The Betty Crocker Project : Louisiana Vegan Chicken Skillet Dinner

 I debated if I should post this recipe today because even though this is a very easy and delicious dinner - the photos just didn't really show that. I mean this dinner has it all. There's leafy kale, Vitamin C packed red peppers, cute little back-eyed peas, smokey vegan bacon and big Creole kick. It's great.
It's also one of those almost one pot wonders that Americans have come to know as "skillets."

Back in my wasted youth, my friends and I used to call each other "Home Skillet" when we were feeling what Emerson called "the comradery of peers."

So I guess it makes sense that an easy dinner than requires less clean up would earn this term of endearment. I mean we loved it. During all the soul crushing recording of receipts and organizing papers that was going on around ehre last week -- there was this recipe to look forward to. Not just as a dinner but for lunch the next day as leftovers. Yeah. This dinner is my "Home Skillet."

2011's Thanksgiving Parade begins with #7! Roasted Tomato & Fennel Bisque

OK. I admit we might be pushing it a little bit by adding this to the Month of Baking but you do use your oven to melt the vegan cheese. I've also noticed a lot of Tweets and Facebook Statuses about runny noses and sore throats so I thought it might be a good time to post a recipe that takes your mom's tomato soup a step further.

Original bisques are French soups made with crustaceans that were too beat up to be sold in the market but over the years the term has also been used to also describe cream-based vegetable soups. Sometimes the term means both. So not the most compassionate soups on the block. We used fennel, sea kelp and some vegan sour cream in ours to make it a bit nicer to both sea spiders and our bovine friends. We decided to add the toasted crouton (that you can't see) and melt the Daiya vegan cheddar on top as a little shout out to tomato soup's BFF grilled cheese sandwiches.

I got the idea to serve the soup in espresso cups from Martha Stewart's Wedding page. When I was planning my wedding, I remember seeing it and thinking that it was a really adorable idea for serving soup to a large group of people and I wanted to share it in time for Thanksgiving. Soup isn't generally thought of as being part of Thanksgiving but if you're looking for something different, these little buddies might make a good opening course. We got a lot of emails last year from folks who served our Macaroni & Sheese Cups as starters at their family get together and loved them. So the individual serving soups in espresso cups that you can sip like you're pretend British and eat with those adorably dainty coffee spoons seemed like it could possibly make for the most adorable starter for any dinner party ever.

You can also enjoy it in a bowl. Yawn.

Baked Buffalo Tofu Steaks with Ranch Dressing Dip

Can you think of anything more kick-ass American than ranch dressing? I mean, maybe pick up trucks or eagles... but you shouldn't eat those.

A while back we veganized Betty's Buffalo Wings and Ranch dressing. This was back in the beginning when The Betty Crocker Project was still new. We were still considered "newlyweds" then, and doing the best we could in our little submarine kitchen with a junky stove. Even though both those recipes turned out pretty awesome, I always kinda wanted to do something else with them. I've been playing around with today's recipes for a while in my head. They're super easy. The tofu is hot in all the ways people use the word "hot" in a non-ironic way, and the ranch dip has completely won me over to The Cult of Ranch.
 
I know you're all dying to see the photos of delicious food and sharp-dressed vegans at Vegucated's NYC premiere, and all the sexy superhero costumes from Comi-Con... but I haven't gotten around to going through them and posting things. I know this is a huge blogger faux pas, but sometimes faux pas just happen and you just have to roll with it. I mean what would the world be like if every little faux pas stopped us from enjoying awesome things like Buffalo Tofu Steaks? Bad -- and not in the Bad means Good way -- that's what. So please accept these easy and delicious all-American recipes as my apology for being a bad blogger and for actually leaving my apartment for a few hours.

This weekend I also worked a bit on a gluten-free seitan recipe that will be coming soon... so if this isn't enough to win back your hearts... hopefully I can bribe you with that.

Ready to buffalo some tofu?

The Betty Crocker Project : Beef-less Pepper Steak Kebobs & Lemon Millet Pilaf

This is one of those recipes that will easily become a favorite--not just because it's crazy delicious, but also because it's super easy. It's one of those recipes that will remind any long-term vegan how far we've come, and how no one in the world loves food like a vegan. There are flavors here that are so subtle and beautiful, they're like a Greta Garbo. I'm a lover of savory and citrus foods, so this meal is like my soul mate. If I had to change anything, I would make the pilaf a little more moist (I know, gross word, but accurate). Betty's recipe was pretty much already vegan, but a tad dry (maybe because we used organic millet that wasn't as processed as what they suggested). We tried to compensate, but we thought we should warn you.

There are oven and grilling instructions provided today, so you can make this year round. We also included a recipe tweak to make Pepper Steak Tofu instead of the kebobs. Now if you're like me, you might be confused, because you may have thought Pepper Steak was going to be like Lemon Pepper and that black pepper was going to play a starring role. The truth is the pepper we're referring to today is green bell pepper--a vegetable as lovely and loyal as any leading lady, so I hope you won't be disappointed. I could keep gushing about how good this is, but I can't recommend it enough. I could try but I think you'd rather get cooking... and, well, eating.

So grab your aprons and best gal and let's get cooking!

Pesach Same'ach! Let's Celebrate with Coffee & Wine Braised Beef-less Brisket with Vegetables & My Very Favorite Charoset Recipe

Using a new media editing program - so please excuse the crappy photography.

Passover starts tonight. I could write a whole book about why I love Passover. All my good memories and how it combines food and loved ones. I could try to describe the warm glow I get in my heart when I look out over a table of friends drinking Cherry Manischewitz mixed with Kosher Coke and how sad I am that we aren't going to be able to host our annual Secular Sedar this year. We have about 2 weeks left in Norfolk, VA - the city where I met my husband and found an unexpected home. It would have meant a lot to me to make it work but it just won't... BUT I can share with you some of my very favorite recipes and what I might have served if the world had spun a little differently.

Every year I make a 2 big pots of Matzah Ball Soup for our Sedar. You might have seen it on the Peta2 blog before. Even if you're not celebrating Moses freeing the slaves - you should make a pot because it's so good. I plan on making a big pot as soon as we move into our new place in Brooklyn just to make the place a bit more like home.

If you are one of the lucky ones sitting down to a sedar tonight, I hope you take a shot at that soup and if you need any suggestions for your compassionate sedar plate you can click here. Last year, I posted a Sweet Potato Kugel recipe that was an adaptation of a not so vegan Bubbie recipe that I personally love because let's face it - sweet potatoes are awesome. But this year, I'll also share 2 other recipes that are actually adaptions of recipes I found in Real Simple magazine. The charoset recipe below is one of those and is a bit more classy and special than just going with apple sauce. Plus if you have any leftover - it makes for a great breakfast.

You might remember awhile ago when I talked about how Italian gals are taught the importance of a good cutlet... I think if you're trying to find a Jewish equivalent it would be a brisket so tender it melts. Trying to make a vegan version of that can be a bit tricky because mock meat can melt pretty much on it's own. These beef-less brisket bites are very tender without getting spongy and end up having an extremely unique flavor that is not quite like a BBQ sauce or like a mole... but something different and really delicious.

Now I have to say that Gardien isn't Kosher or least certified so I can't tell you that this brisket meets all your Kosher for passover needs. In fact, as you probably have figured out from the fact my mom's Sicilian and I married a nice Irish boy... I'm not a stickler for keeping Kosher but I love my Jewish heritage nonetheless and have found a place for us.

On that note - Enjoy some beef-less brisket & Pesach out my friends! XO

The Betty Crocker Project : Thanksgiving Parade #3 - Macaroni & Sheese Cups

This was an odd week. One of those weeks you can't forget even if you tried. Here are 4 things I might actually forget from my weird/awful week:

1. Wil Wheaton Tweeted this and made me laugh out loud : If Nintendo can trademark "It’s on like Donkey Kong," I want to trademark "Are you fucking serious, Nintendo?" 
2. Dan awoke in the middle of the night crying out something like "Fuck you! You big parrot!" (Please keep in mind Dan is actually quite fond of parrots but this dream parrot was apparently pretty big and pretty rude)
3. Dan grew a mustache and it looks kinda hot.
4. I had to go to the store to get cat food and because I feel so awful this week - I might have been dressed like a long lost Kennedy cousin from Grey Gardens. Everyone was really nice to me and maybe had lots of pity for this "cat lady".

I also made these little casserole cups of this favorite from the oldest of schools that are a schmancier way to serve this classic for Thanksgiving. This recipe is a veganized version of Betty's but if you want The Shannons' Family Recipe - you can find it here. I think either version would be just as adorable in these cups on your holiday table. 

The Betty Crocker Project : Beef (less) Stew

Dear Soup Season, You are always welcome at our house! OX - Annie

What can I say about this stew? Well, in no particular order :

• This stew is the perfect Fall dinner, and makes a lot, so you can have leftovers for a few days.
• It's hearty and has warm flavors without getting too spicy. It has a nice rustic charm to it that made me wish the leaves outside were a little more red and orange.
• Like regular old "meaty" stew, this stew is even better the next day. The onion and "beefy" flavors really come out after the stew gets to sit for a bit, so I really suggest not eating it all in one meal. The next day you'll see what I mean. I was genuinely sad to see the bottom of my bowl the first night, but the next day it was like saying good-bye to a friend. OK I'm being dramatic today - but man it was good.
• You can get the same flavor from this stew in an hour that you would find in a pot of "beefy" stew that takes 4 hours to make, and no one was hurt in the making of this stew.
• Don't forget your bread! Soup just isn't soup without some good bread. Our Sunflower Seed Herb Whole Wheat Bread is just about perfect.

That should pretty much cover it... I mean, do you need to hear more? Go make some stew! Chop - chop! (That's soup making humor)

The Betty Crocker Project : Burger & Veggie Packet

Man - I hate this picture but I love this recipe. So simple - like barely any dishes and super good.

Some might think we are drifting away from BBQ season but they forget we are skipping into tailgate party season*. One of the things I love about this recipe is that even if it is too cold to BBQ outside -  you can make this in the oven and have a little tailgate party in your living room.

So don't write this off because the picture was taken at sunset and is all rosy and well - not my best work - because this is a handy little recipe that makes a whole meal for 4 with little clean up required.

The Betty Crocker Project : Double Corn Chowder

There's been a lot going on around here lately. Busy busy busy*.

Saturday morning, I woke up and watched The League in my boxers while I drank my coffee. I admit I'm not a football fan, so about 1/3 of the jokes are kinda gibberish to me. But I am married to Dan Shannon, fantasy football addict, which allows me to find another level of humor in this show--one that I have come to adore. I hope they bring back Mr. McGibblets this season. After my morning chuckles, I turned on the Xbox and played Fable II for 10 hours. It might have been more like 14. Somewhere in all that busy, I ordered some Thai food and ate soup with my husband, but it is all kind of a blur of shooting Hollow Men with fire balls and keeping that Bandit Coast free of the, well, bandits.

Sunday I was more productive.

We have a pretty good little system around here. Every Sunday, I try to make a casserole or soup that we can eat all week. It usually works out pretty well, although some recipes are better than others. This Sunday, I not only put our kitchen floor on blast (see link above), I also made New York Cheesecake and this soup. This creamy, wonderful, meal-in-a-bowl soup.

Now, if you're following along in your own Big Red, you'll notice some additions to our version. Here's why: as much as we freaking love corn and potatoes, it needed some protein to be eaten as a meal--hence the garbanzo beans and extra veggies (note the peas and green beans). Betty's version would be perfect with a side salad or sandwich, but for our needs, the recipe was a solid building base for this hearty fall soup that we've been enjoying all week.

I think you'll enjoy it too.

Oh and did I mention there was an article about Meet The Shannons is on The Food Channel website? Please take a minute to check it and share it with friends.

The Betty Crocker Project : Sloppy Joes

Just like brownies, every vegan has their favorite sloppy joe recipe. Over the years, I've had some very tasty vegan sloppy joes made with everything from TVP to Jackfruit. While I wasn't too in love with the eggplant version (Amanda, if you're reading this, I'm sorry), my all time favorite has been with Tempeh. I adore, just flat out love ,Tempeh sloppy joes and debated making that version this time. But, I wanted to do something that every vegan hasn't had before, so I opted for the Match Vegan Meats Ground Beef. It really does have the perfect texture and flavor for this recipe. If you can get your hands on some Match for this, I would. But the great thing about this recipe is that you can substitute the "beef" part of this recipe with Tempeh if you want or Boca Crumbles or Jackfruit or whatever. It's your call.

Sloppy joe days were always a big deal at my school growing up. That's why this recipe seemed like a perfect fit for back to school week. If your vegan kid is curious about this whole sloppy joe phenomenon, or if you just want to relive some nice childhood memories, you can always enjoy this compassionate version of an American favorite.

PS: Real Man-wiches are kind to animals!

Special Edition : The New Orleans Stay-cation Part 2 : Vegan Po'Boys & Hush Puppies

Morning on Bourbon Street

Even in a magical place like New Orleans, they don't eat Beignets all day.

When we were there about a year ago, one of our most memorable meals was vegan Po' Boys at Cafe Bamboo. So it only seemed right that we should make a few for our stay-cation. We had brought home a few postcards from NOLA with recipes for Creole & Cajun dishes that I wanted to veganize, and some day I'll share my version of artichoke soup that will make you do this*. This weekend we did an overhaul on the Hush Puppies postcard recipe to go with our Po' Boys.

Traditional Po' Boys are usually made with deep fried seafood of some kind; like shrimp, crawdads, or catfish. There are as many versions of Po' Boys--ranging from seafood to roast beef --as there are urban legends about where the name comes from. My favorite story is that the name comes from the free sandwiches a New Orleans restaurant owner gave to the street car conductors during their strike in 1929, so they wouldn't have to cave to feed their families. Back then, seafood wasn't as expensive as it is these days, and catfish and shrimp would have made up a cheaper sandwich then one with pork or beef. Hence these were sandwiches for "Poor Boys". As someone who grew up in a Union house, I kinda love that story.

Whatever the origin, Po' Boys are tasty. We made vegan Dressed Creole Shrimp and Bourbon Street Chicken Po' Boy Shorties with Creole Veganaise and vegan Hush Puppies. The recipes and photos for all 4 are below--and the fancy veganaise is so worth it.

The Betty Crocker Project : Linguine with Clams (Marinated Mushrooms) in White Sauce & Rosemary Garlic Bread

OK: before everyone gets all ruthless about how this looks, please remember we're veganizing this. I didn't use the photo with the sauce mixed in because it just didn't really show the sauce--and that's the best part!

Yes, using Oyster Mushrooms for clams is a very old trick. I can remember making vegan fried clams (Oyster Mushrooms) with my roommate in college and thinking we were so clever, until I went to a vegetarian restaurant in San Francisco and saw them on the menu. Oh. Que sera sera.

Just because vegans are some clever and creative folks doesn't make this recipe any less freaking delicious and amazing. Even if you don't like mushrooms; you can always replace them with vegan chicken or tofu and still have a dish that will bring the shock and awe.

I made this with Betty's Rosemary Garlic Bread. I think I'm going to make that again; I wish I had left the bread in the oven longer, so it would be more toasted, and had crushed my rosemary more. I grew up eating some pretty authentic Sicilian garlic bread and have had several different versions; you know every Tia (Auntie) had their own. I've had it with fresh parmesan mixed with oregano, and with melted mozzarella over butter and basil. Really, garlic bread is one of those dishes where Italian cooks can (almost unknowingly) leave their signatures. This version is pretty good, and went perfectly with the dish.

I have to admit I'm glad I'm only half Italian (I mean not like Frank & Dean are), but I'm Italian enough to tell you this dish is deliziosissimo (which is a real word - not a made up Olive Garden word).

The Betty Crocker Project : Crab and Corn Quesadillas

I don't really buy into the concept of "Guilty Pleasures". I don't save cupcakes for special occasions and I love bad TV. Give me a day of Lifetime made-for-TV movies, full of Tori Spelling, Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Richard Greico, and I'm a happy gal. I freely admit I'll read almost any book with a vampire in it, no matter how pulpy or melodramatic or just down right dirty. Believe me, some of those vampire books get pretty perv-y. But hey, that's what it is, and I shamelessly admit I read them.

I love quesadillas because they're fast, you can stuff a ton of things in there, and pile a ton of stuff on top--and yet they remain strangely simple. I like to call this The Quesadilla Paradox.

Now, you would think that anything that's mostly melted "cheese" would be considered a "guilty pleasure"; yet I rarely hear anyone talking about a late night quesadilla binge, or having to hit the gym because they overdid it on the quesadillas this weekend. Hmmmm. It's almost suspicious really. Why have we accepted these wonderful "cheese" vehicles as being in any way healthy?

