Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Fake Philly Cheesesteaks (or Chicken Philly)

At a Glance
  • Feeds: 2-3
  • Time: 15 minutes
  • Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
  • Soy Steak Strips OR Vege Burger Patties OR vege-chicken patties
  • Large Green Pepper
  • Large White Onion
  • Hoagie Rolls
  • Velveeta Cheese
  • Worchestershire sauce
Method
  • Cut pepper and onion into long thin pieces
  • First, warm up the fake meat in the microwave, about half of the required cook time (according to box instructions)
  • Warm olive oil/spray in frying pan on medium heat
  • If using chicken or burger patties, cut into strips. If using steak strips, leave as is
  • Put pepper, onion, fake meat into frying pan (when pan is heated up)
  • Splash in some worchestershire sauce (to taste)
  • Put hoagie rolls in microwave to warm, or in oven if you prefer a crusty roll (instead of soft)
  • Cook until onions and peppers are soft, and fake meat is 98% done
  • some of the fake meat may crumble or clump together. This is totally okay.
  • add velveeta for a few minutes until melted fully
  • remove from pan, put desired amount onto rolls
  • add ketchup if you want, salt and pepper to taste...serve with sweet potato chips, fries, whatever you want...

Strawberry Vinegarette Salad

At a Glance:
  • Feeds: as many as you want (this recipe based on 4 servings)
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Time: 5-10 minutes
Ingredients
  • Baby arugala & romaine lettuce
  • strawberries
  • goat's cheese
  • olive oil
  • red wine
  • candied walnuts
  • balsamic glace vinegar (thicker than regular balsamic vinegar dressing)...(these are also available in pre-flavored varieties, like raspberry, strawberry etc if you prefer)
Method
  • Chop lettuce into bite size pieces, mix together well
  • slice strawberries thinly
  • top the lettuce with strawberries, crumble goat's cheese on top
  • add walnuts if desired
  • add dressing, salt and pepper to taste
Dressing Method (this will make enough for several salads)
  • in bowl, add 1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar glace, 1/2 cup of olive oil
  • add splash of wine (or more if you prefer)
  • Mix well, and quickly drizzle on top of salad before it seperates

Super Simple Bruschetta

At a Glance
  • Feeds 2-3 people
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 10-15 minutes

Ingredients:
  • Fresh baked loaf of bread
  • Organic tomato sauce (canned)
  • Italian Seasoning
  • Basil
  • Garlic Salt
  • 1/4 white onion
  • 1/2 large tomato
  • mozzarella cheese (grated)
  • parmesan cheese (grated)
  • butter
  • red wine
  • garlic salt
  • olive oil

Method
  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees
  • Cut tomato into large chunks
  • dice onion
  • sautee onion with butter in pan
  • mix italian seasoning, basil, garlic salt, splash of wine into the tomato sauce in a bowl (excess of this is great on pasta)
  • brush the bottoms of the bread with olive oil (if you have an olive oil with basil, this is good too)
  • put desired amount of sauce mixture, then onions, then tomatos, then cheeses on top (unbrushed side) of bread
  • bake at 400 degrees until cheese melts and turns golden brown. This should take around 5-10 minutes at most
  • Remove from oven and enjoy!

Monday, March 9, 2009

Baked Spaghetti

At a Glance
  • Feeds: 12
  • Difficulty: Medium/Hard
  • Time: 1 hour
Ingredients
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • 1 cup chopped green pepper
  • 1 tablespoon butter or margarine
  • 1 can (28 ozs.) tomatoes with liquid (cut up)
  • 1 can (4 ozs.) mushroom stems and pieces (drained)
  • 1 can (2 ¼ ozs.) sliced ripe olives (drained)
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 pound ground beef, browned and drained (optional)
  • 12 ounces spaghetti cooked and drained
  • 1 can (10 ¾ ozs.) condensed cream of mushroom soup (undiluted)
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Method
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • In a large skillet, sauté onion and green pepper in butter until tender.
  • Add tomatoes, mushrooms, olives and oregano.
  • Add cooked veggie crumble (soy) if desired.
  • Simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
  • Place half of the spaghetti in a greased 13” x 9” baking dish.
  • Top with half of the vegetable mixture.
  • Sprinkle with 1 cup of the cheese.
  • Repeat layers.
  • Mix the soup and water until smooth; pour over casserole.
  • Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
  • Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through.

