushrooms, diced

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (theres a link to the broth I used. Pacific Foods:) 

4 tablespoons garbanzo bean flour (theres a link to what I use. Bob's Red Mills)

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

a pinch of fresh thyme

2 drops of liquid smoke

dash of salt

In a medium sized pot heat 1 tablespoon of canola oil on low-med heat. Add garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Add your vegetable broth then mushrooms and stir together well. Add your garbanzo bean flour - salt. Stirring while adding ingredients. Bring mixture to a low boil for 2 minutes then bring it down to a simmer. Continue to stir this entire time. Your mixture should be getting thicker by now. If its not add 1 more tablespoon of garbanzo bean and 1 more tablespoon of nutritional yeast. Continue to add until desired consistency. Allow your gravy to thicken for 5-10 minutes on min heat. Stirring occasionally. Once your gravy is nice and thick you'll notice it'll bubble a bit in the pot. Remove from heat and prepare to serve!!

VEGAN POT PIES

VEGAN POT PIES

I was so excited to try and make these for this first time ever. Pot pies are amazing and these turned out so good. The stew I made to put inside the pies were even so good we just ate the leftovers on the side. The pastry was buttery and light. Just like it had eggs but I think its all the earth balance I used. :) A little bit time consuming but certainly a challenge that is rewarded!

Its also an awesome hearty meal after a cold day:) Enjoy!

RECIPE
Makes 3

DOUGH
1 1/2 cups unbleached organic white flour
1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon organic baking powder
1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon rosemary
4 tablespoons earth balance, melted
a splash of almond milk
1/4 cup cold water (add 1 tablespoon of cold water if your dough is too dry)

FILLING
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 white onion, diced
1/2 a shallot, minced
4 mushrooms, diced
4 carrots, cubed
3 celery stalks, cubed
4 potatoes, cubed
1 can of peas
Handful of green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh thyme
2 tablespoons garbanzo beans flour
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons turmeric
2 teaspoons rosemary
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 tablespoons earth balance
2 cups vegetable broth
dash of salt
dash of pepper


STEPS
Preheat your oven to 375 F.
Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl with a fork.  Make a little well in the middle. Melt your earth balance in a measuring cup and add it to your mixture in the well you made. Next add the water and almond milk and stir together to form a dough.
You can add tablespoons of water one at a time if your mixture is still a little dry.Your dough should be smooth, non sticky and firm. Knead the dough for five minutes on a lightly floured surface. Wrap the dough with plastic and chill for at least 30 minutes.

For your filling you need a large frying pan with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium heat. Cut up all your vegetables and add them in the order above except the potatoes. Saute for five minutes. Next add your spices, vegetable broth, potatoes, flour and peas. Stir together until well mixed and bring to a boil. Once its boiling bring it down to low-med heat and stir in your earth balance. Allow filling to thicken for 10 minutes.

This is what it should look like when its done.

Once your filling is ready its time to roll out your dough. Prepare a lightly floured surface again. Start to roll your dough out into a long thin rectangle.

The pastries for these really don't need to be thick so roll your dough out as thin as you can make it without it breaking of course. If helps if you roll it out in one large piece. Then cut that piece in half and roll each half. Then cut those pieces in half and roll them again. This helps you make sure the dough is a uniform size. Place your foil tin for baking your pie upside on your dough to make sure its big enough. You should leave a little extra around the rim to make a crust. Rub earth balance on the sides of your foil to ensure it doesn't stick and place your dough over the pan gently pressing it against the sides with your fingers to form crust. Once the dough is fitted nicely in the pan take a big spoon full of your filling and place it inside. Fill until you're just about to the top of your pie crust but be careful not to overfill or your pie will burst! Use excess dough from making the bottoms and roll it out again to form the top. Place top of pastry over filling and press the sides with your fingers lightly to form pie crust completely.

This is them prior to baking. Make sure you poke some holes in the top to release steam! Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy!