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Meatless Monday Chronicles : Veggie Hotdogs!

These taste fahmazing!! Yes, fah…mazing!

I never really loved hotdogs growing up, but I did eat a lot of those processed ones that were chicken that my mom would make for me. I pretty much went rogue Vegan when I was in middle school. It was a choice and it was great with the support I had from my friends that were like minded. We all enjoyed eating various vegan products and sharing them with each other. Veggie hotdogs were one of them, but as an adult I kinda forgot about them. Mainly because I was always around people who consumed meat and I never really found the need to eat anything grilled because it was primarily foods I did not eat, nor want.

Then a few years ago, a very good friend of mine and former boss, re-introduced me to the wonderful vegan hotdogs! We were at a fancy South Beach pool party and she had just converted to Veganism and becoming a vegan chef. She had these hotdogs that were for people like us. It was able to stand up to the heat of the grill, the texture was smooth and delicious and the toppings were endless!

Today I bring to you my creation of the Veggie Hotdog!! I really hope you give it a chance, whether you enjoy or dislike hotdogs, this is a must!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Smart Dogs -veggie dogs
Hot dog buns
1/4 cup onion
1/2 cup mushrooms
2 slices cheese
1/2 Hass avocado
olive oil cooking spray

Process:

Turn your grill on to medium/high heat!
Turn the stove on to medium heat.
Dice the onions and slice the mushrooms.
Let them sauté for 5 minutes.
Get your hot dogs out and head to the grill! Make sure you oil them evenly.
Add tot he grill and cook following the instructions. (make sure to rotate them).
Take your buns and toast them on the grill.
Cut, peel and dice your avocado.
Now, the best part! ASSEMBLE the DOG!
- Toasted bun
- Cheese
- Hot dog
- Mushroom onion mixture.
- Avocado
- DONE!!

Below are the picture of the yummylicious hot dogs!! Trust me you will LOVE them!! Let me know if you experimented with any other recipes!

Meatless Monday Chronicles: It’s Grillin’ Time!

Most of the time people think grilling is only for carnivores. Well, that is not true! Anything and everything can be grilled. I absolutely love grilling veggies. It equals zero fat. No oil, no butter (if you’re just vegetarian or trying something new). It is literally just the fire, some water in a spray or squeeze bottle.

I know I have not been on in a week and I apologize! My life kind of took over and I needed to focus on some outside matters. Trying to get my posts where there recurring frequently on their own! Woot woot, trying to be tech savvy.

Today’s menu: Grilled veggie skewers, grilled corn, smashed potatoes and a grilled veggie burger! Yum-a-licious and protein packed.

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup of Broccoli and Cauliflower cut in big chunks
2 ears of corn (or more if you’re doing a larger group)
1/2 pound of petite creamer potatoes
1 Boca Burger Veggie Burger
handful of small baby bella mushrooms
4 wood skewers for shikabobs (Soaked in cold water- the longer the better!)
Dill weed (dry seasoning)
salt and pepper

Process:

Turn your grill on to medium/hight heat!
Turn the stove on and fill a large pot with water and bring to roaring boil.
Add the potatoes to the boiling water.
Meanwhile, take the ears of corns and peel the harder husk away, leaving a thin layer.
You always want to put the corn first on the grill because it takes a longer time to cook.
- *cooking tip: If you are pressed for time, boiling corn is the fastest way to cook them!
- *cooking tip: If you don’t have a grill, but still want to infuse flavor. Peel the corn entirely and coat with olive oil and some seasonings then wrap in foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes!
Now, grab your skewers that have been soaking in cold water.
- *why!? to prevent the skewers from burning! Typically you want over 2 hours of soaking, but a good 15 minutes soak works as well.
Take your rinsed, clean veggies and stack them up on the skewer.
Now, put them on the grill, near your corn that is still cooking.
By now, you may be freaking out because the husk has caught on fire. That is OKAY! Just grab your spray or squeeze bottle of water and saturate it. This will also help with the steam effect to help cook the corn.
Also, great time to add your Boca Burger to the grill (spray lightly with cooking spray so it does not stick or fall apart when you flip. Make sure you use a spatula and not tongs-I learned the hard crumbly way lol!)
Don’t forget your potatoes that are boiling! (Isn’t cooking fun!)
Stab them with a fork to see if they are tender, if so, strain them in the sink! (Good way to get some anger out!)
Throw the potatoes back in the pan and get potato masher and just do a quick hard smash. Here, I added the dill weed with a little salt and black pepper. (you can add butter here if you want or some olive oil).
Cardio time! Run back out to the grill. Your corn, skewers, and Boca Burger should be done!
Best part…ASSEMBLE and Eat!!