Mini Cheezy Pumpernickel Pizza Bites

At a Glance
  • Feeds: as many people as you want
  • Difficulty: Easy/Medium
  • Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
  • Soy/Vege Meat Crumble (morning star brand recommended)
  • Mini-loaf of pre-sliced Pumpernickel bread (each piece are about 2 or 3 inch squares)
  • Block of Velveeta Cheese
  • Ketchup or BBQ sauce
Method
  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees
  • Defrost the vege crumble in the microwave
  • Microwave method (quicker): Add any spices/seasonings, add small blocks of velveeta to the container, and then cook the vege crumble in the according to instructions on package. Judge when to add the cheese according to how long you have to cook it (depends on how much you're making).
  • Pan Method: add the vege crumble to the pan on medium heat. Gradually add in velveeta cheese in chunks, slowly mixing it into the meat mixture. You can decide how 'cheesy' you want it as you go. The cheese should melt slowly enough for you to be able to taste test as you go.
  • While it is cooking, lay out your pumpernickel bread slices on an un-greased baking sheet
  • When the meat mixture is ready, put a 1.5 to 2 teaspoons of cooked vege crumble on each piece of bread.
  • Slide the baking sheet into the oven for 5-10 minutes at the most. You are only trying to get the bottom of each piece of bread a little crispy, and the tops of the meat/cheese mix a little crunchy. You do not want the meat mixture to get tough. The meat is cooked already, so you can taste test as you go as well.
  • Remove from oven when ready, and serve with sides of ketchup or bbq sauce depending on your preference.

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Wonton Salad, with Faux Chicken Patties

At a Glance
  • Feeds 4 hungry people
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Time: 20-25 minutes
Salad Ingredients
  • 1 head shredded iceberg lettuce
  • 2 stalks of chopped green onions
  • 4 faux chicken patties
  • ½ pkg. of wontons (just pick-up a bag of already cooked wontons from a Chinese Restaurant)
  • ¼ cup toasted slivered almonds
Dressing Ingredients
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup white vinegar
  • 2 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. pepper
  • 1 tsp. Accent seasoning
Method
  • In frying pan, add all dressing ingredients.
  • Heat on low-medium until all sugar is melted. When dressing is proper consistency, remove from heat. It should be room temperature when you add it to the top of the salad. Put in fridge to speed up process if you want. While it is cooling, you can do the rest of the recipe, which should time it just about right.
  • Put chicken patties in oven (preferred) or microwave to cook according to directions on package. It's best for these to be crispy for this salad, which is why the oven method is preferred.
  • In big mixing bowl, add lettuce, onion and almonds. Mix well.
  • Break up the wontons into manageable, bite size pieces, then add wontons to mixing bowl too. Mix well again.
  • When chicken patties are cooked, cut them into long strips.
  • If you're serving the whole recipe, add the dressing to the mixing bowl, and mix well. If just making a small batch now, add salad to plate, drizzle dressing on top.
  • Add chicken strips to top of salad.
  • Eat!

Monday, March 2, 2009

Faux Cheeseburger Quesadilla

At a Glance
  • Feeds: 2 people
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
  • Veggie Crumble
  • Shredded Monterrey Jack and Cheddar Cheese
  • 2-4 tbsp BBQ sauce
  • McCormick's Hamburger Seasoning
  • Medium Flour Tortillas
  • OPTIONAL: Finely chopped white onion
  • OPTIONAL: Substitute the kind of cheese that comes pre-made with taco seasoning on it...it really kicks things up a notch!
Method
  • In small frying pan, add chopped onions with a little non-stick spray on medium heat. You want to cook the onions a little, but not too much. If you like your onions crispy, just put them on low heat until you're ready to assemble your quesadilla.
  • Heat veggie crumble in microwave until defrosted, according to directions on package
  • Add BBQ sauce (as much as you like), and hamburger seasoning, then mix well
  • Turn large frying pan on to medium/low heat, add a little non-stick spray
  • Return to heat in Microwave until fully cooked (should only take a couple of extra minutes)
  • Put flour tortilla in pan, pushing it around to coat in a little oil
  • To one side of the tortilla, add cheese, then burger crumble, then onions, then a little more cheese on top
  • Let it cook until the cheese barely begins to melt, then fold the tortilla over on itself, closing it up.
  • Let it cook a little longer, then flip over, being careful not to overcook one side. You want the outside of the tortilla to be crispy, but not burned.
  • Repeat process for as many quesadillas as you want to cook.
Serve with more BBQ sauce, or some sour cream/guacamole usually tastes good too.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Margherita Flatbread Pizza with Faux Sausage

At a Glance
  • Feeds: 2 people
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2 x flatbread, 6x10 inch pieces, rosemary & peppercorn variety (or your choice)
  • 8oz mozzarella cheese
  • 1 package of Fresh Basil (0.6oz)
  • Pizza Sauce (enough to cover the flatbread pieces)
  • 2 x Fake Sausage circles (Morning Star Brand)
  • 1 tsp Sausage seasoning
Method
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees
  • Put sausage in microwave until it is cooked according to directions on package
  • Chop basil, not too finely, removing the stems completely
  • Cut mozzarella into large circular slices
  • Cover flat bread with pizza sauce
  • Remove sausage from oven, and chop/crumble up into smallish chunks
  • Assemble pizza by putting basil on first, then mozzarella, then sausage.
  • Sprinkle sausage seasoning on top of pizza
  • Put in oven for 15 minutes, checking around 10. Depending on your oven, you'll want to make sure the base crisps up without the top burning. You do not want your cheese to brown on top. If you're worried about cooking too much, turn to 300 degrees, and until bottom crisps up, then turn to broil for 2 minutes.

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Potato Quesadillas

At a Glance
  • Feeds: 2 people
  • Difficulty: Easy/Medium
  • Time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
  • 2 cups frozen cubed hash browns (or freshly cubed (1/2 inch cubes) potatos, or leftover mashed potatoes)
  • 4 medium sized flour tortillas
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 tsp season-all
  • 1 tsp chili seasoning (not chili powder)
  • 1 tbsp ketchup
  • 1 bag grated Mexican Cheese Blend. You can vary how much you need depending on how many quesadillas, and how thick you are making them.
  • Non-stick spray
  • 2 tbsp tomato salsa (mild, medium or hot...your choice)
  • OPTIONAL Side Items: Sour cream, Guacamole
  • OPTIONAL ingredients: 1 tbsp Red Pepper Flakes (for more spice)
  • OPTIONAL ingredients: 1/2 cup chopped onions (if you like onions)
Method
  • For smooth quesadillas: Heat potatoes in microwave until defrosted. If using fresh potatoes, microwave them until they are just barely cooked and slightly mashable. If you're using leftover mashed potatos, you dont have to cook them before adding to the quesadilla.
  • For crispy quesadillas (preferred method) you'll want to defrost or slightly cook the hash brown cubes a little and then put them into a hot frying pan with just a little oil to crisp them up just a little. When they are crispy (but not burned at all), remove from heat.
  • Add hash browns to a big mixing bowl
  • Add cumin, season-all, ketchup, chili seasoning, onions, red pepper flakes to bowl and mix well, coating each cube with some flavor. Be careful not to mix too vigourously if you are going for the crispy method.
  • Warm Frying pan to medium-low heat, spray with non-stick spray.
  • Put flour tortilla unfolded into pan, put a little bed of cheese down on one side, add potato mixture to same side, and then top with a little more cheese.
  • When the cheese begins to melt, fold the tortilla over. It should seal itself with the cheese as its glue.
  • Flip the folded tortilla one more time so the top half gets another round on the bottom.
  • Remove from pan, repeat for as many quesadillas as you want to make.
  • Serve with some sour cream, guacamole, or even some ketchup, if you like it that way.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Red Robin: Vegetarian Friendly Options

It came to mind that when eating at a restaurant, it may be difficult to resist ordering a nice juicy burger (or insert your favorite meat option here).

So, Meatless Marvels will attempt to bring you some suggestions or recommendations on restaurants that make it easier to keep that vegetarian lifestyle in tact.

It won't be just places that you order tofu or sushi either. In keeping with the mission of Meatless Marvels, it will be foods that are close to their carnivorous counterparts.

This first on the list is Red Robin. They allow you to substitute a Garden Burger Patty, or Boca Patty onto any burger on the menu. Meatless Marvels' recommendation is the garden patty. The Boca one sometimes tastes like you could play ice hockey with it.

Obviously you don't to put the garden patty on the bacon burger now would you?

Suggestion #1: The Banzai Burger with a Garden Patty: Marinated in teriyaki & topped with grilled pineapple, Cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and mayo. Dude, you’ll be like, ready to ride the pipeline on O’ahu’s North Shore after you chomp on this!

Suggestion #2: Blackened Bayou Burger with a Garden Patty: Blackened burger topped with roasted red peppers, Angry Onions,® Pepper-Jack cheese, Creole mustard sauce and cabbage-carrot mix on a jalapeño-cornmeal Kaiser roll. Add a splash of Tabasco® for even more spice. It’s good, we guar-an-tee!

Anyway, you can pick your favorite, but these are taste-tested and recommended by your friends at Meatless Marvels.

PS: Don't forget...fries are vegetarian too...and bottomless vegetarian fries are even better :-)

Who We Are

Meatless Marvels is the combination of a vegetarian (Melody), and her meat eating husband (Nick).

Melody gave up meat for Lent 3 years ago, and has never looked back. Nick gave up meat for one week, and looked back often. However, Nick only eats meat when dining out, or at lunchtimes. Pretty much whenever he's eating with Melody, it is vegetarian fare.

Still wanting the taste of meat, Melody and Nick decided to make as many meals still have the flavor, but not the actual product. Thus, the birth of Meatless Marvels: a way to enjoy the taste of meat without actually using any animal products.

We take requests, suggestions, recommendations, but most of all, we just want to help people figure out a way to include some meaty tastes into their vegetarian meal choices.

Enjoy!
Nick and Melody

Shout Out to Friend Going Vegetarian

Just a quick shout-out to a friend who is going vegetarian for Lent. (His blog post explains his motivation).

This is how we (Melody and I) got into the vegetarian style a few years back. One year it was giving up soda, then it was giving up meat, and then it just kind of stuck. Now one half of meatless marvels is vegetarian through and through (Melody), and the other half is vegetarian whenever he eats with Melody. That pretty much makes it breakfast and dinner. Lunch time is my meat time.

Anyway, if there's anyone else out there who is doing the lent thing, let us know. Strength in numbers I say. Meatless Marvels takes requests too, so if you like a particular meat dish, and you want to know how to make it a meatless masterpiece, let us know. We can help convert that meal and still make it tasty.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Faux Chicken Sliders

Recipe At A Glance
  • Feeds as many as you want
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 5 mins microwave, 15 minutes oven (recommended)
Ingredients
  • Fake Chicken Patties OR fake buffalo bites (morning star brand is our recommendation)
  • Potato Dinner Rolls
  • Muenster Cheese (substitute cheddar or swiss depending on your tastes)
  • Lettuce
  • Cherry Tomato (or other small variety) sliced
  • Ketchup
  • Ranch (optional)
Method
  • Cook chicken patties or buffalo bites according to directions. Oven method is recommended
  • Add cheese at the very end of cooking time, just enough to melt on the chicken
  • Split and microwave the potato rolls on high for 20 seconds
  • Cut cooked patties into small, roll-sized pieces, usually about 2 x 2 inches
  • Squirt a little ketchup onto the base of the roll, then place the patty on top.
  • Put one small piece of lettuce, two small slices of tomato on each roll
  • Put a little ranch on top
  • Close up the rolls and enjoy. They should be soft still if you've heated the rolls sufficiently.
Add fries, potato wedges or chips as a side if you're willing to go the extra mile

Friday, February 20, 2009

Easy Cheezy Faux BBQ Cheeseburger Pizza

At a Glance
  • Feeds 3-4 people
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
  • Pizza Crust (pillsbury works well)
  • 8oz (1 package) grated cheddar cheese
  • 1 small onion (diced, sliced, chopped whatever you want)
  • 1 package vege Crumble by Morning Star (or some version of soy burger crumble)
  • 2 tsp sausage seasoning
  • 1 packet McCormick's Grill Mates Hamburger Seasoning (meatloaf seasoning can substitute if you can't find the hamburger flavor)
  • Sweet Barbeque Sauce (this will be your base, so enough to cover base of pizza crust)
  • 2 tbsp Ketchup
  • OPTIONAL: Bacos, Fake Bacon Bits, peppers (but dont put so much on that it takes away from the burger-like taste)
  • OPTIONAL: left overs from sloppy no's or faux meatloaf work well on this meal
Method
  • Preheat oven to temperature for pizza dough to be cooked
  • Take pizza dough, roll it out on cutting board with flour or corn meal to keep it from sticking
  • Put burger crumble in microwave for a couple of minutes to defrost. You don't want to cook it much at all, as this will happen in the oven. Just enough so that you can separate it and it is not frozen at all anymore.
  • Combine ketchup, spices and burger crumble, then microwave for 1 minute.
  • Put as much BBQ sauce as you want on your base of the pizza. Remember, more BBQ sauce means more hot liquid when you bite into the slice, so be careful how much you pile on there. Try putting some on the outside of the crust too, so some cheese will stick to it and make it all delicious.
  • Put thin covering of cheddar cheese on the pizza base. Yes...put the cheese on first.
  • Put burger crumble mixture onto pizza base...as much as you want.
  • Put onions onto pizza
  • Cover with thin sprinkling (or as much as you want) of cheddar cheese. The less you put on, the better the underneath will cook in the oven. IE: dont put so much cheese on that the cheese burns before the crumble and top of the pizza base cooks properly.
  • Put pizza(s) in oven and cook according to instructions for crust.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Holy Moley Guacamole

At a Glance
  • Feeds 2-4
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 5 mins or less
Ingredients
  • 4 small tomatoes (chopped)
  • 3 avocados (diced)
  • 1 small red onion (diced)
  • 1 handful of fresh cilantro (diced)
  • 1/2 cup of sour cream
  • 2 tsp salt (more or less to taste)
  • OPTIONAL: chilli powder
Method
  • Clean hands....soap....purell...whatever you want to do...just have clean hands (and fingernails)
  • Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl
  • With your clean hands, mash all ingredients together, squeezing avocados and tomatoes so they mix into a "dip" consistency.
  • If you like more chunky guacamole, don't mix so much, and maybe use less sour cream.
  • If you like a more smooth consistency, add more sour cream and really dig in to mash all the chunks of tomato and avocado down into a paste. You may also want to peel the tomatoes too.
  • Add chili powder to give some heat
  • Serve with tortilla chips

Vegetable Fajitas

Recipe at a glance
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Feeds: 2-3
  • Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
  • 4-6 medium sized flour tortillas
  • 1 small white onion (sliced)
  • 1 red pepper (sliced)
  • 1 yellow pepper (sliced)
  • 2 portabello mushrooms (sliced)
  • 2 chopped tomatoes (could use small can of tomatoes)
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 2 tsp Seasoning Salt
  • 1 tsp Chilli Powder (more or less depending on your preference for heat)
  • 1 handful of fresh diced cilantro
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1/4 cup of water
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • OPTIONAL: spanish rice, shredded lettuce, grated cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa
Method
  • Heat olive oil in large frying pan on medium-high heat
  • add onions, cook for a few minutes
  • add peppers, mushrooms, spices to pan
  • add water to pan, mix all ingredients well to distribute spices and seasoning
  • lower heat and cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat
  • add tomatoes and cook for just a few minutes until tomatoes are warm
  • while tomatoes are cooking, wrap tortillas in wet paper towel, and microwave on high for 2 minutes
  • Remove pan from heat, remove tortillas from microwave
  • Add vegetable mix to each tortilla...do not overfill
  • top with lettuce, cheese, sour cream, guacamole, salsa...your choice

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Salad with Buffalo Chicken Bites

At a Glance
  • Time: 5 mins microwave method, 20 mins oven method
  • Difficulty: Easier than easy.
  • Feeds: 2 hungry people

Ingredients
  • 1 Bag of Romaine & Iceberg Lettuce (with carrots etc if you want
  • 1 box of Morning Star Buffalo Chicken Bites (18 individual pieces)
  • Croutons of your choice
  • Grated cheese of your choice (we like coarsely grated parmesan)
  • Ranch dressing
  • Salt and Pepper to taste

Method
  • Cook chicken bites according to package (16-18 minutes in 375 degree oven, or 4-5 mins in microwave). Oven method is preferred for crunchiness
  • Dump bag of salad onto two plates evenly
  • Add chicken bites to top of salad, salt and pepper to taste
  • Add small amount of cheese to top quickly, so it will slightly melt on the chicken bites
  • Add ranch dressing & croutons
  • Serve and enjoy

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Creamy Pesto Ravioli

Recipe at a Glance

  • Difficulty: Easy to Medium
  • Feeds: 4 hungry people
  • Time: 20 minutes (including prep time)

Ingredients

Ravioli
  • 1 package of 4 cheese ravioli or portabello ravioli (you pick the brand)
  • 1 small white onion (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp pine nuts
  • 2 tsp capers
  • garlic to taste
  • 1 tsp olive oil
Sauce
  • 8oz can diced tomatoes with basil & oregano (Hunts makes a good one)
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp flour (any kind will do)
  • 1.5 cups Milk
  • 1 packet pesto seasoning (we use Simply Organic Pesto Seasoning, but any pre-made pesto will work)
Optional Sides