Betty's Corn and Crab Quesadillas are not healthy, but DAMN are they good. We used the Match Vegan Meats Crab, Tofutti Cream Cheese and Daiya Cheddar to replace all the animal products, which I think should lessen the blow. The recipe made five quesadillas, but next time we'd add more vegetables--like spinach, broccoli, or maybe kale--and the mix may make more like eight.

So here's a guilty pleasure you don't need to feel guilty about. No one was hurt in the making of these quesadillas.

The Betty Crocker Project : Cobb Salad & Sunflower Seed Herb Whole Wheat Bread

Ever have a "great" idea that turns out to be a terrible mistake?

I don't mean anything epic - like that highway that goes nowhere or mixing tequila and champagne (true story for another time) but just the everyday ones. Examples of this would be not feeding a meter because "you'll only be a minute" or theme weddings that involve hoop skirts and/or top hats. The other day I had one of those. 

It's pretty humid on VA right now and so I thought it would be a great time to focus on salads. Very little stove time and not too many dishes to wash - who doesn't love a night like that when it's hot out? And what goes better with salad than fresh bread? 

Do you see where it all went wrong? 

There is a lesson here :  The bread actually is completely amazing and it is perfect for eating with this salad and really I wouldn't change a thing about this meal - EXCEPT - I should have baked that bread early in the morning before the heat had gotten to me. By the time Dan came home, I was seconds away from passing out. OK I'm being dramatic but I was really freaking hot and basically baking bread in my skivvies. But I'll admit by the time we finally sat down to eat, It was perfection! This bread has a really nice flavor and texture. It makes great sandwiches, toast and is great dipped in this Cobb Salad dressing. So the lesson? Don't bake bread on a humid Virginia afternoon unless it is this amazing bread.

The Betty Crocker Project : Asian Tuna with Wasabi Aioli and Sesame Buttered Broccoli

You know those nights. . . the ones where everything just kinda works out? The nights when you're a little worried The Cleveland Cavilers may live up to their reputation and beat The Celtics but instead Kevin Garnett goes Berserker on them with his metal face and all.* The nights when you're a little unsure what dinner is going to turn out like and you were kinda grumpy all day so you're worried you may unknowingly stumble into a fight with your significant other but you don't and dinner turns out actually kinda amazing. You eat a dinner at home that you would pay to eat at a restaurant except this dinner is even better because you get to eat it in your slippers and a comfortable chair trying to keep kittens off the table. I really like those nights. Sigh. Thank you Betty for your role in this lovely evening.

OK enough gushing . . . more eating. . .

The Betty Crocker Project : Tuna Casserole

The world is big and wonderful place. It is full of so many possibilities - some a little weirder than others - this is true of mock fish as well.

After years and years of food scientists all over the world slaving away over hot plates in laboratories and spaceship kitchens, vegans now have numerous mock and faux fish choices* and many of them don't even come close to resembling fish. Keeping this in mind, Dan and I invited several brave friends over to sample Betty's Tuna Casserole made with Fish Ham - a surprisingly delicious faux fish from May Wah. Our good buddy, Kim (IDA's Vegan All-Star for March) brought over vegan Caesar Salad. She made it using the Post Punk Kitchen Recipe and it was perhaps the fastest Caesar Salad this side of the Mississippi. We drank a few bottles white wine - since we were kinda eating seafood and talked for hours about Dune, casted super hero movies if qualifications, the space-time continuum and salary were no object and other such nerdery. Scott was allowed to leave with our beloved Red Son after signing over his soul. We told a few anecdotes from our younger years. I admitted that for several years, I had thought Dr.Pepper was only available at Mexican restaurants and we all had a good laugh . . . but seriously though - nothing goes better with Mexican food than Dr. Pepper.

We ate maybe WAY more than we should have. . . even Marta (cookbook author and adamant faux seafood dissenter) ate a big plate of it and LIKED IT! There a few things I might have done differently and I'll note those below but all and all this was a really good casserole that you could make with almost any kinda of mock meat or marinated tofu and feed a lot of people!

We really hope you like it too. We also encourage anyone who reads this to have their own Fake Tuna Casserole Party! We think they are the new wine tasting.