I hope you find my recipe fun and entertaining. Yes, I do speak the way I type with excitement. It truly is my personality! Let me know how you like this simple, grilling creation.

Check out the pics belowwww!!

Soak the skewers in COLD water!

Fresh corn.

Husk away, but leave a little behind and pull the tops off.

Get your water roaring and add the small potatoes

Throw those bad boys on the grill.

I love me some color on the grill!

Rinse your veggies, ALWAYS! (Do not want those pesticides on your food or in your body)

How to clean mushrooms! They are naturally porous and absorb liquid.

Just gently wipe them down with a wet napkin or towel.

Then detach the stem by twisting it off. (Yes, you can eat the stems, but your do not have to).

Skewer up those babies!

ZOOM!

Yea, look at all that yummy flavor!

Drain those potatoes! Then put them back in the pot and smash them!

Peel the corn, de-skewer the veggies, plate the smashed potatoes, and your veggie burger! Protein packed, healthy and good for your meal!

Meatless Monday Chronicles: What’s that Quinoa Thing?!

Hey everyone! Sorry for the late start, or late post. It has been one heck of a Monday! I have been a little under the weather, so my food is kind of like comfort food today.

Today, I used quinoa. I know what is this weird grain thing that all veggie and vegan people eat. I literally put it in everything from, “fried rice”, pancakes, eggs, brownies, I mean pretty much anything. It truly is a fantastic grain. It has a lot of antioxidants, which are great for your skin and fighting free radicals in the body. There is also a lot of protein in this enriched, ancient grain. The ancient people of Peru utilized this grain.

The dark truth of quinoa’s ever growing popularity, is that this food source was once a staple in Peru. However, today this grain now costs more than rice in their country because it is of only high demand in the United States and other more advanced countries. This has hurt the populations because they now lack access to their own natural food source. How do you make the right choice? Look for free-trade brands when you are shopping. It is the best for the environment and the surrounding people. Remember this is all our planet and we all deserve the riches she provides.

Enough of my soap box. What do you do with quinoa?! Well, you can cook it as the package instructs with water. This is best when you are going to use the quinoa for some other purpose. Such as pancakes (I’ll teach this recipe soon!)

For today, I used it in its normal form, a grain or a starch for my meal. Let’s start!

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

Quinoa 1 cup
Vegetable broth 2 cups
3 big Idaho potatoes (or whatever you have on hand)
2 carrots
2 tablespoons of a diced onion
half a bunch of asparagus

Seasoning for Potatoes (Perfect side as wedges/fries)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dill weed
you can always add more if you prefer more flavor!

Process:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees for the potatoes.
Cut the potatoes long way to make nice even strips or wedge shape.
To prevent from turning brown, place potatoes in a bowl of ice water. This helps remove a lot of starch and helps in the cooking process.
Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Place your wedges on the sheet and add the seasonings.
Mix them up with your hands and then throw in the oven for 15 minutes, then flip and return for 15 minutes.