Method
  1. Put water onto boil and cook ravioli per instructions on package (add salt to water to speed things up)
  2. It takes about 10 minutes to make the sauce, so time it depending on your ravioli cook time.
  3. Combine and warm the butter, olive oil and flour in another sauce pan
  4. 1 minute after butter melts, add milk
  5. Warm mixture for a couple of minutes, then add pesto seasoning and tomatoes
  6. If you prefer your sauce to be thicker, cook longer. If you prefer a lighter sauce, add more milk
  7. Turn to lowest heat possible, and leave to simmer
  8. In another pan, saute the chopped onion, pine nuts, capers, and garlic with a little olive oil
  9. Layer ravioli on plate, then add sauce, then add saute mix
  10. Pair with red table wine, garlic bread/texas toast and a caesar salad
Leftovers?

  • When reheating in microwave, add a little water to the container to keep the pasta from drying out.
  • Add additional vegetables to the mix, serve cold, and enjoy a pasta salad.

Friday, February 13, 2009

Caesar Salad

A simple salad for most...but if you're vegetarian, you have to be aware of the anchovy issue. Most Caesar salads at restaurants, and many Caesar dressings in the grocery store will be made with anchovies, or may still have whole anchovies in them. So if you're looking for a simple Caesar without the small fishy bits, read on...

Feeds: 2 large salads

Ingredients
  • Bag of Hearts of Romaine Lettuce
  • Brianna's Asiago Style Caesar Dressing
  • Grated Parmesan Cheese
  • Croutons
  • Salt and Pepper
Method
  1. In large mixing bowl, add whole bag of lettuce
  2. Depending on your level of caesar affection, add between one and three tablespoons of Caesar dressing. Usually you want just enough to get a little on each leaf, but not so much that you're mopping it out of the bottom on the mixing bowl.
  3. Mix thoroughly until all lettuce is coated to your liking.
  4. Empty onto two large plates, add croutons and salt and pepper to taste. We like the larger style croutons, almost like the type you get at Outback Steakhouse (the ones that are almost 1 inch square, and 1/2 inch thick)
  5. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese, not too much and serve.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Sloppy No's

"Sloppy Joe's, without the Ground Beef"

Recipe at a Glance
  • Makes 5-6 fully loaded sandwiches, or 8 generous pita pocket halves
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Time: 10 Minutes Microwave, or 20 Minutes Stove top

Ingredients
  • 12 Ounces of Soy/Veggie Crumble
  • 1 packet Sloppy Joe seasoning
  • Small can of Tomato Paste
  • 1 cup water
  • Tsp of Season-All
  • 1/2 tsp of Soul Food Seasoning
  • Tsp of Hamburger Seasoning
  • Pinch of Chipotle Chili Pepper Powder
  • 6 Pita Pocket halves, or 5-6 buns

Method
  1. Defrost crumble in microwave (usually 3-4 minutes at most)
  2. Add tomato paste and water to crumble
  3. Mix thoroughly until good consistency is reached (ask yourself...do you like smooth sloppy no's or chunky?)
  4. Add all seasonings and mix again. You can leave the chilli powder till after cooking if you're worried about too much heat
  5. Return to microwave and cook until done. This usually takes 7 minutes or so, depending on the amount you're cooking...and how powerful your microwave is.
  6. While the crumble is in the microwave, cut your Pita Pockets or buns in halves.
  7. Once the crumble is cooked, place the buns or pita pockets in the microwave for 45 seconds, or just enough to loosen them up. You don't want the pita pockets to tear while eating...but then again, they aren't called Sloppy No's for nothing.
  8. Add crumble to the pita pockets or buns (did you remember to add your chili powder) and serve.
It may take a little experimentation, but you will be able to get these to taste exactly like a regular ground beef Sloppy Joe. Try it out on unsuspecting guests... if no one says anything, you've succeeded. Or maybe you failed so badly that they wouldn't dare comment.

Tonight's Dinner Menu...Sloppy No's

mmmm....Sloppy No's....that's Sloppy Jo's with faux soy meat crumble for you uneducated folk.

Well i guess everyone might be uneducated to the Meatless Marvel terminology, seeing that this is the inaugural post.

A full recipe will be posted soon...but this post serves as the tease...the apetizer...the free bread before the meal to get you all excited.

Well really its because I can smell it cooking and haven't written down the exact method yet.