While the potatoes are cooking let’s move on to the rest.
Chop your onion and throw in a medium sized skillet.
Peel the carrots and cut on a diagonal and cut the ends off the asparagus.
Then rinse the carrots and asparagus.
Bring the onion to a nice sauté and then add the rest of the veggies.
Meanwhile, in another medium size saucepan. Heat some olive oil.
Add the 1 cup of quinoa to the pot and let it get toasted, like you would pasta or rice. Gives it an extra earthy flavor.
Then add the 2 cups of vegetable stock. This also adds new flavor to the quinoa, which is a lot like a sponge and absorbs what ever flavors you put in it.
Let it boil and then simmer until all the liquid is absorbed.

Serve:

Throw the quinoa at the bottom of your dish.
Add the veggies on top and the potatoes, there is your quick and easy beginner quinoa meal!!

Check out some photos of the process. Let me know what else you like to put quinoa in!

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Meatless Monday Chronicles: Butternut Squash Soup!

I am still figuring out this whole blog website thing…however, I want to create a recipe corner! (Just not sure how to make the menu thingy work). I am always concocting new creations. I have been obsessed with the kitchen since I was five. My mother said the first thing I learned was to push the dining chair into the kitchen and get to the counter. She would catch me peeling and stuffing boiled eggs in my face.

Then elementary school summer break came along, guess who loved reading books of all kinds?! Yup, cookbooks too. Very first, unsupervised thing I made was fudge. Boy was it delicious! My mom was impressed, yet terrified because I was cooking and boiling hot sugar…of course, I did not do that unsupervised again. I did learn to be really messy in the kitchen, which did not go so well with mom either. What can I say, I live by organized chaos! (I’ve learned to clean more haha).

My inspiration for this recipe is my mom. She has been vegetarian for over 30 years, maybe longer. As I got older, I perfected meat dishes for my dad (do not cook meat anymore), but I wanted to create unique things for my mom too. So, I combined a lot of my favorite orange things and thus called it soup!! Yup, as creative as it gets sometimes lol.

My mom is from the beautiful small island of Trinidad and Tobago, so, making a “Butternut Squash Soup” was definitely not a normal thing, but she was excited to try it! I have been making it the same ever since!

# of ingredients: 5

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45-50 minutes

Ingredients:

Butternut Squash (1/2 pound)
Sweet Potatoes (2 medium size)
Carrots (3, peeled)
Veggie Stock (homemade or store bought – 3 cups)
Olive Oil Spray (or mister if you have one)

Directions:

Heat the oven to 375 degrees.
Cut the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, and carrots into similar size chunks.
Spray a baking sheet with non-stick spray.
Place all the orange veggies on the sheet. Bake for 30-35 minutes.
Use a long wooden skewer to pierce the veggies. If it goes through, they are ready to come out of the oven.
Heat a pot with 1 1/2 cup of veggie stock and bring to a boil.
Add all your veggies, (here, you can add some other fresh veggies like onion or fennel to give a different flavor!)
Bring to a nice simmer for about 10 minutes.
Turn the stove off, and get your blender ready! I have a NinjaChef, which was an awesome Christmas present!
I used the soup setting first and yes it will look like small lumpy mashed veggies, that is okay!
Don’t forget that reserved vegetable stock! Start to add that liquid to your veggies to help them move around the blender.
I do it in half portions to not exceed the “hot liquid” warning and to ensure smooth soup texture!
Once, all has turned into mush, add the last 1/2 cup of vegetable stock to the blender and put on the puree setting!
It is like magic, no more mushy, just silk smooth soup!
You can store in a freezer proof container for up to a month! I always divide my portions for lunch, dinner, and a lazy day in the future, i.e. freezer.

Below are some pictures from my Meatless Monday Chronicles! Tune in next week for another fun creation!

Remember, there is nothing to being an amazing home chef! Healthy meals are quick, simple, and low maintenance ingredients, they also do not have to break the bank!

Notice, there was no salt or sugar in this recipe! You get all the natural sweetness from the sweet potatoes and the carrots. Also, the butternut squash gives you amazing flavor and texture. This is a sure fire healthy meal, whether you are on a diet, trying to be vegetarian or vegan, or just want to try something new!